From Mariners Camp

From AJ Moss at ESPN.com

How will the loss of Kenji Johjima impact the Seattle Mariners' staff?

There is a table in there that shows the difference in Seattle's ERA with Johjima catching and Rob Johnson ('05) catching. Very favorable numbers for Johnson.

To the meat of the article:

Was Rob Johnson really that big a difference? Apparently so. In addition to King Felix posting a 15-2 record with the 25-year-old calling the shots behind the plate, Johnson's handling of the entire Seattle staff was nothing short of masterful. His 3.22 "catcher's ERA" was the best in all of the major leagues, but more telling was Seattle's 46-29 record in games started by Johnson, compared with a 28-39 record with Johjima.

Clearly, the comfort level between the staff and Johnson cannot easily be dismissed, but despite the past success, the catcher may not be starting on a regular basis for Seattle in 2010. Johnson had surgery on both of his hips in the offseason, and is only now getting ready to see live game action this spring.

Johnson is confident that his "new hips" will allow him to improve his ability to throw out baserunners -- his 29.3 percent paled in comparison with Johjima's 50 percent of would-be thieves removed from the basepaths -- as well as his production with the bat. Johnson hit just .213 last season, but has told reporters this spring he believes his 2010 batting average will end up somewhere between .265 and .290.

However, there still is a lot of concern that Johnson simply won't be able to handle the rigors of catching four or more times a week, at least not right away. That's where Adam Moore comes in. Moore has been so impressive since being taken in the sixth round of the 2006 draft, that Seattle had no problem trading away "catcher of the future" Jeff Clement, and giving that title to the rookie, who started 2009 at Double-A and ended up playing six September games with Seattle.

Click through to read it all.

Now, if you saw the alumni report to day, you may have noticed that Shawn Kelley got the start in one of the split squad games. Kirby Arnold explains.

The Mariners used Kelley mostly an inning at a time out of the bullpen last year, but this month they’ve increased his workload in order to use him more in middle relief. Manager Don Wakamatsu said the team talked during the offseason about prepping Kelley as a starter — something he did in college — but abandoned that thought.

When the pitching pairings for today came out, though, it rekindled speculation that the Mariners, who are considering multiple options for the end of the rotation, may have turned back to Kelley.

Uh, no.

The Mariners have no plans to convert Kelley into a starter. With Doug Fister still not ready for games after he was hit by a line drive last week, the Mariners decided to use today’s game against the Royals to build up their relievers.

And I can seem to find the image online, but Felix Hernandez ('03) is on the cover of the latest ESPN: The Magazine with Cliff Lee and Ichiro.

King Felix looked sharp

Felix Hernandez ('03) pitched a simulated game for the Mariners yesterday. Reports were good.

Felix Hernandez's slow drive into spring training is about to pick up some speed. After he pitched a two-inning simulated game Tuesday morning, part of the team's plan to limit the number of live-action game innings he pitches this spring, he pronounced himself ready for some real competition. He's likely to get it Sunday when he's slated to get his first start of the spring against the Rockies in Tucson.

...

Hernandez threw 35 pitches, facing three Mariners minor-leaguers a total of nine times. All were outs other than a ball hit to the outfield that was misplayed. None of the others made it out of the infield and Hernandez struck out five. Afterward, both Hernandez and Wakamatsu proclaimed themselves happy with how it went.

"I thought he looked outstanding," Wakamatsu said. "It's really impressive to me to watch the difference in a year in the way he goes about his business. I think he is on track, even though we have held him back a little bit. Watching the action of his pitches, I couldn't be more pleased at this point."

Not this year

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times makes the case for Felix Hernandez ('03) just coming up short in his AL Cy Young Award bid.

Felix Hernandez was the epitome of a Cy Young-caliber pitcher in 2009, and it was a beautiful thing to watch.

He was dominant. He was clutch. He was consistent. He was a horse, in the best sense of the word.

What King Felix wasn't was the best pitcher in the American League.

That statement will pain most Mariners fans, and anger some. They won't be any happier, I suspect, when the American League's Cy Young Award is announced today.

I fully expect it to go to Kansas City's Zack Greinke. And furthermore, it should.

Read it all. Especially since it includes a look the possibility that the Baseball Writers Association of America may be using some of the more modern statistical tools over just straight wins, strikeouts, and ERA.

King Felix

MARK HARRISON / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Felix Hernandez wins his 19th game of the season as Mariners down Rangers 4-3

A prolonged tip of his cap and wave to the fans in the seventh inning Sunday wasn't entirely the end of a dream season for Mariners ace Felix Hernandez.

Instead, the fun continued well after his 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers had been secured. Hernandez was in shorts in the clubhouse as the season finale ended, when he realized his Mariners had decided to take an impromptu victory lap around the field, thanking fans up close.

So he threw his clothes back on, sprinted out and was one of many players saluted by a Safeco Field crowd of 32,260 that remained in the stands by the thousands long after this 85-win season was officially in the books.

"It feels outstanding," Hernandez said of his season. "It's not about me. It's about this team. This is the most fun I've ever had in the big leagues."

Hernandez pitched two games for the Timber Rattlers in 2003 and he had a breakout season in 2009 for Seattle.

His 19-5 record and 2.49 earned run average have virtually assured him a top-three finish in the Cy Young Award voting. It also helped his team avoid the types of losing slumps that tend to make 85-win seasons highly unlikely.

I know that the smart money is on Zack Greinke for the AL Cy Young, but who knows?

Wither Felix?

Felix Hernandez ('03) that is...

Felix Hernandez's transformation could cost Mariners millions

Felix Hernandez is long done with the kid's stuff as he finishes off his fourth full big-league season, arguably one in which he transformed from boy to man.

Gone are the outings he'd take off between bouts of brilliance, the distraction-filled efforts when he'd try to coast on talent alone. The on-field sulking and mini-tantrums are done as well. Missing a strike call or allowing a home run no longer derails starts.

His coaches no longer print out posts from online fan blogs, as was the case two years ago, to show Hernandez that everyone had figured out his pitching strategy. These days, nobody is figuring Hernandez out, especially the opposing hitters, who've batted just .228 off of him.

Not all aces-in-waiting manage to grow up and fulfill their destiny, but Hernandez has done so at the ripe, old age of 23. And regardless of whether he captures a Cy Young Award, Hernandez is about to reap the grown-up rewards that come with that type of success.

In the weeks ahead, his agent, Alan Nero, will meet with Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik to explore a deal that will keep Hernandez in Seattle for years.

Yeah...about that potential contract...

Hernandez's 17-5 record and 2.49 earned-run average is better than that of the last eight American League Cy Young winners and will almost guarantee a gargantuan arbitration raise from his current $3.8 million salary into the $10 million range and beyond for the 2010 season. And if Hernandez and the Mariners do reach a long-term deal, buying out his final two arbitration years and extending him three to five beyond that, he could become Seattle's first $100 million player.

The Mariners say they want a deal, but have previously implied that Hernandez's camp is reluctant to sign beyond 2011. So far, the two sides have yet to even hammer out parameters for their talks.

It should be an interesting negotiation.

Mariner Rotation to start the season

A couple of ex-Rattlers and a former UW-Oshkosh Titan.

In the end, the title of Mariners staff ace was decided more from a coronation than a competition.

And that means Felix Hernandez will take the ball on opening day in Minneapolis next week, doing so for the first time since 2007. Hernandez was a tad irked a year ago, when a reluctant Erik Bedard was handed the No. 1 job just days after a trade from Baltimore.

But any real edge over that was softened the past 12 months as the pair got to know each other better. Bedard also spent much of this spring getting his arm back up to speed after shoulder surgery and was never in a position to make this friendly competition ever truly take off.

"It's an honor," Hernandez said with a grin and shrug on Wednesday, when asked how he'd feel to be named the No. 1 guy. "It's going to be an honor like in 2007 ... Bedard is an ace, too, but if they give me that honor, it's going to be a big honor."

Here's how the rest of the rotation was revealed...

Wakamatsu said he'd hold off a day on announcing the rest of the rotation, but then inadvertently confirmed the final guy by stating the team would open the season with no left-handers in the bullpen.

That meant lefty Ryan Rowland-Smith, who was either going to be a starter or reliever, will be the fifth arm in a rotation that includes Hernandez, Bedard, Carlos Silva and Jarrod Washburn. Bedard threw 79 pitches on Wednesday in a Class AAA game, getting tagged for nine runs on 11 hits over four innings.

Hernandez ('03) and Rowland-Smith ('02, '03) are the former Rattlers. Washburn is the ex-Titan.