Mariners and Royals gnaw through the last week of Spring Training

Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty ImagesEvery major American sport’s preseason sucks. At best, the actual players play for maybe half of the game. At worst, the on-field product vaguely resembles what eighteen adults think the sport is supposed to look like.

At first, it’s okay, because it’s novel. Yay, baseball is back! Wow, Kyle is so skinny! Wilickers, Julio Rodriguez is getting hits off of Major League pitching!

It doesn’t last long. After a couple of weeks, even if someone doesn’t get hurt (which sometime did), this off-brand substitute for baseball stops scratching the itch. The young guys all get sent down, the veterans play even less as they get into game shape, and what’s left is a…