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We have, or I have, emphatically hit the wall of the Spring Training Marathon. The adrenaline has ebbed, the legs partially liquefied, and the air somehow has grown hotter and thicker. We want to press onward and finish strong but a quick glance at the passing mile markers tells us we've got 7.3 miles to go.
Prepare for pain.
#Mariners and #Cubs lineups for tonight's game at 7 pm pic.twitter.com/SnoflNfJOQ
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) March 25, 2015
Spring Training is too long but we'll press on anyhow. Time flows at its own pace and it is up to us to find the joys that make its passing manageable. Tonight gives us an opportunity to see if Taijuan Walker can continue his dominant run at breaking camp in the starting rotation. Walker has yet to give up a run in 12 innings and even better has flashed command and the same plus stuff he has shown throughout his career.
At the LL meetup last weekend I joked with Scott that I was going to write an article calling for Austin Jackson to be moved out of the leadoff spot in the lineup and simply wait until Jackson's performance merited its publication. It seems certain that Jackson is the team's everyday leadoff hitter and also quite possible he could struggle. However today Rickie Weeks bats leadoff and there's a chance we may see some of that this season:
McClendon trying out Weeks leadoff Jackson 2 again, says we could see that in the regular season.
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) March 25, 2015
Now it's widely known that in these circles that complaining about lineup construction is best left to your Uncle Frank, the one with the toupee who just took out a loan to buy a Miata, but it's also known that having your best hitters at the top of the order is superior to not doing that. There's a good chance that Rickie Weeks is a better offensive player than Austin Jackson in 2015. Now is the time for reading too much into largely meaningless things. Read. Read away.
Game info
- Mariners Vs. Cubs - 7:05 PM PST
- TV: ROOT, Radio: ESPN 710 AM, Online, Mariners.com
- P.S. Today we learned Lloyd loves Elton John. What a neat guy.