Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Division Day: Crossover With Locked On A's

Episode Date: March 24, 2021

Jason Burke and D.C. Lundberg join forces to talk about the two teams they cover. Jason is pretty excited about the Mariners, so there's much more M's talk than A's. D.C. talks about the young players the M's will feature, and discusses when he thinks their window of opportunity will be to compete for an American League West title. Jason talks about the A's new shortstop Elvis Andrus, the pitching staff... and asks D.C. many questions about the Mariners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to this crossover episode of Locked-on A's and Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Here are your hosts, Jason Burke and D.C. Lundberg. Yes, indeed. That was Locked-on Mariners announcer, Joey Martin, today polling double-duty, introducing two shows at the very same time. Locked-on Mariners and Locked-on-A's are both part of the Locked-on podcast network, or of course, T-L-O-P-N for short or for shorter, Tlopin, brought to you by the locker room. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to both of these programs using whichever podcasting app that you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play both Locked on A's podcast and Locked on Marritor's podcast,

though not at the same time. That would be really silly. Your smart device, device, pardon me, of choice, will take care of that. I am D.C. Lundberg, Locked on Maritor's host. I want to take just a second to thank Clive Braithwaite to the fourth for guest hosting for me on Friday at the very last. last minute. And based on my performance today, you'll know exactly why I had a guest host last Friday. Here also is Locked on A's MC, the much more capable host of the day. Mr. Jason Burke. Jason,

how art thou? I art well. You caught me off girl. I was like, I'm doing great, DC. Oh, no, I need to enter an old English now. Today, the premise of today show is very similar to the previous few. We're going to ask each other questions about our teams. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Jason, you want to begin? You want to begin asking about the media? What a format. What a show.

What a crowd. Yeah, I will kick you off here. The thing that is most present for me is, when is Jared Kellenit coming up? Is he expected on opening day? I know that there was some hubbub over the off season. We don't need to get into all that stuff. Thank you. Is he healthy, one, because he went down not too long after all those ends.

came out. And Winsie coming back, how's he looking? What are the reports saying? That's a very good question. And thank you for leading off with something that I actually know the answer to somewhat. Yeah, going into spring training and the first, you know, a couple weeks or so, he was looking very good. The stats weren't there, but spring training stats, they don't mean much. It's, you know, how is your timing? How's your swing looking? He looked fine, and he was actually impressive enough to maybe be the opening day left fielder. However, then, he had the grade two, a ductress strain and he was going to be out for a few weeks. He got into a game 11 days later, and he's actually back now, and Scott Service said that he

looked pretty good even in that first game. So if I had to wager a guess, and that is, and this is just a guess, ladies and gentlemen, I'm guessing he might actually be the opening day left fielder. I don't think he, um, his timing seems to be back even after missing, you know, a week and a half. And, you know, the only other competition really is Taylor Tremel, and he's having a good spring also, he could be the opening day left fielder as well. I wouldn't be surprised if they both made the opening day roster, quite honestly. Would that be both of them and then Kyle Lewis being the main trio,

or would one of them be the fourth outfielder? I think one of them would be a fourth outfielder. I think they'd probably rotate Kelnick and, oh my gosh, it just forgot the gentleman's name. Henniger? Hanniger is going to be the right fielder. He's back, or Manninger, as I like to call him. Tramel and Kalnuk, I'm guessing, would probably rotate in left field.

A true platoon situation doesn't make a whole lot of sense because they're both left-handed hitters. I'm assuming that they're also going to rotate between left field and designated hitter, because designated hitter might be one of those positions where there is no set D.H. Thai France, I think, is going to get most of the playing time at designated hitter, unless Evan White has a bad season and he might wind up back in the minors. He won a gold glove last year, but, he often just looked terrible at bat.

He was clearly not ready for the big leagues. Too many strikeouts. He just looked overmatched. He could use some more minor league seasoning. But he might have a decent season, so who knows? But I wouldn't be surprised to see Evan White back in the minors. If that's the case, I think Ty France moves to first base. And left field and DH would kind of rotate between Kalnick and Tramel.

That's just speculation. That's just a guess. But that's what I got. That actually answered a couple of other questions that I had, but I'm going to ask him anyway. Do it. And that is a, I'll start off with Evan White here. He made the jump from double A to the big leagues last year after signing that a contract.

Yes. Should we be expecting another year of development or a breakout season? He strikes out a whole bunch. It looks like those numbers are going down a little bit in spring training. But again, spring training stats taken with a grain of salt. What is the realistic expectation for Evan White this year? Because he has the tools. It's just a matter.

of when he puts it all together for me personally. That's actually a very good way to put it. And quite honestly, I'm not sure what to expect of Evan White myself. If I had to wager a guess, I'm assuming that it would probably be similar to what he did last year. But that's just a guess. He could surprise me and he could put it all together suddenly. It's happened before. But if I had to wager a guess, I think he's probably back in the minors by the beginning of June.

Oh, man, I have him on my fantasy team. Hopefully that's not the case. Oh, I hope that's not the case. Do I like Evan White? Especially with his just outstanding defense. If he wasn't a left-handed thrower, he'd make a great third baseman. But he's a left-handed thrower, so he's limited to first. Yeah, I mean, I like Evan White. Like I said, I want him to be successful.

I want him to be successful this year. I just don't know if it's going to happen yet, but he will be successful at the majorly level at some point. Like you said, the tools are there. One other guy that you mentioned real quick was Ty France. He said that he might be getting some DH time. Is that going to be his main role on the roster? I've seen him listed another guy that's all my fantasy teams as a middle infielder. I got him at second base personally.

So that's where I was just assuming he was going to play. But even if he's not and he still has that eligibility, I am okay with that. Where is Ty France going to be getting playing time? And is it going to be a good share of playing time? Or is it just going to be kind of like a platoon, like a 50-50 kind of thing? I think he's probably going to play most of the time, and he's going to rotate between a few different positions. For me, his primary position probably is first base,

but that is where Evan White is. But again, if Evan White is back in the minors, I wouldn't be surprised to see France at first most of the time. He'll rotate between first, D.H., third base, and second base. There might be a little bit of a platoon situation going on at second base, though, between Dylan Moore and Shedlong Jr. when he comes back from his shin injury, so I don't know how much playing time France is going to get at second base

but I also think that he'll be spelling Kyle Seeger at third base fairly regularly. I'm intrigued. This Mariners team has so much youth gets me very excited. The Mariners right now in their rebuild is like my sweet spot of baseball teams where they are always kind of doing this

but they're on the upswing right now and there's so much to be excited about with the Mariners and I have so many more questions for you. Do you have anything you want to say? Well, I'm actually kind of glad that you kind of left it. I have so many more questions because we're kind of up on a commercial break right now. And at this time, I'm going to pose my daily trivia corner. This will extend to Oakland A's, locked on A's listeners as well. It is an A's themed question. And today it is this. Who is the A's franchise leader in games played?

Think about that and we'll give you the answer following this word from the locker room. it, Jason? This episode is brought to you by Locker Room. Locker Room is the first social audio platform made for sports fans. This app is free to download, and once you're in, you can talk with me, other fans, D.C. Lundberg himself,

athletes, insiders. This is all done in real time. It's like having a phone call with your favorite people. Just talking about your sports teams. It is so much fun. I just did my first one with Javier Reyes of Lockdown Padres. Ulysses Sambrano of Lockdown Arays popped in.

we had a great conversation, mostly about movies because we were like, oh, let's just have some fun. Oh, good. We got some baseball in there, but if you want to be a part of the conversation, just download the locker room app, follow myself at By Jason B. I'm not sure. DC, are you on there yet? Is it available for non- iPhones yet? It is not yet, but they're working on it.

So if you are a iPhone user, download the Locker Room app, follow me at By Jason B, and you can get alerts on when I'm going. alive. I'm going to be going live this week. Probably on Friday is my guess for that full 30 to 45 minute conversation. It is the perfect place to start or join conversations about baseball. And you'll find

fans just like you in the locker room app for watch parties, post-game breakdowns, and of course reacting to big news or rumors, because we have hot takes sometimes. So all you've got to do is go to the free locker room app now. currently available on all iOS devices. Be sure to create a profile, link your Twitter,

and join the Major League Baseball group. That's the MLB group for short for the latest league updates. Follow me at By Jason B to be notified when my group goes live because we're going to have some fun talking about some A's stuff. And DC when he gets in there and they have stuff for non-IOS devices, he'll be there too. Yes, I will. I know you will not want to miss it.

I'm planning to be live this week on Friday, probably around game time, I would say. So I can't wait to hear everybody's thoughts on the A's or Mariners. If you feel like it, drop on by. It'll be fun. So I'll see you guys there. Locker room changing the way we talk about sports. Thank you very much, Jason. And now the answer to our trivia question, the athletics franchise leader in games played.

Yeah, could you wager a guest, said Jason? I'll give you a clue. He did play in the Oakland Air. era. I mean, I want to say Ricky, but I'm pretty sure that's wrong, but he was there for a while. Ricky's number two. So that's actually who I thought it was going to be when I wrote the question, but it's not. Who? Okay. Who? Vita Blue. No, but that's the right era. Who was there slightly longer? Joe Rudy? Another good guess. You want me to let you off the hook, or do you want one more? Yes.

Bert Campanaris. I should have totally known that. He was not going to come to mind, but that's obvious. The right answer, yes. I was surprised when I learned, Bert Campanaris, 1,795 games as an Oakland athletic. Ricky is not that far behind for all intents and purposes, 1,704. And a very close third is Jimmy Dykes, going back a long ways. 1,7002.

Oh, Jimmy Dykes. Coming up, how is Elvis Andrews doing in Oakland? I don't know, I'll ask him when he gets home. Now this word from Built Bar, the greatest protein bars in the history of greatest protein bars. Each one is covered in 100% real chocolate, each one is high in protein and fiber, and will also be low in calories, carbohydrates, and sugar. And if you eat at least two a day, you'll be surrounded by good-looking members of the sex that you're attracted to. For that reason alone, I eat an entire box every six hours.

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Welcome back to this Locked-on Mariners, Locked-on A's crossover episode. And now back to your hosts, D.C. Lundberg and Jason Burke. Get all the sports news. You need nothing. 20 minutes with the Locked on Today podcast. Host Peter Bakowski updates you on the latest news in every major sport with the help of our local experts like me and D.C. Follow the Locked on podcast, or Locked on Today podcast, wherever you like podcasts, like wherever you're listening to this, subscribe on that one. And so with that, I have more questions for you, D.C.

Let's get into some more Mariners stuff. I have been after Kyle Lewis in my fantasy leagues. I like watching him play. he's a lot of fun. They're always posting videos of his exploits on Twitter. What are the expectations for him in his first full season as a Seattle Mariner, even though he's been there for a couple of years? That's just been half seasons.

Yeah, last year was just so weird. We don't need to rehash how weird it was on so many different levels. Lewis just got off to that tremendously hot start where it seemed like his slugging average was, you know, 7,000 or whatever it actually was. But he really fell off in the second. half, went into a pretty major slump actually, struck out a lot. In the Mariners' first 30 games, he hit 368 with an OPS of 1.041. Final 30 games, a 150 average with an OPS of just 545.

And the strikeout rate went from 26.40% to 43%. I think he may have worked out some of those problems had there been a second half of the season, but a season-ending batting average of 262 was actually rather similar to what it was in his cup of coffee in 2019. I think he may hit around 270-ish, that may go up into the 280s if he cuts down on his strikeouts, but cutting down on strikeouts isn't really, strikeouts have basically become more or less accepted, for lack of a better word. And I think he'll have around 20 to 25 home runs with a similar number of doubles.

And he showed good on base skills last year as well. I expect him to have a good season. There's no reason to believe he won't. and his defense, which does not manifest itself in fantasy numbers, is still awfully fun to watch. I'm very excited about this Mariners team, if I haven't made that clear. I got two more for you. First one, old friend Kendall Graveman.

Is he a legitimate bullpen piece? It seems like he's pitched well out of the bullpen when he's done it. What are the expectations for old friend Kendall Graveman? He's definitely going to be a part of the bullpen. he had a benign cyst, I believe, in his neck last year or his shoulder. And that kind of ended his career as a starter. So he didn't, yeah, he didn't really come back. He didn't pitch at the big leagues at all, I think, until September because of those health reasons.

And so he is no longer a starter. Definitely a part of that Mariners bullpen, though, not really certain it's going to be towards the middle or the back end, though. I would guess backhead just because there's a lot of an experience in that bullpen. He's not going to be the closer, though. The end's closer is going to be a fellow that they acquired from the Texas Rangers, who, of course, his name is also escaping me. He's a Cordero? Sure. Okay.

I'll go with that. That's probably wrong, ladies and gentlemen. But the pitcher that the Mariners acquired from the Rangers and the trade is more likely than not going to be the closer. And Graveman probably, I'm guessing, maybe a seventh-eighth inning setup type, man. Just a guess. Okay. I'm down with that. I'm currently looking up who the trade target was.

Who did they got? They got Raphael Montero as the closer. That's it. Thank you. Cordero. Who am I thinking of Francisco Cordero? He hasn't pitched. I think so.

I was like, is he still around? No, I don't think so. They also got Kenyon Middleton from the Angels. Yes. That was a free agent, so it wasn't like a trade or anything. But, you know, whatever. It's cool. Yeah.

You know what? I got more questions. You have so many left-handed starters. Yes, we do. The A.L. West is so right-handed heavy. Why? I don't know. It's just kind of the way it worked out, I think.

And you got Chris Lexon, who was in the KBO as like your only righty, I think. Well, here's the thing. The first four spots are spoken for. All four of them are left-handed. Scott Service is going to utilize a six-man rotation this year. The other two spots are up for grabs and are four people competing for them. Chris Flexen is among them. The others are Nick Margievichus, Justin Dunn, and L.J. Newsom.

And three of those four are right-handed. Mergevichis is the only left-hander among the four names I just mentioned. Among those, I like Margevichs and Newsom the best because I think they have the best control. Justin Dunn walks far too many hitters and gives up far too many home runs. The Mariners like him, though. so I would not be surprised if he is either the fifth or the sixth starter. Chris Flexen was signed to a major league contract, and there's no expectation on him. If he doesn't make the rotation, he'll be in the bullpen.

Based on the minor, pardon me, the major league numbers I've seen from Chris Flexen and his numbers in the high minors, I don't know how good he's going to be, but his numbers in Korea last year were very good. So, you know, he might have put it all together, but the Korean league is. about him. And it sounded like he had figured something out. And I got very excited about Chris flex and, uh, you know, just as a baseball player. Good. So hopefully he's good for you guys. That'd be nice. I root for everybody. I want everybody to have, you know, Syong capabilities. Oh, so do why. I mean, I want everybody to do well also, but I'm also, you know, I'm also a pessimist.

This is kind of the way I've, kind of the way I've always been. And the fourth starter, you say Kikachi, a name that I cannot pronounce for the life of me. Um, I'm not high on him either, but he is absolutely a part of this rotation as the fourth starter, as I mentioned. The Mariners spent a lot of money on him coming over from Japan, and they seem to like him. I just don't see it, though. Last year, he walked far too many hitters, although not as many is done, and in his first season, 2019, gave up way too many home runs.

So we'll see how that works out and watch me be wrong. I hope I am wrong, ladies and gentlemen. I want the Mariners to do well. I'm not saying these things to piss you off. I'm saying these things just to be honest. Before we go to break, I have one more question for you. Before we get into when they're going to be good again. And that is, is there anybody that has stood out for you in spring training or over the off season

that you think could have a bit of a breakout season, maybe not, you know, put themselves super on the map, but somebody that has caught your eye that you're low-key rooting for. Taylor Trammell. Okay. Yeah, I mean, I wasn't from the Padres, correct? I was not, yes, I was not super excited when the Mariners acquired him from the Padres because he had kind of begun to flounder at the higher levels of minor league ball. And his progression through the minors, those numbers are kind of indicative of somebody

who flames out in double A or AAA, but he's looked very good this spring. His defense has been pretty good too. So I hope he does, I hope he does very well. And Kelnick is the other one. I'm kind of surprised that he put himself in line to be a starter so early in his professional career. Either one of them could be the opening day left fielder and take the job and run with it. Yeah, I mean, Tremel's only 23, Kellenix 20, I believe, right? That outfield is going to be so much fun to watch for so many years.

Oh, it sure is. We have gotten to the point of the show where I ask my listeners to send in questions and comments. I extend this invitation to the Lockdown A's listeners as well. If you have a question or a comment, please send it to Lockdown Mariners at gmail.com. I will not read it. My personal secretary will read it on the air. I will reply to it. Questions and comments about anything, anything at all are welcome and encouraged.

Ask me questions about music. Ask me questions about other sports. Personal opinion questions, whatever you want to ask. Send in jokes. Send in silliness. Just keep it appropriate because it's a family show. That is all I ask, ladies and gentlemen. And Jason, is there an email address where people can send in questions and comments?

to Locked on A's. Locked on athletics at gmail.com. Perfect. Coming up, Jason and I continue our conversation, and we will communicate exclusively by flexing our biceps in Morse code. Now this from betonline.ag. Bet online is the fastest and easiest way

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Gentlemen, yes, today is the day. The Locked-on MLB podcast begins its division preview series. That's what I was supposed to say the first time and fail. It's all on the Locked-on MLB podcast feed right at this exact moment. Every episode from now until the 31st features in-depth looks at each team in every single division. Follow Locked-on MLB on the radio.com app or wherever you get your podcasts. Locked on A's Locked on Mariners crossover today, ladies and gentlemen, We've spent two segments talking about the Seattle Mariners,

and so the A's listeners don't lose interest. I'm going to ask some questions of Jason about the A's. And I guess the first one, you know, the A's clearly were the class of the American League West in 2020. I don't really see that changing, quite honestly, although your team's going to have sort of a different look to it, particularly at shortstop. Marcus Semyon was there last year.

He's one of my favorites. I love the way the guy plays, especially since he improved. his defense so much through hard work and dedication, he is no longer a part of the team, but Ellis Andrews is now a part of the team. Do you think the A's are going, do you think that's going to be a pretty seamless transition or what are your thoughts on the shortstop situation for lack of a better word? Marcus has been great for the Ayes. He was a huge part of the locker room, big part of the community. He's from the Bay Area. So I think that they're losing a little

bit in that. And I think that Elvis Andrews probably won't, he doesn't have the same ceiling as Marcus does. But I do think that by signing Mitch Morland that they might be able to replace Marcus Semyon and Chris Davis on the aggregate. And that's something that I've been saying on the podcast. I think that Andrews and Morland on the aggregate is better than Simeon and Chris Davis personally. That's where I think I'm going with this.

And so with that, I think that the A's on paper could be a better team. They may have more talent than last year, potentially. They have the potential to be a better team than last year. Whether or not that's how the season shakes out, injuries happen. It's a longer season, who knows. Right, yeah. But I think that on paper, they're looking okay. And I think that with Elvis-Ongruz, he has a lot of spirit about him.

He's a fun-loving player, and that's something that the A's could definitely use in the clubhouse. house. So in that regard, I think that he is the perfect replacement for Marcus Samian. If he can just be the league average, then that's a win for them. They don't need them to carry the offense or anything like that. They've got some hitters. They got some guys that are developing. Matt Olson's going to be better this year. He had $1.95 last year. He's got a bunch of dangers in spring training. As we're recording this, he has five. I don't think he makes outs anymore. Matt Chapman should be recovered from hip surgery so he can help out Elvis Andrews

if he's struggling on defense, which I don't expect him to. The big issue is going to be is Elvis Andrews, is his back going to keep up with him? He had some back issues last year, played about half the games. If he goes down,

all of a sudden, they have a bunch of questions, and that's what's concerning for me in reconstructing the roster from there. They can, you know, lose a couple of other guys. Like, even if Matt Olson went down, Mitch Morland can play for his base.

He'd be okay. Do you want him in there every day? Not necessarily, but he can play a really good first base. And they'd be okay with him down. Elvis Andrews, you're putting Chad Pinder at shortstop. They could have just had Chad Pender be their shortstop in the first place, but they didn't. They like to have him move around.

Would they bring up their hot prospect, Nick Allen? Is his bat good enough? That's the question with him. So they went and got Andrews for a reason. He needs to stay healthy. And that's my take on Elvis Andrews. All right. I'm just kind of going over some of his numbers.

he's not as old as I thought he was, first of all. But here's the thing. He made his major league debut in 2009, or 2009, as it were. That was his age 20 season. So, yeah, he's been around for 12 years. But this will be his age 32 season. That's why I thought he was older than he was. In 2019, his last full season, he hit 275.

You know, with 12 home runs, I don't see him as a big power guy at all. He doesn't need to be if he's a good defensive shortstop. Last year, that dipped all. the way to 194, but like you said, he had the back issues. Do you have any sort of prediction on how he might be doing or just wait and see what happens? He's been playing sparingly, but most of the regulars have been. So it's just a matter of, you know, get him into game shape and he'll be fine, let him work it out during the season. We're going to see how it goes, I think.

He'll probably be hitting either second in the lineup or like eighth. those are the two options right now. It depends on guys like Jed Lowry, who they brought back. Is he going to be playing more? Can he play shortstop still? I don't think that you necessarily want him to, but he could be another option too.

He's been looking really good. He's been putting some nice swings on the ball. So yeah, the A's got some interesting pieces happening. And if it comes together, then it could be a really nice season for him. Excellent. How's your pitching staff shaping up? I like it.

nobody's ever really high on their rotation. They're like, I mean, they got this guy and this guy. But Luzardo is good. He's really good. And I'm very excited to see what he does this year with another year under his belt. This could be his breakout season. AJ Puck, who never stays healthy, may actually be healthy. That's my bold prediction for the season. He's going to be healthy this year.

And then all of a sudden they got A.J. Puck, too, whether he's going to be a bullpen piece or a starting rotation piece, still got to figure that out. But I'm pretty sure that they're going to put them on the opening day roster at this point because I'm going to get into it. If you listen to my Monday episode, I talked about it.

So go back and listen to the Monday episode if you haven't. I have a question about AJ Puck, if I might. Yeah. When Bob Melvin comes out to give him the hook, does he tell him that the puck stops here? Oh, my God. I hope so.

He's only pitched like 30 innings. in the, like, 11 in the big leagues. He pitched 30 that year. Yes, I really hope that he does. And if he doesn't, he should. Actually, when AJ Puck decides to retire, that should be the entirety of his press conference.

Instead of I'm back, like the Michael Jordan facts, it's going to be the puck stops here. And I've also given you a name for a future podcast episode, so you're welcome. Oh, I definitely will use that. Yeah, so I mean, their rotation's pretty solid. Chris Bassett had a really, really good year last year. He's going to regress a little bit from his like 225 ERA,

but he's still really good. Frankie Montas has ace potential if he can just be consistent. Sean Mania is good. If he can give you like a three five to four ERA, that's all you really need from him. Mike Fires is going to be the fifth starter once he's healthy, but as of right now, we don't know if it's going to be puck or cold, Or Dolton Jeffries to start the season.

All three guys are really good. Cole Irvin has been a great pickup. He came on the podcast. He's a great guy. So I'm very excited about him. The bullpen looks good. If Trevor Rosenthal is 20-20, Trevor Rosenthal? No qualms whatsoever.

They got Sergio Romo as a potential backup ninth inning guy. Jake Deekman can go get lefty out to wherever you need to. Adam Calerick's another big addition that they got. He's a ground ball guy, mostly for lefties, I think. I know that they've been having them pitch against lefties and righties and he's been struggling. So I'm like, just throw him against lefties. It's fine. And then J.B. Wendelkin is a guy that not a lot of people know.

Maybe your audience does just because of division rival and all that. But J.B. Wendelkin's a really solid relief pitcher that doesn't get a lot of acclaim. And he goes out there and gets the job done. He might be the next Us Merri Petit's type role. They also brought back Use Mayor Petit. So, yeah, they got a bunch of depth. and I think that that's exciting. There's not somebody,

and Lutrovino is also in there, sorry. I always leave out Lutrovino for some reason. But yeah, they've got a solid eight guys in the bullpen. They've got five to eight pretty reliable arms in the rotation. I think they got enough to get it done. Yeah, and like I said, I don't think this division is going to really all be all that strong this year. So the A's, I see them, I see them repeating.

I see them winning the thing. I think so, too. I'm optimistic. The Astros, if everything comes together and they don't face any injuries, then yeah, they're probably more talented than the A's and should win. But I'm not so sure.

They worked just a 500 team last year. I mean, yeah. And the thing that I've been saying since they eliminated the A's in the playoffs is they shouldn't have even been there, one. They shouldn't have. But and then if they had just had the seating done by record, they would have been the eighth seed

and they would have faced the raise in the first round and probably gotten swept in two games. So they wouldn't have had this redemption story and everybody would be like, oh yeah, the Astros are coming back. Don't want to face them in the playoffs. I think that they face the twins who haven't won a game in 20 years in the playoffs

and the A's who can barely win a series, most playoffs series. So I'm like, yeah, sure. They did a good job, I guess, but they had two good weeks out of, you know, two and a half months. And they just happened to put it together at that right time.

Don't get me started about last season's playoff structure because that was a mess. It was bloated. And it was anyways, you have, we're kind of starting to run out of time. So there was one of the thing that you wanted to do before we wrapped up. So let's do it. I wanted to see when you think that the Mariners, a window of contention is going to open. They're not quite there.

But with some, a couple of moves, it looks like they're on that cusp. What year do you think that they're going to be vying for that AOS title and beyond? Well, as I've been saying to the other people who have been asking me this question, I really think it depends on how well the pitching staff fares in 2021. And I could give you a better answer at the All-Star breaker at the end of this season. Because I'm not sold on the pitching staff. I'm not sold on the back end of the rotation. And I'm not sold on the middle of the bullpen.

The bullpen was by far the Mariners' weakest point in 2020. It was the worst bullpen in, in baseball, I think. It was at least the worst bullpen in the American League. But they've, you know, signed some arms to hopefully correct that. Keenan Middleton is one guy that I really want to look at. I'm excited to see what he can do, even though he had a very poor season last year. He knows what he needs to do to correct those issues, and hopefully he does that. If the pitching staff is okay, then I think 2022 could be their window of opportunity. But if it struggles again, then I think they got some more work to do

and we're looking at 2023. Okay. I'm down with that. Are they going to make a big play in the free agent market with all these short stops coming up or are they going to play it cool with who they got and go go the trade route because I can't remember your GM's name right now. Jerry DePoto, he loves making trades. Yeah, he does. But they also like J.P. Crawford, who they have at shortstop. The thing about J.P. Crawford is it also depends on what kind of season he has in 2021. In 2019, he was basically the starting shortstop, but man, did he fade in the second half of this

season. And the Mariners were after him to bulk up, to get a little bit healthy, not necessarily healthier, but to get stronger. So he could last a full 162 game season. And last year was supposed to be the test to see if he could sustain that over the long season. Obviously, that test never happened. And that test is going to come this year. If he cannot handle a full workload, then they might look at some short stops in the free agent market. But they also might have an answer in-house in Dylan Moore, who I think probably is going to be the starting third baseman in 2022. I don't know. I mean, again, this is just speculation, gang. It depends on what kind of season J.P. Crawford has. And if he proves that he can handle the

full workload, then they're set. But if he struggles again in the second half, then I think they might look for another answer. Yeah, pitching in defense, I think, is what is going to be on everybody's mind for the Mariners in 2021. and I'm hoping that they do well, just not against the A's. It's lucky for you that the Mariners never seem to do anything against Oakland, especially in the Coliseum. In my entire life, they go to the Coliseum and get swept every single year, it seems.

That's just the way it is. From my vantage point, it was always, you know, Francisco or, sorry, King Felix. There you go. Felix Hernandez is not Francisco. man as I don't know who the hell I was thinking. King Felix, every opening day, not fun. So opening day is like, let's see if we can get a win, I guess.

And even if they're not facing the Mariners, so many years of his dominance on opening day has ruined opening day for many, many A's fans. Well, it's kind of payback, I guess, for the Mariners' struggles in Oakland, which I just noted. So maybe we're even at this point. I'll say so, yeah. Okay.

I think we got to start to wrap it up, Jason. Next time on Locked-on Mariners, I will be joined by Samantha Stevens, Rolf the Dog, and a can of peppermint cake frosting. You will not want to miss that conversation, gang. It should

be delightful. So download rate and subscribe to not only my show, but Jason's as well. He puts on a really good show, gang. Look for us on any podcasting app that may spring into your brainhead. Mr. Burke, take us home. All right. So that was

fun. DC, where can people find you before I send us home? Yes. Not like your address, but like your social media accounts and things. I don't use them anymore. Never mind. Yeah, I've kind of washed my hands of social media. Yeah, no, you're probably better for it.

I feel, I feel better. Okay, well, I'm on Twitter by Jason B. The show is a locked on Twitter or Instagram. You can email to any questions that you got to Lockdown Athletics at Gmail. com. So with that, I don't know what your send-off

usually is, except for the one that you just did, but for me, I always say, go out and celebrate good times, Ogling, keep wearing

those masks, and I will talk at you tomorrow. This is Joey Martin for Locked-on Mariners and Locked-on A's, both part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.