Episode 430: Were The Mariners Just Overhyped To Start The Season? (Mailbag)

00:00:00 Speaker 1: What's up, guys. Just a reminder that of coming on July the twenty eighth, we have our next Mariner's Trivia Night and live event with all you guys. We cannot wait for it. It's over at the Emerald Queen Casino. It'll be at six pm Tuesday, July twenty eighth. We're gonna be doing Marinor's Trivia. We're gonna have a bunch of prizes to give away courtesy at EQC, and then we'll be hanging out watching Mariner's Dodgers with all you, which we cannot wait to do so again. Put it on your calendar Tuesday, July twenty eighth, six pm, Emerald Queen Casino, Mariner's Trivia Night, watching the game afterwards. Can't wait to see you there. 00:00:32 Speaker 2: Welcome to episode number four thirty of the Marine Layer Podcast. It's a mailbag episode, so we'll open it up and answer your guys's best listener questions. 00:00:40 Speaker 1: Reminder of you, guys, if you're listening to these episodes, make sure to go download, make sure to go rate and review five stars. It helps a ton if you do. If you're watching on YouTube, just go hit subscribe. It really helps the channel. Go to our website marine layerpot dot com. You can find our episodes all there, podcast merches all there, Patreon's all there at marine layerpod dot com, and find us on social media. We're everywhere posting content every day at Marine Layer Pod. 00:01:07 Speaker 2: Let's get it. 00:01:08 Speaker 3: Rolling, and we welcome you to this episode. 00:01:23 Speaker 2: Of the Marine Layer Podcast, part of the Just Baseball podcast network, recording your early morning on Wednesday, July fifteenth, All Star Week has wrapped. If you're watching on YouTube, you can probably tell that we're done with All Star Week because Alana look like a couple of zombies after the four days have concluded. 00:01:42 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, we're still sitting here in the hotel. We're recording a couple of days early. You can also probably tell both of our voices are shot, especially mine waking. 00:01:51 Speaker 2: Up for a flight in four hours and eight minutes. 00:01:55 Speaker 1: Yeah, as we're sitting here starting this recording, it is twelve fifty two East Coast time. TJ has to get up at five am for a seven thirty am flight. I'm staying back because I have a wedding to go to in a couple of days that's in Indiana. And yeah, so here's what I always say about All Star Week. I always say it is my favorite week of the year. It's pretty high up there, one of my favorite weeks of the year. It's a blast. You do a ton, you see a ton of people, but a couple things stay true every year. It's like clockwork. Voices are usually shot, you're tired as all hell, and you're probably feeling kind of gross in terms of being sweaty because it's always in the middle of the summer in a location where it's incredibly hot. So I would say every single one of those things is checked off for us right now. 00:02:44 Speaker 2: If people ever want to wonder how much Low and I actually do like watching Mariners baseball. The fact that we're sitting here as the team is playing as terribly as they possibly could going into the All Star break, and we're talking about the team at nearly one am on a Wednesday. 00:03:00 Speaker 1: There you go, after our busiest week of the year. I mean, we're completely sicks. 00:03:05 Speaker 2: Yeah, we're psychopaths are sitting here and talking about, of all teams at this early morning hour, the Seattle Mariners. But you know, here we are. This week was great though. Got to see a lot of people, got to talk to a lot of people. We got to go on the red carpet for the first time. Actually sorry, not on the red carpet. We were next to the red carpet as media. That was pretty fun to get to interview players. We essentially got to take the role of like most fans for all of you that go to the park, Offen that like hound for autographs and they're you know, they're up behind the dugout and they have to shout at all the players just to get their attention for the slim chance of an autograph. Like That's kind of how Low and I felt. It's different when you're you know, media on the field at a game, where you get to be on the dirt and they can see you eye to eye. You don't have to shout at them. But Low and I are essentially like screaming at all these like multi millionaires walking down the red carpet in front of us. 00:03:54 Speaker 1: We did shout at Livy done. She did not look our way, though unfortunately we did. I didn't shout at Livy Doune. 00:04:00 Speaker 2: Yeah he did. 00:04:01 Speaker 1: No, I don't think so, what what would you chance? What would we have asked Livy the trivia question Libby Dunn's gonna know who hit two grand slams in an Inna. 00:04:11 Speaker 2: Some of the players didn't. Yeah, So what we did is essentially we uh for our Bullpen Banner channel. We came up with a handful of trivia questions and we were gonna do like eight players a piece to see how many of them could get it right. I mean, if Livvy Dunn's walking down the red carpet, then yeah, I mean she's sorry. I mean, she does have to ask, does have to answer the question? 00:04:33 Speaker 1: Well, she doesn't have to. I guess if we had asked, maybe she would have. 00:04:38 Speaker 2: Oh well, you never know unless you try. But apparently you didn't try. I mean I was holding the camera at this moment. Lyle was the one on the rail trying to ask. 00:04:44 Speaker 1: So, I mean, if people want to peek behind the curtain, Paul Skeens does essentially nothing in terms of media, like it's it's almost to be done. I watched her do an interview across the way from us, that's true, So I mean, and she did a few things. 00:04:55 Speaker 2: So lesson learned for next year. Come up with a good question for Libby Dunn. Yeah, sure, maybe on the podcast. 00:05:02 Speaker 1: That would be something I will say, it is very odd doing what we did on the red carpet today. We had a blast. We did an absolute blast do on the red carpet. It was very fun, it was very different. It's unique. And let me clarify something that TJ said. When TJ says were like yelling at the players to try to ask him a question. That's all the media that's on the right carpet, right, That's not just us. Like any media person that's out there and wants to ask them a question and has a phone out or a video camera out and is trying to ask them something. That's how you have to get their attention when they're walking down the red carpet. It's the only thing you can do, which is totally totally, transparently, transparently out of my comfort zone. And I know this is how fans have to go get players attention to get autographs. I don't think I could really ever do that if I was a fan in the stands. I just feel like, personally a little odd, like trying to scream at a guy and get their attention. You need something from them, Like TJ said, when we're on the field, it's different because you can just ask normally some say yes, some say no, and we've talked about that, but the yelling out at them in a packed environment is totally out of my comfort zone. That being said, you do what you have to do to try to get some content. And we got through two of the questions with about we did fifteen. Yeah, so we did a set of eight and a set of seven with two different questions. 00:06:25 Speaker 2: And it was fun. Like a quarter of the All Stars I think totally got across her. 00:06:29 Speaker 1: It was fun, and we got some of the good ones like we get like some of the guys with the Bullpen Banner Channel that we've done a bunch with, kurtz Adlie Rushman, Bobby Yeah, Bobby WIT's always been good with us, So like those guys, and then if some others sprinkled in. But yeah, it's very very different the right carpet. 00:06:49 Speaker 2: I mean, honestly, when there's like five thousand people all screaming their names at once, I mean, you just got it. You gotta be louder than everyone. 00:06:55 Speaker 1: Else, right, And I will say, pretty similar to what a red carpet. It's something like that. The oscars would be like that's kind of how it is. Everybody's screaming at them, everybody's trying to get their attention. It's not that different than the I mean, the MLB red carpet has its similarities to a red carpet like the oscars. 00:07:10 Speaker 2: And all the players are I would say, most of them are doing the exact same thing as they should. And if I was them, I would do the exact same thing. You got like tunnel vision, like you're not like if you stop to like too many people then like, first of all, it was hot, we were baking. I think my brain like boiled to like a soft boiled egg while we were standing out there on the red carpet. But like you know, you you say yes, too many people, then you feel, you know, obligated to go to more. And then you could spend forty five minutes on the red carpet, which most of these guys don't really want to do, especially in a suit. Oh so so so hot. So they're they're walking at you know, a brisk pace. They'll stop here and there. A lot of the pitchers would always stop for pitching. Ninja who was right next to us, Yeah, rob our guy, great, he's got so much poll with all the guys, even the guys who never talked to Meta that much, like Chris Sale. I could hear him as he's walking by. He's like, he's like, you know, I he was. He was waving off a lot of stuff. And then he tells his wife, Oh, I got to stop for him, to stop for him, He's got to stop for pitching Ninja, and he did. 00:08:15 Speaker 1: Chris Sail's another guy that does not do a lot of interviews, but he pitching Ninja. 00:08:19 Speaker 2: That he did, right, So that I mean, if you show up and you show face in front of a lot of these guys, they will, you know, they'll recognize you and they'll they'll do content with you. So I mean, it was like it was. We ended up with a very solid batch on the first day. We did not get Randy. We did not get Randy. 00:08:33 Speaker 1: Now I think Randy had some tunnel vision too. 00:08:35 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so too, Like I think a Max Meyer the Marlins picture who the Mariners faced They faced him, Yeah, they did face him. That's what I thought. He let off the red carpet. I think he was up and down the red carpet maybe sixty seconds. It was fast bad. I was like wow, like wow, wow, Like that's someone who doesn't really want to talk. But again it's like it's hot out. These guys have a game to prepare for. Yeah, they're wearing a suit, so the walk really fast. 00:09:01 Speaker 1: They do. But we have our guys on the Bullpen Banner channel too, like Attlee. As soon as he saw us, he stopped, he dappedes Zop. He's like, you know, shoot me with the question, or like, you know, shoot the question at me. And you know he's great among among others. So if you want our All Star Week experience, I would say that was probably the most unique thing from it, the most out of body experience TJ and I probably had because it was something we don't usually do. 00:09:25 Speaker 2: But it was very fun and it was kind of last minute. I mean we didn't get approved for that until we got here. 00:09:29 Speaker 1: I mean most I think they sent out the emails pretty late for that. So in general, so yeah, once we knew prepared for it and you know, give it our best shot and we got something out of it. 00:09:40 Speaker 2: And the other best thing about this is getting to network with a bunch of other professionals, which is really nice, and get we ran into plenty of pod listeners while we were here that made the trip either from Seattle or from other places. To all of you who listen from out of state, I mean, it means so much that you do that. So thank you guys so much for all of you that we met here. So yeah, that part's pretty cool. And getting to you know, travel a little bit and meet people and it brings lots of opportunities. Yeah, that's that part's really fun. 00:10:08 Speaker 1: And I love getting to see all the baseball content people that often we only get to see once a year, Like it's our chance to see a lot of them here at All Star Week and we did, and it's always a blast. It's funny. I kind of like, I think I have a content addiction. I'm gonna be real, like, I mean, I just love it, which I guess means we're doing the right thing. But I have a like for me, it's almost never enough, Like I always want more, you know what I mean, everything we do, I'm always focused on what we don't do. 00:10:39 Speaker 2: I know. 00:10:40 Speaker 1: So it's just a bad habit of mine. For example, I'm I'm a I'm going to be a best man in my closest friend from growing up, his wedding this weekend, and it's going to be a blast, and I cannot wait for it, and I'm thrilled for them, and obviously I wouldn't miss it for the world, but there is a little part of me in the back of my head as I know Fanatic Fest is going on in New York City this weekend, which is another huge content event, and I'm like, man, there's all these people that are gonna be there and we're gonna miss it, and I can't go, and I wish I was going, even though I would not train it for the wedding. This is like the content edition, a content addiction that I have that I'm talking about. 00:11:17 Speaker 2: It's a very I was thinking of way to describe how you think about this, So that's a very accurate way to do it. 00:11:22 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Like I have an addiction to it. 00:11:24 Speaker 2: I do always think you think more about what like what's ahead instead of what we actually have to currently do like today. 00:11:31 Speaker 1: Yeah, oh no, that's for sure. Yeah, because I'm always trying to like plan out the next thing, I guess. 00:11:36 Speaker 2: Or it's like lyle it's uh, it's twelve forty five. We got to record the podcast. 00:11:40 Speaker 1: M HM and then I'm thinking about other things. But this is also make it. 00:11:44 Speaker 2: We'll make it there eventually. 00:11:45 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean next year when Tita doesn't have to get back to Seattle and I don't have something going on this weekend for sure. But yes, there's like always a million things I'm trying to plan out. This is why I got two hours of sleep at night when I was on Brock and Salt, because even when I knew I should go to bed, either I had stuff I had to get done, or I was planning out a million other things down the road, and then all of a sudden, it's like, well, I should probably go to bed, and now I'm gonna get two hours of sleep. 00:12:12 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll probably get two hours of sleep tonight. So I'm gonna live your dream. 00:12:15 Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. There's our All Star Week recap for anybody who wanted it and anybody who was interested in it. It's always a blast. And you know, now I get to get back to Mariners Baseball in the second half. 00:12:29 Speaker 2: Oh, how fun? How fun is that? 00:12:31 Speaker 1: It's weird. I didn't see Dan Wilson on the red carpet. 00:12:35 Speaker 2: He was not on the red car. 00:12:36 Speaker 1: He was no, no, wait, he wasn't there. 00:12:39 Speaker 2: Well he put Bizarre too in instead of Munos in the seventh sending of Game seven. 00:12:43 Speaker 1: Well he did that. Oh I must have got yeah. Oh yeah. The Mirrors didn't go to the World Series, didn't they. 00:12:47 Speaker 2: Yeah? 00:12:48 Speaker 1: Yeah, Munya John, he was so Dave Roberts, Yeah, oh yeah, Munyas wasn't in that game, was he? Well he was later, but not in the seventh Oh when they were losing. Oh yeah, when they were losing. 00:12:58 Speaker 2: Interesting, Well, that's good to know. This is the swathe Marine Layer pods on the ground to pick out the big stories for all of you guys. Speaking of planning out, we have plenty of mailbag questions where people are trying to plan out stuff for the Mariner second half. Let's get to those. But before that, I want to tell you guys about Emerald Queen Casino's summer lineup of shows today. When this episode comes out, War visits EQC. Jeff Dunham on July twenty fourth, Brantley Gilbert on August twenty second, Pete Davidson on August twenty eighth. Get your tickets today at Emerald Queen dot com. Emerald Queen Casino is the entertainment capital of the Northwest. And while you're there, you can take your night to the next level at Sla Hall Steakhouse. Rooftop dining at Emerald Queen Casino gives you mountain to sound views paired with premium stakes and creative cocktails. You'll just have to see it to believe it. Come by Friday and Sunday from four to ten and Saturday from four to eleven. Get your reservation today on open table or by calling two three four four one thirty one oh one. That's two five three four to four one thirty one oh one and a reminder to you will have our trivia night there on July twenty eighth, Tuesday for a game against the Dodgers at six o'clock. 00:14:07 Speaker 1: Let's compare two players. They're making similar contracts, but you have to pick one guy to be in your lineup. Player one hit three hundred. He had an eight to forty ops and a one forty one WRC plus, forty one percent better than the league average. Player two hit one eighty five. He had a five to sixty three OPS and a sixty three WRC plus. So who would you pick? The clear answers? Player A right because player A is twenty twenty five dominant canzone and player B is twenty twenty two Abraham Toro, Well, you can apply that same logic to our friends over at Davis Law Group, who offer better service with even better results. Most PI firms charge very similar fees, so why not make it simple and just hire the best. Davis Law Group is your premium option for accident firms. They have an in house investigation team, they treat every case like it's going to trial, and they have over seven hundred five star reviews on Google. Davis Law Group wants you to know your rights in the case of an accident. That's why Chris Davis, the founder of Davis Law Group, wrote a series of Washington accident books. He turned common questions into easy to understand books to help people navigate the process, and they've given away over one hundred thousand books across the state of Washington. They want you to be informed. Davis Law Group only takes on cases where they truly believe they can help, and you don't pay unless you get a result. If you've been injured and you want to better understand your options, you can request a free, no obligation case evaluation with their team. Just visit dlgcattle dot com slash baseball to learn more. That's dlgcattle dot com slash Baseball. 00:15:34 Speaker 2: Before we get into this mail bag or reminder, if you want to get in on these mail bags, Priority on our Patreon is the way to go. That's patreon dot com slash Marine Layer Pod. You get ad free episodes, mail bag priority, and the opportunity to jump on a video call monthly with Loloni. So if that sounds like something that's interesting to you, go to patreon dot com slash Marine Layer Pod. Eric starts us off on Patreon and asks, is there a clubhouse problem? Wow? 00:16:02 Speaker 1: I mean, is there a perfect way for us to answer this? I know we're at the park often enough, but I don't know if we're around the clubhouse enough to definitively know. It certainly seems like the vibes have been off this year. It certainly seems like guys aren't quite as upbeat as they've been in years past. It's certainly been seems like there's been some riffs at points this year, not just with Cal and Randy, but with Luis and Randy. About a week ago. Now, as you guys are listening to this episode with the whole incident in Tampa and the piggyback stuff, it does just feel a little off right. I can't say if I can't say if there's definitively an issue, but something does feel off. 00:16:42 Speaker 2: I think there's a difference between a problem and stuff just being off. I feel like when there's a problem, you're seeing teammates throw each other under the bus, You're seeing verbal altercations in the dugout, you're seeing more public displays. I know there was a bit of a stare down for but honestly, like a good clubhouse, that would happen anyways, because I mean, Randy didn't run after a fly ball, and then Luise gave up a home run right after. I'm not sure how many other ways you're supposed to react to that. It doesn't seem to me like there is anything that would suggest there's a clubhouse problem. But that's just from the perspective from where we are right now. It's just it's just hard to like that's a that's a question for a beat writer. If we're gonna have Ryan Devish or Adam Judah and we were to ask them like they would be the ones, so you could give an answer on that. 00:17:32 Speaker 1: But even they might not have a perfect feel for it. They're in the clubhouse talking to guys, but they're not in there every minute of every day. There's a lot of things that teams can keep under wraps and close to the vest that they don't like get out to the media, even those guys, So there's no perfect way to know. They might have the best chance of knowing for somebody that's not on the team, but it's often a hard thing to know for sure. I mean, again, there's no Gene Ciguras and DQ fighting like this on this team. That's how you know there's a real clubhouse problem. There hasn't been that, yeah, but well yet. 00:18:07 Speaker 2: That did happen later in the season. 00:18:09 Speaker 1: It's true after they were eliminated from playoff contention. 00:18:15 Speaker 2: Not saying that's going to happen. I just don't think there's anything to suggest right now there's actually a problem maybe amongst the players in the clubhouse. I think that's right, just kind of hard. We only can see, like all of you, what's on TV for the most part. 00:18:31 Speaker 1: Right. 00:18:32 Speaker 2: So, Alex has a question on Patreon. Alex's question is the Manners entered the season with some of the highest expectations they've had in years. Looking at the first half, do you think they've mostly been victims of bad luck, injuries, inconsistency, and poor sequencing. Or has the season exposed flaws and the way this team was built and got overshadowed by preseason hype. 00:18:54 Speaker 1: I mean, there was always a part of me last year that wondered how many of the team's issues covered up by a sixty home run catcher. That all being said, they got within eight out of the World Series. So there is a part of me that always has that thought in the back of my head. Merwin Jason Churchill said to us before the season he thought they needed two additional impact bats and they didn't do that. Maybe he was right, and maybe. 00:19:19 Speaker 2: The lineup looks kind of mid Maybe they. 00:19:21 Speaker 1: Did need more. Now, of course there's guys underperforming. Of course, there's injuries. Of course, there's been things that pop up that are gonna hamper any team that have happened to the Mariners this year. But yeah, I mean, now, looking at what Churchill was talking about about needing multiple impact bats, maybe he was right. Maybe you needed more just force in the lineup than you have could be. 00:19:48 Speaker 2: Or another way to look at this through the lens of last year is that the Mariners made the postseason and won their division with a three and a half week hot stretch three and a half weeks. While it defined last season, it could also mean that's not exactly who you are. It means that is an outlier performance and that in that moment got the Mariners into the postseason. But what they were the rest of the season was a team that was about five games above have five hundred, which this team is not even close to right now, so I can't even say they're at that mark. And then on top of that, the Mariners have had unlike last year, I don't even know if they had chronic underperformance in the lineup. Last year, they had chronic underperformance in the starting rotation, which I think has been made up for a little bit this year. It's a net. The bullpen is about the same give or take. So really the biggest difference is not having col Raley in that lineup, so or that version of cal or that you know that version that version of cal Raley. So that's sort of a long winded way of saying, like yeah, what are you getting at, man, I just lost my thoughts. 00:21:04 Speaker 1: See podcasting at two am. 00:21:07 Speaker 2: My great idea. Yeah, podcasting late late, late into the night. It's it's possible that the Mariners team last year is not totally reflected by their win total. That could be realistic, But what also can be true is that you look at this team on paper and you think this team should be an eighty seven win team floor right, based on the players they have in this lineup, the starting rotation and the bullpen. Like we were just begging in the in the preseason, this team could add a bat, maybe be a bat short, but they're gonna get a great performance from their starting rotation, they're gonna be healthy, which they happen for the most part, and they're gonna win a bunch of games. And that's not been the case. 00:21:49 Speaker 1: No, no, it hasn't. And you hope they can get themselves back on track. But yeah, again, I just continue to think back to last season about how much cal was able to truly cover up on his own. Now, to be fair to the Mariner's pitchers and to your point about them taking a step forward again this year, as we sit in the first half the Mariners ranked pretty high across the league in a lot of categories, which is a credit to them and what they've done. In totality is a pitching staff where the pitching staff is taking a step forward, the offense is significantly step back. A lot of that has to do with cal A part of it has to do with Julio hasn't hit his true hot streak yet, a lot of it has to do with Brendan Donovan being injured. A lot of it has to do with Josh Naylor taking a step back. So the two sides have not clicked at once. Has it happened all year? Pitching together, pitching an offense together? Has it happened all year? 00:22:45 Speaker 2: I'll also say that we had the complete story of last year's team sitting here right now. We don't have the complete story of this team right because the team last year at this point again was roughly the same record wise. I mean, we're pretty frustrated at this point last year. The only difference between this year and last year at this point is that the Mariners swept the Tigers going into the break last year, and the Mariners lost two of three right. 00:23:09 Speaker 1: Wait, swept the Tigers and then what going into the break Yeah, and the Mariners this year lost two of three to the Race. Oh they did. 00:23:17 Speaker 2: That's that's really did That's really I mean it's the same length of road trip going into the break. 00:23:22 Speaker 1: Well, I more think of a one in five road trip, not just that race series. 00:23:27 Speaker 2: But the Mariners in that road trip last year got swept by the Yankees going to Detroit where Brian wu was throwing a no hitter and blew the game. 00:23:36 Speaker 1: Remember that? Oh yeah you remember that. Yeah, vibes weren't really. 00:23:39 Speaker 2: Good out there. 00:23:40 Speaker 1: Pretty bad. 00:23:41 Speaker 2: Yeah, so, but. 00:23:42 Speaker 1: Again, the Mariners had a sixty home run catcher then they were also they were coming off an All Star week where they had Kate Anderson fall into their lap. Cal won the home run Derby. They did have a good series against the Tigers, and Trek Scoogle like, vibes were up a little bit slightly. I don't think vibes are up. From Randy rose Arenas singling in the All Star Game, fair point. 00:24:10 Speaker 2: Yeah he got a hit tonight, he did. Okay, see that's it's so close. I was paying attention to the All Star Game tonight. Don't come to me with All Star gaming now for All Star Game of analysis, it's the wrong place. So I'm happy for Andy. 00:24:23 Speaker 1: I mean, he went one for two. It was a barely boring All Star game. Michel Vargas hit a bomb. I thought the ninth inning matchup between Mason Miller and Munatakamurakami was really fun because it was power versus power and Mason Miller won. But yeah, kind of a boring All Star game. 00:24:39 Speaker 2: Maybe the All Star Game does tell the story of the Mariners, and Mariners had five All Stars last year and won this year. 00:24:45 Speaker 1: That is true. 00:24:46 Speaker 2: Mariners took over All Star Week last year, some due to luck Kate Anderson was pure luck by lottery and the Angels, Thank you Angels again, and great individual performances by some of the guys in the first half, and the Mariners just haven't had enough of that, not at all, So there just hasn't been as much to celebrate all right. Next question comes from Xander on Patreon. Xander's question is if you had your choice to replace Dan, who would you guys choose and why as an interim and why this person as an interim manager. 00:25:20 Speaker 1: So it would have to be somebody on staff, right. 00:25:23 Speaker 2: Yeah, that's usually, I mean usually how you do it unless you hire Dan Wilson, who's not on staff. 00:25:29 Speaker 1: They do an interview process for that. No, oh, that's weird, okay, and know just no, yeah, that's weird, all right? Who would I hire on staff if you had an interim manager? I mean, what's funny is I feel like Nigron would have been perfect for this, but he's gone. Now I'm trying to think who the right person for that I don't have. I can't sit here and say I would like. I don't know if Manny Act is the perfect selection. I mean, I guess you could say Pete Woodworth, but he's just more of a pitching guru I don't like. The other one would be Jake McKinley, who's the field coordinator and is a pretty smart dude. But he's also in his first year and I don't know if they decide on him or not. 00:26:18 Speaker 2: That almost never happens, like first year. He had managing experience in college, but it's like first year pro coach. Yeah, good luck. 00:26:26 Speaker 1: I mean again, we've talked to Jacob Bunch, really really smart dude, really interesting guy. I think he knows the stuff. So if I got to pick on the coaching staff, I'd say him, but the Mariners would probably just have it be Manny Active if they were going. 00:26:40 Speaker 2: To have an interim manager, because Manny's managed in two different stints in the big leagues. I don't think Manny would be great at managing the Seattle Mariners, but that would be the option. Now, yeah, kill no, because Xander says, this is specifically an intra manager. You don't have to hire the best candidate. You're just hiring someone to be in charge. 00:27:02 Speaker 1: Should we throw another candidate out there for long term? If they were going to go somewhere in the off season with this question, who are you thinking? You know who I'm thinking? 00:27:10 Speaker 2: Oh, I know who you're thinking. I'm asking you to tell people who you're thinking. 00:27:13 Speaker 1: So again, we had one conversation with this guy. It was a very good, extensive conversation. We must have sat and talked to him for like a half hour. The Mets have a bench coach by the name of Kai Korea. I would circle that name, not just for the Mariners, but in general in terms of future major league managers, because we both walked away from that and said, that's a big league manager and if it's not this second. It ain't gonna be long. He was in Cleveland under a very new Age driven organization. He was under Gabe Kapler in San Francisco. He's now under David Stearns with the Mets. He has loved in the modern baseball world. Paired with he is in his mid thirties. He is absolutely grinded and word his way up in a really short amount of time. I mean, this guy was managed like this guy was coaching what fifteen sixteen you baseball a decade ago, and then he was coaching NAIA Division III college baseball, and he just kept working his way up and up and up and up to now the fact he's the bench coach for the Mets in his mid thirties, and I think one very very short step away from being a big league manager. And if you need any of your own intel on Kai Korea, go watch any interview with the guy. I mean, sharp, witty, really really good communicator and speaker, and he is very very new Age driven. I mean I'm all in on the idea of Kai Korea in general as a big league manager. So if you were to do the part two of this question, I think TJ. Can vouch and say, oh, in this hypothetical, who would you want as your guy? Him? Kai Korea. Sure, very sharps, which I think is very important. He told us he really likes Seattle. Actually, he spent a lot of time here. He played plays college ball in Seattle. I think at either Seattle Pacific or Puget Sound. It's one or the other. Yeah, it was it was D two or D three. But he's spent a lot of time in the area, and I think he likes Seattle. 00:29:21 Speaker 2: If no relation to Carlos Korea by the way, No, but we're curious. 00:29:26 Speaker 1: If if we ever get to the point where we are talking about a open higher manager, you will hear the two of us banging the drum for this guy legitimately banging the drum. So learn that name Kai Korea. 00:29:40 Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't have anything else to that. Well pretty much said all of it. He is sharp, he's very sharp, very impressed. 00:29:48 Speaker 1: And it's and it's not just like oh he's a good talker, like oh, he like he really really gets it and knows baseball and knows the ins and out. It's like really really well And again, you should go listen to an interview with him. It's fascinating. 00:30:03 Speaker 2: Someday, someday he will be managing a Major League Baseball team, whether it be the Mariners or be a different team. I think he's going to do a really good job with that. He's definitely got a good, very good process down all right lyle before we go to this next mailbag question you want to read, Dad. 00:30:18 Speaker 1: Yeah, let's talk to you guys about our friends over at Pagatcha's Pub eighty five, because you guys, now, it's this awesome sports bar over in Kirkland, friendly neighborhood bar where there's twenty TVs in the place. So any baseball or football or any sport you desire is on you can go watch it over there. You can go have some great food and great drinks. The drinks, by the way, you guys, are three and four dollars during happy hour and happy hours two to six pm Monday through Friday, with again drinks that are three and four bucks. So there's that. There's games like pool and darts. It's a great place to hang out with your friends, so go check it out Pagotcha's Pub eighty five in Kirkland. 00:30:55 Speaker 4: Let us tell you guys about Cozy Earth. Cozy Earth's mission is to make home the best part of your life. They send us their bamboo sheet set. They're Everywhere Pant and every Day Polo for us to try, and we were really impressed. The bamboo sheet set lives up to the hype. It's Cozy Earth's mission to make the softest sheets in the world, and I think they've gotten pretty darn close. And I really like the pant and Polo as well. For what I look for in everyday clothes, I'm looking for something comfortable but a little stylish as well, and I think both of these check those boxes. Just so you know, Cozy Earth has a lifetime warranty on their clothes, a hassle free return process, and a one hundred nights sleep trial on their sheets. Summer should feel easy for everyone in the house. Cozy Earth's Bamboo sheet set, Everywhere Pant and every Day Polo are meant to keep you cool, comfortable, and actually relaxed all summer long. Head to cozyearth dot com and use our code Marine for an exclusive twenty percent off. That's code Marine maarn for an exclusive twenty percent off, And if you see a post purchase survey mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here. Starting a business is a big deal and it can be very intimidating. There's a ton of questions with not always a ton of answers. You'd be surprised how much simpler Shopify makes it packed with all the tools you need included from day one. Shopify's templates and AI tools get you a stunning site up and running fast with no coding needed. It also seamlessly integrates into an existing website, like it did with ours. Shopify checkout means more customers can actually buy, and returning ones can do so with a single click. We saw the effectiveness of this right away with the volume of merch sales as soon as we went live. If questions come up, Shopify's built in AI assistance Sidekick is ready to help you build, troubleshoot, and keep moving. Because Shopify handles the setup and check out, you have more time to focus on growing your business, which was my main concern when setting up our own merchandise. All you need is an idea, Shopify handles the rest. Start your free trial today at shopify dot com. Slash Marine Layer again that Shopify dot Com slash marine Layer. To start your free trial today shopify dot com slash marine Layer. 00:32:58 Speaker 1: Summer always changes how I go. I want clothes that are lighter and more breathable, things that are easy, but also still put together. That's why I keep coming back to Quints. They focus on high quality essentials that look and feel amazing. Think breathable linen and soft organic cotton, well made basics, but without the luxury markup. It's that rare balance where everything feels elevated but still effortless. Quin's European linen pants and shirts are the perfect warm weather upgrade to add to your rotation, starting at just thirty four dollars. Their teas are soft and easy to wear, and their lightweight cotton sweaters are perfect for cooler summer nights. Everything at Quint's is priced fifty to eighty percent less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middleman. That way, you're paying for quality, not brand markup. Quins goes way beyond clothing. Custom upholstered sofas, ceramic cookwar, and premium bedding are also additional options. It's the kind of brand that you end up recommending to everyone for everything. Personally, I'm a big fan of the men's T shirts. I like to wear a lot of T shirts during the summer, specifically well fitted T shirts that are also light for the warm weather. And that's quints offers you. They're well put together, they're stylish, and they're perfect for those summer months. Elevate your summer wardrobe. Go to quins dot com slash marine Layer for free shipping on your order and three hundred sixty five day returns now available in Canada too. That's quins dot com slash Marine Layer for free shipping and three hundred sixty five day returns. Quins dot com slash marine Layer. 00:34:26 Speaker 2: Me on Patreon asks how does the dependence on Cole Young impact his growth and long term outlook? 00:34:35 Speaker 1: How does it affect the Mariner's long term outlook. 00:34:39 Speaker 2: Or his long term outlook because he's been playing every day and he's you know, he's not getting shielded from anything he is. I mean, he's just like Colt Emerson right now, being essentially thrown to the fire to play through the ups and downs of being a young major league baseball player. 00:35:00 Speaker 1: But when you say dependence on coal Young, is that the team's dependence on coal, or is it coal's dependence on coal? 00:35:06 Speaker 2: The team's dependence on coal, the team's dependence on coal to now be in everyday second basement in Major League Baseball? 00:35:12 Speaker 1: Right, how does it impact his growth? You know, I don't think it does, because this is what the expectation was of him in year two, year one. There's obviously some growing pains, like there is for any young rookie, but I think this is how the development was supposed to go. Would I play Cole Young every single day? No, I think you should get the guy some days off, especially because he started to run out of gas at the end of last year. But I think this was always the plan for him. I don't think it. I don't think it's impacting his growth and development by playing every day. The only thing I think it would be impacting is in a positive way, because he is cementing himself as your everyday second basement. 00:35:53 Speaker 2: I think this is only a good thing because if he's gonna grow and be top five second baseman for a long time, then this kind of development is what he needs. So getting this opportunity to hit against both righty's and lefties and fine Tunis defense, which he's done a fabulous job this year. That's how you become one of the best second basement in baseball, and ultimately, for Cole that's how you become rich. So you become that's how you earn yourself a five year, seventy million dollar contract to play second base, whether it be for the Mariners or for someone else, I think is a it's a benefit to the Mariners, and I think it's a benefit to Cole Young as well. Like if if you're saying, like playing every day negatively impacts Cole like, okay, that's fine. Like who else plays second base for the Mariners right now? There's not like that many options, right, Michael Royal maybe, but like he just got to triple A. 00:36:47 Speaker 1: Call Ryan Bliss back up. I think he's actually swung it decently well in triple A. But again, he's been crushing Yeah, triple A, right, So I guess you could do that, But then that you have to create a roster spot by dropping somebody else. 00:37:00 Speaker 2: Ryan Bliss might earn his way back on the roster without benching Cole Young because he's been that good. So we'll see with that. Be so happy for Ryan just the nicest dude on planet Earth, so we'd be happy for him. But yeah, I think I think Cole Young playing every day is a positive. He's he's one of the most valuable players on the Mariners, right. That's kind of guy you want in your lineup every day. And if he's twenty two and doing it, then that's fantastic. Michael on Patreon asks if the Mariners miss the playoffs, other than Dan, what is the strategy in move We cannot run back the same roster. Clearly who gets traded in the off season or who comes up. 00:37:37 Speaker 1: I mean, I think one way or another, there's a pitcher getting traded at some point, and if you're gonna do that, you gotta get the right return for him. You just have to, especially if you're gonna trade somebody like Kirby with a lot of club control. I mean when I say a lot, either two years if it's this offseason, two and a half years, if it's at the deadline. You gotta make sure you get impacts back, because what through the Mariners continue to not have enough of bats impact bats, so you would have to get the right return. The problem is everybody needs bats in baseball. These days, especially in the American League. I don't know who's trading away quality big league offensive pieces. But what would the shakeup be if that's the question, Yeah, you would probably have to flip a starter and really get some young, controllable impact offense. 00:38:30 Speaker 2: For me, if they miss the playoffs, the starter feels like if the starter's getting traded, no matter if they make the playoffs or not. At this rate, there's just too many rumors swirling, and these these years of service time are just counting down and down and down and down. So it's gonna happen. At some point, someone's gonna get traded, whether it be at the deadline or in the offseason. If they were to miss the playoffs and then go into this offseason, what would I be targeting. I would be targeting corner infielders, in corner outfielders with high offensive upside. I would try and find pretty much anyone you could do, any any any batch of players at any of those positions that you could find. 00:39:09 Speaker 1: Well, except Naylor's locked into this contract. 00:39:11 Speaker 2: Yeah, but you have third base open, sure, Yeah, Like what kind of impact is Brendan Donovan going to make next year? I don't know, Like we still we still don't know what if Brendan Donovan is going to make an impact this year on the Mariners, and it's just kind of hard to project out next year as well, and you have to I think hedge against that. 00:39:31 Speaker 1: Well as we're sitting here recording on Tuesday. Maybe more information will come out in the next couple days, but as we're sitting here on Tuesday, he again didn't play in a rehab game in Arizona on Tuesday. I mean, the expectation was this was supposed to start soon and it hasn't yet. Yeah, I don't know what's going on there. 00:39:49 Speaker 2: So you've got to approach the offseason not expecting nothing, but you need you're expecting that you're going to get more impact from somebody else while Brendan Donovan's skills can perhaps be used elsewhere on the roster. So that's kind of what I would target in terms of a full offseason flush, Like, you can't really do that. I mean, Cold got extended, Cole's got a ton of control, Julio's got a big contract, Cal's got a big contract, Naylor's got a big contract. You're not gonna upend your starting rotation beyond probably the one pitcher you trade, and you're not gonna upend your bullpen because there's really good pieces in there. Like, what do you flip over? 00:40:26 Speaker 1: Well, could two starters get traded, because again, you'll have essentially nine of them next year next year if you trade nobody. Let's go through it again, Gilbert wu Miller, Castillo, Hancock, Kirby, Cad Sloan, Logan Evans. Could you trade both Castillo and Kirby try to get some real offense back. 00:40:44 Speaker 2: I don't know who's paying the price you would want for that, though, I just I don't. I don't see that if it's if it's trading your starters to get better, especially multiple, it's gonna be hard enough to get one equal value for one of those guys, let alone bo both of them. 00:41:01 Speaker 1: She's gonna be a weird log jam, especially with Caden Sloan, who eventually are gonna just have to pitch in the rotation. 00:41:07 Speaker 2: Which is where we're in this weird position where you know, if you don't think this current Mariner's talent set is good enough to win a World Series, I can't blame you. But then we go into this offseason, it's like Okay, what really changes. Like Randy's a free agent, JP's a free agent. You might trade a starting pitcher, but it's not a guarantee. Not a guarantee. And then it's like, all right, what else do you do? Like you dump Bluke Grayley. 00:41:30 Speaker 1: Well, that was the one other thing I was gonna say, Oddy, is that the. 00:41:33 Speaker 2: Difference between making a World Series? 00:41:35 Speaker 1: It's not. But I will say I think this roster is way too left handed heavy still, and I think Rayley and Canzone on the same roster doesn't really work. Now. I know, Canzone's hitting both sides of the plate now, which good for him because he's really hidden, but I don't think it really works. I mean too sort of. I mean, what do we call Canzone at this point? Is he's still a plat two common platoon? Okay, so you have one lefty who does hit righty's better than lefties, and then a platoon bat in Luke Rayley. It's just a weird fit together. Neither of them play good defense, neither of them, you know, neither of them have a great approach. It's kind of a similar fit, and I feel like one guy works for that where two makes it a little tough. It's not the difference between a World Series, but maybe they try to go balance that out with another right handed bat in the outfield. 00:42:31 Speaker 2: I just don't know what you would get for Luke Rayley again, Like, I'm just not seeing the that turnover without like a full roster upheaval, which they're not gonna do. There's just too much money tied in, there is too much talent on the roster for that to happen. I know, Like people get sick and tired of listening to this. Well, like the guys just need to play better. Yeah, that's it, right, Like you you need the Blue Jays season of last year where most of your offensive roster is performing at like a ninetieth percentile clip or. 00:43:06 Speaker 1: Better Rangers of twenty twenty three. 00:43:09 Speaker 2: That, like, that's just how it's gonna have to happen. And maybe that's just dumb luck. But unless that happens, guys, I'm just I don't see it. There's just not like an easy fix, which makes this situation kind of tricky if these guys can't get. 00:43:23 Speaker 1: It done this year, yeah, agreed. 00:43:25 Speaker 2: Cameron on Patreon asks how well the Mariners finished this year? A when the Division B Wild Card C miss the playoffs. 00:43:34 Speaker 1: I mean, my answer changes on this every day. I again, the Marlins series was the first time I really thought, Okay, this team has a chance to miss the playoffs. I still think that's possible. That being said, if you're asking me point blank, at the end of the day, I think the rest of the American League West is so bad that at some point they figure it out to win the division. Now, what they do in the playoffs totally different story, because they're not playing inspiring baseball, But the rest of the West is so bad. I think at some point they will find a way to claim the division one way or another. 00:44:18 Speaker 2: I also think they're gonna win the division this year. They could win the division with eighty five to eighty six wins, and yeah, there you go. It's not it's not saying they're going to be a great team. It's not saying they're even as good as they were last year. But they will I think still win the division because this division still just stinks. The best opposition in your division is a team that is as mid as you could possibly think, in the Texas Rangers. It kind of tells you the story. Yeah, Robert on Patreon asks or says Randy needs to go. What are your guys' thoughts? 00:44:56 Speaker 1: I mean, I think he's on another team that if that's what you mean, Like, I think this is his last season in Seattle, so at some point he Well, I'd be surprised if the Mariners traded him at the deadline. 00:45:12 Speaker 2: It just wouldn't make any sense to trade your best player off your roster. Yeah, and that's frustrating for a lot of people who don't like watching Randy play, and certainly this last week, I really didn't like watching Randy play. Randy really drives us both up the wall with the way he plays. But the facts are the facts that he's been your most valuable player this year and that the team would be worse without him, right, So what are you gonna do? Your hands are tied behind your back at this point. I can't see them trading Randy. I also would not trade Randy at the deadline. You wouldn't get anything back for him either. Like he's good, he's good, but trading him with two months of control left of the deadline doesn't really get you that much. 00:45:52 Speaker 1: For a guy that you know is gonna leave in free agency. And has problems on defense, and yeah, you wouldn't get much of a return. You know what I'd rather do just keep Randy the rest of the year, get the most out of him for the rest of this season, and then get the compick when he walks. 00:46:09 Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm the same way. I think the same way. Yeah, I think they just sit pat with Randy and yeah, as frustrating as again this sounds, just let Randy do what Randy does, because that's how it usually goes. 00:46:22 Speaker 1: The Mariners will extend the qualifying offer, he will almost immediately decline, especially as a Scott Boris client. He will go to another team, and the Mariners will get the compick. Yeah. 00:46:32 Speaker 2: Final question of this mailbag comes from Nick on Patreon. Nick's question is, let's assume the Mariners continue on this path sub five hundred ball and let's assume both of these scenarios will come true. Which is worse or better in this case depends on your perspective. Lele. Number one, Dan is let go before the fifty Greatest Players ceremony and there is this awkward in memorial moment when his name is called. Or two Dan remains manager and when his name is called during the ceremony of booze basically ruins the ceremony. 00:47:05 Speaker 1: Dude, are we getting to that point where he may get booed? I mean the thing though with that is they announce his name every game, like for the starting lineups, and it doesn't really happen. 00:47:22 Speaker 2: But in this scenario, he'd be running out on the field. 00:47:26 Speaker 1: Yeah. But when opposing players are in town and their name gets announced in the lineup that others don't like, AKA the core of those Astros players like Altwove still always gets booed when the lineups announced. Kray gets booed, Bregman gets booed. Doesn't really happen with Dan, But I don't know Fair. 00:47:47 Speaker 2: They haven't returned home from this trip yet, James. 00:47:50 Speaker 1: That's true. I remember in twenty twenty five, Yeah, last year, after that horrendous offseason, with everything else that's been piled up in the Mariner's ownership group over the years, I mean we had real talks about it. Stanton getting booed at this ceremony for who's allowed Toro fore chero O and and even after a nailor Geno trade deadline, I mean there's there's still there's still somebody. He kind of got booed. He got booed. But well, that's a different story. I I mean, there is a chance. I can't sit here and say there's not a chance. There is, But I don't know. So many casuals go to Mariners games, you never know. 00:48:42 Speaker 2: So which is like worse though? Or better? Again? Nick says worse. I'm gonna say it's worse for the Mariners. 00:48:49 Speaker 1: Yeah, let's look at it like that. Which is worse for them? 00:48:52 Speaker 2: I think it is worse for number two. 00:48:57 Speaker 1: Two's worse. That's probably right. 00:49:00 Speaker 2: Because the ceremony, the ceremonies always mean a lot to the Mariners, as it should. They put on a really good job with their marketing events with these ceremonies. So a lot of booze to the current sitting manager of the team right in the middle of the ceremony would probably, yeah, feel a little awkward. 00:49:19 Speaker 1: Probably, I mean that would be a clear message that the fan base is sending. 00:49:25 Speaker 2: I'll say that, well, yeah, while they're while the team is trying to send convey the other message and a vote of confidence in Dan Wilson, you know, meanwhile the other one, Look, would it be a little awkward definitely would be a little awkward. But here's the thing though, Like, like Dan's still getting paid, he's he's also far from the face of the ceremony. Yeah, when when you get let go from any role in MLB, like especially mid season, you get paid for the rest of the season. 00:49:57 Speaker 1: Dude, Alex Korra is sitting so pretty he's right now seven million dollars the next two years, he's he's probably in a warm weather state, just relax feed up and relaxing, Like what does he care? 00:50:09 Speaker 2: And in that moment, like, would it be a little awkward for Dan Wilson. Yeah, maybe he wouldn't show up. That's totally possible. But I don't think that's quite as bad as like the sitting manager of the team taking the field with the fifty greatest Mariners of all time and getting universally booed. I think that would be worse. 00:50:32 Speaker 1: I think that's right. I mean again, if scenario one were to happen, Like we're talking about a guy with a career eighty WRC plus as a Mariner, Like his career as a mariner's nothing to write home about. I think that, like other guys, will be remembered at that ceremony when you've got Felix out there and each Hiro out there, and Griffy out there and Edgar out there, like that's what people will remember, and there'd be fifty guys out there. Dan Wilson would be one guy in that scenario. I think you just kind of announced his name and move past it. Again, It's not like this is Ken Griffy Junior. His career was. I know he's in the Mariners Hall of Fame, which again we've had our talks about that whole thing. But again, yeah, like he was twenty percent below league average as a hitter for his career. He was just like he was a catcher in Major League Baseball who happened to be on the same team as Griffy and Edgar and Randy. Like, Okay, I think you just moved past it. So yeah, my answer is number two. Nick agreed, good mailbag. As always, you guys always bring up with the mailbag questions. So if you guys want priority on those again, go to our Patreon, go sign up. We'd love to have you and your questions will get answered whenever you send them, so shout out to you guys. Here's two way hopefully better second half of Mariner's Baseball. I mean, all we can do is sit in hope. We can only sit in hope. You would say, he can only go up from here after the that's road trip. Let's hope, man, Let's really hope. All right. That just about wraps up this edition of the Marine Layer Podcast. You guys know the drill. You want to listen to the full form podcast, you can do so wherever you get your audio pods. Make sure to download, go rate and review five stars. If you're listening Apple, Spotify, everywhere. Go hit subscribe on YouTube. It's the best way to support the channel. Just click that red subscribe button. You can go to our website marine layerpod dot com. You can find our Patreon there, podcast merches all there, episodes are all there. That's marine layerpod dot com. And then find us on social media. We're everywhere and we're posting content every single day at Marine Layer Pod. That's TJ a'm lyle because always we thank you guys for tuning in. We'll talk to you soon. 00:53:00 Speaker 4: Stati