June 2012 - Seattle Mariners Wiretap

Chone Figgins has been a huge disappointment for the Mariners, but Eric Wedge says parting ways with the infielder is "not even a consideration" right now. Seattle optioned Casper Wells to Triple-A rather than cut ties with Figgins when Miguel Olivo came off the disabled list on Thursday. "Not right now," Wedge said. "Right now, that's not even an option for us. With Chone, as you all know -- we were very open with you (media) guys about that -- we wanted to give him every opportunity to get back on track. We feel like we did that, leading him off, switching his role a little bit, and it didn't work out."

Mariners left fielder Casper Wells got a Mother's Day request from his mom on Sunday morning. "She said, 'Hit a home run for me,'" Wells said after his team's 6-2 victory over the Yankees. "Like that's an easy thing to do. I was thinking, 'That's kind of a big request. How about a single or a couple knocks?'" The outfielder's mother and the rest of his family drove the two hours from Schenectady in upstate New York to see him play at Yankee Stadium.

Eric Wedge has spoken for the first time about possibly moving Ichiro Suzuki out of the No. 3 spot in the lineup. Wedge noted "he's not a prototypical three-hole hitter" and hinted that Ichiro's role could change when and if some of the younger players show they're ready to handle that challenge. Traditionally, a leadoff hitter, Ichiro would put in the third spot prior to the season. "We don't have any veteran guys doing anything right now," Wedge said. "It's as simple as that. So I can't say it any plainer. We've got six to seven guys we're starting today that are 25 or younger. The young guys are going to have to do it, because the veteran guys aren't getting it done. There's just no way of getting around it. "You look at all the other Major League teams, and they've got at least one guy, if not two or three, that they can count on as veteran guys who are experienced big league hitters. So our young guys are going to have to step up and do it. I have no problem saying that. And I believe they can. But it's just harder without having that guy, or a couple guys ideally at this level."

On Friday night, Jesus Montero returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time since New York dealt him to Seattle in January. In the sixth inning, he homered to right field. Montero's homer marked the third straight season that a former Yankee homered in his first game against them after leaving the team. Johnny Damon did it in 2010. Melky Cabrera did it in 2011.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said he "feels bad" for Brian Cashman and the Yankees after Michael Pineda was lost for the season because of a torn labrum. Seattle traded the right-hander to New York in exchange for Jesus Montero this winter. Zduriencik has maintained he never knew Pineda was damaged goods when he traded the 23-year-old. Cashman never has accused Zduriencik of any wrongdoing during the transaction. Nothing ever showed up on any medical records to suggest otherwise. "I feel bad for Brian, and I feel very bad for the Yankees," Zduriencik said. "I wish this thing would've been a little different. But again, the fact that (Pineda)'s so young and he's strong, he should bounce back from this."

Andy Pettitte will make his return to the Yankees on Sunday against the Mariners, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday. "Everybody's in agreement he's not going to benefit from any more time below," Cashman said Tuesday.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe wonders whether the Mariners are close to releasing Chone Figgins. Figgins had a .189 average entering Saturday.