Mariner Nation holds its breath

Mariners, Putz wait for news on elbow

A somber-looking J.J. Putz dressed quietly in a near-empty clubhouse Friday, steeling his nerves for a phone call this morning that's the equivalent of a bases-loaded ninth.

That's when the Mariners' medical director, Dr. Edward Khalfayan, will review an MRI of Putz's right elbow and deliver his verdict. Mariners manager Mike Hargrove said after yesterday's 7-3 win over the Kansas City Royals that a radiologist's preliminary reading on the MRI was "that everything's fine."

But Hargrove and Putz are waiting until Khalfayan gives the go-ahead for the closer's next throwing session.
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Putz felt "kind of an achy stiffness" in the elbow about a half-hour after throwing 25 fastballs in a bullpen session Thursday morning.

The revelation sent an immediate panic through the team's camp, given that few options exist to replace Putz for any length of time.

"We haven't decided on a Plan B," Hargrove said. "We've discussed it, obviously. We've got two or three different options for what we can do."

Hargrove declined to discuss those options. On a scale of 1 to 10, he said, his concern over Putz not being ready for the season opener rated a "three."

Missed time for Putz would put hole in Mariners' ship

When J.J. Putz's golden right elbow tightened this week, so did the mood in Camp Hot Seat.

Awaiting the result of Putz's MRI — in this case, the initials could stand for Mariner Reality Intrusion — was an excruciating exercise for a team that needs to win early and often in 2007.

And, presumably, needs J.J. Putz to do so.

With Putz's definitive status on 24-hour hiatus Friday while the Mariners tried to coordinate all the medical opinions necessary for a prognosis, it allowed time for all sorts of worst-case scenarios to be mulled.

Putz, mind you, is hopeful that all is well, and that this latest scare will turn out to be, as Yogi Berra once said (or at least should have), a mute point.

Indeed, the preliminary word on the fateful MRI from Seattle manager Mike Hargrove was promising. Hargrove is acting like — or at least trying to convince himself that — Putz will still be ready for opening day, even though the time line for that is shrinking fast.