Episode 460: How Aggressive Will The Mariners Be Before The Lockout This Offseason? (Mailbag)

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Welcome to episode number 460 of the Marine Layer podcast, live from the BetMGM Sportsbook at Emerald Queen Casino. It's a mailbag episode, so we'll open it up and answer your best listener questions. 00:00:11 Speaker 2: Reminder to you guys, before we start this podcast, make sure to do us a big favor. Make sure to go hit subscribe on YouTube if you're watching. It just takes a second to do. It's a huge help to the channel and the brand. If you're watching, go download, go rate and review. Please leave that five-star review if you do so. And if you want to find us on our website, everything's there too. You can find our merch. You can find our Patreon. You can find all of our episodes. Again, that's at marinelayerpod.com. Then follow us on social media. We're everywhere at marinelayerpod. 00:00:39 Speaker 3: Let's get it rolling. 00:00:40 Speaker 2: Let's get it rolling. 00:00:53 Speaker 1: And we welcome you to this episode of the Marine Layer podcast, part of the Just Baseball podcast network, recording here on Tuesday evening, September 22nd. The Mariners have lost the first of two to the Houston Astros in a shockingly lifeless, just flat effort. But we're here at the EQC, so it's been a great night overall. As you can see, we're here in the sportsbook. We're sitting on these dream seat loungers, over 70 of them here in the Sportsbook, surrounded by 86-inch TVs. 00:01:23 Speaker 3: There's a bar off to our right and a ton of things to do. 00:01:25 Speaker 1: So if you need a place to watch the NFL this season or one of the last few Mariner games, this is definitely the place to be. 00:01:32 Speaker 2: Or playoff baseball, which will be going on all October. Not from the Mariners, but from a lot of other teams around baseball. It has been really fun. Seriously, if you guys have never been out to EQC, to the Emerald Queen Casino, it is really, really fun. And I'm not even just saying that because we're here, because we're taping a podcast from here. Like, it is genuinely a perfect place to go watch sports with your friends or just hang out with your friends. So we love coming here every time we're here. 00:01:56 Speaker 3: What about the Mariner game tonight, Lyle? 00:01:59 Speaker 2: I mean, you just said it. Flat, lifeless performance with five games to go. All right, that probably wraps up the pod, right? We can be done. 00:02:06 Speaker 3: They didn't get eliminated yet. 00:02:08 Speaker 2: Somehow. Well, not by anything of their doing. It's because the Rangers lost. I got to say, if you want to talk about tonight's game, I got to own up to something, TJ. We weren't on it. We weren't on top of it. We're sitting here at the EQC getting set up for this podcast. And we thought when we started, we were going to time it perfectly. As the Mariners postgame show is going on off to our left on a few of the TVs here at the Sportsbook, we said we would actually get a chance for a live reaction into a Dan Wilson presser. We could live update people and get our real reactions on if we'd get a hashtag tough one tonight. Well, I got to say, we really slipped up and we weren't on our game because we all of a sudden are getting ready to record and the Dan Wilson presser is up on the screen and we missed the start of it. We didn't do our service to the people. We missed if he said tough one tonight at the start of the press or not. So we're not sitting here really reporting the hard-hitting journalism to people. So if people are mad at us and people are saying, why do we tune in if you guys can't even get us a tough one tonight update or not, I don't blame you for doing so. 00:03:12 Speaker 1: I don't mean to out you here, dog. We were sitting down. We were ready to record. Dan pops on the screen. And where does your vision and your mind go? It goes right to Dan Wilson. Right as we're about to record, you turn to face the screen. He says something about they had opportunities, just couldn't convert on offense today, which was a total lie because they had four hits tonight, barely any pulse on offense. 00:03:35 Speaker 3: But Lyle is yelling at. 00:03:37 Speaker 1: The TV for something Dan said in his postgame presser. 00:03:42 Speaker 3: And then he snuck in the tough one about 20 seconds later. 00:03:45 Speaker 1: So if we're able to hit record– Instead of you yelling at the TV, maybe we would have gotten it. 00:03:51 Speaker 2: So he did add, I think it was a tougher one, so a little variation. Didn't get a tough one, got a tougher one. A few seconds into the presser, maybe after 30 seconds or so of yapping. You're right. You're not lying. I could have gotten very much Mike McDonald, because TJ did hit record on the record button here, and there's like 20 seconds of footage that are on this video, which I'm sure we're going to edit out before we start the podcast. 00:04:14 Speaker 3: Are you sure? 00:04:15 Speaker 2: Well, again... I have a chance to get Mike McDonald, but I do edit half this podcast, so I would assume I'm going to cut out the first 20 seconds. But if people want to know what the first 20 seconds were, it's essentially Dan up there talking about, like you just said, and like you just recapped for everybody, how he's like, yeah, had opportunities tonight and just, you know, couldn't get them done. I go, my ass, you got shut out. There were not opportunities. It's like, what are we talking about, dude? All I can say is, Five more games, Teej. Five more games. Five more. 00:04:51 Speaker 1: You know what I was doing this week? I was going back and I was doing some scrolling on our account. I was like, you know, I'm a little bored. The season's getting a little slow right now. 00:05:00 Speaker 2: A little? 00:05:01 Speaker 1: The last week of the season before things probably really ramp up next week. And I was going back and looking at things that happened about a year ago. 00:05:08 Speaker 2: You remember what. 00:05:09 Speaker 3: Happened a year ago? 00:05:10 Speaker 2: Victor Robles made the catch of his life, and the Mariners won their biggest series in 25 years as they took down the Astros. 00:05:15 Speaker 1: Could you think of a difference in vibes in 365 days? Like, you could even conceive at the point they were at last year that the vibes could be so polar opposite at this point of the season, where you and I are literally counting down days until the end of the season. 00:05:31 Speaker 3: Like, I can't wait for this to be over. 00:05:34 Speaker 2: Oh, dude. And you said how it's currently slow and it'll pick back up when the season ends. All I'll say is, and people I think are smart enough to put the tea leaves together, come early next week, I will be seated. 00:05:47 Speaker 3: Seated! 00:05:49 Speaker 2: Waiting for potential news to drop. Like, I have a promise to the people. I'm getting up at about 7 a.m., if not earlier, all of next week to go to the gym early because I will be nowhere except right next to the computer and my phone when potential news breaks. I will be nowhere else. I'm getting up as early as possible to get everything I have to do in the morning out of the way, so I'm just seated. Seated. 00:06:17 Speaker 1: I'll be doing the same thing. Maybe I won't be going to the gym at 7 a.m. because I can't get out of bed that early, but I will be seated. 00:06:23 Speaker 2: Which, speaking of. 00:06:26 Speaker 2: Tonight's game and the season slowing down and talking about what went down we can get into the mailbag here in a second i honestly do have a rant to do which is amazing with five games left to go in the season for a team that is plenty had their season over for a while now even if mathematically it's not the season's over um i i have to go on a rant here because I don't know what's going on with these lineups. What on earth are we doing with Michael Arroyo sitting on the bench in the final week of the season with the season being over while letting Weston Wilson and Taylor Ward play games for a team that has their season done? I'm serious. Who is making these lineups? Well, we know who's making these lineups. We know who's making these lineups. The man looks like he's gone half rogue. I mean, it looks like it's clearly his lineups. Clearly he has no care. I mean, clearly he has no interest about the future development of these prospects because why on earth are these guys on the bench? Why is Arroyo on the bench? Your season is over. I don't know who needs to scream that into an abyss. The season is over. I don't care what the math says. And you have Weston Wilson pinch hitting halfway through the game for Brock Rodden. only to follow that up with Weston Wilson to play like his 52nd game of the year for half the game over at third base as Michael Royo just sits on the bench. Why is he on the bench? You called him up to play, and he's not playing for a team that's season is beyond cooked. Seriously, what are we doing? Is this just essentially... Dan, who clearly makes the lineups at this point, telling the front office, yeah, I don't care about the future development of this organization because deep down I know I'm not going to be here next year. So I'm not interested in playing Michael Arroyo. I'm just going to do whatever I want. What are we doing? You called him up. Play him. He's just sitting on the bench. I don't care that he got late in the game. Why is he on the bench again? It took him a week to get in the game after his debut when he first came up, and now he barely plays. Like, I'm watching Weston Wilson play like his 52nd game of the year. Brother. Like, I think I'm going mad. I'm already... People probably already know I'm going mad because I'm sitting here ranting about a team that's got their season done with five games to go. But I can't get over it. Like, it's absurd that he's not in every game at this point. And he's not. It's insane. 00:08:59 Speaker 1: You would have thought Kerry Carpenter just hit a home run. 00:09:02 Speaker 3: You really would have thought. 00:09:04 Speaker 2: There are certain things... That just, well, certain things. There's a million things that have made no fundamental sense about this season and the way things have gone down in any way. But how do they keep running out lineups without Michael Arroyo in it? 00:09:19 Speaker 3: I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why. 00:09:21 Speaker 1: And it's going to be a key part of whoever they hired to be their next manager. 00:09:24 Speaker 3: Next manager. Alignment. There needs to be alignment. 00:09:29 Speaker 1: Up and down from the front office to to the coaches in the dugout making the lineups. If the front office is so focused on their young players and their development and stoking the fire for what will hopefully be a better 2027, the manager also needs to think that as well. However, the Mariners have no one to blame but themselves for this entire situation. There is a reason managers who are about to get let go don't get to manage the rest of the season, especially manage the rest of the season knowing they're going to let go. Organizations that would have operated with logic... and an expectation of winning, and when you see something's not working, you make a move. 00:10:13 Speaker 3: You're like, all right, this is not working. 00:10:14 Speaker 1: Maybe it won't work again this year, but hopefully this will give us a head start on next year. Like the Red Sox just realized they have Chad Tracy as their full-time manager now. They gave him a trial run, and they realized, oh, this guy's actually pretty good at it. Let's make him the manager. 00:10:27 Speaker 2: Well, TJ, they did make changes. They fired the third hitting coach. That saved the season. You can't fire a guy who had an 80 career WRC plus. You just can't do it. You can't do it. 00:10:36 Speaker 3: See, that's my, yeah, exactly. That's my point. 00:10:39 Speaker 1: If the Mariners were willing to have the tough conversations and make the change earlier in the year, well, then they wouldn't be in this situation where you have a lame duck manager managing the last game of the season in which you would rather play your prospects, but you said he's still in charge. 00:10:55 Speaker 3: So, this is what you get. So, I know you're pissed off as a fan. 00:10:59 Speaker 1: I'm pissed off as a fan because Laz and Arroyo should be with the games meaning nothing, play every single day. 00:11:04 Speaker 3: Like, you have nothing to lose. They struggle? 00:11:05 Speaker 2: Okay. So what? 00:11:06 Speaker 1: They start next year in AAA and you move on. If they hit well, great. Like, that's a huge positive. But, like, anyone in the Mariners is frustrated about this? 00:11:15 Speaker 2: Like. 00:11:16 Speaker 3: This is on you. 00:11:17 Speaker 2: Yeah. 00:11:18 Speaker 3: This is why you don't let this happen. 00:11:19 Speaker 1: Oh. 00:11:20 Speaker 2: I mean, Jerry John Stanton and Chris Larson completely enabled this, so yes. Yes. Like, if people up in that front office are mad when they see a lineup come out without Michael Arroyo in it, yeah, this is totally on you. 00:11:32 Speaker 3: Yes. 00:11:33 Speaker 2: You decided not only to make the hire back two years ago when you did and interview nobody else, but you haven't made a change, and clearly things haven't worked, and things are still going... what seemed like Rogue, because Arroyo's not in these lineups. And you called him up. You did not like, if their process was to call him up to sit on the bench, then there's questions about the front office too. But I'm sure this front office did not call him up to sit on the bench. Yet he does sit on the bench, all the time. It's insane. It's completely insane. Tacoma had so many games from the time that Arroyo got called up till this past week when the season ended that he could have been playing in. But no, they called him up. And then they just leave him on the bench. 00:12:20 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:12:21 Speaker 3: Do you feel fulfilled? A little. 00:12:23 Speaker 2: A little bit. Because, again, when I saw him again not in the lineup today, with the season, again, over, even if it's mathematically not, I'm just like, what are we doing here? Why am I seeing, again, it honestly triggered it more, even more so when Weston Wilson came into the game after Taylor Ward pinch hit. I know people think, oh, Arroyo doesn't have a position, and maybe he doesn't. Maybe, I mean, we know a defensive. 00:12:51 Speaker 1: Weston Wilson does not have a position either. 00:12:54 Speaker 2: No, Weston Wilson, on a rate basis, has been about the worst defender in Major League Baseball. And I'm sure people up in the front office know that, because if we have those numbers, they have those numbers. So with less than a week to go, why on earth are you playing a guy who's probably not going to be on the roster next year? I don't care if you think Arroyo has defensive questions around the diamond. This is the perfect time to learn if he really does or not, like to learn what the liability is defensively at certain positions with Arroyo, at least to some extent. But when I see a lineup come out with Brock Rodden starting at third, I'm like, okay, I roll. Arroyo's not in there again. But, you know, Rodden's young too. Maybe they want to see something out of him if they think he'll be a utility guy next year. It's the middle of this game when they pinch hit Taylor Ward and then put Weston Wilson into the game to play third face. Why is Arroyo up here if you're not going to play him? I know we got to move on to the mailbag. Five more games. Five more games. 00:13:49 Speaker 3: Five more games. 00:13:50 Speaker 2: And then this season is over. 00:13:53 Speaker 1: Before we get on to this mailbag, I want to tell you guys about a couple of Emerald Queen Casino's upcoming entertainments here. 00:14:01 Speaker 3: At EQC in Tacoma. 00:14:02 Speaker 1: Matt Matthews visits EQC on September 27th. Sons of Legion on October 4th. Gary Allen on October 9th. And WFC 199 on October 17th. Get your tickets today at emeraldqueen.com. Emerald Queen Casino is the entertainment capital of the Northwest. And while you're here, yes, you can see it on screen if you're watching here at YouTube. You can come check out the BetMGM Sportsbook. No better place to watch a game. What we're sitting on right now is two of the 70 Dream Seat loungers here in the Sportsbook with dozens of 86-inch TVs around us. There's legal wagering on both college and pro sports. And you can download the BetEQC app right onto your phone so you can wager anywhere on the property. Catch every sport and every play at Emerald Queen Casino. For more details, visit emeraldqueen.com. Please game responsibly. And a reminder to all of you, as we dive into this mailbag episode, the place to go if you want to be a part of these mailbags is our Patreon. That's patreon.com slash marinelayerpod. You get access to ad-free episodes, mailbag priority, and the opportunity to hop on a video call with Lyle and I once a month and get all of your Mariners questions answered. So if that sounds like something that's interesting to you, head over to our Patreon at patreon.com slash marine layer pod. Ethan on Patreon starts us off and asks, after the disappointing season, I look back and I see major issues with the bullpen. What are some bullpen targets you guys are looking at either in free agency or trade-wise? 00:15:32 Speaker 2: Oh, I mean, there'll be a bunch. Can we just throw out the A names and the dream world names? Because I'll tell you that the guy that would stick out like a sore thumb for me, Adrian Morohone. Now he is a Boris guy, but would I pay a lot of money for Adrian Morohone? Yeah, that guy's the best lefty reliever in baseball. 00:15:51 Speaker 1: And we've also talked about this team is in need of sort of a philosophy tweak. Like the philosophy has gotten them most of the way to where they are right now, where they can win. 00:16:02 Speaker 3: As a ceiling, roughly 90 games. 00:16:04 Speaker 1: But what are they going to do to get to that 95-100? While that more home contract might not age well, you're going to have to, I think, convince ownership that investment into the bullpen, even if it's not at the top of the line, even if you're investing in the middle part of your bullpen and raising the floor, that that's going to have to be something. And Morahone could be a guy you could target at the top. I mean, Garrett Whitlock, who Ethan mentions in his question as well, is also an option. I'm trying to remind myself on his contract. 00:16:35 Speaker 2: I was going to tell you, if you brought up Whitlock, he's got two club options. I think on his baseball reference page, it says he's technically a free agent after this year because the Red Sox have to pick up his options, and I'm sure they will. So I don't think Whitlock will be available. 00:16:48 Speaker 1: I remember the two of us talking about it. I'll spin this in a positive way, though. Garrett Whitlock currently plays for another wunderkind of a GM in Craig Breslow, who's all about optimization and efficiency and being, not having, I. 00:17:09 Speaker 3: Think he understands not overpaying bullpen. 00:17:13 Speaker 2: Are you sure? Whitlock's owed $ 8. 2 million next year after making seven and a half this year. 00:17:18 Speaker 3: At 31 years old. 00:17:19 Speaker 2: He'll be a Red Sox next year. He will. 00:17:22 Speaker 3: What if you called up and made a serious offer for him? 00:17:26 Speaker 2: Well, right. This is the thing. You're not going to get to sign him in free agency. They will pick up that club option. And then if they want to trade him, okay. But then you'd have to trade for him. Yeah, you could trade for him. Sure. I mean, you could. Other than those two. I mean, there will be other names out there. I mean, there will be bounce-back candidates. But again, the Mariners can't afford to put a bunch of bounce-back candidates on the roster. They need... serious bullpen overhaul this off season. And if you need bullpen overhaul and you need to build around Andres Munoz, which I think you do, because again, he's proven he only wants like only pitches in certain situations. He didn't have his best year brash. You can't really rely on cause he's been too injured. You need more dogs in that bullpen. And the only way you're going to get that is if you pay for it. Then again, TJ, you said you're going to have to convince ownership. You might as well just stop it right there. You're going to have to convince ownership. Oh, well, that's the end of that conversation. Man, I'm feeling feisty for some reason, aren't I? 00:18:22 Speaker 3: This has been a feisty pod. Must be because we're in person. 00:18:25 Speaker 2: That could be. 00:18:25 Speaker 1: While I was letting it all out at the end of the season. 00:18:27 Speaker 2: That could be. 00:18:28 Speaker 1: Here's some free agents. I mean, Ryan Helsley is a player option. I don't know whether or not he would take that. 00:18:35 Speaker 3: I mean, it's for. 00:18:36 Speaker 2: Again, Helsley's been. 00:18:37 Speaker 3: $ 14 million. 00:18:38 Speaker 2: I like Helsley. We got to talk to him this year. Obviously, his career has been really good, but he was very injured this year and has had a couple of much tougher seasons, so. 00:18:48 Speaker 3: But maybe that's a risk you have to take. 00:18:50 Speaker 2: Sure, if you're going to take a risk on a bounce-back year from Ryan Helsley, fine. But also go sign Morohone. 00:18:56 Speaker 3: Oh, sure. They need, like, three arms in that bullpen. 00:18:59 Speaker 2: And one needs to be established. Now, the problem is, again, I'm sure Morohone's going to be looking for $ 100 million, and he may very well get it. But the Mariners need to look in the mirror and decide how much they want to keep nickel and diming their bullpen because it's costing them. It costs them this year big time. 00:19:17 Speaker 1: They're... There's not an overwhelming amount of great relievers available on this free agent market, I will say. Like, if you look at the guys all the way at the top of the market, the guys who are making a ton of money this year, like Rysell Iglesias is old. He's making 16 this year. He would probably cost a decent coin. I mean, Pete Fairbanks has been really good in the past, but he's had a really, really, really bad year. 00:19:39 Speaker 3: You could have a reunion with Jimmy Garcia. 00:19:42 Speaker 2: Oh, boy. 00:19:43 Speaker 3: That went so well last time they had him in there. 00:19:45 Speaker 2: All right, so Morjone it is. 00:19:47 Speaker 3: I mean, David Bednar. 00:19:49 Speaker 2: Oh, yeah. 00:19:49 Speaker 3: I mean, I do David Bednar. 00:19:50 Speaker 1: I mean, he's not your best reliever, but he could be your third best or second best reliever. 00:19:54 Speaker 2: Who's going to be your best reliever? 00:19:57 Speaker 1: I think your best reliever is still allowed to be Andres Munoz. Okay. And then Bednar's your second, but who's your third? Well, then we're going to keep looking and find another one. Because, again, you can't rely on Brash anymore. 00:20:10 Speaker 2: I'm sorry. If he's healthy, great. But continuing to pencil him in, he has thrown 60 healthy innings in three years. He's just not been on the field. So, what, is it Bednar and then Helsley and then Munoz and then Brash and then Spire and then Bazzardo, something like that? That'd be all right. I'd be fine with that. But– You got to go do it. 00:20:31 Speaker 3: Watch. 00:20:31 Speaker 1: The Mariners are going to sign Paul Blackburn, who's having a really good year for the Yankees out of their bullpen. And I'll sign him to come in. He's making $ 2 million this year. I can't imagine it'd be that expensive. 00:20:41 Speaker 2: All right. Well, again, if you sign him as like your fourth guy, great. Yeah. 00:20:45 Speaker 3: Fourth guy. 00:20:46 Speaker 1: I'd be okay with that. I mean, there's just free agent wise. There's not a ton. Jason Adams, a free agent. 00:20:50 Speaker 2: Oh, that'd be a good. Well, that'd be a good one. 00:20:53 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:20:53 Speaker 3: I think that would be a good one too. 00:20:54 Speaker 2: No, it'd be a very good one. 00:20:56 Speaker 3: So sign two Padres relievers, essentially. 00:20:57 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:20:58 Speaker 2: Well, if it's up to me, Morohone. 00:21:02 Speaker 3: Okay. 00:21:02 Speaker 2: He's also 28. Adam and Helsley and those guys are older. Yeah. 00:21:07 Speaker 3: I'm all the way in for that. 00:21:09 Speaker 1: Next question, we'll do this as a two-part question because they're both pretty much the same. 00:21:13 Speaker 3: One question comes from Emma. Other question comes from Barb, my mother. 00:21:18 Speaker 1: Emma's question is, if Dan goes, Dan will go, what would you look for in the manager if you were on the hiring board? And then Barb asks, given that you'll have a new manager next season, what interview questions would you ask the candidate if you had an opportunity to? 00:21:32 Speaker 2: You were fired up about this before the pod. Why don't you start? 00:21:36 Speaker 1: Question number one for the interview candidate for the Seattle Mariners. Let's say you're in spring training and the WBC is going on. Your star outfielder and your star catcher are both playing in the same game on opposite sides. Something happens in the game where your star outfielder feels offended by your star catcher and then proceeds to cuss him out in the media scrum postgame. 00:22:00 Speaker 3: How do you handle that situation? 00:22:03 Speaker 2: What, the answer isn't just to pretend like it didn't happen and move on? 00:22:06 Speaker 1: Like Dan Wilson did, where he was like, he essentially was trying to move on from it as fast as humanly possible to the press. Well, and clearly, seeing how the two players reacted to it, there wasn't much diffusing of the situation that happened, given it took Randy an entire week to offer an apology publicly. Yeah, I think that would be a pretty big one on how they handle not only like controversy between the players, because that happens where players disagree and how is a manager who's supposed to be a culture guy and a clubhouse uniter going to handle a situation like that with the players. But again, it's also accountability for a player who just throws another player. 00:22:47 Speaker 3: Under the bus. 00:22:48 Speaker 2: Yeah, like curses them out. Yes. Dan wanted to move on as fast as possible. It's like, have you ever seen any player in the game of baseball publicly curse out their own teammate? No. And your solution is, well, we're just going to move on. No, I don't think you are. 00:23:00 Speaker 3: I'm going to see if I can find this quote. You, you can go out. What questions do you have? 00:23:04 Speaker 2: Um, I would like them to do homework on spot during the interview where it's essentially the scene in little big league, but in real life where you're presented bullpen situations or pinch hit situations, and you have to answer them. You have to explain your process. You have to tell them what you'd plan to do and why you're going to do it. And then how you present why you did what you did publicly. For example, Let's throw out a hypothetical situation. If you're in, let's say, the highest leverage moment of your season, the pitcher that starts the inning puts two runners on base to start the inning. Said team has top of the lineup coming up. And you have two choices. You can either go to one of the best relievers in baseball who's thrown twice in the last week, or you could go to a middle reliever who's just happened to get a little bit hot in the postseason, who's seen this lineup in that part of the order about five times in the last six days. And you're contemplating putting him in again. Do you go to the middle reliever who's seen this lineup a million times? Or do you go to one of the best relievers in baseball who hasn't? In the biggest spot of your season. I think I'd like that manager to answer that question on the spot and why they do what they do. 00:24:09 Speaker 3: I think that's another good one. 00:24:11 Speaker 2: That's a great one. 00:24:12 Speaker 3: That's great. 00:24:13 Speaker 1: It's a great process. A great example of laying your process out there. Yep. 00:24:18 Speaker 3: Seeing how they react. Are you ready for this quote? 00:24:20 Speaker 2: Yep. 00:24:21 Speaker 1: This is after Randy issued his first statement where he took essentially zero accountability. 00:24:25 Speaker 3: For what he did at the WBC. 00:24:27 Speaker 1: The quote from Dan Wilson is, quote, our goal here is to win the World Series, and putting that behind us is a big part of that goal. 00:24:35 Speaker 2: Shocker. So not acknowledging that for the first time in everybody's life, a player publicly cursed out his own teammate in like four different languages. And we're just going to move on. We're going to win the World Series. Well, I don't know if you are considering two of your best players are currently beefing. And evidently, as you look up at the screens here at the EQC tonight, they are not winning the World Series. They're not even going to the playoffs in the worst American League West ever. 00:25:02 Speaker 3: Oh, what else? What are some other good questions? 00:25:05 Speaker 1: On a slightly more serious note, I mean, one of my questions is, like, what is going to be the identity of your baseball team? Because that is another thing Dan Wilson could not answer this year. The media asked him what the identity of the baseball team is, and his answer was having the team show up ready to play, which they haven't. And also, it's not an identity. Like, that's the bare minimum of every team. Like, yeah, these guys get paid millions of dollars. Of course they should show up ready to play. 00:25:36 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like, oh, thanks, Dan. So your solution is to have all your players, oh, I don't know, not be Cattell Marte. 00:25:42 Speaker 1: Yeah. 00:25:43 Speaker 2: Like, show up, physically show up ready to play, which Cattell didn't do many times during this season. 00:25:50 Speaker 1: Mistake-free baseball, accountable, a number of things that could, like, selfless, a number of things that I think are pretty easy things to explain. I'd love to know what the manager of the team would, would want the identity of his team to be? And have a clear, concise answer on it. 00:26:13 Speaker 2: Yeah. I'd like to know how they plan to handle accountability. I'd like to know where the line is on accountability. You know, what's going too far, what's being too lenient. I think that's pretty important. Clearly, after the way this has gone, I'd be interested to know, again, how much they play matchups. Versus, again, Dan throws the same lineup out there every day no matter what, where Scott ran a bunch of different lineups out there based on the matchups. I'd like to know a lot of different things. I mean, are there things we're leaving out? I mean, those are a lot of them. 00:26:48 Speaker 1: Maybe the biggest one to me is a bullpen example of, do you like using your best reliever in the ninth inning or in the highest leverage situation? 00:26:56 Speaker 2: Oh, I forgot the most important one. 00:26:59 Speaker 3: Oh, great. 00:27:00 Speaker 2: Sorry, maybe not the most important, but one of the most important ones, which we talked about pre-taping. How do you plan to properly communicate the message of the team to your players? Yet another thing this manager could not do as evidence from the piggyback when you had constant players pissed off and publicly outing how much they hated it with Luis throwing tantrums and Bryce saying this is awful. It's an iteration of that. But how do you plan to communicate that? I'll give you another example. Andres Munoz now only pitches the ninth inning. And part of that is on Munoz. We talked about it on a previous episode that That is very much a Munoz thing, that he seems to only want to pitch the ninth. And again, we've also heard some very credible stories that his agent very much meddles in this whole situation, which is another huge problem, that you have somebody from outside the organization saying, oh, my guy will pitch here and pitch here, but not here and not here. Like, that's a huge pain. Where... You see that, and you know that's a problem. But also, Scott Service used Munoz all over the place. Maybe not as much as he wanted to. Maybe there were points where Scott couldn't do it. But Munoz was throwing in leverage in the 7th and in the 8th and sometimes in the 9th. And when the top of the order was coming up with runners on base, he'd come in the game because those were the leverage spots. Those are the tipping points of the game. They need to get back to that. The role of a closer in today's game is flawed, and we've talked about that. They should not only be pitching the ninth inning. So if they hire a modern-age, new-school-thinking manager, which they should... I want to know how you're going to get the message of that to your players and properly communicate to them. This is why we need you in this spot. This is why it's the best suited spot for you to be here and for the team to win this game here and properly communicate it. Because while again, it clearly seems like a Munoz thing for why he doesn't pitch anywhere else besides the ninth for the most part these days. It's still on Dan because, again, if Dan was properly communicating why they need him in other spots, maybe Munoz would be more open-minded and would throw in more spots. Instead, clearly, the message seems to be, oh, you only want to throw in the ninth? Well, go right ahead. 00:29:06 Speaker 1: I'd say the last thing for me, and this isn't a specific question, but I want– if the front office is going to stay intact, I want proof that there is alignment in thinking between the coaches– And more specifically, the manager and the front office, because what we are seeing and what Lyle spent 15 minutes at the start of this podcast ranting about is what we see is clear disalignment between how the front office thinks about baseball and how the manager thinks about baseball. 00:29:37 Speaker 3: And in today's game, you need alignment. 00:29:40 Speaker 1: You need people to sit down and they come to the same conclusion because otherwise you are stuck in situations where there is mixed messaging and overall confusion among fans, players. 00:29:54 Speaker 3: Et cetera. 00:29:54 Speaker 2: I mean, on that note, if you watch the movie money ball, I would say the Art Howe situation that you see in the movie Moneyball is not a thing, for the most part, in Major League Baseball, in real life. And if it is, it ends, because a process like that and a misalignment like that doesn't work, where you have the GM and Billy Bean having to go down to the dugout. It's like, well, I want Diane Wright, I want Hatterberg at first, I want Pena on the bench, and I want anybody but Magnante as the first guy out of the bullpen. And Art Howe's like, no. That doesn't happen in real life baseball. There's a reason that's a movie, because in real life baseball, you need alignment. Oh, by the way, that scene in the movie and the way they portrayed Art Howe in the movie is not how Art Howe actually was in real life. Art Howe did whatever Billy Beane wanted him to do. And look, you don't want that either. You don't want a yes man. You want people that have their own line of thought. You want somebody with a mind of their own, because you want a lot of smart people in the room to at times disagree, but ultimately come together on decisions. But yeah, the art how thing in Moneyball is not a thing in baseball. And if it is, it ends very quickly. 00:30:58 Speaker 1: Because you want those pregame meetings that you spend so much time going over game plans and such to actually translate on the field. And I'm just going to guess that it does not translate on the field in the current iteration of the Mariners. Oh, no. 00:31:11 Speaker 2: Again, we've said this a million times this year. The way that Dan manages games, there's no way you can tell me that's how the front office wants games managed. 00:31:18 Speaker 1: No way. So thank you for the questions, guys. That's very interesting. And hopefully we can have a deeper conversation on this next week. Next question comes from Alex on Patreon. Alex's question is, going into the lockout in 2021, Jerry talked about being very aggressive out of the gate because so much of the offseason business could get done in November before the CBA expired. How aggressive should we realistically expect them to be before December 1st this time? Expect? 00:31:46 Speaker 2: It's the Mariners. Who knows what to expect? What they should do? They should be ultra aggressive. They should have a ton of things done before December 1st. Especially because the difference between the last lockout and this one is there is a real chance the structure of the game of baseball is changed out of this lockout. Not for sure, but there's a chance. And if that's the case, it is going to be even harder to get deals done at the end of the lockout, especially if it happens late. The end of the lockout happens late where there's a really fast turnaround and not a lot of time for free agent signings. Yeah, you better be planning to get a lot done in the month of November. You plan to trade a starter, you should get that done in November. You want to go sign a big bullpen arm, get it done in November. You want to go get, say, a Suzuki, and you should, get it done in November. And then if there's pieces on the margins where outside of the lockout you still feel like you need, do it then. But they need to do a lot of needle moving in December. They need to move a lot of mountains in December. Or, sorry, in November. 00:32:44 Speaker 3: In... Yeah, November. 00:32:45 Speaker 1: In 2021, the move the Mariners made was just signing Robbie Ray, if I remember that correctly. I don't think they pulled off any other major move until spring training when they traded for Gino and Jesse Winker. 00:32:56 Speaker 2: Right. 00:32:56 Speaker 1: But I think I have that sequencing down correctly. 00:32:59 Speaker 3: I would expect one serious move. 00:33:04 Speaker 1: I have a hard time thinking a starter is already going to be traded by November. 00:33:08 Speaker 3: I mean, you never know, but like. 00:33:11 Speaker 1: I don't know if a month is long enough to sufficiently field offers on these guys. 00:33:17 Speaker 3: It could. 00:33:17 Speaker 2: It has to be. It could. It might not be long enough, but guess what? You could trade them during spring training. Yeah, you could. It's going to make things a lot harder. Again, if it ends in mid-March and everybody is rushing to get back to camp, are you going to get the value you want with three weeks to go before the start of the season? 00:33:34 Speaker 1: You also know there could be some desperate teams who might have missed out on those free agents on the market. in November and they realize, oh crap, I have a rotation spot I need to fill. I've been talking to Jerry about George Kirby. I need to get this done now. 00:33:47 Speaker 2: Maybe, but again, how many things do the Mariners put the chance into risk? Too much, too often. I don't care if you think a month is not long enough. You got to make it long enough. You got to go find a deal and get it done before the lockout starts. Because I think it's going to be really hard, personally, to get a deal done of proper value for one of your starting pitchers in spring training post-lockout. I do. You've got to get it done in November. 00:34:13 Speaker 3: I think it would be better in November. I don't think it has to be November. 00:34:17 Speaker 2: I am not going to be a happy camper if it's not done by December. And, again, maybe I'm reeling here because I'm all fired up and I'm in a bad mood because we've watched a miserable season. But, yeah. 00:34:27 Speaker 1: Well, that's probably because you have to sit there and you're going to have to think about it for the months. We'll have nothing until they actually sit down and agree to a CBA. But that, again, does not mean that they can't trade them once they re-agree to a CBA. 00:34:40 Speaker 2: They could. I wouldn't put it to chance. 00:34:42 Speaker 3: GMs can talk to each other while the CBA is expired. I believe, right? I think the GMs can talk to each other. I guess the CBA is expired. Just wouldn't make any trades. 00:34:51 Speaker 2: No, I just I wouldn't put it to chance. That's all. 00:34:55 Speaker 1: The Mariners swung a huge trade after the CBA end last time. 00:34:59 Speaker 3: I would not just say it's over after that. 00:35:02 Speaker 2: What did they give up? They gave up Brandon Williamson. 00:35:05 Speaker 3: The Reds gave up a ton. 00:35:06 Speaker 1: The Reds traded their starting third baseman and starting left fielder. 00:35:10 Speaker 3: Now I can see why, but they did. 00:35:14 Speaker 2: I would advise to not bet against that. Hell, what if we're actually wrong and the season starts April 15th because you've lost games? You cannot put this to chance. You can't put the lockout and the fate of your team in the hands of Rob freaking Manfred. 00:35:31 Speaker 1: Well, what if you can't get the bat you want back for George Kirby in November? 00:35:35 Speaker 3: What are you going to do? Just trade him just for fuck's sake? 00:35:39 Speaker 2: I don't know, man. 00:35:41 Speaker 3: No, you wouldn't do that. 00:35:42 Speaker 2: You don't trade him for shits and gigs, but you need to work your ass off to get the right deal to trade him. Before December 1st. 00:35:49 Speaker 1: The goal of this offseason is not just a trade to trade. The goal is to bring back significant major league talent. 00:35:53 Speaker 2: Correct. 00:35:54 Speaker 3: If you're not bringing that talent back, you're not trading them. 00:35:57 Speaker 2: Correct. And they need to do that before December 1st. They need to figure out how to get it done. Because other teams will be up against the clock, too. And they'll know they need to get deals done. By the way, we're still sitting here in the Ben MGM Sportsbook at the Emerald Queen Casino. Which, again, has been a blast. It's an awesome spot to hang out. I'm looking at a highlight of Yandy Diaz driving in a couple runs. Or I was a minute ago. They should sign him before December 1st. That would be great. 00:36:19 Speaker 1: I mean, that's something you could absolutely do in November. Yeah. 00:36:22 Speaker 2: They should go get that guy. 00:36:22 Speaker 3: As soon as you tell him Randy Rosarena's not on the team anymore. 00:36:24 Speaker 2: Yeah, well, which he won't be, because Yandy and Randy can't play together. But, again, I would go sign Yandy, and I'd get him in here for a, I don't know, two-year deal, whatever it's got to be, because he's older, but I'd go get him. Yeah. 00:36:39 Speaker 1: See the Razors celebrating winning the division? 00:36:42 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, to be fair, Yanni looks pretty happy. He might see himself in Tampa. It's like, wow, do I want to go 3,000 miles to a team that just had Randy Rosarena on it and just came off a horrific season? Well, I might not. They better figure out how to convince him, though, I will say. 00:37:01 Speaker 1: Next question on the mailbag comes from Graham. Graham's question is, who's truly ready to come up full-time from AA or AAA for next season? 00:37:11 Speaker 2: I think the only one you can really lock in of major substance is Ryan Sloan. Because his question is of the guys that we haven't seen yet. So, not including Laz, not including Arroyo, not including Cade or Colt Emerson. When you get past those guys, it really is just Ryan Sloan. Because Johnny Farmello and Feldy and Celestin need time. They have a lot more development to do before they're called up to the big leagues. Maybe those guys are on track for the end of next year, possible, if it goes well. But I think the only lock is Sloan. 00:37:45 Speaker 1: I think it's most of the guys you've seen this year, because I still count those guys as the double and triple-A guys. 00:37:51 Speaker 2: I think in Graham's question, he asked that we haven't seen yet, though. I think it's that we haven't seen. So if that's the case, just Sloan. 00:38:00 Speaker 1: Right. You did mention that, and that went right over my head. Every day would be Sloan. But Sloan's not even going to be ready right at the start. I mean, Sloan, it might be June for Ryan Sloan as they build him back up because he'll still. 00:38:13 Speaker 3: Only be 21 next year. 00:38:15 Speaker 1: Yeah. No guarantee he's ready right away. And he ended the season solidly in AA, but not like– a Kate Anderson level of ultra domination where you have no choice, but to bring them up. 00:38:27 Speaker 2: Right. 00:38:28 Speaker 1: Besides that, I mean, Johnny and Felning are like maybes at the end of the season. 00:38:33 Speaker 3: And then everyone else is just, no, not ready. 00:38:36 Speaker 2: I mean, our guy friend of the pod, Lucas Kelly might get up at some point next year to be in the bullpen. Cause he's got big stuff. And if he puts together more of the results next year, he's a guy that was a college arm and you could fast track him as a reliever. We might see him next year. And by the way, we'd be fired up for him. Cause again, We're big Lucas Kelly fans. ASU guy, I've gotten to know him a little bit. But I don't think Graham's thinking guys like that, like relief pitching prospects, in this bucket. You're probably thinking the Sloans, the Farmellos, the Sellisons, those guys. 00:39:06 Speaker 1: Usually the easiest way to go about thinking about something like this is you look at top prospects. The Mariners, amazingly enough, with how disappointing the season was, had. 00:39:18 Speaker 3: Three top ten prospects this year. 00:39:20 Speaker 1: Two debuted, and the other one is the guy that will be certainly a full-time Mariner next year. 00:39:24 Speaker 2: Right. Yeah. 00:39:25 Speaker 3: That's it. Laz, Arroyo, like, again, we've already seen those guys. 00:39:30 Speaker 1: Right. 00:39:31 Speaker 3: Can't even guarantee those guys will be full-time next year either. 00:39:33 Speaker 2: For sure. 00:39:34 Speaker 3: Xander has the next question on Patreon. 00:39:36 Speaker 1: Xander's question is, who are the five pitchers you couldn't believe dominated our lineup this season? 00:39:44 Speaker 2: Five's a lot. I mean, I can give you two. Max Scherzer, that one was unreal. Jacob Lopez, that one was pretty crazy. I guess I can throw in one more. Jack Kahanowitz doing it, too. I think that was the game where Joe Adele robbed the three homers, and the Mariners got shut out as a result. So part of that was on Adele, but they still got shut out by Jack Kahanowitz. Maybe you have a couple more, but those ones definitely jump out. 00:40:07 Speaker 3: In terms of just... Utter domination. 00:40:11 Speaker 2: Oh, sorry. Jeffrey Springs. There's four. 00:40:13 Speaker 3: Oh, that's a recent one. 00:40:16 Speaker 1: Otherwise, I think you highlighted a lot of the main ones. So how about a Mount Rushmore instead of five? Scherzer, Jacob Lopez, Kahanowitz, Jeffrey Springs. Trying to see if there are any you missed. So I'm just essentially going back and looking at some of these really, really bad losses. 00:40:34 Speaker 3: Oh, you remember Braxton Ashcraft dominating this team? 00:40:37 Speaker 2: Oh, no. 00:40:38 Speaker 1: Ashcraft. 00:40:39 Speaker 2: Ashcraft's good. That's a bad one. 00:40:41 Speaker 3: Well, he struck out like 12 Mariners. 00:40:43 Speaker 2: No, he's a good pitcher in general. I'm not putting him in that bucket. Wow. Okay. I don't know. I think we highlighted a couple good ones. Okay. 00:40:56 Speaker 3: Okay. 00:40:57 Speaker 2: I think we highlighted some good ones. Sure. Now, maybe there's others we're forgetting, and in this scenario, this is what the beauty of having listeners is, is we can ask you guys. We put together our Mount Rushmore, Scherzer, Kahanowitz, Springs, and Jacob Lopez, but if there's others that we're forgetting that you really have sticking out in your head and you're saying, oh, how are those guys missing this pitcher? How are you forgetting this guy? Well, drop them in the comments. DM us. Tell us. 00:41:22 Speaker 3: I got one. 00:41:22 Speaker 2: Uh-oh. 00:41:24 Speaker 1: Do you remember when Miles Michaelis threw seven shutout innings against Steve? 00:41:30 Speaker 2: So there we go, Xander. There's five. Took us a little time. You know, there's no stone that goes unturned with this team. Give people a little time, and it'll come to mind. 00:41:42 Speaker 1: I believe Myles Michaelis got DFA'd this year because he was so bad. 00:41:45 Speaker 2: It was their version of Patrick Corbin back in 23 when Patrick Corbin was far, in a way, the worst pitcher in Major League Baseball. And he, what, spun seven freaking shutout innings? Unreal. 00:41:59 Speaker 3: It was really unreal. All right, we got two questions left. 00:42:03 Speaker 1: John on Patreon asks, are there any superstitions you guys have or had been doing during the baseball season? 00:42:11 Speaker 2: I mean, when I played, I used to never, ever step on the line. That's a pretty common one. During time as a fan, while I watch games, I can't think of any specifically. I'm trying to think back to the playoffs last year, if there was any. Oh, I'll give you one. It wasn't a superstition, but I absolutely did it because I was standing on business and stuck to my word. And TJ can attest because we were at the game together. Game one, ALDS... Mariners, Tigers, no, this actually isn't about Kerry Carpenter, as funny as you think. Oh, Lyle's about to go there again, and I can bring it up any time, any place, and I'll do it any time, any place, but this is something different. I told everybody around me, including you and our friends that we were with, if I see Carlos Vargas enter this game at any point, I'm getting out of my seat, I'm walking to the concourse, and I'm not coming back until the half inning's over, because I will not, and I said will not watch him pitch meaningful postseason innings And then what does Dan do when we hit the 10th inning of Mariners-Tigers after he decided to let George Kirby stay in and face Kerry Carpenter a third time, give up a home run, take the lead, and as a result, he had to go to extra innings instead of just win the game 2-0? Well, then he put Carlos Vargas in. And I said, I'm out. I'm leaving. And Carlos Vargas gave up the lead, and the Mariners lost. Thank you, Dan, and thank you, Carlos Vargas. They're my superstitions. 00:43:30 Speaker 1: Superstitions during the season. I don't think I have any as a fan. Like, during the playoffs, you'll watch the game in a certain room if they, like, hit a home run. I remember, I think I was watching Jorge Polanco hit both his home runs in, like, my parents' kitchen. 00:43:44 Speaker 2: Off scooball. 00:43:45 Speaker 3: Off Scooble. 00:43:45 Speaker 1: So I just kind of stayed there just for the vibes, but that's only like a post-season thing. Regular season thing, regular season, I don't think is important enough to have real baseball superstitions in my opinion. So I appreciate it, John. I just don't know if I really have any while being a fan. 00:44:04 Speaker 2: Although I've been to your house, your parents don't have a TV in their kitchen on an iPad. Oh, you're watching a playoff game on an iPad. That's actually dedication. 00:44:13 Speaker 1: I was trying to keep– I was so stressed about the game, I was doing the dishes just to not totally think about the game. 00:44:20 Speaker 2: Oh, I mean, the first half of that game, I was adamant. 00:44:25 Speaker 1: Yeah, thinking the season was going to end because you're just watching Scooble dice through this lineup. 00:44:29 Speaker 3: It's a 1-0 lead. You're like, oh, my God. 00:44:31 Speaker 2: After Dan decided to let Kirby face Carpenter a third time the night before, then put in Carlos Vargas in extra innings. Yeah, I mean, I was watching the first half of that game. Legitimately no emotion. Like, I mean, it was all misery, sadness, but I was just saying nothing. I'm sitting there, sitting down, watching my TV, not saying a word. I was, like, just sitting there feeling like I was a dead man walking because I was like, the season's over. You know what? It all came together in the fifth inning, third time through the order, when Kerry Carpenter came up in game two. They went to Gabe Spire to face Carpenter, like they should have done the day before. And as he struck him out, I jumped up off my couch and literally started screaming. You would have thought I blacked out off adrenaline. I basically did. I start screaming at the TV. I'm such a fucking ball knower. I'm such a fucking ball knower. I'm such a fucking ball knower. Just being like, yeah, you should have tried that a day ago, 24 hours ago, essentially. But yeah, that's the story. Superstitions. I'm in a feisty mood. Like I said, you guys can probably tell by now. 00:45:30 Speaker 1: I think a lot of us are fed up with this baseball team, but I also think all of us are fed up. 00:45:34 Speaker 2: With this baseball team. 00:45:35 Speaker 3: Who is it? 00:45:35 Speaker 2: It's a great question. 00:45:36 Speaker 3: Dan Wilson? Maybe even Dan's fed up with this team. 00:45:40 Speaker 2: Dan will tell you this has been a great season. 00:45:43 Speaker 1: Let's close out this mailbag with a question from Poochie Delgado. Poochie's question is, I'm probably past your deadline, but any Rick Riz appreciation stories? 00:45:54 Speaker 2: Yes, and I will actually say this. We're going to spend a little bit of time on Friday doing some Rick Riz stuff because he deserves it. He definitely doesn't deserve the season that's gone down on the field this year. Hell, if you want one spin zone, Rick Riz appreciation. Now when the Mariners play like shit, Rick Riz can just turn the TV on. He doesn't have to call the games anymore and sit and watch them. He can just take his TV remote, go click, and do something else. So there's an appreciation post. 00:46:23 Speaker 3: That's the great thing about retirement life. You can do whatever you want. 00:46:26 Speaker 2: Not watch Mariners baseball. I mean, seriously. But I will say this. We'll put together some stories and maybe some of our favorite Rick Riz calls for Friday because that'll be Rick Riz weekend. It's his final weekend. We can really talk about what he means to this franchise because it is so much. But I will say this. Since Pucci Delgado asked the question, I will say... Getting to know Rick over the last couple years a little bit, just being around the ballpark and getting to talk to him, have him on the podcast in spring training this year. 00:46:56 Speaker 3: That was really cool. 00:46:58 Speaker 2: Very cool. Especially getting to do that ahead of his final season. He really is exactly who he sounds like on the air. He really is that friendly. He really is that personable. He really loves the Mariners that much. He will really just take interest in you and talk ball with you and talk Mariners with you. He is a very... very authentic person. And the way for the last 41 years, he's made everybody feel like a friend. If you meet him in person, he is the same way. And getting to know Rick a little bit over the last two years, he's been that way with us. And we were just two punk kids doing a podcast. He didn't have to be that way, but he has been that way. And, you know, that's one of the many things about Rick I'll always, always remember is, is he really is who he sounded like on the air. 00:47:45 Speaker 1: I don't have any different specific in-person stories in Lyle because much of our Rick Riz in-person stories are together as a podcast at the ballpark at spring training. But I will just say I was a radio kid growing up. I listened to the radio for entertainment. I listened to Mariners games on the radio. And the one constant is always Rick Riz. He's the only person I've ever listened to every single season of my life. Yeah. 00:48:11 Speaker 3: For baseball. 00:48:13 Speaker 1: So to have him not there in the booth next year is going to be quite a bit different, I will say. So that's more of an overarching story of Rick is the voice of my childhood, is the voice of my early adulthood as well. And it's going to be really weird not hearing him next year. But ultimately, we appreciate Rick. As Lyle said, he's about as nice of a person as you possibly can be. And outside of being a great broadcaster, that's really all you can ask for. Yeah. 00:48:42 Speaker 2: He really has embodied the Mariners better than anybody possibly could have over 41 years. And there's really not a better ambassador for the Mariners than Rick Riz. Honestly, because to a fault, he is always positive. And I give him all the credit in the world. TJ and I could not be as positive about the Seattle Mariners as Rick Riz. There's no chance. We don't have it in our bodies. And Rick is just built different in that way. So I give him credit for that. Yeah. 00:49:11 Speaker 3: 100%. 00:49:13 Speaker 2: So, again, if nothing else, the final five games of the year, we said it last week on a podcast, I'll say it again. Go listen to Rick, man. This season's been a disaster, but not because of him by any stretch. And he doesn't deserve anything, but everybody's support in the final few days because he's a legend. He'll always be a legend. He's in the hall of fame for in the Mariners hall of fame for a reason. And just take the final few days to appreciate him. Because if you want one thing to look up on, The final week. You can listen to Rick Riz for the final time. 00:49:43 Speaker 1: Update for you, Lyle, as we sign off this podcast. Logan Gilbert will start the finale. 00:49:49 Speaker 2: Why? 00:49:49 Speaker 3: It sounds like he wants to. 00:49:53 Speaker 2: Okay. 00:49:54 Speaker 3: You will appreciate this. 00:49:56 Speaker 1: It says there are fans that pay hard-earned money to watch us play, regardless of the situation. 00:50:02 Speaker 3: So I owe it to them. 00:50:03 Speaker 2: All right. 00:50:04 Speaker 1: As someone who said the fans always get left holding the bag, I appreciate that sentence. 00:50:08 Speaker 2: All right. That is... That is a statement of accountability and appreciation. So you know what, Logan? I commend you for it. Actually, I'm not being sarcastic or anything. I do. Now, it'll probably be like that start he made in 2023, roughly, where it's shortened. They'll probably limit it to 70 to 80 pitches and then just throw bullpen guys the rest of the way because there's no reason for him to go out there and throw 100, 110 pitches. But okay. You know what? Respect, Logan. That's cool. All right. Well, good mailbag. Again, you guys always bring it with the questions. even in the off season, we'll keep doing mailbags. We'll do them every week. And if you want priority, go sign up for our Patreon and you get mailbag priority every time we do a mailbag. So again, patreon.com slash marine layer pod. With that, 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 do so wherever you get your audio pods. Make sure to go hit subscribe on YouTube if you're watching. Go download these episodes if you're listening. Also, if you're listening, go rate and review, and please leave it five stars. You can find everything on our website, episodes, Patreon, and go get your podcast merch, too. Again, if you don't have merchandise yet for Marine Layer Pod merch, it's all on our website, especially with hoodies and long sleeves as we're getting into fall season. It's a perfect time to go get some merch. So, You can find all that on our website and then find us all across social media as well, at MarineLayerPod. That's TJ. I'm Lyle. As always, we thank you guys for tuning in. We'll talk to you soon.