Mariners Moose Tracks, 1/2/18: Edgar Martinez, Nelson Cruz, and Gordon Beckham

Happy New Year links!

The fun of the holidays is over, and it’s back to the grind for most of us. Here on the site, that means, among other things, a return to the 40 in 40, which kicked off yesterday if you missed it. Jerry Dipoto probably spent New Year’s Day frantically digging his burner phones out of the Hawaiian sands he buried them in last week. Here’s hoping you had a more fun first day of 2018.

In Mariners news...

• After not voting for Edgar in previous years, Tracy Ringolsby and his cowboy hat threw Edgar a vote this year. ‘Gar is still holding steady at 81% of the vote with about 38% of it counted, per Ryan Thibodaux’s estimation.
• Nelson Cruz wants you to know he’s taking “no día libre” and posted an Instagram of him lifting some weights and crushing some baseballs. I was particularly struck by the image of him smiling beatifically at this ball before he ended its life with one arm.

• Gordan Beckham was REALLY excited that Georgia gets to play for the national title. And here I’ve been calling him Bama Bangs...

Around the league...

• It really has been a slow start to Hot Stove SZN.

• No, seriously. Bleacher Report even used a picture of The Scream to illustrate their article. WE JUST WANT THINGS TO WRITE ABOUT.
• ICYMI: the Padres made a pair of dartboard minor league signings the other day, bringing back Tyson Ross and signing on 38-year-old ex-Mariner Chris Young. Both have had TOS surgery and will compete for spots in the Padres’ rotation.
• Will the Mariners, recently burned in the Ohtani sweepstakes, go in for Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks pitcher Kodai Senga? The Japan Times reports the 24-year-old is considering a jump to MLB next season.
• In 2018 it seems the Phillies have resolved to live their best lives; sources report the club is re-engaging the Marlins in talks about Christian Yelich.

Kate’s pick...

• I bet you thought that I forgot about that FanPost contest for the off-season plan. Well I didn’t! Thanks to the generosity of Thomas at Ballpark Blueprints, we will be giving one lucky winner an unframed print of an architect’s view of Safeco (or if you prefer, the t-shirt version). I’ll pull randomly from the names of everyone who submitted a Fanpost and announce a winner in the Moose Tracks later this week. Here’s what that baby looks like, in case you forgot:

Onward to 2018. Here’s wishing you a good first week of the New Year. Crush all the things!