CHICAGO -- Milton Bradley pulled a switch on the Chicago-based media on Friday.

He talked.

The Mariners' left fielder, out of the starting lineup for the second consecutive game because of a sore left calf, met with several members of the Windy City media inside the visiting clubhouse at U.S. Cellular Field.

It was a far different scene than in Spring Training, when several Chicago reporters approached Bradley inside the Mariners' clubhouse at the Peoria Sports Center and he refused to be interviewed.

But after getting some friendly advice from a couple of his new teammates, Bradley decided it would be best to talk on Friday, instead of continuing his verbal boycott stemming from a rocky one-year stint with the Cubs last season.

The session seemed to go well as the media fired him a series of questions.

What about being back in the American League?

"There is familiarity," he said. "More than anything, I have played for three teams in the [AL] West, so I am very familiar with the goings-on of that."

What kind of reception do you hope to get here?

"I really don't care. I'm not playing tonight anyway. Get my calf right. It is what it is."

When will you be able to play again?

"I don't know. We're being real cautious with it. It could be three or four months if you pull it, so especially with the cold weather, [it is important] that everything is loose and ready to go."

Manager Don Wakamatsu is hopeful Bradley will return to action soon.

"The soreness originally on the outside of his calf has moved more to the belly of the muscle and that is more of a concern," Wakamatsu said. "We feel that [with three straight days off] hopefully we can get a handle on this.

"We'll see. I don't know what we are going to do. If everything looks good tomorrow, maybe he'll play, or we back it up. The biggest thing is trying to get a handle on it right now."

Does Bradley have any message for Chicago baseball fans?

"God bless Seattle."

What has made Seattle welcoming for you compared to other places?

"The people and the media, because I've never had 10 people in my face with a camera in Seattle. I mean, this is about baseball and that's what we're trying to do. It's not about everything else. Everywhere else it's about everything else. A story. In Seattle, all they care about is winning baseball.

"Personally ... Seattle works for me.''

How has Ken Griffey Jr. been to get you in the swing of things?

"I don't have to be anyone but myself. Everyone wants you to be someone else. Nothing you say or do will change me. I have been doing it this way for 32 years and hopefully I will do it this way for another 32 years, if I live that long.