Mariner Matters | 5.12

.
Russell seeing the ball better literally...


KEVORK DJANSEZIAN / GETTY IMAGES

This season, Branyan's .289 batting average is roughly 60 points higher than his career total. He still has power; leading the Mariners with seven home runs, seven doubles and an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .935.

And while he's still prone to strikeouts, he's now fanning once every 3.3 at-bats instead of every 2.5.

"I think it's helped me really pinpoint and focus on the ball," Branyan said. "I see the ball exactly where it is."

Branyan spends 10 minutes a day, usually at home, training his eye muscles by donning special glasses and following a moving set of three-dimensional arrows on his laptop with help from a joystick. He can adjust the arrows' speed and vary programs — dealing with depth perception, tracking, focus and other visual areas — as he becomes more adept at following the images.

"We call it weight training for the eyes," Seiller said. "What we do is, we work on the speed and efficiency of the eye movements. And when you do that, you give the batter more time."

There are two components to Vizual Edge: the training program and an evaluation process that identifies visual strengths and weaknesses.

Zduriencik and the Brewers used both. Zduriencik has introduced Seiller's evaluation program into Mariners scouting, and the team has begun 15-minute eye tests on most amateur prospects being considered for the June draft.

"It helps you identify which players may have gifted vision," Zduriencik said. "And also, if any red flags pop up, you can look into it further to make sure it's not a serious issue that can come back to bite you later."

Congrats on #5000 , Mr. Niehaus!

AP Photo

The man who has been the voice of the franchise since its expansion inception in 1977 called his 5,000th Mariners' game Thursday when Seattle lost to Kansas City 3-1 in Kauffman Stadium.

The Hall of Fame announcer has missed just 90 games over those 33 seasons, not a bad attendance record.

When Niehaus called his first Mariners game in 1977, Jimmy Carter had just replaced Gerald Ford as president. Star Wars was debuting in theaters. The first Apple II computers were just hitting the market.

The Hyphe-ator tosses simulated game...

Rowland-Smith said the best part of the session was "facing hitters, seeing some swings-and-misses and getting ground balls and stuff. You feel like you are actually a baseball player again, not just a cheerleader on the top step of the dugout."

Rowland-Smith has been recovering from triceps tendinitis for more than a month.

He broke camp as the fifth starter and pitched against the Athletics in Oakland on April 10, going 3 1/3 innings. He has been sidelined ever since.

The game plan is for the lefty to throw a bullpen session on Thursday and then begin a short rehab stint at extended spring training in Peoria, Ariz. He would then travel to Triple-A Tacoma for perhaps two starts before returning to the Mariners.

"It could change, but I have it all written down on a calendar," he said. "I'll probably be back [with the Mariners] at the end of the month."

Manager Don Wakamatsu was pleased with Tuesday's workout.

"He has made some adjustments in his mechanics, and I think he has improved," the manager said. "What I was looking for was the reaction of the hitters and his command. I thought he stayed behind the ball well today, and his breaking ball had late break."