CHICAGO -- Given the difficulty of hitting a baseball, it helps to be something of an optimist.
Nelson Cruz, who was traded three times before his 27th birthday, learned long ago about the beauty of the glass half full. So here he is at 35, continuing to raise his level with the Mariners, despite them being his third team in three years.
"You find the positives about everything,'' Cruz said on Thursday before the Mariners' 4-2 loss to the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. "If you have a good mentality, you should focus on the positive stuff.