Milton Bradley as a Mariner: I want to have fun

As it prepared to pour outside and put the practice fields underwater once again (see photo), Milton Bradley walked into the Mariners' lives this morning.

He pulled on a Mariners uniform for the first time, then described his expectation for the 2010 in a way, according to him, he's never said.

"Primarily, which I've never said in the past, is I want to have fun," Bradley told a scrum of reporters in the Mariners' spring training clubhouse a few minutes ago. "In the past, I wanted to win and I didn't care whether I liked it or not. It was all about winning, because that's what it's all about for me. At this point in my career, I want to enjoy it and have fun."

Bradley smiled a few times and didn't face any questions that made him wince, and certainly nothing about his rough experience last year with the Cubs. That season was marked with conflict with management and, eventually, a suspension from the team on Sept. 20.

The Dec. 18 trade to the Mariners, in exchange for pitcher Carlos Silva, landed Bradley with his eighth big-league club. Given the cohesive clubhouse that includes his idol, Ken Griffey Jr., and a definite passion for success that drives these guys, he's walking into scenario with the Mariners that fits him well.

Bradley said the last time he truly had fun in baseball was in 2008 with the Texas Rangers. What was so right that season?

"It's being in an environment that's conducive for playing baseball," he said. "It's a good environment down there, very cohesive, working together, no animosity, nobody trying to out-do the next guy, everybody playing ball and having fun and clicking together."

Hmmm, sounds a lot like what the Mariners are assembling.

Bradley said he doesn't believe in "all that cliche" stuff about a new team offering a fresh start. What he wants most this year is good health and the opportunity to be himself with the Mariners.

"When people allow you to be you and don't steer you in a certain direction, or steer people's thoughts in a certain direction, things will work out the way they're supposed to," he said.

When Bradley's season ended on Sept. 20, he said he paid little attention to baseball in the offseason, focusing more on his beloved Dallas Cowboys than anything. So when the Mariners pulled off the trade on Dec. 18, he said he wasn't that aware of the Mariners' offseason changes to that point, including their trade to get pitcher Cliff Lee two days earlier.

"To tell you the truth, since Sept. 19 I didn't ... pay any attention to baseball," he said. "I'm a Cowboys fan, so I was watching football. I didn't pay attention to what was going on here until I got traded."

In other developments ....

--Ichiro Suzuki made a mid-afternoon arrival for his physical exam. He'll talk with the media tomorrow, so only real thing to observe was how he looked. The answer: He looked mahvelous, baby. Gray jeans, gray jean jacket, backwards black-and-white cap (not the trucker cap, though), beige and black "dada" t-shirt and, the touch that pulled it all together, high-topped red and white basketball shoes.

--It rained again in Peoria and, for the third day, the Mariners scrubbed on-field drills for the pitchers and catchers. They got their work in under the cover of the bullpen and batting cages.

--A familiar person walked across the parking lot this morning -- former Mariners pitcher Cha Seung Baek. He's here for a tryout in hopes of extending his pro career, which started in 1998 when the Mariners signed him out of Kora. Baek, who pitched parts of three seasons with the Mariners, hasn't been in the big leagues since 2008 with the Padres. He pitched in the Padres' minor league system last year.

--It has taken some extra coordination to re-arrange the Mariners' workout schedule because of bad weather. Today was even more challenging because the club's 40 minor leaguers also are here for their mini-camp. That's why Andy Bottin, the minor league coach from Camano Island, was headed upstairs to the executive offices this with a clipboard in hand, to schedule time in the batting cages after the major leaguers got their turn.