Mariners Moose Tracks, 4/27/17: South African Ballplayers, ESPN Layoffs, and Kelsey Plum

Hello Mariners fans! I hope you’re all in much better spirits today after the M’s stuck it to the Tigers last night. James Paxton is truly a gem. I can’t imagine what this team will look like when everyone is healthy. They could use some healthy pitchers especially, considering the team is next-to-last in the league in ERA.

That’s....not good. So let’s get on to some other news to distract us.

In Mariners news...

• Mariners minor league pitcher Dylan Unsworth didn’t get to be the first ever South African major leaguer since the Pirates called up Gift Ngoepe yesterday. But Unsworth was very supportive nonetheless.

Around the league...

• Yesterday was a dark day for the sports journalism industry. ESPN began its massive wave of layoffs. You can find the full list there. The casualties include a few notable baseball writers like Jayson Stark and Jim Bowden.
• Eric Thames was taken out of yesterday’s game with a possible leg injury.

• David Schoenfeld at ESPN breaks down each of Thames’ 11 home runs that he’s hit in 2017.
• Patrick Dubuque and Nathan Bishop were featured in Baseball Prospectus’ latest edition of Short Relief.
• Apparently Derek Jeter and Jeb Bush lack the proper funds to actually buy the Marlins, which seems like a significant problem.
• Seth Smith scored on a single in what many are calling a “little league home run.” Essentially, the Rays’ defense collapsed entirely.

Best tweets from baseball...

In Seahawks news...

• As many of you likely know, today is the first day of the NFL draft. We’ll be including this section for the duration of the draft. Enjoy!
• Field Gulls wants the Seahawks to swipe Wisconsin’s Ryan Ramczyk assuming he’s available by the time the clock rolls around to pick #26.
• Keep up with the latest rumors from around the draft room with the Field Gulls draft tracker.
• Take part in the Armchair GM Challenge!

Anders’ picks...

• Kelsey Plum has a hell of an arm!