Mariners' Winn unfazed by trade rumors

"Almost to the day that they were talking about us getting another left fielder at the trade deadline (last season), from that point on Randy was probably our most consistent hitter," Melvin said.

"I don't think it had anything to do with the trade deadline or the rumors," Winn said. "That's the way the season goes. It's a marathon and not a sprint, and sometimes you have good months and bad months. It just so happened my good months were later in the season."

Rumors persist that Winn is expendable, ready to be moved should the Mariners get that big-bat outfielder. But much would be lost with Winn, whose numbers are as overlooked as the soft-spoken man.

Winn batted .295 in 2003, second on the team to Ichiro Suzuki and a point better than revered sluggers Edgar Martinez and Bret Boone. He also delivered in the clutch -- third in the American League at .349 with runners in scoring position. He made just three errors, hit a team-leading 37 doubles and stole 23 bases.

So why are so many ready to get rid of him?

"You can't take it personally," Winn said. "If I did, I guess I would have been upset this whole off-season. There was a lot of talk about bringing in another outfielder, and that's still a possibility. I don't concern myself with it. If it happens, it happens. If it's something that's got to be done to make the team better, I'll fit in where I can."

This season, after the departure of Mike Cameron, Winn's fit is in center field, the position he played most of his career before coming from Tampa Bay with Lou Piniella's departure after the 2002 season. Raul Ibanez takes over in left field.

Much is being made of the position switch, which strikes Winn as odd, since he's returning to his natural position. Safeco's outfield is expansive, and Winn has a below-average arm, but apart from his rookie season in 1998, he has been better than the league average in fielding percentage at the position. Winn represents a downgrade in defense from Cameron, but so would just about any player.

Winn is plenty fast to cover ground in center field, and it's the easiest outfield position from which to read the ball's flight. His challenge will be getting used to the tendencies of Ichiro on his left and Ibanez on his right. Ibanez isn't as fleet as last year's outfielders, so positioning will be more important.

"We'll try to play our starting outfield together as much as possible, and (Winn) is going to learn how much ground Ichiro covers out there," Melvin said. "Ichiro covers so much ground that Randy is going to figure out quickly that he might be able to cheat to the other side a little bit."

"The first thing people think about with Ichiro is the arm, but he really does cover a lot of ground," Winn said. "Once the games start, we're going to get a true gauge of where (Ichiro) likes to play, where I like to play, where Raul likes to play."

Winn likes to play in Seattle, and for now, it looks like that's where he'll start the season. Where he will end up is beyond his control. What he does on the field is not.

"My main goal individually is always to have a better year than I did the year before," he said. "Beyond that, there are always things you can improve on. There's not one area of my game that I'm totally satisfied with. Offensively, defensively, baserunning, there are a lot of little things I can improve on."

NO PRESSURE: Gil Meche doesn't have to worry about earning a spot in the starting rotation this spring, which means his spring numbers might be worse, which is ultimately a good thing.

"This is the first year I can work on things and not feel like I have to go out and blow everybody away," said the right-hander, who went 15-13 last year in his first full major league season.

"I still want to put up zeroes, but I can work on my changeup if I want to work on my changeup. Last year, I had some guys I was fighting in camp."

Meche said his emphasis in camp is working low in the strike zone.

WILD THING: Rett Johnson was in trouble on the mound, and J.J. Putz had to work quickly in the bullpen. When Johnson walked his third consecutive batter to open the seventh inning of yesterday's charity game against San Diego, Putz was summoned.

The skipper greeted him with a joke: "Well, it doesn't get any easier than this."

The big right-hander took the mound and promptly threw his first two warmup pitches all the way to the screen, scattering photographers.

A show of intimidation?

"I wish I could say it was, but it wasn't," Putz said afterward. "I was loose, but I was just trying to get a little more on it. Once I started throwing my curveball, I settled down."

Putz got out of the inning, thanks to a great play at third by Willie Bloomquist followed by a double play, then pitched a scoreless eighth as well. He received a nice pat on the back from Johnson afterward.

"It was nice to help a fellow redhead out," Putz said.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Cell phone proliferation has caused the Mariners to crack down in the clubhouse. This season, cell phone use by players will be banned after 2 p.m. on game days. There are still areas outside the main clubhouse where they can make calls.

"It's a place of business," Melvin said. "You had guys talking on their cell phones all the time. Some guys get offended by that, and rightly so."

NOTES: The Padres have changed their starting pitcher for tomorrow's game. Joel Pineiro will face former Mariner Sterling Hitchcock instead of former Mariner Ismael Valdez (who, incidentally, has changed the spelling of his last name from Valdes). ... Line of the day, from bench coach and camp coordinator Rene Lachemann: "Be sure to check the new rainy-day workout schedule. I don't want any of you guys to go out there and shrink." ... The team met with Major League Baseball's security officials to discuss security policies and procedures. ... In addition to starter Jamie Moyer, pitchers Ron Villone, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Eddie Guardado and Clint Nageotte are scheduled to work in today's game against Arizona. ... Former Mariner Jeff Cirillo started at second base for the Padres and went 0-for-2.

P-I reporter David Andriesen can be reached at 206-448-8061 or davidandriesen@seattlepi.com

Add P-I Baseball headlines to