Lyle and TJ walk through five reasons the Mariners will succeed and won't succeed in 2026.
Julio Rodriguez (3:46)
Team Chemistry (8:58)
Rotation Health (12:14)
Less HR = Less Effective (18:56)
Brendan Donovan (24:47)
Thin Bullpen (28:53)
Young Guys (35:21)
Rotation Depth (41:26)
Mariners Being All-In (46:48)
Dan Wilson's Pitching Strategy (49:07)
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00:00 --> 00:04 [SPEAKER_01]: Hey Marine Lair podcast listeners, we're on the lookout for 2026 season sponsors.
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00:10 --> 00:13 [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to episode number 377 of the Marine Lair podcasts.
00:13 --> 00:19 [SPEAKER_01]: Today, Laune will go over our five reasons while the Mariners will and won't succeed in 2026.
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01:00 --> 01:01 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's get it rolling.
01:15 --> 01:42 [SPEAKER_01]: And we welcome you to this episode of the Marine Lair podcast part of the just baseball podcast network recording here on Sunday evening March 15th This is before the U.S. and the Dominican Republic face off in Miami were really excited to watch that game, but however If you were tuning into this podcast and you're hoping for a reaction to it, well the game hasn't happened yet unfortunately But while that means you can give a prediction The are DR yeah
01:42 --> 01:43 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm with the vibes.
01:44 --> 01:54 [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's just going to be more fun and the US just continues to stick their foot in their mouth to the press every chance they get.
01:55 --> 01:56 [SPEAKER_00]: Mark Dorosa ahead of this game.
01:57 --> 01:58 [SPEAKER_00]: Just did it again.
01:58 --> 02:01 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it does not stop.
02:01 --> 02:05 [SPEAKER_00]: So I think the vibes of the DR and the fact of that lineup is just absolutely insane.
02:05 --> 02:08 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think they're going to win.
02:08 --> 02:09 [SPEAKER_01]: At least the US
02:10 --> 02:30 [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, they did but they did cause not going to be in there that does leave room though for cattle potentially come in off the bench later in the game And hit a go ahead home run Could do it or if they when he probably gets to catch the championship game So then because that's fitting yeah because they've been alternating catchers, but
02:30 --> 02:35 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, the only mariner in this game is Julio.
02:35 --> 02:40 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, because I don't think Gabe's gonna throw after throwing in the last game and I don't and Cal's not starting.
02:40 --> 02:42 [SPEAKER_00]: So I figured we can do it ahead of time.
02:42 --> 02:43 [SPEAKER_00]: We also want to watch the game.
02:44 --> 02:48 [SPEAKER_01]: So are we gonna get a mariner to do something in the WBC?
02:48 --> 02:52 [SPEAKER_01]: It has been All negative for the mariner's in the WBC.
02:53 --> 02:54 [SPEAKER_01]: They've gained nothing.
02:55 --> 02:56 [SPEAKER_00]: No, they haven't.
02:57 --> 02:59 [SPEAKER_00]: Miles Basterboney had a couple hits, but then you got hurt.
03:00 --> 03:01 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, man, he got hurt.
03:02 --> 03:12 [SPEAKER_01]: Our friends at Just Baseball did a social video on that, and it's like, it's pretty startling when you look at all the different teams, all the Mariners, just not really succeeding.
03:12 --> 03:25 [SPEAKER_01]: They could really use, and these next two rounds, whether it be in the semi-finals, or the finals, someone to do something, just hit a big home run, be clutch, not a step
03:25 --> 03:26 [SPEAKER_01]: hit.
03:26 --> 03:27 [SPEAKER_01]: Preferably over the fence.
03:28 --> 03:29 [SPEAKER_00]: That'd be great.
03:29 --> 03:30 [SPEAKER_00]: That'd be great.
03:31 --> 03:33 [SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, we'll have to wait and see how that game unfolds.
03:33 --> 03:34 [SPEAKER_00]: I am excited to watch.
03:34 --> 03:36 [SPEAKER_00]: I just feel like the DR is going to win.
03:37 --> 03:38 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I think so too.
03:38 --> 03:40 [SPEAKER_01]: So we'll check back in on this.
03:40 --> 03:56 [SPEAKER_01]: You guys can hold us accountable to that in the comments below what this episode comes out on Monday, but first we have five reasons each while the Mariners will and won't succeed in 2026 and I want to start off on the positive side and then we'll go to the negative side.
03:56 --> 04:00 [SPEAKER_01]: positive point number one of why the Mariners will succeed in 2026.
04:00 --> 04:04 [SPEAKER_01]: It's the most cliche one that we've done every single year.
04:05 --> 04:07 [SPEAKER_01]: What a Julio Rodriguez wins MVP this year, Lyle.
04:08 --> 04:09 [SPEAKER_01]: Then the Mariners will succeed.
04:11 --> 04:11 [SPEAKER_00]: Well of course.
04:12 --> 04:17 [SPEAKER_00]: And it's cliche, but it's the most obvious one and you have to talk about it every year because he's such an X factor.
04:18 --> 04:20 [SPEAKER_00]: If Julio Rodriguez,
04:20 --> 04:29 [SPEAKER_00]: In 2026, actually levels up to what he's already done so, so successfully in his first four years, then yes, the ceiling of this team raises tenfold.
04:30 --> 04:37 [SPEAKER_00]: If he's going to go from a five and a half to six wind player and go all the way to a nine and a half or ten wind player, that changes things a ton.
04:38 --> 04:43 [SPEAKER_00]: Because if you have Huleo doing that, then the Mariners, again, they're sealing
04:44 --> 05:08 [SPEAKER_01]: just elevates is not as high as you can imagine because cows probably going to come down a little bit in twenty six but incredibly high mean we've seen what what a nine to ten one player does for a team like the mayor's outside of cow in the first three months of the year last year were largely mediocre i mean it was mediocre it was a solid offensive group
05:08 --> 05:10 [SPEAKER_01]: The pitching was mediocre.
05:10 --> 05:11 [SPEAKER_01]: The bullpen was kind of mediocre.
05:12 --> 05:24 [SPEAKER_01]: And the offense was a lot of Cal Raleigh and then some little accents around the place, but not much otherwise, the Mariners had to go out at the deadline and get the rest of their offense last year.
05:25 --> 05:27 [SPEAKER_01]: The impact of player like that can make is enormous.
05:28 --> 05:35 [SPEAKER_01]: And the Mariners have right now, one other player besides Cal on their roster that can achieve that in a studio.
05:35 --> 05:37 [SPEAKER_01]: There's a point I talked about earlier in the offseason.
05:37 --> 05:38 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to bring it back up again.
05:38 --> 05:44 [SPEAKER_01]: Each 25 for breakouts is, I mean, it's enormous for super stars in baseball.
05:45 --> 05:51 [SPEAKER_01]: If you're playing at 25 years old and you're fully healthy, if you're a super star, you're going to break out and you're going to do something great.
05:51 --> 05:53 [SPEAKER_01]: That's why I want to see this for who later this year.
05:54 --> 05:54 [SPEAKER_01]: Think about this.
05:55 --> 06:00 [SPEAKER_01]: So Ronald Acunio, when he was 25 years old, had a 171 WRC plus and he won the NL MVP.
06:00 --> 06:02 [SPEAKER_01]: That was in 2023.
06:02 --> 06:12 [SPEAKER_01]: Juan Soto when he was 25 years old at an eight-win season and his best overall offensive season in a full year with a 181 WRC+.
06:13 --> 06:23 [SPEAKER_01]: Aaron Judge when he was 25 years old, a bit of a different circumstance since he was a rookie at this point, but he had 52 home runs and was runner up in MVP.
06:24 --> 06:35 [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, Vladie had a 168 WRC plus is a 25 year old Jose Ramirez had a 7 win season hit nearly 40 homers as a 25 year old
06:36 --> 06:44 [SPEAKER_01]: There are examples all over the league of what an age 25 season can do for a guy of Julio's talent level.
06:44 --> 06:45 [SPEAKER_01]: I just want to see him do it.
06:46 --> 06:48 [SPEAKER_01]: All these other guys did it in their age 25 season.
06:48 --> 06:50 [SPEAKER_01]: And I think he's his talent that is all of them.
06:50 --> 06:55 [SPEAKER_00]: And we know, and you know what we're going to say in terms of how that can happen and how he achieves that.
06:55 --> 06:59 [SPEAKER_00]: We say it's a cliche topic to talk about Julio's ex-factor every year.
06:59 --> 07:01 [SPEAKER_00]: It is, but it's also necessary.
07:01 --> 07:06 [SPEAKER_00]: It's also necessary before the season starts every year to talk about his first half.
07:06 --> 07:07 [SPEAKER_00]: That's the key.
07:08 --> 07:10 [SPEAKER_00]: The story writes itself in terms of Julio's career.
07:10 --> 07:16 [SPEAKER_00]: So far in the first half, versus the second half, his career OPS in the first half through four years is 737.
07:16 --> 07:19 [SPEAKER_00]: His career OPS in the second half is 902.
07:20 --> 07:21 [SPEAKER_00]: It's drastic.
07:21 --> 07:22 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not even close.
07:22 --> 07:29 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you're zero and even closer on March and April, his career OPS in those months is just over 650.
07:29 --> 07:32 [SPEAKER_00]: That's not even hovering nearly average.
07:33 --> 07:35 [SPEAKER_00]: That is just a bad first month.
07:35 --> 07:43 [SPEAKER_00]: If he can just find a way to be average, slightly above average in month one, and set the tone rather than have to dig himself out of a hole.
07:44 --> 07:45 [SPEAKER_00]: would just do wonders form.
07:45 --> 07:49 [SPEAKER_00]: If he can just start hot one time, that will be the year he truly breaks out.
07:50 --> 08:02 [SPEAKER_01]: And we have no idea what six good months in a row of Hulu Rodriguez looks like because he's never done it four years in Major League baseball and you can't say for an entire season he's been good in a row.
08:02 --> 08:03 [SPEAKER_01]: Can he do that?
08:03 --> 08:08 [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like of all years, age 25 with just
08:08 --> 08:15 [SPEAKER_01]: a monstrosity of an offense of player hitting behind him and Cal Raleigh, or whichever way they order them in front of or behind him.
08:15 --> 08:16 [SPEAKER_01]: It will be one of those two.
08:17 --> 08:20 [SPEAKER_01]: This is where it sets him up to be great.
08:20 --> 08:21 [SPEAKER_01]: It really does.
08:21 --> 08:23 [SPEAKER_01]: And by the way, we say all this.
08:23 --> 08:24 [SPEAKER_01]: Like, he still hasn't done this.
08:24 --> 08:25 [SPEAKER_01]: He still hasn't done that.
08:26 --> 08:32 [SPEAKER_01]: Dude is a top 10 projected player in major league baseball both on opinion and statistical projection on fan graphs.
08:33 --> 08:34 [SPEAKER_01]: It's not just us.
08:34 --> 08:37 [SPEAKER_01]: We're waiting just think about how much better that can
08:38 --> 08:43 [SPEAKER_00]: We've already said it, but if Julio does what he did in his first four years for the rest of his career, he's going to be a Hall of Famer.
08:44 --> 08:56 [SPEAKER_00]: We've already said that, but we also know there's more in the tank, which is what's so exciting in its own right, that if he just starts the year on a high note, it could change anything and everything for this team.
08:56 --> 08:56 [SPEAKER_00]: It really could.
08:59 --> 09:04 [SPEAKER_01]: Now let's do a first reason why the Mariners won't succeed in 2026.
09:04 --> 09:05 [SPEAKER_00]: I can't believe I have to say this.
09:05 --> 09:06 [SPEAKER_00]: We're going back and forth.
09:06 --> 09:07 [SPEAKER_00]: We're like, I think back and forth.
09:08 --> 09:08 [SPEAKER_01]: I'll be better.
09:08 --> 09:08 [SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
09:08 --> 09:10 [SPEAKER_01]: I think back and forth would be better.
09:10 --> 09:12 [SPEAKER_01]: I can't believe I have to say this one.
09:13 --> 09:13 [SPEAKER_01]: Team chemistry.
09:14 --> 09:22 [SPEAKER_01]: This one was not on the list at this time last week, but team chemistry is now the first reason.
09:22 --> 09:24 [SPEAKER_01]: why the Mariners might not succeed in 2026.
09:24 --> 09:28 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm not sitting here and saying the clubhouse is going to be destroyed.
09:29 --> 09:36 [SPEAKER_01]: But if there is one thing we know in baseball history while that can derail, talented teams is if they have a toxic clubhouse.
09:37 --> 09:41 [SPEAKER_01]: We think the Mariners have moved past their drama of the WBC.
09:42 --> 09:43 [SPEAKER_01]: But we're on the outside.
09:43 --> 09:44 [SPEAKER_01]: We're not on the inside.
09:45 --> 09:51 [SPEAKER_01]: The only people who make the decisions on that whether or not they've moved past or Randy, Cal, and then the leaders like Dan Wilson.
09:51 --> 09:56 [SPEAKER_01]: So we're gonna have to see, like this is something that could really impact the Mariners season.
09:58 --> 10:03 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm still gonna choose to believe this is all gonna, all gonna just be water under the bridge.
10:03 --> 10:09 [SPEAKER_00]: You can't know, so sure it has to be on the list, but I personally,
10:10 --> 10:21 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's not the impression we got in Arizona talking to these guys and talking about they're hearing them talk about their teammates and listen to them talk about their work ethic and everything they do.
10:22 --> 10:24 [SPEAKER_01]: None of that came up, none of that even broached my mind.
10:25 --> 10:26 [SPEAKER_01]: But that's a situation we had last week.
10:27 --> 10:28 [SPEAKER_01]: Like we just have no choice but to put that on there.
10:29 --> 10:33 [SPEAKER_01]: Because what Randy essentially told us is that is now a possibility.
10:33 --> 10:36 [SPEAKER_01]: Unfortunately, because it's clear
10:36 --> 10:40 [SPEAKER_01]: not everyone is on the same page when we thought the opposite was true.
10:42 --> 10:49 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I will say this was being a one thing on this topic because I've vowed that I was going to move on from it.
10:50 --> 11:04 [SPEAKER_00]: If we get to mid May and the team didn't start hot and Randy's not hitting and you can also internally feel some type of some type of lack of chemistry inside that clubhouse.
11:05 --> 11:09 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I will say, Brennan Donovan can play left field when Colt Emerson's ready.
11:09 --> 11:21 [SPEAKER_00]: I guess there's a possibility that if Randy's not hitting and they're also losing early, they could trade them once Colt Emerson's ready to come up and Donovan plays a lot more left field.
11:22 --> 11:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Possible.
11:23 --> 11:23 [SPEAKER_00]: That could.
11:24 --> 11:24 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
11:24 --> 11:25 [SPEAKER_00]: I do get better.
11:25 --> 11:29 [SPEAKER_00]: And again, if Randy is not hitting, that's the caveat.
11:29 --> 11:33 [SPEAKER_01]: I think, yeah, I think the only reason you would do that, right?
11:34 --> 11:45 [SPEAKER_01]: He's not hitting, but he's not hitting, and he he's causing unrest in the clubhouse, which Randy's first Randy's a weird dude, like he, he is.
11:45 --> 11:47 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, you've listened to some of the media members talk about him.
11:48 --> 11:50 [SPEAKER_01]: Randy's a different kind of guy.
11:50 --> 11:55 [SPEAKER_01]: So it could be, but also some of the things with her is that Randy's just kind of doesn't really talk to anybody.
11:56 --> 11:59 [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, is he stirring that up?
11:59 --> 12:01 [SPEAKER_01]: Is he not, I guess time will tell on that one.
12:02 --> 12:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, that's why I just said it's he has to not be hitting and there's issues in the clubhouse.
12:06 --> 12:07 [SPEAKER_01]: Right, 100%.
12:08 --> 12:10 [SPEAKER_01]: So that's the first reason why they might not succeed.
12:10 --> 12:14 [SPEAKER_01]: Second reason why they might actually succeed, Lyle.
12:14 --> 12:16 [SPEAKER_01]: is rotation health.
12:16 --> 12:22 [SPEAKER_01]: Matters rotation health last year, stunk, but this year prior, the rotation health was really good.
12:22 --> 12:37 [SPEAKER_01]: If they have a almost perfectly healthy rotation this year, the worries about any sort of offense can go out the window because the talent level there is risen and the pitching staff, I could claim is back.
12:39 --> 12:47 [SPEAKER_00]: The only one is Bryce Miller, because it seems like he might miss a couple starts, although it did seem like he got back on the mound and threw a light bulb in this weekend.
12:47 --> 12:48 [SPEAKER_00]: So that was a good sign.
12:50 --> 13:03 [SPEAKER_00]: Even more than just the health of the rotation, you need the health of Logan Gilbert and Brian Wu, because as we sit, now in, let's call it year five of this era of Mariners baseball,
13:04 --> 13:05 [SPEAKER_00]: Because it's about year five, right?
13:05 --> 13:09 [SPEAKER_00]: When Julio got up, that was the real first year of this wave, right?
13:09 --> 13:13 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, sure, they won 90 games in 21, but that was with a lot of guys that aren't here anymore.
13:13 --> 13:15 [SPEAKER_00]: Marco Gonzalez, Mitch Hanager, etc.
13:15 --> 13:18 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, this era of Mariners baseball started in 2022.
13:18 --> 13:24 [SPEAKER_00]: We're in year five of it, and it's very clear at this point who sits at the top of your rotation.
13:24 --> 13:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Your tandem is Brian Wu and Logan Gilbert in some order or another.
13:28 --> 13:30 [SPEAKER_00]: George Kirby has a ceiling to be much better.
13:30 --> 13:33 [SPEAKER_00]: We know Bryce Miller in the second half of 24 was awesome.
13:34 --> 13:37 [SPEAKER_00]: but your two alphas are Logan Gilbert and Brian Lowe.
13:38 --> 13:47 [SPEAKER_00]: So you need Logan to be healthy this year and to make almost every start and to get back to finding ways to be a little bit more efficient like he was in 24.
13:47 --> 14:03 [SPEAKER_00]: And then you need Lowe to essentially, doesn't have to be carbon copy repeat what he did in 25, but he's got to stay on the field, he's got to make starts, he's got to work deep into games because if you get that and those guys are healthy and those two are pitching at the top of your rotation,
14:03 --> 14:08 [SPEAKER_00]: There as about as good of a tandem as anybody in baseball, one, two.
14:09 --> 14:13 [SPEAKER_01]: The most important thing among that group is pitching deep in the games, and the health I think goes right along with it.
14:13 --> 14:20 [SPEAKER_01]: I think a big reason last year, while why they couldn't pitch deep in the games is because they couldn't consistently stay on the field, and they couldn't get into a groove.
14:21 --> 14:27 [SPEAKER_01]: If you listen back to our interview with Logan Gilbert, he's a type of guy who constantly needs to be throwing.
14:27 --> 14:28 [SPEAKER_01]: He can't take time off.
14:28 --> 14:32 [SPEAKER_01]: He said that he took time off, always in 2024, for the All Star Break.
14:32 --> 14:39 [SPEAKER_01]: And then came back, he took like four days off, didn't move around at all, and then came back
14:39 --> 14:46 [SPEAKER_01]: He's the type of guy who just constantly needs to keep moving, and when you're injured, you stop moving, and it ruins your rhythm of the season.
14:46 --> 15:01 [SPEAKER_01]: 2024, that wasn't the case, they just went straight through the season, and I think while we saw the impact of that when it, in terms of how deep they were pitching in games, the difference you're over year from 24 to 25, in terms of just quality starts.
15:01 --> 15:06 [SPEAKER_01]: The bare minimum, a four and a half VRA, six innings and three runs from all of these guys.
15:06 --> 15:07 [SPEAKER_01]: The difference is immense.
15:08 --> 15:13 [SPEAKER_01]: Logan Gilbert went from 22 quality starts in 2024 to 9 last year.
15:13 --> 15:15 [SPEAKER_01]: George Kirby went from 20 to 12.
15:16 --> 15:20 [SPEAKER_01]: Bryce Miller went from 18 to 1 to 1.
15:21 --> 15:26 [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, these guys need to be a little bit more like the 2024 version, and it's going to start with health.
15:26 --> 15:28 [SPEAKER_01]: I think health is going to be the ultimate factor.
15:28 --> 15:30 [SPEAKER_01]: If they're healthy, they're going to be throwing hard.
15:30 --> 15:32 [SPEAKER_01]: The stuff's going to be good, and I'm confident they would succeed.
15:33 --> 15:38 [SPEAKER_00]: I will say Bryce Miller had one pretty important quality start that you did not mention there.
15:39 --> 15:43 [SPEAKER_00]: But overall for the course of the season, yeah, he did not rack up a bunch of them.
15:43 --> 15:45 [SPEAKER_00]: In those regular season numbers.
15:45 --> 15:45 [SPEAKER_00]: Right.
15:45 --> 15:50 [SPEAKER_00]: He had one very crucial one in the playoffs in Toronto, but you're right during the regular season.
15:50 --> 15:50 [SPEAKER_00]: It just wasn't there.
15:51 --> 15:54 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's funny, even with the lack of innings.
15:55 --> 16:01 [SPEAKER_00]: There was also a little bit of lack of stuff at least from guys like Logan Gilbert and not like lack of pure stuff.
16:01 --> 16:10 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not like he lost the ability to throw hard, but Logan Gilbert in 24 absolutely went nuclear with both his fastball and a slider.
16:11 --> 16:11 [SPEAKER_00]: Guys didn't hit it.
16:12 --> 16:16 [SPEAKER_00]: The run values on those pitches were 14 and 12, just the season ago, back in 24.
16:17 --> 16:20 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it was his bread and butter, and guys didn't touch it.
16:20 --> 16:32 [SPEAKER_00]: wasn't quite as efficient last year, fastball wasn't bad, but it wasn't at the same level it was the your prior, and the slider took a big drop, which probably again circles back to a lack of health and missing time with an injury.
16:34 --> 16:41 [SPEAKER_00]: Just to your point that Logan Gilbert made to us, and when you look at the results on paper, it is very, very important for him to stay healthy.
16:41 --> 16:51 [SPEAKER_00]: He is routine based, he needs to be on the mound, he needs to be throwing, he needs to be getting his consistent work in, and when he does results like 2024 pop up, it's amazing.
16:51 --> 16:56 [SPEAKER_00]: Remember how long Logan Gilbert, after opening day, last year?
16:56 --> 16:58 [SPEAKER_00]: didn't work into the sixth inning.
16:59 --> 16:59 [SPEAKER_00]: He just didn't do it.
17:00 --> 17:00 [SPEAKER_00]: July.
17:00 --> 17:14 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he went all the way from again, after opening day until, hit July 22nd that he went more than five and two thirds innings, opening day till the trade deadline.
17:14 --> 17:17 [SPEAKER_00]: Till after the All Star Break.
17:17 --> 17:17 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
17:17 --> 17:23 [SPEAKER_00]: And, and look, all credit to the Mariners, they still won the AL West with 90 wins and got all the way to the ALCS.
17:24 --> 17:33 [SPEAKER_00]: but just imagine what they could have done with Logan Gilbert work in deeper into games through most of the year and obviously part of that first happy without with an injury but it all builds up.
17:34 --> 17:47 [SPEAKER_01]: Last thing for me on this, if you as a Mariners fan think the Mariners can win the world series this year I'll tell you the only chance they have a beating the Dodgers if that's the team they're facing is if this rotation is like they are in 2024.
17:48 --> 17:52 [SPEAKER_01]: Last year's rotation was not beating the Dodgers.
17:52 --> 17:56 [SPEAKER_00]: Logan Gilbert and Brian will I want to be an aces.
17:57 --> 17:57 [SPEAKER_00]: I want to hammer that home.
17:58 --> 18:02 [SPEAKER_00]: It's it's those two at this point just George Kirby have the ability
18:02 --> 18:04 [SPEAKER_00]: to have a dominant season.
18:04 --> 18:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, like Julio, we've talked about that every year.
18:07 --> 18:20 [SPEAKER_00]: The what if George Kirby just puts it all together this year, where he's not so, so set on having every pitch be so in the zone and he's not so set on walking nobody and he starts to miss more bats and he finds that out pitch.
18:20 --> 18:25 [SPEAKER_00]: But you know what, Kirby has thrown essentially four full big league seasons at this point.
18:25 --> 18:27 [SPEAKER_00]: I hope it happens at some point in time for him.
18:28 --> 18:32 [SPEAKER_00]: But it is getting to the point where who he's shown you through four years, may just be who he is.
18:32 --> 18:33 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's a good picture.
18:34 --> 18:39 [SPEAKER_00]: But when you rank your rotation, you're looking at Brian Wu and Logan Gilbert at this point.
18:39 --> 18:42 [SPEAKER_00]: You want to get through a regular season and repeat his West Champions.
18:42 --> 18:45 [SPEAKER_00]: You want to go dominate throughout the postseason with your rotation.
18:45 --> 18:46 [SPEAKER_00]: It's going to be those two.
18:46 --> 18:47 [SPEAKER_00]: They've got to be healthy.
18:47 --> 18:48 [SPEAKER_00]: They've got to be efficient.
18:49 --> 18:50 [SPEAKER_00]: And they're going to have to lead you.
18:51 --> 18:56 [SPEAKER_01]: Before we get to our next reason, while the Mariners might not succeed, let's pause for a net.
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20:00 --> 20:07 [SPEAKER_01]: All right, reason number two, while the Mariners won't succeed in 2026, is that they're gonna hit less home runs.
20:08 --> 20:09 [SPEAKER_01]: Not what you were expecting was it.
20:11 --> 20:22 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, they are going to hit less home runs because when you subtract genome and you subtract or hey, Polanco, and you add Brendan Donovan, somebody who's a really good hitter, but does not possess the power.
20:22 --> 20:24 [SPEAKER_00]: Of course, you're going to subtract home runs.
20:24 --> 20:34 [SPEAKER_01]: But I'm more so meant that as a, I meant that as not you're not expecting that to be a reason why they won't succeed.
20:34 --> 20:48 [SPEAKER_01]: But it might be because they might be less productive offensively because of that, which is, you know, it's kind of a strange framing because the reason the mayor is just subtracting home runs is to try and be a little more consistent offensively.
20:49 --> 20:51 [SPEAKER_01]: But here's a tough reality, wow.
20:52 --> 20:55 [SPEAKER_01]: And the last four years of this core of the mayor's.
20:55 --> 20:58 [SPEAKER_01]: When they've hit more home runs, they've been more productive offensively.
20:59 --> 21:01 [SPEAKER_01]: When they've hit less home runs, they've been less productive offensively.
21:02 --> 21:02 [SPEAKER_01]: Year by year.
21:03 --> 21:06 [SPEAKER_01]: 2022, the Mariners said 197 home runs.
21:07 --> 21:09 [SPEAKER_01]: That was good for a 108 team WRC+.
21:09 --> 21:16 [SPEAKER_01]: 2023, the Mariners had 210 home runs, they had a 109 WRC+.
21:16 --> 21:21 [SPEAKER_01]: 2024, the Mariners said 185 home runs, and only had a 104 WRC+.
21:22 --> 21:31 [SPEAKER_01]: And then 2025, the Mariners hit 238 home runs with their most of any of the past four years and had a best 13 WRC+.
21:32 --> 21:36 [SPEAKER_01]: If you line those numbers up, it's exactly in order.
21:36 --> 21:42 [SPEAKER_01]: If they hit the more home runs, they've hit the higher of their WRC plus has been and the better their offense has been.
21:43 --> 21:44 [SPEAKER_01]: They're going to hit less.
21:45 --> 21:47 [SPEAKER_01]: They're probably going to hit like in that 190 range.
21:47 --> 21:50 [SPEAKER_01]: How much is that going to impact their ability to score runs?
21:53 --> 21:58 [SPEAKER_00]: Do you think they're going to be, do you think they're going to need to be more aggressive on the base pads this year as a result?
22:00 --> 22:03 [SPEAKER_01]: or hit more doubles, like they've not been a good doubles team forever.
22:04 --> 22:05 [SPEAKER_01]: And the ballpark really hurts them.
22:06 --> 22:08 [SPEAKER_00]: I was about to say, you know exactly why that is.
22:08 --> 22:11 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not homers that team-level park drives issues with.
22:11 --> 22:14 [SPEAKER_00]: It's doubles, so of course they don't hit a lot of doubles.
22:14 --> 22:16 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, thankfully, we think Brendan Donovan is going to hit a bunch of levels.
22:16 --> 22:18 [SPEAKER_01]: He had a great day on Sunday.
22:18 --> 22:22 [SPEAKER_01]: I feel like Brendan Donovan, if anyone's going to be hit doubles, the team will park.
22:22 --> 22:29 [SPEAKER_01]: It's going to be him because he's a good athlete and he puts bad on ball and he knows exactly where to hit the ball.
22:29 --> 22:32 [SPEAKER_01]: But we got to watch him do it for 162 games.
22:32 --> 22:38 [SPEAKER_01]: because if he's not doing that, that I think the Mariners might struggle a little bit to score some runs.
22:38 --> 22:46 [SPEAKER_01]: And by the way, they're also going to have home run regression, because they're losing Jorge Polanco, and CalRoll is not heading 60 home runs again.
22:47 --> 22:55 [SPEAKER_01]: That's just tough to make up, and you could look at their base as well, where you had what how many home runs did Gino hit 15 as of air in her?
22:55 --> 22:56 [SPEAKER_01]: Last year down the stretch,
22:56 --> 22:58 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't even know if it was that many here.
22:58 --> 23:03 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's say he had a 40 something he had 40 something when they traded for him.
23:03 --> 23:05 [SPEAKER_01]: I thought he hit oh you're right 13.
23:06 --> 23:18 [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, so he hit 13 home runs in two months as a mariner You're not going to get that kind of power production no matter who's playing third base as your whether it's Colt Everson or Brendan Donovan
23:18 --> 23:20 [SPEAKER_01]: So it's gonna take a hit as well.
23:20 --> 23:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, Ben Williams and hit one.
23:23 --> 23:30 [SPEAKER_01]: So if you, but I'm more looking at like the team we watched in the playoffs, not the team that was a 500 baseball team for four months.
23:32 --> 23:34 [SPEAKER_00]: I more mean, do you think the third base tandem can hit 14 homers?
23:35 --> 23:38 [SPEAKER_00]: When cold damper's and gets up this year, could he hit 15 homers from mid May and on?
23:40 --> 23:43 [SPEAKER_01]: By himself, I feel like he could.
23:43 --> 23:46 [SPEAKER_01]: I wanna say yes, I'm just not like, I can't guarantee it.
23:48 --> 23:53 [SPEAKER_01]: Sure, I know he can do it, but is he going to like, is he simply going to get enough balls up in the air?
23:55 --> 23:56 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll find out.
23:56 --> 23:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you don't know.
23:58 --> 24:01 [SPEAKER_01]: We watched him have just a that swing he put on Saturday night.
24:01 --> 24:04 [SPEAKER_01]: Oh my God incredible It was that was an amazing swing.
24:04 --> 24:16 [SPEAKER_01]: He put on a ball and hit it out to the other way to left center field But just because he's doing it in spring training does not mean he can just Crush 15 home runs on the big leagues as a 20 year old 20 21 year old.
24:16 --> 24:16 [SPEAKER_01]: It's hard.
24:17 --> 24:19 [SPEAKER_01]: It's hard to do that So Mariners are going to see less home runs.
24:19 --> 24:21 [SPEAKER_01]: Are they going to be able to make up for it?
24:21 --> 24:21 [SPEAKER_01]: It's a big question.
24:22 --> 24:23 [SPEAKER_01]: Very big
24:23 --> 24:24 [SPEAKER_00]: And this has been good.
24:24 --> 24:28 [SPEAKER_00]: Just to give people a little bit of a quick notice, we're doing this this year.
24:28 --> 24:37 [SPEAKER_00]: Instead of going through our full positional previews, because I think we realize doing it like this is a little more interesting than going through full weeks of episodes of doing.
24:37 --> 24:41 [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, we'll do the infield, and we'll do the outfield, and then we'll do relievers.
24:41 --> 24:50 [SPEAKER_00]: I think these storylines and doing what we do more in the regular season and hitting on key storylines is a better way to preview the year because we're actually going to have a few episodes leading up to the start of the year.
24:51 --> 24:52 [SPEAKER_00]: They'll cover some time too.
24:52 --> 24:53 [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to have a demo on again this week.
24:54 --> 24:56 [SPEAKER_00]: We should have Jason Churchill on again before the year starts.
24:57 --> 25:01 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll do our season predictions right before opening day.
25:01 --> 25:03 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it'll be, we've got some episodes to cover.
25:03 --> 25:03 [SPEAKER_00]: So it'll be good.
25:03 --> 25:11 [SPEAKER_01]: This is almost a way to be a little bit more specific with exactly what we are previewing, instead of doing more of a general preview on everything.
25:11 --> 25:13 [SPEAKER_01]: So it's Hembo's gonna have some opinions on the Mariners.
25:13 --> 25:18 [SPEAKER_01]: It's already told us he does, so we could see, he loves to be pre-prepared.
25:18 --> 25:20 [SPEAKER_01]: He's probably already ready for the interview, by the way.
25:20 --> 25:22 [SPEAKER_01]: And we're taping it on Tuesday.
25:22 --> 25:25 [SPEAKER_01]: And I guarantee you, he's prepped for it right now.
25:26 --> 25:29 [SPEAKER_01]: And church, like, yeah, and church, I was gonna give his thoughts to.
25:29 --> 25:29 [SPEAKER_00]: Of course.
25:30 --> 25:30 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
25:30 --> 25:32 [SPEAKER_00]: So, it's a good way to do it.
25:32 --> 25:37 [SPEAKER_00]: You'll get some previews from a few different people who we really like and really trust their opinions on.
25:37 --> 25:38 [SPEAKER_00]: So,
25:38 --> 25:39 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I'll preview it.
25:39 --> 25:48 [SPEAKER_00]: I think this year, I think for the first time since doing this podcast, we are going to do an episode right after opening day and have Friday's episode come out and basically be in talk about opening day.
25:49 --> 25:50 [SPEAKER_00]: So, should be fun.
25:50 --> 25:51 [SPEAKER_00]: Should be fun.
25:52 --> 25:56 [SPEAKER_01]: Next one is more of a positive angle of the last of the last point I made.
25:56 --> 26:01 [SPEAKER_01]: Recent number three, what the Mariners will be successful in 2026.
26:01 --> 26:12 [SPEAKER_01]: is that Brendan Donvin is legit, and he's a lead-off hitter, and the Mariners have a stalwart lead-off hitter who fills a need that they did not have last year.
26:12 --> 26:13 [SPEAKER_01]: They scored all these runs.
26:13 --> 26:18 [SPEAKER_01]: They're all this productive offensively, and the lead-off hitters kind of stunk last year.
26:18 --> 26:23 [SPEAKER_01]: Lead-off hitters for the Mariners last year, allow at a 660 OPS.
26:23 --> 26:26 [SPEAKER_01]: Brendan Donvin's career OPS 770.
26:26 --> 26:32 [SPEAKER_01]: Mariners lead off hitters last year at a 3.11 on base percentage, not good, but lowly average, or right around the average.
26:32 --> 26:34 [SPEAKER_01]: Brandonman's career on base percentage is 360.
26:35 --> 26:38 [SPEAKER_01]: Think of how many more runs you're going to score if he's on base that many more times.
26:39 --> 26:42 [SPEAKER_01]: Over the course of the season, and then you have Julio and Cal hitting behind him.
26:43 --> 26:51 [SPEAKER_00]: See, this is where you pull and push the levers of less home runs, but are you going to be more productive at the top of the lineup where some of this makes up for it?
26:51 --> 26:56 [SPEAKER_00]: Because Randy arose the rain at the top of the lineup, especially by the end, it just did not work.
26:56 --> 27:05 [SPEAKER_00]: Not in the playoffs, not in August or September, it was a really tough goal of it for him in those final three months of the year and you include the postseason.
27:05 --> 27:07 [SPEAKER_00]: We're Brendan Donovan.
27:08 --> 27:28 [SPEAKER_00]: You never know how a player is exactly gonna adjust to Seattle, but with his profile, again, he is so steady, Eddie, he is not relying on lifting the ball, he can draw his walks, he's not gonna strike out, you know he's a table setter at the top of the order, you've got to feel good about having more guys on base to lead off games, lead off innings, when you are Brendan Donovan setting the tone at the top of the order.
27:29 --> 27:31 [SPEAKER_01]: This is one of the ones I feel the most comfortable about.
27:31 --> 27:37 [SPEAKER_01]: Cause like we know what Brendan Donovan is, go look at his baseball reference page, just like the exact same season, four years in a row.
27:37 --> 27:38 [SPEAKER_00]: Pretty much.
27:38 --> 27:40 [SPEAKER_00]: And it's funny to think he's only four years in.
27:41 --> 27:51 [SPEAKER_00]: He feels like a veteran in some ways, just by his work ethic, the way he goes about things, his age on the team to compare to some others, but he's only played four years in the big leagues.
27:51 --> 27:56 [SPEAKER_00]: There's still plenty of room for him to grow and get better and improve, even though he's such a steady player already.
27:57 --> 27:59 [SPEAKER_01]: He's some pre-old rookie too.
27:59 --> 28:01 [SPEAKER_01]: That's why it probably feels like that.
28:01 --> 28:05 [SPEAKER_00]: I think you are definitely going to see the top of the order and prove production wise.
28:05 --> 28:14 [SPEAKER_00]: One of my storylines that was a little more specific and less general than the ones we've laid out here on this list was going to be that they need Randy Arozeran to keep hitting and they do.
28:14 --> 28:20 [SPEAKER_00]: He can't just fall off a cliff and to that point, Randy and August just to get specific.
28:21 --> 28:27 [SPEAKER_00]: Two-12 average, six-80 OPS, September and October in the final month of the regular season.
28:27 --> 28:31 [SPEAKER_00]: He had a five, 96 OPS, and then you guys remember what happened in the postseason.
28:31 --> 28:32 [SPEAKER_00]: It was pretty brutal.
28:34 --> 28:38 [SPEAKER_00]: You'd have to believe, Brendan Donovan, come crunch time when this season gets going.
28:39 --> 28:40 [SPEAKER_00]: It's gonna be better than that.
28:41 --> 28:42 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's when Randy was leading off.
28:43 --> 28:46 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, he led off most of the year, most of it.
28:47 --> 28:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Randy Rosarana does need to hit this year,
28:51 --> 29:06 [SPEAKER_00]: he is going to have to put together another consistent season and he's been a consistent player to buy overall numbers through most of his career but i don't know man with him being on the side of thirty that he's at and the last three months just being drilled into everybody's heads
29:07 --> 29:15 [SPEAKER_00]: you definitely need him just bounce back and continue to be the productive version of Randy that he's been for most of his career for this team to continue to really motor.
29:16 --> 29:19 [SPEAKER_00]: But moving him out of the leadoff spot should really help.
29:19 --> 29:24 [SPEAKER_00]: And moving down of an into the leadoff spot should be a match made in heaven.
29:24 --> 29:29 [SPEAKER_01]: And I think there's going to be a lot less pressure on Randy now hitting where he normally hits a lot.
29:29 --> 29:29 [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
29:29 --> 29:37 [SPEAKER_00]: So again, he still has to be productive because it is a tough pill to swallow what happened from August through October with Randy.
29:38 --> 29:44 [SPEAKER_00]: But to offset some of the concern with last homers, should be more top of the order production with Donovan.
29:44 --> 29:46 [SPEAKER_01]: But we also know Randy's pretty streaky.
29:47 --> 29:52 [SPEAKER_00]: So it happens, he's streaky, but that is a long three months.
29:53 --> 29:57 [SPEAKER_00]: And the most important three months in some very, very important contests.
29:58 --> 30:04 [SPEAKER_01]: Reason number three why the Mariners might not succeed in twenty twenty six is their bullpen.
30:04 --> 30:09 [SPEAKER_01]: The thing we circled the high letter all off season that they don't have enough leverage arms.
30:10 --> 30:16 [SPEAKER_01]: I still think on opening day when they roll into the season, they will not have enough leverage arms to cover an entire season.
30:17 --> 30:19 [SPEAKER_01]: And most importantly, cover a plow series.
30:20 --> 30:22 [SPEAKER_01]: Now, good thing you can acquire arms in season.
30:22 --> 30:24 [SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's what they're going to have to do.
30:25 --> 30:27 [SPEAKER_01]: But I mean, right now they're bullpen is probably too thin.
30:29 --> 30:34 [SPEAKER_00]: We always say pay attention to trends not results during spring training and don't get too caught up in the numbers.
30:35 --> 30:36 [SPEAKER_00]: But...
30:37 --> 30:53 [SPEAKER_00]: is a little telling, right, that you've watched a lot of these Mariners relievers come in after a starter finishes his day in Arizona, or a couple of the main stapled relievers will pitch their time, and you see a lot of guys coming in that are just ineffective.
30:54 --> 31:04 [SPEAKER_00]: It's one of the biggest reasons that the Mariners have an awful spring training record, not that that matters, but you want to know why they haven't actually won a ton of games during the cactus league season,
31:04 --> 31:06 [SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of bullpen arms that they're throwing out.
31:06 --> 31:10 [SPEAKER_00]: They're trying to get time that are not performing.
31:11 --> 31:15 [SPEAKER_00]: And it's not the end of the world for spring training, but you do have to fill eight bullpen spots.
31:15 --> 31:21 [SPEAKER_00]: And they're going to have to figure out who they really trust in those six, seven, eight roles.
31:21 --> 31:23 [SPEAKER_00]: Because they are going to be needed at points during the year.
31:24 --> 31:28 [SPEAKER_00]: You know you've got about five locked in, but the last three,
31:29 --> 31:31 [SPEAKER_00]: you're really going to have to find some level of production out of.
31:31 --> 31:42 [SPEAKER_00]: You're going to have to find three guys who you at least trust enough to either eat big league innings or win a lot of your leverage guys are down and need an off day that they can step in and at least fill a roll for a day.
31:42 --> 31:51 [SPEAKER_01]: And think about this, you and I talked about what if Troy Taylor impresses during spring training and he earns himself a spot back in the bullpen.
31:51 --> 31:53 [SPEAKER_01]: He got option to minorly camp this week.
31:53 --> 31:54 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not even close.
31:55 --> 31:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I was going to say that that's not happening at this point.
31:57 --> 32:00 [SPEAKER_01]: And that was, if that's one of your promising options.
32:01 --> 32:04 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, because that's good.
32:04 --> 32:05 [SPEAKER_00]: Here's where we're at right now.
32:06 --> 32:10 [SPEAKER_00]: The main four are going to have spots, Munoz, brash, Gabe Spire, and Jose Ferrer.
32:11 --> 32:12 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, or sorry, and Bizarro.
32:13 --> 32:13 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, Bizarro.
32:14 --> 32:15 [SPEAKER_00]: And then you know Jose Ferrer will have a spot.
32:15 --> 32:18 [SPEAKER_00]: The four main returners from last year, and then Ferrer.
32:19 --> 32:23 [SPEAKER_00]: Like we've said, Carlos Vargas is probably getting a spot.
32:24 --> 32:25 [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, full pen.
32:25 --> 32:26 [SPEAKER_00]: He will get a spot.
32:27 --> 32:31 [SPEAKER_00]: He did give up a massive grand slam last week, but he will probably get a spot anyway.
32:33 --> 32:34 [SPEAKER_01]: Who are the last two bullpen spots right now?
32:35 --> 32:40 [SPEAKER_01]: Whoever isn't taking Bryce Miller's number five rotation spot, most likely.
32:41 --> 32:44 [SPEAKER_00]: So, and we probably call that Cooper Cresswell.
32:44 --> 32:45 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm guessing Emerson Hancock will be the starter.
32:46 --> 32:48 [SPEAKER_00]: Cresswell will probably be the long reliever.
32:48 --> 32:49 [SPEAKER_00]: And then what?
32:49 --> 32:51 [SPEAKER_00]: And then, flip a coin.
32:53 --> 32:57 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, nobody's really talked about it much, but it might be that Zulu edded dude.
32:58 --> 32:59 [SPEAKER_00]: He's at decent stuff.
32:59 --> 33:00 [SPEAKER_00]: That would be fun.
33:01 --> 33:04 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, he's got decent stuff, and I think he's had decent results so far in camp.
33:05 --> 33:07 [SPEAKER_00]: Other than that, I don't know who it would possibly be.
33:07 --> 33:09 [SPEAKER_00]: Who's jumped out with?
33:09 --> 33:09 [SPEAKER_00]: Nobody.
33:10 --> 33:11 [SPEAKER_01]: They've been bad.
33:11 --> 33:38 [SPEAKER_01]: Right, it might it might just come down to who looks best in a bullpen and who who can execute pictures in a controlled environment, so they can put them in in a Meaningless situation either a blowout or you're getting blown out in a game where they can just throw strikes and sequence I guess as that I don't trust anyone in this camp to throw in any moderate amount of leverage
33:39 --> 33:59 [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's going to be Zulu at a to be honest with you what are stats in six appearances he hasn't given up a run he has struck out nine and those six innings he's only walked two and yeah it has allowed a run if you're going based off spring training results and you need the last spot going into opening day
34:00 --> 34:23 [SPEAKER_01]: feels like it's probably a see this is like a if you want to comparison for what kind of reliever ideally you're looking for in the spot like a tailor saw say to in the spot is perfectly fine like I would feel very comfortable with that but the mayor is already even getting that like there's not a single person that is buying for the spot right now that I feel comfortable could make it to the end of April still on the roster.
34:24 --> 34:32 [SPEAKER_00]: But you probably mean more like 2023 or even 2024, so I say, oh, not last year, not last year, no.
34:32 --> 34:37 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, like a solid version of Saucedo, who will, he's not gonna pitch in the highest leverage, but he's still solid.
34:39 --> 34:42 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Casey like I mean, has been okay in spring.
34:43 --> 34:49 [SPEAKER_00]: He's given up three runs in five and two thirds across six appearances, they have them in great.
34:49 --> 34:55 [SPEAKER_00]: It feels like if you're looking at trends, Yo's Verzulu, I'd be the one that gets the last spot.
34:56 --> 35:03 [SPEAKER_01]: But I mean also for this point, Lil, beyond the soft part of the bullpen, I'm looking at the leverage guys too.
35:03 --> 35:06 [SPEAKER_01]: If you're to like write it down, who are the actual leverage arms in this bullpen?
35:09 --> 35:13 [SPEAKER_00]: The four from last year, but do you call Bazar to a leverage guy still?
35:14 --> 35:14 [SPEAKER_01]: No.
35:14 --> 35:15 [SPEAKER_00]: No.
35:15 --> 35:16 [SPEAKER_00]: Probably not.
35:16 --> 35:20 [SPEAKER_00]: He was really good for a stretch, but none of his stuff really screams that he should be a leverage guy.
35:21 --> 35:25 [SPEAKER_01]: The three leverage guys are Gabe Spire, Andres Munoz and Matt Brash.
35:25 --> 35:41 [SPEAKER_01]: If you were in a five or seven game series and those three are your and those three are your leverage arms, they will get exposed because they're going to be facing the same batters against the same team three to four to five times in a series.
35:41 --> 35:41 [SPEAKER_01]: And you can't have that.
35:42 --> 35:44 [SPEAKER_01]: We saw what happened last year when that happened.
35:44 --> 35:49 [SPEAKER_00]: you got to add someone else and they tried last option or sorry last deadline.
35:50 --> 35:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Didn't work.
35:51 --> 36:06 [SPEAKER_00]: They were this close to getting Joe on to run, because they knew they needed more leverage arms, which is still why I'm a little surprised they didn't go get one more of this offseason, but maybe they figure the price for relievers will be better at the deadline with more options available than what they felt like was available this offseason.
36:07 --> 36:09 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's what I'm, that's the camp I'm in.
36:09 --> 36:18 [SPEAKER_01]: I think they're just looking at price for that, because the option would have been $50 million for Devon Williams, because that's the level of guy we think of, right, where
36:19 --> 36:25 [SPEAKER_00]: If a good reliever is on a bad team at some point at the deadline, that's really a pitch and well, maybe you can go get them.
36:26 --> 36:33 [SPEAKER_01]: Next point on why the Mariners will succeed in 2026 is the young guys explode.
36:33 --> 36:38 [SPEAKER_01]: In the young guys I'm referring to in this aspect, it's Colt Emerson and Colion.
36:39 --> 36:46 [SPEAKER_01]: What was the last rookie while for the Mariners who really, really dominated, really was just good?
36:46 --> 36:48 [SPEAKER_01]: You know the answer to that question.
36:48 --> 36:49 [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, Julio.
36:49 --> 36:51 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
36:51 --> 36:55 [SPEAKER_01]: But since they've played four seasons, we're three seasons and haven't had that.
36:56 --> 37:00 [SPEAKER_01]: What if this was the year that that reverts back to 2022?
37:00 --> 37:02 [SPEAKER_01]: I think I think it would mean a lot.
37:03 --> 37:04 [SPEAKER_01]: It would be huge.
37:05 --> 37:09 [SPEAKER_00]: Again, I don't think Cole Tamerson's going to break camp with the team, but once he gets up,
37:09 --> 37:13 [SPEAKER_00]: If they get four and a half really good months out of them, man, that would be amazing.
37:14 --> 37:16 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to put too much on him as the problem here.
37:17 --> 37:28 [SPEAKER_00]: There's some sort of balance here between wanting him to go be great as soon as he gets up and not trying to put ridiculous pressure on him to, he's not going to have to carry the team.
37:28 --> 37:34 [SPEAKER_00]: He's not in a Jared Calmix situation like Calmix was in 21 where they essentially asked him to save the whole offense.
37:34 --> 37:36 [SPEAKER_00]: Cold Ever since not in that spot.
37:36 --> 37:50 [SPEAKER_00]: But if he's going to be playing a lot, there will be some sort of leverage put on him to hit and to contribute and to add a piece of his own spice to the team's success.
37:51 --> 37:53 [SPEAKER_00]: But it's balancing out how to
37:55 --> 38:13 [SPEAKER_00]: how to really garner the right pressure and like place the right level of expectation on him because you don't want to do too much, but you also know he can explode as soon as he gets up and it works out that the last Mariners prospect to be as good as he was when he was a rookie Julio when he was also
38:13 --> 38:18 [SPEAKER_01]: Julio was rated what, number three in Pipeline when he debuted in Cold Emerson's in the top 10.
38:19 --> 38:20 [SPEAKER_01]: It just works out.
38:20 --> 38:28 [SPEAKER_01]: The storylines line up with this, that the last time the mayor has had a prospect to ring to this high, as a rookie, they were a myth.
38:28 --> 38:29 [SPEAKER_01]: Julio was amazing.
38:29 --> 38:31 [SPEAKER_01]: And now they have Cold Timerson again, and
38:31 --> 38:33 [SPEAKER_01]: and he could potentially be amazing.
38:33 --> 38:35 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, Logan Gilbert wasn't rated that high when he was a rookie.
38:36 --> 38:38 [SPEAKER_01]: George Kirby wasn't rated that high when he was a rookie.
38:38 --> 38:41 [SPEAKER_01]: Bryce Miller and Brian we weren't rated that high when there were rookies.
38:41 --> 38:44 [SPEAKER_01]: Cole Young wasn't rated that high when he was a rookie, but Cole Tamerson is.
38:45 --> 38:49 [SPEAKER_01]: But they could get the combination of Cole Young and Cole Tamerson.
38:49 --> 38:54 [SPEAKER_01]: to have that kind of impact on this Mariners offense, like the Mariners believe in them, that they can.
38:55 --> 38:58 [SPEAKER_01]: Mariners offense, I feel much more comfortable about.
38:58 --> 39:06 [SPEAKER_01]: It lengthens, it gives you more stability for the future, it adds some diversification of contact and power and on base scale.
39:07 --> 39:08 [SPEAKER_01]: I think everything would just work out very well.
39:10 --> 39:13 [SPEAKER_00]: There is one very specific thing that Cole Young asks to do this here.
39:13 --> 39:16 [SPEAKER_00]: He's gotta go hit the fastball, he just has to.
39:16 --> 39:21 [SPEAKER_00]: That was gonna be one of my storylines if we hadn't gone as general with this as we had.
39:21 --> 39:30 [SPEAKER_00]: But specifically, you want a reason for why the Mariners could be successful in 26 is if Cole Young starts hitting the fastball.
39:30 --> 39:37 [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't realize for as good of a six week stretch as he had in July and August, just how much he struggled with heaters all year.
39:37 --> 39:40 [SPEAKER_00]: The numbers almost make it
39:40 --> 39:45 [SPEAKER_00]: kind of drop your jaw a little bit, pull young hit 187 against forcing fastballs last year.
39:45 --> 39:48 [SPEAKER_00]: The run value was negative 8 and he wasn't hit with any power.
39:49 --> 39:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Now he wasn't striking out of ton because he still drew his walks, he didn't swing and miss a bunch, but he was not doing damage against heaters at all.
39:58 --> 40:02 [SPEAKER_00]: And Shannon Dreire actually did a really good piece on this, which you can...
40:02 --> 40:05 [SPEAKER_00]: go check out either at SeattleSports.com or you can go to shavings.
40:05 --> 40:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Twitter to find it.
40:06 --> 40:12 [SPEAKER_00]: And she was talking about that she talked to Samariner's coaches about this and what they basically said was
40:13 --> 40:27 [SPEAKER_00]: He was more so in the head space of not messing up and trying to just find a way to not get behind and put the ball in play rather than like go a tack and do damage against fastballs.
40:27 --> 40:42 [SPEAKER_00]: They said there's even been points in spring training this year early on where Cole Young would have a couple games where he might get a couple hits, but the Mariners coaching staff said, well, we still want you to tweak this, like you're still not committing enough
40:42 --> 40:48 [SPEAKER_00]: That's selling out for the fastball, but when the fastball comes you're ready for it and you're ready to go attack.
40:48 --> 40:56 [SPEAKER_00]: And as of the last couple weeks, when you've seen Cole Young put together some better numbers and rack up some more hits, Shannon was talking about that there's been much more of that as of late.
40:56 --> 41:06 [SPEAKER_00]: There's been a little bit of a mindset that's been tweaked even more so, where he's been out really hunting the fastball and really being ready for it and being on time for it and ready to do damage for it.
41:06 --> 41:08 [SPEAKER_00]: Because he's going to have to do that this year.
41:08 --> 41:12 [SPEAKER_00]: We know Cole Young's are good hitter and we know he's not going to strike out his tongue, which is great.
41:13 --> 41:17 [SPEAKER_00]: But you can sacrifice a tiny little bit more swing and miss.
41:17 --> 41:26 [SPEAKER_00]: If you're going to go to damage against those heaters, because if Cole Young goes and does that, then his season can elevate much, much higher than where he was as a rookie.
41:26 --> 41:33 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's much more of a manor's mindset too, a tat-like get your pitch and attack, like be confident in yourself.
41:34 --> 41:35 [SPEAKER_01]: And that comes with maturity.
41:35 --> 41:38 [SPEAKER_01]: Just remember, Coyoung was 21 years old last year.
41:38 --> 41:39 [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, he's got to grow.
41:39 --> 41:44 [SPEAKER_01]: He is plenty of room to grow and mature as a baseball player and as a human.
41:44 --> 41:44 [SPEAKER_00]: Of course.
41:45 --> 41:45 [SPEAKER_00]: It's funny.
41:45 --> 41:49 [SPEAKER_00]: He was one of the youngest players in AAA when he was there.
41:49 --> 41:53 [SPEAKER_00]: When he was into coma to start the year, he was one of the youngest players in the PCL.
41:53 --> 41:55 [SPEAKER_00]: Then he got up to the big leagues
41:56 --> 42:01 [SPEAKER_00]: I think was one of the three to five youngest players, especially when he got up.
42:01 --> 42:05 [SPEAKER_00]: He was one of the three to five youngest players and through most of the year that remained the case.
42:05 --> 42:10 [SPEAKER_00]: So yes, do I think Cole Young has a chance to be a top 10 second basement throughout his career at points?
42:10 --> 42:22 [SPEAKER_00]: For sure, can he be a two and a half, three-one player who puts up a one-fifteen, maybe one-20, WRC plus, and really provide some damage somewhere in the Mariners lineup wherever he's hitting?
42:22 --> 42:23 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I do.
42:24 --> 42:28 [SPEAKER_00]: But if you want to look at where you can improve on your two, I think it jumps off the page.
42:28 --> 42:30 [SPEAKER_00]: He's just got to hit the fastball more.
42:31 --> 42:36 [SPEAKER_01]: Reason number four, where either mariners might not succeed in 2026 rotation depth.
42:36 --> 42:37 [SPEAKER_01]: Let's lay on eye for that, go.
42:38 --> 42:39 [SPEAKER_01]: It's May.
42:39 --> 42:43 [SPEAKER_01]: Bryce Miller suffers to set back with his oblique and another mariner starter gets hurt.
42:45 --> 42:46 [SPEAKER_01]: Who's pitching in the rotation?
42:48 --> 42:51 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, that is a great question.
42:53 --> 42:57 [SPEAKER_00]: Are you looking for a definitive answer for who's actually going to step on the mound and start?
42:57 --> 42:58 [SPEAKER_00]: Give a shot.
43:00 --> 43:02 [SPEAKER_00]: Is it Jonathan Diaz?
43:03 --> 43:04 [SPEAKER_01]: Sure.
43:04 --> 43:06 [SPEAKER_01]: There's no right answer.
43:06 --> 43:07 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm just curious what you think.
43:09 --> 43:10 [SPEAKER_00]: There are not a lot of options.
43:10 --> 43:13 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe they'd have to go get somebody from outside the organization.
43:13 --> 43:19 [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, it'd probably be Dane Dunning or it would be Hancock and Chris Well.
43:20 --> 43:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you can convert Chris while back to the rotation.
43:22 --> 43:23 [SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, that's probably how it would go.
43:23 --> 43:32 [SPEAKER_00]: It'd probably be Emerson Hancock, and Chris, well, then Dunning, and then maybe it's the Jonathan Diaz as a little world after that, or maybe you go sign somebody.
43:32 --> 43:33 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
43:33 --> 43:38 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's not a whole ton of depth.
43:38 --> 43:41 [SPEAKER_00]: They have down in AAA and losing Logan Evans hurts.
43:42 --> 43:48 [SPEAKER_01]: Do you feel as confident in the mayor's chances to win if that is two-fifths of their rotation?
43:49 --> 43:52 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, no, okay, there's the point.
43:53 --> 44:05 [SPEAKER_01]: The murders don't have much strong, a majorly gritty death in their farm system, not enough to feel comfortable with.
44:05 --> 44:09 [SPEAKER_01]: So that if they suffer some injuries this year,
44:10 --> 44:12 [SPEAKER_01]: it's going to be tough, especially early in the season.
44:12 --> 44:17 [SPEAKER_01]: If it's August, perhaps you can make a case for Kate Anderson to come up.
44:18 --> 44:22 [SPEAKER_01]: But we still need to see where he's going to start his season.
44:22 --> 44:31 [SPEAKER_01]: As an officially been announced, there's been some people saying, ever, there's been some people saying, Arkansas, we're going to have to see what the Mariners ultimately decide to put him.
44:31 --> 44:33 [SPEAKER_01]: But if Kate Anderson is ready, I guess, great.
44:33 --> 44:40 [SPEAKER_01]: If he's not, then the Mariners essentially don't have prospects ready to debut and succeed in major league baseball this year.
44:41 --> 44:41 [SPEAKER_01]: It's going to be really tough.
44:42 --> 44:45 [SPEAKER_01]: And if there are, it would be a surprise that we're not aware of yet.
44:47 --> 44:52 [SPEAKER_00]: If you're going to have prospects come up and be ready, it is almost certainly going to be Kate Anderson and or Ryan Sloan.
44:53 --> 44:54 [SPEAKER_00]: Almost certainly.
44:55 --> 44:57 [SPEAKER_00]: but that's what it takes to late in the season.
44:57 --> 45:02 [SPEAKER_00]: If you want those guys to come up and pitch great, but you're gonna have to wait till about August, maybe September.
45:03 --> 45:07 [SPEAKER_01]: And at that point, is it, you'd have to team, is it worth it?
45:08 --> 45:10 [SPEAKER_01]: Or would you rather just go trade for a starter at the deadline?
45:10 --> 45:17 [SPEAKER_01]: And that's something that's a little more reliable to you than handing the keys to prospects who have never pitched in the major leagues before.
45:18 --> 45:19 [SPEAKER_01]: It can work.
45:19 --> 45:24 [SPEAKER_01]: Look what happened with the Blue Jays last year.
45:25 --> 45:31 [SPEAKER_01]: Good, good enough for them, especially in the world series, but it also could not work out.
45:31 --> 45:32 [SPEAKER_01]: It could blow up in your face.
45:32 --> 45:40 [SPEAKER_01]: The Mariners forced essentially, because of injuries, Bryce Miller and Brian Woo and to the rotation in 2023 were in their injuries.
45:41 --> 45:43 [SPEAKER_01]: And they had their fair share of rookie struggles.
45:43 --> 45:52 [SPEAKER_01]: If the Mariners had made the playoffs that year in 23-Lio, would you have trusted Brian Woo or Bryce Miller to start a playoff game or pitch-meaning full-innings?
45:52 --> 45:55 [SPEAKER_00]: You would have to.
45:56 --> 46:00 [SPEAKER_00]: would have been a little dicey, both of them were running on fumes by the end of the year.
46:00 --> 46:05 [SPEAKER_01]: That's just kind of the kind of scenario we're doing with and those were top 100 prospects.
46:06 --> 46:13 [SPEAKER_01]: The Mariners right now, I don't feel confident that a top 100 prospect will pitch for the Mariners this year.
46:14 --> 46:14 [SPEAKER_01]: stuff.
46:15 --> 46:18 [SPEAKER_01]: Mikey Morales, maybe he's supposed to be healthy and back.
46:18 --> 46:22 [SPEAKER_01]: We'll see how he looks in AA when he gets ramped back up this year.
46:23 --> 46:24 [SPEAKER_01]: But that's just something we want to see.
46:24 --> 46:26 [SPEAKER_01]: Because Logan Evans's gone out.
46:27 --> 46:30 [SPEAKER_01]: We're not even counting potential injuries to donning Chris Weller Hancock too.
46:31 --> 46:33 [SPEAKER_01]: As they throw, we're just going to have to see.
46:34 --> 46:40 [SPEAKER_01]: Like this is this was, this is the Durangelo Sanger point here.
46:40 --> 46:51 [SPEAKER_01]: He would have come up and he would have, we would have felt okay about him pitching major legannings because the stuff was that good, but he's not here, but he may not have been ready by May.
46:51 --> 46:55 [SPEAKER_00]: He might have been more along the K to Anderson timeline too, might have been after the All Star Break.
46:55 --> 46:57 [SPEAKER_01]: I thought he was going to be targeted like mid season.
46:59 --> 47:04 [SPEAKER_01]: That's about the all year, a full year of Arkansas for him would have essentially been mid season.
47:04 --> 47:06 [SPEAKER_00]: But that's still about the All Star Break.
47:07 --> 47:12 [SPEAKER_01]: But even with that, Katie Anderson is a maybe, I'm pretty sure Jérangel O'Sanja would have been ready by that.
47:12 --> 47:16 [SPEAKER_01]: Like Katie Anderson still has not thrown a official pro pitch.
47:17 --> 47:19 [SPEAKER_01]: Jérangel O's thrown an entire season.
47:20 --> 47:20 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's true.
47:21 --> 47:23 [SPEAKER_00]: I think Katie's also a little ahead of where Jérangel O was.
47:25 --> 47:30 [SPEAKER_01]: But then you, but you also factor in Jérangel O has a year of pro ball on this belt.
47:30 --> 47:37 [SPEAKER_00]: So, and again, you have to make the trade because you needed Brendan Donovan, but yes, you need your rotation to stay healthy.
47:37 --> 47:43 [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't have to be like 2024, because that doesn't happen, where everybody just makes every start.
47:43 --> 47:52 [SPEAKER_00]: It's very rare, but you also need it to be more durable than 2025, where every single guy, not name Luis Castillo got hurt at some point.
47:53 --> 47:54 [SPEAKER_01]: We got to last two here.
47:55 --> 48:06 [SPEAKER_01]: Now the final reason why the Mariners will succeed in 2026 is that the Mariners continue with the same mindset they had at the trade deadline of last year and they're all into wind no matter what.
48:07 --> 48:14 [SPEAKER_01]: There is no saving prospects if they're gonna help you in, there is no
48:14 --> 48:17 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, there's no saving prospects at the deadline.
48:17 --> 48:18 [SPEAKER_01]: They don't want to trade.
48:18 --> 48:20 [SPEAKER_01]: There's no hesitancy.
48:20 --> 48:26 [SPEAKER_01]: There needs to be like an organizational mindset from top to bottom that winning is the number one priority.
48:26 --> 48:28 [SPEAKER_01]: In the final two months of the year last year, that was the case.
48:29 --> 48:34 [SPEAKER_01]: And ever since, that trade deadline, they've done nothing but positive things.
48:34 --> 48:35 [SPEAKER_01]: And I want that to continue.
48:37 --> 48:43 [SPEAKER_00]: they have to stay all in, because these deadlines are essentially how they've used a part of their offseason plan to acquire talent.
48:44 --> 48:45 [SPEAKER_00]: They do a lot of it at the deadline these days.
48:46 --> 48:48 [SPEAKER_00]: Tell they got nailer, so they got genome.
48:48 --> 48:54 [SPEAKER_00]: Now those guys were rentals, but you've seen them use the deadline to really, really be aggressive and go get talent.
48:54 --> 48:55 [SPEAKER_00]: More than a lot of teams do.
48:56 --> 48:57 [SPEAKER_00]: And by the way,
48:58 --> 49:02 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm very, very glad we have not had to hammer this storyline home this off season.
49:02 --> 49:11 [SPEAKER_00]: What I'm about to say, because they've added the right pieces, because it's a very good team, because they should absolutely be competing for an American league pennant.
49:12 --> 49:14 [SPEAKER_00]: We have not had to talk about what I'm about to say here.
49:15 --> 49:21 [SPEAKER_00]: But the Mariners sits 17th in the league in payroll, as a team that's expected to have a chance to win the world series, which is fine.
49:22 --> 49:27 [SPEAKER_00]: It's fine because they went and added the right pieces and payroll was not a story
49:28 --> 49:31 [SPEAKER_00]: that being said, you better go out at it the deadline.
49:31 --> 49:38 [SPEAKER_00]: If there's pieces on this roster that are very, very clearly needing of an upgrade, you gotta go do it.
49:38 --> 49:40 [SPEAKER_00]: If you need a power bat, you gotta go get it.
49:40 --> 49:42 [SPEAKER_00]: You need bullpen arms in leverage spots, you gotta go get them.
49:43 --> 49:49 [SPEAKER_00]: And you've clearly got the money to do it because there's 16 teams in the league spending more money than you.
49:49 --> 49:52 [SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, you gotta keep the all-in attitude.
49:52 --> 49:58 [SPEAKER_01]: And then maybe, maybe just maybe you extend one of your starting pitchers, because that's all in.
49:59 --> 50:00 [SPEAKER_01]: It's investing in your best players.
50:01 --> 50:05 [SPEAKER_01]: Instead of hoping that Kate Anderson Orion Sloan will be Logan Gilbert.
50:05 --> 50:07 [SPEAKER_01]: You can just pay Logan Gilbert instead.
50:07 --> 50:08 [SPEAKER_01]: It's an option.
50:09 --> 50:11 [SPEAKER_00]: I really hope they get that done, Logan.
50:12 --> 50:16 [SPEAKER_01]: And then the last point, the final reason why the Mariners might not succeed in 2026.
50:17 --> 50:19 [SPEAKER_01]: You made it this long, Lyle.
50:19 --> 50:24 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to say, Dan Wilson's pitching deployment strategy.
50:27 --> 50:28 [SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, we should give ourselves a pat on the back.
50:29 --> 50:31 [SPEAKER_00]: That's like almost 50 hole minutes we went.
50:32 --> 50:32 [SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty good.
50:33 --> 50:43 [SPEAKER_01]: Because the situations that it will cost the Mariners, it will be the fewest occurrences out of everything that we listed here, right?
50:43 --> 50:51 [SPEAKER_01]: Because ultimately, when we think back on the management decisions that cost the Mariners last year, it was two.
50:52 --> 50:53 [SPEAKER_01]: two times.
50:53 --> 50:59 [SPEAKER_01]: I think all of these other points will happen more than two times throughout the season or will occur more than two times.
51:00 --> 51:10 [SPEAKER_01]: I think what we're mostly talking about is the biggest moments in the season, will the Mariners make the right decision from a pitching deployment perspective.
51:10 --> 51:16 [SPEAKER_01]: It could be an option like number one like Harry Carpenter where it seemed like
51:16 --> 51:29 [SPEAKER_01]: the somewhere in the organization, there was the process of putting Gabe Spire in the game, except the decision actually didn't get made, and Carrie Carbender takes George Kirby deep, or it's the situation in game 7 of the ALCS.
51:30 --> 51:34 [SPEAKER_01]: We're Andre Spunios was nowhere to be found in that game.
51:35 --> 51:38 [SPEAKER_01]: So it's one of those, it's whichever one of those it occurs,
51:39 --> 52:03 [SPEAKER_01]: the like the the the the binoculars are gonna be on the decision-making with a roster this good that the right decisions need to be made way to hold up the carry carbony decision was scrutinized yeah low oh oh I must have missed that sorry yeah because you blacked out screaming too low
52:06 --> 52:06 [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, my bad.
52:07 --> 52:08 [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I must have slipped my mind.
52:08 --> 52:11 [SPEAKER_00]: I totally don't think about that anymore, ever.
52:11 --> 52:12 [SPEAKER_00]: No, I'm kidding.
52:12 --> 52:19 [SPEAKER_00]: If you episodes ago, more than that, I think I said I still get up every morning and it's on my mind, every day.
52:20 --> 52:20 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not even kidding.
52:20 --> 52:23 [SPEAKER_00]: That, that decision sticks to my mind every single day.
52:23 --> 52:25 [SPEAKER_00]: Despite them winning that series, anyway.
52:26 --> 52:27 [SPEAKER_00]: It also wasn't just two times.
52:28 --> 52:31 [SPEAKER_00]: We talked about going into the playoffs this past season.
52:32 --> 52:34 [SPEAKER_00]: That Dan Wilson decision making could lose them games.
52:35 --> 52:38 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, effectively it may have lost in their season.
52:38 --> 52:41 [SPEAKER_00]: We said going into the postseason that this could be a problem.
52:42 --> 52:49 [SPEAKER_00]: Not because of two decisions that happened to be made at some point in time, because we saw it happen a lot during the regular season.
52:49 --> 52:51 [SPEAKER_00]: And this is a regular season thing, too.
52:52 --> 52:57 [SPEAKER_01]: But is Dan Wilson making a wrong pitching decision in May going to cost the Mariners their season?
52:58 --> 53:00 [SPEAKER_01]: Probably not, but doesn't help.
53:01 --> 53:02 [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, that's kind of the point.
53:02 --> 53:04 [SPEAKER_01]: But him making one in October will.
53:06 --> 53:12 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, you've got to set the precedent by getting the reps during the regular season to figure your process.
53:14 --> 53:34 [SPEAKER_00]: When you've got JJ Bloday at the plate in May, who has reverse splits, and you decide to put on base and intentionally walk to try to get Jacob Wilson, who never strikes out, and then he singles to win it,
53:35 --> 53:36 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, that's a problem.
53:36 --> 53:37 [SPEAKER_00]: You remember that game?
53:37 --> 53:38 [SPEAKER_00]: In Oakland?
53:38 --> 53:39 [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yeah.
53:39 --> 53:40 [SPEAKER_01]: Sacramento.
53:40 --> 53:40 [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
53:40 --> 53:41 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I remember.
53:41 --> 53:42 [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, sorry, Sacramento.
53:43 --> 53:44 [SPEAKER_00]: Because that was the matchup, right?
53:44 --> 53:45 [SPEAKER_00]: You needed, yeah.
53:45 --> 53:49 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, Blue Day reverse splits was a bizarre to win the game.
53:50 --> 53:53 [SPEAKER_01]: It was somebody it was a righty and there's a righty in the game.
53:54 --> 53:59 [SPEAKER_01]: The A's just needed to make essentially contact when it because they had the bases loaded and less than two outs or nobody out.
53:59 --> 54:17 [SPEAKER_01]: Whatever it was all the A's had to do was put the ball and play in a probably win because the Mariners drew the infield in and They intentionally walk blood a to put Jacob Wilson who only does is put the ball and play at the plate and he proceeds to walk it off and goldie in the boots like I have no idea which has happened
54:17 --> 54:21 [SPEAKER_00]: At that time, Jacob Wilson was striking out 4% of the time, I think was the number.
54:22 --> 54:26 [SPEAKER_00]: He didn't strike out much for the year as a whole, he really was not striking out early in the year.
54:26 --> 54:34 [SPEAKER_00]: Where Bloday did, and that was the right matchup, because he actually hits Rites' worst than he hit lefties, but they put him on base to let Jacob Wilson hit and that ended the game.
54:35 --> 54:36 [SPEAKER_00]: That right there is what I mean.
54:36 --> 54:39 [SPEAKER_00]: If you have a process down in the regular season,
54:40 --> 55:08 [SPEAKER_01]: you will feel better about your process in the postseason or too many times last year it felt like there was no decisions like sound decision making process it was just well let's see if this works and this isn't just a damn thing this point is about the entire organization because they put together a game plan to go out next to you so this is game plan needs to be sound and decisions when they're
55:09 --> 55:12 [SPEAKER_01]: I, yeah, it's not Dan alone who makes the decisions.
55:12 --> 55:19 [SPEAKER_01]: He ultimately is the one who's in the dugout, tapping his arm, but not all these, not all of this is just Dan.
55:19 --> 55:34 [SPEAKER_00]: He takes the big share of it, but it's not just him, because ultimately he is the one that has to make the decision, other people have roles, but he makes the decision, so ultimately it's, it is him, other people have to help, but it is him.
55:35 --> 55:43 [SPEAKER_01]: So, this is the big one, these are the ones, this one final point right here is the one that can swing the season the most.
55:44 --> 55:44 [SPEAKER_00]: Right.
55:45 --> 55:48 [SPEAKER_00]: And not as much during the regular season to your point, but come October.
55:49 --> 55:56 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, again, why did you see me losing my mind after they lost game one to the Tigers with that whole carry carpenters situation?
55:56 --> 55:58 [SPEAKER_00]: Because I literally thought that lost them their season.
55:58 --> 56:00 [SPEAKER_00]: They were going to face Derek Scooble the next day.
56:00 --> 56:04 [SPEAKER_00]: And if they were to go down to, oh, go into the Troy, like put a fork in it.
56:04 --> 56:05 [SPEAKER_00]: Now luckily, they beat them.
56:06 --> 56:08 [SPEAKER_00]: but I wasn't confident in it at the time.
56:09 --> 56:11 [SPEAKER_00]: I did not like the odds of having to beat the best in the world.
56:11 --> 56:16 [SPEAKER_00]: So, yes, that drastically swings your season when you're not ready for that stuff.
56:17 --> 56:21 [SPEAKER_00]: Speaking of tarry scuba as we wrap this up, did you see this man's quote today?
56:21 --> 56:22 [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, that wasn't great.
56:22 --> 56:24 [SPEAKER_00]: But again, here's my problem.
56:25 --> 56:26 [SPEAKER_00]: This is all Scott Boris.
56:26 --> 56:34 [SPEAKER_00]: I almost don't put any of this on school because Boris is so far in his head at this point that it's almost like,
56:34 --> 56:49 [SPEAKER_00]: He's puppeteering school to say everything he says and walk everywhere walks and do everything he does I just don't even know how much I put this on him so as long as I'm gonna get off this podcast We're gonna go watch USA versus the DR and I bring this up because
56:49 --> 56:56 [SPEAKER_01]: There is a pair of quotes lined up from a picture from the DR and a picture from Team USA on how much they're thinking about this tournament.
56:56 --> 57:02 [SPEAKER_01]: The first one is the quote from Sandial Contra from Team DR saying, I'll be available to start and relieve you name it.
57:02 --> 57:04 [SPEAKER_01]: We're here to represent the Dominican Republic.
57:04 --> 57:04 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm here.
57:04 --> 57:05 [SPEAKER_01]: I'll pitch whenever.
57:06 --> 57:14 [SPEAKER_01]: And then Terri Scoobal being asked about pitching for Team USA and said, if I stayed with the National Team I would miss the season opener, I felt like I was pushing myself too hard.
57:15 --> 57:16 [SPEAKER_01]: For what?
57:18 --> 57:20 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, like you threw 50 pitches against Great Britain.
57:22 --> 57:24 [SPEAKER_01]: Push to yourself too hard, like don't you want to win?
57:24 --> 57:26 [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, well, let me answer that question.
57:27 --> 57:28 [SPEAKER_01]: No, no.
57:30 --> 57:35 [SPEAKER_00]: Again, everything I've heard about Terriq Scoobles actually he's supposed to be a really really good dude.
57:36 --> 57:36 [SPEAKER_00]: Sure is.
57:36 --> 57:40 [SPEAKER_00]: From from from multiple different outlets of people.
57:41 --> 57:45 [SPEAKER_00]: I just feel like this is so Scott Boris, all in his ear.
57:46 --> 57:51 [SPEAKER_00]: And I feel bad for him in a lot of ways, because he probably feels the pressure of school to know he's got to do everything right.
57:51 --> 57:52 [SPEAKER_00]: This year he's got to stay healthy.
57:53 --> 57:54 [SPEAKER_00]: This year he's got to perform this year.
57:54 --> 57:57 [SPEAKER_00]: And he's got a chance to get maybe the biggest picture contract ever.
57:58 --> 58:02 [SPEAKER_00]: But when you've got a drill sergeant of an agent,
58:02 --> 58:04 [SPEAKER_00]: who meddles in everything.
58:05 --> 58:06 [SPEAKER_00]: He probably makes it very difficult.
58:07 --> 58:12 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what those conversations are like behind closed doors, but I don't imagine they're always friendly either.
58:12 --> 58:16 [SPEAKER_01]: Ah, yeah.
58:16 --> 58:18 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, it does not make terror click very good in the public.
58:18 --> 58:19 [SPEAKER_01]: I'll tell you that.
58:20 --> 58:22 [SPEAKER_01]: No, I mean, it's not great.
58:22 --> 58:27 [SPEAKER_01]: The best picture on the team's saying he's more worried about opening day than he is about the WVC.
58:27 --> 58:30 [SPEAKER_01]: Well, on Tiger's fans might appreciate that.
58:30 --> 58:36 [SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure they do, but like, again, the point of it is taking the tournament seriously.
58:37 --> 58:40 [SPEAKER_01]: The players don't take it seriously, neither will the fans.
58:40 --> 58:40 [SPEAKER_01]: Right.
58:41 --> 58:41 [SPEAKER_01]: Now it's true.
58:43 --> 58:44 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe one day I'll just move it to mid-season.
58:45 --> 58:45 [SPEAKER_00]: It'll be great.
58:46 --> 58:47 [SPEAKER_01]: And solve all the problems.
58:47 --> 58:48 [SPEAKER_01]: And then there will be no excuses.
58:49 --> 58:50 [SPEAKER_00]: Exactly.
58:51 --> 58:53 [SPEAKER_00]: All right, well, that was a lot of storylines we tried to hit.
58:53 --> 58:54 [SPEAKER_00]: All in one episode.
58:54 --> 59:06 [SPEAKER_00]: But if you guys have other storylines that are standing out to you and you think are going to be big x-factors this year, drop them in the comments, tell us what we missed, tell us what's really on your mind, tell us what stands out to you, seriously.
59:06 --> 59:15 [SPEAKER_00]: We tried to hit a bunch of them, but I'm sure there's some on your guys' mind that we didn't talk about, and you strongly believe will be an impact on the year.
59:15 --> 59:17 [SPEAKER_00]: So tell us, leave them in the comments, seriously.
59:17 --> 59:21 [SPEAKER_00]: All right, I think that just about wraps up this edition of the Marine Lair podcast.
59:21 --> 59:22 [SPEAKER_00]: You guys know the drill.
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59:57 --> 59:58 [SPEAKER_00]: That's TJ.
59:58 --> 59:58 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Lyle.
59:59 --> 01:00:00 [SPEAKER_00]: As always, we thank you guys for tuning in.
01:00:01 --> 01:00:02 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll talk to you soon.