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SEATTLE -- Mike Hargrove was more than an hour late to his pregame meeting with the press Saturday at Safeco Field. When the Mariners manager did arrive, he announced that Joel Pineiro had been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma for 10 days to work on his mechanics. Pineiro will return May 24 to pitch against the Orioles in Baltimore. Replacing Pineiro on the roster will be George Sherrill, who was 2-1 in 21 games with the Mariners last season. The 28-year-old lefty has a 2.30 ERA in 15 2/3 innings at Tacoma this season.........

Rotation switch: Replacing Pineiro in the rotation will be Julio Mateo, who will make his first Major League start Tuesday against the Yankees.

"He throws strikes, he has good stuff, he's kept us in ballgames," said Hargrove of Mateo. "We feel that we can get him up to at least 80 pitches, which will give us five or six innings."

Mateo is 1-0 this season and has given up just one earned run in 22 innings, giving him a sparkling 0.41 ERA. The righty's last start was in 2000 with Mariners Class A affiliate Wisconsin.

Im glad Pineiro is going to work on his mechanics. How is Mateo going to handle the start though vs the Yanks, for that matter. Considering hes going as long as the current rotation anyways, whats the difference. He will go in between Sele and Moyer.