And read Matthew's simultaneous post below! We haven't done that in a while.
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I mentioned before that I wouldn't be doing one of these every day. There'll be more and more information as we get deeper and deeper into Spring Training, but the biggest story we've had since my last wrap-up on Tuesday is that Ichiro just arrived a little while ago. I'll say that again just to let it sink in: the biggest story to come out of Mariners camp over the past few days is that Ichiro showed up. He was wearing a sweatshirt.
Full workouts get going tomorrow. I believe it was in the first full workout a year ago that we found out about the Lopez/Figgins position switch, so it shouldn't be long before we start hearing things. Actual things, that aren't about sweatshirts. I hope you've enjoyed this gentle transition week.
- Ichiro arrived so that he could undergo the standard physical. It's weird to think about Ichiro having a physical. If I had to guess I'd say he has a button on his upper abdomen that, when pressed, initiates a rapid system check that returns two blinks of a small green light in the center if everything's running. It's a quick physical.
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Milton Bradley also arrived and said nothing in a way that's more interesting when normal people say nothing. He continues to insist that there's no friction between him and Eric Wedge anymore, which makes sense given that their previous run-in took place in March of 2004. Now it's simply a matter of seeing if he'll actually make the team.
It's weird to think that Bradley is only two years - two years - removed from a .999 OPS. - It's February 18th, and Erik Bedard is healthy. Or, at least, there are no reports that he's in any way hurt. He did get a day off today, which was strange, but the team said nothing is wrong and they were just being "proactive". Concern Level: 2.
- David Aardsma is in the process of shedding his crutches, which means we get to hear a professional athlete make estimates about his body. Aardsma said he put about 30% of his weight on his foot. In Phillies camp, Ryan Howard said his ankle was feeling 98%. This is one of my favorite things about sports.
- Apparently Matt Tuiasosopo underwent offseason surgery, but while the doctors were able to repair his elbow, his bad defense cyst was determined to be inoperable.
- There's probably nothing worse than splitting off into pairs to play long toss and getting stuck with Charlie Haeger.
- Eric Wedge made some vague statements today about the competition for the starting left field job, and while I think we all understand that Michael Saunders is out in front, and that it'd be a complete shock if he isn't the starter on Opening Day, I don't know that there's anyone on the team who needs to have a good camp more. And a good start to the season, too. There are no more excuses. He's had his at bats, and he's had his time getting accustomed to the bigs. Now the team needs to see results. 2011 is looking like the year that Saunders either plays himself into the organization's future, or plays himself out of it. God, I hope he's good.