The Mariners hit the practice fields about a half-hour ago for their first spring training workout, manager Don Wakamatsu just finished his first official huddle with reporters and even now it’s obvious there’s a greater interest in this team.
Besides reporters from the usual media around Seattle, three national reporters also were asking Wakamatsu mostly about Cliff Lee and what he’ll mean to the team.
A few early notes from Wakamatsu:
—Catcher Rob Johnson will be “a little limited” in his work early in camp after offseason surgery on both hips. By all accounts, Johnson is recovering well and his newfound flexibility has been impressive, but the M’s want to be careful not to wear him down early.
—Lee will play catch but generally stay off his feet because of the minor procedure to remove a bone spur from his left foot on Feb. 5. Wakamatsu said Lee is scheduled to throw his first bullpen on Wednesday, which keeps him within the 2-3 week recovery time the team said he’d need from the surgery. Tomorrow will be the two-week mark.
—Erik Bedard (shoulder surgery last August) willl play catch today as he continues his throwing program.
—Two pitchers weren’t in camp today — Jesus Colome and Yusmeiro Petit. The team said Colome is finalizing his visa and is expected to arrive from the Dominican Republic on Friday. Petit was given some extra time to handle personal matters in Venezuela and is expected to arrive tomorrow or Saturday.
—Besides bullpens for 15 of the 29 pitchers, fielding drills and batting practice for the catchers, the much-anticipated 300-yard shuttle runs will begin at the end of the workout. Brandon Morrow isn’t here anymore, but they probably should keep a trash can nearby anyway.
—After the players come off the field, Wakamatsu and his staff will have plenty of work — actually, some of the more important work they perform in camp — through the afternoon. They’ll spend some quality time with each player as they did last year, hoping to learn everything from the name of their first pet to their upbringing to what makes them tick. These meetings were the foundation of the clubhouse harmony that existed last year. Too bad Roy Corcoran isn’t with the team anymore, because he had Wakamatsu and pitching coach Rick Adair in stitches just listening to his down-yonder Louisiana twang.
—And finally, I make amends on this blog with a group of dedicated Mariners fans who I misidentified in a late-night post Wednesday.
Jane Henderson of Tacoma, Charlene Moore of Poulsbo, Kathy Hall of Puyallup, Sharon Hunt and Les Hunt of Puyallup, Rich Score and Cathia Score of Selah and Julianne Frick of Juneau, Alaska, already are here to watch the first stretch, first drill and first bullpen session of 2010.
Henderson, a big Erik Bedard fan, says she won’t miss a day of spring training and will make every game at Safeco Field except one because of a wedding. “And we play the Yankees that day!” she said.
Frick also is a familiar face at Safeco Field, coming down from Juneau throughout the summer to see her favorite team.
It was nice to talk with them this morning, even if it was to apologize for mistaking them on the blog yesterday with the Old Bats, a group of women who’ve been fixtures at spring training and Safeco Field.
That’s one of the things that makes spring training so cool, the fans who come down to show their support and enjoy access to the team they can’t get anywhere else.
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