It's

like, okay, I think I used this before, but, you know, when you're operating under the budgetary limitations that they have, the payroll limitations that they have, and you're trying to shop for the free agent market to to build up your team and get that one back that you know provide more depth you know you're not shopping at the top of the food chain because you don't have the dollars available per se it's like you're not going to whole foods to buy it you're going to grocery outlet bargain market that's just the way it is that's how they have to operate and so you know critiquing some of the signings, you have to take into context what they had available in terms of dollar value that they could spend on the market.

But you can question whether or not how they scouted and how, you know, getting players, again, like when you talk about these players that everybody's failed, the one thing they have in common is they're all probably 32 or older, right? You know, Rob Russnider, AJ Pollock, they're all guys on the downside of their career.

So you're hoping to steal one last year out of it.

And when it doesn't happen, you know, it shouldn't be surprising.

But that's also where you're getting the minimal amount that you're paying for them.

You're not paying that kind of money.

But do you have faith they can reach the promised land, if you will, with Jerry in charge?

Like, do they have to get rid of one or two of those guys to make their team better?

I think they're gonna probably trade a starter, uh, just because they do have an abundance of starting pitching, which I don't think you should ever overlook or take for granted.

But, you know, Kate Anderson did come up this year.

You have Ryan Sloan, who's at double A, who'll be back there next year, and he'll be on the verge of making the team, and they still have essentially six starters right now.

So do they shop George Kirby, Brian Wu, Logan Gilbert, one of those guys on the market to help fill the needs? Because that's another thing, is they're losi- they're going to lose their best offensive player.

Randy Arozarena's gonna be a free agent.

I think we all know Randy would probably prefer to stay in, in, on the East Coast.

Yeah

Yeah

... hey, what, hey, what are you thinking here? How do you wanna use him? How do you guys best think to use him? Here's what our analytics say.

Here's what our numbers say." You know, and part of the conversation was just could Taylor Ward handle right field? You know, and, and how would they use him and deploy him there? How much do you wanna DH him? How comfortable you are with Dom playing left field more, or right field more? You know, all these different things.

It wasn't Justin going in and said, "Dan, you're gonna play him here, and this is how you wanna do it." Mm-hmm.

Um, and you're gonna do it.

I mean, I don't think that's the case.

So no, I, I think, and that's been even back to Scott.

Yeah.

Yeah, I feel like nobody did.

No, and I mean, part of it was because he did a bunch during spring training, you know, and when we first found out about, when we first talked about the sports hernia a little bit was when he didn't start playing games right away, you know, and they kind of mentioned it and that that was part of the recovery plan and everything else.

And I'm like, huh, okay.

And then he played in a bunch of games and you're like, okay, well, this is, this is pretty normal.

And he performed well, and then even in the beginning of the season.

And then all of a sudden he's hurt, and you don't have him.

And that makes a huge difference.

But what do you think? Is that a realistic possibility or how do you see things shaking out if they it proves out that they don't make the playoffs?

Absolutely.

Part of that is, is because his-- Part of that is because his rookie year, I think he finished top five in MVP voting, you know.

And so then you're like, you're still talking about all that he could be.

I mean, like, last year I think he was 30-30, and you're like, you're still thinking that he's got more in him.

I mean, like, it's sort of absurd if you think about it, but, like, this year was sort of lost, 'cause he's always been a guy that gets hot in the second half.

And right about the time he was gonna get hot in the second half, he took a, he took a throw to the back of his head and had a concussion.

It put him down for about 10 days, and I think it really kind of sidetracked what I think was building into his typical second half run.

What, how do they fix that going forward?

Can you help us understand what accountability has looked like on this team this year?

Uh, it's a, it's a word that gets thrown out a lot.

Uh, to me, I think it, it gets used vastly too much when most people don't exercise any level of personal accountability themselves.

But there, the, the accountability is, is like sometimes just admitting, like, you've made the mistake.

Like, I've always told players, you know, a lot of times when I have conversations with them off the record or just talking with them, like, "I'm never gonna take a cheap shot at you in a story, and I'm never gonna question whether or not, like, you're giving your effort, or you're hurt, and you're playing through injury, and you're not really hurt or not.

Like, I will always ask you all these things." But I said, "If you mess up," and I don't use that language exactly, but, "If you mess up, I gotta ask you if you mess up." And the answer usually is, "Yeah, I did." You know, "It won't happen again.

I gotta make that play," or whatever.

Mm-hmm.

Can you help us understand what accountability has looked like on this team this year?

Uh, it's a, it's a word that gets thrown out a lot.

Uh, to me, I think it, it gets used vastly too much when most people don't exercise any level of personal accountability themselves.

But there, the, the accountability is, is like sometimes just admitting, like, you'd made the mistake.

Like, I've always told players, you know, a lot of times when I have conversations with them off the record or just talking with them, like, "I'm never gonna take a cheap shot at you in a story, and I'm never gonna question whether or not, like, you're giving your effort, or you're hurt, and you're playing through injury, and you're not really hurt or not.

Like, I will always ask you all these things." But I said, "If you mess up," and I don't use that language exactly, but, "If you mess up, I gotta ask you if you mess up." And the answer usually is, "Yeah, I did.

You know, it won't happen again.

Mm-hmm.

What's the difference just when you go in there today than maybe what it was a year ago?

Well, yeah, like a year ago.

Well, I mean, a year ago when it was good.

Yeah, when it was good.

A year ago, right about this time is when they went on a road trip.

And they got their ass handed to them by Cleveland and Tampa.

And then they got struck out like 15 times against Chris Sale.

Do you feel like he's still dealing with that injury, that that's why we're seeing what we're seeing out of him, or is he just a guy who's – it's compounding, it's snowballing, and maybe it's just too hard not to grip that bat tighter and not to press, if you will?

Was this just, uh, him trying to step up for the team and just put all the pressure on him and take it off the rest of the team?

Yeah, I think so.

And I think Cal's very aware of what his performance is and how much he's struggling.

And, you know, I wrote on Monday just kind of about the prospects of firing Dan Wilson, how I didn't think it was gonna happen based on who he was within the organization, that maybe they'd make a decision after the season.

But yeah, Cal walked out there.

We weren't expecting it.

He still had his spikes on.

Do you believe this is all catching up to not only Cal, but the Seattle Mariners as well?

Mm-hmm

... you know, 35, 40 feet.

He's hit it seven miles, but he's pulled it foul.

He's done that on some, some fastballs.

And to me, that's timing.

It's being a little jumpy, being a little anxious, you know, wanting to hit the ball, wanting to square the baseball up so much that you are ahead of where you're supposed to be.

Like, the contact point, where he's trying to make contact at, is out in front of the plate too far, and then, you know, your bat doesn't stay in the zone very long.

Yeah

You

know, like, the problem is, like, the best hitters start hitting, and you're missing one of your better hitters on the – two of your better hitters on the injured list.

So I don't know, like, you know, focusing on it.

And sometimes sitting there talking about all the struggles and focusing on how to fix it might just speak the struggles into more of an existence than they already are.

You don't want to have a complex.

It's like, you know, it's like when I was covering college volleyball in college and everybody was taller than me, so I only talked to the setter.

She's one person the same height as me.

Or do you think he should be, Hey, just fall in line with the rest of the guys and it's a team and everybody, everybody's on board, whether they like it or not.

Um, I mean, just to the naked eye, is that, is that something that, that you've seen as well? Probably fouling a lot of them off or, or whiffs?

Yeah.

No, it's...

He's very, he's been stuck in the in between, uh, the worst place a hitter can be since, I think since the season started.

You know, the WBC, was it a factor in his preparation? Yeah.

He got nine at bats during the WBC over two and a half, three weeks.

I think for Cal, the problem that he didn't like about the WBC was the lack of practice time during the day.

I think that he probably believes that.

Are they seeing the exact same team offensively? 'Cause we know what they can do pitching, but are they the exact same team offensively and that's what fans are leery of? Like, "Oh, we're just gonna waste our money on some playoff tickets that won't end in a World Series."

Yeah, I mean, I could...

Like, I usually don't tell fans how to be fans 'cause I, I'm not really one anymore, other than it's University of Montana football.

But, um, like, yeah.

I mean, like, the, the difference with this team right now is the catcher isn't on pace to hit 60 home runs like he was last year.

You know, 81 games into last year, Cal Raleigh had, like, 34 homers, and, like, that's the difference.

You know, he's, he's, he started off slow, then he got hurt.

Yeah.

Now, what do you think some of the strengths that he's bringing inside that clubhouse that most people don't see every day?

Well, I think... and I'm sure it, it, it angers fans a lot that he's so like matter of fact and just kind of, you know, like same line pulse, you know, he doesn't get too angry or too happy.

Just kind of is in the middle, you know, like, yeah, when they lose, he says tough one tonight and when they win, yeah, it's just great ball game.

You know, it's like, He's consistent in that way.

And I think that's sometimes what the players really like.

I think that's one of his biggest strengths is he doesn't get reactionary to the moment or to mistakes.

He handles it internally, you know, whether it's, it's, you know, Randy doing some crazy stuff on the bases last year and stealing bases with Cal at the plate, even something like Naylor yesterday, the other day getting confrontational, you know, they'll talk to him and say, Hey, look, that's probably not how we want to do this kind of stuff.

Outside of those two pitchers, outside of Cade and Sloan, any of those other prospects untouchable to you right now?

Like, what's the main thing that you think is going to be the focus of the trade deadline as a result of how this team is built right now? Because they've dealt with injuries in the position player group, and they're so healthy in the rotation that they're piggybacking everyone right now.

Yeah.

It's, um...

You know, in the last few years too, there's probably not been a GM that's been more aggressive or, uh, I guess a POBO that's been more aggressive than Jerry Dipoto at the deadline.

Remember there was Castillo several years ago, and then Randy Arozarena.

Last year it was Naylor and Suárez.

And I mean, like, last year especially, like, they had two holes, first base and third base.

[laughs]

But what has really stood out to you about that kid? And are you also like, man, I can't believe this guy can't even buy a beer?

Yeah, it's pretty crazy that he's 20 because I was a total idiot at 20 years old.

You know, the thing is with Cole, like you mentioned, He does something that impresses you.

And it's not like something that's like freakishly athletic all the time.

What it is, is usually something very smart, very intelligent or very instinctual on the field.

And you're like, holy cow, man, that's a great read on that.

Like he saw that the ball was going to be down.

Davis Hollander was kind of giving a few examples of, you know, other teams doing the same type of thing and so it's not like out of this world like it's not making baseball news right around major league baseball like or or is it i mean is this something that that you've known about and you know is something that's more prevalent than we think or is this something that uh you know maybe is take you know the rest of the league is taking notice

Mm-hmm.

Whereas if they can just play relaxed and play up to their talent, they're, they're pretty good.

And to me, like really, it's always just been just go play.

Just keep playing.

Uh, at some point, if you play and you kind of perform and you prepare enough, your talent will always kind of come out, and that's what they always did.

Remember, every year we've had this catastrophe where we're, you know, you're writing them off.

The one year it was when they lost four or five to the Angels, you know, and then they had that huge bounce back.

Is this the best it's ever been in terms of having a real meaning?

Mm-hmm.

Whereas if they can just play relaxed and play up to their talent, they're, they're pretty good.

And to me, like really it's always just been, just go play.

Just keep playing.

Uh, at some point, if you play and you kind of perform and you prepare enough, your talent will always kind of come out, and that's what they always did.

Remember, every year we've had this catastrophe where we're, you know, you're writing them off.

The one year it was when they lost four of five to the Angels.

I think that is a, a much easier thing for fans to wrap their heads around, and I wish that had been communicated a little bit better also.

He's that talented and that mentally strong and tough and that smart that he just continues to refine his game, and I think he's sort of figuring out as he gets into his mid-twenties what is the type of player that he's gonna become.

Uh, I would assume tonight that we'll see Luke Raley in right field.

Um, we'll forget the lineup I guess a little bit later today.

But, uh, he's been a focal point for me throughout the spring, just kind of looking at where-- You know, he had an off year last year.

He was hurt really throughout the whole season.

But you don't have to go back far to come up with a really-- come two really great seasons in a row.

And, you know, you lose some home run power with Polanco leaving.

And so his ability to, to, to sort of steel himself through the highs and the lows and just be the same guy every day is a great gift that the best managers have, and he exhibits it every day.

But did it seem like some deals were done and they wanted to announce them all together to fans on opening day on where they can actually watch the games on television versus getting the streaming app?

Yeah.

It was, it wasn't handled well.

MLB I don't think handled it well.

The 14 teams under their umbrella of, um, Major League Baseball is handling the distribution and the production rights.

You know, they didn't announce the channel lineups till, essentially, the full channel lineups till today, and even that was evolving.

'Cause I was trying to...

Oh

Mm-hmm

... on the next pitch.

He's unbelievably talented.

I don't know, like, I don't know if he's happy or not.

I don't...

He doesn't really communicate a lot with anybody.

He's just kind of in his world and he does his thing.

Mm, something like that, yeah

Mm.

You know, nobody...

I think people sometimes think that these guys don't, aren't affected when they're in slumps.

These guys wear it hard, and Julio has an unnatural sense of responsibility for the organization and its success based on his performance, and I think he wears it pretty hard.

And I think that's when sometimes when you see the swings and misses and the crazy swings, he's pressing because he feels like, "Oh, I gotta fix this.

I gotta help win." And I think he slowed that process down a little bit in the, uh, over the break, and he, he talked about with us just having a lot of hard conversations with himself.

This wasn't like he was talking to Adam Bernero or some, another sports psychologist.

Just seeing his growth and maturity, his ability to, to go through his routine, to understand what that is, his leadership around the group of players, just really exciting to watch him grow up before our eyes.

Mm-hmm.

There's never been a time where it's been more functional and more synced up.

And I think, you know, a lot of credit goes to Dipoto, Justin Hollander.

You know, you still should give credit to Scott Servais for helping build the standard that they have as a, on the roster.

But I think, you know, if they hadn't done the, the rebuild, think about this.

If they hadn't done that rebuild, the step back, where would they be? If they kept trying to piece it together with the old, with their old way of thinking-

[upbeat music] How will Dan Wilson deploy his bench this season?

season?Well, you won't be using Mitch Garver as your right-handed primary pinch hitter.

[laughs]

...

I think he knows it.

Um, and, you know, it's like asking him about that or asking about swing changes, that just, you know, he kinda, like, shuts it down on that.

He doesn't like to talk about it.

But I do think that from a mental standpoint, and, like, a, a maturity standpoint, he's in a better place than he's ever been in terms of having an approach that is sustainable for more consistent success.

I look at the last few years, uh, coming in, I know I wrote about it, but, like, there was always kind of, there was a stance change.

Yeah.

that dog.

Yeah.

One is about like Naylor embracing sports culture in Seattle and wearing the different jerseys from all the teams.

Yeah.

And then the other one is about Josh Naylor telling the Mariners, I want to sign early.

He was like, he didn't really care that much about the money.

I mean, obviously he cares, but like if all things were equal, he was going to sign with the Mariners.

So, what's the depth like and who would be next up potentially?