Thought I should get typing before I have to put the gloves on. I am convinced Seattle has the coldest press box in the American League. Most have the option of closing and heating, but not this one. Plus we are up in the wind and for some reason it is colder here than anywhere else in the city. It is bad to the point where several writers have brought portable heaters to put at their seats. Me, I just wear my mountain climbing gear.

So the cold weather may be partly to blame for the small crowds here this week. The crowd is so small that you can actually hear O’s fans (led by Adam Jones’ mom) over the home fans when strikes are called on the Mariners. Not good. Tomorrow will be different however, as it is Ichiro Bobblehead night. And no, I don’t have any extras I can save for you!

Speaking of Ichiro, my Beyond the Baselines for the next few days (don’t know if I have three or four days worth yet) will feature him. Most of the stuff will come from an interview I did with him this spring that quickly turned into one of my favorite interviews of all time. Why? Because I got kind of a different Ichiro that day. You can pretty much count on Ichiro being different, but what was so different about this interview is how relatable he was. That really threw me for a loop. It was a very relaxed interview that was held outside the clubhouse in a golf cart with interpreter Ken Baron. It was Ichiro’s idea to have it outside because it was such a nice day. I like to think that by his responses and laughter during the twenty minutes we talked that he may have enjoyed the interview a bit too.

Hey, how about that! The Mariners are taking pitches and not making Adam Loewen look like a world beater! I was glad to hear Mac say today that he rethought his evaluation of the Daniel Cabreras and Ervin Santanas of the world. He said that without being disrespectful he had been giving them too much credit. The team has yet to see the Josh Becketts and CC Sabathias, pitchers who when on are worthy of the tip of the cap. I was bothered when Mac said a couple of times that Cabrera kept his pitch count down. No, the Mariners kept his pitch count down! Sounds like Mac slept on it and let his team know too that he wasn’t letting them off the hook.

On the injury front, Eric Bedard came through his final bullpen just fine and should make his Saturday start. Carlos Silva says his leg is just fine and nothing will keep him from his start. Brad Wilkerson is progressing and did not have as noticeable a limp as he did yesterday. Mike Morse was in the clubhouse, arm in sling and understandably not looking like his usual cheery self. He will begin his range of motion exercises tomorrow. Mike has really been working on the mental side of the game lately, so I don’t want to say that this will be a big test for him, but it will no doubt, not be much fun.

Okay, time to get the gloves on.