by A.J. Coltrane
Impression #1 — The line.
We got there right at 11:00. The M’s had one line for the autograph seekers, and one line for everybody else. As might be expected at kid-friendly event, there were a *lot* of big purses/ backpacks/ strollers. It took a while to get in. Casper Wells spoke at 11:10, but we were just barely in the stadium by then. Missed it:
Impression #2 — Taijuan Walker and James Paxton seem to be a couple of personable guys. Paxton in particular knew how to handle the crowd and give all the “right” answers. They’re both pitchers, and Baseball America has them as the M’s #2 and #4 rated prospects, respectively. (Jesus Montero is #1, and Danny Hultzen is #3.)
Impression #3 — Miguel Olivo did a good job with his interview as well:
Impression #4 — These young teenage guys aren’t getting laid for a long, long time. They sat in front of me and seemed oblivious to the fact that I was taking pictures, though clearly it wasn’t the only thing they’re oblivious of:
Impression #5 — I’m pretty sure he was getting paid to wear this ensemble:
Impression #6 — The Mariners couldn’t afford an animatronic Dave Niehaus, so they had him bronzed instead. (The M’s elected to bump up the creepiness by having some of Dave’s most memorable play calling on an endless loop…)
FlatbreadGarden 
Ah, so I’m not the only one who finds the bronze of Dave Niehaus over in Creepy Valley.
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Oddly, most folks don’t seem to find it to be creepy at all, for some reason. People were lined up to pose with it.
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