White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen sure stirred up a hornet’s nest a few days ago when he promised to retaliate when his hitters get plunked by pitches.

That Ozzie is such a character.

But his comments will be one of the sidelights to the three-game series between the Mariners and White Sox, which begins tonight at Safeco Field.

The Sox have been hit 44 times by pitches this season, compared to 29 HBPs for the Mariners. That would suggest that either the White Sox hit a lot more home runs than the Mariners, which they do — 135-105 — or the Mariners are quicker in the batter’s box and can elude body-seeking pitches.

I think it’s probably a combo of both.

The Sox, by the way, rank third in the AL behind the Indians (65) and Red Sox (47).

Individually, Carlos Quentin is tops on the Chicago team with nine HBPs and Paul Konerko is second with eight.

For the Mariners, Russell Branyan leads with way with nine HBPs, but I have yet to here either him, or manager Don Wakamatsu, complain about it.

Anyway, it’s down the elevator shaft and into the clubhouse to check out the lineup and other tidbits.

Here are tonight’s lineups:

White Sox

Scott Podsednik, CF

Gordon Becham, 3B

Jermaine Dye, RF

JIm Thome, DH

Paul Konerko, 1B

Carlos Quentin, LF

Alexei Ramirez, SS

Jayson Nix, 2B

Ramon Castro, C

 

Mariners

Ichiro, RF

Franklin Gutierrez, CF

Jose Lopez, 2B

Ken Griffey Jr., DH

Adrian Beltre, 3B

Russell Branyan, 1B

Jack Wilson, SS

Kenji Johjima, C

Michael Saunders, LF

— Jim Street

The economy and demise of newspapers around the country has claimed another victim.

This time, Hall of Fame  baseball writer Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News is retiring “early”  because his employer informed him that the paper would not be covering the Reds on the road beginning next season. Too expensive. So Hal, inducted into the Hall of Fame seven years ago, decided that this will be his final year on the beat.

“The hammer fell today,” he wrote, “and it hurts like hell. My run is over– 37 years of bliss, doing a job that wan’t a job. It was pure joy and fun.”

I’m not the only one feeling bummed about the news.

Ken Griffey Jr. heard about it prior to Thursday’s game against the Royals. “It wasn’t  voluntary, and that’s too bad,” said Griffey, who lists McCoy on his short list of good writers, good person, an oxymoron in far too many cases these days of blogs, twitters and what have you.

McCoy, 68, came from the old school of journalism, where “Me, myself and I” were words never used. Nowadays, far more than a Baker’s dozen disguised as baseball reporters use the word “I” more times than they use the word “and”. Arghhhh!!

McCoy covered Junior for nearly 10 years with the Reds, and before that his father, Ken Griffey Sr. during the Big Red Machine era during the 1970s.

When it was announced at the Baseball Winter Meetings in December 2001 that McCoy had been selected as the winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award and would be inducted into the Hall of Fame the following July, the first congratulatory phone call he received was from Junior. That  call probably meant as much to McCoy as the honor itself. If not, why would he call me over to his working space in the press room at the hotel and say, “You’ll never guess who just called me.”

Griffey must have some kind of speed-dial on his phone.

About one year after his induction, McCoy had a stroke that left him legally blind. But, with his newspaper’s assistance, he hasn’t missed a beat since.

Anyway, from one old codger to another, here’s a high-five to one of the best baseball writers of all-time. Salute.

— Jim Street

From Unsung Hero one year to Unemployed the next.

That’s the case for right-hander reliever Roy Corcoran, who was designated for assignment 10 days ago and cleared waivers on Monday. But, according to the Everett Herald’s Kirby Arnold, Corcoran refused an assignment to Triple-A Tacoma and is now a free agent.

Corcoraan was one of the few feel-good stories during last season’s 101-loss season, when he appeared in 50 games and posted a 6-2 record and 3.22 ERA, He was a hoot to be around, a colorful character for sure.

An injury this spring prevented the popular Corcoran from returning to his ’08 form and he spent more time in the Minors in the Majors.

In somewhat of a surprise, the Mariners just announced that infielder Chris Woodward was designated for assignment, a move that cleared a roster spot for third baseman Adrian Beltre — who was activated off the 15-day disabled list.

The starting lineups have been posted:

Mariners

Ichiro, RF

Russell  Branyan, 1B

Jose Lopez, 2B

Ken Griffey Jr., DH

Adrian Beltre, 3B

Franklin Gutierrez, CF

Kenji Johjima, C

Jack Wilson, SS

Michael Saunders, LF

Royals:

David DeJesus, LF

Willie Bloomquist, CF

Billy Butler, 1B

Mark Teahen, RF

Alberto Callaspo, 2B

Brian Pena, C

Miguel Olivo, DH

Alex Gordon, 3B

Yuniesky Betancourt, SS

— Jim Street

The news coming out of Tacoma last night was good, to say the least. Right-hander Brandon Morrow finally won his first game of the season — at any level — and third baseman Matt Tuiasosopo continues to improve after missing most of the season because of elbow surgery.

In my opinion, these two guys are important to the future success of the Mariners.

Morrow has gone back-and-forth between starting and relieving so many times that it’s no wonder he has struggled and messed with the “belief system” manager Don Wakamatsu believes in so much. Perhaps last night’s game against Fresno will be the first big step in Morrow’s comeback.

Morrow held the Grizzlies to two runs over seven innings, struck out eight and walked one. He changed speeds and used his slider to complement his fastball. In a word, he “pitched”.

There is little doubt that Morrow has the arsenal to be a successful starter for the Mariners down the road, as long as the organization makes a decision to put him a starting role and keep him there. The Yankees’ Joba Chamberlain has developed into one of the team’s top starters this season after being moved from the ‘pen to a starting role last season. Just as Morrow, Chamberlain needed time to make the adjustment.

Morrow threw 89 pitches during the seven-inning stint and almost half of them were something other than his high-powered fastball.

Meanwnhile, Tuiasosopo has turned things around. After enduring a 1-for-27 skid from July 25 through August 1,the third baseman is 7-for-10 with two home runs and seven RBIs in his last three games.

He still has played only 26 games this season, which has stunted his growth into becoming a Major League third baseman.

In an unrelated matter, the Mariners open a three-game series against the Royals tonight and, among other things, it will be a chance to see shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt for the first time since being traded to Kaycee. He has struggled even more for the Royals than he did with the Mariners, showing virtually no patience at the plate. He is 8-for-57 with one walk as a Royall, giving him a .153 on-base percentage.

Betancourt is just one of several former Mariners on the K.C. team. Others are pitcher Gil Meche, currently on the 15-day disabled list but due back later this week, infielder Willie Bloomquis, batting .265 in a career-high 283 at-bats, outfielder Jose Guillen, also on the 15-day DL, and catcher Miguel Olivo, who is tied for the team lead with 14 home runs.

— Jim Street

Ken Griffey Jr. added Rangers right-hander Tommy Hunter to his long list of home run victims.

Hunter became the 400th big-league pitcher to surrender a home run to Junior, who sent a full-count pitch onto the grass in center field for a three-run homer in the first inning. It was Griffey’s 11th of the season (the first since July 1 against the Yankees in New York) — and 622nd of his career.

The blast also scored Ichiro Suzuki and Jose Lopez, who were aboard via a single and walk, respectively.

— Jim Street

Word just in that left-hander Luke French, acquired from the Tigers earlier today, is en route to his new team and will arrive about an hour before the Mariners play the Rangers in the second game of the four-game series. We’ll let you know when and where he’ll be inserted into the rotation.

Meanwhile, Jarrod Washburn will soon be on his way to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, where he will pack his bags, say goodbye to his former teammates, chat with the media and begin the next chapter of his career.

Wash is now a Tiger, having  been dealt to Detroit this morning for two left-handed pitchers. One of them is the 23-year-old French. The other, 20-year-old Mauricio Robles, will join a Minor League team.

The deal comes just two days after the Mariners acquired veteran big-league shortstop Jack Wilson from the Pirates for three Minor League pitchers. Today’s deal adds two arms to the system, which needs good arms — especially starters.

It probably took more than one rocky series against the Indians — a three-game sweep — for the organization to decide which direction to take heading into the non-waiver deadline, but that had to be a key factor, although the Wilson deal suggested otherwise. 

At the time, it appeared that the Mariners were becoming “buyers”, but today’s deal surely indicates that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik hit the “sell” button. Actually, he probably is neither a buyer or seller. His mantra is “improving” and he seems to be building for the future. In reality, even with third baseman Adrian Beltre on the verge of returning to the lineup, catching either the Angels in the AL West or getting involved in the Wild Card race seem unlikely.

It will take a couple of years, or more, to determine just how good of a deal this is there is no guarantee that Washburn would not return to the Mariners next season. He becomes eligible for free agency at the end of the season. That  being said, he is having the kind of season that any free agent-to be could cash in bigt-time and Zduriencik might decide to spend more money on hitting than pitching.

The off-season will surely be interesting.

Meanwhile, I am heading downstairs to chat with Washburn and get some of his former teammates’ take on the deal.

— Jim Street

It has just  been announced that left-hander Jarrod Washburn has been traded to the Tigers for two left-handed pitchers — Luke French and Mauricio Robles.

The Tigers were the latest team to become interested in acquiring Washburn, who had been  scheduled to start the series finale against the Rangers on Sunday night. But he could be starting against the Indians in Cleveland, instead.

The Yankees and  Brewers also showed interest in the 34-year-old Washburn, who is having a career year in terms of ERA (2.64) and quality starts. He had a 4-1 record in July and had a good chance of being named as the American League’s Pitcher of the Month, an award right-hander Felix Hernandez won in June.

When he left the visiting clubhouse at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington last night, Washburn said he “had no idea” what might happen today.

Now he knows.

— Jim Street

ARLINGTON — I sure picked a fine day to travel.

While en route to Texas yesterday — via Houston,by the way — Trader Jack did it again, pulling off another multi-player trade — this time a seven-player swap with the Pirates, and followed that up with a minor deal involving major disappointment Wladimir Balentien.

So much for throwing in the towel following the four-game skid that some thought would make GM Jack Zduriencik a “seller” leading up to Friday’s non-waiver Trade Deadline. 

My mind might change if Jarrod Washburn is traded in the next 36 hours, but my gut feeling is that Wash will stay and eventually sign a contract extension.

I have never seen Jack Wilson play shortstop in person, but I have seen some of his defensive brilliance on MLB Network and SportsCenter wrapup shows. The dude is good with a glove, so I decided to visit former Mariners shortstop Omar Vizquel at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington last night after the Rangers played the Tigers and ask him about Wilson.

“He’s a great shortstop,” Vizquel told me. “I think he’s one of the best shortstops in the game right now. I love the way he plays. Every routine play that can be made he makes, and he also can make some pretty awesome plays. He’s fast and can turn double plays. They (Mariners) got a good one.”

That is quite a compliment coming from the guy I consider to be the best defensive SS that I’ve seen in almost 40 years covering Major League baseball.

Wilson makes his Mariners debut tonight against the Rangers in the opener of an important four-game series and it will be fun watching him in action. But the real fun starts next week, when third baseman Adrian Beltre comes off the 15-day disabled list.

To get a ball through the left side of the infield will be a challenge for any hitter.

— Jim Street

A big chunk of the Mariners’ power was missing from the lineup again tonight as first baseman Russell Branyan and second baseman Jose Lopez are still out of action with back soreness.

They have combined to hit 36 of the Mariners’ 93 home runs this season.

“When we talked about it yesterday, we thought wed have Lopey and Russell back in there today,” manager Don Wakamatsu said, “but they both still a little bit stiff. Again, I’d like to think they’re going to be in there. With Russell, with him being stiff, just giving him one more day against a lefty wouldnt hurt either. The bottom line is that I think it’s better off resting them right now and letting them get in there tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, third baseman Adrian Beltre continues to get closer to coming off the 15-day disabled list.

“You guys saw his BP yesterday,” Wakamatsu said. “It’s as good as Ive seen him in a long time. He says he feels great. Our concern is not to rush it too much and him get activated and have to go right back on. That’s out biggest fear, so I think we’re going to do this for a couple days and we’ll see down in Texas. We talked about possibly activating him in KC, if everything goes well. We’ll look at that. The next couple days, how he reacts from BP. He was hitting balls in the upper deck yesterday. He’s said it two or three times, this feels better than when he had the first surgery, so that’s a good sign.”

Tonight’s lineups:

Blue Jays

Marco Scutaro, SS
Aaron Hill, 2B
Vernon Wells, CF
Scott Rolen, 3B
Alex Rios, RF
Lyle Overbay, 1B
Kevin Millar, DH
Jose Bautista, LF
Raul Chavez, C
Marc Rzepezynksi, LHP

Mariners

Ichiro Suzuki, RF
Franklin Gutierrez, CF
Mike Sweeney, DH
Chris Shelton, 1B
Jack Hannahan, 3B
Rob Johnson, C
Chris Woodward, 2B
Michael Saunders, LF
Ronny Cedeno, SS
Jarrod Washburn, LHP

— Jim Street

 

 

Could this be the final few hours of left-hander Jarrod Washburn’s career with the Mariners?

That is one of the hottest topics on this hot Monday afternoon around Safeco Field, where the Mariners open a three-game series against the Blue Jays tonight.

Washburn, the hottest pitcher in the rotation not named Felix Hernandez, is scheduled to start Tuesday night’s game, but there is no guarantee that will happen.

Same goes for Blue Jays right-hander Roy Halladay, slated to start Wednesday afternoon’s series finale.

I will head down to the Mariners clubhouse in a few minutes and ask Washburn if he’s heard anything one way or another.

But the smart money says he will be traded to the Brewers, sometime in the next 24 hours.

— Jim Street