In the final week of March, they're usually playing the preseason games. So why give 100 percent at this time of a year?
On the other hand, Shigetoshi Hasegawa said that may not be the case as far as the Mariners are concerned.
"Veteran players tend to tune up for around May, so obviously they aren't perfectly ready at this time of a year," Hasegawa said before Wednesday's Major League Baseball season-opening game between Seattle and the Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome. "But this team (the Mariners) is a young team and they don't set a pace like that. Well, maybe Ichiro and (Felix) Hernandez do, though."