Mariners Spring Training, so far….

Yes, spring training games don’t mean anything, and there have only been a handful played so far against opposing teams, but so far for the M’s this spring:

• Ichiro has gone hitless on the spring.
• Richie Sexson has been hitting the ball hard.  (And adding some excellent defense at first base.)
• Erik Bedard has been tight-lipped and stand-offish when it comes to dealing with the press.  From Geoff Baker’s blog:

   Being Erik BedardOh man, I know this topic is going to start something. The reporters who cover the team just got back from talking to Bedard after his performance. Total time on my recorder of the interview session: 1 minute, 18 seconds. Even the security guard who let us back into the stadium knew the deal.

“Didn’t have much to say to ya, did he?” she said.

Yup, Bedard was…Bedard. He set the tone right off.
“You get four questions,” he told the group.

1. Can you tell the difference from start to start?
Bedard: “No, not really. I was throwing same as last week. They just didn’t hit it today.”

2. This is a team you’re going to face a lot this year. Is there anything you can get from them the first time you’re looking at them (the Angels)?
Bedard: “No, not really. They’re in the same boat as us. Just trying to get ready for the season and trying to get in shape.”

3. How helpful was it to have the kind of defense you got from Willie (Bloomquist) at third base today?”
Bedard: “Helped me a lot. I wouldn’t have gotten out of the second inning if he wouldn’t have made those plays.”

4 My question: “The third pitch to Figgins…”
Bedard interrupts: “Last one.”
Me: “You hit him with strikes the first two. The third one, you looked like you were a little upset. Did you miss the location a little on that one?
Bedard: “I looked upset? Really? To start the game off, you mean? Curveball. Yeah, well, he hit it. I was trying to get him (Figgins) out with less than four pitches. He hit a triple.”
(Someone tries to ask another one…
Bedard: “That’s it. Four. Later.” (He walks off).

Thanks to Erik starting off six of the nine Angel batters he faced with strikes, the M’s are enjoying a 6-4 lead over the Halos down in Arizona.