By Graham MacAree – Contributor

Read More: Jack Cust (DH – SEA), Franklin Gutierrez (CF – SEA), Milton Bradley (LF – SEA), Ryan Langerhans (LF – SEA), Chone Figgins (3B – SEA), Ichiro Suzuki (RF – SEA), Justin Smoak (1B – SEA), Los Angeles Angels, Seattle Mariners

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Mar 31, 2011 - Eric Wedge has picked his lineup for opening day, and while he doesn’t have Franklin Gutierrez to call on the manager does have the rest of his position players available and has actually assembled a reasonable-looking squad for the series against the Oakland Athletics. Here’s a quick look at what to expect from the Seattle Mariners come first pitch at the Colosseum at 7:05 PM tomorrow.

#1: Ichiro Suzuki (L), right field. Like this was going to be anyone else. Ichiro, who needs four more hits to become the franchise’s all-time hit king, has been a fixture on the Mariners for the past ten years, and he’ll likely start every single opening day before he retires to become a robot ninja. Although he has his detractors, Ichiro is one of the premier leadoff hitters in the game and a standout defensive outfielder to boot. The only worry? A career high in strikeouts and a career low in stolen bases last season.

#2: Chone Figgins (S), third base. The Chone Figgins second base experiment was a dismal failure last season. Not only did his defense plummet after a move away from the hot corner but Figgins endured a miserable start to his Mariners career following a big free agent move from Los Angeles. Figgins probably won’t be quite as bad as last season, and if he can get anywhere close to his form with the Angels he’ll be a key piece of the puzzle as the Mariners #2 hitter.

#3: Milton Bradley (S), left field. Prior to joining the Mariners, Milton Bradley had been an injury-plagued, trouble soul who could hit the living tar out of the baseball whenever he was mentally and physically fit to play. After joining the Mariners, he lost a lot of the volatility, but he also lost most of his ability to actually play as well, leading to him being a major dispointment in 2010. Now the combative Bradley is back in action, and after an exceptional spring training there’s some hope that he may come good in Seattle.

#4: Jack Cust (L), designated hitter. Oakland are very familiar with Jack Cust, having used him as their primary DH for parts of the last four seasons, eventually joining Seattle on a one-year deal in December. Cust is a high strikeout, high on-base hitter whose power mysteriously evorated after 2008. Don’t expect him to be a thirty home run threat anymore, but he should be able to keep the offense ticking by working walk after walk after walk – and that’s behind two other base on balls machines in Bradley and Figgins.

#5: Justin Smoak (S), first base. The major prize in the Cliff Lee trade last July, Justin Smoak endured a fairly miserable start to his Seattle career and ended up being demoted to AAA for fifteen games. He came back strongly in September, however, and carried a ten-game hitting streak into the offseason. Now he’s being thrown straight back into the fire – this season Smoak is being expected to show that he can indeed help anchor the Mariners attack.

#6: Miguel Olivo (R), catcher. Swing first, ask questions later. This is Olivo’s second stint in the northwest, and it would be fair to call the first a dismal failure. After leaving the Mariners in 2005 to general rejoicing, the erratic catcher has actually blossomed into a pretty good hitter, although his defending has parently gotten even worse. The ok results won’t make his at-bats any less painful to watch, but at least he carries a double-digit home run threat.

#7: Ryan Langerhans (L), center fielder. Deputizing for Franklin Gutierrez is the ever-reliable Ryan Langerhans. While he doesn’t actually hit the ball that often, the fourth outfielder packs plenty of pop and can take a walk or two as well. He’s also a fine defender – the Mariners shouldn’t miss Gutierrez too much with Langerhans temporarily in the outfield, and as long as you don’t expect heroics with the bat… well, he still won’t hit that well. But that’s life.

#8: Brendan Ryan (R), shortstop. Although there’s some promise at the top of the order, having a career .259/.314/.344 hitter in the lineup who isn’t batting ninth is somewhat indicative of the state of the Mariners offense. Ryan, 29, came over from the St. Louis Cardinals in an offseason trade, and batting isn’t exactly his specialty. He’s on the team for his glove, so expect top-tier defending up the middle and if he gets a hit every now and then, great.

#9: Jack Wilson (R), second base. Although nominally a shortstop (and a very good one), Wilson was moved to second base to accommodate Ryan. Massively unreliable but still a decent player when he’s in the lineup, most of his value is tied to his defending. Gold-glove caliber shortstops tend to work just fine at second base, so we should be more worried about his bat, which makes Mariners fans pine for Ronny Cedeno.

All in all, the Mariners could be terrible but there’s some room for upside in that lineup. When Franklin Gutierrez returns from his stomach problem he’ll add another league average hitter to the fold, and the potential of top prospect Dustin Ackley replacing Wilson at second base midway through the season is fairly exciting too. The keys, though, are the switch hitters – Figgins and Bradley can bounce back to form and Justin Smoak catches fire, the Mariners will score plenty of runs. If they don’t, you get last season all over again.

SEATTLE ()—The Seattle Mariners have finalized their opening day roster by adding infielder Luis Rodriguez(notes) and outfielder Ryan Langerhans(notes) to the 25-man roster.

Seattle made the moves late Wednesday night after its final exhibition game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mariners open the season Friday night at Oakland.

The Mariners also placed starting center fielder Franklin Gutierrez(notes) on the 15-day disabled list with stomach gastritis. He’s joined on the 15-day DL by closer David Aardsma(notes), who continues to recover from hip surgery, and infielder Matt Mangini(notes), who has a strained right quad. All three moves were retroactive to March 22.

Seattle placed left-hander Mauricio Robles and right-hander Shawn Kelley(notes) on the 60-day DL. Each will be eligible to return on May 30.

The accepted theory in baseball is that the best hitter on a team should bat third, which may help explain why the Seattle Mariners had the worst offense in the game last season, and the worst offense in the American League since the advent of the designated hitter.

Over 162 games, the Mariners used Milton Bradley, Russell Branyan, Franklin Gutierrez, Casey Kotchman, Jose Lopez and Mike Sweeney in the third spot in their lineup.

Combined, they batted .227 when hitting third.

Since the end of the 2010 season, general manager Jack Zduriencik has replaced his fill-in manager and most of the coaching staff, signed a starting catcher, brought in a designated hitter and acquired a starting shortstop.

When the 2011 season opens Friday in Oakland, the No. 3 hitter in manager Eric Wedge’s lineup will be … Bradley.

“Milton is in the middle of our lineup and one of our best hitters,” Wedge said. “We need him to go out there and perform.”

Can Bradley be a productive No. 3 hitter?

In his best season, he hit 22 home runs and had 77 RBI, and that was three years ago with Texas. Last season, he played 73 games and batted .205.

Coming out of spring training, it’s hard to argue that Bradley shouldn’t hit third for Seattle, or that the Mariners’ offense won’t be improved.

“We have to be better,” pitcher Felix Hernandez joked. “If we’re worse, we don’t belong in the big leagues.”

A year ago, the Mariners scored 513 runs – 100 fewer than the next lowest total in the American League. Put another way, in the AL West the Rangers scored 787 runs, the Angels 681 and the Athletics 663.

How can the Mariners make up that kind of difference?

“By doing our jobs,” infielder Chone Figgins said. “You know Ichiro is going to get on base, and my goal in every game I play is to do something explosive to help the team win. I want opposing teams thinking about what crazy thing I might do.

“I might bunt. I might steal a base. I might go first to third on a single to left field. I know this, there won’t be many games this season where Ichiro and I aren’t in scoring position. That’s our job.”

Wedge likes the Ichiro-Figgins look atop his lineup, but wants to do more than have them in scoring position for the heart of the order. Wedge wants the bottom of his lineup – Michael Saunders, Brendan Ryan and Jack Wilson – to help set the table.

“I want to do a better job at the bottom of the order so we can have more people on base for Ichi and Figgy,” Wedge said. “They hit, and if we have runners on base ahead of them, we have the chance to score more runs.”

Can these Mariners score enough runs to turn some of their 28 one-run losses into more than 21 one-run wins?

There are obvious obstacles.

Not only have the Mariners been without a 100-RBI hitter the past two years – Franklin Gutierrez led them last season with 64 – the team doesn’t have a hitter on its roster who has ever driven in 100 runs.

The heart of the order, Bradley, Jack Cust and Justin Smoak, is at best a high-risk group.

Bradley hasn’t played as many as 130 games in a season since 2004. Cust has struck out 732 times in 1,882 big-league at-bats. Smoak has played all of 100 games in the majors, and batted .218 with 13 home runs.

Clearly, the offense remains the biggest challenge.

“I love the effort, the attitude, the proach, the work ethic,” Wedge said. “You’ll see these kids go out and compete from pitch one to the end. We’ll play it all the way through.”

The manager won’t wait for the three-run home run.

“We’ll take some risks, some chances,” Wedge said. “When you push the game, you’re going to have to take some calculated risks. It’s not going to always work. But you evaluate the risk-reward and make your decisions.”

There are some players on the team – Smoak, Adam Moore, Saunders – still learning the game, with more of their kind expected to join the team this season.

“We’ll be a smarter offensive club,” Wedge said. “You’ll see more quality at-bats. But you’ll also see some young outs, some young games offensively. We’ll learn from it. We’ll get better from it.

“Having a better understanding of what is a good at-bat, what is a good out, what we’re trying to accomplish up there, how to put an inning together. That’s what these kids are learning.

“It’s a lot deeper than just getting the runner over or in or some of these things,” Wedge said. “It’s leading off an inning or understanding who is behind you or what the pitcher is doing or what we’re doing, who is on the mound for us, what type of last half inning we’ve had.

“It takes time to have a good feel for that.”

Wedge and his coaches have been talking to players all spring about those kinds of situations. Players on the team last season are listening.

“Eric tells you what he expects, and if you don’t do it, he’ll find someone who will,” Bradley said. “He doesn’t ask for what you can’t do, he wants you to play the game the right way. He demands that.”

Added Moore: “He wants a good at-bat. You’re going to make outs, but there are ways to help the team even with outs. Make the pitcher work hard, let your teammates see everything he throws.

“With a man at third base, less than two outs, don’t pull the ball to third base … ”

Basics. Fundamentals. Nothing former manager Don Wakamatsu and his staff didn’t cover last spring, but Wedge’s proach differs significantly.

He’s carrying a stick.

“When he says everyone is accountable, he means it,” Jack Wilson said.

Given that the team Seattle has on opening day could change significantly as the season wears on, would it be fair to call the Mariners a work in progress?

“Yeah. I think with the team we’re opening with … well, I think ‘work in progress’ comes off wrong,” Wedge said. “I wouldn’t want you to put that in print. We’re going to be building from day one. There’s an argument that you’re always a work in progress because you’re always looking to get better. I think people misconstrue ‘work in progress’ because it’s like, ‘Oh, geez, we’re a bad team.’

“That’s not what we’re saying. What we’re saying is we’re going to find out where we are at some point early on, and we know we’ll continue to get better from there because we’ll have more information in making decisions.”

With so much uncertainty, why not start the season with all the prospects in the Seattle system and see who’s ready and who’s not?

“It’s just not that easy,” Wedge said. “One, this is not a rebuild so you’re not just going to go all young. Two, you’re looking to go out there and compete and win as many games as you can. That’s real. It is the big leagues and it’s all about winning.

“And three, if you want these young kids to develop as quickly as possible, you need that veteran presence, you need that experience around them. That shortens up that learning curve.”

Given the mix of veterans and youngsters on this staff, the Mariners have almost universally been picked to finish last in their division – and in their league.

“I don’t think about that. I haven’t read or seen anything,” Wedge said. “I haven’t seen one preseason report or one preseason magazine or newsper. I have a pretty good idea what they think of us, but I haven’t read on it. Nor do I care.

“I’m not sure how it’s going to play out. We have to get into the season. But whatever hpens, we’ll adjust and get better. You’ll see the team evolve. There’ll be points … where it’s a step back for two steps forward. But we’re always going to continue to move forward.”

larry.larue@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners

Avg: .315R: 74Hr: 6Rbi: 43 Obp: .359 Slg: .394

Age: 37Ht: 5-11Wt: 172

Because of offense’s woes, hasn’t scored 100 runs since 2008.

Avg: .259R: 62Hr: 1Rbi: 35Obp: .340Slg: .306

Age: 33Ht: 5-8Wt: 180

Career .287 hitter moves back to third for second Mariners season.

Avg: .205R: 28Hr: 8Rbi: 29Obp: .292Slg: .348

Age: 32Ht: 6-0Wt: 215

Year 2 in Seattle can’t be worse than Year 1, right?

*avg: .272R: 50Hr: 13Rbi: 52Obp: .395Slg: .438

Age: 32Ht: 6-1Wt: 235

Will draw walks, will strike out, but will power translate to Safeco?

Avg: .218R: 40Hr: 13Rbi: 48Obp: .307Slg: .371

Age: 24Ht: 6-4Wt: 230

No pressure; just make fans forget about Cliff Lee.

**avg: .269R: 55Hr: 14Rbi: 58Obp: .315Slg: .449

Age: 32Ht: 6-0Wt: 230

Just to jog your memory: Hit .176 in first Mariners go-round (2004-05).

Avg: .211R: 29Hr: 10Rbi: 33Obp: .295Slg: .367

Age: 24Ht: 6-4Wt: 225

Likely wouldn’t have made roster if not for Franklin Gutierrez’s illness.

***avg: .223R: 50Hr: 2Rbi: 36Obp: .270Slg: .294

Age: 29Ht: 6-2Wt: 195

Posted career-lows in AVG, OBP last season … but is good with his glove!

Avg: .249R: 17Hr: 0Rbi: 14Obp: .282Slg: .316

Age: 33Ht: 6-0Wt: 190

Hoping move to second revives injury-prone legs and struggling bat.

All 2010 stats * – With Oakland ** – With Colorado *** – With St. Louis

The mere fact that Erik Bedard was able to get through spring training healthy was a victory in itself for the Seattle Mariners’ injury-plagued left-hander.

So, it didn’t matter much to him what his pitching line was Wednesday night in an 8-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Bedard gave up five runs and six hits over four innings, finishing his spring slate 3-1 in six starts with a 3.15 ERA. The No. 4 starter in the rotation is scheduled to make his season debut Monday night at Texas — his first pearance in a regular-season game since July 25, 2009.

“I’m just hpy that I’m healthy,” Bedard said. “That’s the main thing. It’s been a long couple of years. I worked hard in the offseason to get where I’m at, and it paid off. Here I am.”

Rubby De La Rosa allowed two hits over 5 2-3 scoreless innings, Corey Smith hit a three-run homer and Marcus Thames had a solo shot for the Dodgers in the final exhibition game for both teams.

After the game, De La Rosa was reassigned to the Dodgers’ minor league camp in Arizona, and is likely to go to Double-A Chattanooga.

Bedard missed the entire 2010 seasons because of two shoulder surgeries — the first on Aug. 14, 2009, to repair a torn labrum and the other last Aug. 6 to have bone spurs removed.

“I feel fine,” he said. “Tonight, I was throwing strikes and they hit them. It doesn’t really count, so you erase that and start over when I get my first start.”

He signed a one-year contract in December as a free agent, a month after the Mariners declined to exercise his $8 million option and opted to pay him a $250,000 buyout.

“Obviously, he’s had some recent history with his arm and whatnot,” Mariners manager Eric Wedge said. “So for him to just go out there and throw free and easy and pitch like he has all spring has been fun to watch and I think he’s really enjoyed it.

“He’s one of our five guys that you start everything with, and he’s earned it,” Wedge added. “We wanted to keep him right about 70-75 pitches tonight and he threw 73. We wanted to pull back a few of these guys in their last start, and that’s what we did with him. He’s had a fantastic spring and now it’s time to go.”

The Dodgers, 80-82 last season after reaching the NL championship series the previous two years under former manager Joe Torre, open the season Thursday at home against the World Series champion Giants with Don Mattingly at the helm in his official managerial debut. Clayton Kershaw gets the start against two-time NL Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum.

“I really don’t have any complaints with the way camp went and the effort that these guys have given us,” Mattingly said. “Spring training is about preparation. Now we’ve got to go play. Either your horses are going to run, or they’re not.”

De La Rosa struck out six and walked none, finishing the spring 1-2 with a 2.29 ERA in six pearances and three starts. In his previous start on March 18, he pitched four hitless innings against San Francisco.

The 22-year-old right-hander, whose first name is pronounced ‘Ruby,’ was the Dodgers’ minor league pitcher of the year last season and shared the organization’s annual Jim and Dearie Mulvey Award this spring with outfielder Jerry Sands as the top rookies in camp.

“He’s been lightening. He’s fun to watch,” Mattingly said of De La Rosa. “Every time he pitches, you kind of go, ‘Wow, I’m looking forward to this. Rubby’s had a great camp. We heard about him in the winter, seen him in the winter development program here at the stadium, and all spring he’s been good. Obviously, there’s progress to be made with him and he keeps getting better.”

The Mariners, who lost 101 games last season and scored a major league-worst 513 runs, open at Oakland on Friday night with reigning AL Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez making his fourth career opening day start against Trevor Cahill.

The Dodgers finished spring training 14-21-1. The Mariners were 16-13-2, the first time they’ve had a winning preseason record since 2004.

Notes: Mariners LF Milton Bradley finished the spring with one homer, 14 RBIs and a .318 average in 17 games. Sunday marks the 11th anniversary of the trade that sent Bradley to the Dodgers from Cleveland, where he also played for Wedge. The Dodgers ended up trading Bradley to Oakland in December 2005 for a minor league prospect named Andre Ethier. … Twelve-year veteran INF Adam Kennedy, who signed a minor-league deal with the Mariners on Jan. 10, had his contract selected by the team from Triple-A Tacoma and was added to the 40-man roster along with RHP Jamey Wright and RHP Chris Ray. Kennedy, 35, is playing for his fifth big league team after spending last season with the Washington Nationals. … Wright pitched 12 innings in 11 pearances this spring without giving up a run.

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Read more: Colorado Rockies, Seattle Mariners, Mariners Beat Rockies, Ryan Langerhans, Jack Cust, Pro, MLB

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. () — Ryan Langerhans delivered a bases-loaded triple, Jack Cust hit a two-run homer and the Seattle Mariners ended their stay in Arizona with a 7-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday.

Miguel Olivo added two hits for the Mariners, who play a final exhibition game at Dodger Stadium before opening the season in Oakland on Friday.

Doug Fister pitched four scoreless innings for Seattle, giving up two hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run homer for the Rockies, who play in Tulsa before returning home for the season opener.

Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin yielded four runs and five hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out six.

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