Story Published:
Apr 3, 2008 at 5:42 PM PST
Story Updated:
Apr 3, 2008 at 5:42 PM PST
Ichiro did show up for his physical, but after waiting for about 45 minutes we were asked by his interpreter if we would mind doing the interview tomorrow as Ichiro wanted to go out to the cages and hit. Not a problem. A little annoying that we had to stay about 2-3 hours later than we would normally stay, but we all got other work done, and appreciate that he let us know of his plans rather than to keep us until the end and then say he wasn’t talking until tomorrow.
Ichiro wanted to go hit. Imagine that. It is my understanding that he was actually hitting at Safeco just days after the season ended. I wonder what the longest time off hitting he has taken in recent years. I’ll have to ask him that.
Tomorrow could be fun. If I read the schedule right, the hitters are scheduled to take live arm batting practice. Live arm bp is when the hitters face pitchers instead of the coaches. From the looks of the groups, I think the group that Felix will face will include Richie and Adrian.
Before we get too excited about that prospect, most hitters only watch pitches in their first live arm bp. You’ve got to think someone will be tempted to take a swing off Felix though, right?
Spoke with Ben Broussard at length today and it sounds like his head is in as good a place it could be in his situation. It can’t be fun to basically watch your club replace you in the off season.
The fact of the matter with Ben however is, nothing has ever been guaranteed to him going into a season. Though his numbers with the Mariners last season were less than impressive, we have seen it time and time again when a young player comes to a team mid season it can take awhile to settle in.
In him watching him hit ball after ball out to right in bp down here, you just wonder if he settled in a bit, could he do it at Safeco? He knows that the Mariners will be watching him carefully this spring, as well as plenty of scouts from other teams.
I think one of the most interesting problems the team could have this spring is what if he hits the cover off the ball down here? Do you really want to trade him? Would you get value for him? Would he be a better insurance policy in case something happened? On a separate note, no pun intended, don’t hold your breath waiting for another Ben Broussard cd anytime soon.
He is a little concerned that people might think that takes up too much of his focus. He wants there to be no question that his number-one focus has been baseball and that the music on a professional level has been put on the back burner for now. If you haven’t heard him you should check out his stuff on his website http://benbroussard.com/. He is quite good.
At long last, there will be a good representation of Mariners past in Spring Training. Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson and Edgar Martinez will all be in camp in uniform helping out.
I spoke with Jay late last season and he was very fired up to do more with the young outfielders. I believe Dan will be working with all of the catchers, and Edgar will be meeting with Jose Vidro among other things. Edgar will be here Feb 24-26 while Dan and Jay will be here March 5-9.
Whitney Houston, superstar of records, films, dies at 48 (Photo Gallery) 
