Mariners Moose Tracks, 2/21/17: Nelson Cruz, Home Run Montage, and Jimmer Fredette

Good morning! I hope you all enjoyed your long weekends. It’s time to get back to bizness so here are some fresh links to start off your day.

In Mariners news...

• Red Reporter gave a largely fake — but still entertaining — preview of the Seattle Mariners.
• Nelson Cruz had to set aside his law school aspirations, but might try to pick up his schooling again in the near future.
• Nelly has also adapted to the idea of serving primarily as the team’s designated hitter.
• Mariners position players took to the field yesterday.

• If you’ve got 45 minutes to kill, here’s a compilation of every home run hit by the Mariners in 2016.

• The Mariners had a contest to see who could spell Marc Rzepczynski’s last name during the first full squad workout.

Around the league...

• Sam Miller at ESPN poses an interesting question: how would we know who the best players were if we didn’t have stats to tell us? It’s a very fascinating study.
• Astros pitcher Chris Devenski was a vastly underrated player last year, writes Jeff Sullivan.
• The New York Times did a neat feature on Mike Piazza: Soccer Team Owner.
• Travis Sawchik wonders if baseball can continue to be a well-balanced competitive league.
• Jeff Sullivan says the Marlins have a history of employing poor pitch framers.

Anders’ picks...

• The DeMarcus Cousins trade to the Pelicans was so absurd that even NBA 2K wouldn’t allow it.
• Former college basketball sensation Jimmer Fredette scored 73 points in a game in China.
• Indian cricket has a really strange but cool form of free agency: a live auction.