News
Season's end bittersweet for Wakamatsu
Seattle (83-77) vs. Texas (87-73), 6:10 p.m. PT
By Jim Street / MLB.com
10/03/09 1:59 AM EST
SEATTLE -- The final weekend of Don Wakamatsu's first season as a Major League manager has arrived, and the skipper is looking forward to being reunited with his Arlington-based family. "You want to finish it out, but it's going to be tough to say goodbye to these guys in a couple of days," Wakamatsu said. "You spend so much time together, and we reflect back on the first day of Spring Training, when very few of us knew each other, and we've grown a lot. "It has been a pretty special season." The Mariners play their next-to-last game on Saturday night against the Rangers. Left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith opposes Texas right-hander Tommy Hunter at Safeco Field. Wakamatsu guided a team that lost more than 100 games a year ago to a winning record this season and figures to be among the leading candidates for American League Manager of the Year honors. He becomes the third skipper in franchise history to lead the team to a winning record in his first season. The others are Lou Piniella (1993) and Bob Melvin (2003). "He has really impressed me," said third baseman Adrian Beltre of Wakamatsu. "He is honest with you, good or bad, and has done a great job. I think he has a brilliant future as a manager." The Mariners will have the greatest improvement of any team over last season, winning at least 22 more games in 2009 than they did in '08. "I don't want to stand here and say 84 wins, or whatever we end up with, is what we set out to do," Wakamatsu said. "We talked back in Spring Training about the importance of building relationships and accountability to one another. I couldn't be happier in that aspect. "As we go forward, it will be a little bit easier in that aspect. But I think there will be greater expectations next year. With a lot of guys having career years, this winter is going to be awfully important in how they're going to go about their business. "We're going to have a meeting Sunday to say our goodbyes, but also to touch on a lot of things that we need to improve on next year." Pitching matchupSEA: LHP Ryan Rowland-Smith (4-4, 3.91 ERA)
Rowland-Smith makes his final start of the season and is coming off one of the best outings of his career. The first six innings of his last start were among the best of the lefty's career, as he retired 19 of the first 21 batters he faced. But Rowland-Smith ran out of gas in the eighth inning and absorbed a tough loss. Even so, he has emerged this month as an odds-on favorite to land a spot in the starting rotation next season, possibly immediately behind right-handed ace Felix Hernandez. Rowland-Smith has learned to control his pitches, and his emotions, and the finished product is top-notch. TEX: RHP Tommy Hunter (9-5, 4.10 ERA)
Hunter had his worst start of the season on Monday, allowing seven runs in 2 1/3 innings in a loss to the Angels in Anaheim. It was the first time Hunter had been unable to pitch at least five innings in any of his 18 starts this year. He has allowed 14 runs in eight innings over his past two starts, and he is 3-2 with a 6.55 ERA in September. He is trying to become the ninth Rangers rookie pitcher to win 10 games in a season. Sea Scrolls
The Mariners are assured of finishing the season with a winning record against their AL West opponents for the second time in the past six years. Seattle has a 29-26 record inside its own division. ... With 221 hits this season, Ichiro Suzuki became the only player in MLB history to record at least five seasons with at least 220 hits. He previously shared the record with Rogers Hornsby and Jesse Burkett. Tickets
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• Sunday: Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 18-5, 2.48) vs. Rangers (Scott Feldman, 17-7, 4.02), 1:10 p.m. PT
Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
