Halford & Brough in the Morning - Who Is the Max Scherzer of the NHL?

Episode Date: August 20, 2025

In hour one, Jamie and Dan tell us what happened in the previous day of sports. Curtis Rodgers joins to discuss the Mariners slump and his expectations of the Seahawks offense this upcoming season. �� This podcast is produced by Andy Cole and Greg Balloch. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. You're listening to Halford and Brough. And Kirk hits this one a long, long way to right-center, and it's gone. The pit swung on, hit deep, left field, and that one is going to put the Phillies in front. It's a two-run, home run, and the Phillies are back in front. And a pitch driven deep to center field. Head it for the batters eye. Head it out of here.

Home run Aaron Judge. Home run number 40. Good morning. Welcome to Halford and Brough here, Sportsnet, 650. Still no, Halford. Still no Brough. It's Jamie Dodd and Dan Riccio here with you. Again, today, Reach, what's going on, man?

I feel like I grew a full foot last night, and I feel more like Jason Brough today, now that we're midweek. Just because of the sleep situation. You know, when you get a good night's sleep, you feel a lot taller, you know? Just different stride in your step and all that. Hitting your stride on a Wednesday?

Well done. Way to go. We got producer Lena coming in this for the rest of the week. What's up? Hello. How we doing, Lena? Is that your catchphrase? I told you last week I needed to find one. It's a throwback.

Guess what else I have? You don't hear a lot of people say sup anymore. I know, it's great. Anyways, what else do you have? I have a what we learned today. Oh, my gosh. You're welcome. Hang the banner for Lena came prepared for what we learned.

Reach last week, I didn't have a single one. Wow. Okay. Yeah. I refused to learn. And you didn't just think this one up at 826. Which is what most people do. Including myself frequently.

Sad thing is I had one and Laddie gave me a better one. Oh wow. Oh, wow. Laddie, just giving out what we learns for three for free. Hold on that we have a standard on this show that we have to keep up. It's got to be about Korean baseball or lacrosse or goalies, all right?

And we have Laddie here as well. Hello. Hello. One? Isn't it hello? I already talked. Hello, hello. Okay.

Thank you. There we go. Good grief. We're broadcasting live from the Kintech studio. Kintech footwear and orthotics working together with you in step. Halford & Brough is brought to you by Sands and Associates, B.C's first and trusted choice for debt help with over 3,000 five-star reviews. Visit sands dash trustee.com.

And of course, 650, 650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line. And you can send your thoughts in always. And of course, we will do what we learned as always at 830. So get your text in for that now. Hashtag WW what you've learned in the last 24 hours in sports. Looking ahead to what's coming up on the show. Guest list begins at 6.30. We'll chat with Curtis Rogers from Seattle Sports Radio.

He covers both the Mariners and the Seahawks. So lots to get into with Curtis. We'll talk about more about this and what happened. But Mariners all of a sudden going through a little bit of a slump here with another loss last night. Yeah, struggling. So we'll chat with Curtis about what's gone. wrong for the Mariners recently. How much of a concern is it in his eyes and maybe do a little bit

of Seahawks chat with Curtis as well. At 7 o'clock, we'll chat hockey with Shana Goldman, some USA hockey news breaking yesterday just after we got off the air that we can talk to her about a signing, a real signing in the NHL yesterday as well. A real signing? Yeah, Victor Oliveson. It's a big one. A real NHL player. I mean, yeah, yes, he's a real NHL player. He had like 20 goals last year or at least. Yes. He can score goals. He can score goals.

And yet, no, he had 15 goals. Never mind. Nobody wanted 20 goals next last year. He's a real NHL player that nobody really wanted all that badly. So they signed him on August 20th. That's what we're talking about. That's the same thing with Jack Roslick, apparently. Yes.

Jack Roslavik, Victor Oliveson. These are real NHL player. The August 20 All-Stars. All right. So we'll talk to Shane about that and maybe some Kinnock stuff as well. with Shana. And I'm looking forward to this at 730, Jasmine Jazz DeVizzias, and I hope I'm getting that right. I'm pretty sure I am. Jasmine Jazz DeVisius. Canadian UFC fighter is going to join us in studio. She's going to be fighting at UFC Fight Night 262, which is at Rogers Arena,

October 18th. Jazz DeVizzius right now, the fifth ranked flyweight fighter in UFC. She's on a win streak. She's going against, I believe, the number two ranked fighter in the division. Fioro on that card at Rogers Arena on October 18th. So you got to figure if she gets a win there. It's kind of like a number one contender kind of match to look ahead to a potential title bout at some point. So really looking forward to that. Again, Jasmine, Jazz DeVizzias, she's going to be part of UFC Fight Night 262 at Rogers

Arena on October 18th. Tickets go on sale on Friday. And of course, as I mentioned, Jasmine is Canadian. So I'm sure it will be a really cool opportunity for her and a great opportunity for the fans. attendance at that to cheer on a Canadian fighter. All right, 7.30, Jasmine Jazz DeVizzias, Canadian UFC fighter in studio. 7 o'clock, Shane Goldman from the Athletic, 630, Curtis Rogers from Seattle Sports Radio. That's what's coming up. First, though, let's tell everyone what happened. Hey, did you guys see the game last night? No. No. What happened? I missed all the action because

I was... We know how busy your life can be. What happened? Missed it? You missed that? What happened? I realize I don't have the read in front of me I was like I'm supposed to say that it's brought to you by the BC construction safety lines which it is I don't have the rest of the read I'll get on that at some point I was uh I was also like as the intro was playing

I was like Jamie really runs through the lineup often to kill as much time as possible is that is that the goal on August 20th for the morning show it is Halford's taught you well I was going to say I have nothing on health Halford is the master The Halford invention, and this is going to, I think, is going to be his legacy of doing the guest list in reverse to kill the extra 30 seconds.

Don't give away the secret. That is like genius level stuff from Mike Alford. So yeah, I'm doing it partly as an homage to Mike Alford. Just stretch it out. Stretch it out. Kill as much time as possible. You have to do the other classic Halford thing too, which is if you make a mistake, just power through. Just power right through.

I hope no one notices. Look, if we were coming in after a big Canucks game or something, sure, we'll whip through the guest list, get right in. It's August 20th, reach. Come on. You know, thinking about mistakes. Like, there's been some big ones through the years. The blooper reel of mistakes that I've heard through my 16 years in sports radio is extensive. It is incredible. It is something I think about often and laugh about.

I am reminded of it. And as soon as Lattie said that, I've been reminded of about seven situations that I, you know, can't mention on air. Just power through. Blooper reels on radio are the best. Absolutely. All right. So anyways, thanks for revealing my secrets for each that, yeah.

I haven't done it out, stretch it out a little bit here. We're only here. We're not here for a long time. No, that's right. Anyways, what happened? We'll start in Major League Baseball. Blue Jays get back in the win column. They beat the Pirates.

seven three last night. George Springer continues his fantastic season. He went two for four with a big two home run, a big two run home run in that game. Max Scherzer was fantastic again. So really the vets, the old men, and I say that knowing I'm like three years older than George Springer, but at least I'm younger than Max Scherzer. I still got that going for me. But the old men on the J's getting it done and leading the way for a big seven three win for them yesterday. A couple of notes from this one, but I do want to talk more Max Scherzer. or in a second. But Alejandro Kirk got caught in a rundown?

That's right. That's what I want to talk about more than anything. He stole that guy getting caught in a rundown. He stole that one base. He's like, I'm a speed demon now. I'm going to be aggressive on these base paths. That was collective base running mistake.

Yeah. It's okay. They also bunted into a double play. The dark side of small ball coming out there. I was like, oh, this is awful. It's hard of me died when that happened. Get these mistakes out of the way before the playoffs. It's like if you're going to bunt, Ernie, put it on

the frickin' ground, man. Come on. Don't pop it up. Better yet. Just don't bun. Or don't bunt. I like this strategy from John Schneider. It's just like, we'll do this now. And then maybe I'll remember this in the playoffs to remind myself that we shouldn't be bunting in these situations. Anyways, the update on Vladdy,

who of course came out of the game on Monday with left hamstring soreness, sounds like it's not too serious. Didn't play yesterday. Probably unlikely to play today because they've got the day off on Thursday. So they're just going to kind of give a three-day break here. But it sounds like there's a pretty good chance he'll be back when they start playing Miami on Friday.

Also, and I know this was to the disappointment of a lot of Jay's fans who wanted to see some fireworks, but no Tommy fam in the lineup. Pirates manager said, hey, Tommy, take a breather. Just relax. Cool down for a little bit there, buddy. He didn't want Tuesday night fight night to break out at PSC Park. How do you hold a generational player like Tommy Pham out of the lineup? No wonder they lost.

It's like, well, if they're keeping Heineman out of the lineup, we got to keep, we got to keep fam out of the lineup. Yeah. And despite that, I mean, George Springer was plunked in the first at bat. But nothing, nothing came of it. It didn't turn into fireworks. Anyways, I think the big conversation with the Jays now continues to center around the pitching and the rotation.

And Max Scherzer, I mean, full credit to him at his age and, you know, being out of the rotation for a long time, dealing with injury stuff, coming back in. and he has strung a bunch of really effective starts together. And, you know, last night it wasn't his most dominant effort or anything, but still, what was it? Six, six innings of one run allowed. And that's pretty much been the regular for him for the past five or six weeks here.

He's not the overpowering, you know, nasty stuff guy that he was in his prime. But as he said last night after the game, you know, I made pitches when I needed to. And that's what it comes down to with Scherzer. he is so smart so intelligent up there and still you know he's still throwing 95 it's not like he's he's jamy moyer out there or anything um is he the ace like is he the ace of this staff at this point i mean if tomorrow were to be or next week were to be game one of the playoffs for the blue jays as of right now there isn't anybody i'd rather see on the mound for game one of a playoff series than max shirzer all due respect to kevin gosman and

what he's been able to put together this year. Shane Bieber, you're obviously not ready there. And then Bassett Burrios, not exactly the most confident, inspiring right now. Eric Lauer has been an unbelievable story. He's been a huge part of the Jay's success this year. But he's more likely to be a long man in the bullpen for the playoffs than anything else. If Eric Lauer starts a playoff game for you, something's gone wrong. Something has gone terribly wrong.

Yeah. Like right now, you know, the list of guys that I expect to start playoffs, games for the Blue Jays are Scherzer, Beber, Gosman, potentially Bassett if it's at home because at least his home record has been good this year and Burrios is on the outside looking in. Lauer's going to go long man in the bullpen and that's how you go about your playoff rotation. It's got some question marks, but at least with Scherzer right now, ever since he's figured out this thumb thing or the thumb thing that really had him struggling all of last year and the early part of this season. He's been really good. And, you know, he's still striking out pretty much a batter an

inning. By baseball reference, he's worth more than a win already this year at just 54 innings pitched, which is pretty remarkable. It goes to show that in the innings he has been able to throw and the starts he has been able to make. He's been pretty good in the 10 starts for the most part. So this is something the Blue Jays have needed. You know, it's, it's August. There's still a long way to go. You hope the stumb thing doesn't pop back up again for Scherzer, but you feel pretty confident that even at 40, this guy can start playoff games for you and feel

pretty good about it. Let's hear from Max Scherzer just about how good he is feeling in his outings right now. You know, I felt strong tonight. You know, I knew going into this start, I talked with Schneid's about, hey, I feel good and Biden's in a good spot. You know, we can really step on it tonight. Even though

I got over 100 pitches, I even said I still had another 10 pitches left in me. So, you know, that's what's really good about this. I'm building up and getting my endurance up and I'm able to complete outings and finish strong. So those are all good signs moving forward. Yeah, that point about the endurance as well, especially because he did miss so much time earlier in the season and you wondered about the ramp up process. If he's feeling like he can go, if he can give you 100 pitches every time out, I mean, that's massive. And I know in the playoffs that so often they

have the quick hook, right, they go to the bullpen quickly. But if a guy's cruising, you can still leave him in. And if you have the ability to get six, seven innings of Max Scherzer on the mound, that's a massive advantage. And I think the only roadblock, I mean, look, we'll see what happens performance-wise for him and Gosman between now and the playoffs.

The only obstacle I see between him being the ace is what Shane Bieber does. I think there is still a chance for Shane Bieber to say, hey, I'm Shane Bieber. I'm a recent Cy Young winner too. And yeah, I haven't pitched for a long time, but I've got enough runway here to get into that conversation, but I think the edge for Scher might just be the intensity we see on display, not just when he starts all the time for Max Scherzer and his playoff

experience. His overall experience is unbelievable. You know, he's got a couple of World Series championships, right? Yep. So you think about what Max Schurzer has been through his career and just the level he can get to, the intensity he plays with. And the stuff that he has, the Jay's bullpen isn't deep enough that they can afford to once you get third time through the order for a starter on every single occasion, be like, okay, we're going to the bullpen. Yep. You know, like it's just, it's not that deep. So you've got to have Scherzer, Gosman, Bieber, whoever's in your playoff rotation, be able to potentially have the stuff to be able to get. a batting order third time through that time a year, given that the Jay's bullpen, while

I like the move they made to get Varland and to get Dominguez and to help out the back end of the bullpen, I'm still not incredibly in love with how deep it is. And if you have to really stretch into the fifth and sixth innings for your relievers, it's probably not going to end well for the Jays. So you need Scherzer to continue on this way. He's got four straight quality starts. He is your ace right now and you feel pretty good about Max Scherzer, even at 40 years old. Now, while we're talking about what 40-year-old Max Scherzer is given the Jays and potentially how important he could be for them come playoff time, you posed an interesting question in the rundown. Of course, the team we cover most often here on the show is the Vancouver Canucks.

We love to rope them into the conversation. The Jays getting fantastic production. out of the vet Max Scherzer and you pose the question is there a Max Scherzer comparable in hockey that the Canucks could target for a similar similar production and also just as I said the the energy from Max Scherzer the professionalism the commitment all of that it really just jumps off the screen when you're watching the J's so you're looking for that element as well I have a name in mind okay do you do you want or do you want me to go my name is Sidney Crosby okay so okay here's a thing here's a thing Max Scherner or he's not he's not the greatest pitcher of all time he's a hall of famer he's a hall of fame he's a

hall of fame he is a hall of fame but it's like you you go out you went up another level there you know what i mean so he's he's one of the best pictures of this generation he is that's true i don't know look i so i saw that in the rundown i was like he probably wants to talk about sidney crotting the jim rutherford connection and everything of course i okay it is destiny look If there's a golden goal in 2010 at Rogers Arena, you bring Sidney Crosby to Vancouver and finally bring the Coducks

a championship. So I was actually a couple of years ago before Gino Malkin signed again in Pittsburgh. I was saying the Cucks should go after him. Yeah. And I think that's a good Scherzer cop for sure, right? Like just a little tier down, but no doubt first ballot Hall of Fame or champion and everything.

Now I think Malkin, it doesn't make any sense. He's too old now. He's washed. He's not so good. Look, if you ever have a chance to bring Sidney Crosby to your team, you do it. No matter what, no questions asked. That's what you do. And of course, I think we know Jim Rutherford feels the same way. He loves Sidney Crosby. I'll believe it when I see it. Does anybody not love Sidney Crosby? I don't think so. I didn't even get tired of listening to Rick Tockett waxed. Fliars fans, I guess.

Oh, how's that going to go over, actually, with Philly fans? Rick Tocke, constantly talking about Sidney Crosby. Maybe, maybe we just won't talk about Sidney Crosby is awesome. I used to play with this guy. I'm all going to say his name, but he was awesome. Yeah. So anytime you have a chance to bring Sidney Crosby, of course you do it. But I am going to respect all the Pittsburgh sports writers that get very, very upset. When we up here in Canada, we start talking about Sidney Crosby going to a different team.

I've got another name that jumps to mind for me. Now, he's not a free agent, but it could be a potential trade target. And it's Stephen Stampcos. And I do think you look at, if you're trying to judge career versus career, Stampcos, no doubt, first ballot, Hall of Famer, incredibly productive throughout his career Stanley Cup champion multiple times

with the Tampa Bay Lightning has done a ton of winning obviously now I do wonder like does Stamco can Stamco still get to the level the equivalent in hockey

that we're seeing from Scherzer with the Jays right now I don't know but the reason I also bring him up even though he's not a free agent is who knows what's going on with the national predators

and at a certain point is does Stamco's look around and say, like, yeah, I know I signed here and I got the no move clause. I got the no trade clause and all that. But man, this is a disaster. This is a mess. Do I need to look for another opportunity? Probably not.

But as we talk about a Canucks team that needs to punch up its scoring, right? That could use some help on the power play. Yeah. That could use that kind of veteran presence. If we're looking for the max, sure's are comparable, I think Stephen Stamco's makes a ton of sense. Okay. So I will give you extra points for being a little bit more realistic. Thank you.

Thank you. And me for saying Sidney Crosby in this conversation. Stamco's like Scherzer is a future Hall of Famer, right? He's been one of the best goalscores, arguably the best, outside of Alex Ovechkin, the best power play goal scorer of the last decade plus in the National Hockey League. So these are elements that still make Stamcoast great, even at his advanced age. I think we saw with Nashville that he can't be

the driver of the bus in the way that he was earlier in his career with Tampa Bay I don't necessarily shy away too far from the $8 million a year because I still think he can score quite a bit for you even at 35 years old

and specifically from a Canucks standpoint, Jamie they could really use a big right shot power play go to one-time players especially now that J.T. Miller's gone off the left half wall it's like who's playing that left half wall

for the Vancouver Canox? Is it better? Is it going to be somebody else? How are they going to make that work on the power play and a Stephen Stamcoast right shot on that left half wall? We saw him score a couple of goals at Rogers Arena last year in that spot

for the Nashville Predators. I think that would be a very good fit for the Vancouver Canucks. I do wonder with a no-move clause, he's never played in a market that is not a no-tax state. So I do wonder if Stephen Stamco's thinking that as well, or, you know, if he's looking at moving and chasing another chance at a cup, is, is Vancouver that spot right? now probably not i think the power play points a great one we can get more into some of the roster questions in front of the canucks right now a little later on the show we might do that at eight o'clock but just to tie everything up in the baseball world just elsewhere in the a l east red sox lose yankees win so the yankees jump the red sox in the a lees standings uh jays now five up on the

yankees six up on boston the mariners lose again six four to the fillies they actually rallied to tie this game in the seventh. But as you heard on the intro coming in, J.T. Real Muto hit a two run shot to put Philly in front for good in the eighth. So after the Mariners won eight straight coming out of the All Star break, they've now lost six of seven, including the last four in a row. And I'll throw this out. To you reach to the listeners, is this just a blip? Or is this a cause for concern? And you kind of look diagnosing the issues. I mean, their pitching staff has not been as sharp as it usually is over this stretch. But I look at the lineup as well. And, you know, I know Eugenio Suarez went three for four for double last night,

but his performance since coming back to the Mariners has been very, very underwhelming to say the least. I look at Julio Rodriguez, fantastic player, always going to be valuable because of his speed and defense. But I find at the plate, he just kind of leaves you wanting more. It reminds me a little bit, actually, of like, Vladian Bo at certain stages in their career where you know the talent is there. And you're hoping he takes that next jump. And it's like, he's good. You can't really complain about it, but you're kind of hoping he could be great. I think the biggest issue, and we're not talking about it, I understand why, because it feels unfair to point any blame in this guy's direction, Cal Rally has quietly been a lot less

effective over the last six or seven weeks. OPS under 800 in that stretch. And look, your catcher has an OPS in the high 700s and is hitting for power. You'll take that. All right. Hey, that's pretty good. That's not a bad player by any stretch, but it's a big, big difference from what he, was doing in May and June when he was playing like an MVP candidate, like maybe the best hitter in the AL other than Aaron Judge. And it's kind of the flip side of what we're seeing with Vladdy right now where he went from, you know, All Star to fringe MVP type hitter. Cal Raleigh's going the other way. And I'm not saying he can't get it back. And again, it feels just totally unfair to to target him because he's had such an incredible dream season for the Mariners. But when your best

player slips a little bit, this is kind of what it can look like. You expose yourself to a potential losing streak like this. It's been a tough stretch, but I'm going to pump the brakes on any sort of big concern for the Mariners. It is an eastern road swing where they've had to go through Baltimore, who's gotten a little bit hot lately, beat the Red Sox last night again. So the Orioles aren't what they were early in the season. They've kind of found their game a little bit. And then to have to go through the Mets and the Phillies after everything they did at the deadline to really bolster their rosters. You could make the argument if you want to be glass half empty on the Mariners that, hey, these are playoff type matchups against the other best teams in the league,

and you are coming short. But I just think this is a letdown after their massive win streak that was maybe inevitable, especially traveling out east, and they will correct the ship as they move forward. I still think Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez, even though they've slowed down a little bit from where they were earlier in the season, they're going to be fine. They were bound to have some slumps somewhere.

They are still two of the top five players in war this year among position players. So I'm not overly concerned about this. You're going to have slumps over the course of 162. This happens to be the one for the Mariners. And the good news for the Mariners is one, they're still very comfortable in a playoff. position. Also, the Astros, they've been shut out in three straight games. So the Mariners in this

little slump here have barely lost any ground. There's still just a game and a half back of Houston in the division. So it's been a bump, but it hasn't really cost them in terms of playoff positioning or even in the division race yet. We got to take a break. There are some notes from the white caps. I want to touch on later in the show. And in the NHL or the hockey world, at least USA hockey inviting 44 players to an Olympic orientation camp. There's some Canucks tie-ins there we can get into too. But up next, Curtis Rogers from Seattle Sports Radio will chat his level of concern for the Mariners, what some of the issues that need fixing are, and maybe a little Seahawks with Curtis as well.

Next here on Halford & Brough Sportsnet, 650. Welcome back to Halford & Brough, Sportsnet 650, Jamie Dodd, Dan Riccio filling in on a, is it Eurodance Wednesday? Is that correct? Eurodance Wednesdays, baby. I feel like I should be watching some grainy soccer highlights on YouTube. Not going to lie, I might have been doing that last. Last night, trying to find out who these guys, the whitecapt are potentially signing. Learning a lot about them. I haven't found the correct pronunciation for Jodrick Poopet.

Pooh-pe? We'll see. We'll figure it out out of. Poop or poop? I don't think it's... I hope it's not poop. All right. You said that before, haven't you?

Halfen and Brough is brought you by Sands and Associates. Learn how a consumer proposal could get you on the road to being debt-free in just two weeks. Visit Sands-Trustee. We are broadcasting live from the Kintech Studio. 650 is the Dunbar Lumber text line. Metro Vancouver's trusted choice for contractors and rental warriors for over 50 years. Visit them at one of their three locations to serve you or online at Dunbar Lumber.com. Send your what we learned texts in now.

We'll read them at 830. Hashtag WWL, what you learned in the last 24 hours in sports. Guests on Sportsnet 650 call in on the hotline powered by Power West Industries. don't get caught in the dark when it matters most. Visit them at powerwest.ca. Today they keep the lights on and now joining us on the hotline from Seattle Sports Radio covering both the Mariners and the Seahawks.

He is Curtis Rogers. Curtis, thanks for doing this today. How are you? Doing well, doing well. Thanks for having me on. I'm doing fine. The Mariners, maybe not so much on this road trip, but it ends today, hopefully. There's raining the forecast in Philadelphia. They're desperate to get back home

and get some wins back. under their belt. Yeah, no doubt. It's been a little bit of a scuffle here, as you said, on this road trip and especially coming off of that eight game winning streak for the Mariners, now six of the last seven that they've dropped. What's your level of concern that, you know, does this signal anything that should be concerning for Mariners fans about this team, or is this just a more of a blip against good opposition in your eyes? I think the biggest concern coming from this road trip is their performance on the road this season. They're 31 and 35. away from T-Mobile Park.

And also their starting pitching has been markedly different away from Team Mobile Park, especially their starters. Logan Gilbert's got an ERA over six on the road this year. Luis Castillo's near five. Bryce Miller, who started last night. And he's dealt with a lot of injuries this year, but his ERA on the road is up near six. That can't work, especially when the Mariners right now are in position to be a

wild card team. in the playoffs. You're going to be on the road for a lot of time in the first couple of rounds. In 2022, when the Mariners made the playoffs, they had to play, I think, four road games in a row before playing a single home game. So that's going to have to change if the Mariners want to go deep in the playoffs. I'm not concerned so much about them falling out of the playoff race, because you look at the American League right now, all the teams that are kind of bunched up near them. Other than the Yankees right now, everybody else is losing. Boston has lost three in a row. The Astros have lost three in a row. It has not been a league this year where

anybody is kind of assert of themselves. So I just think coming off this road trip, the biggest concern right now is that starting pitching, can it perform like it does here in Seattle? And obviously the ballpark plays a lot into that. But going forward, these guys need to be on their piece and cues away from home. Yeah. And it's funny because, you know, all the work done at the deadline to improve the order and you didn't really have too many question marks about the rotation then but is it just you know ballpark factors that make them that much better at T-Mobile Park or is how much of it is there an element of randomness here to their home road splits than anything else I think the ballpark does play a big

part into it I know the Mariners have really emphasized right-handed pitching over the last couple of years, because for whatever reason, righties just have more success in Team Mobile Park than lefties do. You've seen guys like Marco Gonzalez and Robbie Ray get traded over the last few years, and now your rotation is strictly righties. And, you know, whatever dimensions at Team Mobile Park, whatever the air quality is, it's so weird. We had Mike Petriello of MLB.com on, and he is just the biggest stat nerd of

all time and like stats beyond just like your typical analytics like he was looking at like gravitational pole in Seattle compared to other places and he had mentioned that like in Seattle because like how much gravitational pull there is here like it makes pitches even nastier in Seattle compared to like Miami which is on the opposite side of states and so it's like wow I hadn't even thought of that in terms of like why the ballpark plays so differently than anywhere else. But, I mean, it certainly helped the Mariners because you look at their home record this year, 37 and 25, like it has been a huge home field advantage for them, especially later on

in the year. It's funny, though, Brian Wu seems to be the only guy that has solved pitching on the road this year for them. He's been just absolutely rock steady for them from opening day until now, has not pitched a game under six inning to the season, was an all-star, has a rodeo. I believe of like 3, 4, 8. So, I mean, he has been everything you could want out of the starting pitching. But it's so weird because, you know, Coors Field is always viewed as like the extreme outlier of ballpark.

But you can kind of view Teammable Park in maybe the opposite sense of like kind of the coerce field of pitching ballparks. Curtis, I got to be honest, you just blew my mind a little bit there with the gravitational pull thing. I had never considered that, to be honest. We're one step away from stepping into the space time continuum, I think. It blew my mind, too. I don't even know how you would measure that, but that's incredible. We're talking to Curtis Rogers from Seattle Sports Radio here, Halfwood and Brough Sportsnet 650.

So as you're saying, a lot of the concern focuses on the rotation and specifically what they've been able to do away from Seattle this year. On the lineup side, do you have any concerns that jump out to you about the offense on the batting order right now? Yeah, I would think the lineup against left-handed pitching has been an issue and in this series specifically

it has been magnified with Philadelphia going with three straight lefties in this series today. It's going to be Jesus Lazzardo getting the call for Philadelphia. When you look at the bottom of the order, especially when Domkan Zone was healthy, he's dealing with a banged up wrist right now,

the bottom of the order in a in the best version of the mariner's lineup has three straight lefties pole young at second base dom can zone and then jp cropper to shortstop um it's really tough to break that up when you have got on your bench your best infield right-handed bat is dillon more and dylan more is three for his last 63 like that that is uh you can't win that way it's really tough to win when you have got an automatic out coming up. And then also Mitch Garver, the backup catcher, when Cal needs a day off or Cal needs to DH, you put him in there. And it's just such a different outcome from what you're expecting out of the catcher spot when Cal is in there. So to me, just kind of the bottom part of the order is where things are really tough

right now for the Mariners, especially against left-handed pitching. It's right easy. They do just fine. And we talk a lot up here about how this is the deepest lineup that we've seen in a long time and that remains true even with the struggles against left-handed pitching, but hopefully the Mariners don't face too many

lefties in the playoffs. I know there's a pretty dang good lefty that Detroit has in Terrick Scoobal. Funny enough, the Mariners are 2 and 0 against him this season. They've given him two of his three losses. So that makes no sense, but that right now is the biggest concern about the lineup. And also,

on this road trip, haven't seen a lot of production out of Randy Rosa Raina, haven't seen a lot of production out of Josh Naylor, two guys who were mashing on the last homestand. So I want to see those Batsgate going, especially with how important they are to what the Mariners want to do this season. But right now

the bottom third of that lineup against left hand of pitching, that's the biggest concern offensively. You know, Uh-uhano Suarez coming back, a big deadline acquisition. He goes three for four last night, but it has been a struggle. Are you starting as, I mean, obviously off a three

or four night, yet you hope that that's a sign of life from Suarez is bad. Is it just a matter of time before it comes together? I think so. And he's been such a very streaky hitter his entire career. You can see him look like an absolute matcher for times,

for extended period of times. You know, especially the first half of the season in Arizona. He was pretty much one of the best hitters in baseball. But yeah, he's been very cold since coming over in the trade. But to me, I think the most important thing that that trade did was give the guys who were here before the trade deadline of belief from the front office and saying, like, yeah, we are going to do everything we can to make sure that this team is

championship caliber in the season's final months. And also, there is a desire for, you know, big moves to be made and that was the biggest bat move at the trade deadline and i think right now the mariners are i think the vibes and genus sara's his whole thing is good vibes only uh there's a sign in the clubhouse even before he got traded to seattle that says good vibes only uh so like that's how big of a deal was for the mariners to acquire him is like you're bringing in a guy that is not just going to produce on the field when he is producing, but also is just a big part of what the clubhouse culture was before the trade. And so I think guys that were here in 22 and 23,

you see what he was able to do. And all of a sudden now, you've got guys that are, you know, Cal Rale has talked a lot about how he wants the front office to do more and more. I know J.P. Crawford is somebody that has kind of echoed those sentiments in the past. So even with Gino's struggles, I still think the move was the right move to make by the Mariners. How do fans view Julio Rodriguez at this stage of his career, Curtis? Because, you know, I look at him and he's so phenomenally talented. And, I mean, the value he brings defensively in center field and on the base pass of his athleticism,

he's obviously an extremely valuable baseball player. I just can't help feeling like sometimes at the plate that it feels like there's another level for him to get to. And look, I mean, he's still very young, so maybe that's coming. but I think when we think back to his rookie year and he was just such a phenom and it felt like the sky was the limit, is there any frustration or do fans still recognize like, hey, this is still a phenomenal center field

we're lucky to have in the lineup. I'm just curious to see kind of where opinion is at on Julio Rodriguez right now. I think with his performance here in the second half, I think it's very favorable towards him because he has looked like the Julio that a lot of people had wanted to see in the first half of the season. I mean, he has been playing

phenomenally for them and has been a big reason why they're in the position they're in. I think just him from April through about June every year is the part where people are really frustrated with and it's like, dude, why can't you do this throughout the course of the entire season? But I think if it means he's playing his best baseball at the end of the season, that's ideal for anybody, right? Like, that's what you want to see out of your best players. But, again, the wins in April count just as much as the wins in September. So you want to see

him play better in those months. But you can't be mad at his defense. You can't be mad at his base running. The slug is there. He's getting more extra base hits right now. The home runs are there. I think Julio Rodriguez right now is playing at his peak form, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Yeah, second half, Julio Rodriguez, 913 OPS right now in the second half

and helping carry the Mariners' offense. It hasn't been as clean for Raleigh. You know, I know he did hit his 47th Homer and he's got all kinds of records that he's either already broken as a catcher, as a switch hitter, and continues to maybe chase

down the record books. But maybe a slowdown of some kind was expected at some points. But where are you at? with Cal Raleigh and his second half so far with an OPS under 800. Yeah, I think it was to be expected that he would cool down from where he was in late June, early July, where it was almost Ken Griffey-like in how automatic he was going to be hitting home runs.

That was one of the craziest times I can remember, or craziest stretches I can remember a player going on, where it was like, this guy's going to. hit every weekend he's going to hit like four or five home runs every couple of games he's going to go home runs from both sides of the plate i think he's got eight or nine multi-home run games this year it's been pretty insane to watch even this more slowed down pace that he's on is still pretty incredible because what he was able to do in the season's first half now every home run he hits now comes with some sort of milestone next one he's going to tie Salvador Perez's catcher home run record, two home runs from now, he's going to break it,

three home runs from now, he's going to get number 50. So, like, there is a milestone to reach with every single home run that he hits. And I think the best part about his second half of the season is that, like, yeah, he has not produced at the clip that he did early in the season, but I don't think they've needed him to because the lineup has been so much more improved. Guys like Randy or Rosa Raina have been picking it up. Julio's been picking it up. The hope is that Gino can get going.

Josh Naylor had a really good stretch immediately after getting traded to Seattle. So there's just a lot more lineup protection for him right now, and he doesn't necessarily need to be on every single game for the Mariners to have a shot at winning. Curtis, before we let you go, I just want to check in on the Seahawks as well. And I know fans pretty excited about how the offense

looked in the running game specifically and the focus on the running game in that preseason win against the Chiefs and of course yes it is only preseason you always have to throw that in there but what are you expecting to see from this Seahawks offense specifically new looks Seahawks offense once the regular

season starts? Yeah I'm definitely expecting to see the run game get utilized a lot more often than it did a year ago with Ryan Grub as OC he's not there anymore it's now Clint Kubiak I think the run game is going to be just the most important thing.

And I think just kind of reading the tea leaves in that from what Mike McDonald and Clint Kubiak have told us and have told the media, it really sounds like Zach Charbonnet is going to be the starter. It really sounds like that is the guy who is going to be getting the bulk of the carriers to start the season. Ken Walker has been dealing with some foot issues. Hasn't really been available a lot in training camp. So just kind of by virtue of that, it feels like Zach

Charvone is going to be the guy to start the year, so that's going to be an interesting wrinkle. But I like that Kubiak found a quarterback in Sam Darnold that knows his system that wants to run his system. And I think the C-Rs seem to have a much more defined plan this season than last year, where it was just kind of like, well, we're all figuring this out together because it's the coach's first season. It's everybody's really first season together, just trying to get your feet underneath. Do I think they're a playoff team? I think a wild card spot could definitely be within reach this year. Maybe even the division, depending on how things work out, especially with Matthew Stafford's injury in L.A., San Francisco.

They've lost a lot of talent over the last couple of years. So I think, you know, 9-10 wins is still definitely within reach. Maybe even 11 are things break their way. I think the division can still be won by anybody. Heck, even Arizona, they improved by four wins last year. So I think everybody's arrow, or well, I would say Seattle and Arizona, their arrows pointing up, L.A. is pointing up to, especially if Stafford can get healthy and practice a bit more here.

But I think it's really anybody's division. It is so wide open in the West right now, and I think that bodes well for the CYogs. Curtis, really appreciate the time this morning. Thank you for doing this. Thank you so much, guys. Thanks for having me on. Yeah, of course. That is Curtis Rogers from Seattle's.

sports radio covering both the Mariners and the Seahawks and weighing in on Mariners slump out east on this road trip as he said they can't wait to get back I'm still thinking about that gravitational pull thing the gravitational pull at T-Mobile Park actually accounts for a 17% increase I'm gonna go on a deep dive in this at home right-hander starter I know I love how nerdy baseball can be in the stats and and everything. It's fantastic. Yes. I've never thought about that.

Like the air density, sure, right? C level versus up at Cors. Okay, I get that. Yes. The gravitational pull. It's different on the West Coast than it is in Miami. It's fascinating. Mainly because, you know, baseball is played in so many outdoor environments.

Like every environment is a little bit different. Obviously, Coors Field is very helpful to hitters, not only from a home run standpoint, but an extra base hit standpoint. It's very difficult for pitchers because they're, their pitches in you know in the in in course field they just don't they don't move as much

they're flattered they don't get as much friction to spin which is fantastic the other thing I sound like John Cruck here you're talking about clocks but it's like a lot of the best pitchers parks are on the west coast yes right Seattle San Francisco San Diego

yes and I always thought well they're just all close to the water that's what it is yeah but apparently not It's a gravitational pull. Matt Bailey is a great pitchers park. It's a gravitational pull for the West Coast. We're known for our heavy gravity here. Yeah, the PNW and its gravitational pull is just great for pitchers. Fantastic for pitchers.

If you want to get drafted, get drafted by the Blue Jays. And then your Vancouver numbers once you get to high A are going to be great. They've had some great pitchers come through. Maybe it was all just the gravitational pull all this time. The Jays got to adjust for that. What I don't get is like, okay, so we know ballpark factors or things. in baseball. Why are rank factors a thing in hockey? It's because

the like in rink scorekeepers all have like wildly different ideas of what constitutes a hit. It's true or a shot on goal or whatever. Yeah, because the Carolina Hurricanes whoever's the scorekeeper. Whatever. Close enough. Shot, shot on goal. I missed the net. No, it didn't. This drives goal. He's nuts. But I also remember back in the

like the Thomas Focoon days in Florida, he always had these crazy safe percentages. And you look at it and it would like every game at home it was like he made 40 saves. I was like, did he really though? Or is that just an overzealous score? He did play for the Panthers in that

era. He did. It was a good chance. It was close to 40. But there's definitely some ranks around the league where it's like those numbers are going to be inflated. So goalies feel the rank factor? Absolutely. Especially in the junior ranks where the scorekeepers could even spotier. Oh, just do whatever. Oh, the volunteer scorekeepers are. It's so frustrating, right?

Because these kids are trying to impress the scouts and they're trying to get, you go move on to the next level and this kind of hinges on that. So it's frustrating. It's an ongoing battle every year. Rink factors. Oh, this guy had 12 hits tonight. I don't know.

Was that a thing for Keith for Sherwood? I don't know. Key for sure would did seem to have a lot of hits last. I mean, Keith for sure, we just like obliterated the record. I've told us it really better. Before though, but there was a rink in America. I won't say which rink. But they undercount the other team's shots on purpose.

And they'll make a joke out of it when they announced the shots at the end of the period. We got 12 and they had two. And it's like, all you're doing is screwing your goalie. Yeah. You want to jack up the show. shots. Your goalie looks great. They all had shockingly 888 safe percentages. I wonder why. Your team's not getting paid

less because they gave up a ton of shots, but your goalie might get paid more. So it would drive me nuts. Although maybe they were trying to keep the goalie's numbers down to save on the cap. Yeah, I make this guy look like a bum so we can get a better deal on him. Justice for scorekeepers, holy. Justice for goalies.

Come on. Yeah, well, that's what you always say. That's what you say about everything, Laddie. All right, we will talk a little hockey. We haven't even a chance to get into this in the Canucks side of things. But USA hockey inviting 44 players to their Olympic orientation camp, which gets going August 26. Quinn Hughes, of course, on the list. Connor Garland also invited. However, no Brock Besser, no Thatcher Dempco, which is a surprise. We can chat about that. We'll chat about the list as a whole and look ahead at what Team USA might look like with Shana Goldman. We can go

around the NHL a little bit with her as well from the athletic. That's next here on Sportsnet 650.