KirbyArnold

Nomo seemed unnerved by (hitting Ichiro with a pitch). He walked Mark McLemore on four pitches to load the bases with Edgar Martinez stepping to the plate. Bad move." -Kirby Arnold , sportswriter

"Good managers, whether it's in business or baseball, will tell you that some of the best moves are the ones they don't make. But not always. Lou Piniella, whose golden touch has given the Seattle Mariners the best record in the major leagues, decided to leave pitcher Paul Abbott on the mound for one more hitter in the sixth inning Friday night. It backfired all the way into the second deck in left field." -Kirby Arnold, sportswriter

"He went 3-for-3 Tuesday with a second-inning single, a fourth-inning double, his seventh homer in the sixth and the biggie, of course, the sacrifice fly in the seventh. The Mariners, who spent much of their offseason trying to trade for a No. 5 hitter, departed spring training with no deal and Boone looking like the consolation prize at that spot in the order. All he has done since then is hit .322 with a team-high 35 RBI, and provide the perfect complement to Suzuki, who continued his craftsmanship with the bat Tuesday." -Kirby Arnold, sportswriter, on Bret Boone

"Pitchers have worked him inside, they've tested him outside, they've thrown hard stuff and soft stuff. Suzuki has mastered whatever they've thrown his way, including a shoetop two-strike pitch from Toronto's Esteban Loaiza on Sunday. Suzuki lined it for a triple and left mouths agape in the Mariners dugout, including Piniella's. "It was a breaking ball down and he kept his head down perfectly. I don't see that a lot," Piniella said, still in awe two days later. "He was looking over the top of the ball. You just don't teach that. He just serves it wherever he wants." -Kirby Arnold, on Ichiro

"He gave up a run in each of the first two innings, but that didn't faze Paul Abbott. Neither did a couple of walks, an umpire's floating strike zone and a trip to the mound by pitching coach Bryan Price in a perilous third inning." -Kirby Arnold, sportswriter

"On first-pitch strikes, league batters are hitting no better than .074 against Mariner pitchers." -Kirby Arnold, sportswriter

"Bret Boone, who went 0-for-4 and left the bases loaded twice on Thursday against the Orioles, did nothing but clean them off Friday." -Kirby Arnold, sportswriter

"One streak did continue. Edgar Martinez reached base in his 41st straight game, best in the major leagues this season, with two hits. Martinez has hit safely in 36 of 41 games and reached via walk five times dating to April 19. It's the longest streak since Manny Ramirez reached in 49 straight last season. The major league record is 74 games by Joe DiMaggio in 1941." -Kirby Arnold, sportswriter

"The knock on both these players (Bell & Cameron- each considered of All-Star caliber defensively - has been their offense. After Bell went 3-for-4 and Cameron had two hits in four at-bats, there's not much left to knock." -Kirby Arnold, sportswriter