5/22/2008

A Tale of Two Ex-Rattlers

A bad day for Baek (scroll down to the second item)
A somewhat stunned-looking Cha Seung Baek was the last player to leave the visiting clubhouse after the game, having been designated for assignment. Seattle now has 10 days to trade, release or outright the pitcher to the minors and will likely recall knuckleballer R.A. Dickey from Class AAA Tacoma in time for today's game.

The ironic part for Baek, who was consoled by teammates and coaches after emerging from a closed-door meeting with McLaren and assistant GM Jim Na, is that he'd just tossed three scoreless innings against the Tigers. That came one night after he'd been pounded for three home runs and a double in just two innings of long relief on Tuesday.

What does this mean for the Rattler from 2000?

The Mariners, having seen starters go only 6-1/3 combined innings the past two nights, are in dire straits bullpen-wise heading into the series finale and needed a fresh arm. So, after bouncing among the rotation, bullpen, minors and majors for the Mariners the past two years, Baek's career with the team could be at an end.

Stark finding groove after long layoff
Nearly three years since his last professional victory, Denny Stark is a winner again.

Stark, out of baseball since 2005 because of injuries, pitched seven shutout innings Sunday to lead the Class AA West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx to a 7-6 victory over Mobile.

It was Stark's first victory since June 7, 2005, when he pitched for the Colorado Springs SkySox -- the Rockies' Class AAA affiliate -- and beat Tucson.

Since then, it's been a journey of pain, two elbow surgeries and perseverance for the 33-year-old right-hander.
Stark was a Rattler in 1997 and went 6-3 with an ERA of 1.65 in 16 games (15 starts). Remember how he left the Mariners?
Stark pitched his first big-league game with the Mariners in 1999 and stayed in the organization until 2001 when they traded him and pitcher Brian Fuentes to the Rockies for third baseman Jeff Cirillo.

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