M's notebook: Four players vie for one spot

PEORIA, Ariz. — Since Mike Hargrove plans to keep a dozen pitchers, the Mariners will have 13 position players on the 25-man active major-league roster on opening day.

That leaves the Mariners with a four-player bench.

Since three of those four spots are locked up by — supersub Willie Bloomquist, fourth outfielder Matt Lawton and a backup catcher, either Rene Rivera or Corky Miller — there is one opening for a reserve player.

There actually will be an extra vacancy for the first 10 days of the season as Lawton serves out his suspension for last year's steroid use.

The candidates for the opening are Roberto Petagine, Greg Dobbs, Mike Morse or Cody Ransom.

The outcome of the competition could come down to what Hargrove and others decide is their primary requirement. Petagine and Dobbs are primarily regarded for their left-handed bats, although Dobbs has excelled at third base as Adrian Beltre plays in the World Baseball Classic.

However, Petagine was signed late and added as an invitee to the camp roster for his bat. He has hit .500 (10-20) and if he makes the club he would have to be added to the 40-man roster.

Morse, despite his nice job with the bat as a rookie in 2005, is most likely to go out to play outfield full-time.

Ransom, another non-roster man, has played well all around the infield and would be on the club if they needed another backup infielder.

This hinges on what happens at second base, where the lingering hip (flexor) injury has taken the edge off any competition between Ransom and incumbent Jose Lopez.

"Second base is still open," Hargrove said this week. "But maybe not as open as it once was, as anyone competing would like. Still, while Lopez has done a good job, it does not mean he has won the job."

In addition to Fernando Vina, who played for the first time in two weeks as a late-game sub in the 9-7 loss to San Diego, Willie Bloomquist's chances of taking over at second were delayed by the gashed little finger he suffered a week ago. In any event, Bloomquist might have been regarded all along as option 1-A for second, since his primary value in everyone's eyes, including his manager, is his ability to produce.

Yet Lopez, who has hustled as his bosses want, is hitting only .226. Should Vina stay healthy and come on strong in the remainder of the spring, he could take the job.

Meche impresses

Before Justin Leone upstaged everyone with his ninth-inning grand slam off right-hander Sean Green, Carl Everett and Matt Lawton had led a 14-hit Mariners attack to a 7-5 lead. Gil Meche started and worked a solid three innings.

With performances starting to count more, Meche allowed no hits and only one base runner. After a walk in the third inning, he threw a good two-seam fastball and got a stint-ending 3-6-3 double play.

"Meche was absolutely outstanding," Hargrove said. "[Clint] Nageotte threw some good breaking balls and pitched well."

Notes

• Nageotte was rushed into the game in the fifth when Kevin Appier strained a right calf muscle hurrying to cover first on a grounder by Geoff Blum. Nageotte ended that inning on a strikeout and worked a 1-2-3 sixth, ending by fanning Mike Piazza.

• Hargrove said that Everett, "came into the dugout after his first [at-bat] talking to himself. He was telling himself to attack the ball. He did better his second time, then hit his homer in his third at-bat. It takes time for everyone to reach a point where they say, 'enough is enough.' You get tired of so-so at-bats. It looked like Carl has reached that point."

• Joel Pineiro is expected to arrive in camp today, after the Puerto Rican team was eliminated from WBC competition.

• Reliever Julio Mateo, who has been home in the Dominican Republic after the death of his brother Luis, is expected back March 24.

• Lawton has seven doubles. The club spring mark is 10, by Bruce Bochte (1978) and Darren Bragg (1996).

Friday's box score

San Diego						Seattle
	AB	R	H	BI			AB	R	H	BI
Barfield 2b	3	1	1	0		Reed cf	3	0	1	0
Hill 3b	1	0	1	0		Jones cf	2	1	1	0
Greene ss	3	0	0	0		Betancourt ss	3	1	2	0
Matranga ss	2	0	1	0		Ransm pr-ss-3b	2	1	1	1
Giles rf	3	1	1	0		Ibanez lf	3	1	2	1
Valent rf	2	0	0	0		Morse pr-rf	2	1	1	0
Piazza dh	2	0	0	0		Sexson 1b	2	1	1	0
Ross ph-dh	2	0	0	0		Petagine 1b	1	0	0	0
Mirabelli c	2	1	1	0		Everett dh	3	1	1	2
Laforest c	2	0	0	0		Choo ph-dh	2	0	0	0
Young 1b	2	1	0	1		Lawton rf	3	0	2	2
Gonzalez 1b	1	1	1	0		Morban pr-lf	0	0	0	1
Cust lf	3	1	0	0		Rivera c	3	0	0	0
Johnson cf	2	1	0	0		Johjima c	1	0	0	0
Blum 3b-2b	3	1	2	3		Dobbs 3b	3	0	1	0
Leone 2b	1	1	1	4		Cabrera pr-ss	1	0	0	0
						Lopez 2b	3	0	1	0
						Vina 2b	0	0	0	0
Totals	34	9	9	8		Totals	37	7	14	7

San Diego	000 200 304	—	9
Seattle	300 021 100	—	7

E — Reed. DP — San Diego 2, Seattle 1. LOB — San Diego 5, Seattle 7. 2B — Barfield, Giles, Mirabelli, Betancourt, Ibanez, Lawton, Reed, Dobbs, Jones. HR — Blum, Leone, Everett. CS — Blum, Ransom. SF — Morban.

Padres	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Williams	5	10	5	5	1	2
Ashby	1	3	1	1	0	0
Sikorski	1	1	1	1	1	0
Junge, W	1	0	0	0	0	1
Adkins, S	1	0	0	0	0	0

Mariners	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Meche	3	0	0	0	1	3
Appier	1 1/3	3	2	2	2	1
Nageotte	1 2/3	0	0	0	0	2
Sherrill	1	2	3	3	1	1
Green, BS, L	1	4	4	4	1	1
Mackintosh	1	0	0	0	0	1

HBP — by Junge (Vina), by Sherrill (Young), by Green (Johnson). WP — Williams, Appier. T — 2:48. A.