By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EdITOR

Reinstatement from the disabled list did not mean an immediate return to the Major League Baseball ranks for two area graduates this past week.

Highline High School graduate Ryan Brett was reinstated by the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday and optioned to Class AAA Durham, after Federal Way High School graduate Travis Ishikawa was reinstated by the San Francisco Giants on Monday and designated for assignment.

Brett had been out since suffering a shoulder injury diving to first base on a pickoff against the Boston Red Sox on April 21, while Ishikawa had been out all season from the Majors because of a back injury sustained in spring training.

Brett, a rookie second baseman, was batting 2-for-3 for a .667 batting average with one double when his injury occurred.

"Extremely frustrating," said Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash at the time. "Felt terrible for him. I think we all do. He had four at-bats. He was 2-for-3, showed really good at-bats. We'll get him healthy and get him right back out there playing again."

Ishikawa was the hero of the National League Championship Series for the Giants last fall, hitting a walkoff home run to send them on to the World Series.

His rehabilitation stint with the Sacramento Rivercats reached its limit and he had to be reinstated Monday, but there was no room at the time because of the production of the players already at first base and in the outfield.

Ishikawa was hitting 18-for-58 for a .310 average for the Rivercats. He had four doubles, eight runs and six RBI.
Ishikawa then had to clear waivers and not be picked up by any of the 29 other Major League Baseball teams to be able to return to the Giants' organization, which he did on Sunday.

Ishikawa accepted an outright assignment to Sacramento rather than becoming a free agent.

San Francisco was the organization that originally drafted Ishikawa and brought him up, and he returned there after being cut by the Pittsburgh Pirates last year.