Episode 45: Kayla Braud (ROOT Sports), Bryce Miller's Ups And Downs, And Checking In On The M's Deadline Acquisitions

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to episode number forty five of the Marine Layer Podcast. We have on Kayla Brow of Roots Sports, talk a little bit about Mariners, outfielders, your career, and broadcasting and softball as well. Will analyze Bryce Miller's up and down rookie season and our first impressions of don Canzone and Josh Rojas. 00:00:19 Speaker 2: Before we start the show, just a friendly reminder to all of you guys, go download our full form audio podcast. You can do that on Apple, Spotify, Google, and Amazon. Go follow us on those platforms, Go download the episodes, give us a five star review. It helps big time, and then head over to YouTube. Hit subscribe on YouTube as well. Watch our video podcast, turn turn the notification bells on, like, comment on those, and then if you want to head over to social media as well, you can check us out on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube shorts at marine Layer Pod. 00:00:51 Speaker 1: Let's get it rolling and we welcome you to this episode of the Marine Layer Podcast, part of the Just Baseball podcast network, recording here on Monday, August seventh. And while I'm here today to proclaim the Los Angeles Angels are dead. 00:01:21 Speaker 2: Oh they've dug their own grave. Actually, what am I saying they didn't dig their own grave. The Mariners dug it for. 00:01:26 Speaker 1: Them off the backs of hard work and hard labor of Cade Marlowe. 00:01:34 Speaker 2: Well, he certainly was the table setter. Maybe it was a little bit more than that. When you hit a grand slam in the ninth inning off a guy and Carlos Estevez, who hasn't blown a save all season, that'll set the table. Now, the series didn't exactly go in the mariners favor in terms of lopsided wins the rest of the weekend, but wins or wins, and they won every single game. Now here we sit, the Angels are seven games back of the last wildcards by after being as aggressive as any team in baseball at the deadline. 00:02:04 Speaker 1: What a story you think? Show Hayes happy. I'm sure he's thrilled at this moment. His team actually showed that they cared a little bit and that they were gonna go out and they were gonna support him. Oh wait, no, every time we look in the dugout and the TV cameras looking the dugout, he looks like a depressed individual. 00:02:22 Speaker 2: Well, considering they caught him almost crying on the broadcast, I'd say he's thrilled to be there. 00:02:27 Speaker 1: Yeah, Oh, he's counting down the months. Under two months, show hey, under two months and you never have to go back again. 00:02:36 Speaker 2: And just over a month, we'll say, five weeks until he comes to Seattle for the Angels final trip to Seattle this year, where again we'll do more promotion when it starts. But a little reminder again, just to get it in everybody's heads. We're drilling it in there. We're gonna be there. We're gonna be handing out into index cards with notes that say come to Seattle. We're gonna be doing it all series. So get to the ball park that weekend and let him hear it, because I can tell you, after what we just watched last weekend, I don't think he wants to be an Anaheim. I think he's looking for a new home and there's no reason he can't be here. 00:03:10 Speaker 1: Need to show him as much as possible how much he's going to be loved. Let's get to the Mariners out of it before we get into our storylines though. And how nice is it to see the close wins which we were talking about earlier this season, how the one run victories and the close victories just never seem to go their way, and yet against all odds and extra innings, where the Mariners have stunk all season long, on Sunday, Mariners are three high leverage guys short in the bullpen, and it looks early that Bryce Miller might not have it and that he's getting hit around a little bit, and it's hot and the bats aren't great, and yet the Mariners still find a way to finish off a sweep and Taylor Sausato goes the night and the tenth inning as literally the last guy left in the bullpen, and it just kind of shows me where this Marror's team is at in terms of how they're feeling and in winning games, and it feels like a little bit of that mojo from last season and winning close games and doing all the right things, it's there. They've been playing inspired baseball since the deadline. 00:04:12 Speaker 2: First off, we have to give a spot on his own to Taylor Sasato. He was awesome on Sunday. He's had a phenomenal year. That was his best outing of the season to slam the door the way he did in the ninth and the tenth to lock down that win when of course he had to deal with an inherited runner in extra innings. Didn't FaZe him. He shut him right down. Now, in terms of the one run wins, this is more or less how a season will go in terms of close games for a team. Didn't ever feel like the Mariners were going to get any luck to turn their way early in the year, when they would just lose every extra inning game possible. At least it felt that way. But all of a sudden, it's starting to turn around. I mean that ball that hopped over the fence for a ground rule double in this series. I believe that was off the bat of Brandon Drury earlier in the year. That's not going over the fence, and the Mayrin are on the wrong end of that. Angels probably win that game, they score multiple runs on that hit, and they have to come back the next day. Instead, the Mariners catch a break, Muno shuts it down on Saturday and they win that game three. So you're starting to see the luck turn their way a little bit, which is more or less how one run variance wins go. 00:05:20 Speaker 1: And you could say, oh, yeah, the Mariners were going to sweep this series. While Luis Castillo was going to give up seven earned in his only start of the series. Yep, that's happening. 00:05:30 Speaker 2: And you look at the rest of that wildcard picture, all of a sudden, it's kind of the Mariners and everybody else. The Red Sox have had a tough last ten games. The Yankees are now four and a half out, and if you ask any Yankee fan, they tell you their season's basically dead. I mean, you heard what Peter said on our last show, which go check that out if you hadn't, he was not all that inspired, to put it lightly, by Yankees baseball. I don't think most Yankee fans are all of a sudden, you look at those wildcard standings. Angels are seven back, Yankees are four and a half back, Red Sox are way back. Now it's kind of the Mariners. Is that first team out with two and a half between them and the Blue Jays, and it's theirs for the taking if they want it. They control their own destiny. 00:06:13 Speaker 1: Well, let's get one last thing in here on the Angels that I forgot to mention. Didn't you just love this new Anthony Rendon story this weekend? What is he on the dead list? 00:06:22 Speaker 2: Yeah? He refuses to talk to reporters now because he's on the dead list. So he gave everybody the cold shoulder. What happened to this guy? People in DC loved Anthony Rendon. They thought he was a great guy. He was arguably the best player on that team. I mean the year they won the World Series, he was right in the MVP race. He had that career year. And is there a more unlikable player in baseball now than Anthony Rendon? I'm not sure. 00:06:47 Speaker 1: Well, he is the only player caught on videos swing at a fan this year, So yes, yeah, and this guy, I don't know. Is this a hot take to say he was on a bit of a Hall of Fame trajectory when he's in Washington and now he's just fallen off the planet, And you could say, absolutely not. 00:07:07 Speaker 2: He would have been one of those guys where I wouldn't call him a slam dunk the way you would with some others, but he would be one of those guys where if he had kept up the pace he was on in DC, he would have had a real case. Maybe it would have taken him a few years to get in if he had kept that pace up, But there would be people out there making very very relevant cases. For Anthony Rendon, not anymore. He's on a terrible contract, he's never on the field, and now when he's in his extra time, his extracurricular activities involved trying to fight A's fans. 00:07:36 Speaker 1: Fighting A's fans and being an ass to the media. Those two things make you great. I don't think Andrew Jones did either of those things, but it kind of makes me, kind of makes me think of him a little bit. 00:07:50 Speaker 2: Moral of this story, I don't I think show Hayes resigning there lifetime contract seven hundred million, I mean, that's just a place you've got to be. 00:07:58 Speaker 1: Well, he sits there and looks at Arti Morino's like, well, if Rendon can get thirty eight million dollars a year, what am I worth? A hundred at least? I think that's what it would take for him to stay. That's what it would take, Artie. 00:08:13 Speaker 2: And that might not even be enough because Otani, as politely as he possibly can, has expressed that he has a burning desire to win, considering the two best players on the planet have been on the same team now for six years and they haven't sniffed the postseason. Yeah, I'm pretty confident in saying he ain't going back there anyone. 00:08:31 Speaker 1: See Mike Trent on the bench this weekend. What was he looking like? 00:08:36 Speaker 2: I'd love to pick that guy's brain off camera, off the record. Where are you at right now mentally with this franchise? I would love to know. 00:08:46 Speaker 1: Please tell us, Mike, we would like to know. Okay, let's get to our Mariners storylines. Lyle, I have a burning question here for our first Mariner's storyline. Why has Bryce Miller been so up and down? 00:09:00 Speaker 2: I think there's a couple things with this number One, This is sometimes how rookie seasons go. Look at Logan Gilbert in twenty twenty one. He certainly had his hills and valleys, and Logan Gilbert had more of an arsenal than Bryce Miller does. In terms of pitches. Logan Gilbert had his good starts and he'd have his really shaky starts. There were times in twenty twenty one where Logan Gilbert had nothing but his fastball working, and that's all he would throw. This is how it goes sometimes. But if you look at Bryce Miller's last handful of starts, even two handfuls of starts, it's a different ballgame than what it was looking like earlier in the year. His outings have not been as long, He's given up more hits, he's getting hit a little bit harder. Since about mid to late June, he just has not had that same effectiveness. 00:09:44 Speaker 1: You can chalk it up to a couple of things. One, he's really not been very good pitching on four days rest, which is the typical amount of rest you get in a rotation. This is the guy who had never pitched on four days rest in his career until getting to the big leagues. And with the delivery that he has in the concerns that a lot of scout said when he was coming up is that, how is that delivery gonna hold up over the course of a whole season, over the course of a whole outing, pitching seven innings, how's the velocity gonna hold? How's the location gonna hold? And as we've seen, it does kind of get spotty as the game goes along, depending on the opponent. There's a couple of things here. His hard hit rate has really skyrocketed this last bit. Now, I don't necessarily correlate that to him not holding his velocity very well. Funny enough, there was some concern on Saturday in that first inning or Saturday Sunday when he's getting knocked around in the first inning, about well is his fastball gonna work well? His fastball ended up working pretty well that day, and he ended up holding his velocity very well, averaged ninety six miles an hour for the entire game. But then there's these outings where he's sitting in the fourth and fifth inning and he's tossed in ninety two to ninety three on his fastball, and those are the pitches that are getting hit pretty hard. Fun fact, of the ten home runs he has given up on his fastball this season, only one of those fastballs was above ninety four miles an hour. Think about that. So when he's thrown hard, his fastball is generally a more effective pitch as you would think. But when that velocity dips, that high spin fastball doesn't look quite as dangerous anymore. And with his shaky off speed pitches, it really comes back to bottom in that sense. That's what I think it really all boils down to. Like Logan as a rookie, if his fastballs on, he'll be on. If his fastball is not on, then buckle up. 00:11:30 Speaker 2: Along with the fact that when you are as fastball reliant as Bryce Miller is, he's about sixty five percent fastballs in terms of his pitch selection, that will result in some outings where you just get hit harder. It happens if guys are timing up your fastball, you will get hit around harder. He hasn't given up many home runs on high velocity fastballs, but he has gotten hit around a little bit, especially in the last few weeks. If you look at a lot of his peripherals on Baseball Savan, it would suggest that as a lot of them are starting to trend in the wrong direction. Now that doesn't mean he can't turn it around, but how can he do that. I think Bryce Miller has to develop a third pitch. I think he absolutely needs one. It's not going to happen in the middle of this season, this winner, this spring, this upcoming spring. I should say he needs a third pitch. His two pitches are great, the fastball and the slider, but something else has to be mixed in there to keep those hitters off balance. Even if you want to keep the high fastball percentage up, Even if you still want to throw a lot of sliders, something else has to be mixed in at least every so often to keep guys on their toes. 00:12:36 Speaker 1: He should join the splitter club. I'm officially putting my stamp on that. 00:12:41 Speaker 2: Sure everybody else in this rotation's learned one, there's no reason Bryce Miller can't learn a splitter. I mean, hey, just ask any other guy in the rotation, Hey, how do I throw this? 00:12:51 Speaker 1: Results wise, his slider has actually been pretty decent this year. The problem is it's just not really a strikeout pitch. I mean, he'll get some weak contact on it, and he generally kind of tries to throw it down in the strike zone. He did this last start against the Angels on Sunday, threw it in that down away corner to right hand hitters, more than he has in any start this season. I saw that on Twitter. I was like, Oh, that's interesting. So I went back and I looked at some of his previous starts, and he really didn't have great command of that pitch. He's kind of spraining it all over the place. And Sunday was the first time he's really commanded that pitch well, which is a good sign. So it's like, okay, so maybe another an off speed pitch is actually coming along that's reliable that you can throw for a strike or you can bury down a little bit. But the problem is that it's not really a swing and miss pitch only as a twenty percent with rate, which is not a strikeout pitch. His best strikeout pitch is his fastball, but you kind of play with fire there because his fastball is also the pitch that more often than not gets hit the hardest, which you know, when you're trying to put someone away, you'd rather throw a pitch that they a can't hit hard be can't hit at all, rather than a pitch where if they don't, if they don't swing and miss, they're probably barrowing it up to the outfield. 00:14:06 Speaker 2: We've highlighted this before too, right, there are guys in the majors that are starters that throw two pitches. Robbie Ray basically throws two pitches. Tyler Glass now throws two pitches. Bryce Miller throws more fastballs than those guys. So because of that, because of the very high fastball usage along with having two pitches, I think a third just needs to be mixed in there. Again, throwing a lot of fastballs is what he does best. It is his best pitch. But something else I think needs to be mixed in there, just to give him some different results and find that second out pitch. 00:14:38 Speaker 1: So the slider I was talking about was his gyro slider, the one that pretty much essentially goes down. I didn't realize this looking at the numbers until I actually looked at it. He did essentially ditches sweep er. He threw it eight times against the Angels, but in the previous two starts I think he'd thrown it one time each because that pitch really had gotten crushed. He allowed a slogan percentage of over seven hundred against that pitch. And what was the name of that pitch, the cannon ball. Well, it was being cannonballed into the outfield over the wall because he was he was not getting guys to swing and miss at that. So I would think based off the profile of pitches he would have. I think that splitter would be good, but we'll see, because that's this is an off season project for him, uh and that'll that'll be it. And improving command of that slider again, which he has not had great command until until Sunday, which command can almost be as important as as make it just having a nasty pitch. 00:15:34 Speaker 2: It's good you highlighted that because when Miller came up, that's what we talked about, is he had a fastball and he had two sliders. So the two sliders he threw were basically two off speed pitches or two breaking balls. But now that he's ditched that sweeper, it is it is strictly two pitches. So if he could add something with a little bit of a different shape or movement on it, like a splitter, which a lot of guys just use as a change up instead, now that's what Logan Gilbert does. Yeah, that could really work for him. So let's circle back to this next spring and see if he's made some adjustments. If I had to put some money on it, I would guess that he would. 00:16:08 Speaker 3: This fall. Stream your favorites and discover more with Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus together watch the highly anticipated new season of Loki and see the ghost materialize in Haunted Mansion on Disney Plus. Catch more Frights with the Boogeyman, an American horror story Delegate on Hulu and on ESPN Plus. Get into the action with college football and NFL. All of these and more streaming now get the Disney Bundle with plans starting at nine to ninety nine a month plans with ESPN Plus starting at fourteen ninety nine a month. Terms apply Seedisney Bundle dot com for details. 00:16:49 Speaker 2: Second storyline here, let's give an evaluation over the first week of the two newest Mariners TJ Domkein Zone, Josh Rojas. There's not a huge sample size, but we can take away what have we seen in the first week out of these guys. 00:17:04 Speaker 1: The one thing I will note first, let's start with can Zone, is that the Mariners trust him already. He's hitting high in the lineup. I mean he's hitting above guys like depending on the picture, he's hitting above Cal Rawley, He's hitting above Tioscar Hernandez. He if Jared Kilnick was in the lineup, he'd be hitting over Jared Kelnick. That they have put some trust in him, not been on the roster too long and not been in the big leagues too wrong. They've been giving him some pretty big at bats, mostly out of the five hole so far, which is pretty interesting. Otherwise, I mean, it's just such a small sample. He's not striking out a lot, he's walking out of the league average rate. The most fun thing I found out while thinking of my evaluation of don can Zone over his first week with the Mariners is that this man hit four to thirty in the month of June in the minors. Does that sound right? 00:17:57 Speaker 2: Four Thirty's too good for any level of the minor leagues. There's a reason he's up in the big leagues, and there's a reason the Mariners believe in him. You hit that well through all your levels of the minor leagues, which we highlighted on the show when they traded for him. Yeah, you're going to the majors now. It's not fair to expect can Zone, having less than seventy five big league played appearances, to just click right away. That's not gonna happen. He needs some time to adjust, as does any big leaguer. But I think there's things to like about him early, not just his track record in the minors, but the fact he doesn't strike out a lot, which is a very refreshing sign for an outfield that, like we talked about in the last show, we'll strike out a lot when it's the main three of Kel Nikolio and Taoskar. So he doesn't strike out a lot, that's the ball is pretty good. I mean you saw him spray that ball the other way for a double in left center field in one of his first few games at home in Seattle, so you can he shows that he can go the other way a little bit. But there's only so much we can take away. And you just said the same thing. You only play a handful of games so far, like Canzone has, We're gonna need a little bit more of a sample size because the other thing, too, is he wasn't playing much in the Angels series. Angels have a bunch of lefty starters. They sat him as a result. We still need to see a little bit more. 00:19:09 Speaker 1: Yeah, that was the other thing I noted that him and Rojas, who will touch on. I mean they've kind of paired him in a platoon here so far. I mean, if if there's a righting on the mound, those two play. If there's a lefty on the mountain, they're putting Dylan Moore and Jose Cabalierro in the lineup instead. So there's kind of a balancing act and I'm curious to see what their confidence level in dom Canzona is to hit against lefties, cause, again, guys who are pretty good hitters. Doesn't really matter if there's a lefty or a righty on the mound. But since baseball is a traditional sport and some lefties struggle against lefties, that's what happens. So at this point it kind of shrugs and he's playing more than he played in Arizona. But I think consistent at bats are probably is pretty important here to dom Canzona. And if there's an easy lefty on the mound, no, I don't really see why not. 00:19:57 Speaker 2: I would guess this is their way to ease him in, just their way of getting him acclimated, and then they'll start to mix them in against more lefties, because you're right, I think they see him as a guy that can make impact and serious impact in the lineup long term with what he does at the plate. And if that's the case, yeah, he's gonna be playing every day, I think, again, with less than twenty big league games, or just easing them in. 00:20:18 Speaker 1: And Dylan Moore's been pretty good, so I'll give him to that. 00:20:21 Speaker 3: Now. 00:20:21 Speaker 1: Hear me out. Hear me out. Dylan Moore and Canzone in the lineup at the same time in Capierro and Rojas on the bench. Sounds sounds sounds like a win for both parties. 00:20:31 Speaker 2: Sure, I am the last person you ever have to tell get Dylan Moore and more playing time. 00:20:37 Speaker 1: Can't believe these words are coming out of my mouth, but I come to appreciate. I can't believe to appreciate twenty twenty one or sorry now two. TJ is shuddering. 00:20:50 Speaker 2: I think you were fed up. I think you were fed up with them in twenty one when I was already on board the hype train, and when I was on the hype train again in twenty twenty two, you just rolled your eyes until you finally got to the point where I had radicalized you enough to realize, oh, yeah, this guy's good and he provides value. 00:21:07 Speaker 1: Now Rojas, I think it's very much what we expected. Hasn't hit the ball all that hard, only had six at bats a bit in this lineup, and yeah, I mean, I think he's going to be on the roster the rest of the season. They like his versatility again, plays both in field and outfield. Same Haggard's down there cooking in the minor leagues and Josh Rojas, who's a guy is notorious for not hitting the ball all that hard. In again, his small sample size and six at bats has not hit a ball harder than ninety three miles an hour. So take that as you will. In my short analysis of Josh Rojas, We're going. 00:21:49 Speaker 2: To contradict ourselves a little bit here because we were just talking about with Don can Zone, how a guy who's had that little big league experience needs time. You've got to ease him in. He's expected to make some real He's expected to be a real force in the lineup down the road. Josh Rojas is also barely played. The difference with him is he has more big league time. And I know this isn't really fair to judge him off three games, but the abats he's had in the first few games have really not looked very good. 00:22:18 Speaker 1: There's a bit of a disclaimer. He did just come back from injury for about a month and a half when the Mariners traded for him, so he still could be working his way back a tiny bit. There's just despite the value last season for Rojas, there's just not a ton to look forward to in the bat and when Sam Haggerty is putting up a one to thirty three WRC plus down in Tacoma, and he runs the bases better you would think, and might be a little more versatile in the outfield. And you're probably a little more comfortable with Haggarty as well. Seeing him for last season and what he did last year, then kind of tingles a little bit. But Jared did just trade for him, so I would actually be kind of surprised if they sent him down this quick. 00:23:01 Speaker 2: It would be a shocker. But I do wonder if they're pondering the idea of bringing Haggarty up in exchange for Rojas. And I say that because you mentioned the WRC plus. Haggarty's hitting three twenty one down there. He's opsing nine eighty seven. He's hit eight bombs. I know the PCL is a bandbox. We say it every show, every time we talk about Triple A. We acknowledge it. But between his big league experience, the familiarity he already has with the club, the speed and defense he can play, and if he's hitting like this, you just have to wonder, because the whole reason Haggarty got sent down to begin with is he wasn't hitting. But if he's hitting this well in Tacoma, you have to wonder if they're starting to moull the idea of getting them another shot. 00:23:45 Speaker 1: It'll be something to keep an eye on. I look forward to revisiting this probably in about a month, or we'll probably at the end of the season, when we conclude and wrap up, we'll have a better sense for what these are. But just a week of review say that I still can't believe he don Canzone hit four thirty a month. That's kind of absurd. Our friend Jeremy, who works for the Mariners and his in Tacoma, he said, quote like Canzone was the best hitter in TRIPLEA he saw all year. And I'd say that that four to thirty mark kind of kind of checks all the boxes. 00:24:19 Speaker 2: The numbers back it up. Again, It's very similar to what Mitch Haniger did in the minors. When you look at their careers in the minor leagues and when they got up got up to the big leagues similar and they both got traded to Seattle from the Diamondbacks. I'm not saying Canzone is going to be exactly that. I'm not sure Canzone has the same raw power that Mitch has. But I think there's a reason to believe he could be a good bat. We just got to give him a little time, and we should say too again, we're probably contradicting ourselves a little bit with Rojas. We shouldn't write him off after three games. He may turn around the next week and everything starts to click for him, but we're just judging off what he's done the first few games. 00:24:57 Speaker 1: We had a really fun conversation with Kayla. Bro. Yes, that's how you pronounce it. It's pronounced b r O. It is spelled b r b r a u D, so don't get it confused. Bro right, bro. So it was a fun conversation. It's good to get her perspective. An analyst on Root sports also does a ton of work in college softball, which I have worked in as well, so good to tie in that. And it is good to get her perspective on a bunch of things. And I feel like we're doing a good job of making our rounds in Root sports. 00:25:36 Speaker 2: You know, we've got a lot of root people on so far, which is great. Kayla is seriously awesome. This is her first year on route and doing Mariner stuff. So if you're not familiar with her yet, this is a perfect chance to get familiar with her because she's really smart, outgoing, really knows what she's talking about, and overall was a really fun conversation. So hopefully you guys will start to get to listen to her and see her around more often on some of the Root Ride cast, whether it's pregame and post games. She was actually on one of the broadcasts doing color commentary this past week, and she's awesome. She really is. So we're excited to have you guys hear this conversation with her. 00:26:11 Speaker 1: All right, let's not waste any more time. Let's get to our interview with CAYLEB. Brow. 00:26:18 Speaker 2: All right, we've got Caleb Brow on with us. She's a Mariners analyst for Roots Sports, college softball analyst for ESPN. Are we saying your name right? I mean we tried to do our homework on this. We had John. 00:26:28 Speaker 4: Yeah, it's Caleb Brow. 00:26:30 Speaker 5: So my dad is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the aud as another version of the eaux, so it is you don't pronounce the D and it's like, you know how they do the ga ux for LSU like, go Tigers, That's where I'm at. 00:26:45 Speaker 4: So it's Caleb Brow like, what's up, bro? 00:26:48 Speaker 1: Do you think it could possibly be cooler though with the eaux on the end of it? 00:26:52 Speaker 4: Okay? Yes? However, so I went to Lafayette. 00:26:55 Speaker 5: I called a game at Louisiana, which was the formal formerly known as you, and a guy was telling me, and I don't know if he was like pulling my leg or not, but he was like, oh, you're with the smart bros. 00:27:05 Speaker 4: And I was like, what do you mean. 00:27:06 Speaker 5: He's like, well, if you were a literate, you put an exit the end. So I was like, oh, my family was the smart bros. I was like, I feel like you're pulling pulling my leg, but I will freaking take it. 00:27:16 Speaker 2: So what's the worst somebody's ever messed up your last name when they've tried to say it. 00:27:22 Speaker 4: Brand Probably they just flipped the U and turn it into an end. 00:27:26 Speaker 5: I get Broad and then people my one of my teammates used to call me a dumb broad one time. 00:27:30 Speaker 4: You know, that's that's that's it. 00:27:33 Speaker 5: But it never gets the only time it gets pronounced correctly is when I go to Louisiana. 00:27:40 Speaker 1: Well, that's good because I'm thinking, like, you played four years of college softball in the SEC. You're on TV all the time. I mean, do you make it a point every game before every time before the game started, you go up to the announcers, by the way, let's let's let's get this straight. So I don't retweet a highlight of you saying broad instead. 00:27:59 Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, for the most part, people are really good about asking because I think even if you just look at my name, you could mess it up just by. 00:28:08 Speaker 4: Looking at it. So yeah, I make sure. 00:28:09 Speaker 5: But I also like sometimes like I don't want to be a jerk and be like, well, let's actually bro, please, but it's your name, so you want to you want. 00:28:16 Speaker 4: To be right. 00:28:17 Speaker 2: Well that's awesome, And I know you've had a nice journey now through through broadcasting and this is your first season at rudin you you were just doing the game last night and we figured it's kind of a pressing topic and pretty relevant to the time we're recording this that the marriage just when headlined by a grand slam of the ninth inning from Caid Marlowe, where we figured the outfield was kind of a subject to headline here because as it looks right now, they've got some new faces in there between can Zone marlow In the last couple weeks, we figured we just touched on a few of them with you, and to start with the guy that's headlined it all in the last few days in Cad Marlowe. I mean, what have you seen from him that's kind of made him pop so much in the first couple of weeks up here? 00:28:57 Speaker 4: Yeah, I laughed. 00:28:58 Speaker 5: I was looking at the things that we're going to be talking about about today and we talked, we had, you guys have this plan to talk about the outfielders yesterday before the game even started. So how perfect was it that Kate marlow goes hits a grand Slam in the ninth inning? It just felt picture perfect today. Now, Kate Marlowe has been I think a pleasant surprise. I don't think anybody had really high expectations of what he was going to be able to do. I think they saw him as a kind of a puzzle piece where he'd put him in plug and play and kind of work around the Jared kell Nick injury. That being said, where he's shined is he has had some really, really good veteran at bats that we've seen early in his career that you would expect have somebody that's been playing the game a lot longer than he has at this level. So, first and foremost, he has really good abs. I think he's got a really good eye at the plate. Obviously, there's limitations because when you are rookie, when you haven't seen major league pitching like that, it takes some transitionary time. So it's not perfect every single time. But he grinds out at bats. He puts bat on. 00:29:59 Speaker 4: Barrel, a really simple swing, like he doesn't. 00:30:02 Speaker 5: Have a you know, beautiful, perfect swing that you're going to see some of the best hitters have in the league. But he's short, he's simple, doesn't have a lot of extra movement, so that allows him to get his barrel on ball very often. 00:30:12 Speaker 4: So those are some things that I've seen. 00:30:14 Speaker 5: It starts with his at bats first, and you know, second of all, like I think he's a good bass runner. 00:30:19 Speaker 4: He's going to play a solid outfield for you. 00:30:22 Speaker 5: And you know, last night was a great example of kind of a resiliency that you're gonna see out of Kay Marlowe. So he gets two like and he was like ninety eight mile an hour heaters at the top of the strike zone that he whiffs at and obviously, you know Angels saying let's go at it again, like this kid can't handle this stuff, like he's late, he's way under, and Kate marlow did a really nice job of making it an inbad adjustment. 00:30:43 Speaker 4: He gets his barrel head like. 00:30:45 Speaker 5: Perfectly on top of the ball, because I mean, again, at that level, you have to stay on plane, even kind of almost reacts above the plane of where you think it's going to be to make contact. And I thought he was under under and then Boom was on top of it and rushed the ball out of the park to give the Mariners the eventual win. 00:31:03 Speaker 4: So that's what I see. It's the long winded answer, but that's what I see out of Cad Marlowe. I think, you know, he's got a lot of learning to do, but the bass and the foundation looks solid. 00:31:12 Speaker 1: And we've seen it from some of these young Mariner outfielders. And I was mentioned in Taalail on Friday last Friday's podcast when we're recording that when we look at this outfield and look at the three guys, you expect to be starters in the outfield in this twenty twenty three season. I mean, you collectively get about a thirty percent strike out rate, give or take, and that can wear people out a little bit. But with Caid, right, even though he struck out a bunch of the miners, it doesn't seem like, at least at this point, that that's going to be a real issue for him. And just the I would say, the ability to that you already mentioned, like with two strikes and he's totally guessing there on that one hundred mile an hour pitch and he gets right correctly. I mean you as an outfielder, right, you're thinking that's that's a total guess in that spot. And if he throws you a slow or in the dirt, uh, you know you're spinning around like the top is if you were in that box kill is? 00:32:04 Speaker 2: That? 00:32:05 Speaker 1: Is that kind of how you think of that at bat when he's throwing gas up. I mean you're guessing I'm crushing the fastball and if he throws me a slider, it's whatever. 00:32:14 Speaker 5: Yeah, I think in that situation my mentality, you're thinking, I'm not going to get beat again by this pitch, so I'm gonna sit fastball, and I'm gonna do whatever I can to react to the breaking ball, the off speed pitch down in the like I thought, you know, I would have expected something down in the dirt as well. But I also think that you know, you look at the kid and Kay Marlowe, he's a rookie, not been in this situation before, high high pressure moment. You kind of go the best stuff, and you know their reliever was having trouble finding the strike zone as well. 00:32:44 Speaker 4: So again I was shocked. 00:32:46 Speaker 5: But again to your point, yeah, you're you're going to try to make sure you're not laid on that pitch again, so you're gonna be on time for the fastball and then try and keep your barrel and through the zone as long as humanly possible. If you are seeing the off speed and the breaking pay, you're just trying to say, in your legs as long as possible. But it's so tough, but yeah, Cade marlow Again for a rookie, I thought it was a good at bat and may not seem like it because it's, you know, three of the same pitches over and over again. 00:33:11 Speaker 4: But sometimes those are the hardest ones to hit, you know, frankly, I. 00:33:15 Speaker 1: Want to ask you about the guy he replaced, your former athlete. You played in some of the most high pressure, important games that there are at the sports level. When you know he went to the College World Series, won a national championship in twenty twelve at Alabama, and we see this Jared Kellnick situation where emotions get the best of him and he puts himself out for the season by breaking his foot and kicking a coolers. Have you ever had a moment where, I don't know, if you broke your foot, what where you can relate to Jared in that moment where you where you find yourself at that crossroads of like, am I going to do something stupid after in that bat? 00:33:52 Speaker 4: Uh? 00:33:52 Speaker 5: Yeah, Well it's so funny that you said that, because I can vividly remember like my sophomore year, I'm playing the Women's College World Series. We're getting our butts beat by Florida, who's our number one rival, and I shruck out. We're like we're down like nine runs, We're about to get eliminated from the season. Like I'm so mad, I'm frustrated, and I go into the dugout and I didn't like throw my bat but like put it down very forcefully, like made like a you know, kind of jerk of myself in a way that like I typically don't do. And my coach, my college coach at the time, got us in like our huddle in the next inning, and he like called me out in front of the entire team and was like, you lack leadership. This is like unacceptable. You are not a leader in that moment for doing what you did. And it's a moment that, like Jared Kelnick, I will catalog in the back of my head, and I didn't hurt myself, but you remember those moments and they sting and they hurt and they feel like crap, frankly, because you know that you did not act the way that you should in those moments. And I can tell you right now I never did anything like that ever again. And I hope that's the case for Jared Kelnick in that learning moment where he does something that unfortunately injures himself. He takes himself out of the game and now you have to have all these pieces fill in for him. And he was having a fantastic year, So I hope the mentality for him shifts and he understands that he's too valuable to act like that. 00:35:17 Speaker 4: And for me, it wasn't about injury. 00:35:20 Speaker 5: It was about value of being a leader and being impactful on my team. So I think that's what Jared Kilnick's going to be able to appreciate, move from, and learn from. And like I said, I there's not a world where Jared Kilnick does something like that. 00:35:33 Speaker 2: Again, I was gonna say, I think this all ties back in well, both your story and his story, because one to your point, I don't think he has a situation anything like this. Again, but I think fans sometimes forget to remember that athletes are human, and you just gave a great example of it. I mean, you were in a situation where it was incredibly frustrating in a game you were losing. 00:35:53 Speaker 3: For him. 00:35:53 Speaker 2: It was a guy that's one of the best closers in the league. It was a game the Mariners really needed. And I think fan sometimes sitting at home watching on TV just assume that every time you strike out, you're just gonna shrug and forget about it. Oh, you know, the whole shake it off for next time type of mentality. It doesn't really go like that. I don't think anybody's happy that kell Nick broke his foot because he was a guy that was really relied upon this year. But I think people sometimes could do a better job of just realizing this game is so hard and these guys want to win so badly that just sometimes emotions do get to. 00:36:23 Speaker 4: You without a doubt. 00:36:25 Speaker 5: And that's the weird thing about being a fan and maybe not experiencing something at that level, is everybody wants you to be ultra competitive. They want you to go up there and give it every single piece of yourself to the game, to winning for the Mariners, and then when you fail in those situations, they want you to be cool and humble and like, hey, be smart in those situations. And it's a very fine line, like when you talk about writing, like going over the edge either way, because again, you don't want somebody that doesn't care or is uncompetitive, and you don't want somebody that takes those moments and kind of again hurts themselves or something stupid or jeopardizes the success of the team. So for fans that want all of those things in a perfect world, but you know, Jared Kelnick, so many other athletes are human, and it's not because he's selfish. It's because he wanted to win. He wants to win like the dude is a winner at heart. And I think that's where I can really relate to him. I hate losing, like that feeling of walking off the field and you had an opportunity to win the ballgame of your team and you don't come through as a sickening feeling. And again, not many people can say that they felt like that in a big moment in their careers. So again, appreciating that everybody is human and there's going to be some times where you have learning experiences like Jerry Kilnick, and you move on and you still are upset. 00:37:42 Speaker 4: But you don't do something like kick a cooler next. 00:37:44 Speaker 5: Time, maybe going to the corner, you know, get your frustration out, you know, stay within your body, not kicking or punge and stuff. 00:37:52 Speaker 2: Yeah, maybe next time he can just break a bat instead that way, just like one hundred dollars out of his back pocket instead of his foot. 00:37:59 Speaker 4: Yeah. I think there's like a punching bag in the clubhouse or something like that. Maybe you can use that. 00:38:04 Speaker 2: I think that's a pretty decent transition here, Kayla, because you've been well, you've been talking about some experiences from your career and your time as a collegiate athlete and college softball player. I'm sure people that are watching you now on TV both during the pregame and postgame shows are on the broadcast you just did this past week know that you have background in baseball and softball. But do you think Marinis fans know how good you were when you played? I mean that booth, all of a sudden is just filled with insane talent. Like I know, I'm sure people know you played, but do they do you think you know they know that you hit like four or nearly four fifty for your career in the SEC. 00:38:41 Speaker 4: Probably not. I don't know how much homework fans you. 00:38:44 Speaker 5: There's been some that there's been some softball fans that have you know, reached out to me on Twitter and they know because they follow the college softball landscape and Washington a good team. 00:38:53 Speaker 4: So I've called. 00:38:54 Speaker 5: Some Washington games, have you know, cover them in the studio side when they're the Woman's College World Series. So I don't big people know. But yeah, when you talk about me and Angie, you got a. 00:39:02 Speaker 4: Couple of all Americans. Angie's like a Trailblazer. 00:39:04 Speaker 5: She was like one of the first All Americans that you dub playing softball and played professional baseball. 00:39:09 Speaker 4: Actually played professional baseball with my assistant. 00:39:11 Speaker 5: Coach at Alabama, So I actually had some ties to Angie before I got this job at Root Sports. 00:39:17 Speaker 4: But I don't think people know, and I think I don't. 00:39:22 Speaker 5: I don't necessarily care if they want to have I want to feel like I have credibility, which I. 00:39:27 Speaker 4: Think I do. 00:39:28 Speaker 5: And obviously I didn't suit up at the major league level, but suited up at the highest level in softball that you possibly can, playing collegiately and playing for a national championship on a big stage. And really, you ask a lot of baseball players softball players, the games are so similar, I think when you take the pitching out of it, which is obviously a huge piece, but you know, analyzing a swing breaking down in at bat outfield cuts movement on the infield. 00:39:58 Speaker 4: You know. 00:39:58 Speaker 5: We had the double steal the game with JP and Gino the other day, and I was sitting up in the booth and I laughed because it was so rare for a baseball game, and I was like, that happens like probably once a game like once a weekend for softball programs, they just they do the double C all the time, like that's a common play. 00:40:16 Speaker 4: So it's just it's interesting. 00:40:19 Speaker 5: I would love people to know that I'm credible, but it doesn't make any difference. I'm gonna do my job and put my head down and make sure that I'm prepared and know my stuff more than anything. 00:40:29 Speaker 1: If you ask anyone who looks at ratings, they would know that college softball is one of the fastest growing sports on television. No, you know, part to your coverage in ESPN's coverage as well with the women's College World Series. So if someone hasn't started watching college softball, what's your pitch of why they should. 00:40:46 Speaker 5: Yeah, Well, if you like the transition of baseball this year, going to the pitch clock and how much faster it is, you're going to naturally already like softball because it has the same elements. It has those big moments, the home runs, the incredible athletes making phenomenal. 00:41:00 Speaker 4: Plays, and it's faster. 00:41:02 Speaker 5: So if you like the speed and pace of the new style of baseball, you're going to get that from softball, and even the defensive. 00:41:08 Speaker 4: Plays that you're going to see I think is really cool. 00:41:09 Speaker 5: Are even faster because turning a double play in baseball is relatively easy, like turning a double play in softball is extremely hard because you have about you have under three seconds to make a play and get the ball over to first if you want to have success, thrown somebody out. So again, the pacing is really good. At college softball. There's not really a professional leagu right now. They're trying to work on it. They're trying to implement professional softball. I think we got a long way to go before it becomes like a really, really great product. It's a good product right now, but it's just there's you know, they're trying to get some footing under them to make it successful. But the college game right now is just unbelievable. And there's some teams like Okay, if you haven't watched Oklahoma softball, that might be the best softball team of all time, that are hitting the field of year after year in the last two seasons just because their ability to hit the home run. They're hitting like more than one hundred and thirty home runs and sixty games spans a year. 00:42:04 Speaker 4: It's unbelievable. Strong, really talented females kicking ass on on the field. 00:42:09 Speaker 1: I'm glad you brought up Oklahoma because I really just have a burning question. So, last three seasons they've gone one hundred and seventy six and eight with three national championships. Does it at some point does it stop being fun to win all the time. 00:42:23 Speaker 4: I don't know it stops being fun to win all the time. But like, oh gosh, this is gonna sound bad. 00:42:27 Speaker 5: But like from a coverage standpoint, you're just like, well, they're good again, Like duh, you know, I want I want the competitive games. I want them to be challenged every single game. I want somebody to thrown them. That makes covering the game more fun. But as a player, I can tell you right now I love beating the brakes off of people, Like that's the best part. So for them, they're having the time of their lives just beating everybody and dominating almost every single game that they play. But from a fan perspective, like I would love to see a little bit more parody, but again, it's making our whole or better, Like they're making everybody have to rise and continue to get better and have these really dynamic app athletes that kind of like a Julio where you can like paper power, you can steal bases, really strong but also extremely fast, can do everything like you know the five tool players or whatever that you talk about. 00:43:17 Speaker 4: That's what they are right now, like a bunch of one. 00:43:19 Speaker 1: The only bar, the only bar they have left to clear is go undefeated and win a fourth consecutive and that's it. 00:43:26 Speaker 4: Yep, that's right. 00:43:29 Speaker 1: That's all that's happened. And I don't think anyone's ever won four straight? Have they trying to take I don't think you did? Yeah, I or Arizona, I don't think so. They traded off for a decade, but that's it. 00:43:38 Speaker 4: Yeah, they did the three feet I think, is it? 00:43:41 Speaker 5: So? Yeah, Oklahoma might do it. And I know they just picked up another big transfer out of the portal yesterday, so so it's only to get better. 00:43:50 Speaker 2: How different is it for you to break down baseball versus softwall. I know you touched on it a little bit a minute ago, but when you started doing the Mariners games this year, was there that much of a transition? 00:43:58 Speaker 5: The transition I think for me is there's so much more data in baseball and there's a lot of you know, the new saber metrics, all of the stat cast stuff that just expands. So I mean I would found myself prepping for a baseball you know, covering a studio show where you know, maybe talking for ten minutes and I'm down a rabbit hole for two hours looking at somebody's stats, you know, on Wednesdays and facing left handed pictures like in the month of May. Like you know, it's just insane how how specific you can get. And that's where the biggest challenge was going into Baseball's In softball, you have limited data and it's still really good data and we continue to grow it every single year, where like there's so many new metrics that are coming in for our sport of softball, but you shouldn't have it, so you had to really really buy into the game that was on the field. In baseball, there's just so much more that you can really analyze and look at spin rates, expected averages and all that stuff. So it's just really interesting weighted stuff that doesn't exist in softful. So understanding all of those and how they plan into the game has been the biggest transition. 00:45:06 Speaker 4: And I think after that, obviously the pitching is different. 00:45:09 Speaker 5: Just getting a feel for like, I've been watching baseball my whole life, so I know what all the pitches are, but again, changing your mentality to think about at bats coming from those pitches in that style of movement versus a softball pitch that's coming in flatter has the rise ball has just a different movement plane. 00:45:30 Speaker 4: To be quite honest, that's really it. 00:45:32 Speaker 5: That's all it changes is the plane that the pitch is coming in. 00:45:35 Speaker 4: So that's really that's been the big challenge. 00:45:38 Speaker 1: How is the softball community embraced analytics. Have team's been rushing to get it or is there still some hesitancy? 00:45:44 Speaker 4: Yeah, team has been rushing to get it. 00:45:45 Speaker 5: I think that's what you see is now every school is adding to their staff some kind of analytics higher. They're having people that look at the data that like monitor every single will swing and look up the algorithms best for your starting rotations you're starting lineups. 00:46:05 Speaker 4: We're seeing pitching change too. 00:46:07 Speaker 5: So because of a lot of that data and because of how much information hitters have in softball now, which is new, you're seeing less complete games from pitching, and so you're seeing more baseball style pitching, which is going to be a starter role, and then probably a reliever to a closer role, which like when I even ten years ago, when I finished my career. 00:46:31 Speaker 4: Maybe you'd have like four people on the staff you're pitching staff. 00:46:33 Speaker 5: Now you're getting like six or seven pitchers on the staff, which is again so different than what it used to be. But yeah, it's it's changing the game for sure. I think there's gonna be some transition to being comfortable with it and getting hitters in the right mentality to be able to use it effectively. 00:46:51 Speaker 4: But it's the best. It's part of the game now. 00:46:55 Speaker 1: And you said baseball has more data. I'm curious, is that on the pitching side compared to like all all the numbers you have for someone's spin rate, spin axis, you know, uh, I forget all the other terminologies that are dug into baseball savant, but but all the all those other things that you look at, I mean, I feel like that's that's where most of this looks at of how people, you know, attack their repertoires. Is is that something that you think needs to be added a little bit more on the on the softball side, And if so, how would it affect how people pitch besides just the strategy of like using your pictures, what type of pitches do you think it affects the most? 00:47:30 Speaker 4: Okay, So that's a it's a great point. 00:47:32 Speaker 5: And I've seen in more and more bullpens they're having the like the technology that can read all of those metrics. 00:47:37 Speaker 4: That they can read the spin rate. And that's what's interesting. 00:47:39 Speaker 5: You just talk to some of these baseball pitchers and there's like an algorithm that can tell them, Hey, if you move your finger like a quarter of an inch, you know, a little bit further north. 00:47:50 Speaker 4: And you release it and you put like a tiny bit more pressure on this point right here, your spin rate will go up. D Like, there are like ways that you can teach and tell a picture how to improve their release point and their pitches immediately with the technology. And now we're starting to see that in softball where you're getting immediate feedback on, oh, that pitch didn't have as much spin, and here's why that pitch didn't have as much movement. Here's what you need to do, and here's the point of release that you need the grip that you need to have to better those pitches. So that's where I'm going to see the biggest change in softball and pitching, and I think you're going to see it effect pitches. 00:48:27 Speaker 5: Like the rise ball a lot. The rise ball is the most deadly pitch. It's like the high heater in baseball instead of just sitting flat. You know, the best fastballs at the top of the strike zone. The four seamers are the ones that don't dip down with gravity as much as the other ones will. 00:48:40 Speaker 4: The rise ball defies gravity and it actually comes up. 00:48:43 Speaker 5: So if pitchers improve that pitch, it's one of the hardest pitches to pitch hit. 00:48:47 Speaker 4: And you see all these like softball pitchers that go out and face. 00:48:49 Speaker 5: Baseball players and they strike them out, they throw the rise ball because you just baseball players aren't used to it. 00:48:54 Speaker 4: They have no chance. 00:48:55 Speaker 5: So those are the types of pitches that it will definitely impact. 00:49:00 Speaker 2: Will you guys break this stuff down on softball broadcasts a lot? Like I know in baseball some broadcast teams decide to throw analytics into the broadcast. I think the Mariners do a really good job of that. Some don't, like. Do you guys talk about it a lot? 00:49:12 Speaker 5: We're starting to, Yeah, we specifically at ESPN, they just partnered with like a six four three charts, which is a data based company that just has all of that stuff on hand, and that's becoming more common is to import that into our broadcast and really analyze that data, show video to back it. 00:49:31 Speaker 4: And support all of those types of things. 00:49:33 Speaker 5: Things that have been baseball for a while now are starting to come through a little bit more. And even just like there's like speed ratings now in softball that wasn't the thing. All of these new algorithms that help you measure not only the value of a player from just like oh, they can hit the ball really far, like there's so many other things they're exit be low, how fast they're getting around the bases, their quality, AB's all that kind of stuff. We're inserting that into our softball broadcast a lot more because I think what's different is softball started and people had to be taught. We don't need to teach people anymore about softball. Like people know, people know the game. There's a huge audience. They're very dedicated, smart fans, so we don't have to teach them anything. Now we have to enhance the game and show them why something is happening, and here's data to back it up, here's what's going on, and here's the numbers behind what is happening. 00:50:30 Speaker 4: So that's been a really cool transition and something that. 00:50:34 Speaker 5: Our softball team talks about a lot and ways that we continue to try and grow the game. 00:50:39 Speaker 1: Caylen, I want to ask a little bit how about how you got into the media space. I did was reading that article on Barrett Sports Media about you, and I thought this was fascinating that you did want to do broadcasting at Alabama, but you had an academic advisor who told you, now you can. You know, broadcasting doesn't usually work out. You should usually try something else. So I got a good juggle with that. But I mean the question I have is, I mean, did you ever quote to your coach and be like, all right, when I'm on the bench and everyone else is at that, like, could you throw the ESPN headset on me and let me get some early reps in here? I feel like I need to get started. 00:51:11 Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, it's so funny. 00:51:12 Speaker 5: So when I wanted to switch to broadcasting, I actually wanted to be behind the camera. I thought I would be a good producer. I thought that I just loved watching sports. I wanted to be involved in sports and TV. When I was a little kid, I loved the movie so I wanted to be like a movie director. You know, every kid has like their big time dream. I wanted to go to LA and I wanted to go to USC or LMU and go make movies. And then obviously, like Sooptball happened, and you when you're not twelve years old, do you figure, like, oh, life's a little different than I expected. 00:51:40 Speaker 4: So I wanted to be behind the camera and broadcasting. 00:51:42 Speaker 5: I thought it would be cool to be in a truck and work in that capacity. 00:51:46 Speaker 4: So I wasn't really itching to get in front of the. 00:51:48 Speaker 5: Camera, ironically, and so when I talked to my academic advisor, I was kind of like a little bit shocked, but it was what it was. And moved on with my life and got my degree and it worked out anyway. But when my boss called me from ESPN and said, Hey, we're starting this thing called the SEC Network. Do you want to be a part of it, I like jumped at the opportunity. 00:52:11 Speaker 4: I was all about it. 00:52:13 Speaker 5: And you know, when I was playing and I didn't realize this at the time, but a lot of girls on my team didn't want to do like the newspaper interviews every d go talk to the media, because we would have media sessions once or twice a week that you know, the testchoolos, the news would come by, or the student newspaper or the local news outlet. And I was always the you know, sacrificial lamb to go out and do that kind of stuff. And I took it really seriously. And so when ESPN covered all of our stuff with the Women's College World Series, I mean it was just normal for me, Like I got in front of the camera, had no problem, was well spoken enough to you know, peak the attention of my boss and end up landing me a job. 00:52:55 Speaker 4: So I tell kids this all the time because. 00:52:59 Speaker 5: People want a story where oh I wanted to be a broadcaster forever and I did this, and I worked really hard to I did the school media. You know, I didn't do all of those things. But what I did do was I had the opportunity to get in front of the camera. I took it really seriously, and I volunteered for opportunities. 00:53:14 Speaker 4: To speak on behalf of my team. 00:53:16 Speaker 5: And the other thing that I tell people all the time, and I don't even know if this is in the article or not, but I told people that when I did those interviews, and this is something I learned from my college coach, is I shook every person's hand. 00:53:28 Speaker 4: I said, Hi, I'm killerbro, it's so nice to me. What do you do at ESPN? What's your job? 00:53:33 Speaker 5: And my boss at ESPN remembered that, she said, you treated everybody really nicely. 00:53:37 Speaker 4: You asked them what position that they did. You were just. 00:53:43 Speaker 5: Excited to be there and happy to be there, and that was a big piece. 00:53:46 Speaker 4: On why you stood out. 00:53:48 Speaker 5: So you just never know what a handshake and just being the best version of yourself can do and not shaking off opportunities to build your brand or be a good represent of your university at the time, or your job or your life or whatever it is. 00:54:03 Speaker 2: You know what pushed you to still do broadcasting anyway, Like even after your academic advisor said don't do it because there's two people who have sports journalism degrees, and see, all these people just give up so fast, and we're in the early stages trying to figure it out. Sports media is hard, but you pushed through it and made it happen for yourself anyway, So what really still pushed you to continue with it. 00:54:25 Speaker 5: Yeah, I can tell you right now what pushed me was the feeling that I got the first time. 00:54:29 Speaker 4: I was in the booth. 00:54:30 Speaker 5: So I got thrown into the fire like I got hired at ESPN, and my first job was go be in the booth with Michelle Smith, who is like our lead analyst at ESPN. So I sat in the booth with Pam Ward, who calls it WNBA games now college football games, you name it for ESPN and Michelle Smith, and I can tell you right now, I got the same like good butterflies adrenaline, that same feeling that I got when I played, And I thought to myself, oh my gosh, I don't think there's another job on the planet right now that will give me the same feeling like suiting up and getting out on the field and go playing a game, because you have to perform, you have to be the best version of yourself. 00:55:10 Speaker 4: You have to be ready to and prepare to tell a story. 00:55:15 Speaker 5: And that really got me going. 00:55:18 Speaker 4: And that's kind of when I knew. I was like, Okay, this is for me. 00:55:21 Speaker 5: And that's kind of been the driving force behind continuing to grind and work at this job. 00:55:27 Speaker 4: And I can tell you I've. 00:55:28 Speaker 5: Had years where it's been, hey, you're only doing ten games, and you just you're dying for reps and you want to continue to get better. And then the COVID year happened and you know, basically had to take a year off of doing TV. So it was a grind and it's still remains one of the toughest things I'll do and still. 00:55:47 Speaker 4: Makes me want to pull my hair out sometimes. But the feeling. 00:55:50 Speaker 5: Of being competitive and you know, getting the bright lights on you, it feels like competing and feels like playing. 00:55:59 Speaker 4: So that's why continue to do it. 00:56:01 Speaker 1: And the thing for you is your true student of the game. Read that you were watching Kirkirk Street is one of my favorite and then like taking notes like how does he break down a play and all these other things. Who are some other people that are like really good to learn from of this? This is what qualifies good analysis. 00:56:17 Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, it's so interesting because the people that I like to listen to are really clear. 00:56:22 Speaker 4: They find a way to explain the game to you in a simple way but with confidence and kind of a unique way. Like I like listening to Doris Burke and Kirk Curve Street, she's on our suppall team, but Amanda Scarborough is one of my favorite. 00:56:37 Speaker 5: People to listen to. She breaks down the game in such a unique, cool way. And so when I think about all of the people that I really like to listen to, the key piece is they're very clear, and they explain the game in a way that's not over complicated, but not dumb downed, like they relate to the offense that they relate to the audio. And I feel like they're talking to me when they're talking about a game, and they know when to be light and I have fun and not take the game. 00:57:06 Speaker 4: In themselves too seriously. 00:57:08 Speaker 5: And that's what I want to do, is I want to make sure that I am still myself, but I want somebody to leave a game that I've called or a studio show, I'm like, oh, that's a really good insight. It's a good way to look at it. It's a unique perspective that makes sense. That's that's what I want yours to walk away with. And that's what I always look for when I'm listening to somebody call it game. And you know, I think it's been really fun this year listening to all the Mariners broadcasts, because I think every single analyst in the Mariners organization and just on Root Sports has a unique perspective and I take little nuggets from each and every single one of them and it helps. 00:57:45 Speaker 4: Me become a better broadcaster too. 00:57:47 Speaker 5: So it's been really fun to be on this team too and get to experience some new people that do their jobs really well. 00:57:53 Speaker 2: If we had one last question for you, Kaila, is there a single favorite or best thing that you've been about broadcasting since doing it? Like, is there one single thing that you've learned from somebody and say I've always back pocketed that forever. 00:58:09 Speaker 5: That is a That is an interesting question. Gosh, that's a really good question. I don't know if there's been one thing that sticks out, but I can tell you right now, I think about a couple of people that really helped me in my career, and those two people, so they both were a host at the SEC Network, and that's going to be Maria Taylor and Laura Retledge. So I got there like two big they're so big time and I'm so lucky because they were at the SEC Network for about a year. In each of the times that my first three seasons. They were with me as the network started, and for both of them, I always thank Maria Taylor because she taught me the ins and outs of TV because at the time I did major in. 00:58:52 Speaker 4: Broadcasting, so I didn't know all of the ins and outs. 00:58:54 Speaker 5: So she taught me how to read a rundown and how to deliver things emphatically, and how to pace myself throughout a broadcast in a show. And on the other side of that, I thought Laura Rutledge reminded me to be myself above like anything else. Like she is the most like, charismatic, her unique self. When I tell you, guys, like how she is on TV is how she is in person. She's like the nicest, most fun like, awesome person and finds a way to keep things like rolling and throughout the show, and she weaves in her own stories. She brings it back to you in this beautiful way and she's again herself. So in a world, especially for a woman, you know, there's a lot that people want you to be a certain way and they want you to not you know, be yourself a lot of the time. But those two women have really taught me to be myself and taught me a lot about kind of the foundational pieces of broadcasting. So that's that for me. Those were two very impactful people. But yeah, I think beyond that, I mean I still learn something new every single day. 01:00:09 Speaker 2: Well, that means you're just getting better and better everything, it's right, Yeah, that's right. Nobody's ever finished product. 01:00:14 Speaker 4: That's right. 01:00:15 Speaker 2: Well, Kayleb, this has been awesome. We really appreciate all the time you've given us. We enjoyed having the conversation with you. It's been really fun getting to know you out at the ballpark, and we certainly hope to do this again soon. 01:00:26 Speaker 5: Right hey, right back at you guys. It's been awesome and I appreaci you guy. I appreciate you guys, and TJ and Lyle. I will see you back at the ballpark sometime. 01:00:35 Speaker 2: Really enjoyed that conversation with Kayleb Brow. Hopefully you guys got to learn a little bit more about the newest member of the ROUT broadcast team, because like we said before the start of the interview, she really is awesome and we love getting a chance to talk to her. That'll just about wrap up this edition of the Marine Layer podcast. You guys know, the drill If you want to listen to the full form podcast, you can check us out on Apple, Spotify, Google, and Amazon. If you do so, go follow us, download our episodes, give us a five star review. That really helps us big time. And if you want to check us out on the video side, head over to YouTube too. We do a bunch of stuff on YouTube. Go hit subscribe, like comment, turn the notification bells on that way when you'll know. Whenever we post something on social media Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube shorts, go check us out follow us at Marine Layer pot. That's TJ. I'm Lyle. As always with thank you guys for tuning in. Talk to you soon.