Alumni Odds and Ends

Three stories about three players who once were Timber Rattlers

J.J. Putz is with White Sox, trying to move on after bad endings with Mariners, Mets

The J.J. Putz who last year questioned the chemistry of the Mariners' clubhouse in 2008, and last month was quoted as questioning the handling of his injured elbow by the New York Mets, was nowhere to be found Monday.

Instead, after he made his first appearance against the Mariners since being traded from Seattle in December 2008, Putz sounded happy and relaxed. That's in part because he again feels at home, in the familiar confines of the American League and with a team, the Chicago White Sox, that trains near his Arizona residence.

"Everything feels good," he said after pitching a scoreless inning for the White Sox in a 5-4 Mariners win, one of two games Seattle played Monday.

Mariners’ Johnson progresses step-by-step

Rob Johnson has talked to the doctors who fixed his hips and he even got a reassuring message from Alex Rodriguez to let him know everything’s going to be fine.

Johnson, the Seattle Mariners’ starting catcher, is feeling good again and may start his first spring training game by the middle of this week. That’s a big step after a scare last week when he got out of bed and couldn’t walk without pain.

It’s part of the recovery process from the surgery Johnson had on his right hip in October and his left hip in November to repair cartilage damage and shave the bone. Knowing that his discomfort was part of the recovery process didn’t make it any less painful, or worrisome, for Johnson.

Aumont better in second spring outing for Phillies

In just over 2 months, Phillippe Aumont has moved across the country, been transformed from a reliever to a starter, and been told to revert to the mechanics that he used before the Seattle Mariners selected him in the first round of the 2007 draft.

In other words, he is very much a work in progress.

But even though the Phillies are more worried about progress than results when it comes to their new, 21-year-old pitching prospect, a little success never hurts.

[Sunday], Aumont had that success, pitching out of a bases-loaded jam and finishing with 2 2/3 scoreless innings in the Phillies' 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

"I was able to throw a little more strikes, and have a little more focus in the game," said Aumont, who allowed two hits and one walk with no strikeouts. "We've been working the last few days on some stuff, and it paid off a little bit today."