Speaker 1: Mariors had a rough sort of ten game stretch, twelve
Speaker 1: game stretch to start the season. Since then, they've been
Speaker 1: one of the best teams in baseball, and I think
Speaker 1: that's their expectation.
Speaker 2: All Right, we're back and Adam is with us. Adam,
Speaker 2: great to be with you. Love the backdrop, very professional,
Speaker 2: very nice. Adam does a great job covering the Mariners
Speaker 2: and the Marinos of course for the Seattle Times. So
Speaker 2: let's talk about these ms a little bit. Logan Gilbert,
Speaker 2: we'll start with him. Adam has been diagnosed with a
Speaker 2: Grade one right elbow flexor strain and placed on the
Speaker 2: injured list. Now, this is not something that Logan Gilbert
Speaker 2: is familiar with, that whole il.
Speaker 3: How serious is this?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think the Mayors believe and hope that they've
Speaker 1: dodged a bullet here. I talked to Logan on Saturday,
Speaker 1: right after he wrapped up his MRI, and he's encouraged.
Speaker 3: Obviously, he's frustrated.
Speaker 1: He's never been on the injured list before in his
Speaker 1: major league career. He wants to be out there for
Speaker 1: his team. He's confident in this team. He wants to
Speaker 1: be part of it. But this is obviously the best
Speaker 1: thing for him, the best thing for the team at
Speaker 1: this point. Shut it down for a couple of weeks.
Speaker 1: They'll reassess see where he's at. I don't think the
Speaker 1: Mariners and Logan Gilbert out of the woods entirely yet.
Speaker 1: I mean, yes, it's a Grade one flexer strain, which
Speaker 1: is encouraging. But you just never know with elbows, right,
Speaker 1: if we've learned anything in this era of pitching, they're unpredictable.
Speaker 3: You don't know.
Speaker 1: So obviously the Mariners have their fingers crossed hoping for
Speaker 1: the best. With Logan Gilbert. He's gonna shut down for
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks, and obviously you would expect at
Speaker 1: least two three weeks to build up after that if
Speaker 1: they deem yourself.
Speaker 3: Enough to return. But I think it is an encouraging update,
Speaker 3: at least at this.
Speaker 4: Point, encouraging that everybody's flexer strain ends up being a
Speaker 4: U See. I mean that's like you said, you said
Speaker 4: he was encouraged. Did you bring any like not negativity,
Speaker 4: but like the reality is that's like normally a precursor
Speaker 4: to Tommy John and this guy's never been hurt.
Speaker 1: So yeah, and you hate to put it this way.
Speaker 1: But you know, for a guy who has thrown as
Speaker 1: many innings as he has over the last four years,
Speaker 1: and throws as hard as he does and throws as
Speaker 1: many splitters as he does, you wonder if it is
Speaker 1: a ticking time bomb. And again, maybe this is a
Speaker 1: precursor to something more serious. But the fact that it
Speaker 1: was a Grade one and they were encouraged by the
Speaker 1: images that they saw again is why they're walking away
Speaker 1: at least a little bit encouraged.
Speaker 3: Again.
Speaker 1: Maybe they'll reassess, take another image in two weeks and
Speaker 1: they'll find out, you know what, it's not improving and
Speaker 1: maybe we need to consider something more serious. But for
Speaker 1: what we know at this point, the Marriers are at
Speaker 1: least spinning a positive update on it.
Speaker 4: I know it was just rumors, but now they're really
Speaker 4: glad that it didn't get rid of Luis Castillo and
Speaker 4: they were looking to shed payroll because of all the
Speaker 4: extra spending that they've been doing. Is there a need
Speaker 4: for them to maybe go and add some starting pitching
Speaker 4: if this doesn't turn around.
Speaker 1: For them, Yeah, can't rule that out, you know, with
Speaker 1: the Mariners and the way they're constructed right now in
Speaker 1: the prospect system they have. They want to have one
Speaker 1: of the best and deepest farm systems in baseball right now.
Speaker 1: So I fully expect them to be as active, if
Speaker 1: not more active than any team come July. And we
Speaker 1: were obviously eyeing a you know, middle of the order
Speaker 1: type bat if one is available at that point. But again,
Speaker 1: if George Kirby is not fully right at that point,
Speaker 1: if if Logan Gilbert is still on the shelf, then yeah,
Speaker 1: they certainly have to look at, you know, some sort
Speaker 1: of proven starting pitching depth there. At the same time,
Speaker 1: we saw yesterday another Logan Logan Evans, twenty three year
Speaker 1: old twelfth round pick two years ago, comes up and
Speaker 1: makes his major league debut yesterday, pitches five solid innings
Speaker 1: against the Miami Marlins. He's another sort of hidden gem
Speaker 1: that the Mariners have found and developed and looks like
Speaker 1: a pretty good prospect for them. I think they're gonna
Speaker 1: let him, let him go, give him a runway here
Speaker 1: and see who can we can what he can do
Speaker 1: while Logan while Logan Gilbert is still still on the Men,
Speaker 1: but certainly rule that out. Again, I do expect Mayors
Speaker 1: to be fully active this summer.
Speaker 3: They expect to be in it.
Speaker 1: It's a wide open AL West, It's a wide open
Speaker 1: al overall, and I think the Mariners are are quietly
Speaker 1: expecting that they're going to be in it throughout the season.
Speaker 5: Here, Adam. Is cal Rawley the best catcher in baseball?
Speaker 5: That's the question. I picked him. We did a thing
Speaker 5: where we got to pick three players to start our
Speaker 5: team with and he was one of my three. So
Speaker 5: obviously I think he's if not one, he's one or two.
Speaker 5: So is cal Rawley the best catcher in baseball?
Speaker 1: I would defer to you on that, Aj, But I
Speaker 1: was saying a year ago at this time that you
Speaker 1: know he's right there as the best two way catcher
Speaker 1: in baseball, and now I don't think you need to
Speaker 1: qualify it as two way.
Speaker 3: I think he's right there. You obviously look at Will.
Speaker 1: Smith and his track record with the Dodgers, Contreras in Milwaukee,
Speaker 1: Real Mutto Orioles obviously have a special one there too.
Speaker 1: But what cal Rawly is doing defensively I think puts
Speaker 1: him over the top. When the Platinum Glove last year
Speaker 1: in the American League and then signing that Contra, just
Speaker 1: what he means to this pitching staff beyond just the defense,
Speaker 1: the way he commands his pitching staff. There's a reason
Speaker 1: these guys have been so good the past couple of years.
Speaker 1: A lot of reasons these guys have been so good,
Speaker 1: but certainly cal Rawlely is near the top of the list.
Speaker 1: These guys don't shake off cal Rawley, and if they do,
Speaker 1: they hear about it, and if they do, cal Rawley
Speaker 1: is not giving them another option at that point. It's
Speaker 1: actually pretty entertaining sometimes when some of the young pitchers
Speaker 1: try to try to shake him off or want something else,
Speaker 1: He's just not having it.
Speaker 3: So he's earned that trust's and now he's.
Speaker 1: Doing it with the bat consistently too, leading the majors,
Speaker 1: tied for the Major League League and home runs. He's
Speaker 1: always had that slug. I think the goal for him
Speaker 1: this year offensively was to cut down on his strikeout
Speaker 1: right a little bit, get on BASEI a little bit more,
Speaker 1: be a tougher route with two strikes, and we are
Speaker 1: seeing that so far here in the first month. To me,
Speaker 1: he really has elevated himself into that next territory.
Speaker 2: He's certainly making the most of that extension that they
Speaker 2: gave him. Right before the season started, Adam, I will
Speaker 2: see your cal rawly all rate you and dress munos
Speaker 2: to see the best reliever in baseball. We don't talk
Speaker 2: about him enough, should we be.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's kine of the that's just his personality. He's
Speaker 1: really is one of the nicest guys in effect. As
Speaker 1: we talk right now, I think he's doing a charity
Speaker 1: event at a local animal shelter. He loves cats, and
Speaker 1: he's raising awareness and doing something for cats here locally
Speaker 1: in Seattle. And he's just genuinely one of the nicest
Speaker 1: human beings that I've been around. I have no problem
Speaker 1: acknowledging that. Just a genuinely sweet, likable, lovable guy. And
Speaker 1: then he can throw a hundred miles per hour with
Speaker 1: a nasty sinker, and then maybe the best slider in
Speaker 1: baseball as well. It's not allowed to run here. On
Speaker 1: his first fourteen appearances of the season, you look at
Speaker 1: his baseball war he's right there with the top of
Speaker 1: all pitchers, not just relief pitchers right now through the
Speaker 1: first month.
Speaker 3: Of the season.
Speaker 1: So yeah, to me, a guy who's been underrated the
Speaker 1: last couple of years, probably because he's pitching in Seattle,
Speaker 1: But to me. He has absolutely elevated himself into that
Speaker 1: top tier class of relievers.
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Speaker 4: we ever talk about Seattle's offense the last few years,
Speaker 4: we say they're strong up the middle cal Raley, JP Crawford,
Speaker 4: Julio Rodriguez. All three guys are signed to an extension.
Speaker 4: The first one was JP Crawford. Is he the catalyst
Speaker 4: for this team? I know he's hitting ninth and so
Speaker 4: it's hard to be like a catalyst when I watch
Speaker 4: this team. And I don't watch as much as you
Speaker 4: watch or people on the West Coast watch, but I
Speaker 4: watch a lot of games. I feel like when he's
Speaker 4: not in the lineup, when he's injured, like last year
Speaker 4: he's injured for part of the year, when he's out there,
Speaker 4: something about him and the way he runs around the
Speaker 4: field with energy, it makes me feel like he's the catalyst.
Speaker 4: Am I right or wrong?
Speaker 1: Yeah? He won a Gold Glove I think in twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: and the defensive metrics don't love him because I don't
Speaker 1: think he particularly is particularly strong going to his right.
Speaker 1: Everything else, he makes every single routine play and I
Speaker 1: don't think you can say that about anyone.
Speaker 3: And I'm not picking on Ellie J. Lacruz, but the
Speaker 3: Marriers played there last week.
Speaker 1: I saw Daily Cruz for Again, it's only three games,
Speaker 1: but I saw every play for three games, and I
Speaker 1: would take JP Crawford defensively in a heartbeat over Ellie
Speaker 1: day La Cruz. I know he makes those miraculous catches
Speaker 1: and pop ups and has all these highlight plays. JP
Speaker 1: Crawford is the steadiest shortstop I think I've ever seen
Speaker 1: at the major league level over a long period. He's
Speaker 1: the best I've ever seen coming in on ground balls.
Speaker 3: He makes that play every time, he makes it look easy.
Speaker 3: Those aren't easy.
Speaker 1: And then you add in what he's doing again offensively,
Speaker 1: he gets on base as well as anyone in the
Speaker 1: American League right now, over four hundred on base. He's
Speaker 1: got a great eye. That's exactly what you want at
Speaker 1: the bottom of the lineup. He's not going to give
Speaker 1: you a ton of home runs, but I think he's
Speaker 1: playing a lot freer right now. I think he's learned
Speaker 1: from Edgar Martinez, Kevin Sitzer. Just up the middle, opposite
Speaker 1: field approaches is that's who he is at this stage
Speaker 1: of his career. He doesn't need to drive a ball
Speaker 1: to the ballpark. Just be a tough out, be it
Speaker 1: tough at Matt, get on base as much as you can,
Speaker 1: and he is really valuable in that regard, and especially
Speaker 1: valuable for this team doing that at the bottom of
Speaker 1: the lineup, Adam.
Speaker 5: I hate to even mention this because it's it's just
Speaker 5: low hanging fruit, it seems like. But they got rid
Speaker 5: of Scott's Service last year and we had just had
Speaker 5: Scott on. He was a great interview and he knows
Speaker 5: the game inside and out. Did that make a difference
Speaker 5: getting him out and having Dan Wilson come in? Because
Speaker 5: last month they were better. Now they've carried it over
Speaker 5: into this month, especially offensively, So does it make that
Speaker 5: big of a difference. And I don't want you to
Speaker 5: take a shot at all at Scott Service, But is
Speaker 5: it just the fact that maybe it was a different
Speaker 5: voice saying maybe the same thing but a different way.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think there is something to that against Scott Service.
Speaker 1: I thought he was exactly what this organization needed at
Speaker 1: the right time. He really provided a ton of stability,
Speaker 1: got them to the playoffs in twenty twenty two, ended
Speaker 1: that pretty historic drought, and I think he was a
Speaker 1: great manager. Honestly, I think he was really underrated. I
Speaker 1: think he got a bad rap for some of his
Speaker 1: you know, bullpends making stuff. Obviously those things are easy
Speaker 1: to second guess. For Monday morning quarterbacks. But I thought
Speaker 1: he did a really really good job for this organization
Speaker 1: for a long time. That said, they just got to
Speaker 1: that point last August. It was two months of pretty
Speaker 1: bad baseball. They blew a ten game lead, and I
Speaker 1: think we could all kind of see it coming. I
Speaker 1: didn't think it was gonna happen when it did. But yeah,
Speaker 1: to your point, I think a change of voice, a
Speaker 1: little bit of a change of tone sometimes can do
Speaker 1: teams wonders, and I think it did for the Mariners. Really,
Speaker 1: what's happened is they've really just simplified things. I think
Speaker 1: I dan Wilson as kind of the ultimate throwback type manager.
Speaker 3: He was, you know, he played for Lou Banella.
Speaker 1: You think of Lou Panella and his style obviously, you
Speaker 1: think of him throwing bases and blowing up on umpires
Speaker 1: and all the drama, and you know, he was a
Speaker 1: fun guy to be around in that regard. But he
Speaker 1: got the best out of his players every night. And
Speaker 1: I think that's what Dan Wilson took from Lou that
Speaker 1: he just wants these guys to show up and compete
Speaker 1: every single night. Win this pitch, when this at bat,
Speaker 1: win this game, worry about tomorrow tomorrow, and I think
Speaker 1: that's the right message at the right time for this team,
Speaker 1: especially for some of the young guys on the team.
Speaker 3: Julio in particular. Just get in the box and compete.
Speaker 1: You don't have to worry about a specific pitch in
Speaker 1: a specific zone, in a specific count, which is what
Speaker 1: the Mariners were doing.
Speaker 3: I felt like at times.
Speaker 1: Last year they got too deep in the woods, in
Speaker 1: the weeds offensively, and guys were thinking too much in
Speaker 1: the box.
Speaker 3: You can almost see their heads spinning a little bit
Speaker 3: when they step in.
Speaker 1: Now we're seeing guys just hey, just the line, drive
Speaker 1: up the middle, if you get something hanging, drive it
Speaker 1: out of the ballpark. And it's working again. I think
Speaker 1: they're third in baseball right now in home runs. You
Speaker 1: got Cal Rawly, you got Jorge Plonko, we haven't mentioned
Speaker 1: his name yet, off to a career start to his
Speaker 1: season here, and it is working again. I think Scott
Speaker 1: Servers was the right guy at the right time, and
Speaker 1: it does feel like the early returns with Dan.
Speaker 3: Wilson or he's the right guy at the right time
Speaker 3: to kind of help this team in this organization take
Speaker 3: that next step.
Speaker 1: Adam, is this no, sorry, go ahead, guys.
Speaker 4: Oh no sorry. Another name that you didn't mention was
Speaker 4: Player of the Week last week. And Dylan Moore, who
Speaker 4: has been doing really well and consistent at bat. So
Speaker 4: you're talking about taking those line drives, do you think
Speaker 4: or I should say, who is most affected by Kevin
Speaker 4: Sitzer and bad Bobby Maggian is coming in and making
Speaker 4: this change, Like have you seen a drastic approach change
Speaker 4: where it's like, not pull hook balls, take the ball
Speaker 4: to the opposite field.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I put JP and Dylan Moore at the top of
Speaker 1: that list for sure. Dylan Moore and I talked to
Speaker 1: him about this. I was like, when I think of Dylan.
Speaker 3: Moore, I think of a straight, pull a ball in
Speaker 3: the air hitter.
Speaker 1: He's a guy who doesn't have a ton of pop,
Speaker 1: but he's got good pop for a major league hitter
Speaker 1: and for a super utility type guy. He's kind of
Speaker 1: got the most out of his talent and athleticism. And
Speaker 1: I don't mean that in the meaning way, Like he's
Speaker 1: made himself a legit major. He won a Gold Glove
Speaker 1: last year. He's been super valuable for this team because
Speaker 1: he can virtually play every position on the field and
Speaker 1: then be a guy who crushes left handers. This year,
Speaker 1: I think he went into spring training they worked with him, Hey,
Speaker 1: you're strong enough, you're good enough to be able to
Speaker 1: hit the ball up the middle and hit it to
Speaker 1: right field too. And I thought it was telling. In
Speaker 1: the first homestand he hit a home run at Teamable
Speaker 1: Park in Seattle too, straight away right field, something he'd
Speaker 1: never done in his career before. And then I think
Speaker 1: his first series on the road in San Francisco, he
Speaker 1: hit one out straight away center field too. I'm like, okay,
Speaker 1: this is different, and he saw it start to click
Speaker 1: for him pretty quick, and it's carried over and again.
Speaker 1: He's a guy who they feel comfortable enough where he
Speaker 1: could be an everyday guy at second base, maybe even
Speaker 1: third base.
Speaker 3: But he is so good plug you can plug and
Speaker 3: play him anywhere. He's valuable coming off the bench. He's
Speaker 3: a great pinch runner, great pinch hitter.
Speaker 1: That's the type of guy you see the Dodgers employee
Speaker 1: for so long now and make best use of, really
Speaker 1: find that matchup advantage somewhere, and he provides just so
Speaker 1: much for the Marriers in that regard. And this is
Speaker 1: again I talked about a guy off to a career year,
Speaker 1: a perfect time for him. He's gonna be a free
Speaker 1: agent after this year, and I think he's making himself
Speaker 1: some money too, So good for Demo Adam. Before we
Speaker 1: let you go?
Speaker 2: Is this the year that the Mariners should shine? I mean,
Speaker 2: the Athletics aren't doing anything. Houston isn't the same powerhouse.
Speaker 2: The Rangers aren't in anyone's top power rankings or anything
Speaker 2: like that. Is this the year the Angels are angeling?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Angels? Yeah, aren't they?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Again?
Speaker 1: I think we all thought it'd be the Astros, the Rangers,
Speaker 1: and the Mariners kind of jockeying for position in the aos.
Speaker 3: It's played out that way so far.
Speaker 1: Mariners had a rough sort of ten game stretch twelve
Speaker 1: game stretch to start the season. Since then, they've been
Speaker 1: one of the best teams in baseball, and I think
Speaker 1: that's their expectation, you know. I know people were frustrated
Speaker 1: Mariners fans were frustrated about their lack of moves and
Speaker 1: lack of spending in the offseason. Frankly, I think that
Speaker 1: was all legitimate, But I think the Maners were quietly
Speaker 1: pretty confident that you know, if a healthy whore Heye,
Speaker 1: Bolonco is able to bounce back. If they can get
Speaker 1: Julio just kind of on track a little bit earlier
Speaker 1: this year, and I think there are some signs despite
Speaker 1: his little batting average, I think there's some signs that
Speaker 1: that Julio could be could get right sooner than he
Speaker 1: typically does. And then they're pitching obviously that they're not
Speaker 1: as healthy as they have been right now, but I
Speaker 1: think they're pretty confident in just their operation, no matter
Speaker 1: who they have out there, that they're going to get
Speaker 1: some results pitching wise, pitching in Seattle in particular. So yeah,
Speaker 1: I fully expect the Mariners to be there at the
Speaker 1: end of They get the best team in the American
Speaker 1: League right now, or they can be the best team
Speaker 1: in the American League come September.
Speaker 3: I don't know, but I think they're going to be
Speaker 3: in the mix.
Speaker 1: And I think Jerry Depoto has proven that he's not
Speaker 1: afraid to take a big swing come July. He got
Speaker 1: Luise Cassio a few years ago, he got Randy or
Speaker 1: Roseina last year. He will deal a big time prospect
Speaker 1: if it's the right person at the right time, And
Speaker 1: to me, that's makes them a really fascinating follow if
Speaker 1: nothing else.
Speaker 5: Okay, two things, one nobody can hit and seattle. So
Speaker 5: you're giving them way too much credit because I mean,
Speaker 5: eventually the batter's eye is going to go slant it
Speaker 5: and we're gonna have to hear about.
Speaker 4: Oh the Mariners can't en. I mean all of a
Speaker 4: sudden they can it.
Speaker 5: It's weird how you change your approach and stop trying
Speaker 5: to hit home runs on every pitch in a park
Speaker 5: that's not gonna do some to home runs. Strange how
Speaker 5: that works out. But also Julio Rodriguez you mentioned it.
Speaker 5: Why does he always get off the slow starts every year?
Speaker 5: It's like, oh, you need Julio to get started. I mean,
Speaker 5: and then they're like, last year he changed his swing
Speaker 5: and he did this and he finds someing that works.
Speaker 5: Just stick with it and go into it with the
Speaker 5: next season. Why do we got to try to change everything?
Speaker 5: And why is it cold?
Speaker 1: Is it?
Speaker 5: What is it with Julio that it takes him till
Speaker 5: May or June to get going?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 1: I think if I had the answer, Yeah, I just don't.
Speaker 1: The Mariners clearly don't have a great answer for that. Either.
Speaker 1: You can check my email inbox right now too. Mariners
Speaker 1: fans are asking the same thing, Aja, I'm hearing it.
Speaker 3: All the time.
Speaker 1: I think the frustrating thing for the Mariners and Mariners
Speaker 1: fans is it feels like the same thing over and
Speaker 1: over with Julio at this time of year. Just a
Speaker 1: lot of chase, a lot of sliders off the plate,
Speaker 1: and you know he's not making those adjustments.
Speaker 3: I will say, talking to people, even talking to Julio
Speaker 3: a little.
Speaker 1: Bit, to me, he does feel like he's in a
Speaker 1: better headspace right now than he has been early the
Speaker 1: past few seasons. He's hitting the ball harder than ever,
Speaker 1: particularly early in the season, like a significant jump two miles.
Speaker 3: Per hour average. As at the Filo. His babup is
Speaker 3: really low right now for a guy with.
Speaker 1: His athleticism his speed, I just can't imagine his babbit
Speaker 1: is gonna stay around two twenty the entire year. So
Speaker 1: we're used to seeing him picking him up, pick it
Speaker 1: up after the All Star Game, and like I said,
Speaker 1: I think there are some real signs, particularly his smike
Speaker 1: in his walk right right now, that that breakout's gonna
Speaker 1: happen a little bit sooner again, Mariner fans just gonna.
Speaker 3: Have to be patient.
Speaker 1: We're all gonna have to be patient till it comes.
Speaker 1: But he's too good to stay down this long, if.
Speaker 3: That makes sense.
Speaker 2: All right, Adam, appreciate the insight, great stuff. Appreciate you
Speaker 2: coming on Foul Territory for the first time. You're a
Speaker 2: Foul Territory newbie. Hope to have you on again. You
Speaker 2: can catch Adam and read his stuff on the Seattle Time,
Speaker 2: so we appreciate it. Have a good day.
Speaker 3: Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.