#we legit have a progressive candidate now which is progress but you’re still voting third party

[iwatcheditbegin]

There’s a certain type of white progressive that I just can’t stand. There’s never gonna be a perfect politician we align with on every single issue, you pick the closest one that represents your values.

I don’t understand how you can look at one candidate who you don’t agree with in a few areas, and another who will literally strip the rights of every vulnerable group ; and think they are both equally evil.

If you’re cool with throwing your vote away for a third party / sitting this election out, and potentially having the US go decades back, that’s an incredibly privileged experience.

[yahoo-big-league-stew-blog]

MLB season preview: After a busy offseason, Mariners have their sights on the playoffs

The Seattle Mariners undoubtedly had the busiest offseason in baseball. And as they start 2017, the M’s have to be hoping their new roster will have them snapping baseball’s longest playoff drought.

The Mariners haven’t made the playoffs since 2001 but recently they’ve been close. They won 86 games last season, finishing three games out of a wild-card spot. In 2014, they won 87 games. It seems pretty clear there’s something there, considering Seattle has a talented nucleus of Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Felix Hernandez and Kyle Seager.

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So the Mariners went out and tinkered with the rest of their roster. There are 18 players on their 40-man roster who weren’t in the organization last season. A few of the moves were big while many of them were smaller tweaks that the Mariners have to hope can turn an almost-playoff team into a legit postseason entrant.

ADDITIONS & SUBTRACTIONS Additions: Yovani Gallardo, Drew Smyly, Jean Segura, Jarrod Dyson Subtractions: Seth Smith, Taijuan Walker, Adam Lind

It’s unclear whether general manager Jerry Dipoto sleeps. The moves above don’t come close to accurately depicting every single transaction Dipoto made this winter. He never seems to be content, and is always willing to take chances to improve his club. His major moves this offseason were not without risks. Segura had a major resurgence in Arizona, but there’s some questions as to whether he can carry that over this year. Gallardo and Smyly can be seen as buy-low candidates. Both struggled mightily last season, but it can’t get any worse, right?

When you make such a large amount of moves, not all of them will work out. Dipoto gave up some useful talent in deals during the offseason. The biggest of which was pitcher Taijaun Walker. Though Walker hasn’t fully lived up to expectations just yet, he’s still young and exceptionally talented. He’s the one guy who could come back to haunt Dipoto if things go right in Arizona. Seth Smith, while not a superstar, was still an incredibly useful player. If Gallardo can’t bounce back, losing Smith could be a tough loss. It’s worth noting the team has a lot of faith in Mitch Haniger, who was acquired in the Walker/Segura swap, so it’s possible having him around gave Dipoto the confidence to move Smith. (Chris Cwik)

Can Felix Hernandez rebound after a down 2016? (AP)

KEY PLAYER The Mariners have the tools to compete, but it’s hard to see them doing it without Felix Hernandez regaining at least some of his form. The 2016 season wasn’t great for him: he failed to make at least 30 starts for the first time in ten seasons, allowed a ton of walks, his strikeout rate went down, and his ERA climbed to an un-Felix like 3.82. And this isn’t sudden, either: this decline started in 2015. At age 30, it’s possible we could see the King Felix of yore magically reappear, but that’s a very tall order. What fans can hope for is that he gets those walks under control and finds the strike zone more often. That would be an improvement, and it would definitely shore up the floor of the Mariners’ somewhat questionable rotation. (Liz Roscher)

PROJECTED LINEUP & ROTATION Lineup 1. Jarrod Dyson, LF (.278/.340/.388, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 30 SB) 2. Jean Segura, SS (.319/.368/.499, 20 HR, 64 RBI, 102 R, 33 SB) 3. Robinson Cano, 2B (.298/.350/.533, 39 HR, 103 RBI, 107 R) 4. Nelson Cruz, DH (.287/.360/.555, 43 HR, 105 RBI, 96 R) 5. Kyle Seager, 3B (.278/.359/.499, 30 HR, 99 RBI, 89 R) 6. Mike Zunino, C (.207/.318/.470, 12 HR, 31 RBI) 7. Mitch Haniger, RF (.229/.309/.404, 5 HR, 17 RBI) 8. Dan Vogelbach, 1B (.083/.154/.083 in 12 plate appearances) 9. Leonys Martin, CF (.247/.306/.378, 15 HR, 47 RBI, 24 SB)

Rotation 1. Felix Hernandez (11-8, 3.82 ERA, 153.1 IP, 122 K) 2. Hisashi Iwakuma (16-12, 4.12 ERA, 199 IP, 147 K) 3. James Paxton (6-7, 3.79 ERA, 121 IP, 117 K) 4. Yovani Gallardo (6-8, 5.42 ERA, 118 IP, 85 K) 5. Ariel Miranda (5-2, 3.88 ERA, 58 IP, 44 K)

The two keys to the Mariners offense: Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano. (AP)

BEST-CASE SCENARIO Jerry Dipoto has worked overtime to put the pieces of the puzzle together. It seems to have paid off with a talented roster from top to bottom, Seattle’s success may be most closely tied to its superstars. If Felix Hernandez, Robinson Can, Nelson Cruz and even Kyle Seager perform at or above their expected level, that should make life easier for everyone else and give Seattle a real shot to end its 15-year postseason drought. (Mark Townsend)

WORST-CASE SCENARIO A continuance of the disappointment that’s defined Seattle in recent seasons. Simply said, if the Mariners fall somewhere between average and great, they might as well be bad because it’s not progress and it won’t get them into the playoffs. In fact, anything less than a postseason berth will be disappointing. (Townsend)

PRESSING FANTASY QUESTION Can Jean Segura come close to duplicating last season’s career-best campaign? As a rookie with the Brewers in ’13, Segura produced a 3.5 WAR (Wins Above Replacement), good for 49th best among all offensive players that season. He followed that up with two seasons of replacement-level production (combined 0.3 WAR), before his career rebounded in a major way last season, generating a 5.0 WAR with Arizona (good for 22nd-best among hitters). So, for half of his MLB career, Segura has produced upper-class offensive numbers while playing mostly a premium position – he played shortstop in Milwaukee before moving to, primarily, second base for the Diamondbacks last season. The other half of the time, he’s been marginal. So which way will the scales tip in ’17?

The good news is that he got better as the ’16 season progressed, producing a .954 second-half OPS that was 10th-best among all qualified hitters. On the downside, his combined OPS from ABs at home in Chase Field and in road games at Coors Field was over .900, while his combined OPS for all other ABs was under .800. But let’s not act like his non-Chase/Coors OPS (.798) was chopped liver, as that would have ranked top 10 among regular shortstops, right ahead of Cleveland’s much-beloved Francisco Lindor (.794).

[Related: Read more pressing fantasy questions about the Mariners]

It’s fair to expect a bit of regression in the power numbers in Segura’s new home base, though Chase Field and Safeco Field home run factors for right-handed hitters were pretty similar last season, and with Segura only 26 years old, who’s to say he’s not entering into a power phase of his career. But I think fantasy owners would be prudent to temper expectations offensively, because the track record for offensive success at Chase Field definitely trumps Safeco Field. And, expected to hit No. 2 in front of Robinson Cano, the Sabermetrically inclined Mariners probably won’t look to green light Segura on the base paths as often as Arizona turned him loose – the Diamondbacks attempted twice as many steals as the M’s in ’16 (168 to 84).

Something in the neighborhood of .280 with 15 home runs, 20-25 steals and 90-plus runs is a fair projection for Segura’s ’17 campaign. Again, not chopped liver. Last season, a line like that would have pushed top 60 offensive value in roto leagues, and would have ranked top 9 among fantasy shortstops, which is around Segura’s early ADP – I think the fantasy community is spot on. (Brandon Funston)

BEST FOLLOW Yeah, you could follow a Mariners player, but why do that when you could follow Manny Acta, who is now the Mariners’ third base coach?

#Tbt Cuando tenía pelo hasta demás ???????????? con mi bro @acta_jose y el gran #AngelMuñiz – Back when I had hair (too much) #hombredepeloenpecho???????? #RD #cuantovaleelshow #PericoRipiao #yadiosquemeperdone #Solid

A post shared by Manny14 (@macta14) on Mar 2, 2017 at 11:36am PST

He has accounts on Instagram and Twitter, and as you might guess, he’s absolutely wild about baseball. Lately, he’s been vigorously tweeting about the awesomeness of the World Baseball Classic, Instagramming pics of his food and being generally great all around. (Roscher)

BEST REASON TO ATTEND A GAME If you’re going to attend one Mariners’ game this season, make sure it’s a Felix Hernandez start. And if you can somehow manage to get tickets early enough, make sure you sit in the King’s Court.

The votes are in. Your 2017 King's Court shirt is—

If you followed MarinersSpecialEvents on IG, you'd already know. https://t.co/0U75lCIaWM pic.twitter.com/1Uwvy9xMtG

— Mariners (@Mariners) February 7, 2017

Hernandez may have seen his performance dip last year, but the atmosphere surrounding his starts is still electric. If you can obtain King’s Court tickets, you’ll receive a yellow shirt and a K-card to hold up after every Hernandez strikeout. It’s a fantastic way to take in a game at Safeco. (Cwik)

ALSO IN THIS SERIES: San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, Houston Astros, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz