Phillies' Raul Ibanez defends ex-teammate Ichiro

CLEARWATER, Fla. — When Raul Ibanez arrived in the Phillies' clubhouse early Thursday morning, he found a full set of catcher's equipment at his locker. And he saw a lot of smirking faces.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel even came over to tell Ibanez, with a straight face, to be ready for some spot catching duty this season.

"I think they were messing with me, and I'll venture to say I'm 90 percent sure [Jamie] Moyer started it," Ibanez said with a laugh.

Moyer might be one of the few people in baseball who still remembers that Ibanez started out in the Mariners' organization in the early 1990s as a catcher. That was another lifetime ago for both.

"They played it off well, with the skipper involved and everything," Ibanez said, shaking his head.

Call it bonding, baseball-style. Rest assured the Phillies won't make their prime free-agent acquisition don the tools of ignorance as they defend their World Series title.

Indeed, anyone who coaxed a three-year, $31.5 million contract in this economic climate can't be called ignorant in any way.

Ibanez and his agents, the Levinson brothers, Sam and Seth, deserve a commendation for being one step ahead of the plummeting free-agent market.

Ibanez, 36, signed his deal Dec. 12 to replace Pat Burrell as Philadelphia's left fielder. Exactly two months later, Bobby Abreu — who has similar statistics, and is two years younger — signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Angels.

"We definitely thought and felt that the market was going to be moving in that direction," Ibanez said. "At the same time, once it was obvious I was going to leave Seattle, this became my target team."

And that left Ibanez with a strong feeling of déjà vu. When he left Kansas City to come back to Seattle as a free agent in 2004, he was recruited by ex-Mariners general manager Pat Gillick, then a Seattle consultant, and Moyer, then the Mariners' ageless pitcher.

And this winter, Ibanez was recruited by ... Gillick, now the Phillies' ex-GM and consultant, and Moyer, now the Phillies' still-ageless pitcher. Another important factor, then and now, was Benny Looper, who left Seattle's front office this winter to join Philadelphia's.

"It was weird, because it was the exact same thing, except over here," Ibanez said.

But now he's joining a team that sprayed champagne in October. Ibanez admits it will be a bit weird to watch his new teammates reap the benefits of their World Series victory — ring ceremonies and pennant hoistings.

"I just thought about that the other day; I wonder how that works?" he said. "Am I going to be the only guy sitting in the dugout? I don't know what to do. Maybe I'll read the paper.

"Seriously, it will definitely be an added incentive. Quite frankly, I want to be there and see the ring. Try it on, or at least look at it, and project those mental pictures."

The Mariners, of course, had mental pictures of a fruitful October when they arrived in camp last year. Instead, the team nearly went mental en route to a disastrous season of firings and dissension.

Ibanez had a very different take than other ex-Mariners weighing in this week. In fact, some of the recent stories about Seattle infighting merely reinforced his point of view, he said.

"I really think that last year's club had a problem with accountability," he said. "It goes hand in hand — in crappy situations, people start pointing fingers. That's when I think the character of the people on the team is tested. When you start focusing your energy on what other people are doing, then you're not focusing your energy on what you're doing."

Which brings us to Ichiro. Rest assured, Ibanez comes to praise, not rip him.

"I learned a lot from him," Ibanez said. "It's no secret we were friends. I spent five years next to Ichiro, and what I can tell you about him is he helped me become a better player."

And so Ibanez was incredulous to learn of all the Ichiro revelations this week.

"I think last year we all should have just done our jobs. If we had all done our jobs, we would have been a better club."

That shouldn't be a problem for a Phillies team poised to make another run. Ibanez just wants to fit in, but he had an embarrassing new-kid-in-school moment when he reported to camp.

Turns out Ibanez parked by the dumpster, blocking the recycling truck, and had to move his car.

"Here I was, trying to come in smoothly, fly under the radar," Ibanez said. "I wanted to have nobody notice I'm here — and I park in the wrong place."

Something for Ibanez to ponder as he puts away his catching gear — far, far away.

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com