The Billings Gazette from Billings, Montana • 19

rt 'mfU' HB IL- Sunday, April 8, 2001 7B Major League Baseball The game time, it's a-draggin' lT I 7 yj L. By the clock The Rangers' home opener Tuesday lasted 2 hours, 31 minutes, which is quick by today's standards. But, take a closer look, and one can see room for improvement The dead time: Hitters stepping out of batter's box: 15:18 Batter calling timeout (1): 0:1 Pitchers' throws to first base: 0:23 Players' conferences on pitchers mound (7): 2:14 Coach's conference on pitcher's mound (1): 0:55 Time allotted between innings 33:20 Actual time between innings: 37:47 Difference: 4:27 Actual time of game: 2 hours, 31 minutes "Dead time:" 23 minutes, 28 seconds Total baseball action: 2 hours, 7 minutes, 32 tam With Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki the focus, Japanese fans have their attention on the Mariners I. I if- r- Sasaki earned his first save of the season as the Mariners defeated Oakland 5-4. They repeated the feat Friday night when Suzuki homered in the top of the 10 against Texas for a 9-7 lead and Sasaki nailed down his second save.

Those performances surely pleased the team's principal owner, Hiroshi Yamauchl president of Nintendo Co. The popularity comes with a "They do whatever they have to do with the media and spend time with them, then they go about their business," he said. Manager Lou Piniella has even learned a few words in Japanese. "It's been a lot more work with the media than it usually is," he said. "But it's been that way since spring training." Mark Reynolds, 13, from Port Angeles, carried a Suzuki BY MAC ENGEL Knight Ridder Newspapers ARLINGTON, Texas In the middle of the Rangers' final 2001 exhibition game, manager Johnny Oates discovered a problem.

"How can we enforce a 12 o'clock curfew if we aren't out of the ballpark yet?" Oates asked pitching coach Larry Hardy. The game was pushing two hours and it was the sixth inning. But long games aren't any big surprise to the Rangers, or to baseball for that matter. "You look up in the stands, and it's the seventh inning in a one-run game, and you see people leaving. It's kind of embarrassing," Rangers reliever Jeff Zimmerman said.

"I mean, you can't blame them. They have jobs and have to get up early the next morning." Whatever the reason television, lengthy batter introductions, offense, pitching changes baseball games have evolved from two-hour affairs into three-hour-plus marathons. Last season, the average time for a game was 2 hours, 57 minutes, about the same as an NFL game. The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs played the longest nine-inning game in history, going 4 hours, 22 minutes in May. On closer look, however, it's not necessarily advertisements or a few home runs extending games.

It's also "dead time," seemingly innocuous moments when batters adjust gloves or pitchers throw to first base. When added together, those little things can turn a two-hour game into a 2'2-hour game. And it's those moments that baseball is trying to clean up to create a quicker, more compact product that, even if it lasts a little longer, probably has more action than an NFL game. "We'd like to blame a lot of it on TV, but we create a lot of that dead time," Oates said. "Like a manager walking to the mound at a snail's pace, pitchers taking their time on the mound, guys stepping out of the box, all of that's part of it." In the Rangers' home open er Tuesday, the official time was 2:31, quick by today's standards.

Eliminate the time while hitters step out of the batter's box, while a hitter called time out and while pitchers threw to first base, and the game would have been reduced by 15 minutes, 52 seconds. "If they had to stay in the box then I would say it would be very possible to capture 50 percent of that time back," umpire Steve Rippley said. "I think you get a better-played game if it's quicker. But, TV's calling the shots because they're paying the freight." Baseball's allotted time of 2:05 between innings, mostly for commercials, doesn't speed games up. The grand total of all those breaks is 33:20 35:25 if the home team has to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning.

On Tuesday, there was an additional 4:27 between innings. Take away the eight conferences at the pitcher's mound, and another 3:09 would have s- i it By JANIE McCAULEY Associated Press SEATTLE Sushi is back on the menu at Safeco Field, where Japanese fans in traditional robes dance through the stands waving their country's flag and holding up signs in their native language. This season, the Mariners are Japan's team. The excitement surrounds two Seattle players Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki Suzuki, the leadoff hitter and right fielder, is a seven-time batting champion in his homeland and. the first Japanese position player in major league baseball.

Sasaki is a second-year relief pitcher who was American League Rookie of the Year in 20QO. Japanese tour groups are flocking to the city, the Japanese auto manufacturer Nissan is advertising in the bullpen, and there is more media attention surrounding the team than anyone can remember even when Keri Griffey Jr. was here. Japanese TV broadcaster NHK will show all 81 Mariners home games in high-definition television to fans in Japan. In addition, 55 home and away games will be broadcast in Japan by regular signal "It's great for the Mariners and it's great for basebalL We know that the Mariners have been everywhere in Japan since Ichiro signed his contract," said Rebecca Hale, the team's director of public information.

Seattle has aggressively scouted the Pacific Rim for several, years, said Pat Gillick, Mariners executive vice president and general manager. nWhat baseball's been trying to do for a period of time is take the game globally," he said. "So this fits right in with their program." Mariners chairman and CEO Howard Lincoln sees it as a way to increase revenue for the team working with travel agencies in Japan," Lincoln said. "Seattle is not a place Japanese tourists usually come, but we can change that" Lincoln couldn't have scripted a better opening night for his Japanese fans on April 2. Suzuki had two hits in his debut, and J7 vrr Associated Press Ichiro Suzuki, left, Is batting .417 (10 for 24) in his first five major league games while Kazuhiro Sasaki, last year's American League rookie of the year, has three saves.

been lopped off. The grand total for the "dead time" Tuesday: 23 minutes, 28 seconds. "I can sympathize with the fans if it seems like the game's dragging," Rangers left fielder Rusty Greer said. "But, that's the nature of baseball." But baseball is trying to ensure that the game, not dead time, is the focus. Although the rule is rarely needed, pitcher's have 12 seconds from the time they step on the rubber to pitch the ball.

Player introductions aren't as lengthy, and, Rangers reliever Mike Venafro said, hitters aren't spending as much time out of the batter's box. "I've noticed a lot of guys aren't taking nearly as much time out of the box," he said. "They've cut down the music they play when they introduce hitters. I know, unless a hitter has a bug in his eye or something like that, umpires aren't giving them time out." And what more can Major League Baseball do? Officials might want to look to the college game for direction. To shorten games, the NCAA prohibits hitters from leaving the batter's box between pitches.

With a few exceptions, players must keep one foot in the box throughout the at-bat. If a batter intentionally leaves the box without permission, the umpire may call a strike. Major League Baseball has not considered such a measure, but some players and managers think something could be done. "I tell you what they should do is put a big clock up behind the plate and one in center field, and the pitcher has 20 seconds to throw a pitch, and when it runs out, a big horn goes off; like a shot clock," Oates said. "No, I wouldn't like that because that's what I like about baseball: There is no clock.

But I don't like sitting through four hours of torture." Truth is, however, there is no such thing as torture in baseball as long as one thing is happening. "You could stay out there and play for four and a half hours," Anaheim manager Mike Scioscia said, "because it doesn't matter how long you play as long as you win." V70 XC Some days, he says no to TV cameras. He refuses to talk before games. After Wednesday's 10-2 win over Oakland, he kept reporters waiting nearly l'a hours, opting to lift weights and shower before answering questions about his performance. Suzuki is quickly growing tired of all the attentioa "Sometimes I feel enamored by it, but most of the time it is bothersome," he said.

Sasaki won't talk about his Japanese teammate. Sasaki, who collected 37 saves last season, has a much lower profile on the team than Suzuki For the 33-year-old Sasaki the biggest bonus from all the publicity is that his family can watch him on TV. He said his 58-year-old mother wasn't well enough to travel the nearly 4,800 miles for Seattle's opening series. Plus, she's afraid of flying, he said. Edgar Martinez, Seattle's media-sawy designated hitter who grew up in Puerto Rico, has been impressed with how well his two teammates have dealt with the attention.

them better." The coming retirement of Cleveland general manager John Hart means that by season's end, just five active GMs will pre-date the work stoppage of 1994-95 with their current clubs. Longevity in such a hard-charging profession is elusive indeed. Miami-based hitting guru Charlie Lau Jr. spent time working this winter with Toronto's Homer Bush, who really needed the help. Bush, posted an OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) of 524 last year.

The last time Lau and Bush worked together, the ever-polite second baseman hit 320 in 1999. One scout who saw the Braves lineup this spring came away impressed: "Everybody's down on their lineup but I don't think it's bad at all It could be a Yankees-style lineup, where there's no one guy that jumps out at you but they're all tough outs. There's a lot of professional hitters in that lineup." Here's a challenge for White Sox ace David Wells as he embarks on perhaps his last hurrah: No pitcher has won 20 games in consecutive seasons for different tteams since Catfish Broadcaster foresaw Nomo's sign Wednesday, and wore a cap from his old team in Japan, the Orix Blue Wave. Kazu Amatsu, a 27-year-old Tokyo native, traveled from Whistler, British Columbia, for the opening series. He was joined by three friends who timed their trips from Japan the games.

"Ichiro is very, very famous, almost the same as (Michael) Jordan," said 26-year-old Naomi Matsul who changed her flight plans from Japan to make Wednesday's game. "He's a celebrity," Piniella said. "He's very recognized. He's done well with it. There's a lot of scrutiny associated with that." success Hunter in 1974-75 with the A's and Yankees.

Of course, no pitcher has ever won 20 games while weighing at least 280 pounds, so there's a lot on the table (sorry) this year for the Boomer. More proof that baseball is a team game and another bad omen for the Rangers: The 1986 Mets are the last team to make the playoffs after having the game's highest-paid player on their Opening Day roster. Back then it was catcher Gary Carter at $196 million. Just two other clubs have managed to post a winning record under those parameters: the "91 Dodgers with Darryl Strawberry ($3.8 million) and the 2000 Dodgers with Kevin Brown ($15.7 million). The White Sox have been pleased with reserve outfielder Julio Ramirez, the former Marlins super-prospect who was dealt this winter for Jeff Abbott Ramirez started the second game of the year, went 1 for 3 and nailed Omar Vizquel at home as he tried to score on a fly balL Ramirez killed lefties this spring and could work his way into a platoon with Jose Valentin, who hits right-handers much better.

price, however. Every day, Suzuki walks into the clubhouse to face up to 100 Japanese media members swarming around his locker. They record his every move what he eats and wears, how he spends his time before and after games. They block the way of other players, who sometimes holler as they try to get to the training room or the shower. Fans emulating the 27-year-old Suzuki down to his signature shades are scattered through the stands, and some compare the 5-foot-9, 160-pound player to a rock star.

He certainly acts the part, at times. nounced flyballgroundball ratios last season than Nomo: Rick Helling, Orlando Hernandez, Eric Milton and Paul Abbott Despite a drop in his velocity, Nomo still knows how to work up in the zone better than most pitchers. And Harwell still knows the game better than most broadcasters. Around the horn Twins manager Tom Kelly insists he isn't bothered by the years of criticism the Twins have received. But you wonder when he says: "The thing you hear most is these (radio) talk shows.

What's baffling for me is somebody has a talk show and knows just about everything about everything that goes on, whether it be auto racing, tennis, football basketball baseball hockey. They've got a lot of answers for everything. I don't know how they keep up with it all How can they do it? Must not sleep at night must have no home life. There's a certain group of people out there, and I don't pay attention to them. I'm too busy putting people on the field that can by successful trying to make GAZETTE SPORTS 1-800-543-2505 sportsl feiflingsgazette.ccm $8 Volvo Gazette Wire Services When Hideo Nomo no-hit the Orioles in his Red Sox debut this week, he made a prophet of Ernie HarwelL 'During spring training interview on baseball's return to the traditional strike zone, the Detroit Tigers' Hall of Fame broadcaster made a number of points, but the one that stood out was this: When asked which pitchers would be helped most by the return of the high strike, Harwell named Nomo before anybody else.

Harwell called all 32 of Nomo's outings last year during a one-season stopover with the Tigers. Obviously, the octogenarian play-by-play man still has a keen eye for the game. "Most pitchers would be helped by (the new strike zone)," Harwell said, "but a pitcher like Nomo, he throws a high fastball all the time. It should help him greatly. He likes to throw that split-finger that drops.

Now, if it stays up, that's great" All it took Nomo was one regular season start to prove Harwell right Indeed, just four American League pitchers had more pro-- 1 All Wheel Drive Wagon, Red, 31 ,000 Miles Selovei- BuicEt.