Balentien reports to campAs the Wladimir Balentien saga dragged on for two weeks, Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu joked that the outfielder was slowly swimming toward spring training from his native Curacao.
Balentien at last reached shore Saturday night and reported for workouts Sunday. Visa problems, apparently stemming from pages having been torn from Balentien's passport, caused the delay.
Balentien got as far as Venezuela, where officials rejected his passport. The ensuing red tape caused him to miss nearly two weeks of camp.
It was a terrible time for the 24-year-old to be absent, with a new coaching staff and plenty of competition in the outfield.
"I was nervous because I know the situation I'm in right now," he said. "I should have been in camp before anyone, and with the visa problem I was frustrated. But I'm over it now, and I'm in camp, and I've got to work harder to make up for the time I lost."
Later, in a different note at the same link:
Ryan Rowland-Smith's roommate, former Mariner Chris Snelling, is back in town, at least for a few days. Snelling, a free agent, is part of the Australian team for the World Baseball Classic, and the Aussies are training in Peoria.
"It's been great seeing them," said Rowland-Smith, who turned down a spot on his native country's team in order to stay and compete for a job in the Seattle rotation. "It doesn't make it harder, or make me regret my decision, though. It might be tough watching the (WBC) games on TV and stuff like that, but it'll be over soon."
The Mariners and the Australians will play an exhibition game Wednesday night.
"I was talking to some of the guys, and they said I should walk out there in a Mariners uniform and just rip it off and have the Australian one underneath," Rowland-Smith said.
To rip off a joke from USS Mariner...My God! That's Australia's Music!
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