Mariners Moose Tracks, 8/1/20: Kyle Lewis, Nick Madrigal, and the St. Louis Cardinals

Hello folks! It appears that we have reached the month of August. Normally the “dog days” of summer and of the season. Instead it is nothing short of a mystery for the baseball world. Let’s dig into the latest on this Saturday.

In Mariners news...

• Our own Jake Mailhot published a piece at Fangraphs about Kyle Lewis’ hot start to the season and which parts of it are sustainable.
• Meanwhile, TJ Cotterill at Baseball America wrote about Jarred Kelenic’s summer. ($)
• The Mariners announced the On BASE Hometown Nine initiative in efforts to help revive participation in baseball and softball in Black communities.
• David Laurila at Fangraphs unveiled the second part of his conversation with Mariners Director of Player Development Andy McKay.

Around the league...

• Coronavirus reared its ugly head once again as the Cardinals had two positive tests and had to cancel their game against the Brewers yesterday.
• Rob Manfred responded to this news by telling MLBPA executive director Tony Clark that if the players don’t start to contain the virus, the season could get shut down. Well Rob, maybe you need to look in the mirror for this one.
• Stephanie Apstein at Sports Illustrated says there’s no way for MLB to have anything resembling a normal season while also keeping everyone healthy.
• All it takes is one or two players.

• It looks like the Phillies will be back in action before the Marlins.

• Apparently the City of Anaheim has declared that the Big A structure outside the ballpark is a historically significant monument.
• The rash of MLB call-ups continues with the White Sox bringing top prospect Nick Madrigal to the big league squad.
• As the virus becomes more of a threat around the league, some players are re-thinking their choice to participate.

• Oh my goodness, Mookie.

• Robert O’Connell at The New York Times wonders how fanless baseball is impacting the performance of the players.