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day to day

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I have a hypothesis. Let's see if it works out.

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Josh Bard

Early:

Seattle lost starting catcher Josh Bard, who pulled up lame on the basepaths in the second inning and was replaced by Rob Johnson. Wakamatsu said it was a mild calf strain and wasn't believed serious.

Result:

Bard hit the DL, rehabbed in Tacoma, and missed more than a month of Mariner action.

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Erik Bedard

Early:

Erik Bedard (shoulder) is progressing nicely, and the Mariners hope to have him back in their rotation by June, according to the Associated Press. "Erik Bedard feels great. He's way ahead of schedule," general manager Don Wakamatsu said.

Result:

Bedard nearly returned, then didn't, and appears done for the year without ever having thrown a big league pitch.

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Milton Bradley

Early:

Wakamatsu said Milton Bradley, who left early last night with a sore calf, was checked out and it's "nothing serious.'' But giving him today off also allows him to then have the off day tomorrow to get better before the team plays again Friday in Chicago.

Result:

Bradley missed four games, including the entire weekend series.

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Milton Bradley

Early:

Milton Bradley didn't start for the second straight game because of what Wakamatsu described as stiffness in his legs. His status is considered day-to-day, the manager said.

Result:

The M's played eight games between Bradley's injury and the All-Star break and he started zero of them, making two pinch-hit appearances.

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Russell Branyan

Early:

And then there's Russell Branyan, who is out at least two days after a weird injury.
...
Branyan will sit for two days and be day-to-day after that, the manager said.

Result:

Branyan missed four games.

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Russell Branyan

Early:

"I think you look at the injuries the last week or so, they haven't been real helpful," Wakamatsu said. "With Russell (Branyan), he gets the two at-bats and he's out probably for another couple of days.

Result:

Branyan has missed seven consecutive games.

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Doug Fister

Early:

"Again, a young pitcher going deep into the ballgame as he has, you kind of anticipate that at some point he's either going to have a dead arm, or some fatigue,'' Wakamatsu said. "It just happened to be right now.''

Fister is expected to make his next start in the finale of the Texas series next week.

Result:

Fister went on the DL and missed nearly a month of action.

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Shawn Kelley

Early:

"We’re not sure how his elbow is," Wakamatsu said. "He just wasn’t getting better, but when he had an MRI done, it showed no structural damage. We’re just not sure how much time he’ll need to calm the inflammation down."

Result:

Kelley hasn't appeared in a game since June 15th.

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Cliff Lee

Early:

Wakamatsu added, "It's good they caught it when they did. We'll see where we're at in a week. He might feel like a million bucks. We still have 14 days (of spring training) and a lot of decisions. This is not one we were prepared for. Hopefully, he doesn't lose a lot of time.''

Result:

Lee missed nearly the entire month of April before making his Mariner debut.

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Mark Lowe

Early:

Mark Lowe was at his locker and he informed us that he was heading to the 15 day DL with a herniated disc. He had an epidural earlier in the day and the hope was that it would bring down the swelling in the disc which was pressing against a nerve and causing pain down his leg. It is not expected that he will need anything more than the 15 days to recover.

Result:

Mark Lowe hasn't done anything since going on the DL and is probably out for the season.

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Adam Moore

Early:

Moore said he thought he would be ready to play again soon.

"I felt a lot better after the X-rays," he said. "Everything is fine. It's just sore right now and hopefully after a couple of days, I'll be able to get back in there."

Result:

Moore went on the DL with a knee injury and missed nearly a month of action.

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Michael Saunders

Early:

The bad news, however, is that Saunders is out of the lineup tonight, and probably tomorrow, with a jammed right middle finger. He suffered the injury scrambling back to first base when he was picked off by Weaver in Friday's game. He's day to day, though the injury is not believed to be serious.

Result:

Saunders missed six games, although he did pinch-run in one.

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Mike Sweeney

Early:

Mike Sweeney is again day-to-day with some back stiffness and will sit out Friday for the second straight game.

Result:

Sweeney landed on the 15-day DL.

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Mike Sweeney

Early:

You can see Mike Sweeney warming up down on the field prior to this afternoon's game. If you think he has a bit of a pained expression, you might be on to something. Sweeney was slated to start a second game in a row at first base, but was scratched just moments ago.

Result:

Sweeney landed on the 15-day DL.

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Jack Wilson

Early:

Mariners shortstop Jack Wilson has an injury right behind his knee. It's the same place he hurt it back in spring training and he missed a few days that time.

The hope is he's just loosened some scar tissue. If that's the case, he might only be out a few days. Wilson said it felt very sore when he first came in the clubhouse but that the discomfort eased as time went on.

Still, the Mariners are going to evaluate the situation tomorrow and may have to make a move to bring another infielder up from Class AAA if this is going to keep Wilson out a day or two.

Result:

Wilson hit the DL and didn't return to the Mariners until June 20th, although in fairness he did suffer additional setbacks while rehabbing with Tacoma.

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CONCLUSION

When a Mariner has gotten injured this season, the injury has consistently been a bigger deal than was initially let on. I'm not saying there's something systematic going on. I'm not saying the Mariners are incompetent or that the team should fire Rick Griffin or any of that reactionary nonsense. I'm just saying, hey, weird. Stop it.