Episode 156: Jordan Shusterman (Cespedes Family BBQ), And The Mariners Have Put Their Season On Life Support

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[00:01:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Welcome to episode number 156 of the Marine Layer Podcast. We welcome on Jordan Schusterman, one half of Cespedes Family Barbecue.

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll discuss the current state of the Mariners. We'll talk about the article Jordan wrote about Cal and Logan. You guys should go check it out on Yahoo Sports. It was fantastic.

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_04]: And then we'll also talk about their sit-down conversation with Mariners first-round pick Durangelo Sanja at the MLB Draft Combine.

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_04]: Lyle and I will discuss this miserable stretch of games the Mariners have been on and how we plan on coping with it.

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's your guys' reminder before we start the show. Make sure to download these podcast episodes if you're listening.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Leave a five-star review. Leave a written review. It all helps us out a bunch.

[00:01:41] [SPEAKER_01]: If you're watching on YouTube, like, comment, subscribe, and check us out on social media.

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_01]: We're across Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube shorts at Marine Layer Pod.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's get it rolling.

[00:01:51] [SPEAKER_04]: And we welcome you to this episode of the Marine Layer Podcast, part of the Just Baseball Podcast Network.

[00:02:10] [SPEAKER_04]: Recording here on Tuesday evening, August 20th.

[00:02:14] [SPEAKER_04]: And, yeah, as I said in the intro, loud.

[00:02:17] [SPEAKER_04]: Pathetic, putrid, uninspiring, unenergetic, and they have managed to almost play their way out of playoff baseball over the last week.

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Things are going great.

[00:02:30] [SPEAKER_01]: You forgot the word feeble.

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_01]: That's our favorite word.

[00:02:33] [SPEAKER_01]: You forgot feeble.

[00:02:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Feeble.

[00:02:35] [SPEAKER_04]: Feeble, feeble, feeble, feeble.

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_04]: If there's one word to describe this current road trip the Mariners are on, it is feeble.

[00:02:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Dude, forget the road trip.

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_01]: In the last two months, they've lost 15 games on the Astros.

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_01]: 15 games in two months.

[00:02:55] [SPEAKER_01]: That's real.

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_04]: And the only team to lose more games on their division was the Chicago White Sox,

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_04]: who have had multiple 14-game losing streaks this season

[00:03:08] [SPEAKER_04]: and set a franchise record for most consecutive losses in a season.

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_04]: That is the only team worse right now than your Seattle Mariners in the last two months.

[00:03:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Only team.

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry.

[00:03:23] [SPEAKER_01]: I know we try to be the positive podcast.

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_01]: We want to be that.

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_01]: We strive to be that.

[00:03:28] [SPEAKER_01]: It's fun to be that.

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_01]: But when the team's playing like this,

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_01]: the one thing I think the two of us can say,

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_01]: and hopefully all of you can say about us when listening to us,

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_01]: is we tell you how we're feeling.

[00:03:40] [SPEAKER_01]: If we think people are overreacting to a few losses in the middle of the year,

[00:03:43] [SPEAKER_01]: we'll talk about it.

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll break it down.

[00:03:45] [SPEAKER_01]: But we bring our feelings and how we're really feeling about the team to the podcast.

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_01]: We try to be very real.

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's not fun to be negative.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_01]: But if we were trying to be positive right now

[00:03:56] [SPEAKER_01]: and paint pictures for you guys of how they can turn this thing all around,

[00:04:00] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't think we'd be doing a service to anybody.

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_01]: I think we'd be doing a disservice.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_01]: You guys would be sitting looking at us saying,

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_01]: how can you possibly feel that way right now?

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, spoiler, we don't.

[00:04:10] [SPEAKER_01]: And what you're hearing from us is probably similar to how a lot of you are feeling.

[00:04:15] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's very, very real in terms of how we're actually feeling.

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:04:19] [SPEAKER_01]: This has not been fun.

[00:04:20] [SPEAKER_01]: In a season that's been as pivotal as any,

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_01]: in terms of the expectations going into this year and how important it was for the organization,

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_01]: this is such an unprecedented choke job that this team is going through right now,

[00:04:35] [SPEAKER_01]: spearheaded by this offense that goes without saying.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_01]: But you have lost 15 games on the Houston Astros in two months' time.

[00:04:43] [SPEAKER_04]: And this is a franchise that has had some incredibly disappointing seasons in its history.

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_04]: I could feel pretty confident that this is up there in the top three,

[00:04:55] [SPEAKER_04]: if not number one, in terms of what is at stake for the front office,

[00:05:01] [SPEAKER_04]: for the coaching staff, for the players on this roster, for this core,

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_04]: which is supposed to be smack dab in the middle of their contention window.

[00:05:09] [SPEAKER_04]: To show that you can play that well and play up in your division

[00:05:15] [SPEAKER_04]: and then retreat back to what they have done is like the ultimate belly flop of the franchise.

[00:05:21] [SPEAKER_04]: In your and I's living memory, Lyle, you would say the top two disappointing seasons.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_04]: Let me know which one you think was more disappointing.

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_04]: 2018 or 2015?

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_04]: Which one was more?

[00:05:33] [SPEAKER_01]: I think 2018 because honestly, in 2015,

[00:05:38] [SPEAKER_01]: despite the expectations being so high after signing Nelson Cruz,

[00:05:41] [SPEAKER_01]: after the bullpen was so good in 14,

[00:05:43] [SPEAKER_01]: after having Robbie for a full season,

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_01]: still having Felix what was in his prime,

[00:05:48] [SPEAKER_01]: after all, like even with all that,

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_01]: they never really were above 500 for very long in 2015.

[00:05:55] [SPEAKER_01]: They just never got there.

[00:05:56] [SPEAKER_01]: They totally underperformed all season.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_01]: In 2018, it feels very similar to this season.

[00:06:02] [SPEAKER_01]: They had a huge lead.

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_01]: They looked like they were coasting.

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_01]: And then they totally blew it,

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_01]: paired with a team in their own division that got hotter than the sun

[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_01]: and flew right by them in the Oakland A's back in 2018.

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Remember when I made that comp?

[00:06:16] [SPEAKER_01]: I do.

[00:06:17] Hmm.

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_01]: How's it looking right now?

[00:06:20] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, I didn't update it for this episode.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_04]: How about this?

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_04]: I'll give an update on Friday where it was on.

[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_04]: So we'll record on the 22nd on Thursday.

[00:06:28] [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm going to see where the two sides were on August 22nd.

[00:06:33] [SPEAKER_04]: But I will tell you, in case you missed it,

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_04]: that choke job the Mariners had in 2018 with the A's,

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_04]: literally almost in the same dates of when they were caught

[00:06:44] [SPEAKER_04]: and when they had a 10-game lead,

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_04]: is almost the exact same.

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_04]: And here the Mariners sit on Tuesday, August 20th,

[00:06:52] [SPEAKER_04]: five games back of the Astros

[00:06:54] [SPEAKER_04]: and six and a half back of the Kansas City Royals.

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_04]: They lost 40% of their fan graphs playoff probability

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_04]: just this road trip.

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_04]: Just this road trip.

[00:07:06] [SPEAKER_04]: 40%.

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Man.

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_04]: And you know what the other thing?

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_04]: It just continues to just grind my gears.

[00:07:12] [SPEAKER_04]: And it just, we saw it again last night on Monday.

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_04]: Brian Wu was amazing.

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_04]: Over this stretch.

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Over this stretch.

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_04]: The Mariners have the best starters ERA in baseball.

[00:07:25] [SPEAKER_04]: When they've been the second worst team,

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_04]: by record, they've had the best starters ERA.

[00:07:30] [SPEAKER_04]: So literally, the most talented part of your team

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_04]: could not be playing any better.

[00:07:35] [SPEAKER_04]: And it does not matter.

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_04]: And then it gets to points like it was last night

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_04]: while I was getting ready for this episode.

[00:07:43] [SPEAKER_04]: I was just tired.

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_04]: Muncy hits the home run,

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_04]: or Lux hits the homer first off of Wu.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER_04]: Then Muncy hits the two-run shot over Garcia.

[00:07:54] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm sitting here.

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm just trying to get some numbers together for this podcast.

[00:07:57] [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm exhausted.

[00:07:59] [SPEAKER_04]: I just can't.

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_04]: Finding the energy

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_04]: to sit here and continue to find

[00:08:06] [SPEAKER_04]: interesting things to talk about

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_04]: when the team is playing itself

[00:08:10] [SPEAKER_04]: into irrelevance in September

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_04]: is

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_04]: tough.

[00:08:15] [SPEAKER_04]: Sucks.

[00:08:17] [SPEAKER_04]: It is disheartening the fact that

[00:08:21] [SPEAKER_04]: all this is happening.

[00:08:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Disheartening.

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm sorry.

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm running out of words, dude.

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not.

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And off of what you said,

[00:08:29] [SPEAKER_01]: I have a chance to strike here.

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_01]: So I'm going to do it.

[00:08:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Uh-oh.

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_01]: So, TJ,

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER_01]: we're going to play a hypothetical game.

[00:08:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I know it's hypothetical

[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_01]: because it is not reality right now

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_01]: based off how this team is playing.

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER_01]: But,

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER_01]: you just mentioned Brian Wu.

[00:08:43] [SPEAKER_01]: He's been pretty good.

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_01]: If

[00:08:46] [SPEAKER_01]: you had the opportunity

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_01]: to

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_01]: re-slot

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_01]: and stack your rotation

[00:08:52] [SPEAKER_01]: for a playoff series

[00:08:53] [SPEAKER_01]: right now,

[00:08:54] [SPEAKER_01]: who are you going with?

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's see.

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_04]: On the tee box,

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_04]: I would go

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Kirby first,

[00:09:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Gilbert second,

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER_04]: Wu third.

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER_04]: Woo!

[00:09:06] [SPEAKER_04]: There you go.

[00:09:07] [SPEAKER_04]: But notice I said on the tee box,

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_04]: not on the rotation.

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh.

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_04]: Well,

[00:09:14] [SPEAKER_04]: that should be the rotation.

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah,

[00:09:15] [SPEAKER_04]: it just went

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_04]: right over your head.

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah,

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_01]: that did.

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER_01]: That did.

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.

[00:09:18] [SPEAKER_04]: You know what, dog?

[00:09:19] [SPEAKER_04]: You made a solid point.

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_04]: I still don't think

[00:09:22] [SPEAKER_04]: the Luis Castillo thing

[00:09:23] [SPEAKER_04]: is crazy judging that

[00:09:24] [SPEAKER_04]: even though he

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_04]: quote-unquote

[00:09:25] [SPEAKER_04]: has the highest ERA

[00:09:26] [SPEAKER_04]: in the rotation,

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_04]: it still is 3-5.

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Not very high.

[00:09:30] [SPEAKER_04]: But anyways,

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_04]: this rotation's not

[00:09:32] [SPEAKER_04]: pitching in the playoffs

[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_04]: and they're certainly

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_04]: not going to be

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_04]: in a situation

[00:09:35] [SPEAKER_04]: where they can slot

[00:09:36] [SPEAKER_04]: the rotation

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_04]: for a series.

[00:09:38] [SPEAKER_04]: So,

[00:09:38] [SPEAKER_04]: as Jason Churchill

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_04]: left a comment

[00:09:40] [SPEAKER_04]: under our post

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_04]: to say that,

[00:09:43] [SPEAKER_04]: really doesn't matter

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_04]: all that much.

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_04]: And to be honest,

[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_04]: given the way

[00:09:46] [SPEAKER_04]: they played,

[00:09:47] [SPEAKER_04]: they played like,

[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_04]: it's just like,

[00:09:50] [SPEAKER_04]: I just got to

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER_04]: shrug my shoulders.

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER_04]: But you know what?

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm going to give

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_04]: Brian Wu

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_04]: a huge round of applause

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_04]: because when we were

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_04]: hosting Brock and Salk

[00:09:56] [SPEAKER_04]: earlier this month

[00:09:57] [SPEAKER_04]: and we put

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_04]: one of our bullet points

[00:09:59] [SPEAKER_04]: that Bryce Miller

[00:10:00] [SPEAKER_04]: and Brian Wu

[00:10:01] [SPEAKER_04]: need to pitch

[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_04]: really strong

[00:10:02] [SPEAKER_04]: down the stretch.

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_04]: Well,

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER_04]: you want to know what?

[00:10:05] [SPEAKER_04]: We're talking about this

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_04]: before Bryce starts tonight

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_04]: on Tuesday

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_04]: in Game 2

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_04]: against the Dodgers.

[00:10:09] [SPEAKER_04]: But who is the,

[00:10:10] [SPEAKER_04]: what is it,

[00:10:11] [SPEAKER_04]: the lowest ERA

[00:10:12] [SPEAKER_04]: in the American League

[00:10:13] [SPEAKER_04]: since July 1st

[00:10:14] [SPEAKER_04]: is?

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER_04]: Bryce Miller.

[00:10:17] [SPEAKER_04]: Boom.

[00:10:17] [SPEAKER_04]: And who's been

[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_04]: the most consistent

[00:10:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Mariners starter

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_04]: on a per-inning basis

[00:10:21] [SPEAKER_04]: this season?

[00:10:23] [SPEAKER_01]: That would be

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Brian Wu.

[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Boom.

[00:10:26] [SPEAKER_01]: So look at that.

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_01]: Well,

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_01]: it looks like both

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_01]: you and I

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_01]: can be right.

[00:10:30] [SPEAKER_01]: It's true.

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_01]: I just,

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_01]: I just feel a little

[00:10:32] [SPEAKER_01]: vindicated.

[00:10:32] [SPEAKER_01]: That's all.

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_01]: You,

[00:10:33] [SPEAKER_01]: you told me,

[00:10:34] [SPEAKER_01]: you told me to shut

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_01]: the fuck up

[00:10:35] [SPEAKER_01]: when I said that

[00:10:36] [SPEAKER_01]: the first time.

[00:10:37] [SPEAKER_04]: So I think

[00:10:37] [SPEAKER_04]: there are some

[00:10:38] [SPEAKER_04]: people who's,

[00:10:39] [SPEAKER_04]: um,

[00:10:39] [SPEAKER_04]: what's the right word?

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Who's,

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_04]: uh,

[00:10:41] [SPEAKER_04]: praise you on a little

[00:10:42] [SPEAKER_04]: bit more for this.

[00:10:43] [SPEAKER_04]: So no,

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER_01]: I can't get mine.

[00:10:45] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh,

[00:10:46] [SPEAKER_04]: Hmm.

[00:10:46] [SPEAKER_04]: Interesting.

[00:10:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Speaking of the rotation,

[00:10:54] [SPEAKER_01]: let's play another game.

[00:10:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's play another game

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_01]: on this episode.

[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_01]: How's the group chat

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_01]: doing these days at like,

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_01]: like we,

[00:11:02] [SPEAKER_01]: when was the last time

[00:11:02] [SPEAKER_01]: we recorded Thursday

[00:11:03] [SPEAKER_01]: for a Friday episode?

[00:11:05] [SPEAKER_01]: That was after the Tiger

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_01]: series.

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_01]: We've now had an entire

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER_01]: separate pirate series

[00:11:10] [SPEAKER_01]: where two of the three

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_01]: games,

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_01]: they just,

[00:11:14] [SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if they

[00:11:15] [SPEAKER_01]: fell flat on their face

[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_01]: against Paul Skeen,

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_01]: but it wasn't inspiring.

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Saturday was awful.

[00:11:19] [SPEAKER_01]: And then they got shut

[00:11:21] [SPEAKER_01]: out on Monday,

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_01]: by the Dodgers.

[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_01]: And despite Brian Wu

[00:11:25] [SPEAKER_01]: looking unbelievable,

[00:11:27] [SPEAKER_01]: they managed to let

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER_01]: Gavin stone whose

[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_01]: strikeouts per nine

[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_01]: this year sits at seven,

[00:11:32] [SPEAKER_01]: seven entering that

[00:11:34] [SPEAKER_01]: start to get to eight

[00:11:36] [SPEAKER_01]: strikeouts,

[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_01]: a new career high

[00:11:37] [SPEAKER_01]: in the fourth inning.

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER_01]: So let me say this again.

[00:11:42] [SPEAKER_01]: They get shut out.

[00:11:43] [SPEAKER_01]: They're not collecting

[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_01]: hits.

[00:11:45] [SPEAKER_01]: They,

[00:11:46] [SPEAKER_01]: they let it,

[00:11:47] [SPEAKER_01]: they let a guy get to

[00:11:48] [SPEAKER_01]: his career high strikeout

[00:11:49] [SPEAKER_01]: total in the fourth inning.

[00:11:50] [SPEAKER_01]: So let me say this again.

[00:11:52] [SPEAKER_01]: What's the group chat up

[00:11:53] [SPEAKER_01]: to these days?

[00:11:54] [SPEAKER_04]: I want to go to different

[00:11:55] [SPEAKER_04]: to two different group

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_04]: chats.

[00:11:56] [SPEAKER_04]: First of all,

[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_04]: uh,

[00:11:59] [SPEAKER_04]: I would want to,

[00:12:00] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm not going to reread

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_04]: the group chat.

[00:12:02] [SPEAKER_04]: We had our,

[00:12:02] [SPEAKER_04]: with our friend who's a

[00:12:03] [SPEAKER_04]: Dodgers fan,

[00:12:04] [SPEAKER_04]: but to say he was on his

[00:12:06] [SPEAKER_04]: ass watching Gavin stone

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_04]: pitch the way he did.

[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_04]: He legitimately could not

[00:12:11] [SPEAKER_04]: believe what Gavin stone

[00:12:12] [SPEAKER_04]: was doing.

[00:12:13] [SPEAKER_04]: And we had to tell him,

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_04]: Hey,

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_04]: uh,

[00:12:15] [SPEAKER_04]: Blake is his name who

[00:12:16] [SPEAKER_04]: we've had here on this

[00:12:17] [SPEAKER_04]: podcast about this time

[00:12:19] [SPEAKER_04]: last year,

[00:12:19] [SPEAKER_04]: actually.

[00:12:21] [SPEAKER_04]: Um,

[00:12:22] [SPEAKER_01]: he's like this for context.

[00:12:24] [SPEAKER_01]: He is a very,

[00:12:26] [SPEAKER_01]: very big Dodgers following

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_01]: on Twitter.

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_01]: If you were to look up

[00:12:29] [SPEAKER_01]: Blake Harris on Twitter,

[00:12:31] [SPEAKER_01]: you'd find him.

[00:12:31] [SPEAKER_01]: He's got a perfect following.

[00:12:33] [SPEAKER_04]: So we're just trying to

[00:12:34] [SPEAKER_04]: explain Blake.

[00:12:35] [SPEAKER_04]: No,

[00:12:35] [SPEAKER_04]: this is just Monday.

[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_04]: It's just literally just a

[00:12:38] [SPEAKER_04]: normal Monday in,

[00:12:40] [SPEAKER_04]: in the Mariners world.

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:12:42] [SPEAKER_01]: And to be fair,

[00:12:43] [SPEAKER_01]: Gavin stone has really,

[00:12:44] [SPEAKER_01]: really good stuff,

[00:12:45] [SPEAKER_01]: but he's been about a

[00:12:46] [SPEAKER_01]: three,

[00:12:47] [SPEAKER_01]: seven ERA guy this year.

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_01]: Again,

[00:12:48] [SPEAKER_01]: very good stuff,

[00:12:49] [SPEAKER_01]: but ERA isn't some

[00:12:52] [SPEAKER_01]: crazy low Mark.

[00:12:53] [SPEAKER_01]: And he also doesn't

[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_01]: strike guys out.

[00:12:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Well,

[00:12:55] [SPEAKER_01]: he gave up zero runs in

[00:12:57] [SPEAKER_01]: seven shutout and punched

[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_01]: out 10 guys.

[00:12:59] [SPEAKER_04]: Now here's the other thing on

[00:13:01] [SPEAKER_04]: the group chat.

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's get back to the

[00:13:02] [SPEAKER_04]: pitchers group chat.

[00:13:03] [SPEAKER_04]: I've come to the conclusion

[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_04]: of why the whole Mariners

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER_04]: rotation watches each other

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_04]: throw bullpens because

[00:13:11] [SPEAKER_04]: it's the only time they can

[00:13:12] [SPEAKER_04]: completely separate from

[00:13:13] [SPEAKER_04]: everyone else.

[00:13:14] [SPEAKER_04]: And notice who's usually the

[00:13:16] [SPEAKER_04]: only other position player

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_04]: there.

[00:13:18] [SPEAKER_04]: It's the only one

[00:13:18] [SPEAKER_04]: performing is Cal Raleigh.

[00:13:20] [SPEAKER_04]: Hmm.

[00:13:21] [SPEAKER_04]: It makes you think.

[00:13:22] [SPEAKER_01]: It makes you think.

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER_01]: In case anybody missed these

[00:13:24] [SPEAKER_01]: past episodes,

[00:13:25] [SPEAKER_01]: the two of us now have a

[00:13:26] [SPEAKER_01]: theory that there is

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_01]: absolutely a group chat that

[00:13:29] [SPEAKER_01]: goes on between this rotation

[00:13:30] [SPEAKER_01]: where they just let off all

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_01]: the steam in the world about

[00:13:33] [SPEAKER_01]: how they get no run support

[00:13:34] [SPEAKER_01]: ever because there is no

[00:13:36] [SPEAKER_01]: chance as I went on a rant

[00:13:37] [SPEAKER_01]: about in one of our previous

[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_01]: episodes,

[00:13:39] [SPEAKER_01]: like anybody could go on this

[00:13:42] [SPEAKER_01]: long and pitch as well as

[00:13:43] [SPEAKER_01]: they have and deliver and

[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_01]: perform as many times as

[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_01]: these guys have and keep

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_01]: their sanity.

[00:13:49] [SPEAKER_01]: The Mariners have had 40

[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_01]: games this year where their

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_01]: pitchers,

[00:13:54] [SPEAKER_01]: where their starters have

[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_01]: thrown a quality start and

[00:13:57] [SPEAKER_01]: didn't get the win.

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_01]: The next closest mark after

[00:14:00] [SPEAKER_01]: that 40 total for the

[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Mariners is the Pirates and

[00:14:03] [SPEAKER_01]: the Rockies at 28.

[00:14:06] [SPEAKER_01]: It is a 12 game difference.

[00:14:08] [SPEAKER_01]: If the Mariners in these

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_01]: games were just the White

[00:14:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Sox offense,

[00:14:13] [SPEAKER_01]: the Pirates offense,

[00:14:15] [SPEAKER_01]: when these guys were throwing

[00:14:16] [SPEAKER_01]: quality starts,

[00:14:17] [SPEAKER_01]: if they could level up to the

[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_01]: White Sox or Pirates offense

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_01]: in these games that their

[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_01]: quality starts from their

[00:14:24] [SPEAKER_01]: starters result in losses,

[00:14:25] [SPEAKER_01]: they would have the best

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_01]: record in baseball right now.

[00:14:27] [SPEAKER_01]: That's not a joke.

[00:14:28] [SPEAKER_01]: If they were the White Sox

[00:14:30] [SPEAKER_01]: offense in those games,

[00:14:31] [SPEAKER_01]: they would have the best

[00:14:31] [SPEAKER_01]: record in baseball,

[00:14:32] [SPEAKER_01]: but they don't.

[00:14:33] [SPEAKER_01]: They're on a new level.

[00:14:37] [SPEAKER_04]: Oh,

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm glad you brought that up.

[00:14:39] [SPEAKER_04]: I have a game for you.

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_04]: It's what stat did we find

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_04]: today?

[00:14:43] [SPEAKER_01]: All right.

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER_01]: All right.

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Do we do we need to take a

[00:14:45] [SPEAKER_01]: deep breath here for a second?

[00:14:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Like,

[00:14:47] [SPEAKER_01]: like maybe just give us,

[00:14:48] [SPEAKER_01]: give ourselves 30,

[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_01]: 60 seconds to not totally pile

[00:14:51] [SPEAKER_01]: on because you've got another

[00:14:53] [SPEAKER_01]: banger coming.

[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_01]: And like I said,

[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_01]: we could rally,

[00:14:55] [SPEAKER_01]: we could rattle so many of

[00:14:56] [SPEAKER_01]: these off,

[00:14:57] [SPEAKER_01]: but let me,

[00:14:58] [SPEAKER_01]: let me break it up with this

[00:15:00] [SPEAKER_01]: as we're,

[00:15:00] [SPEAKER_01]: as we're getting into this.

[00:15:03] [SPEAKER_01]: What do the Mariners have to

[00:15:05] [SPEAKER_01]: do to still turn this thing

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_01]: around?

[00:15:08] [SPEAKER_01]: They've got to go.

[00:15:09] [SPEAKER_01]: What?

[00:15:10] [SPEAKER_01]: 26 and 10,

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_01]: the rest of the way,

[00:15:12] [SPEAKER_01]: as we record here before the

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER_01]: start of game two against the

[00:15:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Dodgers here on Tuesday,

[00:15:17] [SPEAKER_01]: 26 and 10,

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_01]: that gets you to 90 wins.

[00:15:20] [SPEAKER_01]: If you want to guarantee a

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_01]: playoff spot for your own club,

[00:15:24] [SPEAKER_01]: you've got to get to 90 wins,

[00:15:26] [SPEAKER_01]: especially in this season.

[00:15:27] [SPEAKER_01]: If you don't,

[00:15:29] [SPEAKER_01]: well,

[00:15:29] [SPEAKER_01]: then you're banking on another

[00:15:31] [SPEAKER_01]: team to collapse.

[00:15:33] [SPEAKER_01]: And I don't know if the Astros

[00:15:34] [SPEAKER_01]: are going to do that,

[00:15:35] [SPEAKER_04]: which you can't bank on.

[00:15:36] [SPEAKER_04]: So I wrote it out with the

[00:15:38] [SPEAKER_04]: scenario to get to each win

[00:15:39] [SPEAKER_04]: total to get to 91.

[00:15:40] [SPEAKER_04]: You need to go 27 and nine.

[00:15:42] [SPEAKER_04]: You said to 90,

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_04]: 26 and 10,

[00:15:44] [SPEAKER_04]: 89 is 25 and 11,

[00:15:46] [SPEAKER_04]: 88 is 24 and 12.

[00:15:47] [SPEAKER_04]: I think right now that right

[00:15:49] [SPEAKER_04]: there is the window that gets

[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_04]: you in the playoffs because

[00:15:51] [SPEAKER_04]: here's who you're chasing and

[00:15:52] [SPEAKER_04]: what,

[00:15:53] [SPEAKER_04]: here's what they're on pace

[00:15:54] [SPEAKER_04]: for the Astros right now at

[00:15:55] [SPEAKER_04]: their current pace at their

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_04]: current winning percentage,

[00:15:58] [SPEAKER_04]: not at their current pace

[00:15:59] [SPEAKER_04]: because their current pace is

[00:16:00] [SPEAKER_04]: steeper than their current

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_04]: winning percentage,

[00:16:02] [SPEAKER_04]: but let's go with the

[00:16:03] [SPEAKER_04]: pessimistic route for the

[00:16:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Astros because that's what the

[00:16:05] [SPEAKER_04]: Mariners would need.

[00:16:06] [SPEAKER_04]: And say,

[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_04]: they're only going to go with

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_04]: their winning percentage

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_04]: dictates the rest of the

[00:16:10] [SPEAKER_04]: season.

[00:16:10] [SPEAKER_04]: Well,

[00:16:11] [SPEAKER_04]: that would put the Astros on

[00:16:12] [SPEAKER_04]: pace for 89 wins,

[00:16:14] [SPEAKER_04]: which means you need to go

[00:16:15] [SPEAKER_04]: at least including winning

[00:16:17] [SPEAKER_04]: the series against the

[00:16:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Astros 25 and 11,

[00:16:20] [SPEAKER_04]: the rest of the season to

[00:16:21] [SPEAKER_04]: catch the Houston Astros and

[00:16:23] [SPEAKER_04]: win the American league West.

[00:16:24] [SPEAKER_04]: That is a winning percentage

[00:16:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Lyle of 694 over the final

[00:16:29] [SPEAKER_04]: 36 games.

[00:16:30] [SPEAKER_04]: The Mariners have not won

[00:16:33] [SPEAKER_04]: 69.4% of their games at

[00:16:35] [SPEAKER_04]: any point this season over any

[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_04]: stretch.

[00:16:38] [SPEAKER_04]: The best stretch the

[00:16:39] [SPEAKER_04]: Mariners have done this

[00:16:40] [SPEAKER_04]: season is from the start of

[00:16:43] [SPEAKER_04]: that red series in April

[00:16:44] [SPEAKER_04]: through their sweep of Texas

[00:16:46] [SPEAKER_04]: in June.

[00:16:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Over that stretch,

[00:16:49] [SPEAKER_04]: they went 38 and 21,

[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_04]: which relates to a winning

[00:16:52] [SPEAKER_04]: percentage of 644.

[00:16:56] [SPEAKER_04]: That's not 69%.

[00:16:57] [SPEAKER_04]: That's 64%.

[00:16:59] [SPEAKER_04]: That's not getting you in the

[00:17:00] [SPEAKER_04]: playoffs at all.

[00:17:02] [SPEAKER_04]: And that's just if you're

[00:17:03] [SPEAKER_04]: going to catch the Astros.

[00:17:04] [SPEAKER_04]: If the Astros exceed that

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_04]: mark and continue on the pace

[00:17:07] [SPEAKER_04]: they're on right now,

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_04]: your next best team to catch

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_04]: is the Kansas City Royals,

[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_04]: who right now are on pace for

[00:17:15] [SPEAKER_04]: 91 wins,

[00:17:17] [SPEAKER_04]: which would require you right

[00:17:18] [SPEAKER_04]: now to go 27 and 9 the rest

[00:17:22] [SPEAKER_04]: of the season.

[00:17:23] [SPEAKER_04]: That's not happening.

[00:17:25] [SPEAKER_04]: They're not going 27 and 9

[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_04]: the rest of the season.

[00:17:27] [SPEAKER_04]: I will proclaim that right

[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_04]: now.

[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_04]: That's not happening.

[00:17:31] [SPEAKER_04]: You know what you can do

[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_04]: instead with that?

[00:17:33] [SPEAKER_04]: If you want to just cross off

[00:17:34] [SPEAKER_04]: the Kansas City Royals,

[00:17:35] [SPEAKER_04]: you have nine losses left

[00:17:37] [SPEAKER_04]: for every time the Mariners

[00:17:39] [SPEAKER_04]: lose from here on out for

[00:17:40] [SPEAKER_04]: the rest of the season.

[00:17:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Just put a finger down.

[00:17:42] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll be at eight,

[00:17:44] [SPEAKER_04]: seven,

[00:17:45] [SPEAKER_01]: six,

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_01]: what?

[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_01]: I hate to break it to you,

[00:17:48] [SPEAKER_01]: dog.

[00:17:49] [SPEAKER_01]: Eight losses.

[00:17:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Royals have the tiebreaker.

[00:17:51] [SPEAKER_01]: They swept the Mariners

[00:17:53] [SPEAKER_01]: in Kansas City.

[00:17:55] [SPEAKER_01]: All right,

[00:17:56] [SPEAKER_01]: well then we're starting

[00:17:56] [SPEAKER_01]: at eight.

[00:17:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:17:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.

[00:17:58] [SPEAKER_04]: So you have to go,

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_04]: so then you have to go 28 and

[00:18:01] [SPEAKER_04]: eight.

[00:18:01] [SPEAKER_04]: You need to be 20 games over

[00:18:02] [SPEAKER_04]: 500 from now until the end

[00:18:04] [SPEAKER_04]: of the season.

[00:18:06] [SPEAKER_01]: And if not,

[00:18:07] [SPEAKER_01]: if you want to look at

[00:18:08] [SPEAKER_01]: another route that's

[00:18:09] [SPEAKER_01]: possible,

[00:18:10] [SPEAKER_01]: and maybe this is more the

[00:18:11] [SPEAKER_01]: route for the optimists

[00:18:12] [SPEAKER_01]: and how you can keep your

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_01]: hopes up.

[00:18:15] [SPEAKER_01]: The only other way this

[00:18:16] [SPEAKER_01]: thing works is if you are

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_01]: within three games of the

[00:18:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Astros,

[00:18:20] [SPEAKER_01]: and it can be three games,

[00:18:21] [SPEAKER_01]: you are within three games

[00:18:23] [SPEAKER_01]: of the Astros going into

[00:18:24] [SPEAKER_01]: that final series of the

[00:18:25] [SPEAKER_01]: year in Houston in the last

[00:18:26] [SPEAKER_01]: week,

[00:18:27] [SPEAKER_01]: and then you magically play

[00:18:29] [SPEAKER_01]: your three best games of

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_01]: baseball all year in a park

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER_01]: that has haunted you for

[00:18:34] [SPEAKER_01]: years.

[00:18:35] [SPEAKER_01]: So that,

[00:18:36] [SPEAKER_01]: that's the optimistic route.

[00:18:38] [SPEAKER_01]: You find some way,

[00:18:40] [SPEAKER_01]: somehow,

[00:18:41] [SPEAKER_01]: to be within three games of

[00:18:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Houston going into that

[00:18:43] [SPEAKER_01]: final series,

[00:18:44] [SPEAKER_01]: and then you play your

[00:18:45] [SPEAKER_01]: three best games of the

[00:18:46] [SPEAKER_01]: year and sweep them.

[00:18:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Outside of that,

[00:18:49] [SPEAKER_01]: yeah,

[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_01]: you're going to have to go

[00:18:50] [SPEAKER_01]: 26 and 10 or 27 and 9 or

[00:18:53] [SPEAKER_01]: 28 and 8.

[00:18:54] [SPEAKER_01]: That's what it's going to

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_01]: take.

[00:18:57] [SPEAKER_01]: So to say their work is cut

[00:18:58] [SPEAKER_01]: out for them,

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_01]: that's beyond an understatement.

[00:19:08] [SPEAKER_00]: So,

[00:19:30] [SPEAKER_00]: you're going to have to go

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[00:20:01] [SPEAKER_04]: Would have been the year to establish yourself as not only just a dominant team,

[00:20:07] [SPEAKER_04]: but to use your strength to beat up on teams that are just quite not as good.

[00:20:11] [SPEAKER_04]: Jeff Passon tweeted this out earlier this week

[00:20:14] [SPEAKER_04]: and highlighted the parody around the league this year.

[00:20:17] [SPEAKER_04]: The best team in baseball is on pace for 95 wins this year.

[00:20:21] [SPEAKER_04]: It's not a world beater by any stretch.

[00:20:24] [SPEAKER_04]: There are a lot of good teams in baseball.

[00:20:27] [SPEAKER_04]: There's not a great team.

[00:20:29] [SPEAKER_04]: We've talked about that before.

[00:20:30] [SPEAKER_04]: There is no 2022 Houston Astros or 2022 Atlanta Braves level of team here.

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER_04]: There's not.

[00:20:39] [SPEAKER_04]: There's a lot of good teams, but not a lot of unbelievably over-the-top great teams.

[00:20:45] [SPEAKER_04]: Even this Dodger team they're playing, stacked full of star players and former MVPs,

[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_04]: isn't a juggernaut by any stretch.

[00:20:53] [SPEAKER_04]: They're very good.

[00:20:54] [SPEAKER_04]: Juggernaut? No.

[00:20:56] [SPEAKER_04]: Not at all.

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_04]: So this would have been the season to have this unbelievable rotation be the X factor against all of these other teams in baseball.

[00:21:06] [SPEAKER_04]: But unfortunately, that's not going to be the case because they're never going to get a chance to do it.

[00:21:10] [SPEAKER_04]: And unfortunately, again, they might not never get a chance to do this ever again with the combination of health,

[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_04]: durability, and performance from all five of these guys in this rotation.

[00:21:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm ready to say something.

[00:21:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Not only do I miss last year's offense, I want that entire offense back.

[00:21:28] [SPEAKER_01]: I want the entire 2023 offense back.

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_01]: Everybody.

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_01]: And I know that sounds crazy because that offense had plenty of problems last year.

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_01]: By WRC Plus, that was the sixth best offense in baseball.

[00:21:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Sixth!

[00:21:44] [SPEAKER_01]: Top six in the league.

[00:21:47] [SPEAKER_01]: Upper, like upper third of the, actually higher than that.

[00:21:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Top three, four in the American League.

[00:21:53] [SPEAKER_01]: Sixth!

[00:21:54] [SPEAKER_01]: In all of baseball.

[00:21:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Bring Tao back.

[00:21:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Bring Geno back.

[00:21:57] [SPEAKER_01]: Bring Kellnick back.

[00:21:58] [SPEAKER_01]: Bring Mike Ford back.

[00:21:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Caballero.

[00:22:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Bring them all back.

[00:22:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Sam Haggerty.

[00:22:03] [SPEAKER_04]: So we just ripped off the Mark from Maple Valley call.

[00:22:06] [SPEAKER_04]: Haggerty.

[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_04]: Caballero.

[00:22:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Mike Ford.

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but Sam Haggerty's our guy.

[00:22:11] [SPEAKER_04]: I want him to.

[00:22:12] [SPEAKER_04]: He is our guy, but he was getting ripped in that.

[00:22:14] [SPEAKER_04]: And you and I know, like, love Sam.

[00:22:15] [SPEAKER_04]: He's not an offensive juggernaut.

[00:22:17] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, no.

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_04]: No.

[00:22:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:22:20] [SPEAKER_01]: No, no, no.

[00:22:20] [SPEAKER_01]: Your statement's right.

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_01]: However, I want that whole offense back.

[00:22:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:22:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Because, you know what?

[00:22:28] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's do some revision.

[00:22:29] [SPEAKER_04]: We're going to go back, and we're just going to not do anything all offseason.

[00:22:33] [SPEAKER_04]: Everyone stays.

[00:22:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, you have to give Tao the QO.

[00:22:36] [SPEAKER_04]: That's fine.

[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_04]: Make the roster stay the exact same.

[00:22:39] [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, because Gino, Gino in the last six weeks has got like a 970 OPS.

[00:22:46] [SPEAKER_01]: He got off to that awful start, and he's turned it around recently.

[00:22:49] [SPEAKER_01]: I'll tell you that.

[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_01]: Man, I, you know, like that offense right now with this rotation probably gets it done.

[00:22:57] [SPEAKER_01]: I know it had problems last year.

[00:22:59] [SPEAKER_01]: No, it does get it.

[00:23:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Best team in baseball.

[00:23:01] [SPEAKER_01]: It does get it done.

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Because I know that offense had problems last year.

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_01]: But guess what?

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_01]: When it was all said and done, by WRC+, they were sixth by a lot of the other categories like OPS and some others.

[00:23:10] [SPEAKER_01]: They were right in the middle of the league, which is all we're asking for from this offense.

[00:23:16] [SPEAKER_01]: And what did we do in the offseason?

[00:23:18] [SPEAKER_01]: What is all we said?

[00:23:19] [SPEAKER_01]: We just said cut down on some strikeouts.

[00:23:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Just strike out a little bit less.

[00:23:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Strike out a little bit less than the 26-ish percent, close to 27 percent rate you were punching out at.

[00:23:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Actually, it was 26.

[00:23:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Just strike out a little less.

[00:23:36] [SPEAKER_01]: And they brought in a bunch of guys to strike out less, only to be on pace to set a record for Major League Baseball for strikeouts in a season,

[00:23:45] [SPEAKER_01]: while also now being in the bottom third of the league in WRC+, and most offensive categories.

[00:23:51] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm going to read you those stats now.

[00:23:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's do it.

[00:23:53] [SPEAKER_04]: We're going to end this on a high note of stuff we found today that truly highlights how bad this offense is.

[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_04]: So I can't believe I hadn't clicked onto the baseball reference splits by position for this Mariners offense this season.

[00:24:09] [SPEAKER_04]: It is a doozy.

[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_04]: Now, I'll say I did not find this first.

[00:24:13] [SPEAKER_04]: Someone else tweeted it out first.

[00:24:14] [SPEAKER_04]: But I'm going to talk about it here because I think this is just, it's hilarious to look at.

[00:24:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Lyle, let's go OPS by position this year for the Seattle Mariners.

[00:24:23] [SPEAKER_04]: And as I will note that, it is not the player who has played the most at that position.

[00:24:27] [SPEAKER_04]: It is all the at-bats taken at that position this year in the lineup card.

[00:24:32] [SPEAKER_04]: At catcher this year, Lyle, the Mariners have a 6.78 OPS.

[00:24:37] [SPEAKER_04]: At first base, they have a 6.63 OPS.

[00:24:40] [SPEAKER_04]: At second base, they have a 6.58 OPS.

[00:24:44] [SPEAKER_04]: At third base, they have a 6.35 OPS.

[00:24:48] [SPEAKER_04]: I can't.

[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_04]: At shortstop, they have a 6.61 OPS.

[00:24:54] [SPEAKER_04]: Left field, 6.76.

[00:24:56] [SPEAKER_04]: Center field, 6.88.

[00:24:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Right field, 6.68.

[00:25:01] [SPEAKER_04]: DH, 6.91.

[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_04]: I just ran through all 10 positions.

[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_04]: And 6.91 is the top mark for all of the at-bats at those positions this year.

[00:25:14] [SPEAKER_01]: 6.91.

[00:25:17] [SPEAKER_01]: That comes out to about a 100 WRC plus this year, right?

[00:25:21] [SPEAKER_01]: 6.90.

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER_04]: 6.90, yeah, I think just about.

[00:25:26] [SPEAKER_04]: But the rest of it drags it down to about where the mark is this year for the Mariners, and it's what, 97?

[00:25:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, point being, let's stay on the OPS.

[00:25:33] [SPEAKER_01]: I was just trying to give people some context.

[00:25:36] [SPEAKER_01]: There is not one position that has put up a 700 OPS.

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_01]: 700!

[00:25:42] [SPEAKER_01]: 700!

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_01]: In most years, that's below league average.

[00:25:47] [SPEAKER_04]: I'll say don't go click back and look at last year's.

[00:25:49] [SPEAKER_04]: Don't do it.

[00:25:50] [SPEAKER_04]: You're going to just get hurt.

[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Because it's better.

[00:25:54] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, there's, oh, I think there's like 6 over 700.

[00:25:57] [SPEAKER_04]: There's a couple 800 shortstop and center over 800.

[00:26:00] [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, it's honestly beautiful to look at.

[00:26:05] [SPEAKER_01]: There is, I feel like this has not been talked about enough.

[00:26:09] [SPEAKER_01]: And I just want to spend a minute on this before we wrap this up.

[00:26:13] [SPEAKER_01]: There's all this talk about, is it Scott?

[00:26:15] [SPEAKER_01]: Is it Jerry?

[00:26:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Is it ownership?

[00:26:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Is it everybody?

[00:26:18] [SPEAKER_01]: Et cetera, et cetera.

[00:26:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Is it the players not performing?

[00:26:21] [SPEAKER_01]: The players not performing is certainly part of it.

[00:26:25] [SPEAKER_01]: But there is something missing in the Mariners' evaluation of major league talent.

[00:26:32] [SPEAKER_01]: And it comes from, I don't even know if they technically, by the technical term, have pro scouts.

[00:26:40] [SPEAKER_01]: But whoever's role it is and roles it is to evaluate the proper major league talent to bring in,

[00:26:50] [SPEAKER_01]: something is missing organization-wide.

[00:26:52] [SPEAKER_01]: Because how can you miss on this many guys that have had such great track records this many times,

[00:26:58] [SPEAKER_01]: and then a bunch of them go elsewhere and just hit?

[00:27:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Like Teo, for example.

[00:27:04] [SPEAKER_04]: He's got a bobblehead tonight, by the way.

[00:27:06] [SPEAKER_01]: What's that?

[00:27:06] [SPEAKER_04]: He's got a bobblehead tonight.

[00:27:08] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, how ironic they put that bobblehead night when they're playing the Mariners.

[00:27:11] [SPEAKER_01]: That's awesome.

[00:27:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Anyway, there is something missing.

[00:27:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Because look, Jerry and Justin have the final say in these things.

[00:27:19] [SPEAKER_01]: They lead the teams, but there are people who have full-time jobs with the Seattle Mariners

[00:27:23] [SPEAKER_01]: in their baseball operations department whose job it is to evaluate the proper big league talent for this team.

[00:27:30] [SPEAKER_01]: And too many times in a row now with these bats, it's missing.

[00:27:34] [SPEAKER_01]: It's been missing.

[00:27:35] [SPEAKER_01]: It continues to miss.

[00:27:37] [SPEAKER_01]: How many trades have they hit on in the last few years with these bats?

[00:27:41] [SPEAKER_01]: J.P. Crawford worked out.

[00:27:42] [SPEAKER_01]: Took him a long time to really swing it.

[00:27:45] [SPEAKER_01]: And he's had one really good offensive year.

[00:27:49] [SPEAKER_01]: He's had a couple others slightly above average.

[00:27:52] [SPEAKER_01]: We think the Randy Orozarena trade is going to work out long-term.

[00:27:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Book's still out on that.

[00:27:57] [SPEAKER_01]: But with trades that you have enough of a sample on, you have not hit on nearly enough of them.

[00:28:04] [SPEAKER_01]: I know you hit on Gene Segura back in 2018 in the first stint of Mitch Hanager.

[00:28:09] [SPEAKER_01]: But that was before the rebuild.

[00:28:11] [SPEAKER_01]: The trades they have tried to pull off and executed since the rebuild have not worked out.

[00:28:17] [SPEAKER_01]: And it is not all Jerry and Justin.

[00:28:19] [SPEAKER_01]: I understand they lead the charge.

[00:28:20] [SPEAKER_01]: But there are people and organization-wide that have to be missing something when evaluating these players because it's happened too many times too often.

[00:28:30] [SPEAKER_01]: That's where I think people are missing information here and not harping on enough is there.

[00:28:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Again, Jerry and Justin's team, they're the leaders.

[00:28:41] [SPEAKER_01]: But there is something in their pro-scouting and pro-evaluation that is not landing because it's happened too many times now.

[00:28:48] [SPEAKER_04]: And when it comes to the coaching staff, I believe you and I are going to have more of a conversation about that on Friday's episode,

[00:28:55] [SPEAKER_04]: seeing how this Dodgers series turns out before we discuss that.

[00:29:00] [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, we totally forgot.

[00:29:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Tune in to Friday's episode because if the Mariners do not win the next two games here recording before game two of Tuesday against the Dodgers,

[00:29:12] [SPEAKER_01]: we may wave the white flag here on this podcast.

[00:29:14] [SPEAKER_01]: We may.

[00:29:15] [SPEAKER_01]: We're not going to stop doing podcasts, obviously.

[00:29:17] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll still talk about the team.

[00:29:19] [SPEAKER_01]: But we may put our marine layer pod stamp on the season on Friday's pod and say, this is it.

[00:29:26] [SPEAKER_01]: Like, they're done.

[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_01]: We're not saying it yet.

[00:29:28] [SPEAKER_01]: There is still a scenario they can turn it around.

[00:29:31] [SPEAKER_01]: But if they don't win these next two games in L.A., and especially if the Astros win a couple more this week,

[00:29:36] [SPEAKER_01]: and there's six or seven back with 34-ish games to go, yeah, I think we're putting our stamp on that.

[00:29:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Yep.

[00:29:44] [SPEAKER_04]: Yep.

[00:29:45] [SPEAKER_04]: So, tune in.

[00:29:46] [SPEAKER_01]: All right.

[00:29:47] [SPEAKER_01]: We had an awesome interview with Jordan Schusterman to get back to a positive note.

[00:29:50] [SPEAKER_01]: Before that, let's take a pause and talk to you guys about our friends over at Pogaccia's Pub 85.

[00:29:54] [SPEAKER_01]: You want to have a good time with your friends?

[00:29:56] [SPEAKER_01]: Football season's about to start.

[00:29:58] [SPEAKER_01]: We got college football coming back.

[00:29:59] [SPEAKER_01]: We got the NFL coming back.

[00:30:01] [SPEAKER_01]: MLB playoffs are starting here right around the corner.

[00:30:03] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll see if the Mariners are in it or not.

[00:30:05] [SPEAKER_01]: But there will still be MLB playoffs.

[00:30:07] [SPEAKER_01]: And if you want to have a fun night with your friends, head over there.

[00:30:11] [SPEAKER_01]: There's awesome food, drinks, games.

[00:30:13] [SPEAKER_01]: And if you go during happy hour, there's $3 and $4 happy hour specials.

[00:30:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Those happy hours are Monday through Friday, 2 to 6 p.m.

[00:30:19] [SPEAKER_01]: All of that is over at Pogaccia's Pub 85 in Kirkland.

[00:30:24] [SPEAKER_01]: So, our friend Jordan Schusterman, awesome guest, awesome dude as everybody who's ever interacted with him or talked to him or both knows.

[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_01]: Obsessment is Family Barbecue.

[00:30:34] [SPEAKER_01]: He was our second ever guest on this podcast about a year and a half ago now.

[00:30:40] [SPEAKER_01]: And now he's back on.

[00:30:42] [SPEAKER_01]: And we talked about a bunch of different stuff.

[00:30:43] [SPEAKER_01]: And it was a really, really fun conversation.

[00:30:46] [SPEAKER_04]: And if you want to do some pre-episode reading, go on.

[00:30:51] [SPEAKER_04]: First of all, so listen to this first and then pause it before you listen to the interview with Jordan.

[00:30:55] [SPEAKER_04]: So, Jordan wrote a really good piece on Yahoo Sports about Cal Raleigh and Logan Gilbert and their development in the Mariners organization with some fun stories tied in there.

[00:31:05] [SPEAKER_04]: And how they've essentially been at the hip from college through the Mariners minor league system into the big leagues right now.

[00:31:13] [SPEAKER_04]: And it's really good.

[00:31:14] [SPEAKER_04]: So, I would go check that out.

[00:31:15] [SPEAKER_04]: I would go read that before you listen to this conversation because we do ask them some questions about that article.

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_04]: And just to give sort of a background look into the kind of work now they do now that they're at Yahoo.

[00:31:30] [SPEAKER_04]: They moved over to Yahoo from Fox Sports and SiriusXM in February.

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_04]: So, they've had a lot of freedom to do some more stuff like this now.

[00:31:40] [SPEAKER_04]: And it's a really fantastic article.

[00:31:42] [SPEAKER_04]: And Jordan's a really good writer.

[00:31:43] [SPEAKER_04]: So, I would go read that.

[00:31:45] [SPEAKER_04]: It was really good.

[00:31:46] [SPEAKER_04]: But we also asked them about some of the other things they did.

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER_04]: They sat down with Durangelo Sanja at the MLB Draft Combine before he was a Mariner.

[00:31:54] [SPEAKER_04]: So, some really interesting stuff there from Jordan that we hope you guys will enjoy.

[00:31:58] [SPEAKER_04]: But we won't keep you guys any longer.

[00:32:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's get you to that conversation with Jordan Schusterman.

[00:32:05] [SPEAKER_01]: All right.

[00:32:06] [SPEAKER_01]: We welcome on our friend Jordan Schusterman, friend of the pod, now recurring guest of Cespita's Family Barbecue, now at Yahoo Sports.

[00:32:14] [SPEAKER_01]: We know he's a huge Mariners fan.

[00:32:16] [SPEAKER_01]: And now, in the course of the last couple years, you've gone from New York City to Indiana, now to Ohio.

[00:32:23] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to make you rank those three states.

[00:32:26] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, man.

[00:32:27] [SPEAKER_02]: This is an interesting question.

[00:32:30] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, I grew up in the D.C., Maryland suburbs.

[00:32:34] [SPEAKER_02]: But I'll move that to the side and just think about my three homes as an adult.

[00:32:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Indiana is a clear third.

[00:32:41] [SPEAKER_02]: That's easy.

[00:32:43] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to make you rank those two years there in Richmond.

[00:32:46] [SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, when you ask me New York versus Ohio, you know, you would think it's an easy pick.

[00:32:51] [SPEAKER_02]: I know you've spent some time in New York City.

[00:32:54] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if that's where you are now, Wilde, but I know you've spent some time there.

[00:32:58] [SPEAKER_02]: I appreciated my time in New York for sure.

[00:33:02] [SPEAKER_02]: But Ohio is much more my speed.

[00:33:04] [SPEAKER_02]: I very much like living where I'm at.

[00:33:06] [SPEAKER_02]: Now I'm closer to Cleveland.

[00:33:07] [SPEAKER_02]: I have cities available to me, but it is not, you know, big city all the time.

[00:33:12] [SPEAKER_02]: So I would say that for what I am looking forward to now as a regular adult person who's married and, you know, looking forward to being a real person, you know, for a while, I'm very happy to be where I am.

[00:33:25] [SPEAKER_04]: Is Skyline Chili pushing that up in the rankings at all?

[00:33:27] [SPEAKER_04]: Or are we talking about despite Skyline Chili, Ohio still reigns supreme?

[00:33:32] [SPEAKER_02]: So glad you mentioned that.

[00:33:33] [SPEAKER_02]: So Skyline Chili was more of part of my experience when I lived in Indiana because I was on that side of Ohio.

[00:33:39] [SPEAKER_02]: So before I was closer to Cincinnati.

[00:33:42] [SPEAKER_02]: And so that Cincinnati was that's that's where we're talking about Skyline.

[00:33:45] [SPEAKER_02]: And I had a few times it's it's not offensive to me, but it certainly was not gaining any points.

[00:33:52] [SPEAKER_02]: I was never going out of my way to enjoy Skyline really at any point.

[00:33:57] [SPEAKER_02]: So while it doesn't it doesn't hold it back, I do, you know, have Cincinnati.

[00:34:01] [SPEAKER_02]: I do very much appreciate it.

[00:34:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Can't come to appreciate the city, a place I'd never been before, before I moved to the area.

[00:34:06] [SPEAKER_02]: But no, I would certainly would not call myself a big fan.

[00:34:10] [SPEAKER_04]: I can think I could speak for Lyle and I could say definitely detracts points.

[00:34:13] [SPEAKER_04]: I think we drove we drove through Ohio.

[00:34:15] [SPEAKER_04]: We drove 45 minutes out of the way to get Skyline Chili.

[00:34:18] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm still waiting to get those 45 minutes back.

[00:34:20] [SPEAKER_04]: I don't know if I'm going to get those back in my life, but apparently not.

[00:34:25] [SPEAKER_04]: Lyle, what would you grade on a scale of one to ten?

[00:34:28] [SPEAKER_04]: I think you had like a bite.

[00:34:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Did you have a bite?

[00:34:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[00:34:30] [SPEAKER_01]: On a scale of one to ten, I graded it.

[00:34:33] [SPEAKER_01]: It should be condemned.

[00:34:36] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, fair enough.

[00:34:37] [SPEAKER_02]: All right.

[00:34:38] [SPEAKER_02]: So you boys won't be heading back to Cincinnati.

[00:34:40] [SPEAKER_02]: By the way, if you do have some real Cincinnati chili, just not the chain.

[00:34:44] [SPEAKER_02]: I have food regs for you there.

[00:34:46] [SPEAKER_02]: If you ever go back, that's that's what I think was frustrating to me is because it's like,

[00:34:50] [SPEAKER_02]: listen, I know people aren't necessarily coming to Cincinnati all the time.

[00:34:53] [SPEAKER_02]: You should not be wasting a meal there.

[00:34:55] [SPEAKER_02]: That would be the best way for me to for me to put it.

[00:34:59] [SPEAKER_04]: Jordan.

[00:34:59] [SPEAKER_04]: All right.

[00:35:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's compare our rankings of two things.

[00:35:02] [SPEAKER_04]: Are we going to rank Skyline Chili higher or the current state of the Seattle Mariners?

[00:35:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh, OK.

[00:35:09] [SPEAKER_02]: So if we can try and draw some.

[00:35:12] [SPEAKER_02]: Are there parallels?

[00:35:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Are there parallels?

[00:35:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:35:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Let's let's try and dive into this analytically.

[00:35:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Um, the most basic way to start the conversation here is there were expectations.

[00:35:23] [SPEAKER_02]: I think people looked at this and assumed, wow, that's this.

[00:35:27] [SPEAKER_02]: It's got to be something right about this.

[00:35:30] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:35:30] [SPEAKER_02]: You're like, well, you know, this a lot of people seem to like this.

[00:35:35] [SPEAKER_02]: There's a lot of people thinking that this actually might go well.

[00:35:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:35:39] [SPEAKER_02]: I think people say that.

[00:35:40] [SPEAKER_02]: But if there's a reason you drove 45 minutes out of your way to try it.

[00:35:44] [SPEAKER_02]: Mm hmm.

[00:35:45] [SPEAKER_02]: You know?

[00:35:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:35:46] [SPEAKER_02]: But then but then you get there and you're like, hmm, I don't really I don't really not

[00:35:53] [SPEAKER_02]: only do I not get it, but I am sorely disappointed.

[00:35:57] [SPEAKER_02]: And and I think that the not really getting it as we as we maybe transition to a more serious

[00:36:03] [SPEAKER_02]: conversation about the about the baseball team is as we as we try and reflect and understand

[00:36:08] [SPEAKER_02]: where this this offense in particular is.

[00:36:11] [SPEAKER_02]: There is a level of of trying to to to understand it.

[00:36:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:36:15] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, obviously, the perspective of fans when you watch the team struggle like this

[00:36:19] [SPEAKER_02]: to score, particularly as it relates or in contrast to the pitching that they have, you

[00:36:25] [SPEAKER_02]: know, assembled and is consistently producing or consistently performing.

[00:36:29] [SPEAKER_02]: You look at the names and even now I look at the names in the lineup and I think.

[00:36:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Why?

[00:36:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Why are they so bad?

[00:36:38] [SPEAKER_02]: You know?

[00:36:39] [SPEAKER_02]: And so that's the thing that I think we have to get at, because, yes, there was there was

[00:36:43] [SPEAKER_02]: obviously a portion with the injuries during the season where the lineups are rolling out

[00:36:47] [SPEAKER_02]: were not major league quality lineups.

[00:36:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:36:50] [SPEAKER_02]: That there's definitely had points about that along the way.

[00:36:53] [SPEAKER_02]: And by the way, of course, that over the last 10 years when the team has not put out,

[00:36:57] [SPEAKER_02]: you know, but it's it's not that it looks it actually does look like a decent lineup,

[00:37:02] [SPEAKER_02]: but it is obviously not performing as such.

[00:37:05] [SPEAKER_01]: So what's gone wrong?

[00:37:07] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to I'm going to ask you a question that I feel like nobody really has the answer

[00:37:11] [SPEAKER_01]: to, but I'm still going to let you take your best crack at it, because we look at what

[00:37:15] [SPEAKER_01]: the Mariners have done and how they've struggled offensively this year.

[00:37:18] [SPEAKER_01]: They've struggled in certainly portions of other seasons moving back into this rebuild

[00:37:22] [SPEAKER_01]: or whatever.

[00:37:24] [SPEAKER_01]: And what I can't figure out is why this continuously happens to players that come to Seattle.

[00:37:29] [SPEAKER_01]: You could say the ballpark.

[00:37:30] [SPEAKER_01]: You could say the batter's eye.

[00:37:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Those have been things that have been talked about now the last year or two.

[00:37:34] [SPEAKER_01]: But I look at other teams that come into town and they don't seem to struggle to hit.

[00:37:39] [SPEAKER_01]: So what I can't figure out is are the Mariners missing something in their major league talent

[00:37:45] [SPEAKER_01]: evaluation that the outside doesn't know about?

[00:37:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, I don't totally agree with the teams not coming and or showing up to Seattle and

[00:37:55] [SPEAKER_02]: knowing how to hit.

[00:37:56] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, they're clearly hitting more than the Mariners, which is just enough.

[00:38:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:38:01] [SPEAKER_02]: But I struggle with the ballpark discourse because on one hand, it feels like a convenient

[00:38:07] [SPEAKER_02]: excuse for a long track record of players coming to Seattle and not getting better or getting

[00:38:14] [SPEAKER_02]: actively worse.

[00:38:16] [SPEAKER_02]: But at the same time, I mean, it's getting pretty extreme.

[00:38:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And it's also hard to judge it because it's like, well, yes, I think the park factors and

[00:38:24] [SPEAKER_02]: you adjust for all the things you say, OK, yeah, it's hard to hit here.

[00:38:26] [SPEAKER_02]: The other thing is, OK, but also the pitching is so good.

[00:38:29] [SPEAKER_02]: Maybe that's just the nature of it.

[00:38:30] [SPEAKER_02]: But at the same time, you look at the Mariners pitching on the road and it's merely very good,

[00:38:36] [SPEAKER_02]: you know, instead of the best in the league or historically great.

[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, the Mariners pitching at home this year at points, maybe not as much recently

[00:38:44] [SPEAKER_02]: as historically great.

[00:38:45] [SPEAKER_02]: Some of the guys that Brian Wu have done, like Brian Wu and Bryce Miller, some of these

[00:38:49] [SPEAKER_02]: guys have just been so unbelievable.

[00:38:50] [SPEAKER_02]: And so it seems like they have found a way to maximize that pitching staff in their home

[00:38:56] [SPEAKER_02]: ballpark, which I'm sure in the grand internal plans of how do we win baseball games, that

[00:39:01] [SPEAKER_02]: has to be part of the equation.

[00:39:02] [SPEAKER_02]: And in that sense, they've succeeded.

[00:39:04] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, they would realize they're in a pitcher's ballpark and they've assembled arguably

[00:39:08] [SPEAKER_02]: the best rotation of baseball.

[00:39:10] [SPEAKER_02]: So that part of the plan has been executed essentially flawlessly.

[00:39:15] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, honestly, right?

[00:39:16] [SPEAKER_02]: You can't we can't take that away from them.

[00:39:18] [SPEAKER_02]: But you got to score more runs than the other team.

[00:39:20] [SPEAKER_02]: And to get back to the other question of what is the issue here?

[00:39:25] [SPEAKER_02]: I you know, is it just a is it a consistent mis-evaluation of the players?

[00:39:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Is it a consistent getting them at the exact wrong time every time?

[00:39:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Is that what it is?

[00:39:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Part of me, is it getting guys that are past their prime that you're just getting older

[00:39:44] [SPEAKER_02]: players that you're counting on and you're basically getting them right after they have

[00:39:47] [SPEAKER_02]: their best season versus before they have their best season?

[00:39:50] [SPEAKER_02]: There's examples of that.

[00:39:51] [SPEAKER_02]: There's examples of all those things.

[00:39:53] [SPEAKER_02]: And unfortunately, now they're there.

[00:39:55] [SPEAKER_02]: They have quite a large sample of players where you can basically find a version of all

[00:39:59] [SPEAKER_02]: of these shortcomings.

[00:39:59] [SPEAKER_02]: And so that's what that's why you end up, you know, tearing your hair out, because you can you can point to all kinds of different answers.

[00:40:05] [SPEAKER_02]: And ultimately, it doesn't really matter what the answer is, because it's not good enough right now.

[00:40:11] [SPEAKER_02]: And and where this organization is, that is rightfully a maddening thing for the fan base.

[00:40:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Even if your talent evaluation, your pro talent evaluation is off, I feel like with a good coaching staff and at least a consistent roster, like a roster with a consistent theme with the right mix of all of those things together, you should be able to put together a good offense.

[00:40:35] [SPEAKER_04]: But obviously, that that hasn't been a thing at all for the Mariners, not only have probably the messaging of the coaching staff and what they're teaching, what the organization sort of philosophizes with hitting has been just wrong this year flat out because no one's caught on to it.

[00:40:51] [SPEAKER_04]: But also the players somehow have managed to drastically underperform as well.

[00:40:56] [SPEAKER_04]: How would you weigh fans blaming players for underperforming and saying you're not doing your job well enough?

[00:41:03] [SPEAKER_04]: I think the information is there and you should be doing it better versus the coaching staff is not holding up their end of the bargain.

[00:41:10] [SPEAKER_04]: The messaging is poor and they need to do a better job of this.

[00:41:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I think I am generally going to be pretty low on blaming the coaches that that applies to across my baseball analysis.

[00:41:27] [SPEAKER_02]: There are some like super extreme examples where it is multiple years.

[00:41:32] [SPEAKER_02]: And in this case, maybe the Mariners qualify for this, although I know we've had some different voices within the coaching staff to some degree, obviously, over the last few years.

[00:41:41] [SPEAKER_02]: But again, getting back to the acquisition, it's so interesting because they've had such a while.

[00:41:45] [SPEAKER_02]: Obviously, Depoto is bringing in a million guys all the time.

[00:41:47] [SPEAKER_02]: And it's it's kind of run the gamut of we all look at Jorge Polanco was like, that's perfect.

[00:41:55] [SPEAKER_02]: That's exactly what they need.

[00:41:57] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, and and now the injuries were part of it and are clearly still a part of it.

[00:42:01] [SPEAKER_02]: And it's possible that that was part of what is what could downgrade him.

[00:42:04] [SPEAKER_02]: But you looked at him, you looked at a Garver, you look at somebody's like, yes, yes.

[00:42:08] [SPEAKER_02]: You look at Randy, you know, and Randy's had his moments and that's fine.

[00:42:12] [SPEAKER_02]: He's obviously looked a lot colder recently.

[00:42:14] [SPEAKER_02]: You understood the flaws with them.

[00:42:15] [SPEAKER_02]: You understood the upsides with them.

[00:42:18] [SPEAKER_02]: But they've acquired enough of them where you would think that more of them would just hit literally and figuratively.

[00:42:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:42:24] [SPEAKER_02]: And that hasn't happened.

[00:42:25] [SPEAKER_02]: And it's not just that it's it's like for in the case of Garver.

[00:42:29] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's a that's a tough one because we know how much it's weighed on him.

[00:42:32] [SPEAKER_02]: And I mean, I've talked to Mitch plenty over his career.

[00:42:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Like he's one of my favorite people.

[00:42:36] [SPEAKER_02]: But like, it's not just underperforming.

[00:42:38] [SPEAKER_02]: It's like we're going so far backwards to the point where the offense is like actively bad.

[00:42:43] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:42:43] [SPEAKER_02]: It's not just like, oh, we're not quite at the level we expected.

[00:42:47] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, if these guys were at 85 percent or 90 percent of the level they expected, this offense would be just fine relatively.

[00:42:54] [SPEAKER_02]: And instead, it is so far backwards, certainly in the case of Garver, certainly in the case of Polanco for a while.

[00:42:59] [SPEAKER_02]: He certainly got a little bit better in recent months.

[00:43:01] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's that's what's tough.

[00:43:03] [SPEAKER_02]: And I don't know, man.

[00:43:04] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, you could you could put the blame around a lot, a lot of different people.

[00:43:08] [SPEAKER_02]: And I do think the coaching staff question is is fair because of how often it has happened.

[00:43:13] [SPEAKER_02]: But I don't know if it's certainly I don't believe it is a sudden salve in the middle of the season in the way that we saw earlier this year when Brant Brown was let go.

[00:43:23] [SPEAKER_02]: And it was like, OK, we got two weeks for the scoring runs and then it's back to the same stuff.

[00:43:27] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's why I really especially in season.

[00:43:30] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm always skeptical that changing something in season is going to make that much of a difference.

[00:43:35] [SPEAKER_04]: So let's get to the offseason then based on where you are right now.

[00:43:39] [SPEAKER_04]: How would you handle the right now, as we know, of lame duck status of Depoto and Scott Service?

[00:43:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I mean, in my position, it's hard.

[00:43:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Obviously, Mariners, definitely favorite team.

[00:43:52] [SPEAKER_02]: Not going to shy away from that.

[00:43:54] [SPEAKER_02]: It's harder for me to put like I will say as I've done this professionally for a while, it is much harder for me to be going out there saying fire him, fire him, fire him, all these guys.

[00:44:06] [SPEAKER_02]: So I'll put that out up front.

[00:44:08] [SPEAKER_02]: I think that we are reaching a critical point with the direction of the franchise, as we've mentioned.

[00:44:14] [SPEAKER_02]: All right.

[00:44:15] [SPEAKER_02]: I said this a little bit more off air.

[00:44:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Like this is a long time for this regime to be in place.

[00:44:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:44:21] [SPEAKER_02]: And in that sense, it just comes down to how urgent is the ownership to change it?

[00:44:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Because that's that's the thing.

[00:44:29] [SPEAKER_02]: You could argue that it lasted longer than than maybe we even expected.

[00:44:34] [SPEAKER_02]: Now, obviously, making the postseason to 22 went a long way towards extending that and extending that run.

[00:44:39] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think that's deserved.

[00:44:41] [SPEAKER_02]: But there aren't that many other, you know, leadership groups that can stay together for that long with this many, you know, times coming up short.

[00:44:52] [SPEAKER_02]: I think that's that's fair to say there.

[00:44:53] [SPEAKER_02]: There are some.

[00:44:54] [SPEAKER_02]: And those usually involve ownerships that are either extremely tied in with one place in the way that the White Sox were for a think about how long it took the White Sox to get rid of what they had.

[00:45:05] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:45:05] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, they were it was got way uglier for way longer than what the Mariners are dealing with.

[00:45:10] [SPEAKER_02]: You have some really unique situations like Colorado, who's have no interest in ever doing anything dramatically or changing anything externally.

[00:45:18] [SPEAKER_02]: You have situations like San Diego where A.J. Preller has made more moves than even DePoto, at least from a from a magnitude standpoint.

[00:45:25] [SPEAKER_02]: He was so tied in with Seidler.

[00:45:27] [SPEAKER_02]: And we'll see if he's going to be able to stay in with the ownership group with the ownership group.

[00:45:31] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's what I keep bringing up.

[00:45:32] [SPEAKER_02]: Why am I bringing up these other examples?

[00:45:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Because that's ultimately what matters is how much how urgent will we talk about ownership in the context of how much are they investing?

[00:45:41] [SPEAKER_02]: But it's also about how urgently do they feel the need to change something?

[00:45:46] [SPEAKER_02]: That is something that defines a lot across the league.

[00:45:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Sometimes it's bad when ownerships are getting in and firing people left and right.

[00:45:52] [SPEAKER_02]: And other times they maybe wait a few years too long.

[00:45:55] [SPEAKER_02]: That's the question I do think we still need to be asking.

[00:45:58] [SPEAKER_02]: I think that when you think about the team building and in terms of the farm system in particular, you could say the front office deserves more credit for that.

[00:46:06] [SPEAKER_02]: And if we're talking about on field results, then maybe you do shift it more towards the coaching staff, which is why I think logically it makes a little bit more sense to move on from the coaching staff than to move on from the front office.

[00:46:16] [SPEAKER_02]: But I don't feel super comfortable saying that definitively one way or the other.

[00:46:21] [SPEAKER_01]: I think we're in the same boat.

[00:46:22] [SPEAKER_01]: We just we don't know what's going to happen here.

[00:46:24] [SPEAKER_01]: It could go a million different ways.

[00:46:25] [SPEAKER_01]: And we're all kind of just waiting to see how everything unfolds, whether it's this week, whether it's at the end of the year, everything.

[00:46:31] [SPEAKER_01]: But I'll pivot to another offseason question for you.

[00:46:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Let's say in this scenario, at least the front office stays, if not everybody stays and the regime doesn't change.

[00:46:40] [SPEAKER_01]: They have to change something clearly.

[00:46:42] [SPEAKER_01]: So if it's not going to be anything with management, whether it be the coaching staff or front office, how do they change something to get the right offensive guys in here to have a have a successful team and not waste this pitching staff?

[00:46:57] [SPEAKER_01]: And I just look at it in layers like this.

[00:46:59] [SPEAKER_01]: Are you going to spend money?

[00:47:01] [SPEAKER_01]: Probably not.

[00:47:01] [SPEAKER_01]: We haven't seen any reason to believe that they're going to spend significant money in free agency.

[00:47:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Are you going to keep trading?

[00:47:08] [SPEAKER_01]: A couple of worked out five years ago.

[00:47:10] [SPEAKER_01]: The JP trade worked out.

[00:47:11] [SPEAKER_01]: It took some time, but it worked out.

[00:47:13] [SPEAKER_01]: Randy books out, but we assume his time in Seattle will be positive.

[00:47:17] [SPEAKER_01]: There's a lot that haven't.

[00:47:18] [SPEAKER_01]: And then in terms of development, Cole Young and Harry Ford next year, maybe Colt Emerson in two, two and a half years, maybe.

[00:47:25] [SPEAKER_01]: But that's a long time.

[00:47:27] [SPEAKER_01]: So like all that combined, how are they going to do something to get this team on the right track offensively?

[00:47:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:47:34] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think this is where one, it's like a more of a subtle, more nuanced thing.

[00:47:38] [SPEAKER_02]: But when we think about changing in the coaching staff and changing in player development, there are something I've learned working in baseball is that there are a lot of people that work behind the scenes of the best teams.

[00:47:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Like the best teams have just like armies of coaches and analysts and whatever.

[00:48:01] [SPEAKER_02]: Not that the Mariners don't have a deep front office or coaching staff with people that aren't necessarily sitting next to Scott Service.

[00:48:07] [SPEAKER_02]: But there are creative ways to kind of add a new voice to a player development team or to a analytic group or to a coaching, a group of coaches.

[00:48:20] [SPEAKER_02]: And this is why the question about service is so interesting, because there has been a good amount of continuity on the staff to the point where, okay, if you're getting rid of Scott Service, are you getting rid of the whole staff?

[00:48:32] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, and again, would everyone forget how to pitch without Pete Woodworth and Tony Arnerich and some of these guys?

[00:48:42] [SPEAKER_02]: Like probably not, you know, but there are obvious Perry Hill, right?

[00:48:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Hello, right?

[00:48:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Obviously someone who's revered as a very important part of this team and has been for a long time.

[00:48:55] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's both, right, the risk and maybe the opportunity to bring in, we talk about fresh voices, but also just like a new wave of God, because there are a lot of smart hitting minds across the league.

[00:49:08] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm sure the Mariners employ some of them.

[00:49:10] [SPEAKER_02]: But as we know, at some point, the results are the results.

[00:49:12] [SPEAKER_02]: And if there is someone that wants to tackle what it means to hit in Seattle in the way that, you know, obviously nobody has managed to tackle what it means to pitch in Colorado.

[00:49:22] [SPEAKER_02]: I wish the Rockies would hire more smart people to go try and figure out how to pitch in Colorado.

[00:49:28] [SPEAKER_02]: And we haven't seen it happen yet.

[00:49:29] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's because it's a challenge.

[00:49:32] [SPEAKER_02]: But that's the thing.

[00:49:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Like there are more subtle things that can probably happen around the coaching and the player development in particular that could be interesting.

[00:49:41] [SPEAKER_02]: As far as big roster changes, I mean, that's, I honestly haven't like dug into just like the state of the roster and the depth chart and like contracts and stuff yet.

[00:49:51] [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm not quite there yet.

[00:49:52] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't blame you guys for looking that far ahead because of how things have gone recently and how things are certainly trending.

[00:49:58] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'd be happy to come on here again in a month or two and have those conversations.

[00:50:02] [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, I'm not sure I've fully quite switched into like what's the first move they need to make or what's the first hole they need to address.

[00:50:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Other than to say your rotation is as good as it's going to get.

[00:50:15] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I guess it could keep getting better, but health wise, it's probably as good as it's going to get.

[00:50:21] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's the part that you have that figured out.

[00:50:24] [SPEAKER_02]: And so the fact that you get to just focus so, which in theory they did last off season too and clearly didn't do well enough.

[00:50:31] [SPEAKER_02]: That should be at least the place to start where if they do still need to figure out this offensive thing,

[00:50:35] [SPEAKER_02]: then hopefully the focus should be very, very singular.

[00:50:39] [SPEAKER_04]: Let's pivot into a more positive note because you wrote just an amazing article about the growth of Cal Raleigh and Logan Gilbert specifically within the Mariners organization,

[00:50:49] [SPEAKER_04]: getting drafted together, being roommates in the minor leagues, coming up and having success together on this Mariners team.

[00:50:56] [SPEAKER_04]: What when you were digging into this article and you can find it at Yahoo Sports Jordan,

[00:50:59] [SPEAKER_04]: it's fantastic, very long, very in-depth on that whole story with the two of them.

[00:51:05] [SPEAKER_04]: What blew you away the most when you were digging for stuff on that story and finding these little tidbits here and there?

[00:51:12] [SPEAKER_04]: What was the coolest thing?

[00:51:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:51:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Really cool opportunity to get to talk to Cal, Logan, talk to DePoto, talk to Service about all this stuff.

[00:51:21] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, obviously, the inspiration of it was not just that they, of course, Logan being an officer for the first time

[00:51:28] [SPEAKER_02]: and Cal kind of proving himself as one of the best catchers in the league this year.

[00:51:33] [SPEAKER_02]: I think people are finally starting to acknowledge that.

[00:51:37] [SPEAKER_02]: But that it's happened together and that they defined this era of the Mariners in a very real way.

[00:51:45] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, when you think about it, listen, not that fans shouldn't be frustrated with the standards or whatever,

[00:51:51] [SPEAKER_02]: but all Cal Raleigh and Logan Gilbert know on the Mariners is a winning team.

[00:51:57] [SPEAKER_02]: And in that sense, this could end up being by far the most disappointing team that they've played on.

[00:52:02] [SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, I mean, when you look at the win totals that since they've arrived, I mean, they have a top,

[00:52:08] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm pretty sure a top seven or eight winning percentage in baseball since those guys have like been a part of the team.

[00:52:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And so that doesn't feel like an accident because of the stability that both of those guys have provided.

[00:52:19] [SPEAKER_02]: The fact that Logan has not missed a start since he was called up,

[00:52:22] [SPEAKER_02]: the fact that Raleigh has amassed a larger workload.

[00:52:29] [SPEAKER_02]: And in some ways, this is problematic because we know that at some point it's probably hampering his ability to contribute offensively.

[00:52:36] [SPEAKER_02]: But like that is incredible.

[00:52:39] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, that is the definition of franchise pillars.

[00:52:41] [SPEAKER_02]: And that was the inspiration for the story.

[00:52:43] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think talking to people around the team and talking to them, it very much reflected that.

[00:52:47] [SPEAKER_02]: And it is as simple as I don't know where the hell they would be without these guys.

[00:52:53] [SPEAKER_02]: And for as frustrating as this season has been, those two have been a constant.

[00:52:58] [SPEAKER_02]: And Cal's obviously still a flawed hitter to some degree.

[00:53:01] [SPEAKER_02]: But for what he provides in every aspect, you really can't ask for much more than a franchise catcher.

[00:53:06] [SPEAKER_02]: I say this all the time on our shows.

[00:53:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Not knowing who your catcher is is such a difficult place to be as an organization.

[00:53:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Any organization.

[00:53:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Like figuring out who your catcher is is just so, so, so important.

[00:53:18] [SPEAKER_02]: And the Mariners figuring that out with Cal is just it's just it can't be it can't be, you know, overstated.

[00:53:25] [SPEAKER_02]: It's just such a huge deal.

[00:53:27] [SPEAKER_01]: These pitchers are great, right?

[00:53:29] [SPEAKER_01]: And every single one of these guys is unique and dominates.

[00:53:32] [SPEAKER_01]: And it's so fun to watch.

[00:53:34] [SPEAKER_01]: But paired with what Cal's done, where would this rotation be if Cal Raleigh wasn't here?

[00:53:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:53:41] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's the thing, right?

[00:53:42] [SPEAKER_02]: And Adam G just wrote a great story about his kind of recent back and forth with Brian Wu, kind of getting him to an even higher level.

[00:53:50] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's the other cool part, right?

[00:53:52] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, besides Castillo, who, you know, arrived via trade, all these guys come up.

[00:53:56] [SPEAKER_02]: And while Logan came up with him, I mean, Kirby not that far behind and Miller and Wu, by the time they get there, they're like, oh, yeah, like Cal's the guy.

[00:54:03] [SPEAKER_02]: There's no question about who I can put my trust in and know that the game plan and everything that we are looking to do as a cohesive unit is very much in sync.

[00:54:17] [SPEAKER_02]: And it's just not an accident.

[00:54:20] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, that's really the basic way to put it is these are extremely talented pitchers.

[00:54:25] [SPEAKER_02]: But you just cannot overestimate or underestimate, I should say, you cannot underestimate how important the catcher is to that equation on a daily basis.

[00:54:35] [SPEAKER_02]: I think that's true, too.

[00:54:36] [SPEAKER_02]: And I know the bullpen has struggled a little bit more recently.

[00:54:39] [SPEAKER_02]: But generally, over this run, he's been a huge part of that success as well.

[00:54:42] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, the fact that he can feel comfortable with it's not just those five guys.

[00:54:46] [SPEAKER_02]: It's so many more.

[00:54:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Think about how many different relievers have shuffled through this roster over the last few years.

[00:54:50] [SPEAKER_02]: A lot of them have had a lot of success.

[00:54:52] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm sure Cal's a big part of that as well.

[00:54:55] [SPEAKER_04]: I think my favorite thing about the article is when you went back to where they were in college.

[00:54:59] [SPEAKER_04]: And Logan doesn't pitch in the middle of the week because Logan was an absolute stud.

[00:55:03] [SPEAKER_04]: So he only pitched on Fridays.

[00:55:05] [SPEAKER_04]: And they would only play Florida State on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

[00:55:08] [SPEAKER_04]: And Logan would be sitting there thinking, like, who is this dude just tearing us up?

[00:55:12] [SPEAKER_04]: This dude's a pain in the ass, Cal Raleigh is.

[00:55:16] [SPEAKER_04]: And then all of a sudden, they just land together in the same organization.

[00:55:22] [SPEAKER_04]: And there's the whole part about Cal not having as great of a junior season.

[00:55:26] [SPEAKER_04]: And he slipped down draft boards.

[00:55:27] [SPEAKER_04]: But the Mariners were like, oh, no, we see this.

[00:55:30] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.

[00:55:30] [SPEAKER_04]: And we're not falling for, I'd say, the deke of him underperforming a little bit.

[00:55:36] [SPEAKER_04]: We know what this guy is.

[00:55:38] [SPEAKER_04]: So I thought that was super cool.

[00:55:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Especially just given the differences, the two places those two guys went to school.

[00:55:45] [SPEAKER_04]: The only similarities, though, those two in the university stats and Florida State share,

[00:55:50] [SPEAKER_04]: is that they're in the state of Florida.

[00:55:51] [SPEAKER_02]: That's it.

[00:55:52] [SPEAKER_02]: True.

[00:55:52] [SPEAKER_02]: It's not close.

[00:55:53] [SPEAKER_02]: I'll give you a little backer.

[00:55:55] [SPEAKER_02]: I didn't end up including this in the story.

[00:55:57] [SPEAKER_02]: But Logan was kind of just talking about that dynamic between the two.

[00:56:02] [SPEAKER_02]: And obviously, Cal, growing up in a baseball family, his dad was a head coach at Western Carolina.

[00:56:06] [SPEAKER_02]: His dad was a head coach at Tennessee.

[00:56:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Right?

[00:56:07] [SPEAKER_02]: So Cal was kind of raised in this.

[00:56:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Whereas Logan's just one of the other skinny kids in Florida hoping to throw hard someday.

[00:56:16] [SPEAKER_02]: And so Logan was saying how he likes to tease Cal that he was like the golden boy and everyone was given to him.

[00:56:23] [SPEAKER_02]: And Logan's the small school grinder, whatever.

[00:56:27] [SPEAKER_02]: And I told Logan, I was like, Logan, you were the first round pick, bro.

[00:56:34] [SPEAKER_02]: Let's not forget who actually was drafted first.

[00:56:37] [SPEAKER_02]: So I know that, listen, I mean, he's right that there's a big difference between playing in the Atlantic Sun

[00:56:43] [SPEAKER_02]: and playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

[00:56:44] [SPEAKER_02]: And he's right about that.

[00:56:46] [SPEAKER_02]: But I thought that was a funny dynamic.

[00:56:48] [SPEAKER_02]: And especially to their friendship and their relationship too, because they've been there side by side since the beginning.

[00:56:58] [SPEAKER_02]: It's very, very unique in that sense.

[00:57:01] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm grateful as someone who just follows his team a lot, follows his team closely.

[00:57:05] [SPEAKER_02]: In terms of off the field stuff, having talked to, definitely talked to Logan before his debut.

[00:57:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Both of these guys have come out of their shell so much since the start of their careers.

[00:57:17] [SPEAKER_02]: And that has also been extremely cool to see.

[00:57:20] [SPEAKER_02]: And also not a coincidence because that generally happens when you establish yourself as, you know,

[00:57:25] [SPEAKER_02]: two of the best players of their position in the league.

[00:57:27] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's what makes them comfortable to do that.

[00:57:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's crazy.

[00:57:32] [SPEAKER_01]: When Cal came up, he barely talked.

[00:57:33] [SPEAKER_01]: And then fast forward to the end of 2023s saying, hey, listen, ownership, this isn't good enough.

[00:57:38] [SPEAKER_01]: Like, we need more from you.

[00:57:40] [SPEAKER_02]: A hundred percent.

[00:57:41] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm glad you mentioned that because that was another.

[00:57:45] [SPEAKER_02]: And I, you know, I could have.

[00:57:48] [SPEAKER_02]: One of the challenges of the story, and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

[00:57:51] [SPEAKER_02]: But especially for me, just like by nature, I want to be comprehensive and completionist.

[00:57:57] [SPEAKER_02]: And like, I didn't even touch really the, I mean, I mentioned, you know, his homer to the clincher.

[00:58:05] [SPEAKER_02]: We were, what, 10 rows apart, Lyle?

[00:58:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[00:58:09] [SPEAKER_02]: We were both at that game.

[00:58:12] [SPEAKER_02]: And like, I didn't even like say the word big dumper once in the story.

[00:58:16] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, all that's part of the Cal Rally lore too.

[00:58:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, that's its own article that I think is interesting as much.

[00:58:22] [SPEAKER_02]: Of course, I had to kind of condense it and keep it focused on the two of them kind of in tandem and then becoming what they were.

[00:58:28] [SPEAKER_02]: But there's so much with both of these guys and that just felt like the right time to kind of highlight that story.

[00:58:34] [SPEAKER_02]: And obviously, that was, you know, that story was, I guess, dropped like right after the Mets series.

[00:58:40] [SPEAKER_02]: And then fives were high and not so much a week later.

[00:58:43] [SPEAKER_02]: But, you know, those two guys are doing their part, man.

[00:58:47] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's all you can ask for them.

[00:58:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, they are.

[00:58:49] [SPEAKER_04]: You guys have such a fun job.

[00:58:52] [SPEAKER_04]: Like, you built such a fun brand of covering baseball.

[00:58:56] [SPEAKER_04]: You literally have anything possible in baseball on your plate which you could talk about, which you could articulate, tweet about, etc.

[00:59:04] [SPEAKER_04]: On a given day.

[00:59:05] [SPEAKER_04]: Could you walk us through what you guys, on a given day, what are you looking for to talk about?

[00:59:14] [SPEAKER_04]: What are you looking for to, say, maybe make a fun tweet about?

[00:59:17] [SPEAKER_04]: What are you looking for?

[00:59:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Hey, what can we interview?

[00:59:20] [SPEAKER_04]: What can we do?

[00:59:21] [SPEAKER_04]: Do something fun and something out of the box that something like MLB Network won't do.

[00:59:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I mean, I think, well, this is very kind words.

[00:59:31] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm very aware, fortunate I am to do what I do.

[00:59:35] [SPEAKER_02]: I think, you know, since we've worked in this in a full-time capacity, certainly since we originally were with Fox Sports and now with Yahoo, like as members of the BBWA, like we have responsibility to produce, you know, consistent written work.

[00:59:52] [SPEAKER_02]: A lot of that involves going to the ballpark, right?

[00:59:54] [SPEAKER_02]: So now that's for me, that's going to Cleveland.

[00:59:56] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I've been doing a lot of travel.

[00:59:57] [SPEAKER_02]: So I was in Detroit, I was in Toronto and kind of bouncing around.

[01:00:02] [SPEAKER_02]: And I would say that like, it's just looking ahead and having a podcast that's three times a week has been a really perfect kind of cadence and rhythm to give us the space.

[01:00:15] [SPEAKER_02]: I think that's what's really great, especially now about everything being under the Yahoo umbrella.

[01:00:19] [SPEAKER_02]: What is so fun for us now is that there's kind of a place for us to stretch and do what we want no matter what the setting is.

[01:00:28] [SPEAKER_02]: There are some things that don't make sense to do a whole article on.

[01:00:30] [SPEAKER_02]: There's some things that should only be a five-minute podcast conversation, you know.

[01:00:34] [SPEAKER_02]: And there's some things like the article we just described and some of the other features, like the Ellie De La Cruz feature that I wrote earlier this year, like that's months of work and editing and like careful storytelling and interviewing and all those things.

[01:00:48] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm glad I get to do that.

[01:00:50] [SPEAKER_02]: But that's also a lot.

[01:00:53] [SPEAKER_02]: And I also like to be able to just like dip in and just have a quick conversation just about, you know, for example, for tomorrow's podcast, I really want to talk about Adrian Del Castillo, who's this rookie catcher that came up for the D-backs and is replacing an injured Gabriel Moreno.

[01:01:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Like that's probably not its own full story, but like we have space to do that on the podcast.

[01:01:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And that is why I'm so grateful because what we really take pride in is covering everything that you guys know that.

[01:01:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And you know that, of course, there are teams I follow more closely like the Mariners.

[01:01:23] [SPEAKER_02]: But the reason why I think Jake and I are good at what we do is just because we can do everything and want to do everything.

[01:01:29] [SPEAKER_02]: And that I do think sets us apart because while there are a lot of podcasts like your own, which does a great job covering one team.

[01:01:38] [SPEAKER_02]: We want to be a place for all fans to feel like they are being heard and feel like they are being acknowledged and feel like that we know because we do care about all these teams.

[01:01:49] [SPEAKER_02]: And so we care about all these teams.

[01:01:50] [SPEAKER_02]: We care about all kinds of baseball, whether it's college baseball, whether it's a literally World Series, which my brother is currently texting me about right now.

[01:01:57] [SPEAKER_02]: There's some wild game that Mexico is playing in.

[01:02:00] [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm excited to watch those highlights after whether it's backyard baseball, of course, which that's probably its own podcast.

[01:02:06] [SPEAKER_02]: We'll be talking about that this week and maybe have some more fun stuff cooking with that.

[01:02:11] [SPEAKER_02]: So much version of the sport.

[01:02:12] [SPEAKER_02]: That's why we never get bored.

[01:02:13] [SPEAKER_02]: That's why we continue to stay motivated and stay inspired is just don't stick with one team.

[01:02:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Because I say this in jest, but you guys, if I had to stick on one team, and I'd say I'd tell this to the Mariners beat writers, too.

[01:02:26] [SPEAKER_02]: I just was hanging out with Adam June and Daniel Kramer the other night.

[01:02:29] [SPEAKER_02]: I tell them all the time, I couldn't do your job.

[01:02:31] [SPEAKER_02]: I couldn't only watch one team every day, whether it was the team I liked or not.

[01:02:35] [SPEAKER_02]: That would be exhausting.

[01:02:36] [SPEAKER_02]: That would be like, oh, my gosh, you get so tied in.

[01:02:38] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's fandom.

[01:02:39] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's a beautiful thing.

[01:02:40] [SPEAKER_02]: And I don't want you guys to change that.

[01:02:42] [SPEAKER_02]: But I'm glad I get to bounce around as much as I do.

[01:02:46] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm glad you mentioned Little League.

[01:02:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Do you have the Mariners Little League date circled next year already?

[01:02:51] [SPEAKER_04]: You guys, I assume you guys, like, almost have to be there now.

[01:02:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[01:02:54] [SPEAKER_02]: So glad you mentioned that.

[01:02:55] [SPEAKER_02]: That was huge, incredible news.

[01:02:58] [SPEAKER_02]: I hadn't even, like, ever thought that they would be in that game because it's just been so geographically centered on the East Coast and Pittsburgh and now Detroit, whatever.

[01:03:08] [SPEAKER_02]: But yeah, Mariners, Mets, like, so we went to the first two Little League classics in 2017 and 2018.

[01:03:14] [SPEAKER_02]: Haven't been back since then.

[01:03:16] [SPEAKER_02]: But now I only live like a four-hour drive from there.

[01:03:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And you think I'm not going to go watch?

[01:03:22] [SPEAKER_02]: Not just Julio, like, duh, right?

[01:03:25] [SPEAKER_02]: But, like, Randy in that setting is going to be immaculate.

[01:03:30] [SPEAKER_02]: That is going to be just a truly tremendous, tremendous thing.

[01:03:34] [SPEAKER_02]: So, yeah, I am going to do my summer next year is a lot more open than this one, hopefully.

[01:03:40] [SPEAKER_02]: And I am going to make it a priority to be there for that game.

[01:03:45] [SPEAKER_01]: With you guys now at Yahoo, one, like, how is it different than some of the other stops you've made along the way?

[01:03:51] [SPEAKER_01]: And also just what have you guys enjoyed about it so far?

[01:03:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Because it seems like, at least from afar, you guys have such, like, wide canvas to do a variety of things.

[01:04:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Totally.

[01:04:02] [SPEAKER_02]: It's kind of what I said before about just the synergy between everything that we're doing.

[01:04:06] [SPEAKER_02]: Our previous employers were very patient, understanding that we were doing a podcast with Sirius or The Ringer and doing our writing at Fox.

[01:04:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And, like, we found a way to balance that.

[01:04:15] [SPEAKER_02]: But it's nice knowing that our editors and our producers know everything that we're working on together and that we have the full support of the Yahoo team.

[01:04:24] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's a lot of people behind the scenes that make our show possible, whether it's our producer Andrew Hartz, whether it's the video editors, whether it's people above that.

[01:04:32] [SPEAKER_02]: The fact that our show is on YouTube now I think is really cool.

[01:04:35] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm really happy to have that available in video form because I do think that, like, a lot of the dynamic between Jake and I is best received being able to see us.

[01:04:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think you guys both are a good example, too, of chemistry that plays well on video.

[01:04:56] [SPEAKER_02]: And so that's something that I think has been fun for us to be able to present more than just in, you know, 30-second clips.

[01:05:04] [SPEAKER_02]: So in that sense, I definitely am glad that we have that.

[01:05:07] [SPEAKER_02]: And then, as you mentioned, like, just the opportunity to be in the BBWA and cover baseball and go into clubhouses and find those stories is just a really cool opportunity.

[01:05:17] [SPEAKER_02]: And I don't take that lightly.

[01:05:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And being able to do that and then get back on here three times a week and just talk about baseball with my friend is pretty good setup.

[01:05:27] [SPEAKER_02]: And we don't take it lightly.

[01:05:28] [SPEAKER_02]: So we try to work hard and make the most of the chances that we obviously still have here.

[01:05:34] [SPEAKER_04]: One of those things you got to do is go to the MLB Draft Combine.

[01:05:38] [SPEAKER_04]: You got to sit down with one of the newest Mariners, Durangelo Sanja.

[01:05:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Like, we've talked about him a bunch as a baseball player, but you guys got to ask him a little bit about himself.

[01:05:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Tell us about him.

[01:05:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Why should we be so excited?

[01:05:51] [SPEAKER_02]: Totally.

[01:05:52] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, no.

[01:05:52] [SPEAKER_02]: Durangelo was – so we talked to, I think, this is the first time we've covered the Draft Combine.

[01:05:56] [SPEAKER_02]: I've become, like, way too involved in the draft.

[01:06:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Too involved.

[01:06:01] [SPEAKER_02]: What I mean by that is it served me well.

[01:06:04] [SPEAKER_02]: I love it.

[01:06:04] [SPEAKER_02]: I spend so much time doing it.

[01:06:06] [SPEAKER_02]: But it's like, you know, I'm already working on 2025 right now.

[01:06:09] [SPEAKER_02]: And I shouldn't be doing that.

[01:06:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, that is a waste of my time right now.

[01:06:15] [SPEAKER_02]: And yet I can't help it because I just care about amateur baseball and I love getting ready for that next wave.

[01:06:20] [SPEAKER_02]: But again, like, the reason why I love to do it is because just building that history as early as possible.

[01:06:26] [SPEAKER_02]: And in the case of Durangelo, like, I remember when he popped up at the end of his junior year of high school and it was like,

[01:06:32] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm sorry, this kid's throwing both pants 90 miles an hour?

[01:06:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, what's going on here?

[01:06:36] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, this does not seem to be, like, just, like, a total fluky thing.

[01:06:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, this seems legit.

[01:06:42] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, the Brewers drafted him out of high school and there was clearly interest.

[01:06:45] [SPEAKER_02]: But I was so glad that he got to go prove it in the SEC and talking to him about that.

[01:06:51] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, he's definitely a quiet kid, but very confident.

[01:06:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Someone that has obviously spent time around big leaguers, not just through, you know, what he's already since, you know, his, I believe he's represented by Amber Sabathia with Roc Nation.

[01:07:10] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's, he's, you know, has that connection with CC and some of their former big leaguers in kind of that space.

[01:07:14] [SPEAKER_02]: But also from back home in Curacao, I mean, he's tight with Ozzy Albies.

[01:07:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, that is a real relationship that, you know, he's been able to lean on.

[01:07:24] [SPEAKER_02]: And, like, growing up, this is just, you know, obviously a place that has such rich baseball culture.

[01:07:29] [SPEAKER_02]: And for him to kind of take a unique path to that through college, right?

[01:07:35] [SPEAKER_02]: We've seen some of these guys sign as amateurs or as high schoolers, whatever.

[01:07:39] [SPEAKER_02]: For him to kind of take that college path and make his name in the SEC is really, really, really cool.

[01:07:44] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think that he started to really realize how good he could be.

[01:07:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Certainly right-handed.

[01:07:48] [SPEAKER_02]: And we'll see how much the left-handed stuff sticks around entering pro ball.

[01:07:51] [SPEAKER_02]: But there are a lot of people, you know, talking to people around the game.

[01:07:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, by the end of the year, he was right up there in conversation for, you know, one of the best pitchers in the draft.

[01:08:02] [SPEAKER_02]: And so I think that's what's so exciting about them getting him.

[01:08:05] [SPEAKER_02]: I think, obviously, combining that with getting Ryan Sloan, you know, an argument for the best high school pitcher in the draft is a hell of a scoop.

[01:08:12] [SPEAKER_02]: And I mean, I can talk about what they did in the draft this year is absolutely fascinating.

[01:08:15] [SPEAKER_02]: I know it doesn't feel that important.

[01:08:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Although, can I will say one thing about the draft, though?

[01:08:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, go ahead.

[01:08:21] [SPEAKER_02]: Again, we're running out of time here in terms of the season.

[01:08:24] [SPEAKER_02]: But, I mean, they drafted a lot of really fast-moving relievers.

[01:08:31] [SPEAKER_02]: And I kind of noticed it during the draft.

[01:08:34] [SPEAKER_02]: But it didn't feel like an accident.

[01:08:37] [SPEAKER_02]: A lot of these guys are older and, you know, you save some money with their bonuses.

[01:08:40] [SPEAKER_02]: But, man, I mean, at this point, it seems unlikely we're going to see any of them in September just because they have, you know,

[01:08:48] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know how many of them have even pitched yet professionally.

[01:08:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And some of them guys have workload concerns.

[01:08:52] [SPEAKER_02]: But, like, I don't know.

[01:08:54] [SPEAKER_02]: It did not seem like an accident that they took a lot of guys that I have to imagine with the right tweaks are going to be up very, very, very quickly.

[01:09:01] [SPEAKER_02]: And if that's part of maybe not for this year, but part of their kind of bullpen building strategy going into next season, you can maybe disagree with that.

[01:09:09] [SPEAKER_02]: But also, I generally trust this team's ability to identify and develop pitching.

[01:09:14] [SPEAKER_02]: That's something we know they're doing well.

[01:09:16] [SPEAKER_02]: So, I'm excited to see which of those guys are kind of flying up prospect list this time next year.

[01:09:20] [SPEAKER_04]: But would that not just be a situation of opportunity because they drafted Sloan and had to pay him so much money?

[01:09:27] [SPEAKER_04]: It's like, well, I guess if you twist our arm, there's still a bunch of stud relievers available.

[01:09:31] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll take them and just pay them less.

[01:09:34] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, but again, like, this is an interesting thing.

[01:09:38] [SPEAKER_02]: You look at the drafts recently and you know they've stocked up on, like, younger position players.

[01:09:42] [SPEAKER_02]: But, I mean, they drafted, what, one position player?

[01:09:46] [SPEAKER_02]: And I guess four total?

[01:09:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Five total, maybe?

[01:09:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, that's also already interesting in the way of trying to kind of restock with pitching.

[01:09:55] [SPEAKER_02]: And I know that they've sort of thinned out in the upper levels in terms of the pitching.

[01:09:58] [SPEAKER_02]: They still have Hancock.

[01:09:59] [SPEAKER_02]: But, like, I don't know, man.

[01:10:01] [SPEAKER_02]: And I know they traded Brody Hopkins.

[01:10:02] [SPEAKER_02]: But guys like Brandon Garcia, like, if Michael Morales is actually taking a step forward, like, there is going to be more coming.

[01:10:09] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's the thing that we know to be true.

[01:10:11] [SPEAKER_02]: But I will say bigger picture as we talk about the Mariners' offense and just, like, the direction of this team.

[01:10:17] [SPEAKER_02]: I think this next wave of hitters is just going to be fascinating to watch.

[01:10:20] [SPEAKER_02]: And I don't know how many of them are going to be there next year or not.

[01:10:23] [SPEAKER_02]: But I am curious how much stock they're really putting in those guys actually being the offensive foundation of the next good team.

[01:10:30] [SPEAKER_02]: Or, ultimately, whether the regime that drafted them is going to be around to see them, you know, in the big leagues.

[01:10:36] [SPEAKER_01]: Logan Evans is one of our guys, too.

[01:10:37] [SPEAKER_01]: So I'll throw him into that bucket of another guy who could be up next year or whatever.

[01:10:41] [SPEAKER_01]: I got one more Durangelo Stange question for you.

[01:10:44] [SPEAKER_01]: When you obviously talk to him about the switch pitching thing, even if the left-handed pitching thing doesn't really pan out long term,

[01:10:50] [SPEAKER_01]: in general, how fascinating was it when you guys got to actually sit and talk to him and pick his brain about,

[01:10:56] [SPEAKER_01]: oh, this isn't something I just mess around with playing catch when I'm out there and say, yeah, I can throw with both hands.

[01:11:01] [SPEAKER_01]: I can run it up a little bit doing long toss with my left hand.

[01:11:04] [SPEAKER_01]: It's like, no, not only can I actually pitch from both sides and qualify as a switch pitcher, but I'm committed to this.

[01:11:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, and it's one of those things that he had just been doing it from such a young age that he was like, yeah, why can't I?

[01:11:19] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, and it's such a great reminder of when you're talking about talent of this caliber, first round kind of guys.

[01:11:29] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, they're just different.

[01:11:32] [SPEAKER_02]: It's just some of the ways that they talk about things feeling normal.

[01:11:38] [SPEAKER_02]: He's just been doing it for long enough to where it's not that he doesn't understand the novelty,

[01:11:43] [SPEAKER_02]: but it is just a matter of like, yeah, this is something I'm able to do.

[01:11:48] [SPEAKER_02]: It's something I care about.

[01:11:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And, you know, we see it with levels of, I mean, it's cool too.

[01:11:55] [SPEAKER_02]: When we talk about it, there's a similar kind of tone in the conversation talking about two-way players.

[01:12:00] [SPEAKER_02]: You know, we'll have that to some degree with Caglione, with the Royals, you know, announcing was a two-way player.

[01:12:06] [SPEAKER_02]: We've seen some other examples of that recently.

[01:12:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Oftentimes they end up just doing one way or the other, and it's possible that Durangel is the same way.

[01:12:12] [SPEAKER_02]: But in the same thing with those, like, you don't, you don't really want to stop them until,

[01:12:17] [SPEAKER_02]: until it's absolutely necessary because talent like that just doesn't come around very often.

[01:12:21] [SPEAKER_04]: Now that you have the resources, Jordan, I'm curious for you and Jake,

[01:12:25] [SPEAKER_04]: what is left on the bucket list of things you guys want to cover baseball-wise?

[01:12:31] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, that's a great question.

[01:12:32] [SPEAKER_02]: And we've kind of talked before about how much we've already gotten to do.

[01:12:39] [SPEAKER_02]: I would say the fairly obvious one is the WBC.

[01:12:43] [SPEAKER_02]: I have not done that yet.

[01:12:46] [SPEAKER_02]: And then by extension, I mean, we did a whole episode about baseball at the Olympics in 2028.

[01:12:53] [SPEAKER_02]: I have no idea what that's going to look like.

[01:12:55] [SPEAKER_02]: But in the world where MLB, you know, moves mountains to allow its best players to play in it,

[01:13:02] [SPEAKER_02]: I would like to be there.

[01:13:03] [SPEAKER_02]: And as someone who doesn't particularly like Los Angeles,

[01:13:09] [SPEAKER_02]: particularly, I imagine it would be especially chaotic and exhausting during the Olympics.

[01:13:14] [SPEAKER_02]: However, I would like to be there for that if that is happening.

[01:13:17] [SPEAKER_02]: So that is, of course, four years from now.

[01:13:20] [SPEAKER_02]: But the WBC in 2026 is something that I think before we get to the Olympics,

[01:13:28] [SPEAKER_02]: like that is still an event I think that baseball should still invest in and still care about.

[01:13:32] [SPEAKER_02]: I think we saw how powerful it could be in 2023.

[01:13:35] [SPEAKER_02]: And I don't think we should forget about that.

[01:13:37] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think that we should be, as much as it's right to be ambitious and dream about what the Olympics could be,

[01:13:43] [SPEAKER_02]: WBC is pretty cool and got a lot of momentum last time.

[01:13:46] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think we'll get a lot of momentum still as it comes back around the next time.

[01:13:51] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's something that stands out.

[01:13:53] [SPEAKER_02]: And then, I mean, other just international baseball, I would say, you know, I've never been to Asia.

[01:13:58] [SPEAKER_02]: I've spent a little bit of time in the Dominican Republic, which is really cool.

[01:14:02] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'd love to go back there and cover more winter ball.

[01:14:05] [SPEAKER_02]: But definitely, definitely Korea and Japan.

[01:14:07] [SPEAKER_02]: That's just something that just, you know, means a lot to a lot of people.

[01:14:12] [SPEAKER_02]: And it's such an important part of our modern baseball experience is players from Asia.

[01:14:18] [SPEAKER_02]: And so that seems like something that I should probably make happen at some point.

[01:14:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Okay, last thing for me, Jordan.

[01:14:24] [SPEAKER_04]: And this is another sort of international baseball question because Major League Baseball has played some international games.

[01:14:30] [SPEAKER_04]: Where's the next place they should go play?

[01:14:32] [SPEAKER_02]: It's a great question.

[01:14:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Reminder, I also want to be at that NASCAR game next year.

[01:14:38] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if that's going to be fun.

[01:14:39] [SPEAKER_02]: That would be fun.

[01:14:39] [SPEAKER_02]: How many people do you think they're going to get?

[01:14:41] [SPEAKER_02]: As many as, I mean, they're going for the record.

[01:14:44] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, that's the whole point, right?

[01:14:45] [SPEAKER_02]: We're trying to pack in 130,000 or whatever to watch Ellie versus hopefully Acuna or whoever's healthy on the Braves at that point.

[01:14:58] [SPEAKER_02]: Man, I don't know.

[01:15:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Like on one hand, do you pick another European staple and go there?

[01:15:08] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know.

[01:15:11] [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm trying to think of like where else just like scene-wise, setting-wise that certainly deserves, and deserves is maybe not the right word.

[01:15:19] [SPEAKER_02]: But it's hard to say.

[01:15:21] [SPEAKER_02]: Is there like a super obvious one that jumps for you guys?

[01:15:25] [SPEAKER_01]: Can I throw one out there?

[01:15:27] [SPEAKER_01]: And I'll give a little bit of a shout out to our friend Ryan Roland Smith.

[01:15:30] [SPEAKER_01]: Maybe Australia?

[01:15:32] [SPEAKER_01]: So they have had it before.

[01:15:34] [SPEAKER_02]: It has been quite a while.

[01:15:36] [SPEAKER_02]: So I don't think they've had it since, have they not had it since the Dodgers and D-backs were there?

[01:15:40] [SPEAKER_02]: That was like long.

[01:15:42] [SPEAKER_02]: No, that was, oh, did they do it again in 2018?

[01:15:45] [SPEAKER_02]: I remember the Dodgers and D-backs was the first one.

[01:15:47] [SPEAKER_02]: It was 14 then?

[01:15:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Dodgers and D-backs, yeah.

[01:15:49] [SPEAKER_02]: I think Dodgers and D-backs was like, because that was like Puig's like first year, I want to say, or one of his first years.

[01:15:55] [SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[01:15:56] [SPEAKER_01]: And even back then, I would say international baseball and these games that were played in other locations weren't in the spotlight as much as they are now.

[01:16:02] [SPEAKER_01]: Where now, especially with baseball in Australia growing so much, not just with kids growing up playing more, but now that there's stars coming out of that country, like Travis Bazana, just as one example.

[01:16:11] [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like that would be a pretty cool place to have one.

[01:16:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, no, I agree.

[01:16:15] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm just trying to think of other like actual venues, like specifically like the actual stadium that would be particularly special.

[01:16:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, I guess like, you know, Spain has some pretty cool soccer stadiums that would certainly be pretty iconic.

[01:16:30] [SPEAKER_02]: But again, the baseball culture there, it's like you're not feeling that.

[01:16:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Go play in a cricket stadium.

[01:16:35] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, well, cricket, like right, you go to India, right?

[01:16:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Like that would be really bold for a lot of reasons, but and hard to imagine at some point in the next 10 years.

[01:16:45] [SPEAKER_02]: But I'm also just intrigued by the other creative places they come up with putting games in the way I mentioned the NASCAR one.

[01:16:51] [SPEAKER_02]: So, man, that's going to be within like a few weeks of each other, the Mariners and Williamsport and the NASCAR game.

[01:16:59] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's going to be if I could pull off both of those, that's going to be that's going to be tough.

[01:17:04] [SPEAKER_02]: But I certainly am going to try.

[01:17:07] [SPEAKER_01]: Well, you've got another busy summer.

[01:17:09] [SPEAKER_01]: Sounds like basically on lockdown for next year.

[01:17:11] [SPEAKER_01]: That's for sure.

[01:17:12] [SPEAKER_01]: Yes.

[01:17:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[01:17:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, this is hey, can't complain.

[01:17:16] [SPEAKER_02]: This is how I like it.

[01:17:18] [SPEAKER_02]: This is this is a good as a fun time of year.

[01:17:20] [SPEAKER_02]: It's kind of taking that deep breath before we hit the stretch run.

[01:17:24] [SPEAKER_02]: And and we'll see if the Mariners will be a part of said stretch.

[01:17:28] [SPEAKER_02]: We will.

[01:17:29] [SPEAKER_02]: We will see.

[01:17:30] [SPEAKER_01]: No doubt.

[01:17:31] [SPEAKER_01]: Jordan, this has been a blast.

[01:17:32] [SPEAKER_01]: As always, we love talking ball with you.

[01:17:34] [SPEAKER_01]: Thanks so much for hopping on with us and doing this.

[01:17:36] [SPEAKER_01]: And obviously, we love having you on.

[01:17:38] [SPEAKER_01]: So you're welcome back on anytime.

[01:17:39] [SPEAKER_02]: You guys are crushing it.

[01:17:41] [SPEAKER_02]: I know it's been it's been cool to see what you guys have built with this group.

[01:17:45] [SPEAKER_02]: It's not it's not that with this pod.

[01:17:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Like it's not that simple to break through.

[01:17:49] [SPEAKER_02]: And I know you guys have have managed to do that, which is which makes me happy because

[01:17:52] [SPEAKER_02]: I've known you both for a little bit.

[01:17:54] [SPEAKER_02]: So thank you guys for the support because it means a lot.

[01:17:56] [SPEAKER_02]: And I know that we are fortunate to do what we do.

[01:17:59] [SPEAKER_02]: So if you like if you were not too annoyed listening to me, check out baseball barbacast three

[01:18:04] [SPEAKER_02]: times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

[01:18:06] [SPEAKER_02]: All of our writing.

[01:18:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Jake and I is over at Yahoo and we'll have all kinds of stuff coming, of course, for

[01:18:10] [SPEAKER_02]: the postseason.

[01:18:11] [SPEAKER_02]: And also, yeah, back air baseball.

[01:18:14] [SPEAKER_02]: That is another podcast that we can do in the future.

[01:18:16] [SPEAKER_02]: But for now, let's go watch Bryce Miller.

[01:18:22] [SPEAKER_01]: We love talking to Jordan.

[01:18:23] [SPEAKER_01]: Hopefully you guys enjoyed that conversation.

[01:18:25] [SPEAKER_01]: You guys, I'm sure, know plenty about the Sessman's family barbecue guys.

[01:18:28] [SPEAKER_01]: You heard Jordan plug all their stuff at the end.

[01:18:30] [SPEAKER_01]: And if you're new to it and you haven't come across them yet, go check out all of their

[01:18:34] [SPEAKER_01]: work at Yahoo, at Sessman's family barbecue, or they're on Twitter.

[01:18:38] [SPEAKER_01]: They're so much fun.

[01:18:40] [SPEAKER_01]: They they are such huge baseball fans and find the perfect ways to integrate fun and knowledge

[01:18:47] [SPEAKER_01]: and everything in between that you could want to understanding and to understanding why

[01:18:52] [SPEAKER_01]: baseball is so much fun to be a fan of and to be invested in.

[01:18:55] [SPEAKER_01]: So to talk some Mariners with Jordan, to talk some baseball with Jordan, it's always a blast.

[01:18:59] [SPEAKER_01]: We hope you guys enjoyed it.

[01:19:00] [SPEAKER_01]: With that, I think that'll just about wrap up this edition of the Marine Layer podcast.

[01:19:04] [SPEAKER_01]: You guys know the drill.

[01:19:05] [SPEAKER_01]: You want to listen to the full form podcast.

[01:19:07] [SPEAKER_01]: You can do so wherever you get your audio pods, download the episodes, leave a five star

[01:19:11] [SPEAKER_01]: review, leave a written review.

[01:19:12] [SPEAKER_01]: You're doing us a huge favor.

[01:19:13] [SPEAKER_01]: If you do, if you're watching on YouTube, make sure to like comment, subscribe and follow

[01:19:17] [SPEAKER_01]: us on social media or on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube shorts at Marine Layer

[01:19:21] [SPEAKER_01]: pod.

[01:19:22] [SPEAKER_01]: That's TJ.

[01:19:23] [SPEAKER_01]: I'm Lyle.

[01:19:24] [SPEAKER_01]: As always, we thank you guys for tuning in.

[01:19:25] [SPEAKER_01]: We'll talk to you soon.

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