This spring the Seattle Mariners have about 10 pitchers who are competing for the fifth spot in their starting rotation because that's the type of thing that tends to happen when you go 61-101. You need to mix it up and try new things. Ryan Feierabend was one of the many hopefuls on the staff, but odds were that he was going to end up in the Mariners bullpen because of the surplus of southpaws Seattle has starting already.Well, now it looks like Feierabend might not be pitching anywhere this season. Feierabend had an MRI on his elbow this week and will now be visiting Dr. Lewis Yocum to see if surgery is necessary.
"It's a ligament injury," Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu said before his team took the field for a 4-3, 10-inning loss to the San Diego Padres in the annual charity game between the squads. "We don't know the extent of it, but it doesn't look good."This might not be bad news for the Mariners, because so far the 23-year-old has appeared in 25 games for the Mariners over the last three years, starting 19 of them, and going 2-11 with a 7.22 ERA. It's also good news for me if he misses the rest of the season because then I probably won't have to type his name again. I suggest Ryan changes his last name to Smith or something easier to spell.
