Ichiro thinks Seattle is committed again to winning

After years of frustration over Seattle’s inability to reach the postseason, All-Star outfielder Ichiro Suzuki said he thinks the Mariners have finally turned the corner.

Buoyed by the off-season acquisitions of starting pitchers Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva, along with new right fielder Brad Wilkerson, Ichiro sounded eager and optimistic following his first workout of the spring at Peoria, Ariz.

“This is the year I feel the most that the organization is becoming one, coming together,” Ichiro said Wednesday through his interpreter. “I’m not saying that just because of the moves we made but the feelings that were behind the moves, the motivation. You can really feel the awareness of the consequences by everybody in the organization.”

Seattle last made the playoffs in 2001, Ichiro’s first year in the major leagues after he spent nine seasons in Japan. Since then, he and the Mariners have gone in different directions.

While Ichiro has evolved into one of the game’s top players and was named MVP at last year’s All-Star game, Seattle has largely failed. The Mariners changed managers three times and brought in several free agents over the years, though the results have basically been the same.

Rodriguez makes debut

In his first session with reporters during spring training, Alex Rodriguez talked about baseball’s drug-testing program and made a curious statement.

“Last year, I got tested nine to 10 times,” Rodriguez said. “We have a very, very strict policy, and I think the game is making tremendous strides.”

If Rodriguez had been tested that many times, either he was selected for an unusually high number of checks or he might have been subjected him to additional tests – which would happen, for instance, if a player tests positive for a stimulant for the first time. Later in the day, Rodriguez said it was just hyperbole.

“My quote from earlier today was taken literally. … I was just using exaggeration to make a point,” Rodriguez said in a statement.

Clearing the bases

Coco Crisp, who lost his center field job to rookie Jacoby Ellsbury in the postseason, said he’d likely talk to the Boston Red Sox about trading him if it appears he won’t regain his starting job. … Pitcher Shawn Chacon and the Houston Astros agreed to a $2 million, one-year deal.