Eight months after the Seattle Mariners drafted him, University of Georgia closer Josh Fields signed a contract and was invited to spring training.

His response?

“I’ll be there tomorrow,” he said Monday.

Fields, 23, was drafted by former GM Bill Bavasi and his staff, many of whom no longer work with the team. Then considered close to big-league ready with a power fastball and hard curve, Fields now is almost certainly headed directly to the minors.

“Let’s not set any false expectations,” GM Jack Zduriencik said. “It’s extremely unlikely Josh will break camp with us. He needs innings, and he’ll get them. He hasn’t faced hitters since the College World Series. Our goal is to have him ready to pitch in the minors his year.”

What held up the signing? Money, but not much of it – at least not by major league standards.

Fields and his agent, Scott Boras, demanded $2 million. The Mariners offered $1.5 million and there the two sides sat, all through the summer, through the off-season and three days into spring training.

In the end, Fields got $1.75 million, so he sat out eight months for $250,000. Probably not the best financial advice he’ll ever get.

But that’s done, and the kid now will show manager Don Wakamatsu and the rest of the team what he has. Last June, he might have signed and come directly to the big leagues with a bad Seattle club.
Now he’ll pitch in spring training and head for the minors.

Sitting in the press room, pounding out notes and stories, the media corps was astounded today – not an easy thing to do.

There, in a parking lot across the street from the Mariners complex, in full few of the media, Josh Fields and one of his representatives pulled up and parked. Then general manager Jack Zduriencik and assistant GM Lee Pelekoudas emerged from the complex, walked to the parking lot.

Handshakes and papers were exchanged as we watched through a window.

Then Fields, the team’s top draft pick last June, got back in his car and drove away. Zduriencik and Pelekoudas returned to their offices.

And nothing was finalized, they said, although that could come within hours. Or not until tomorrow.

So, no real news. Just a strange meeting in a parking lot.

Adrian Beltre came into the clubhouse a day ahead of schedule, shook hands with every player in the room and then was cornered by the media.

All things being equal, he probably should have waited until all position players report today. He wouldn’t have been the only guy who immediately was bombarded with questions about 2008.

There was, for instance, an interview with J.J. Putz in Florida insinuating unnamed players were more concerned with their numbers than with winning.

“Some guys played different than how you’re supposed to play,” Beltre acknowledged. “Do the little things. If you have a guy on second, move him over. If you’re losing by two or three runs, don’t go up there hacking because even if you hit a home run you’re still losing. Play the situation game.

“If you’re winning by two or three runs and there are guys on first and second, hit the cutoff man.

“There are little things you can do. Take a walk if you need it. If you need a guy on base, bunt. If you can run, run. It’s the little things that make the team see that you’re playing to help the team win, not just to help your numbers,” Beltre said.

Someone immediately asked if he was referring to Ichiro Suzuki.

“I won’t single out anybody, but there are things you see as a veteran player that just don’t look right,” he said. “I think you guys are making a big deal of what it is. We haven’t started playing yet and we’re talking about this. My concern is that we all get on the same page and as a group try to get to be bexactly where we want to be. Get off to a good start and be competitive and compete for the West.”

Just about the time you memorize the roster of the Seattle Mariners spring roster, they change it.

For the second time in as many days, the Mariners made a player move, inviting journeyman catcher Jason Phillips to camp.

Why?

The Mariners are short-handed with catchers because Kenji Johjima is in Japan training for the World Baseball Classic, and Luis Oliveros is out with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

That left four healthy catchers - Jeff Clement, Rob Johnson, Adam Moore and Jamie Burke - to catch the 30 pitchers in camp.

Now, there will be five.

Phillips, 32, has spent parts of seven seasons in the big leagues, playing for the Mets, Dodgers and Blue Jays.

Barring a train wreck involving all the catchers ahead of him on the depth chart, Phillips won't make the team. Consider him insurance and an immediate glove to help handle the pitching here in Peoria.

Denny Stark remembers better days, both his and those of the Seattle Mariners.

He was a raw rookie not long out of college when he first came to camp with Seattle in 1998. And when he looks back, it’s hard for him to believe he was part of it.

“Now, you realize there were three, four guys in that clubhouse who will be in the Hall of Fame,” Stark said. “There was Griffey and Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez … I knew they were great players. I was happy to be in the same building with them.”

Stark pitched for the Mariners in 1999 and again in 2001, then was included in the trade with Colorado that brought Jeff Cirillo to Seattle. In his first year as a Rockie, Stark blossomed – he went 11-4 with a 4.00 earned run average.

Since then, his right arm has betrayed him. Injuries ravaged him and Stark wound up having not one but two ‘Tommy John’ surgeries to rebuild his right elbow. He didn’t throw a pitch for two years. He couldn’t.

Last year, Seattle brought him back as a minor leaguer, and after proving himself healthy in Class AA, he moved to Tacoma and made 10 appearances there, going 3-0 with a 3.00 ERA.

That got him an invitation to camp this spring as a non-roster invitee. There may be a happier man in the clubhouse, but he’d be hard to find.

“When you’re out of this game you know how much you miss it, how much you appreciated everything – from the kidding in the clubhouse to the competition on the field,” said Star, who’s now 34. “Being back here, it’s wonderful. I know how fragile your career can be. I know I wanted to come back and pitch, at least get the chance, and I’m getting that.”

Stark is so far down the depth chart he may not even register, but that hasn’t discouraged him. Major surgery? That discouraged him. Spending two years at home discouraged him.

“I’m in a major league camp with major league players, working with major league coaches,” Stark said. “Whatever happens, I’m pitching again. If I can make an impression, who knows? I’m certainly not going to worry about it. I’m getting an opportunity I wasn’t sure I’d ever get again, and I’m enjoying it. Beyond that, we’ll see.”