A lot of media types around here have said that Ken Griffey Jr. signing a free agent contract with the Seattle Mariners is all but a done deal. He'll be in Peoria next week for physical and then be ready to re-don a Mariners uniform.

I'll admit to being one of those media types. I basically said as much when I was on with Ian Furness on KJR on Thursday and I said it again this morning when I was on with John Clayton.

And now I, and several others, could come out looking foolish (not the first time) with this Griffey thing.

ESPN's Jerry Crasnick is reporting that the Atlanta Braves could be throwing a wrench into the Griffey-Mariners reunion party, by making a late play to sign Griffey themselves.

We had heard that Griffey's agent Brian Goldberg say before that a National League team was interested in signing him. But most thought it was just a typical agent posturing to make his client a little more wanted. But now it sounds like the Braves were that team.

Or it could be another case of an agent leaking some info to the media to make it seem like his client is coveted to enhance his positions in negotiations.

Pitchers, pitchers, everywhere.

The first day of workouts for pitchers and catchers is largely a one-sided event – there are five catchers in camp and 29 pitchers. That means catchers do a lot of squatting and a little hitting, and pitchers get the lions share of attention from coaches.

And pitchers in the news?

Right-hander Felix Hernandez, listed last year at 225 pounds, reported at 212 pounds in an effort to get stronger. Is he quicker?

“We’ll find out on the field,” he said.

Right-hander Luis Munoz arrived a day after his teammates, held up by visa problems in the Dominican Republic.

Left-hander Ryan Rowland-Smith is pondering the toughest decision of his young career – whether to stay in camp and fight for a spot in Seattle’s starting rotation or take the opportunity to pitch for Australia in the World Baseball Classic.

It’s unfair for baseball to put young players in the position of making that decision, but there are players in most camps facing it. If they choose to represent their country, they put their chances of making their major league team in jeopardy.

There’s 29-year-old rookie Chris Jakubauskas, who said he has forgotten how many times someone has asked how to pronounce his name (It’s jak-uh-bow-skus). “People just call me ‘Jak,’” he said. “If someone says ‘Chris,’ I don’t even turn around, any more. It’s just ‘Jak.’”

Oh, and Erik Bedard is in camp, wary of the media. I approached him and told him I wanted him in a photo shoot, and would he mind posing in his underwear on the bullpen mound.

“Yeah, I’ll be right out,” he said. “You go wait.”

Sunrise in Peoria, a beautiful thing on the first day of camp.

At precisely 7 a.m. – 2 ½ hours ahead of any scheduled work, Carlos Silva pulled into the team parking lot ready to do a little extra. He wasn’t the first player to arrive. And he certainly didn’t beat the coaching staff.

Manager Don Wakamatsu was here at 5 a.m.

Why?

“It’s the only time I can really work out,” he said.

Work seems to be the order of the day this spring, at least on paper on Day One. How long the fervor lasts will be one of the stories of camp. And how long Wakamatsu can continue showing up a 5 a.m. – after meeting with team sponsors and owners for dinner – may be a matter of biology.

At some point, the man must sleep. You think?