The back-and forth career of Seattle right-hander Brandon Morrow – he’s a starter, no a reliever, no a starter – is about to take another turn.

It will land him, probably by the end of this week, in the starting rotation of the Tacoma Rainiers.

Morrow, the 24-year-old first-round draft pick in 2005, approached the team last month and told them he’d changed his mind about being a reliever. He wanted to be a starting pitcher.

What the Mariners want is a way to use Morrow and his 97 mph velocity, in a capacity that works for him and the team. This spring, when Morrow fell behind because of a tender elbow, he volunteered in the final week of camp to close.

Now that David Aardsma has seized that role, Morrow has used the last month to work on mechanics, especially driving his front foot toward the plate, not first base. After an adjustment period, Morrow seems to have taken to the change.

"It gives me more balance, better location," Morrow said.

Since Morrow doesn’t have a specific role in the Seattle bullpen, the team appears willing to send him to Class AAA and give him time – plenty of it – to return to the role he had in college.

What’s he need to do in Tacoma? Stay healthy, build his arm strength and pitch effectively.

Right or wrong, the team is concerned with his diabetes and isn’t certain Morrow can stand up to the rigors of, say, 175 innings a season. Morrow doesn’t doubt he can start regularly and wants the chance to prove it.

Within the week, it seems, he’s going to get that chance.

Look for the team to bring up Roy Corcoran and assign Morrow to Tacoma, then feel free to watch Morrow start for the Rainiers over the next month and a half, at least.

Things got pretty hectic around here over the last 10 minutes with scouting director Tom McNamara and GM Jack Zduriencik speaking to the media and Dustin Ackley speaking over a conference call.

First lets get to McNamara, who I think enjoys briefings with the press about as much as getting a root canal with no novacaine.

He personally saw Ackley play centerfield on a couple different occasions.

"We’re pretty comfortable with his athleticism and things he can do and the things he’ll be able to do," McNamara said.

They are projecting him as a centefielder, but they said if he had to left field, the Mariners would be fine with it.

As for the Tommy John surgery, McNamara didn't seem concerned.

"Like any other player that comes back from surgery, we just scouted him as much as possible, midway through the season we were pretty excited labeling Dustin as our guy," McNamara said.

About a month ago, McNamara thought Ackley was the guy for the Mariners.

"I’d say about a month ago, I started feeling pretty good, there were a couple guys out there were in the mix, but he kind of stood out for us," McNamara said. "When bring your GM to a game, you’re pretty much making a statement."

As for shortstop Nicholas Franklin, he's a switch hitter, and McNamara noted he went to the same high school - Lake Brantley as Jason Varitek, Felipe Lopez and Rickie Weeks.

"There's a term in basketball called a gym rat, well Franklin is a baseball rat," McNamara said. "He's a confident player with a lot of ability and we're excited to have him."

Jack Zduriencik was next on the podium and said, "For Tom's first draft, I'm very proud of what he accomplished. We're fortunate to get a guy who we think has a sweet swing. You see a lot of these guys that can hit for a high average and run over the years. We think this guy has the potential to be a middle of the lineup hitter that can get on base and hit for average."

Zduriencik saw him play as a freshman and saw him this year at the Boston College series.

"All of our scouts are pretty comfortable with the fact that the transition is going to be pretty easy."

"This is a player that we think can move up pretty quick. All the things you want to see as a hitter, he possesses those natural abilities."

As for Franklin Zduriencik said: "We were really hoping we would get a chance to get a middle infielder. This is a guy they targeted and we're very happy he was there."

The conference call with Dustin Ackley was interesting since most of the callers were seated next to each other talking on the phone to him.

"To be the Mariners first overall exciting," he said.

When asked about playing in the same outfield that Junior and Ichiro played in.

"That's crazy to think that I'm following in their footsteps, but I'm excited to take on that role," he said.

As for his preference of outfield positions, he was open.

"I've played all of them, if I had to play one of them, I'd probably prefer centerfield," he said.

On the status of his arm
"My arm right now is the best its ever been. I feel like I could play out there every day right now if I had to," he said.

Seattle is on a nine-game road trip that should give them the opportunity to win a lot of games - starting tonight here in Baltimore.

The Orioles are struggling, Colorado begins the night seven games below .500 and the Padres are, well, the Padres.

The Mariners open the night with a 28-29 record and the chance to get to .500 with a win. They'd love to throw a 7-2 record at this trip, but that means not looking ahead against anyone.

Tonight, it's Jason Vargas vs. Brad Bergesen.

And we're off.

That was fast

A bullet down the left field line for a double by Brian Roberts, a four-pitch walk, then a stolen base.

Naturally, Adam Jones drove in the run with a fielders choice, and the Mariners trail by one.

It's the kind of baseball Seattle loves to play, but the Orioles have a slightly more aggressive base-stealing leadoff man in Roberts than the Mariners have in Ichiro.

Roberts has 11 steals in 15 attempts, Ichiro has nine in 13 attempts.

Melvin Mora hit a two-out, two-run home run and Seattle was in a three-run hole - or was it?

The umpiring crew huddled to determine whether left fielder Endy Chavez was interfered with at the wall - then went in to view the television replays.

The game-changing result?

Mora was ruled out, so the two runs didn't count. Ouch.

After one: Orioles 1, Mariners 0

Could you leave Ichiro home?

Ichiro began the night with a career average of .370 against the Orioles, the highest in franchise history.

That's Baltimore history!

And then it went up. Ichiro is 2-for-2 already tonight, so can his eighth three-hit night of the season be far behind?

He might even trade a hit for a run. In the first inning, Ichiro singled and was forced at second base. In the third, he singled and was stranded at first.

No interference there

Vargas left a one-out pitch belt high to Nolan Reimold, and the outfielder hit it into the Orioles bullpen.

Two runs feels like a lot tonight, because while Vargas has allowed only five hits, Bergeson has allowed only three - two to Ichiro.

Seattle has not threatened, having had only one man in scoring position all game. Yes, Vargas has kept it close. No, the Mariners haven't shown much at the plate.

After five: Orioles 2, Mariners 0

Goodnight, Mr. Vargas

Vargas gave up a pair of two-out singles and was lifted in favor of Brandon Morrow, he of the new mechanics.

Since losing his closders job in April, Morrow has worked in the bullpen on his stride. His left foot used to point toward first base when he landed. Now? Home plate.

That's allowed him to drive the ball, regain is velocity and ... well, give up RBI singles like the one that greeted him on his second pitch.

Morrow got the third out.

Hello, Georgie!

Against a team with a staff ERA of 5.29, the Mariners got to the ninth in with ... um ... no runs.

And there, they ran into old friend George Sherrill, one of the guys included in the Erik Bedard trade last year.

A situational lefty in Seattle, Sherrill is a closer in Baltimore and made the All-Star team last year enroute to 31 saves.

Against the heart of the Mariners lineup - Russell Branyan, Adrian Beltre, Ken Griffey Jr - Sherrill gave up a run with two outs to spoil the shutout.

Still, he earned his 12th save of '09.

It's a final: Orioles 3, Mariners 1

Despite the rain and heavenly fireworks, the storm has blown through Baltimore, and the Mariners-Orioles game is now scheduled to start at 7:20 p.m. here.

That's 4:20 p.m. back in God's country, and the field looks to be in great shape. Not much rain, really, just a lot of light and noise.

Here's some links to some features and stories on Ackley in the last week.

A nice feature about Ackley and his humbleness

Here's another from the Winston-Salem Journal

And here's another from ESPN the Magazine.

Finally, here's a blog post from Peter Gammons that leads with Ackley.

The Seattle Mariners selected 1B/OF Dustin Ackley with the second pick of the 2009 MLB amateur draft. The Washington Nationals did as predicted and selected right-hander Stephen Strasburg with the first pick.

"Dustin has had an excellent career at North Carolina and in our mind was the best position player in this year's draft," Mariners scouting director Tom McNamara said. "We feel we are adding a great combination of talent and character to our organization with this selection."

Ackley, 21, has played first base after having Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in the summer of 2008. The athletic 6-foot-1, 185-pounder has also played the outfield at UNC. Since arriving in Chapel Hill, Ackley has played in 204 consecutive games, and helped lead UNC to a 158-46 record (.775) and three trips to the College World Series.

Heading into his third College World Series, Ackley is batting .412 (103x250) with 17 doubles, 4 triples, 22 home runs and 70 RBI in 63 games this season. Ackley received ACC Player of the Year and First-Team Louisville Slugger All-America honors, becoming the first three-time All-America selection in Tar Heel baseball history.

Ackley has emerged as one of the best players in ACC history. He holds school career records for batting average (.410), hits (338), runs (225) and total bases (535). Ackley is a career .410 (338x824) hitter with 58 doubles, 11 triples, 39 home runs and 195 RBI. He has posted multiple hits in 105 of 204 career games (51%).

Ackley has also been a clutch hitter during postseason play. He enters the CWS with a current 19-game post-season hitting streak (.506/42x83) and overall is a .398 hitter (47x118) in 28 post-season games.

Honors
* Three-Time All-American
* Three-Time ACC Selection
* 2009 ACC Player of the Year
* 2009 Golden Spikes Finalist
* 2009 Collegiate Baseball All-American (1B)
* 2009 Chapel Hill Regional Most Outstanding Player
* 2007 & 2008 All-CollegeWorld Series

7:14 -- The Mariners made their final pick of the day, selecting Ackley's teammate Kyle Seager - a 2B/3B - from UNC. That is all for the Mariners today. More stuff after I file my story.

6:29 -- With the 51st pick, the Mariners take first baseman Rich Poythress out of the University of Georgia.

6:01 -- The Mariners with the 33rd pick catcher Steven Baron. We talked about this earlier and DAve Cameron from the USS Mariner had said the Mariners had a pre-draft deal with him. He's considered to be the best defensive high school catcher.

5:16 -- The Mariners take Nicholas Franklin, a high school shortstop from Florida.

I really thought they were going with RHP Tanner Scheppers here, but they went shortstop. Perhaps its fitting on a day when Yuni Betancourt is sitting for the fourth straight game.

He's 6-1, 170 and has committed to Auburn.

5:06 --- Ackley and teammate Alex White were on MLB TV. And Ackley said he was surprised to be selected at No. 2. He might be the only one.

We are going to have a conference call with Ackley in about 10 minutes, right about the time the Mariners will be picking 27th, but you know what, we adjust that's what you do.

As Orian pointed out in the comments, I said Aaron Gibson, when I meant Kyle Gibson, Just a mistake of too many names at once.

4:55 Well any hopes that RHP Kyle Gibson would slip to the Mariners at pick 27 because of the stress fracture in his forearm have been dashed as the Twins take Gibson at No. 22.

Here's the last few poicks.

16. Diamondbacks: Bobby Borchering, 3B
17. Diamondbacks: A.J. Pollock, CF
18. Marlins: Chad James, LHP
19. Cardinals: Shelby Miller, RHP
20. Blue Jays: Chad Jenkins, RHP (
21. Astros: Jiovanni Mier, SS
22. Twins: AAron Gibson, RHP

4:21 --- Well, I've now cooled down since my temper tantrum.

Here's the last few picks

12. Royals: Aaron Crow, RHP -- Crow was drafted by the Nationals last season but didn't sign. He's been pitching in independent ball. It's a bit of a surprise that he's dropped this far, but it's a steal for the Royals, who are trying to build a staff around Zack Greinke and former No. 1 pick Luke Hochevar.

13. Athletics: Grant Green, SS -- Remember when there was some talk about the Mariners taking Green at No. 2 way back when. But he didn't have much of a year this year and there were some doubts that he could even play short at the big league level.
14. Rangers: Matthew Purke, LHP
15. Indians: Alex White, RHP -- the second UNC player to go in the first round.

The D'Backs have back to back picks here.

4:03 -- I've absolutely had it with this blog software. I write about three paragraphs on some picks and also toss in a joke about Bud Selig being dense and his haircut and it disappeared into the Internet ether.

How are you supposed to live blog when you have to wait five minutes before being able to edit the post? How? How? What if something important happens in that five minutes? Ok, that's my rant. We are supposedly getting new blog software soon. So I will shut up and apologize to the TNT for my ramblings.

Here's the picks that have transpired since then.

6. Giants: Zach Wheeler, RHP (
7. Braves: Mike Minor, LHP
8. Reds: Mike Leake, RHP
9. Tigers: Jacob Turner, RHP
10. Nationals: Drew Storen, RHP
11. Rockies: Tyler Matzek, LHP

I wonder if Bill Bavasi had any input with the Reds pick at No. 9. I'm going to say no, because I like the pick. I've watched Leake pitch a few times this season on TV and love him. Manager Don Wakamatsu and I talked about him the other day and Wakamatsu loved how he attacked hitters.

3:31 -- Jack Zduriencik is on the MLB Network right now, and he mentioned that he believes it will be a "short period of time till he's a big leaguer" when asked about when Ackley could be playing for the Mariners.

The Padres took Donovan Tate at No. 3, while the Pirates take catcher Tony Sanchez at No.4.

3:20 p.m. --- The Mariners take Dustin Ackley with the second pick. It's official. It's the right pick. And something that was expected since we were just handed bios on him, 10 seconds after the pick.

From the press release: "Dustin has had an excellent career at North CArolina and in our mind was the best position player in this year's draft," Mariners scouting director Tom McNamara said. "We feel we are adding a great combination of talent and character to our organization with this selection."

3:15 Well, that was anticlimactic ... Strasburg was taken, it's weird hearing a pick and not hearing New York Jets fans booing.

So Stephen Strasburg is going to the Washington Nationals. Rumors were that he was going to demand $50 million. He does have Satan, er, Scott Boras as his agent. It will be interesting to see how it shakes out. But I'm sure the dozens and dozens of Nationals fans are excited.

3:03 p.m. -- Obviously Strasburg will be taken with the first pick. Taking a pitcher with the first pick can be a dicey proposition. Joe Posnanski takes a look at this premise with on his awesome sports blog.

The host of this draft show -- I forget his name - yeah, his voice is already driving me insane.

Also, ESPN's Keith Law is reporting that the Pirates with the fourth pick will select catcher Tony Sanchez of Boston College. Sanchez was projected as a late first round pick, but supposed the Pirates have a pre-draft deal done, and he'll probably much less money than the fourth slot.

2:47 p.m. -- Well, we are here at Safeco Field awaiting the Mariners picks. I'm kind of trying to decide how to do this. I think we'll do it like we do the game updates, only I will list the time and keep the newest updates at the top.

A few things ... Baseball America which is largely a subscription site. However, it has a draft blog which is fantastic and free. So that's a useful guide.

Their draft guru Jim Callis is set on the Mariners taking Dustin Ackley.

The infield at Camden Yards is covered and the sky is angry - lightning and thunder directly overhead took out Seattle's batting practice.

The game is still expected to be played, but a delay is possible.

And now, more on and from Yuniesky Betancourt.

What manager Don Wakamatsu said is that he's rewarding the hard work of Ronny Cedeno, who has 'busted his butt' even when not playing, Wakamatsu said.

What must Betancourt do to get back in the lineup?

"He has to show he's prepared to play," Wakamatsu said.

Betancourt, who has had meetings with his manager and coaches all season, insists he's doing nothing different now than ever.

"I've been doing the same routine for years," Betancourt said. "I can't control the lineup. I'm doing whatever I've done in the past."

That, of course, may well be the issue. Betancourt has never been a hard worker, and the past four days have not served him well.

Since being out of the lineup, his teammates say, Betancourt has not taken a single ground ball.

And Monday, when 12 position players showed up for early batting practice, Betancourt was not among them.

"I was asleep on the plane when they announced that," Betancourt said.

Clearly, this management group - from general manager Jack Zduriencik to Wakamatsu and his coaches - have had enough of half-assed workouts and a failure to adjust.

The simple truth is, Betancourt has minor league options left, and one plan is to send him down and tell him he won't be back until he shows his work ethic has changed.

"You can't play a guy who doesn't work hard on a team where everyone else busts their ass," one Mariner said. "I don't know why this never happened before, but no one in this clubhouse has any doubts about why it's happened now."

Well, no one but Yuni.

Mike Hargrove thought about it, as did John McLaren and Jim Riggleman but Don Wakamatsu has done it - and for the fourth consecutive game, Yuniesky Betancourt is on the bench.

A message? More than that, Betancourt is being shown the team can play solid baseball without him.

Listening never worked. Virtually every big-league manager he's had - and Wakamatsu is his fourth - has told him what the issues are.

A lack of focus during games at shortstop. A lack of work before games. The tendency to chase bad pitches, no matter what count they come in.
The message here isn't just for Betancourt - it's for the entire roster, the whole organization. And it's simple.

Do what we ask, the way we teach it, or someone else will get your playing time. Someone who listens.

It's been received, loud and clear, by everyone but Yuni.

Tonight's lineup:
Ichiro RF
Russell Branyan 1B
Adrian Beltre 3B
Ken Griffey Jr. DH
Jose Lopez 2B
Endy Chavez LF
Ronny Cedeno SS
Jamie Burke C
Franklin Gutierrez CF

EDIT: My mistake on the labeling. As JP1717 points out, these aren't all first-round picks the first picks of that year's draft. Some are in the supplemental and such, so remember these aren't all first round picks, but the first pick the Mariners made that year.

Just for a reference, here are the first picks of the Mariners in the past. Some are good, Junior and Alex Rodriguez and Adam Jones, some were not good at the time like Michael Garciaparra, and some never panned out like Ryan Anderson (pictued above) and Patrick Lennon.

Take a look for yourself.

Mariners top draft picks
Year Player
1977 Dave Henderson, OF
1978 Tito Nanni, OF
1979 *Al Chambers, OF
1980 Darnell Coles, SS
1981 *Mike Moore,
1982 Spike Owen, SS
1983 Darrell Akerfelds, RHP
1984 Bill Swift, RHP
1985 Mike Campbell, RHP
1986 Patrick Lennon, SS
1987 *Ken Griffey Jr., OF
1988 Tino Martinez, 1B
1989 Roger Salkeld, RHP
1990 Marc Newfield, 1B
1991 Shawn Estes, LHP
1992 Ron Villone, LHP
1993 *Alex Rodriguez, SS
1994 Jason Varitek, C
1995 Jose Cruz, Jr.,
1996 Gil Meche, RHP
1997 Ryan Anderson, LHP
1998 Matt Thornton, LHP
1999 Ryan Christianson, C
2000 Sam Hays, LHP
2001 Michael Garciaparra, SS
2002 John Mayberry, Jr., 1B
2003 Adam Jones, OF
2004 Matt Tuiasosopo, SS
2005 Jeff Clement, C
2006 Brandon Morrow, RHP
2007 Phillippe Aumont, RHP
2008 Josh Fields, RHP
* First overall pick in draft

Today is the MLB amateur draft. Obviously it isn't like the NBA draft and nowhere near the NFL draft, which is three months of speculation and debate before it actually happens.

But this draft is important. As Mariners scouting director Tom McNamara called it, "the most important draft in the history of the organization."

Why?

Well the Mariners have six of the first 116 picks -- First round: No. 2, No. 27. Compensatory round: No. 33. Second round: No. 51. Third round: No. 82. Fourth round: No. 113.

Here's a pick list

"We've got to get this right," McNamara said several times. "It's big. It's real big."

McNamara is a long time scout, who scouted and signed Prince Fielder for the Brewers, and he's worked with GM Jack Zduriencik in Milwaukee. In my story for today's paper, you will find out, Zduriencik gave McNamara his first scouting job.

Obviously much of the talk swirls around the No. 2 pick. It would take a minor catastrophe for the Nats not to take Stephen Strasburg with the first pick. Most people believe the M's will take 1B/OF Dustin Ackley with the second pick. I have no problem with this. I've seen him play a few times on TV. I like that he can run, he's athletic, versatile and he hits, and hits it hard. He seems to understand how to hit and have an approach to it better than about three players on the Mariners right now.

If the Mariners somehow didn't take Ackley, there is some thought about right-handed pitcher Aaron Crow, or a longshot being lefty Tyler Matzek.

My guess is its Ackley, even though rumors are his agent Scott Boras will be looking for an $8 million signing bonus.

As for the rest of the draft, I will be the first to admit I'm not exactly an expert. I read what I can and watch what I can. If you are looking for further details, places like Baseball America (some subscription stories) and Keith Law and Jason Churchill's draft blog at ESPN.com (insider subscription) are good. Churchill's site Prospect Insider and the USS Mariner and Lookout Landing also have some good analysis and opinions on it.

One thing the USS Mariner mentioned is the possibility that the Mariners have already negotiated with high school catcher Steven Baron and sign him early at No. 33 for a lower slot price. The possible logic is to have additional money for the no. 27 pick.

Anyway, while I admit to not knowing everything about the draft, I will tell you I will be up at Safeco tomorrow and providing updates, and everything I can to make sure you know what's going on.