Mariners Moose Tracks, 2/11/17: Prince Fielder, Mike Zunino, and Lupe Fiasco

Good morning everyone! Next weekend at this time, Spring Training will be fully underway. We’ve almost made it. Mood:

Let’s see what else the baseball world has to offer.

In Mariners news...

• Bob Dutton previews the Mariners’ outfield heading into Spring Training. I’m all aboard the Haniger hype train, as I was with Ackley, Franklin, Montero, you name it. However, this is the first year in a long time where I feel really good about the guys who are next in line if Haniger doesn’t pan out. Good work, Jerry.
• Beyond the Box Score suggests that Mike Zunino could become more of a contributor on offense in 2017 due to his increased walk rate.
• Fox Sports had the nerve to suggest that Tuffy Gosewisch could become the next Jesus Sucre. Too soon Fox Sports, too soon.
• I had maintained hope that the Mariners would sign Franklin Gutierrez to a minor league deal, but now I am sad.

Around the league...

• Even though his baseball career was cut short, Prince Fielder is still making the most of life with his own cooking show.
• Matthew Matta of the Hardball times provides more insight on pitch movement than anyone could ever want. For some reason like 80% of the demo videos are against the Mariners.
• Have you ever considered retiring from your multimillion dollar career to race Porsches? Yeah, so has C.J. Wilson. After an injury riddled 2016, Wilson is shifting his focus from pitching to racing.
• David Laurila writes about the difference between MiLB and MLB baseballs.

Adam’s picks...

• For my fellow hip hop/rap fans, give Lupe Fiasco’s new album a listen. It slaps.
• As you might recall, LaMello Ball scored 92 points in a high school game earlier this week. However, it wasn’t as impressive as it sounds.