Mariners Notebook: Return to the Norm?

Norm Charlton, a long shot to make the Seattle roster when the spring started, is closing in on breaking camp with the Mariners as the second left-hander in the bullpen.

Among the five players cut yesterday were lefties Rob Ramsay and Brian Fuentes. Charlton and No. 1 lefty Arthur Rhodes are the only left-handed relievers left in camp.

There are still 12 pitchers left, with only 11 jobs available in Seattle come the season's start next Monday. Ryan Franklin, the right-hander who started in the Mariners' 8-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox, is still in camp.

Frankly, Franklin still could get the job. He's been in the organization for nine years and has just 22 days in the major leagues.

Several teams in Japan, impressed by Franklin's 3-0 record in the Sydney Olympics for Team USA, are interested in signing him if the Mariners don't have a job for him in the majors. Franklin has had a good spring, although you wouldn't know it from his four-inning, six-run showing yesterday.

He isn't left-handed, but he brings the ability to pitch both as a starter and a reliever to the mix. Franklin has the ability to pitch significant innings on back-to-back days.

The Mariners like that, and they don't have that. They also don't have a second lefty in the bullpen. The club doesn't want to lose Franklin, but the Mariners also want to have that second left-hander.

"We felt that the young kids we had would give Norm all the competition he wanted," Piniella said. "But they're all gone and he's still here."

It's been a long road back for Charlton, who retired last April in Cincinnati, only to find that the itch to compete hadn't left him. The Mariners had moved their Class AA franchise to San Antonio, Charlton's hometown. And wouldn't it be a kick to pitch for the old organization?

Better yet, wouldn't it be a kick and a half to pitch for the old club? Charlton came to camp with the idea that he would pitch at home in San Antonio if he didn't make the roster. But a third dance through Seattle was always foremost in his mind.

Yesterday, it was like old times. He pitched the ninth inning, getting three outs in a row to preserve the 8-6 lead and end a six-game Seattle losing streak.

"If it was some other club, I'd probably still be at home," Charlton said. "Today was spring training. It was just another inning. But I'm happy with the way I've pitched.

"I'm happier still with the adjustments I've made. I still lean back too much at times, trying to overthrow the ball. But I've made progress."

ROSTER ROULETTE: The Mariners trimmed the roster from 36 to 31 yesterday. That leaves the team six over the roster maximum needing to get to 25 by opening night, next Monday.

Piniella delivered the bad news to three pitchers -- lefties Ramsay and Fuentes and right-hander Joel Pineiro -- and to infielder Manny Alexander and outfielder Scott Podsednik.

Ramsay and Pineiro will go into the starting rotation for Class AAA Tacoma, and Podsednik will start in the outfield. Alexander may play there as well, but as a major league veteran, he has the option to turn down a minor league deal in order to pursue a big-league job.

Getting from 31 to 25 seems to be a fairly straightforward process. Three of the next six roster moves are automatic -- right-hander Gil Meche, catcher Chris Widger and outfielder Jay Buhner all will start the season on the disabled list. On top of that, infielder Carlos Baerga and catcher Blake Barthol have no substantial chance to make the roster.

That leaves just the Franklin/Charlton choice.

"There aren't too many decisions to be made," Piniella said. "Unless Pat (general manager Pat Gillick) changes the equation."

Gillick is trying to trade for more offensive juice, but there's not much to be had, and the price that must be paid is unreasonably high.

The moves also mean infielder/outfielder Charles Gipson and outfielder Anthony Sanders are likely to start the season in the major leagues.

BACK TO THE MINORS: For one day, Ichiro Suzuki will head to the minor leagues.

The right fielder will get eight or 10 at-bats in today's game, and he's going to work on his bunting.

He dropped his first bunt of the spring yesterday in the seventh inning. Ichiro didn't get the ball where he wanted, pushing it with too much zip to White Sox third baseman Joe Crede, who threw him out at first.

"It's something Ichiro wants to do," Piniella said. "I know he can bunt. But he wants to do it in a game. It's fine with me if he bunts 10 times."

BELL'S BACK: Although he had three hits, including a homer, Sunday against Colorado, third baseman David Bell briefly lost his appetite for the game.

Bell's brother, Mike, a third baseman for the Rockies, suffered a broken left forearm when he hit Carlos Guillen's knee while trying to apply a tag. David Bell was in the batter's box at the time.

"I didn't feel much like playing after that," David Bell said. "Lou (Piniella) understood that. He let me go, and I went to the hospital with my brother and the family.

"It was real hard on all of us. Mike was on the bubble for making the team. And he's had to overcome a lot of injuries just to get here. But he'll be back."

Mike Bell is expected to be out about two months.

NOTES: The Mariners got a visit yesterday from Frank Robinson, special assistant to the commissioner. Robinson had a closed-door meeting with players, pushing the importance of keeping wasted time to a minimum. "We want to see the time of game for AL teams average between 2:40 and 2:50," Robinson said. "It's not a case of speeding the play up. It's a case of spending more time on baseball." ...

Buhner and bench coach John McLaren have had a series of humorous one-upmanship battles over the years. The latest blow was struck when Buhner, egged on by most of the clubhouse, took a chain saw to part of McLaren's locker, removing a triangular chunk. "We've been going back a lot of years," Buhner said. "When the guys told me I didn't have the (guts) to go through with it, it was a challenge I couldn't ignore. The best thing was the sawdust went everywhere." Said McLaren, who congratulated Buhner on his act of daring: "There's always payback. Always." McLaren's most recent jab was to cut off the top of the body talc container that Buhner favors, dousing Buhner's locker with it.

P-I reporter John Hickey can be reached at 206-448-8004 or johnhickey@seattle-pi.com