Japanese import is the only player on an MLB roster yet to play this season; Iwakuma has never pitched in long relief and Wedge says he is waiting for right time.

This is not the way Hisashi Iwakuma pictured his first month in Seattle.

Not even close.

How could it be? One of the top pitchers in Japan the last few seasons and a 21-4 performer in 2008 with Rakuten, Iwakuma was taken by the Oakland As as a posted player after the 2010 season, but the two sides couldnt cut a deal.

That meant Iwakuma was available as a free agent following the 2011 season. He signed with the Mariners. With Ichiro Suzuki a fixture, Munenori Kawasaki also making the jump across the Pacific and the Mariners in need of starting pitching, the set-up for Iwakuma in Seattle couldnt have looked more picturesque.

Cut to April 20. Iwakuma hasnt pitched. Including spring training, he hasnt pitched competitively since April 2, and had a bad outing in an exhibition gme in Tokyo. He didnt grab one of the five spots in the starting rotation. Instead hes the long man in the bullpen, a role the Mariners havent needed filled.

Felix Hernandez threw another splendid eight innings Thursday — even though he had a no-decision after closer Brandon League blew a save in a 2-1 loss to Cleveland — so the prospects for Iwakuma to get the feel of an MLB game were as gloomy as ever.

Manager Eric Wedge and pitching coach Carl Willis talk about wanting to get Iwakuma a soft landing  coming into a game to start an inning with the outcome not in the balance.

But that time seems to have come and gone, and Iwakuma sits and waits.

Willis was watching the Mariners score six runs in the fourth inning Tuesday, and he allowed himself to think the time was upon Iwakuma. Seattle built the lead to 8-1, but Tuesday wasnt the day after all.

I was thinking to myself this is the perfect spot for Iwakuma, Willis said after the game, a 9-8 loss to Cleveland. We can have Millwood get his five (innings) and have Iwakuma finish it out.

If Millwood had held up his end, it would have worked. But by the time the fifth inning was over, Millwood was out of the game and the 8-1 lead dissolved to 8-7. Instead of Iwakuma, Erasmo Ramirez got the call.

I know its frustrating for him; he wants to get into that first game, Willis said. Its frustrating for us (Willis and Wedge), too, because we want to find the right spot for his first appearance.

He hasnt pitched in relief before. For that first game, we dont want to bring him in with men on. Wed like to give him the chance to pitch a clean inning.

Part of the complication is that the rotation has been getting the club into the seventh inning with remarkable consistency. In the first 13 games, the starters have thrown at least 6.1 innings 10 times.

Frankly, the Mariners may not trust him in anything but a blowout; thats harsh, but one way a team shows its trust is by giving him work. Iwakuma is the only player in the big leagues who has been on the roster since opening day who hasnt played.

Its just one of those things, Wedge said. It happens from time to time through the course of a season. It just happens this time, its the beginning of the season.

You keep hanging on to your long guy for that next day, and thats what weve been doing. Thats the role hes in. We definitely want to try and get him in there. Multiple times weve tried to do it, and it just didnt work out. You have to work off the baseball game. Itll happen; well get him in there, we just havent been able to do it yet.

Iwakuma has warmed up just once. When will the second warmup come? Iwakuma would surely like to know as much as anyone.



