When Russell Branyan showed up batting second behind Ichiro a couple months

Published 7:00 am Friday, July 10, 2009

When Russell Branyan showed up batting second behind Ichiro a couple months ago in Don Wakamatsu’s ever-fluid batting order, it was thought to be a temporary experiment. Didn’t turn out that way: Branyan, whose 91 strikeouts put him on pace to contend for the club’s all-time record (held by Mike Cameron, who whiffed 176 times in ’02), has been left in the two-hole with Yuniesky Betancourt either hurt or in Wakamatsu’s doghouse. But while he’s done an admirable job protecting Ichiro from an onslaught of IBBs, Branyan’s performance at the plate against Texas last night showed why his unconventional placement there needs to end, and fast.First inning: Ichiro gets on with an infield single. Here, a normal two-hitter would either work a bat-control hit and run or bunt Ichiro to second (or third if he’s able to steal a base). What’s Branyan do? He strikes out, one of two whiffs in the game. But the eighth inning was the clincher. Ichiro led off with a double off left-handed reliever Josh Wilson with the M’s down 1-0. No-brainer bunt decision, right? Not with Branyan and his 21 home runs up there; the temptation is too great to let him swing for the fences. Rather than reaching the warning track or beyond, he grounds out to the pitcher, and Ichiro’s stuck on second. Thankfully, Ken Griffey Jr. drew a walk and Franklin Gutierrez bailed out Branyan with a towering three-run homer to dead center that was all the M’s needed with Felix and Aardsma taking care of business on the mound.While we’re on the topic of lineup changes, Gutierrez needs to bat in front of Griffey. Why? Because Junior’s wheels are absolutely shot, and the Gute has blazing speed. Case in point: Griffey walked to lead off the second inning. Gutierrez followed by lining a hit down the left-field line that he likely could have stretched into a double had Griffey been able to run more than 90 feet at a time. Langerhans then followed with a long fly ball to right field that, had Gutierrez been the lead runner, he surely would have tagged up on. But instead, Griffey and his cement boots held firm to second, and the inning ended with a whimper once Chris Woodward and Rob Johnson struck out and grounded to short, respectively.We don’t want to come off all pissy here. The Mariners took the first game in a four-game series that is, without a doubt, the team’s biggest of the year thus far. They entered last night’s game 4.5 games behind Texas in the AL West pennant race, with an 0-5 record against the Rangers. Continue that futility en route to a sweep or 3-1 series loss, and the M’s become instant sellers over the all-star break. Split or win the series, and they’re potential buyers. So far, so good.Speaking of buying, KJR this morning has put the M’s in the hunt to trade for Pittsburgh second baseman Freddy Sanchez, who led the NL in hitting with a .344 average in 2006 and is hitting .313 at present. Rumor has it the M’s want the Pirates to take Betancourt in addition to someone like Wladimir Balentien. If the deal gets done — and Sanchez has plenty of rival suitors, so it won’t be easy — he’d slide perfectly into the two-hole, where he bats now, which means Branyan could hit cleanup, the Gute could stay in his comfort zone in the fifth spot, and Griffey could move down and hit sixth.But Sanchez’s arrival would mean either he or Jose Lopez have to play out of position at third base. And if Betancourt is part of the transaction, Ronny Cedeno, for whom eclipsing the Mendoza line at this point would represent a colossal achievement, will still be the M’s everyday second baseman. Could Erik Bedard fetch a starting shortstop (plus a prospect or two) in the trade market? Let’s hope so.