Australians

Down in the Alumni Updates for today, you may have noticed two lines that jumped out and said hello!

#1
Ryan Rowland-Smith ('02, '03): 2-for-2, 2 runs

That led to this story: Mariners pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith a surprise at the plate

Optimism was low among the Mariners watching Ryan Rowland-Smith step into the batter's box for the first time since he was of legal voting age.

After all, his teammates had watched the left-handed pitcher swing and miss at just about every 60 mph pitch sent his way by manager Don Wakamatsu during batting practice before Saturday's contest against the Colorado Rockies. They knew Rowland-Smith hadn't handled a bat in any game since playing for New South Wales in a national tournament in his native Australia nine years ago when he was 17.

Rowland-Smith could hear the snickers from his dugout as he stepped in against Rockies starter Jason Marquis. But the laughter stopped moments later when Rowland-Smith laced the first of two straight singles for him.

"When I went out there, some guys were sort of talking smack to me in here, so I was like, 'I've got to get a hit,' " Rowland-Smith said. "I was just trying to make contact."

That he did, ripping a single through the left side in the second inning and later scoring in bizarre fashion on an infield hit as the Mariners waltzed to a 10-5 win. Rowland-Smith later lined a much harder single into left off Marquis in the fourth inning.

#2
Chris Snelling ('00): 1-for-1, run, RBI, BB

That was preceded by this blog post: Ex-Mariner Snelling back in baseball; signs with Padres

Chris Snelling, a long time fan favorite in Seattle thanks to his time spent with the Mariners from 2002-06, is back in baseball.

Seattle pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith, who has been living in Snelling's Peoria, Ariz.-area home while Snelling has been away at the World Baseball Classic with Team Australia, said Snelling told him he'd agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the San Diego Padres Saturday.

The offer came after Snelling and Team Australia was eliminated from the WBC in the first round.

''He's feeling great, really great,'' fellow Aussie Rowland-Smith said. ''Now all he has to do is stay healthy.''

Amen to that. For details here's the story from the Padres website.

Snelling is a career .305 hitter in the Minor Leagues with a .393 on-base percentage. He was a favorite of then-Seattle manager Lou Piniella in 2002 and became a fan favorite in Seattle, gaining something of a cult following from fans that chose to refer to him by his middle name (Doyle) so to avoid cursing him into another injury.

But Snelling -- who is a .244 hitter in 225 Major League at-bats with Seattle, Washington, Oakland and Philadelphia -- couldn't shake the injury bug.

Good luck to my former color analyst during the 2000 season.

25 dies insquequo Oris Dies!