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Hello folks! We’ve hit the midweek point, and we’ve got plenty of news to get to today...
In Mariners news...
- A couple of guys are missing from camp.
Mariners will hit the field at 10:05 today for the first full squad workout. Dee Gordon will miss the start of camp as he awaits the birth of his first child. Haniger also not in camp as he recovers from back surgery.
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) February 18, 2020
- More Julio!
Here is 38 seconds of Julio Rodriguez taking BP pic.twitter.com/r4j6SjzWLS
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) February 18, 2020
- And we’ve got some Kelenic footage.
And here’s 50 seconds of Jarred Kelenic BP for Mariners fans and also for Mets fans like my buddy Rudy pic.twitter.com/4vx5NHyHoy
— Ryan Divish (@RyanDivish) February 18, 2020
Around the league...
- Evan Drellich at The Athletic explains the challenges that would come with punishing the Astros more harshly. ($)
- LeBron James spoke out about the problems in baseball.
Listen I know I don’t play baseball but I am in Sports and I know if someone cheated me out of winning the title and I found out about it I would be F*^king irate! I mean like uncontrollable about what I would/could do! Listen here baseball commissioner listen to your.....
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 18, 2020
players speaking today about how disgusted, mad, hurt, broken, etc etc about this. Literally the ball(⚾️) is in your court(or should I say field) and you need to fix this for the sake of Sports! #JustMyThoughtsComingFromASportsJunkieRegardlessMyOwnSportIPlay
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 18, 2020
- One Astros fan is attempting to sue the club for “overcharging” for season tickets.
- The Giants have decided to raise the pay of their minor leaguers to even higher levels than the new standard set by MLB.
- The Cubs have followed suit.
- Yankees star Giancarlo Stanton thinks if using PEDs to gain an on-field advantage earns a postseason ban, that same logic extends to the Astros being punished similarly:
Giancarlo Stanton on why he believes #Astros title should be vacated: If you cheat in another way during the season (PED violation), you can't even be in the playoffs, so therefore they would be eliminated. Pretty much the same difference.''
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 19, 2020
- Sam Miller at ESPN scouts three superstars who are on the trading block right now.
- I can see the resemblance!
22-year-old Cuban outfielder Yoelkis Céspedes, half-brother of #Mets outfielder Yoenis, is planning showcases for next month after defecting in June.
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) February 18, 2020
More details from @JesseSanchezMLB on the 5-tool prospect: https://t.co/wKB04lCN22 pic.twitter.com/7mnautPBRT
- Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic says that the Astros need to admit their 2017 title was illegitimate in order to move on. ($)
Anders’ picks...
- Amazing.
Kawhi Leonard sees that there is a Gatorade bottle on his interview table.
— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) February 18, 2020
Immediately after: Removes bottle off table, and says "Not sponsored by Gatorade." pic.twitter.com/ulYoAXtm6T