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Wilson feels the pitching staff's pain

The Mariner pitching staff is like a black hole, pulling the franchise down with a force so strong not even a fastball can escape. Some of the organization's best prospects are no longer Seattle property after ill-fated trading efforts to bolster the relief corps. Trade rumors are again circulating that other, more established players may soon be dispatched in the club's pursuit of pitching stability. Pitching coach Nardi Contreras was the early season scapegoat. He didn't last two weeks. But of all the people affected by Mariner pitching woes, no one feels the burden more than catcher Dan Wilson. In a sense, he is a quiet casualty of the continuing pitching woes, one who has internalized their travails in his head and in his heart. "I take a lot of pride going out there with the pitcher. If he has a tough outing, I feel like I do, too," Wilson said. Reserve catcher John Marzano, Wilson's understudy for more than two seasons, understands. "You go through what the pitcher goes through," he said. "You feel it's 50 percent your fault. It weighs on him." As the Mariners approach the one-third point of the season during this six-game road trip beginning tonight in Tampa, their relievers carry a 6.41 earned-run average after blowing 11 of 20 save opportunities, on a pace for 35.
It's not Wilson's fault that owners and/or General Manager Woody Woodward didn't significantly change last season's bullpen, one of the worst in the 20th century. They allowed more ninth-inning runs (101) than any team since Teddy Roosevelt's adminstration, finished with a 5.44 ERA and 27 blown saves. Yet Wilson, who calls virtually every game for his pitchers, stoically takes his measure of the blame for their inconsistency, even if he's only the catcher not the thrower. And it has an impact on his game. During the past road trip, he went through an 0-for-28 slide. Since then, with Manager Lou Piniella and batting instructor Jesse Barfield working on his mechanics, he has eight hits in his past 23 at-bats (.348). "Danny takes a lot of pride in the pitchers pitching well," Piniella said. "If they don't, there is a burden on him. But the reason he wasn't hitting was his mechanics were off. "He should hit .270, .275 for us. He's hitting in the .230 range. He was basically spinning off the ball, which caused him to lose some bat speed. We're working hard on keeping him closed so he can drive the ball." Wilson's mini-surge over the past week has raised his batting average to .241, well below his .267 career average. In the past three seasons in Seattle, he has hit .278, .285, and .270. "I try to separate (hitting and calling a game) as much as I can," Wilson said. "They do tend to run together, but they shouldn't. When I put on the gear, I forget about the at-bat and think about my role behind the plate."
Putting a catcher's role into perspective, Marzano added, "The catcher is out there for nine innings, but hits three, four times a game. It's more important to call a good game." But what of the menagerie of personalities and mentalities he has had to align and assuage this season. It begins with the sometimes shadowy psyche of Randy Johnson, the heretofore highly effective staff ace who had won 43 of his last 49 decisions over the past three seasons entering this year. However, Johnson, wounded by contract talks and feeling unappreciated, has been underwhelming. He has had perhaps only two starts in which he has been his old, dominant self. One came Sunday, a 15-strikeout, seven-hit 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay. That kind of performance, has been rare this season for Johnson, who is 3-3 with a 6.83 earned-run average. "When Randy struggles, it seems the whole staff struggles," pitching coach Stan Williams said. "Randy is not the easiest person in the world to talk to because he's so into the game," Williams added. "He doesn't really want to talk to anybody, but Danny has a way of communicating with him." Veteran starter Bill Swift said Wilson "knows he can say one thing to one guy and another thing to another guy. Certain guys are more sensitive. It's a tough job, with that many personalities on this team." Wilson said it's a matter of "reading each guy to know where he's at. I'm not going to say the same thing to Randy as I would to Ken Cloude. I have to keep the lines of communication open to everyone." Cloude also is a puzzle Wilson and Williams haven't been able to solve consistently. In six of his 10 starts, he has failed to last beyond five innings and he also leads the team in walks with 31. Like Johnson, Cloude's last outing Saturday also was perhaps his best, a seven-inning, three-hit, no-run effort against Tampa Bay. The bullpen then gave up six runs in the final two innings for a 6-3 loss. "Catchers can only do so much. Pitchers still have to get it over the plate," Piniella added.
The Mariner staff ranks ninth in the league in walks issued, and it's not like Wilson is setting his target outside the strike zone. Paul Spoljaric is averaging more than a walk an inning while Heathcliff Slocumb is averaging more than a walk and more than a hit per inning. Overall, the relievers have yielded 77 walks, 140 hits and five hit batsmen in 128 innings - 1.7 base runners per inning. "It bothers him because he's almost like part of the pitching staff," Williams said. "He's trying to set up certain hitters and get pitchers to pitch in certain places, and when they don't, it naturally affects him." All the focus on bringing the pitching in line also may have affected another area of Wilson's game, his percentage of throwing out would-be base-stealers. He has just a 26 percent success rate this season, well below his career 36 percent. Last year he threw out 41 percent, second best in the league, and two years ago he was at 39 percent, third highest in the league. "He hasn't done quite as well as in the past, but it's (arm) still very adequate," Williams said. "I thought a couple years ago he was one of the best throwers around. But keep in mind, a lot depends on how well the pitchers hold on the runner. A lot of those who stole on him were because he had no chance." There was hope entering this season that the Piniella could give Wilson more rest. He, like many catchers who play every day, has a tendency to wear down as the season grinds into August and September. His postseason average, .067 (2 for 30) in 1995 and .000 (0 for 16) last year, could be glaring indications that his tank has been empty as the season ends. Last season, he caught more games (144) and more innings (1,202) than any catcher in baseball. However, the April knee injury to Jay Buhner forced the club to trade third catcher Rick Wilkins. The club also doesn't have Raul Ibanez available as an emergency third catcher because of preseason shoulder surgery. Marzano, who has had some back problems, has started just four games. "It demands a lot of you physically and mentally," Wilson said. "In the past it has taken its toll, but I've tried to adjust so I can be stronger in August. "Besides," added Wilson, succumbing to his keen sense of responsibility, "I just like being out there every day."

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