And after spending about 10 days in the desert, Larry Stone came away with some observations. Continuing a March tradition, here are a few Arizona impressions:
My recent stint in Peoria, Ariz., was dominated by two related phenomena: the alarming rash of injuries hitting the Mariners (which has grown to almost surreal proportions since I returned to Seattle), and the return of 44-year-old Ichiro (speaking of surreal occurrences).
On March 5, an off day for the ballclub, Times reporter Ryan Divish and I were preparing to climb Camelback Mountain, when the phone rang with news that outfielder Ben Gamel was out four to six weeks because of an oblique strain.