Seattle Mariners Fan

Forgive me as I get my feet wet with Mariners coverage, but I wasn’t the only new face in the clubhouse this afternoon. Left-handed pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith has rejoined the team for the first time in over a month after being activated from the disabled list. Seattle now has 26 players on the active roster.

Rowland-Smith was placed on the DL on July 28 with a lower back strain. He had five rehab starts with the Rainiers before being called up, including one last night against Colorado Springs where he allowed one run in seven innings with five strikeouts and no walks on 102 pitches.

Obviously better physically, Rowland-Smith credited Tacoma pitching coach Jaime Navarro with his improvement psychologically after having a particularly “refreshing conversation.”

“He said, ‘What it is that got you here and what is it that’s given you success here? The last three years what is it that’s given you success?’ ” Rowland-Smith said. “We just went back to that.

“Just simplifying everything. I know it seems cliché, but in game you can’t get above and beyond yourself … I’m back to knowing what I have is good enough and staying with that and trusting that.”

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View full post on The Seattle Times: Mariners Blog