Well, the skipper is not happy. Not happy with the base running Thursday, not happy with the offense Friday and not happy with the pitching Saturday. After today’s game he sounded like he was waiting for someone to step it up in the bullpen. When I asked if there are positions to be won he said absolutely. I figure that with injury issues what they are right now he will be more comfortable carrying an extra pitcher at the start of the season. As for those injuries, Morrow is throwing but they don’t know if they will be able to throw him back to back before the season begins. Arthur with another scoreless inning is making the bullpen race interesting. Reitsma gave up a run today but is intriguing. Both he and Lowe have looked good, but not quite 100%. Close, but not quite there and no need to rush either.

As for the bench, although Mac says it is wide open, he seems to favor the speed Jimerson brings over the bat Morse has shown. Balentien has looked good but I have to wonder if he is someone they would rather have playing every day in AAA. Norton’s bat has heated up and he appears to be another player that Mac favors. He has said a few times that bench construction is what is most important. This to me this translates as, we might not get what we think we will on the bench when all is said and done. Add to this the teams history of bringing on a player from outside the organization at the end of spring training, what you get right now is a roster jumble. Too hard to predict who will win the final spots.

A bunch of guys assured of roster spots were in action on the lower fields today in an intersquad minor league game. I have to say, the fans who were here the last couple of days were treated to some great scenes. On Friday, at the tail end of batting practice according to my mom (and confirmed by Bone) Jay Buhner stepped into the hitting cage and took a round. He reportedly hit a couple out to the delight of the crowd at field 1.

Today there was a bit of a buzz as the fans in Peoria were treated to a very close viewing of a handful of Mariners stars. Felix Hernandez, JJ Putz, Kenji Johjima and Willie Bloomquist all played in the minor league intersquad game. These games are cool in that you will never get a closer seat to the action and you see things you will never see anywhere else.

JJ started for one team, Felix the other. Both were caught by Johjima who was behind the plate for 22 straight batters before JJ finished which enabled him to finally sit out a half inning. This outing incidentally, was the first time this spring Joh caught Felix.

While Joh caught for both teams, Willie hit for both as he is coming off the quad injury. Willie hit, but did not run. Instead, when he reached first base he was given a pinch runner to save his legs. I am pretty sure I have never seen Willie lifted for a runner before.

Willie also had the pleasure of facing good friend JJ Putz. This was pure entertainment. JJ started off the game by surrendering a home run to Josh Womack. As the ball flew over the fence Willie could be heard yelling “Number 1 closer in fantasy baseball, my ***!” Might not have been the smartest thing to do because JJ had his game face on. When Willie stepped to the plate in the next inning, he actually hung in there, working the count to 3-2. He then swung at a filthy splitter and was laughing and shaking his head as he walked back to the dugout. JJ didn’t say anything, but Mac wore out Willie on the walk back. It was all in good fun, but no doubt, it is never fun to step in against one of the best closers in baseball.

That same inning featured 5 outs. No, nothing strange happened, they just kept sending hitters up until JJ got up to his pitch count of 50. You could see JJ laboring a bit in that inning but four of the five outs were strikeouts.

Felix threw 97 pitches, and again, did not throw a lot of breaking balls. He started out strong but gave up 4 runs in the fifth including an opposite field home run by Bryan LaHair. He threw 29 pitches that inning but needed just 13 to close out the sixth. Tomorrow Carlos Silva will pitch in a minor league game as the M’s prefer to keep their starters away from division foes as the regular season approaches.

Okay, on to the story. A bunch of you have reminded me to tell you my favorite Ben Davis story so here goes.

Ben is a great guy and was one of my favorites the two years he was with the Mariners. I actually first encountered Ben before I worked for KOMO. It happened one Mothers Day when I was at church with my family. My brother whispered to me “Hey, isn’t that Ben Davis back there?” I turned around and sure enough, there was Big Ben dressed in a suit in one of the last rows. I thought to myself, “Wouldn’t his mom be proud getting all dressed up and getting himself to church on Mothers Day?” I would later realize that he was wearing a suit because it was getaway day and jackets were required on the plane.

Jump ahead a year and I am now covering the team for KOMO. In getting to know Ben a bit I find that in addition to going to the same church we had something else in common. We both have quite a bit of Irish in our families. Ben is very passionate about this and has visited relatives in Ireland. He pays tribute to his Irish heritage with Celtic armbands and a family crest tattooed on his back and arms. Like any good Irishman, Ben also appreciated his Guinness and his Jameson Whiskey.

That year (2003) we were in San Francisco on Easter Sunday. I had found a church close to our hotel that had a service that was early enough for me to make it to Oakland for the day game. When the elevator arrived at my floor that morning the doors opened and who was there but Ben and his fiancée Megan. “You going to church Shannon? Well then you are coming with us.” We walked the couple of blocks to the small Cathedral where we saw a couple of teammates and other members of the traveling party. The service ended at about 9:30 and we headed out. Ben insisted that we exit through the middle aisle so we could shake the Fathers hand. He thanked the Father for the Mass and then started to head out to the left. The hotel was to the right.

“Ben, you are going the wrong way!” I said. Megan looked at him and rolled her eyes. “Tell her,” she laughed. Ben got a very sheepish look on his face and said, “I have a stop to make on the way back. I gave up the Jameson for Lent.” Only Ben would give up Irish whiskey for Lent. I found it charming.

Later that day, after the game as I was settling into my seat on the plane when all of a sudden over my shoulder there appeared a glass with a shot of whiskey in it. “To Ireland and Easter Shannon,” said Ben with a smile.