PEORIA, Ariz. – A day after saying he was getting better, left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo was released by the Seattle Mariners, who simply didn’t see improvement from his first game to his last.
Kuo, a 30-year-old who had been a 2010 All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers, floundered all spring with the Mariners, compiling a 17.57 earned run average that included five home runs allowed in 6 innings.
Kuo’s release cut the team’s 40-man roster to 39, making room for one of several nonroster invitees likely to make the team – including such candidates as pitchers Erasmo Ramirez and Kevin Millwood and infielder Munenori Kawasaki.
The Mariners must decide Wednesday on the 30 players they plan to take to Jan a day later, and there are now 39 players in camp.
That includes four left-handed relievers: Charlie Furbush, George Sherrill, Cesar Jimenez and Lucas Luetge, a Rule 5 draftee in December from Milwaukee.
GETTIN’ TO KNOW NOESI
The day he arrived in camp – Feb. 11 – pitcher Hector Noesi knew only one Mariners player, catcher Jesus Montero.
That was because they’d both been with the New York Yankees last year.
“I know everybody on the team now,” Noesi said Monday. “I’m very comfortable with these guys; they’re all good people. If I make this team I say, ‘Thank God.’ ”
Noesi figures to make this team as a right-handed starting pitcher who has pitched well, a 25-year-old with 30 big-league pearances on his résumé.
“One of the first guys I wanted to get to know was Miguel Olivo, because he lives in the same area of the Dominican (Republic) that I do,” Noesi said. “He has helped me a lot this spring.”
Does Noesi think he’s earned a spot on the roster?
“No one has told me anything, so I don’t know,” he said. “Whatever hpens, I’m hpy to be in the organization.”
Now that’s international diplomacy.
CAN’T WIN ’EM ALL
On a blustery day in Peoria, the baseball was flying – and while Ichiro Suzuki, Montero and Kyle Seager all homered for the Mariners, it wasn’t nearly enough in Seattle’s 12-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
Jason Vargas, who’d had such a strong spring coming into this final start was banged around for seven runs in 2/3 of an inning. His next pearance will be March 29 – in the second game of the 2012 season.
Ichiro hit his first home run of the spring, Montero his second and, for the second day in a row, Seager hit his third. Rain stopped Sunday’s game after four-innings.
SHORT HOPS
In an effort to get everyone work, Kevin Millwood will start today’s game against Cincinnati, and Hisashi Iwakuma will relieve him. The final game before departure for Jan is Wednesday – and Felix Hernandez will start that one. … With Sunday’s game shortened by bad weather, relievers Tom Wilhelmsen, George Sherrill and Brandon League pitched in a minor league game Monday to get their work in. League allowed two unearned runs, Sherrill and Wilhelmsen threw shutout innings. … If you’ve got HBO, you might want to watch Bryant Gumbel’s Real Sports tonight. It has a feature on Mariners reliever Steve Delabar. … Dustin Ackley, with six doubles and two triples, shares the Cactus League lead in both categories. … Brendan Ryan, returning after missing three games with a tight quad, had a pair of hits. … Today, League, Erasmo Ramirez and Rule 5 left-hander Lucas Luetge will pitch in a minor league game.
ON T
Seattle visits Cincinnati today for a 1 p.m. game that will be broadcast on 710-AM – delayed until 7 p.m. Probable starting pitchers: Seattle’s Millwood vs. Johnny Cueto.
larry.larue@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners/
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