During the Mariners' Spring Training contest yesterday against the Rockies, throughout the game Fox Sports Northwest previewed the Mariners television commercials. Overall, they were mediocre at best. Nothing along the lines of Jay Buhner doing stand-up comedy or John Olerud and Edgar Martinez discussing the merits of a laundry soap.

There was one ad, though, that stood out, and not because it was particularly amusing. Called "Batter's Box," the spot had Raul Ibanez and Ichiro on a Home Shopping Network-like program selling a carpet batter's box that you could put in your living room. Ichiro had as many lines as Ibanez, in English, and delivered them flawlessly.

While his teammates have often remarked that Ichiro speaks passable English and in fact has an excellent sense of humor, he has always spoken through an interpreter when addressing the media or public. Maybe this is the first year that we get some candid remarks out of our right fielder. It would be interesting to find out what he really has to say.

Edit, 10:35 AM:
Also during yesterday's broadcast, Rick Rizzs spent a full inning trying to figure out who was playing second base for Colorado. I understand that in the spring, there are a lot of mid-level minor league players in the game, especially early in the camp. But this guy was #20 (I think), so he was probably at least projected to have a moderate chance of breaking camp with the Rockies. Plus, when he came to bat (the producers seemed to know exactly who he was) his AAA stats were ready: .290 average, 11 home runs. Don't these guys get issued a roster before the game?

Edit, 10:45 AM:
Yesterday's box score lists two second basemen appearing in the game for the Rockies: Aaron Miles and Eddy Garabito. Neither hit 11 home runs nor hit .290 last year, although both did play at the AAA level. Maybe Rizzs was correct to dub #20 the "Mystery Man."