Rookie Brandon Morrow has a high-90s fastball, a nasty split-finger and a knack for eating the wrong thing.

This week, it was a club sandwich from a 24-hour Las Vegas deli that brought food poisoning into play – and left Morrow dehydrated and and weak two days later.

Morrow insists he’ll be good to go for Monday’s opening day in Seattle, and it appears the Seattle Mariners are committed to taking him into the regular season despite his having pitched just 16 professional innings.

They may have to watch his diet as much as his pitch

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Ninety-three wins took the American League West last season, and 83 wins was good for second place – so how does the division shape up in 2007?

Probably not all that different, at least mathematically. Looking at all four teams in spring training, 93 wins seems like a lot for any of them and probably impossible for more than one.

Right now, the Mariners look like an 84-86 win team, and that will keep them close in the West. It won’t win it, but it will get Seattle out of the cellar for the first time in four

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Closing in on their opening day roster, it appears the Mariners bench will be Ben Broussard, Willie Bloomquist, Jamie Burke and Rey Ordonez.

And the pitching? Well, it’s still a matter of three pitchers – rookies Brandon Morrow and Sean White and lefty Jake Woods – for the final two spots in the bullpen.

All three have pitched well this spring. If they don’t keep White, they must offer him back to Atlanta under the conditions of the Rule V draft. Both Morrow and Woods can be optioned to the minors, but only one of them will be,

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After a winter of rebuilding their pitching staff and retooling their starting lineup, the Seattle Mariners have now redecorated their bench – including with that redesign a few surprises.

Rene Rivera is out as backup catcher, journeyman Jamie Burke is in.

Jeremy Reed is out as a reserve outfielder, veteran Rey Ordonez appears to be in as a utility infielder.

Rivera and Reed were sent to Tacoma’s minor league roster on Wednesday, along with pitchers Sean Green and Eric O’Flaherty. Non-roster pitcher Aaron Small was reassigned to minor

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If you’re wondering when the Mariners began to consider rookie Brandon Morrow as a viable bullpen candidate this spring, it was about 10 days ago.

Manager Mike Hargrove asks his coaching staff often for their opening day 25-man roster.

About 10 days ago, something odd happened. Morrow’s name started popping up on the list coaches turned in. First one, then another, then a third.

Each coach knows how much experience – or lack of it – Morrow has, given that he’s pitched 16 innings since leaving college last year. And they know he’s 22, that his

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You can bet on most anything in Las Vegas, including the Seattle Mariners winning the 2007 World Series.

Odds are 50-1.

By comparison, the odds on the Yankees or Red Sox winning it are 7-1.

The Milwaukee Brewers are 20-1. The Pittsburgh Pirates 40-1.

Seattle has, however, better odds than the Washington Nationals – who are 100-1 shots.

The best odds on the Mariners you can find are 5-1, and those are the odds on Mike Hargrove being the first manager fired this season.

By the numbers, the Mariners are facing some tough decisions this week, and who’s on the 25-man opening day roster is just the beginning.

One non-roster invitee, left-hander Arthur Rhodes, will make that team unless he’s hurt. That’s good news for Seattle if the veteran can help them – and bad news for a Mariner on the team’s 40-man roster.

Every time you add someone to the protected 40-man roster, the move must be preceded by removing someone else. That means exposing a player you like to the waiver process, and perhaps losing him.

Beyond Rhodes, there’s

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They don’t show up every spring, and for some teams they never do – kids that report to spring training without a chance and force themselves on to the major league roster.

Against all odds, with a week left before opening day, Brandon Morrow has become one of those kids.

The Mariners have tried denying it. The easy thing to do would be send him to the minors now.

Morrow’s ability won’t let them. Morrow’s unflappable presence stops them.

The question now is, with his arm and his stuff, how do you keep the kid they

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