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Phillies AAA reliever Justin Friend, a 2010 AAA Rule 5 pickup from the Oakland A's, took Clearwater by storm yesterday with a Photo Day portrait that was head and shoulders above any other player.
Wearing sport eyeglasses reminiscent of recently traded Phillies starter Vance Worley, Friend's apparent nearsightedness and wide-eyed pose gave his portrait a mesmerizing, lithium-infused vibe.
The photographers departed from last year's red-and-blue-lamped "high school photography class Picasso project" themes and went for straight-ahead mug shots, along with more traditional poses with bats-draped-over-the-shoulders and pitchers-holding-a-baseball.
Friend's stats aren't all that bad, and if the 2012 bullpen injury bug reappears this season, Phillies fans may get a chance to see him hypnotize them in person in Philadelphia.