Effectively Wild Episode 1351: Season Preview Series: Yankees and Marlins

EWFI
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley banter about the Mariners-A’s opening series, the emotional last game featuring Ichiro Suzuki, and the uncertain degree to which the recent rash of contract extensions reflects players’ anxiety about free agency, then preview the 2019 New York Yankees (38:17) with The Athletic’s Yankees beat writer, Lindsey Adler, and the 2019 Miami Marlins (1:14:31) with The Athletic’s Marlins beat writer, Andre Fernandez.

Audio intro: Built to Spill, "Some Things Last a Long Time"
Audio interstitial 1: The Black Angels, "Empire"
Audio interstitial 2: Animal Collective, "Derek"
Audio outro: Fairport Convention, "Farewell, Farewell"

Link to video of Ichiro leaving his last game
Link to Jeff’s post about extensions
Link to Craig Edwards on extensions
Link to Sam on Marlins trades
Link to Andre on the Marlins’ young pitching
Link to Ben’s On Baseball Writing appearance
Link to Banished To The Pen’s team preview posts
Link to preorder The MVP Machine

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RPDCmember
4 years ago

I stand with Ben!

There are inarguably degrees of uniqueness, and grouchy grammarians’ insistence on treating such a wonderfully unique adjective as absolute robs it of all meaning.

The reason is that anything and everything that has ever existed has been different from every other thing. It’s all a matter of scale, and of which characteristics you’re comparing. Every electron is different from every other electron, if you’re comparing location, spin, etc. Likewise, every grain of sand is “unique” if you’re viewing them through a microscope.

There have been nearly 20,000 MLB players, and every one has been “unique” in countless ways. Ichiro has been one of the most unique among them.

The great Gerald Early remarked that America will be remembered for The Consitution, Jazz, and Baseball. There’s nothing more free form than Jazz, and if TJ was willing to modify an absolute adjective in order to form a more perfect document, I think it’s fair game for the rest of us.