The Mariners yesterday "announced plans to build a new open-air restaurant" at Safeco Field named "Edgar's" for former MLBer Edgar Martinez, according to Nick Eaton of SEATTLEPI.com. The new eatery is "part of the team's $15 million plan to move Safeco's outfield walls closer to home plate and install a huge new video screen in the outfield." The Mariners said that the restaurant "will have a 'south of the border' culinary theme and will replace the current Flying Turtle Cantina." It will "serve Martinez's line of Mexican tequila, Zac." Edgar's will "consist of two main areas: a restaurant at field level where the Flying Turtle Cantina previously was located, and an open-air lounge right above it." Safeco Field's manual scoreboard will "move above its former location as the outfield fences are standardized to 8-feet tall around the entire stadium." To create a new façade for the scoreboard, the Mariners "plan to remove most of the seats from two sections in the left-field corner." The team said that anyone at Safeco will "be able to go to Edgar's on a first-come, first-served basis" as long as they have tickets (SEATTLEPI.com, 12/4). The lounge will be "accessible from the main concourse and will be a casual space similar to The 'Pen, the gathering spot beyond the center-field fence" (SEATTLE TIMES, 12/5).
BAITING BATTERS: USA TODAY's Paul White notes the Mariners and the Padres are "banking on shorter fences next season to help their on-field fortunes." The moves will not "suddenly turn their pitcher-friendly ballparks into hitter's havens," but they will "serve to put out a welcome mat of sorts for those who hit the long ball for a living." Mariners Assistant GM Jeff Kingston said, "The one immediate result is that we're not dealing with the obstacle of trying to convince hitters to consider Safeco (Field). They're more open-minded about coming to Seattle than they were. In the past, we felt like we were swimming upstream." The Mariners' plan is to "make each part of the ballpark have neither a hitters' or pitchers' skew," which is why they "didn't touch more hitter-friendly right field" (USA TODAY, 12/5).
