2/24: Spring Training Open Game Thread

Yesterday afternoon, the Seattle Mariners won all the marbles from the San Diego Padres. Today afternoon, the Padres will try to get the marbles back from the Mariners, while the Mariners, in turn, will try to...hold on to all the marbles, I guess. The Mariners cannot win any more marbles; they can only lose marbles. But there are so many different uses for marbles that why would the Mariners want to end up without marbles? Then what would they put in that jar?

Details:

• MARINERS
• AGAINST PADRES
• AT THE TEAMS' SHARED HOME FIELD
• 12:05pm Pacific
• Gameday link
• broadcast on the radio and audio streamed online

The Mariners' starting lineup:

Kyle Seager, 3B
Robert Andino, 2B
Raul Ibanez, "RF"
Michael Morse, "LF"
Michael Saunders, CF
Jesus Montero, DH
Vinnie Catricala, 1B
Mike Zunino, C
Nick Franklin, SS

Starting for the Mariners will be three different Michaels, which is in no way interesting. It would be a lot more interesting if starting for the Mariners would be three identical Michaels. Zunino is getting the go behind the plate and the outfield defense makes it either a really good thing or a really bad thing this game isn't being broadcast on television. Andino is batting second because he is a versatile punchless infielder and versatile punchless infielders bat second in lineups. That way you can have a good hitter batting sixth or seventh and you can feel good about how deep your lineup is even though it's artificially deep because you have a pile of crap batting between first and third. Franklin is at short because the Mariners haven't abandoned Franklin as a shortstop even though he spent the offseason putting on another Nick Franklin. What could be better than one Nick Franklin? Two Nick Franklins on the same skeletal frame!

The Mariners' starter will be Erasmo Ramirez. He's pitching against Freddy Garcia, who I'm mildly surprised didn't end up a Mariner again. Ramirez hasn't been guaranteed a rotation spot so he's pitching for a big-league job, but he's not pitching for a big-league job today, since today he'll probably pitch like one or two innings. With the stakes so low he'll probably mail it in. After Ramirez will be/could be James Paxton, Tom Wilhelmsen, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Carter Capps, Josh Kinney, Lucas Luetge, and Yoervis Medina. Maybe all of those guys won't pitch because that is a lot of guys who could pitch but I hope they get all the way to the end because God dammit Yoervis Medina, who are you and how have you survived this long on the 40-man roster? How have you survived this long, just? In our lives we encounter a vast array of potential threats. Every single day, we're cheating death. Death always prevails eventually. Or at least, death has always prevailed eventually, so far. I can't predict the future.

Baseball is about to happen. Pay attention to it, or don't, because it is beautiful outside. The Padres are starting a player named Jaff. Think about that, outside.