They have gotten along well all season, two veteran middle infielders who have shared second base – and the bench – for the Seattle Mariners.

Then Jack Wilson put on the catching gear Tuesday, got into the batting cage about 3:10 p.m., and Adam Kennedy noticed. Wilson took mock pitches and threw to second base.

“I was impressed; the throws were pretty good,” backup catcher Chris Gimenez said. “Maybe I should worry about my job.”

Wilson insisted it was just for fun, that he was burning off excess energy since he wasn’t starting.

He has caught, he said, in offseason camp games – strictly for fun. Could he catch for the Mariners in an emergency?

“They wouldn’t want me to,” he said. “I’d call all fastballs – straight fastballs, no movement.”

Thirty minutes later, out in the dugout, infielder/designated hitter/emergency third-string catcher Kennedy was asked about Wilson’s workout.

“That’s the thing that’s going to drive the wedge between us,” Kennedy deadpanned.

Kennedy got the title of third-string catcher – he’s never caught an inning – this spring, when manager Eric Wedge asked for a volunteer and no one responded until Kennedy raised his hand. Kennedy hasn’t had to put on the gear yet.

Still, he said, Wilson’s blatant campaign for his job created an instant feud. “We’re done,” Kennedy said. “That was the last straw.”

Yes, he was joking. Either man would catch if Wedge asked. Neither wants to be asked.

WALK THIS WAY

The bases-loaded walk is becoming a major weon in Seattle’s arsenal this season, and an offensively challenged team has already picked up 11 runs with it.

Jack Cust has drawn five of those bases-loaded walks, accounting for nearly one-third of his 17 RBI.

Six Mariners have walked with the bases loaded, and the team total of 11 already pushes the 2011 Mariners to the eighth-best season in the franchise.

Aside from Cust, who has walked with the bases loaded? Luis Rodriguez, Milton Bradley, Kennedy, Miguel Olivo and Justin Smoak.

SHORT HOPS

Catcher Olivo returned to the lineup two days after banging his head during a head-first slide into first base. “I’m fine,” he said, lightly touching the scres on his face. “(Monday) I had a pretty good headache, but I could have played.” … Brendan Ryan began the game with a career-high 10-game hitting streak – the first double-digit streak by a Seattle shortstop since Yuniesky Betancourt had a 20-game streak in 2007. … The team hasn’t said precisely what Jeff Gray’s role is in the bullpen, but he’s made two pearances since May 14. In the first, he pitched two-thirds of an inning. In his second, on Monday, he worked a career-high four innings. … Former Mariner Adam Jones started for Baltimore after skipping a start with a sore right arm. Jones, a Gold Glove outfielder, is batting .283 with six home runs and 29 RBI. Only one Mariner (Kennedy) is batting as high as .283, only one has more home runs (Smoak with seven) and no Mariner has as many as 29 RBI heading into Tuesday’s game.

ON T

Seattle concludes this series with Baltimore with a 12:40 p.m. game that will be televised on Root Sports. Probable starting pitchers: Baltimore’s Brian Matusz (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (6-2, 2.42).

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

A year ago, the Seattle Mariners were a trendy pick to topple the Angels from their perch atop the AL West.

Well, those prognosticators were half-right. The Angels did topple but the Mariners had nothing to do with it. Their off-season acquisitions of Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins and Milton Bradley only produced a dysfunctional mess, an epically-bad offense and Seattle’s second 100-loss season in the past three years.

Things don’t look much better this year and the Angels will be hpy to take advantage – they have abused no opponent worse than they’ve abused the Mariners in recent years. The Angels tied a club record for wins against an opponent in a single season by going 15-4 against the Mariners last season (8-2 in Anaheim, 7-2 in Seattle) and scored 100 runs in those 19 games (their highest total against any opponent last season). Since 2007, the Angels have more wins (52) against the Mariners than any other opponent.

SEATTLE (CBS) – The notorious Milton Bradley officially has been released from the Seattle Mariners.

The final move comes about a week after Bradley was designated for assignment. That left the Mariners with three options – releasing Bradley, trading him within 10 days, or sending him to the minors. The team chose option 1.

Bradley played for the Cubs for one season in 2009, during which his performance was dispointing –with only a .257 batting average, 12 home runs and 40 RBI. He also quickly developed a reputation as a head case and a troublemaker both on and off the field.

He angered fans with repeated lses in right field and comments critical of the fans and the team.

He was suspended on Sept. 20, 2009, for the remainder of the season after criticizing the team in an interview with the media. A day earlier, Bradley had said in a newsper interview that he saw why the Cubs’ organization hadn’t won in 100 years and that the team didn’t have a “positive environment.”

In August 2009, Bradley called out Cubs fans, suggesting they are racially abusive and that he faced hatred on a daily basis. Bradley never cited any specific taunts, nor did he come outright and call Cubs fans racist.

Bradley ologized for his behavior three days after he was suspended, but it proved too little too late. Although signing Bradley was a top priority for the Cubs in the 2008-2009 offseason, trading him to another team was a top priority less than a year later.

In December 2009, they did just that. The Cubs acquired right-handed pitcher Carlos Silva, and off to Seattle Bradley went.

Things didn’t improve for Bradley after that. In January of this year, he was arrested in Los Angeles on a domestic violence allegation, and he was also accused of making terrorist threats after a woman called the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Valley Station.

Bradley’s wife also filed for divorce against him earlier this year. RadarOnline.com reported in March that Monique Bradley said she filed a restraining order against her husband, after he hurled a glass that shattered on her head while they were in New York for New Year’s Eve.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The contributed to this report.)

SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners on Monday released Milton Bradley, ending the struggling outfielder’s brief and tumultuous tenure with the team.

The Mariners had designated Bradley for assignment on May 9, giving them 10 days to trade, release or send him to the minors. The 33-year-old Bradley had been making $13 million this season.

Bradley hit .218 with two homers and 13 RBI in 28 games this season. He was suspended for one game in early May for bumping an umpire, ejected May 6 for arguing a called third strike and booed by home fans at one point for the perception he was dogging on defense.

Bradley came to Seattle on Dec. 18, 2009, from the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Carlos Silva. Bradley publicly blamed Chicago’s fans and media for running him out of town.

Outfielder Milton Bradley’s days with the Seattle Mariners are over, the American League club said Monday. UPI/Jim Bryant 

SEATTLE, May 16 (UPI) — Outfielder Milton Bradley’s days with the Seattle Mariners are over, the American League club said Monday.

The Mariners put Bradley, 33, on irrevocable waivers for the purpose of granting him his unconditional release. He had been designated for assignment May 9.

Bradley hit .218 with two homers and 13 RBI in 28 games this season after a paltry .205 with eight homers and 29 RBI in 73 games last year.

Bradley arrived in Seattle in a December 2009 trade with the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Carlos Silva, who is now in the minor leagues after one season in Chicago.

Bradley reached the majors in 2000 with Montreal. He is a career .271 hitter with 125 home runs and 481 RBI in 1,042 games with eight teams.

SEATTLE ()—The Seattle Mariners on Monday released Milton Bradley(notes),
ending the struggling outfielder’s brief and tumultuous tenure with the team.

The Mariners had designated Bradley for assignment on May 9, giving them 10
days to trade, release or send him to the minors. The 33-year-old Bradley had
been making $13 million this season.

Bradley hit .218 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 28 games this season. He was
suspended for one game in early May for bumping an umpire, ejected May 6 for
arguing a called third strike and booed by home fans at one point for the
perception he was dogging on defense.

Bradley came to Seattle on Dec. 18, 2009, from the Chicago Cubs for pitcher
Carlos Silva(notes). Bradley publicly blamed Chicago’s fans and media for running him
out of town.