M’s Dustin Ackley focused on ending slow starts

PEORIA, Ariz. – The spring push accelerates today for the Mariners when they open their Cactus League schedule against complex co-tenant San Diego at Peoria Stadium.

That goes double for left fielder Dustin Ackley.

Manager Lloyd McClendon is promising heavy duty for Ackley in an effort to wean him away from his dreadful starts over the last two seasons.

“When he’s in there,” McClendon vowed, “he’ll play. I think that’s the way to do it. When he plays, he’s going to play. Just give him as many at-bats as we possibly can.”

In short, don’t be surprised if Ackley leads the Cactus League in at-bats.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” he said. “Everybody here wants at-bats. That’s what everybody here is trying to do in order to prepare for the season. The best way to do that is to get at-bats.”

Ackley needs a good spring, too, to hold onto playing time after the Mariners made a series of offseason acquisitions – most notably, the Feb. 13 signing of free-agent Rickie Weeks, who is spending a lot of time in left.

“It’s just one of those things,” Ackley said. “I’m going to keep doing the things I would have done regardless of if he was here or wasn’t here. I’m going to go out there and work hard.”

The early projection is Ackley and Weeks will platoon in left field, but either one could work their way into more-regular duty – or less-regular duty – depending on performance.

The Mariners can shift either Seth Smith or Justin Ruggiano to left if needs arise, although those two are projected to share time as a left/right platoon in right field.

“We do have a lot of flexibility,” McClendon said. “It’s nice to have choices, and those choices include veteran guys who have nice track records. That’s important.”

So Ackley, at 27, finds himself at something of a career crossroads after three-plus seasons. He batted .245, with a .293 on-base percentage, a year ago with 14 homers and 65 RBIs in 143 games.

The Mariners want more from a player they selected in 2009 with the second overall pick in the draft.

“He should be at a point in his career where his confidence level should be steady,” McClendon said. “You know you’re a major-league player. You know you’re going to stick, and you know you’re going to get your playing time. So put your work in and get ready. That’s where we’re trying to get him now.”

Ackley admits he often permitted the game’s grind to affect him in the past – he’d obsess over even routine struggles and disappointments to a point where they would snowball into bigger problems.

He also believes he became better at limiting that tendency last season over the closing few months.

“I think if I play the way I’m capable of playing,” Ackley said, “everything is going to fall into place and things are going to happen that I want to happen. Pretty much, it’s all in my court.

That begins with avoiding another slow start.

Ackley was batting just .214 a year ago through June before rallying to a .274/.313/.463 slash over his final 69 games.

It was much the same a year earlier when his average stood at .213 as late as Aug. 5. Thereafter, he posted a .321/.399/.471.

Ackley often battled a sore left ankle and foot in the past. The problem stems from long-troublesome bone spurs, but off-season examinations revealed no need for surgery.

“The wheel is good,” he insisted. “It is what it is. It’s one of those things where it’s probably not going to feel great every single day. But as long as I’m able to get out there and play every day, I’m good with it.”

It’s already been a busy spring for Ackley, whose wife, Justine, gave birth to the couple’s first child – a boy – midway through their annual drive from Michigan to Peoria.