I shook hands with Gaylord Perry yesterday in the lobby of a downtown hotel, and no vaseline, lotion, mud, sandpaper or any other doctoring agent was evident. In his heyday, when the burning question of the day in the major leagues was "does he or doesn't he" -- throw a spitter, that is -- Perry loved to put some sort of substance on his hand and watch the hilarity.

"It was part of my game to make them believe I was doing it,'' he said. "A lot of times, I'd be pitching the next night, and someone would be in the batting cage. I'd shake their hands, and my hand would be full of vaseline. 'Just getting ready for tomorrow night,' I'd say. It was all done in fun. You could hear the hitters when they hit one out off me -- 'That one didn't sink.' It was great baseball.''

I hope you enjoy this Alex Liddi interview from Yankee Stadium as much as I did -- even though I didn't understand 95 percent of it. I found it linked from this article from the Italian sports site La Gazzetta dello Sport on Liddi's grand slam Wednesday against the Rangers.

Here's yesterday's minor-league report. Today's is not out yet, but I'll post it here when available. Update 2:45 p.m.: And here it is.

Meanwhile, Keith Law of ESPN today came out with his updated list of the top 25 minor-league prospects, removing players like Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, now in the majors, and several players who have long-term injuries.

One of the biggest jumps is made by Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker, who was 24th in the preseason ranking and has moved up to sixth, behind pitcher Dylan Bundy (Orioles), shortstop Jurickson Profar (Rangers), shortstop Manny Machado (Orioles), catcher Travis d'Arnaud (Blue Jays), and RF/CF/EB Wil Myers (Royals).

(Photo by Associated Press)

UPDATE AT 1:10 P.M.: It is now official: Casper Wells optioned to Tacoma, Miguel Olivo activated.

The strong indications are that Casper Wells , and not Chone Figgins, will be the victim of Miguel Olivo's return to the Mariner roster.

Nothing is official until Olivo actually arrives in Seattle, but as Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto reported, Olivo is no longer with Tacoma in Iowa. That indicates he's heading back to Seattle to join the Mariners tonight as they open a four-game series with the Angels.

(Here's today's minor-league report).

It's been nearly three years since Kyle Seager was chosen in the third round of the 2009 draft -- which has proven to be an astute choice by Mariners' scouting director Tom McNamara.

Now Seager is again agonizing over the draft, which kicks off a week from Monday. That's because his little brother -- age-wise, anyway -- is very much in the forefront as a potential first-round talent. Corey Seager, a senior at Northwest Cabarrus High School in Concord, N.C., the same school that produced Kyle, is ranked as the 19th-best prospect in the draft by Baseball America. In their first mock draft, they have Corey Seager going to the Dodgers with the 18th overall pick.

(Photo by Associated Press)

After his two-hit masterpiece last night, a reporter said to Kevin Millwood that he looked like he had found a home with the Mariners, and asked if he felt that way, too. The question seemed to take him aback. Millwood's no dummy. He's happy to be here, certainly, but he's savvy enough to know that there is likely no long-term future in Seattle for him. It may be his home right now, but it's a transient one.

Here's what he answered, diplomatically: "I hope so. I hope they're not going to kick me out any time soon. I feel comfortable here. There's a lot of good people here. I enjoy the staff and the front office. It's a fun place to play."

Here's the Mariner minor-league report from today and yesterday.

I flew into Denver today (above is the obligatory "out the hotel window" shot of downtown) to hop aboard the sinking Mariner ship. When I flipped on the internet, I was surprised to see all the stories about Kerry Wood's impending retirement.

It's easy to forget what a huge phenom he was back in 1998 -- it's no exaggeration to say Kerry Wood was the Stephen Strasburg of his day. And the hype surrounding him hit full boil when, in his fifth career start, he pitched a one-hitter against the Houston Astros. Oh, did I mention that he also struck out 20? According to the Bill James Game Score formula, it was the greatest game ever pitched. And he was just 20 years old! It surely seemed like we had found our next Roger Clemens, or Nolan Ryan, the two fellow Texans to whom Wood was inevitably compared.

(Photo by Getty Images)

Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus had an interesting article yesterday on the ESPN Insider page (which I won't link to, because it's behind a pay wall, but it's well worth checking out). The premise is that power hitting is not just declining in the major leagues (where homers are down nearly 20 percent since 2004), but also in the minor leagues. He writes, "Scouts have made it clear that based on waht they are seeing in the minors, that downward trend is going to continue."

The obvious conclusion is that this relates to increased testing for performance enhancing Drugs, but the puzzling aspect to that, as Goldstein points out, is that there have never been more power pitchers throughout baseball than there are right now.

But I'm not so much interested in why power is declining, just the practical application for teams. The upshot is that power hitters are going to become much more coveted, and much more expensive. And that is why I believed at the time, and still believe, that the Jesus Montero trade was a good one for the Mariners -- and that would still be the case if Michael Pineda were tearing up the American League for the Yankees, instead of out all season with a bum shoulder.

(Here is today's Mariner minor-league report)

Here is the first installment of player videos from my trip to Jackson. Many of you might not have had a chance to see some of these players in action, so I hope you find it informative and interesting.

Above is some video of Taijuan Walker from back on April 27, when he pitched six shutout innings against Tennessee. He didn't have great command of his fastball that night but got by on his curve and changeup, which was pleasing both to him and the Jackson coaching staff. Currently, Walker is 3-1 with a 1.83 ERA in 34 1/3 innings, with 35 strikeouts and 11 walks while allowing 28 hits. He twisted an ankle two nights ago, but it's not believe serious. In this video, he gets a popup, then strikes out the next hitter looking.

Danny Hultzen, shown above, struggled a bit in this outing, but overall he's had an outstanding rookie season. In seven starts, he is 3-3 with a 1.91 ERA, allowing just 17 hits in 37 2/3 innings. Hultzen has struck out 36 and walked 23.