Kenji Johjima News

According to Fox Sports, the Seattle Mariners are going to "kick the tires" on the availability of All-Star left fielder Jason Bay.

Former major league player Terrmel Sledge drove in five runs as the Nippon Ham Fighters defeated the Rakuten Eagles 9-4 in Game 5 of the Pacific League championship series to advance to the Japan Series.

Kenji Johjima's return home didn't cost him too dearly as the former Seattle Mariners catcher agreed to a reported four-year, $21 million deal with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan's Central League on Tuesday.

Former Seattle Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima has agreed to join the Hanshin Tigers of Japan's Central League.

The 2009 season is almost behind us and the Mariners have gone their separate ways for the winter after bringing winning back to the organization.

I put in a call to Rob Johnson on Monday to get his reaction on the Kenji Johjima news, seeing as how he's now the senior catcher in the organization with his one year and 57 days of service time.

The Mariners are off the hook on their $16 million mistake after Seattle catcher Kenji Johjima relinquished the remainder of his salary so he could return home and finish his career in Japan.

The Kenji Johjima news was barely 10 minutes old on Monday when the first email came: "Do you think Carlos Silva would opt out of his contract, too?" It's nice pipedream, but don't hold your breath on Silva relinquishing the $24 million still owed him by the Mariners through 2011.

So why did Kenji Johjima really leave the Seattle Mariners with two years and $15.8 million in salary still on the table? The veteran catcher spoke with the Japanese media that covers the Mariners on Wednesday evening and acknowledged it was only partially about returning home to finish his career.

This is a 2008 file photo showing Kenji Johjima of the Seattle Mariners baseball team.

Great Day in the Morning ! The Yankees continue to impress with their heroics. They are clearly the Best Team in Baseball ! The Magic number is down to only 5... They have gone 25-3 in the last 28 games played versus the 3 other AL playoff teams ! The pitching, top to bottom has been stellar! C.C. is a horse! Mo is, well, Mo ! The Greatest of All ...

Good to be back in town after four days covering the Arizona Fall League. Thanks to Larry Stone for filling in yesterday when the news broke about Kenji Johjima and third base coach Bruce Hines .

Leta s talk about an American League team other than the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for a second, shall we? There was a very small, but yet very big transaction yesterday for the Seattle Mariners.

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre told pitchers Clayton Kershaw and Vicente Padilla to be ready to start Game 5 on Wednesday.

This one pales in comparison to the Kenji Johjima news that broke earlier this morning, but the Mariners announced that all but one of their coaches will return next year.

The radar gun pops as a Felix Hernandez fastball hits the high 90's. A little on the inside half perhaps, but with Kenji Johjima's reputation, his pitchers will get a close call every now and again.

The Peoria Javelinas are taking batting practice here in Peoria, Ariz. as we write this.

Editor's note: Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik answered questions from readers Wednesday in an exclusive, hourlong online chat, the first of The Seattle Times' weekly series with local sports newsmakers.

A step in the right direction describes the Mariners' improvement in 2009. The Mariners showed more improvement in the win-loss record last season than any team in the Major Leagues, winning 23 more games than in '08, but much work still needs to be done before the gap between them and the American League West champion Angels can be closed.

Morrow drops his hand, KOs the A's The eight shutout innings, nine strikeouts, sharp control of a darting fastball and overall excellence by Brandon Morrow in Wednesday night's victory over the A's obviously were just what Mariners manager Don Wakamastu wanted to see.