Glad to be back after two-plus fantastic weeks in Ecuador. Seeing the Amazon River basin and the Galapagos Islands in one trip was a dream come true. The Mariners report to Peoria a week from tomorrow, so it's time to slowly get this blog back up and running. Want to see what two giant tortoises battling it out looks like? Sure you do, so I've supplied a video I shot last week in the Galapagos. Enjoy.

Colleague Steve Kelley penned an apology to Erik Bedard the other day and good on him. I mean it. It takes guts to say you're wrong in print. Got me thinking there might be some Mariners that I could apologize to for things said and done over the years.

This is America, right? Land of forgiveness? Well, let's find out.

In the spirit of baring our souls and setting the record straight, I've got a few Mariners out there to whom my own mea culpa is long overdue.

First, I'd like to apologize to Miguel Batista.

You see, there's this thing he has for Kenny G. OK, I'll give you all a minute to calm down and stop laughing. Yes, that means you. I'll take a moment myself.

You see, anytime I'd hear mention of the G-Man, I had to throw this photo up on the blog:

Like clockwork, the folks at Deadspin, or Walkoff Walk would be all over it. I didn't even snap the darned photo, but kept getting all the credit (and blog hits) for it. It was guaranteed comedic fodder. And I knew it, believe you me. In fact, when I heard the G-Man was going to be playing in Anaheim last September, up went the photo once again, nearly 18 months after it was first taken.

I couldn't help myself. When the G-Man himself appeared at Angel Stadium the next day, to play the National Anthem, I went into overdrive. A full text and audio interview and more video of him and Batista together. This time shot by me.

Did I do it because I knew that folks across the country would be interested in seeing a master craftsman of the mound together with a master of the flute/sax/whatever Kenny G. plays? Uh, no. Not exactly.

So, for that, I apologize Miguel. Truly. I done wrong. In fact, I've been so guilt-ridden by this in 2008 and 2009 that I keep penning novels on the blog everytime you go on a South American charity mission. The fact that I mocked one of your mound implosions in Kansas City last summer by scribing some made-up verses to the tune of Billy Joel's "We didn't start the fire" barely registers on my conscience. But this Kenny G. thing? I plead guilty to the charge of trying to summon cheap laughs at both of your expense. My penalty is to suffer in shame for all eternity. Speaking of which, good luck in Washington.

Today was the day I was making final plans for a trip out of the country starting early tomorrow, so I was not at the Safeco Field press conference for Cliff Lee. You can read about that in Larry Stone's coming piece.

Because I'll be away, this blog will more or less be winding down until right before spring training. We usually do it that way every year. I know you love it here, and don't worry, the season is fast approaching.

One thing I would like to comment on, since GM Jack Zduriencik made reference to it earlier today, is the team's payroll. Normally, I would not do this since I'm leaving town, but since he brought it up today, and yesterday, I believe the issue needs addressing from this end.

Here is what Zduriencik said at the press conference:

Just one other comment. I've been getting a lot of questions lately, and I thought I'd take this head on. A lot of phone calls, and emails, in regard to our payroll this coming season.

"As you know, for competitive reasons, there would be no way we would reveal what our payroll is. I think that is something that stays within our own organization. That being the case, it's impossible for anyone to try to figure out or calculate exactly what that is. I hope our fans realize this. We're going to do the very best job we can to put the best product on the field, and move forward in our organization the very best we can. Just so there's no one misled or things thrown out there that are inaccurate. That being said, I would ask all of you to understand that and respect where we stand on this.

Now, let me just say that I respect Zdurinecik's stance on keeping things close to the vest for competitive reasons. It's also hard to argue that he's done anything but a bang-up job this winter in strengthening the team.

But I'll also say that just because the M's want to keep their budget confidential, it doesn't mean we can't make educated guesses at it based on information we receive from players and agents and team officials and stuff that's already out there in the public domain. That's what we do. We don't work for the team.

We did speak with officials from the Mariners in advance of putting together our estimated payroll list so far. We tried to work through some of the gray areas with them on certain matters where they did speak, like pro-rating bonuses. When we estimated a salary -- as in the case of Franklin Gutierrez, we erred on the side of caution and assumed the team had spent more than it actually did: $3.5 million rather than the actual $2 million + a pro-rated share of his signing bonus in Gutierrez's case, based off what his agent told us yesterday,

We're pretty confident that the team is up in the high 80 millions, as others have estimated as well.

Off that, we said that if the Mariners were to keep their payroll up near $98 million, where it was reported to be last year, that would give them roughly -- meaning approximately -- $10 million left to spend. But maybe they aren't going to put payroll that high again. Who knows? We said if and that's a big if. Maybe they're disputing that they spent $98 million last year. Again, I have no idea.

Now, the team might want to use some of whatever remaining cash there is as part of a reserve fund going forward, rather than spend it all this off-season. That's their choice. It doesn't change the fact that, if the team has money to allocate to a reserve fund, it has the money to begin with.

Not all teams keep reserve funds at the same levels. In theory, the M's could spend all of their money now and say that there will be no mid-season additions or big numbers of September call-ups.

In any event, we told you what our estimate of their payroll is at present. If there is anything inaccurate about it, we have invited the Mariners to explain it. So far, that hasn't happened. Nobody has told us our salary projections are wrong. And trust me, if we're shown to have made a mistake, we'll fix it. I've left word here for that to happen in my absence since I'll be in the deepest jungle and far from any laptop.

Nobody is trying to hurt the team. We're trying to give you a better idea of where they stand. If they can help shed more light on it, even by explaining the process rather than giving away confidential numbers, then I'm all for it.

But if the team has less money to spend on free agents than some may think because it wants to allocate a chunk of money to a reserve fund, or cut payroll from last year, that's not really my department. That's their choice to make.

Hope that's clear.

See you all in a few weeks. With the way this team has kept us hopping all winter, it'll be nice to sleep in a jungle hut with some peace and quiet (think South America). Spring training is just around the corner and it promises to be an interesting year.

We've got a podcast for you, Larry Stone and myself, discussing today events from outside Safeco Field. Have a listen by clicking right here.

Lots of positive vibes coming from today's Felix Hernandez press conference, as one might expect. And why not? The Mariners just locked up their Cy Young Award runner-up for another five years, Hernandez is now wealthier than he ever could have dreamed, with $78 million over the five years, and seems giddy with excitement for the coming season. Even said he can envision the team perhaps winning the World Series.

"For me, it's not about money,'' he said. "For me, it's about being here. I know the fans need to be in the playoffs. We need to be in the playoffs. And we knew we had to get things done, early this year, before spring training, and now my mind is clear, all I've got to do is go out there and pitch. That's the only thing I've got on my mind right now.''

Other than buying a house, which Hernandez might do in Bellevue, a place he usually lives during the season.

The Mariners tomorrow will have Cliff Lee on-hand to meet the media, meaning two of the game's top aces will have just been trotted out at Safeco Field some 24 hours apart. So, these are high times indeed for a Mariners club that still has money to spend and continues to look at free agents.

But for me, some of the more interesting comments took place after the press conference was over.

Hernandez's agent, Wil Polidor, was asked whether the change in regimes from Bill Bavasi to Jack Zduriencik made much of a difference when it came to getting this deal done. Polidor vigorously nodded his head and said it did indeed make quite a difference.

"They realized that they had to sign this ace,'' Polidor said. "And they tried to sign him.''

The implication being that nobody really wanted Hernandez locked up long-term beforehand. To be fair, prior to last spring, Hernandez was a whole lot of hype without the Cy Young credentials to go with it. That much has changed big-time.

Hernandez admitted up on the podium and after today's press conference that he has some growing up to do and that his young children and the reality of being a father has made him more mature.

"I think it was my family,'' he said. "My family gave me support for everything. My kids -- my daughter and my son -- for me, that's the best thing that's happened to me.''

Still, the way it was sounding from Hernandez's agent, the whole "it takes two to tango" notion, that Hernandez was the reluctant party in a two-sided dance in recent years, wasn't exactly the case -- at least when Bavasi was still around.

"The last three years, they've been saying no to him,'' Polidor said. "Felix wasn't saying no.''

Nobody was saying "no'' this time. The Mariners initially wanted a four-year deal, Hernandez was asking for six and the two sides met in the middle. They also avoided what might have been an interesting arbitration case.

Polidor said he had filed an arbitration request for $11.5 million, while the Mariners -- according to the Associated Press -- countered with $7.7 million. The two sides could have met in the middle for nearly $10 million, or, could have let an arbitrator pick one of the two figures. I dunno, but after that season Hernandez just had, that $11.5 million looks pretty good.

Good thing neither side now has to worry about that.

Zduriencik now has to turn his sights to other areas. He played it coy today when asked about how much money he has left to spend, calling any media ruminations about his payroll or remaining money -- including, I would suspect, our salary chart in today's paper -- "speculation.''

They must have knocked off the Felix Hernandez physical earlier than expected because the Safeco Field news conference is now at 4 p.m. Last night, his agent told me it was tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m.

Leaves everyone time for Happy Hour.

For those keeping track of the salary chart, we have some more info.

Franklin Gutierrez is only earning a $2 million base salary in 2010. Throw in a signing bonus of $1.25 million, pro-rated over four years, and you get another $306,000 for this year, so that's a $2.3 million commitment for 2010. Obviously that's lower than the $3.5 million we estimated yesterday, so make that just under $87 million in payroll commitments by the team so far.

The rest of Gutierrez's contract goes:

2011 -- $4 million
2012 -- $5.5 million
2013 -- $ 7 million
2014 -- Club option for $7.5 million or $500,000 buyout.

Don't forget to add the pro-rated bonus of $306,000 to each year.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: 10:45 p.m.: Spoke to Brandon League tonight and he told me he'd signed for $1.08 million, so we'll leave his spot on our salary chart at $1.1 million for the sake of the count. Also, on the salary thing, I've corrected Dustin Ackley, who is actually making $1.5 million total salary over five years, not just in 2010. So, I've left that at $300,000 for 2010 and added his pro-rated bonus to give $1.5 million for the year, down from $2.7 million. So, in total, the team is right around $88 million.

Felix Hernandez touched down on a flight from Venezuela just before 6 p.m. and is making his way to downtown Seattle as I type this. Hernandez has a physical tomorrow morning and then, a press conference his agent said is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Safeco Field.

Wil Polidor, the main Venezuelan-based agent for Hernandez, was on-hand at SeaTac to pick him up. Hernandez did not bring his family with him, so will presumably be alone in that regard at the press conference to announce the five-year, $78 million deal.

I asked Polidor whether this meant everything had been completed negotiation-wise pending the physical.

"Yes, that's exactly it,'' he replied.

Hernandez won't talk until the press conference.

I've got some more info on our salary chart from this morning and it's gone up to just about $88 million. Let's take a look at it once again.

UPDATE: 11:15 a.m. -- Already, as some of you have pointed out, there is a discrepancy in the numbers since Ichiro is having $5 million per year deferred from being paid out until after he retires. He also got a $5 million bonus, which would be $1 million a year pro-rated as we've been doing. Thing is, I don't know whether the Mariners are setting part of that future salary money aside right now, or not. So, we count him somewhere between $12 million and $18 million. I'll try to get that clarified. Still leaves the M's with a lot of payroll room.

Here we go, my foray into mathematics. Time to cover the kids' eyes as I embark on one of my least favorite exercises. We've been telling you for a while now that the Mariners, if trying to maintain their payroll at about the $98 million spent last year, have roughly another $10 million or so they can still spend.

And, after yesterday's news that Felix Hernandez is about to ink a five-year deal worth $78 million, that hasn't changed much.

Many of you have asked me to do some updated payroll calculations and so, against my better instincts, that is what I am attempting. Just like they tell you in advertising, the objects you see here may not be exact replicas of the real thing. But they are pretty close. What I'm getting here is a payroll commitment of just under $88 million so far.

SEATTLE MARINERS 25-MAN ROSTER 2010 PAYROLL

ICHIRO -- $17 million
MILTON BRADLEY -- $9 million + $3.5 million to Cubs
CLIFF LEE -- $9 million
CHONE FIGGINS -- $8 million
FELIX HERNANDEZ -- $6.5 million + $3.5 million signing bonus (pro-rated $700,000 per year)
JACK WILSON -- $5 million
FRANKLIN GUTIERREZ -- $5 million
IAN SNELL -- $4.25 million
CASEY KOTCHMAN -- $3.5 million (estimated)
DAVID AARDSMA -- $2.75 million
KEN GRIFFEY JR. -- $2.35 million
JOSE LOPEZ -- $2.3 million
MARK LOWE -- $1.15 million
BRANDON LEAGUE -- $1.1 million
RYAN LANGERHANS -- $525,000
GARRETT OLSON -- $420,000
RYAN ROWLAND-SMITH -- $420,000
JACK HANNAHAN -- $410,000
ROB JOHNSON -- $400,000
SHAWN KELLEY -- $400,000
ADAM MOORE --$400,000
SEAN WHITE -- $400,000
MICHAEL SAUNDERS -- $400,000
JASON VARGAS -- $400,000
DOUG FISTER -- $400,000

YUNIESKY BETANCOURT -- $1 million

TOTAL -- $87.35 million

Now, let me explain these calculations and how they might vary slightly, though not all that much.

Mariners closer David Aardsma has avoided arbitration and signed a one-year, $2.75 million deal with the club. Aardsma earned roughly $420,000 last year, so it's a sizeable raise but quite expected given his 38 saves last season.

"Obviously, I couldn't be happier,'' Aardsma said, moments ago.

The trick to these negotiations was finding something comparable to Aardsma's situation in order to come up with a salary figure. There aren't too many first-year arbitration guys who jump to 38 saves overnight.

"It was a little comparable to what J.J. Putz did,'' Aardsma said. "So, we had to look to find something somewhat comparable and after that, just take it from there.''

The deal was actually finalized just before 6 p.m. yesterday. But the Mariners, as we know, have been busy with Felix Hernandez.

"I know that Felix takes precedence over me,'' Aardsma said with a laugh. "I'm sure they wanted to announce something with him first, then they would have gotten around to my deal. Like I said, I couldn't be happier. I can't wait for the season to start.''

Just finished talking to the newest Seattle Mariners millionaire, that being pitcher Mark Lowe, who has agreed to a $1.15 million deal and avoided arbitration with the team,

"Obviously, the money I'd been making, the major league minimum, was more than enough to get by on,'' he said. "But when you get a chance to have a deal like this, obviously, it's something I'm very happy about and I'm glad we were able to come to a deal so quickly.''

Lowe is an interesting case, given how plenty of teams in baseball figure he could be a big league closer right now. But the M's have David Aardsma, who notched 38 saves last season, meaning Lowe isn't going to close for Seattle any time soon.

When it came to negotiating, Lowe said his side didn't attempt to make any "should be a closer'' arguments.

"I didn't have the saves and I wasn't pitching in the ninth inning, so it isn't the same,'' Lowe said. "For me, the important thing was just to get this done as quickly as possible and get something that was fair for both sides. I just put it all in the hands of my agent, to tell you the truth. For me, the important thing is just to get out there and pitch and I'm looking forward to doing that.''

I joked with Lowe about the fact that -- once again -- he's still with the team despite the usual half-dozen or so trade rumors this winter in which his name popped up. Part of that has to do with the whole "closer in waiting" perception other teams have of him.

"I'm sure next year, I'll go through it all over again,'' he said. "That just comes with the territory.''

Lowe's deal means Aardsma, Brandon League and Casey Kotchman are the three M's who are arbitration eligible and still haven't signed. We're assuming, of course, that Felix Hernandez passes his physical and eliminates the need for arbitration with that five-year package. The M's are speaking to all three camps as I write this and we could have more deals today.