Manager John McLaren admitted to the media Sunday that he indeed has not settled on what he would even call most of the 25-man roster, citing the big decision - 11 or 12 pitchers and four or five reserves.

“It will come down to whether someof the guys we have rehabbing can go back-to-back,” McLaren told Dave Niehaus prior to Sunday’s game versus the Los Angeles Angels. “If they can do that then we might be able to go with six in the bullpen, which would give us the extra guy.”

Prospect Insider has learned that left-hander Arthur Rhodes is going to make the club barring any medical setbacks. This leaves fellow southpaw Ryan Rowland-Smith in the cold.

A six-man bullpen that includes Rhodes will not include both Cha Seung Baek and R.A. Dickey, and the M’s stand to lose either pitcher should they fail to make the roster. But if right-hander Brandon Morrow has not proven that he, too, can go on back-to-back days, either of the aforementioned Baek and Dickey is likely to be taken north until Morrow is ready.

One other thing the six-man bullpen would do is guarantee Mike Morse a spot on the Opening Day 25-man. A seven-man relief corps would certainly eliminate Greg Norton and put Morse in a tough spot.

As the conclusion of Sunday’s loss came about, outfielders Charleton Jimerson and Jeremy Reed, and right-hander Chris Reitsma are preparing for their final auditions, and all three are on the outside looking in.

If I had to wager, this is how I see it working out.

McLaren goes with the 11-man pitching staff with the five starters plus closer J.J. Putz, right-handers Brandon Morrow (if Morrow shows he’s healthy and can go back-to-back), Sean Green, R.A. Dickey and Cha Seung Baek, and left-handers Eric O’Flaherty and Arthur Rhodes.

The bench consists of Jamie Burke, Willie Bloomquist, Miguel Cairo, Mike Morse and Greg Norton.

Reasons? They won’t lose Reed, Rowland-Smith or Lowe and can simply option them to Triple-A. That’s how this organization works, I guess.

I’m not sold that the fourth outfielder needs to be a right-handed hitter, so I’d simply be looking for the best reserve outfielder, and that player is probably Reed at this point. And the Mariners can keep Morse by sending Cairo packing and using Bloomquist as the extra infielder since they’d be able to use Reed in the outfield.

Morse should be limited to pinch hitting and, occasionally the corner infield spots.

So who plays the outfield if Wilkerson or Ibanez go down with an injury?

Wladimir Balentien, of course. An injured player goes to the disabled list, opening a roster spot for a call-up. Balentien is easily the best bet to provide production with regular at-bats.

Morse is very close to sewing up a job, though, and the fifth bench spot, should the Mariners choose to keep five, is a battle between Norton and Reed. But can they afford to carry both Norton and Morse, who are really both corner infielders that shouldn’t play the outfield ever?

Probably not, though that won’t stop them.

Notes -

Felix Hernandez threw 98 pitches in a minor league game Saturday, striking out 10 but giving up four earned runs, and Silva tossed 107 in a minor league game Sunday. Hernandez looked “a little blah” according to a scout in attendance and Silva was “better; he’s shaken off the rust caused by the experimentation of the cutter. But he doesn’t seem ready to go, yet.”

Silva will make his first start as a member of the Mariners on Wednesday, April 3 versus the Texas Rangers.

Hernandez is slated to start again Wednesday or Thursday and will make his 2008 regular season debut the following Tuesday.

We know what Ichiro brings to the table on a daily basis — speed, strong on-base skills and fantastic defense — because he’s done it every year and there’s certainly no reason to believe his skills have diminished much since day one - if at all.

But there are a number of talents vying for a spot on the 25-man roster that have not been exposed to that extent. And in the case of a few veterans, their current versions haven’t been dissected much.

Let’s change that, and right now.

Shall we?

Reed still employs one of the best offensive approaches of any Seattle Mariners hitter, veteran, prospect and anywhere in between. He has a good eye, swings at strikes without expanding his strike zone and has a level, line-drive path to the baseball.

But the 26-year-old is stuck with below-average bat speed which sinks the power potential his consistent swing produces and forces the left-handed hitting Reed to commit early versus lefty arms.

Acquired as a major piece of the Freddy Garcia trade in 2004, Reed’s simply trying to make the roster these days, with a ceiling as a fourth outfielder. His struggles offensively begin with moderate bat speed and end with his inability to recognize pitches to give him a chance to drive the ball into the gaps.

Despite being 6-foot-5 and over 200 pounds, Morse isn’t a big power hitter and is actually better at putting the ball in play than a lot of the “bat handlers” in the organization. He still uses an inside-out swing, but he’s found more consistency and it’s paying off this spring.

He’s using the whole field, pulling breaking balls and hitting the hard stuff to right and right-center field. Morse is not without some power, typically pushing his extra-base hits the other way, rather than pulling them.

Because Morse’s swing is somewhat long, he is susceptible to hard throwers with a good offspeed pitch, but he’s even toned down his hitch and trigger, allowing him to stay with some of the better pitchers.

Defensively, Morse has a chance to be a decent third base reserve, and with more experience can offer the same at first. In the outfield, his lack of range is exposed, but his flyball judgment has improved exponentially since his first appearance there two years ago.

Ignore his spring numbers, but those results are due to some decent skills at the plate that suggest Morse can help the Mariners in a reserve role.

Lopez is a complete mess at the plate. Several scouts described him as “lost” or “without any confidence he can hit the ball hard at all” after seeing him this spring.

He’s still chasing pitches out of the zone early in the count and is unable to punish the fastball. Presently, Lopez is not showing that he deserves regular at-bats in Triple-A, let alone a solid big-league baseball club.

He pulls off breaking balls about half the time, and the other half he’s reaching out for them with a weak waive. Until he can offer more effective plate coverage — going to right field with a line drive regularly — he’s probably going to be limited to being a .260 hitter with moderate power at best.

If pitchers stay away from Lopez and make him reach, he’s an easy out waiting to happen. He must develop better discipline, and if he wants to keep his job as the starting second baseman, he’ll need to show something early in the year.

A healthy Richie Sexson can still hit a little bit, and he’s showing that this spring. His swing has been quicker to the ball after an adjustment made with where his hands start, and he’s producing more line drives.

Sexson is also standing closer to the plate this spring than he was at the end of last season, in attempt to avoid the loads of swings and misses on breaking balls on the outer half. It does open up the inside corner on him, but he’s much more likely to make the proper adjustment on those pitches.

Sexson is certainly on the downside of his career — he should be DHing — and he’s probably a candidate for 175 strikeouts if he gets the allotted at-bats. But if his adjustments are sustained throughout the year, he should see the ball better, be quicker to his power area and hit the ball to up the middle and to right field even more than he showed over the past two seasons.

He may hit .230, but he should get on base and hit for enough power to drive in 85-90 runs.

Rhodes has made just two appearances this spring, but he’s given up just one hit and one walk while fanning two.

But the veteran has faced just one legit big leaguer in his 1 2/3 innings, and his stuff is lacking.

Rhodes has pitched at 86-90 mph, tagged 91-92 a few times, and has added a cutter to his arsenal in the 85-88 mph range. His slider is flat and without any bite, but his command seems to be almost all the way back.

Rhodes could legitimately earn his way onto the roster if he can prove he can get good left-handed hitters out, but he’s going to need his good slider in order to get that done.

He’ll also need to show he can pitch on back-to-back days, even if it’s just versus a better or two each time out. But he’s in great shape and has come a long way as a 38-year-old off TJ surgery.

Reitsma on the other hand, is the same pitcher he was all last season, minus consistent velocity. The right-hander is still showing good sink on his fastball, but hasn’t thrown three consecutive heaters that broke the 90-mph barrier yet this spring.

His curve ball remains inconsistent - even flat at times - and his command has been typically average at best.

Reitsma is not going to make the roster.

Lowe has shown increased velocity in each outing this month, sitting 91-94 on Sunday and even touching 97 once. His slider was much better versus Milwaukee than his first two times out, and his 83-85 mph changeup was stellar all three times he used it.

His heater is showing great sink and he’s changing speeds with it effectively. Lowe’s command has been impressive, too, and he claims he’s pitching 100 percent pain free.

If he can sharpen his slider (already 86-87 mph) and continue to build arm strength, Lowe is likely to become the Mariners’ main setup man unless Brandon Morrow makes miraculous strides.

Putz is nasty.

And I could have stopped there. J.J. is revving it up of late, hitting 94-97 mph and he even used his split six times over his past two innings, getting swings and misses on four of them.

He’s a horse with good movement on his plus-plus fastball and he’s never been afraid to change the hitter’s eye level with it, attacking the upper portion of the strike zone with regularity.

Bias aside, a healthy, rested Putz is probably the game’s best closer. multiplayer poker onlineholdem pokerbest online poker sitecredit card debt calculator,credit card debt payment calculator,calculator card credit debt repaymentapplication bad card credit creditcard credit debt statistics teen,card credit debt teencard consolidation credit debt graphcalculator card consolidation credit debtapproval canada card credit instantcredit card account business,citi business credit card,business credit cardno credit card0 advance card cash credit,0 credit card,0 balance card credit life? ?card citibank credit visa,card citibank credit payment,citibank credit cardcard consolidate consolidate credit debtcredit card counseling debt consolidation,card consolidation counseling credit debt texas,card card consolidation counseling credit credit debtbusiness credit card application,application bank business card credit nacard consolidation credit non profitcard consolidation credit debt loansecured credit card canadaamerica bank card credit visacredit card services merchant accountcard credit payment searscheap credit card deal,card credit deal,air mile credit card dealcard credit hsbc philippineshell gas credit card0 balance transfer credit cardconsolidate credit card billbank card credit orchardprovidian credit card,providian national bank credit card,card card credit master providianinstant approval uk credit cardcredit card consolidation calculator,calculator card consolidation credit,calculator card consolidation credit deb ?discover credit card online,card credit discover online paycredit card application online0 card credit interest offer,0 card credit interest rate,0 interest credit cardmbna credit card logincard consolidation credit debt helpcapital card credit one service,capital one credit card servicesaccount card credit merchantcheap credit card ukmy premier credit card accountcredit card debt consolidate itbusiness credit card consolidationbest credit card interest rate,best card credit interest ratediscover credit card phone numbercard credit number valid,valid credit card numbersfirst premier credit card applicationuk credit card applyamerica application bank card creditbank card credit providiange card services online credit

A team source concluded today that “the race for the bench jobs is probably down to two guys and I think you can guess who those two are.”

Well, we can guess, but for the purpose of information, let’s assume instead.

Mike Morse is tearing the cover off the ball, and while spring results should not matter, he deserved a long look coming into camp anyway.

Morse went 3-for-3 with a walk Thursday and is now hitting .581 (18-for-31) in Cactus League play. Six of his hits are for extra bases and he’s drawn six walks and fanned only four times.

Many of Morse’s plate appearances are coming against legitimate big-league pitchers.

Unfortunately, Miguel Cairo, perhaps Morse’s biggest competition, homered while starting at shortstop versus the Giants.

“He is guaranteed the 800,” said the club representative. “Hopefully we can find room for both of them. But I know Mac wants the best guys for the job regardless of status. It’s something he spoke to our front office about over the winter.

“I don’t think his (Cairo’s) contract means anything.”

Presumably, a four-man bench would start with backup catcher Jamie Burke and utility man Willie Bloomquist. If both Morse and Cairo make the club, too, Bloomquist becomes Ichiro’s backup in center field while doubling as the club’s top pinch runner and an infield reserve.

Morse can, theoretically, play all four corners while Cairo’s middle infield experience leads McLaren to believe he use the veteran at the two middle infield spots so Bloomquist can be used to run and play center.

If McLaren changes course and goes with a five-man bench, Greg Norton and Jeremy Reed come into the mix.

“With an extra guy, it might be nice to have a lefty bat,” said the source, a member of the organization’s player development department. “and even with four, Reed and Norton present their own cases. Reed’s defense and Norton’s bat.”

Having Reed on the 25-man roster, however, renders Miguel Cairo virtually useless, even if you are one that believes Cairo is a viable option up the middle. With Reed available to handle the defensive duties in the outfield, Bloomquist can still be McLaren’s base running queen.

Charelton Jimerson has yet to make progress on the depth chart with Reed, Norton and Morse outplaying him thus far.

“If we need an infielder, there’s always (Yung Chi) Chen in his first option year. He can give the club time at second, and I’m not sure there’s much need to hang onto potential backups at third or short. They will start 150+ games.”

As for Morse, his drive to make the roster is aided by the fact that he is out of options and cannot be sent back to Triple-A Tacoma without clearing waivers. And, like right-hander Cha Seung Baek, Morse isn’t likely to accept the re-assignment in lieu of free agency, even if he was to pass through.

The plethora of middle relievers is boggling the mind. Not sure if I can spit out what I mean to on the front page here today.

Good reports abound regarding right-handers Mark Lowe and R.A. Dickey, but the same can’t be said for veteran Chris Reitsma.

“I thought Lowe looked okay,” said an AL scout in attendance. “He wasn’t sharp, but the velocity was fine — low 90s — and he got out of there. I didn’t see much from his slider, he didn’t throw but one or two, I think, but it didn’t seem as if he was uncomfortable.

“Solid first outing.”

Dickey had his knuckler doing the cha-cha in his three innings on Friday.

“The last time I saw him he was throwing 86 mph fastballs and stupid breaking balls,” said an opposing club’s advanced scout. “I heard he was just alright with that five-finger changeup (knuckleball) but he was pretty nasty (today). Hitters were guessing at location, velocity… totally off balance. Mission accomplished.”

“He’s going to help the Mariners,” said another scout. “He can cover innings and he showed last year that he can get that knuckler going enough to get through the lineup once, even twice. Some were puzzled at the pickup, but he makes a lot of sense for them. Good low-risk get.

“And to answer that last part, I like the 7-man bullpen, too, but Dickey is a good reason to consider going away from it. Their bench is a puzzle.”

Speaking of the Mariners bench, what in the world are they going to do?

Greg Norton makes a lot of sense, Jeremy Reed is squaring it up and can play defense and Mike Morse is tearing the cover off the ball. Both Reed and Morse have two hits apiece off D-Backs starter Brandon Webb; Reed a double and Morse a two-run homer.

Catcher Jamie Burke is a sure thing, as is Willie Bloomquist, who, despite having one plus tool — the second least valuable tool of the five — and boasting below average skills everywhere else, could go hitless all spring and make the team.

If manager John McLaren wants to go with the 6-man pen and 5-man bench, Norton, Reed and Morse can all join the fun. But that would mean the club was flushing $800,000 down the drain on veteran infielder Miguel Cairo.

If Cairo is in for whatever reason, Norton, Reed or Morse are out, and since Reed has an option remaining he appears to be the most likely to go back to Tacoma to start the year. Unfortunately, though, he is the only one of the group that may have something to offer at the plate and in the field, and also possesses slightly above-average speed for late-game running.

At this point I’d put the odds on Morse making the team very high, since they have to cram him through waivers in order to keep him otherwise, which pits Reed versus Norton for the final spot.

Of course, if they were smart they’d eat Cairo’s guaranteed money or find a DL spot for him to start the year. Reed and Norton both should be on the 25-man roster.

We haven’t even came to Jeff Clement, yet, who is clearly one of the best four or five bats in the organization but needs work defensively. If McLaren is high on Norton and/or Reed as a bat, Clement is headed back to Triple-A to start the season, which is good for his development.

There will be ample opportunity to call him back up if the club needs his lefty power bat.

Charleton Jimerson’s inconsistencies making contact have him at the bottom of the heap, but Matt Tuiasosopo has cemented his role as the everyday third baseman in Tacoma.

“He is a makeup guy,” said one scout. “Good all-around skills and he seems to understand the game well. He’s being overmatched a bit in these games, but he’s proving he’s up for the challenge. I don’t like (where) his hands (are) sometimes. That is going to hurt him in the power department. But he sees the ball okay and doesn’t have any extra movement up there.

“I think your buddy [guess who] was right all along, though. He can play third, but right field is the best fit when assessing his athletic skills. Good call there.”