Mariners Moose Tracks, 2/28/21: Lou Piniella, Niko Kavadas, and the Nisqually Earthquake

Last week’s Sunday Moose Tracks featured a discussion in the comments about a certain speech at the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club. I imagine today’s links will pale in comparison, but just in case, I have the local rotary clubs’ guest speaker schedules committed to memory.

Today is also Mariners Opening Day, Spring Training Edition! I can’t wait to not-watch a game that doesn’t count. Of course, the high is only 64 degrees in Peoria today, and it’s incredibly impractical to wear turtlenecks and play baseball at the same time.

In Mariners news...

• Here’s the lineup the Padres will be running out there today.
• Congrats to Lou Piniella on winning the Royal Brougham Sports Legend Award!
• Forty-seven years old and he’s still got it.
• Wanna read about Jake Fraley? ...Yeah, I mean I get it, but in case you just can’t get enough of baseball, Daniel Kramer has a nice piece on Fraley’s redemption arc.
• I don’t know, it didn’t feel like the Mariners did much today. So let’s just watch Perry Hill work his magic:

Around baseball...

• The Angels? A pitching injury? No way.
• Then again, the Angels’ secret weapon (whose name will not be mentioned here) seems to have recovered his velo on the mound.
• I’ll take “Players To Be Named Later Who I’ve Never Heard Of” for $400, please.
• Good for the Angels, but it’s really disappointing that ROOT isn’t televising all of the Mariners’ spring training games this year. No, the games don’t matter. No, they don’t quite scratch the itch of real Major League Baseball. But just eight ST games will be televised on ROOT this year.

• Within the last two years, Robel Garcia has been part of the Cubs, Reds, Mets, and Angels organizations. Now, add the Astros to that list.
• A young first-round talent is on the verge of signing a long-term contract with his team. Nope, not that one.
• Specifically for staff writer Tim, let’s check out Dan Vogelbach’s younger, svelter brother Notre Dame’s Niko Kavadas show off his power in the college ranks:

• The Mariners have a lot more travel built into their schedule than they did a year ago, as this graphic from Daren Willman makes clear.
• I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of Fernando Tatis, Jr. Here’s Jayson Stark on whether the Padres’ $340 million dollar man could be the face of baseball. ($)

Grant’s Pick to Click...

• Twenty years ago today, I sat down with the rest of my first-grade class to listen to our teacher, Ms. Tisdale, read a story. And the ground started shaking. I don’t remember a ton from that day — although we did spend the rest of the day outside on the field, since they didn’t want us to go back into our 1917 building — but I do remember the quake seemed like it lasted much longer than 45 seconds. Here’s my go-to site for Seattle history, HistoryLink.org, with some info about the quake. Anybody else remember it?