Mariners Dealing With Expectations

At 58, Lou Piniella is still too young to be classified as the Ancient Mariner, but he understands the potential albatross of great expectations, the relentless comparisons that his Seattle Mariners face after winning 116 games last year, tying the major league record set by the Chicago Cubs in 1906.

He understands, and cautions that duplicating 116 is virtually impossible--”there’s a reason it happens only once every 95 years,” the Seattle manager said in his Edison Field office before Monday night’s opener of a four-game series with the Angels--and he understands, and cautions that the American League West may now be baseball’s best.

“Our job is to win the division with whatever [win] total that takes,” Piniella said. “We want to get back to the playoffs [for the third straight year] and take that next step by knocking down that last door [to the World Series].

“I said it in the spring and I’ll say it now, it’s going to be tougher. We’re a little bit of a marked team now. We’ve seen already that teams are visibly excited when they beat us.”

Well, it’s only the second week of the new season and the marked Mariners came to Anaheim with a 3-3 record as they try to reestablish the momentum of their 20-4 start last season.

They are essentially operating with the same core, although there have been several significant changes.

James Baldwin has replaced Aaron Sele in the rotation. Jeff Cirillo has replaced David Bell at third base. Ruben Sierra has replaced Al Martin as the part-time left fielder. Shigetoshi Hasegawa has replaced Jose Paniagua in the bullpen. Ben Davis has replaced Tom Lampkin as the backup catcher.

In addition, Jay Buhner, a big part of the clubhouse camaraderie, retired, and Norm Charlton was lost for the season because of an injury.

The loss of Charlton, coupled with the decision to keep Rule 5 infielder Luis Ugueto, has left Arthur Rhodes as the only left-hander in the Mariner bullpen, limiting Piniella’s maneuverability.

Second baseman Bret Boone reflected on the changes and said, “This team can be as good, if not better, than last year, but we’re not sitting here thinking about winning 116 games again. I think you can count that out. Without sounding corny, last year was unbelievable, almost magical, and I came to understand how important chemistry is. I think it’s a key reason the Yankees have been so good, and it certainly contributed to the type of season we had. That’s not to say it won’t be there, or isn’t there, this year, but every year is different, and this one is just starting.”

A team in the true sense last year, there were more components to Seattle’s season for the ages than can be found in an electronics catalog.

None were more vital than the catalytic charge generated by Ichiro Suzuki at the top of the lineup and Boone in the middle.

If no one could have predicted 116 wins, no one was predicting that the Mariners would sustain an offense that led the league in runs and average.

Suzuki won the batting title and the league’s rookie and most-valuable-player awards. Boone, playing for his fourth team in four years, authored his own season for the ages--the most productive by a second baseman in league history.

He set AL records for a second baseman with 37 homers and a league-high 141 runs batted in. He became the first second baseman in league history to hit more than 30 homers and bat above .300 (.331).

A prolific lineup provided the opportunities and Boone took advantage of them.

Now, he insists, there is no pressure to duplicate those 141 RBIs, nor does he have a prediction.

“The one thing I feel confident about is that I have turned the corner and can perform at a similarly consistent level for several years,” he said. “Whether that means 110 or 120 or 150 RBI, who knows? A lot depends on the team and the opportunities. I’m proud of what I did last year. It’s there on paper, and no one can take it away, but I can’t dwell on it. I can’t live off it. I’ve been at the top and at the bottom. I know how humbling the game is.”

One of Piniella’s primary tasks this year will be to monitor the duplication meter, to make sure Boone or Suzuki or any of the other key Mariners aren’t pressing, trying to match their production of last year.

“The message I gave [Boone and Suzuki] in the spring is that same message I gave the whole team,” Piniella said. “We had a great year last year but don’t try to duplicate it, don’t try to compare this year to last year, just relax and play.”

It’s a familiar message in baseball, but Piniella knows it’s easier said than done. “That’s why so many teams travel with psychologists now,” he said. “If I had ever told George Steinbrenner [during Piniella’s career as player and manager with the Yankees] that I needed to see a psychologist, he’d have said, ‘Get out of here before I chase you out.”’

There is no shingle hanging on the Mariner clubhouse door, only those pervasive expectations behind it.

Boone, for instance, carries the weight of his historic season and a three-year, $25-million contract he signed in the off-season when, like Barry Bonds, he encountered an inexplicably cold free-agent market and had no alternative other than returning to his 2001 team.

Suzuki carries the weight of his adopted U.S. city and Japanese homeland, of which several media representatives told Piniella during spring training that they expected him to hit 30 home runs this year with a more uppercut spring. They were evicted from his office.

“How does he exceed what he did last year?” Piniella said in Anaheim. “If he even comes close, I’ll be pleased.”

In other words, the manager said, expanding on the message he has given his players, “Strive for consistency and stay within yourself. That should ensure a nice season.”

Nice? The Mariners are coming off a season far better than nice, and the reminders may be hard to escape.