Today, at 1:05pm PDT, the Seattle Mariners will play an exhibition baseball game against the Chicago Cubs at the Peoria Sports Complex. And it really will be an "exhibition" game, as it will be played before a crowd of thousands. Such a large crowd, generating so many thousands of dollars of revenue, for a game that will mean nothing. There are no stakes. So it'll be a lot like any other Seattle Mariners or Chicago Cubs game. "It might be preseason for you, but it's just like the season for us!"
I'm late to posting this so let's move right along. Before we move right along, you saw that the Mariners released Hong-Chih Kuo. That experiment didn't take very long to lead to a poopy conclusion. I used "poopy" here to draw attention to the fact that I am a full-time paid writer. Now let's move right along. Gameday link. No TV, only online radio for subscribers, and it's the Cubs' feed. The Mariners' starting lineup:
Figgins, LF
Ackley, 2B
Ichiro, RF
Smoak, 1B
Montero, DH
Seager, 3B
Olivo, C
Saunders, CF
Ryan, SS
That looks a lot like the probable Opening Day starting lineup, only with a lot less Mike Carp. Be as excited or unexcited about that as you please. I do remember having positive feelings about each and every one of these players at some point in my life. That doesn't actually mean anything except that the Mariners aren't starting Steven Baron. Career .566 minor league OPS!
Jason Vargas is starting on the mound and he'll do his Vargas things for more innings than it seems like. Then he'll give way to relievers, as is the convention. Then the game will end. Then we'll think about the game. Then, at some point, we'll stop thinking about this game, and we'll start thinking about the next game. Then that game will be played. Then that game will end. Then we'll think about that game. Then, at some point, we'll stop thinking about that game, and we'll start thinking about the next game. We're all hamsters.