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'Reality check' catches Wilson
Fighting dormant TB strain helps M's veteran regain perspective
Peoria, Arizona-- In the past four months, Dan Wilson has received more than a few doses of reality. First, the Mariners lost to the Yankees, failing for the second consecutive year to survive the American League Championship Series in New York. In December, the Mariners traded for an up-and-coming catcher, Ben Davis, who is eight years younger than the 32-year-old Wilson. In January, Wilson got the news he was diagnosed with a dormant form of tuberculosis. This weekend, Wilson and the rest of the close-knit baseball fraternity lost San Diego's Mike Darr when the Padres outfielder was killed in an automobile collision. "It's a little bit of a reality check," Wilson said yesterday after having gone through the second day of workouts at the Mariners spring training camp. "Particularly when you look at Mike Darr and what happened next door. That's a wakeup call." The Padres share the Peoria complex with the Mariners, and the players intermingle more than most teams. Darr's death cast a pall over the start of spring training for Wilson and Co. It put into perspective the happenings of the past few months. "I was really shocked when they told me I'd tested positive for tuberculosis," Wilson said. "It surprised the heck out of me." When Mariners shortstop Carlos Guillen came down with tuberculosis last September, the entire roster and staff were tested. Although the club won't comment further, it appears Wilson was the only player to test positive. "I'm taking medication; everything's fine," said Wilson, who didn't come down with any overt symptoms of the disease or lose weight or strength before (or after) the diagnosis. "I think the club handled it well. They did a lot of follow up with all of us." Harder for Wilson to take was the end of the season, walking out of Yankee Stadium having lost his best chance yet to make it to the World Series. "When I watched the Yankees and the Diamondbacks in the World Series, watching the Yankees win games later, I almost got a sense that they (the Yankees) were destined to win," Wilson said. Instead, the Diamondbacks made the last comeback, winning in Game 7. "The way I look at it, we played New York hard all season. Obviously, it's disappointing that we didn't beat those guys. Still, there is room for optimism." Some of that optimism comes from the Mariners having retained the core of the team that won 116 games last year. Adding to that sense of well-being are the players Seattle brought in to help out: pitchers James Baldwin and Shigetoshi Hasegawa, outfielder Ruben Sierra and infielders Jeff Cirillo, Alex Arias and Desi Relaford. And, of course, Davis. It is Davis who could take playing time away from Wilson. Davis is seen as the Mariners' catcher of the future. With Wilson in the final year of his contract, is Davis an immediate threat? Wilson doesn't think so. He sees a sharing of the workload, much like the past few years when Tom Lampkin was the backup. "Ben has some tremendous talent, there's no doubt about it," he said. "In some ways, he's in a similar situation as I was (in 1993) when I was with Cincinnati, although he has a little more experience than I did. "But I'll do what I can to help Ben get the knowledge he needs. We're both going to have to catch a lot." Manager Lou Piniella suggested there will be times when both Davis and Wilson will be in the lineup. Both will be worked out at first base, with Piniella wanting to give John Olerud more time off in 2002. "In my mind, I think Danny figures to be here for a good long time after this year," Piniella said. "That's certainly what I'd like to see. He could catch two-thirds of the games this year, something like that. That's not to say that at some point that the percentage couldn't be turned around. "But the one thing you know in Seattle is that we have to have two catchers and that they're both going to play a lot. "With all the traveling we do, we need to split the work." Another expectation in Seattle is that the Mariners will be in the hunt for a postseason berth for the third consecutive year. "I like what we have here," Wilson said. "The core of the team is intact. I think our pitching and our defense is better, and those were our two strengths last year. "Things are in place here to go forward." Wilson is in place, too.

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