My last day as Reader Representative for the News Tribune. One quick note from my reader rep duties, a nice lady called this morning at 5:15 a.m. and left a message to rant about how bad it was for the Mariners signing a "washed-up, over-weight outfielder that left the first time around." She went on for a good few minutes, saying "if they are so bad to resort to signing Griffey, then they must be really terrible and I'm not paying one cent to see them."

She didn't leave a number to call her back to discuss, but if I did I would have two questions:

1. "Why in all that is normal are you reading the paper at 5:15 in the morning?"
2. "How the heck did you get it delivered so early?"

Anyways, let's get to some links for your Friday afternoon.

First of all, here's the link to Larry's daily story.

Columnist John McGrath checks in with his thoughts on the Griffey signing.

Gregg Bell of the AP, checked in with his daily story from Peoria.

Bell also has this nice story on Mariners prospect Nick Hill , (pictured above/AP) who is having to serve out his time with army before joining the team.

AUDIO: Junior's agent Brian Goldberg was on with Softy today on KJR outlining how the signing process went.

ESPN's Keith Law offers his feelings on the Griffey signing - using the word shortsighted. Law also debuted his MLB draft blog and has a link to Prospect Insider's Jason Churchill in his first post.

Let's go around baseball ...
Further proof that Jose Guillen is still insane - he ripped his own ingrown toenail out of his foot.

Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free press has this story on Carlos Guillen.

Here's a profile on Yu Darvish - the latest Japanese pitching phenom - is not related to Ryan Divish, unfortunately.

Federal Way's Travis Ishikawa (pictured left/AP) would be the starting 1B for the Giants if the season opened this week, but he isn't taking it for granted with so much time left till opening day.

It wouldn't be a day without some steroid talk.
The NY Post's Phil Mushnick took commissioner Bud Selig to task for his role in all of this.

One of the drugs that A-Rod said he got in the Dominican Republic, isn't actually sold there.

I have no words for the headline of this story on Barry Bonds, just see for yourself.

Not baseball related, but still interesting...
From Buster Olney's blog: I don't like snakes. I hate them and the picture and this story frightens me greatly.

And finally, >rapper Lil Wayne got the ESPN logo tattooed on his arm since he's now blogging for the world wide leader. I know Larry has an assortment of tattoos, similar to that of Dennis Rodman, but I don't know that he has the News Tribune logo tattooed on him. I will also pass on getting a Mariners Insider tattoo in script across my back.

All teams fear the same thing in spring - an injury to a key player - and the Mariners got a bit of a scare today.

Tyler Walker, the big right-hander who's a candidate to close, felt his right quad tighten up during a fielding drill and immediately headed for the training room.

“It’s not bad, and five years ago I’d have kept going and it would have gotten worse,” Walker said. “I think I caught it in time, and I’d like to throw tomorrow on schedule, but we’ll see.”

It may be nothing more than tightness, but leg injuries tend to linger in spring, when players are trying to get into game shape.

There are plenty of candidates to close - from David Aardsma to Roy Corcoran to Mark Lowe to Miguel Batista.

Walker has as much experience closing as anyone. This could be nothing or it could be a setback.

We'll find out tomorrow.

One of things that you want to avoid when doing this blog is becoming a propaganda outlet for the M's, but at the same time, you do have to post a few things here and there when you think they are relevant or necessary.

This is one of those times. In these economic times, lots of people are looking for work or supplemental earnings and the Mariners do have some opportunities for summer employment. Will you make as much in one summer as Erik Bedard gets paid to pitch in one game for the Mariners? Not even close. But if you are looking feel free to check the information below.

MARINERS HOST JOB FAIR TO HIRE SAEFCO FIELD STAFF FOR 2009 BASEBALL SEASON 150 positions open for part-time, seasonal jobs

The Seattle Mariners are preparing to host a job fair to hire approximately 150 people to perform a variety of jobs at Safeco Field on game days. The positions start at $8.55 or more an hour for 10-20 hours of work per week from April through September.

Positions range from seating hosts, elevator operators, ticketing staff, parking attendants, Team Store clerks and ballpark security. There are also a number of openings in the Fielders program specifically for high school and college age students. The work for all positions is primarily nights and weekends during Mariners home games.

Beginning February 24, those interested in applying for a job at the ballpark must call the Safeco Field Job Hotline at 206-346-4006 to set up times for interviews. The interviews will be conducted March 10-11.

"Jobs at Safeco Field during the Mariners baseball season are perfect for retired folks, teachers, college students, anyone with nights and weekends available during the season," said Marianne Short, Seattle Mariners Vice President Human Resources. "These are all customer service positions and we are looking for people that enjoy being at the ballpark and are motivated to provide the high-level of customer service our fans have come to expect at Safeco Field."

Set your clocks: Ken Griffey Jr. is scheduled into camp Saturday, will hold a 1:30 p.m. news conference - that's Mountain Time - and then work out with coaches and manager Don Wakamatsu.

Of course, if you set your clock on Junior Time, you'll likely wait a bit. It's not that he's late on purpose, it's just that the trip to anywhere he's trying to go is constantly interrupted by people along the way. A word here, a word there - he's 30 minutes late.

Griffey is one of those personalities that draws attention without trying. And this much is certain. Once he's in camp, the clubhouse will get louder. More teasing, more joking and a lot more laughing.

After that, we'll see what he's got left on the field.