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| Friday, March 23 | |||||
| M's veteran fitted for boot on left foot | |||||
PEORIA, Ariz. – Seattle Mariners outfielder Jay Buhner will
miss the first month of the season because of his strained left
arch, manager Lou Pinella said Friday.
But the membrane in the arch of his left foot is not torn and
will not require surgery, a magnetic resonance imaging test showed.
Surgery would have kept Buhner, 36, out until after the All-Star
break in July.
"I'm glad to hear that he's not going to need surgery and it's
going to be a month as opposed to possibly three," Piniella said
after meeting with trainer Rick Griffin. "From that perspective,
I'm both happy and encouraged."
Scheduled to platoon with Al Martin in left field this season,
Buhner will probably start the season on the disabled list,
Piniella said. His left foot has been put in an immobilizing boot.
Buhner had 26 home runs and 82 RBI last season when the
Mariners went to the AL championship series.
Because of his foot injury, Buhner hasn't been able to play in
any spring games.
"It's a loss to us, though," Piniella said. "I was looking
forward to getting him on the field for a few reasons. First of
all, he gives us power. Second of all, you look at our first 19
games in our division and there's seven left hand starters in our
division. The Angels have two, Texas has three and Oakland has two.
He's hit left hand pitching very well."
The Mariners play AL West opponents Oakland, Texas and Anaheim
in their first 19 games.
With Buhner sidelined, Piniella said he will use Stan Javier and
Anthony Sanders in left field along with Martin. Martin bats from
the left side, Sanders from the right and Javier is a
switch-hitter.
Sanders, who hit .306 with 20 homers and 80 RBI for Triple-A
Tacoma last season, is expected to be retained on the roster for
the first month of the season because of the loss of Buhner. He was
not expected to make the team before the injury.
Piniella said Buhner probably will be sent to Arizona for
extended spring training after his foot heals so he probably won't
be available to the Mariners for the first six weeks of the season.
"It might be that he has to come down here to Arizona to get a
few at bats just to get himself acclimated at home plate again,"
Piniella said. "It's been a long winter. So maybe a 10-day rehab
period or something. You're talking six weeks roughly."
Buhner injured his foot Feb. 24 during a base-running drill
here.
Buhner has said he will probably retire after this season. He
has hit 305 home runs for Seattle, second to Ken Griffey Jr.'s 398. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories | ALSO SEE Buhner out indefinitely, but won't retire | ||||