Looks Can Be Deceiving & Vlad vs. Hamilton

So Thursday started off with us returning the Mariners' spring training home -- though this time, not for a game versus the Mariners, but whether to catch some Mariners' BP. The Mariners/Padres had a pretty practice field campus too (not quite as nice as the Dodgers/White Sox), but it was pretty nice. Once again though, it was setup in a manner in which to allow the players to navigate the fields easily without being bombarded by fans for autographs. Because of this we had limited opportunities for autographs, and actually spent most the time actually watching the BP (which isn't a bad thing...HA!)

As you'll see below, the center field wall of the main practice field has a HUGE picture on it...Ken Griffey Jr. hamming it up for the camera,-- and he didn't shy away from providing some entertainment during the BP as well!

The picture above I like because, one it shows how HUGE that picture on the outfield wall is, and two because it's a good picture of Ichiro about to LAUNCH the ball across the field. Can I just say that that man has an AMAZING arm! He was launching the ball from near the right field wall to a teammate standing on the thirdbase line. And the crazy part is he didn't even have to take steps or hops in that direction to get the ball that far...and yes, it went the whole way without bouncing and the teammate wouldn't have to move either.

And yes, that is Ichiro below. The 36 year old who stands just 5'11" and 170 lbs. Honestly, I can't say when I look at just about any Japanese guy I find myself thinking -- "gosh, he looks big and stong"...because they normally do not (unless we're talking sumo wrestlers I guess), but Ichiro honestly has canons for arms...he is AMAZING! Looks CAN be deceiving...

It turns out that Ichiro and the other mega star on the Mariners team, Ken Griffey, Jr. happen to be friends. When we went to the Rangers vs. Mariner's game the night before, we received a program upon entering the stadium which has an article in it about how Ichiro had "a dream come true" when the Mariners' resigned Griffey in the beginning of the 2009 season. He said he always admired Griffey and hoped to get to play with him, and that dream had come true. It turns out that Ichiro was reportedly pranked frequently by Griffey during the 2009 season! HA! And as you'll see below, they enjoy one another's company during BP too. Matter of fact, they apparently setup bets with each other on who can hit more homeruns during the BP, and they razz one another about it as they switch off hitting balls deep to the outfield. It was quite a sight to see...

Below is just a good shot of Griffey with his BIG picture behind him...

I loved these big baseballs they had around the complex with the Mariners' and Padre's emblems on them. I love the Mariners, so I got my picture with their ball.

Mariner's BP was fun for watching Ichiro and Griffey, but autographs were sparce. I did end up landing a Chone Figgins, which I was excited about, as I like him, but let me tell you, it looks like one big scribbled circle...HA! Was REAL close to getting a Jose Lopez, but oh well...

On the way to the Ranger's BP we stopped and took pictures with one of the giant cactuses, as I had wanted to do that ever since our last trip to Phoenix...just hadn't found a good place and time to get one last year, so this year was not going to slip by again without my cactus pictures...HA!

OUCH....they are very sharp! HA!

I think you can figure out why I took the above picture. I mean REALLY!!?!? Poor guy...

Rangers BP was good. The Big Leaguers shared one of their big fields with their "B squad" for a "B" game versus the Brewers "B" team (as the Brewers were over to play the big leaguers that evening). I watched a little of that and saw Tanner Scheppers pitch. He did well...he is one of the young prospects we are real excited about for the Rangers.

In BP Thursday I got Chris Davis, Hernan Iribarren, David Murphy, Tanner Scheppers, and Luis Mendoza.

That evening the Rangers did take on the Brewers at home. I was a little disappointed that the Brewers didn't play Prince Fielder or Ryan Braun, but I suppose that was to our advantage. The Rangers won by a score of 6-4. Before the game I got the skipper Ron Washington's autograph (I kind of wondered if he was signing in efforts to help his image after the recent breaking news of his coke use last season, but whatever), and then after the game I got Derek Holland.

Overall, I can't help but bring the attention of how amazing Josh Hamilton had played this week when we were in town. Over the last couple seasons all Rangers fans (and their opponents for that matter) have known that Josh Hamilton is our power hitter. He is a force to be reckoned with when he's healthy (and I MUST add, he is the NICEST guy...he really is). So with the signing of Vladimir Guerrero this year, some have wondered if Vlad would take that "spot." Would Vlad be the "power" of the Rangers. The biggest homerun threat. It isn't that we don't have several guys who are homerun threats, but you know, there is always that "big star" who is just thought of as "a homerun hitter." Well, all I can say about this past week as we've witnessed both Josh and Vlad play, Josh has won that title. Considering the 4 games we saw while in Phoenix (I am not including the Tuesday Cubs game since it ended up sold out so we didn't get to watch it except for a few innings through the outfield fence), Josh played in three of the games we saw, and was actually taken out in one of those three games after his second at-bat because he was hit by the pitch on his hand. Here are the stats of the two power hitters in the games we saw -- I will let you draw your own conclusions... Josh went (0-1 left the game after being hit by a pitch in the hand in his second at bat; 2-3 w/ double and HR; 1-3 w/ HR; 1-3 w/HR) and Vlad went ( 1-3 w/ double; 0-3; 1-3; 0-3).

So you know, though I didn't get Vlad's autograph while I was in Phoenix, I DID get the autograph of our "power hitter" Josh multiple times! =)