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Mariners Part With Sexson

The Associated Press

Published: July 11, 2008

SEATTLE - The sunken Seattle Mariners finally released slugger Richie Sexson after a slump that lasted for most of two seasons and made him a target of constant booing from frustrated fans.

The Mariners would have loved to have been able to trade Sexson, but his $14 million salary this season made that nearly impossible. So now Seattle is eating the rest of that money in what may be the first of multiple moves to rid the last-place team of underperforming veteran players.

The Mariners, bolstered by a player payroll of $117 million, expected to reach their first postseason since 2001. Instead they entered Thursday's game at Oakland at 36-55, 18 games out in the AL West. Seattle has already fired General Manager Bill Bavasi plus Manager John McLaren, and is on track to become the first team with a $100 million payroll to lose 100 games.

The Mariners also placed opening-day starter Erik Bedard on the 15-day disabled list with stiffness in his left shoulder. The move, retroactive to July 5, means Bedard will be eligible to return July 20 - and will miss some chances to be showcased for teams interested in possibly trading for him before the July 31 deadline for deals without waivers. Bedard has just six wins in 15 starts and has not pitched since going five innings July 4, extending his trend of not being able to pitch deep into games.

ALL-STAR: Colorado's Matt Holliday will replace injured Chicago Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano in the National League starting lineup for Tuesday's All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.

Soriano has been on the disabled list since June 12 because of a broken left hand from being hit with a pitch from Atlanta's Jeff Bennett.

CARDINALS: Left-hander Mark Mulder was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a shoulder strain, one day after he left his comeback start after facing only three batters.

Mulder, coming back from two shoulder operations, complained of shoulder discomfort in his start against Philadelphia and threw only 16 pitches. The start was Mulder's first since September. The former 20-game winner hasn't won a game in nearly 25 months.

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