Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Gary Hill Jr. on the Mariners' 10-Game AL West Lead

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Mariners are now 10 games up in the AL West. The Mariners broadcaster Gary Hill Jr. is just as surprise as everyone else. You are Locked-on Mariners. Your daily Seattle Mariners podcast. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Ahoy, sailors. It is Wednesday, June 19, 2024.

Starting point is 00:00:27 This is Tad of Gazzalas for the Locked-on Mariner's podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. On today's show, Colby and I are joined by, Mariner's broadcaster and longtime friend of the show Gary Hill Jr. to talk about your first place Seattle Mariners. But before we get into that, shout out to our title sponsor today, prize picks. It's the easiest, the most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Go to pricepix.com slash locked on MLB and use the promo code locked on MLB. That's all lowercase for a first deposit match up to $100. And if you want to hear from me and Colby even more and help

Starting point is 00:00:58 support the show, check out our Patreon. The link is in the description and you can sign up for a free seven day trial. All right. Let's talk to Gary. Taking some time out before he hits the airwaves tonight for game two between the M's and the Guardians. Mariners radio broadcaster Gary Hill Jr. joins us from Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio. Gary, pleasure is always having you on. How's it going at the ballpark? It's great. It's always fun to be in Cleveland, and it's fun to talk to you guys again. It's been a little while. You got in on Monday. Did you get to do anything with the off day in Cleveland?

Starting point is 00:01:28 I know Simsy went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So, yes, he did. Aaron and I chose to spend Father's Day at home. Sunday night, so we flew on our own on Monday. So we spent our off day flying. But, you know, Cleveland is underrated in terms of little fun things to do. I like to get out and take runs during the day. So like League Park, the old Cleveland Ballpark and the Negro League Park here until the 40s, the site is still there. They have a great museum. They've restored it. That's a cool place to go. If you're a fan of the Christmas story movie, a Christmas story, like The house is here.

Starting point is 00:02:06 You can check that out. There's all kinds of little interesting things around the city that's interesting. Funny enough, I've never been to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which I feel guilty about. I have to make that happen at some point because I heard it's great. So I'll have to do that. So last night, hilarious story came out after the game. So when Luke Rayleigh hit his home run, there was a fan that should have caught the ball, drop the ball onto the field

Starting point is 00:02:35 turns out that's Luke Rayleigh's uncle what are the odds of that? I don't know man I don't know what the odds are that is so wild it's funny because I the night before I was just

Starting point is 00:02:48 a video of when Bobby Wade Jr. hit the foul ball to his dad when they were in the suite I was marveling like what are the odds of that happening and then this happened last night which is even more wild because it was a home run I don't know what to say about that

Starting point is 00:03:03 I think it's the greatest thing ever and the most ridiculous thing it's ever happened. The only thing better would have been had he caught the ball. Yeah. Although maybe dropping it was better. I don't know. Did he get a ball? Did he get the ball? Something to it's.

Starting point is 00:03:19 No, because the left fielder wasn't sure and he immediately threw the ball back into the infield. He, because he saw the ball come back and I don't know if he thought maybe hit the top of the wall or something like that. So he just threw it in instead of just looping it back to left field. field. So I would like to think Luke could get him a ball, though. Yeah. I wonder what's what's stranger though, because we saw Rayleigh hit the home run to his uncle, but we also saw a fan catch two foul balls on back-to-back pitches, the same fan. Right. Yeah. This year. So like, which one is, is more impressive, more weird? Like, that's, I mean, it's been crazy. I think the two foul balls, I think for me. You know, I grew up, I grew up in Tacom.

Starting point is 00:04:03 And there was always this legend that was told at Cheney Stadium when they were the Tacoma Tigers. And I remember this story because it's so wild. Like Gary Peters was batting and hit a foul ball and hit it to a woman in the stands. And it hits this woman in the stands. And then she decides to change seats because she just got hit with the ball. She changed seats. Gary Peters later in the game had a foul ball right to her again in the stands and hit her in the stands. and hit her in the stands.

Starting point is 00:04:33 So, you know, it's legend. I don't know if it's true, but I think stories like that are the greatest because the odds are so long that that could actually happen. So how about Luke Rayleigh in general? I mean, this guy has quickly become part of like the heart and soul of the team, right? Like the energy he brings, like, you know, obviously the bunt that he had against Chicago.

Starting point is 00:05:00 You know, Cal has talked about how he's quickly become one of his closest friends on the team. Like he's just, Colby and I talk a lot about Scott's service and developing kind of the, for lack of a better term, the Mariner way.

Starting point is 00:05:14 And it feels like Luke Rayleigh kind of perfectly fits in that mold, right? Yeah, and I feel like the fan base is attached to him really quickly. And because, man, he just plays with that blue collar attitude,

Starting point is 00:05:28 right? He's just running around, thundering all over the base pass running hard that's a great catch last night too along with the um run uh but he's been really productive he's played all over the place he has been everything i was hoping he would be coming over and and you're right you know he just feels like a mariner he feels like a great fit for everything clubhouse on the field the whole thing and i think you're right to point that out and how pivotal he's been for the meritors especially productive uh production wise

Starting point is 00:06:00 Colby, you got anything for Gary? Yeah, I'm curious. Last night we saw Munoz come in for the five out save. First time we've seen him do that in a while as he's dealing with the back issue. Could you make an argument that Munoz might be the most, maybe not the most valuable, but maybe the most important mariner this year when you look at just the bullpen in general and how it's been, you know, it's been hurt most of the year. And Munoz has just kind of been this steady rock and he's pitching through this back issue.

Starting point is 00:06:26 Like, how good has Andres Munoz been? Like, what's it like to watch him as often? you get to. He's amazing. And I think you make a great point because coming into this season, we all know this was going to be a big four, right? And I include Spire into that mix, too. And unfortunately, we haven't seen Brash. We haven't seen Santos. And Spire's been hurt for most of the year. So it's been on Munoz to carry the load in the back innings. And he has been magnificent. And as you point out, he hasn't been 100% for all this season. But outside of the aftermath of the collision at home in Oakland, he's taking the ball.

Starting point is 00:07:00 every time they've needed him. And he's taking the ball now five times to get multi-ending saves, which is pretty incredible. He has been lights out. He has been, along with Class A and Miller, I mean, those are the three best relievers in baseball, in my opinion. And what he has done to transition himself as well as, you know, he was a four-seam fireballer and slider guy. Now, he still has that. A slider still great. Still has the four-seam. But the addition of the two-seam, too, has been a great weapon for him. It's still upper 90s. It's got a ton of movement,

Starting point is 00:07:35 and it makes it nearly impossible right now to hit off the guy. And I don't think you can say enough about what he's done. And if you are saying, having the conversation about who's most valuable, yeah, you can make that case. To me, he's a clear-cut all-star and probably the most clear-cut all-star of any mariner on the team. I don't think you can heap enough praise on Munoz. and what he's done.

Starting point is 00:08:01 He's been fantastic this year. And again, like you said, pretty much every time they've called upon him, he's come through. And they started asking a lot of him right from the jump, right? He had the four-out save against the Red Sox with the second game of the year. I mean, that's pretty remarkable to ask your reliever to do that in game two of 162. And he comes through. And now he's done that five times this year. It's insane.

Starting point is 00:08:29 And I love a guy that's willing to do. do it. I mean, we've heard stories about guys around the league that we don't have to name that have not been interested in taking the ball. And other than give me a clean inning in the ninth inning and try and get three outs. And that is not Munoz, man. He'll take the ball whenever you ask. And he loves being there with the game on the line, which is super fun because I know Mariners fans love when he's out there with the game on the line. So it works out pretty well. I'm not sure how many people are going to be listening to this before the game, but I do want to ask about Brian Wu since he's going tonight. It's been a few times now. He's had something to deal with,

Starting point is 00:09:07 you know, arm fatigue, what have you, uh, since coming back, uh, you know, just recently got scratched from his start last Thursday. In a way, also kind of helped the, the Mariners set up their rotation perfectly for that Rangers series. But, uh, what's kind of the, the general vibe, the feel right now in the clubhouse from Scott's service on on Wu both for tonight and then you know long term seems like he's all go tonight and we'll see the same the expectation is we'll see the same guy that we've seen who's been utterly dominant and ridiculously efficient it's been amazing not only have we seen him throw up zero seemingly every start but the way he's done it and the minimum pitches he's need to do it has been pretty spectacular I just

Starting point is 00:09:53 I marvel at what he's done since stepping onto the field this year. It's pretty absurd. And just the fastball magician that he is, two seem going one way, four seem going the other. Guys just can't hit it. They just can't pick it up. They can't see it. And he's not getting hit hard at all.

Starting point is 00:10:14 It's been amazing. And that's the key, like moving forward is he's just got, you got to keep him healthy. And the Mariners know that. They know his history. They're not going to push it if he feels anything because they want him on the mound. They want him pitching. So they're going to be careful with him. And I give the Mariners a lot of credit.

Starting point is 00:10:33 They've invested a lot into the health side. And I think, you know, you're never going to keep everyone healthy. There's going to be injuries in baseball. That's an obvious statement. But the Mariners invest a lot of time and effort into doing everything. They can to keep guys healthy. They monitor everything that goes. on. So that's just going to be constant with Wu. It's going to be a constant process throughout

Starting point is 00:10:58 the season. More from our conversation with Gary Hill Jr. and just a moment. But first, a reminder, this episode of the Lockdown Era's podcast is brought to you by eBay Motors and price picks. Passion, drive, and patience. What brings home the winning trophy is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance from superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED, LED, headlights and more. Whether you're into speed, power or style, eBay Motors has got you covered. And with over 122 million parts to choose from, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. With eBay guaranteed fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back.

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Starting point is 00:12:22 with your friends and become a part of the prize picks community today Download the app today and use the promo code Locked on MLB for first deposit match up to $100. Pick more, pick less. It's that easy. You're listening to the Lockdown Marries podcast. We're here with Mariner's broadcaster Gary Hill Jr. Gary, on yesterday's episode, Colby and I

Starting point is 00:12:43 kind of dove into how the Mariner's are in the position there are right now. Now they're 10 games up in the ALS, which is insane to say out loud right now here on June 19th given everything that's happened given you know what the expectations were heading into the season more so for you know Texas and Houston specifically and I know quite a bit of this can be chalked up to how bad Texas and Houston have been but

Starting point is 00:13:15 you know you look at this mirrors ball club the offense has struggled mightily for most of the year the rotation has obviously been lights out and at times historic but it's also, it hasn't been a consistent dominance from game one to now. Like there's been a couple of hiccups a couple times through the rotation as well. And then we just talked about the injuries in the bullpen and that it's, you know, it's basically Andres Munoz carrying the load there late in games. And then you got a bunch of guys who are really solid like Trent Thornton and Taylor Saucato and awesome vote. But they're kind of pitching out of what the mayors would prefer their role to be.

Starting point is 00:13:53 So I want to ask you, how would. the Mariners here in the spot. Do you have any idea of how we've gotten to this point? I was thinking about this the other day. It's funny coming into this Cleveland series, and I found myself having a discussion about buys in the first round of the postseason. Because as we all know, it's not the top three records in the American League. It's the top three division winners and going into the series against Cleveland, here we are at heading towards the end of June and we're having a discussion about the second buy in the postseason, which is pretty wild to think about. And I was thinking about, connected to that, about how many things

Starting point is 00:14:38 have not gone to plan for the Mariners this year, all the things he just pointed out and included the rotation, because there have been some bumps in the road, especially early in the season, but especially with the injuries to the bullpen and the offense through the course of of the year. But to me, that is what I actually find the most encouraging, because I feel like they haven't played their best baseball this season. I still think they're going to get better offensively. I think the rotation can carry this forward for a long time. I mean, maybe not as dominant as this recent stretch has been, or as dominant they've been at home in particular. But I think this is the kind of talent in the rotation that they can rip off a month where

Starting point is 00:15:22 Every guy is essentially going six innings, which is what we've seen. But they can get healthy in the bullpen. They can add to the bullpen. They can add to the offense. They can get better offensively from within. You know, JP can get closer to what he was last year. I think it's a big ask to ask him to do what he did last year. That could be a career year.

Starting point is 00:15:42 We don't know. Julio could go on a power search. We've seen Garver be better. There are so many areas internally where I think the Mariners can and will, get better offensively. And there's areas where I think they'll get better in the bullpen. And Santos being one of those. And maybe Logan Evans is another one of those guys.

Starting point is 00:16:00 And who knows who else. But I see so many areas of improvement, which is such a funny thing to say for a team that's up 10 games and feeling great about what they are. And right now playing great baseball. I was thinking about the Texas series. It felt like, and maybe it's just recency bias, but it felt like their most complete series of the season for me.

Starting point is 00:16:22 Yeah. Because the offense, I thought, was really good in all three. The bullpen outside of one, you know, the Saturday game. And then the rotation, of course, was utterly dominant. But it was just a complete series and so far so good in Cleveland. So 10 games up in the division. June 19. Which we all predicted on this day.

Starting point is 00:16:45 Right. Right. Again, I just kind of have to say it out loud just to, I don't know, convince myself that it's I mean, it is something when you get to double digits, right? It is, it just feels, it feels different. So, I mean, yeah, this is kind of uncharted waters for, for all of us. I mean, this is their largest division lead since the end of 2001. It's the biggest division lead in all of baseball right now. I mean, how does that feel?

Starting point is 00:17:17 It feels wonderful. I love it. I hope it continues the rest of the year because I really enjoy it. And I enjoy watching the Rangers lose games from afar and the Astros lose games from afar. Like the whole thing is great. So I want it to continue. It is, you know, it's funny because it is 10 games, which is a big lead. Yet, you know, the Astros have just been there for so many years.

Starting point is 00:17:48 Like, I can't. You know, I'm still watching every day to see how they're doing. And it's, it's not going well. Yet I don't, you know, you know how it is. I'm sure you feel the same way, right? The exact same way. They're not gone until they're gone. No, I was, I was intently watching that White Sox Astros game last night after the

Starting point is 00:18:08 mayor's game ended. I was watching that. I had the dual screen up on MLB TV with the Rangers game on one side, the Astros game on the other. I don't care that, you know, last night it was June 18th. and I'm scoreboard watching technically. I don't care. This is on Charter Waters. Like I said, I'm enjoying it.

Starting point is 00:18:23 I'm enjoying every single moment of this. And like you said, it's always fun to watch the Rangers on Astros lose. I mean, we can all agree on that, especially Houston. I think everyone can agree on that. And they, you know, both of them, they've struggled, obviously, but you could see how the struggles could continue. Like both those teams have some real issues that they're dealing with. And that's something I give the meritor's credit for because it has not been smooth sailing.

Starting point is 00:18:52 They've had their issues. But, hey, they've won games along the way, which is, you know, sometimes, you know, Aaron and I talk about this all the time, kind of the lessons learned from the last few years. And one of the differences to me this year from the last few years is they didn't bury themselves. They didn't have one of those stretches where, I don't know, they went six and 16 or six and 20 or whatever or. really bad month, which, and it felt like the last three years, it was always uphill. They were chasing eight games or seven games or six games. And that was the difference this year. They haven't always played great, but they found a way, hey, they had a 500 stretch instead of a stretch where they just won three games. And to me, that's, that's, in baseball, that's it

Starting point is 00:19:39 sometimes because you're not always going to play great. Yeah, Colby and I talked about that yesterday. Like this team has been able to continuously stop the bleeding. Yes. Right. They haven't gotten swept yet, right? And even in some pretty crappy moments of the season, right? Like, you know, the Milwaukee Toronto road trip, right? You know, they're able to salvage a game there in Toronto before they go back home.

Starting point is 00:20:04 Washington, you know, on that gauntlet of a road trip, they lost those first two games. They end up blowing that lead in Washington, but they still win that third game. Kansas City last weekend, right? They're able to salvage a game there. Like the constant ability to stop the bleeding. I mean, their longest losing streak is four games. Their longest winning streak is also four games. But they, again, it's just the ability to just kind of scrap and claw and make sure this thing doesn't snowball.

Starting point is 00:20:33 I think that's a big reason that they're in the position that they're in right now. I'm glad you brought up the Toronto series too, because it is such a reminder of just the marathon nature of this. thing because man fast forward to where we are now and where the mariners are and where the blue jays are and they are completely different places than they were when those two met early this season in Toronto yeah colby you got anything for gary yeah we're coming up on about the halfway point on the season which is also crazy to say uh and there's a lot of you know typically at the halfway point we take stock we do things like who's the mbp who's the si young of this team blah blah blah and all that stuff. But I think the most interesting one might be who's the unsung hero of this team.

Starting point is 00:21:15 There are four teams in Major League Baseball who have more wins than the Seattle Mariners right now. And as we've said, and as you've said, like, things have not gone swimmingly for the Mariners. They've had a lot of issues that they've had to deal with. But we start thinking of Unsung Hero. You start thinking about Hancock in the first month. You think about Dylan Moore and the road trip and Josh Rojas stepping up when, you know, nobody else was really hitting. And you think about Rayleigh and Stanick and.

Starting point is 00:21:41 both and Thornton, like, who do you think the unsung hero of this team is if you had to pick one guy? Yeah, this is a great question because I think there are more candidates for this than if you talk about like an MVP in the first half. And that's a compliment to the depth because they've had a lot of guys. Even Locklear in a brief time has made an impact on things. For me, though, I immediately think about Josh Rojas and what he's done for the Mariners because he has played way over my expectations coming into the season. and he's been really good defensively, too, at third base. He's filled the hole there.

Starting point is 00:22:16 Offensively for a while, he was like the guy. When the rest of the lineup was really struggling, he was producing for like a month long. And he's gotten back to being, you know, he's second in the order, right? He's spraying the ball around. He's playing good defense. We've seen him move around. He was left for a little while a couple of times and second, of course. but he's really anchored third base and made that a spot that's his and a dependable spot, too, for the meritoris,

Starting point is 00:22:47 which is great to see. So for me, especially if you, when I think about Unsung, I think about my expectations, it's Rojas for me. He was just blown him away. Conversation continues with Gary Hill Jr. in just a moment, but first, a reminder of this episode of the Lockdownerrors podcast is brought to you by PolicyGenius and Tax Network USA. Choosing the right life insurance policy is a very important and overwhelming decision and you want to be able to feel fully confident making that decision. Now you can with policy genius, which is the country's leading online insurance marketplace. The policy genius, you can find life insurance policies that started just $292 per year for $1 million of coverage.

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Starting point is 00:25:26 We're here with Mariner's broadcaster Gary Hill Jr. Again, this team is in a position that we have rarely seen them in before, the trade deadline is coming up here in a few weeks time and obviously we have no idea who's going to be buying and selling specifically on the national league side of things with all those teams that are basically just two games within one another i mean that's just nuts but we know jerry and justin are going to do what they do best right so but again we we haven't seen them in this particular situation so what are you kind of your expectations for the deadline First of all, the fact the nationals were holding down the third wildcard spot going to yesterday was, I think, tells you all I need to know about the National League.

Starting point is 00:26:09 And I think that's actually a big part of the question here is how many teams are going to fall out of this thing and actually be sellers? Because I think that's pretty critical. There's four teams now that we know are out of this thing. And we know, I mean, we've all talked, heard the names and talked about the names involved, Robert, everyone. else. I think that's going to go a long way in deciding what this deadline looks like. I mean, needless to say, the more that's available, the more chance you have, because obviously the Mariners aren't the only team that's going to be looking for a bat or looking for a bullpen arm or whatever else they want to get. So to me, that's pretty critical. The deadline is so

Starting point is 00:26:56 hard for me to talk about because it's the one area I feel like. I'm just kind of in the dark more than anything else because I don't know what the white socks are going to ask for. Some guys you don't even know if are actually going to be traded. There are so many unknowns for me when it comes to the deadline. Because if you listed, I don't know, 15 guys and said, would they help the Mariners? I'd be like probably yes, yes, yes, yes. You could go down the list and be happy with a bunch of different guys.

Starting point is 00:27:29 I mean, that's the positive. I think there's more than one way to make this a successful deadline. The trick is always, okay, what's the asking price? And this is an important deadline, obviously, but Jerry and Justin also have a job on the other side, because you can't give up everything. I mean, I think about it in terms of what the Mariners are doing right now. And what the Mariners have done a really good job of, a great job of, is, they've had teams ask for Kirby when he was coming up. They had teams asked for Gilbert.

Starting point is 00:28:05 They had teams asked for Julio, a lot. And they held on to all three, and all three are centerpieces of what the Mariners are doing right now and critical to what the Mariners are doing right now. It would be really painful to watch them in other uniforms doing what they're doing. And that's the trick of the deadline, right? You're always going to have to give something up

Starting point is 00:28:26 to get something good. Like that's a thing. Like they give up a lot to get Castillo. It hasn't worked out for the Reds yet, but it still could. Those, those are good players. So I'm not saying you can't give up good players. But if you have guys that you think are going to be superstars, like you don't want them to go. And that's the trick.

Starting point is 00:28:46 That is easier said than done and why I enjoy not having to make that call. Because it's hard. Right. It's one thing to, you know, go into the deadline when, And, you know, you're kind of a fringe contender and these guys are asking for your best prospects. And he doesn't make a lot of sense. It's kind of a different animal when you're 10 games up in the division and you're chasing a first round by and you're chasing a home playoff series and all that stuff. So it'll be interesting to see how they kind of walk that line.

Starting point is 00:29:15 You know, I think Ty and I have said this a lot because obviously people want to talk trades. It's you got to walk that line between aggression and reckless. I think you want to be aggressive at this deadline. but you don't want to just be throwing guys around like, whatever, it doesn't matter. So it'll be interesting to see how Jerry and Justin walk that line. Because I do think they need to make a Castillo like trade,

Starting point is 00:29:37 preferably on the offensive side, but whatever, get good players. I'm happy. So, yeah, it'll be fun to see how they kind of navigate that. But this is kind of uncharted territory for,

Starting point is 00:29:48 for, you know, the front office because they've never been in like this position before. It's always been they've been chasing. Like you said, they've been chasing. and now they are the ones getting chased. And so it'll be interesting to see how they react

Starting point is 00:30:00 and how aggressive they're willing to be. It's kind of a weird spot to be in because it's like, you know, when you're a division leader and when you have as many kind of flaws as this Mariners team has shown here over the first couple months, it's like, we need to get better by any means necessary,

Starting point is 00:30:17 but also you can't really go into it with that mindset either because by any means necessary can lead to, like you were saying, Colby, recklessness. you got to be willing to walk away. Yeah. Yeah, because if let's just use Robert as to pick it out of a hat, you know, if the White Sox came to you and said, yeah, we want your top six prospects. It's like, well, you know, that's not happening.

Starting point is 00:30:39 And that's to your point. Like you can't be reckless. And for teams, I think it is helpful to look at it from the other perspective sometimes because I feel like during trade talks, the conversation is usually from whatever team you follow's perspective. but think about it from the White Sox perspective, if they do end up trading Robert, I mean, this is going to kickstart the rebuild. They're going to want to get as much as possible if they're going to do it. That is their big chip, right?

Starting point is 00:31:08 And so they need to hit and they want to hit big. So you think about it from the other team's perspective. It's not just Robert. You could list a bunch of guys along those lines. But that's why this is so tricky. We get used to it because the Mariners actually. make a lot of trades, as we know. Make more trades than most teams, but

Starting point is 00:31:28 trading often is not easy. It's not easy to match up. Yeah. Yeah. The interesting thing that I or the thing that I'm interested to see, rather, you know, kind of like you mentioned is just looking at it from the other side,

Starting point is 00:31:44 it's Toronto with Vlad Jr. and Beau Bichet because those guys have been very much in the rumor mill here, especially when it comes to the Mariners. And it's like they built that entire era of baseball in Toronto around those two guys. Like, are they actually going to wave the white flag? What does that mean for, you know, Ross Atkins and those guys' jobs in general?

Starting point is 00:32:05 I have no idea what they're going to do, but that's going to be fascinating. You know, I've been thinking about the Blue Jays a lot recently, given where the Mariners are right now, because I felt like you go back a couple years ago and the Mariners and Blue Jays were right there. And it looked like, hey, this, we could see these teams match up in the play. playoffs a few different times in the next next few years. And what this really points out to me, and I think we know this, but the Mariners have done such a great job internally producing their own guys. I mean, we see it on the field every day.

Starting point is 00:32:39 It's a golden era of the Mariners system right now with the Kirby's and the Gilberts and Cal and Julio and everyone else. And then the next wave that you're hoping that have all been really well regarded. And then you put that side by side with a team like, Toronto. And that's where they have struggled. Like they've gone out and they spent a lot. They have a big payroll, which is great. But they haven't been able to produce that those after Vlad and Bo Bichette, they haven't been able to produce those same kind of guys. And now here they are staring at, oh, I mean, it's, it's a heartbreaking decision if you trade flat at the deadline and

Starting point is 00:33:20 what that signals to your fans or Bichet at the dead. deadline. So I don't know. I just, I've been thinking about a lot about Toronto and the decision that they have coming and kind of how they got to this point and how they were even with the Mariners and where the Mariners are. I just think it's super interesting to compare and contrast the two teams right now. Yeah, absolutely, because they were pretty much on similar timelines. I think that the mirrors were probably a year, maybe a year and a half behind them for a little while there but then you know 2021 kind of changed everything right that team that team had no business winning 90 games and then it won 90 games and again that kind of that turned the the window

Starting point is 00:34:03 into like uh probably you know 2023 2024 is when this thing is really going to kick into high gear into no 22 like we're we're going to start going for this thing yeah sure enough we know what happened in 22 but that 2021 ball club i think especially if you know this Marrers team or a Marrers team in the near future here gets this thing done actually wins a division competes for a championship they were going to look back on that 2021 team and you know point to that it's like that was that was the moment right there yeah I think there's some similar elements too from this team to that team I feel like this team is better and this team is more talented than that team but there's some there's some similar elements I think between

Starting point is 00:34:48 this year's team and that team. Colby, do you have anything before we get out of here? No, I think we've covered pretty much everything. It's just, it's just so much fun to talk about it. It has a 10-game lead. Yeah, right. We literally do spend hours and hours talking about it. And I still, you know, at the end I'm like,

Starting point is 00:35:07 maybe we should talk about that some more. That's a lot of fun. So, you know, hopefully the Mariners can secure their series win tonight. It'll be interesting to see Brian. I have this feeling that because Cleveland doesn't strike out, they put the ball in play. Like even last night, it was such a grind to get through that game that I'm really interested

Starting point is 00:35:27 to see what Brian Wu does because we know Cleveland will foul off a bunch of pitches. We know that Brian Wu's whole stick is, you know, four seam two seam. I'm going to throw it wherever I want. You're not going to hit it. And it just, it'll be interesting to see how those kind of clashing styles really work against each other because Seattle and Cleveland,

Starting point is 00:35:46 and they are not built the same, but they are kind of a really good matchup to watch. They both pitch pretty well. One's more power. One's more contact, but they both have stars. It's going to be a fun next couple days, I think. There's been good games between these two teams the last few years.

Starting point is 00:36:03 And to your point, like for whatever reason, they just, they really match up really well. And they're similar in how they go about it, especially in the pitching side, which is always fascinating. Although, I don't know, looking at Cleveland, big picture,

Starting point is 00:36:20 because back to the by conversation, to me, Minnesota is still the team that's lurking. Because the issue I have with the Guardians, I'm not alone on this, is they just, they do not get much from their rotation. And their bullpen's been great, but I just wonder during the course of the season, are they going to be able to throw that amount of innings and still be that effective? it's really too bad that they lost Bieber, lost their guy, their ace in a year like this

Starting point is 00:36:49 where he would make a massive difference. But that's something, speaking of deadlines, that's something that Cleveland, I think, is going to have to address because it doesn't seem sustainable to me that they can stay this effective.

Starting point is 00:37:02 And I think they're 27th in starter innings pitched, which is rare to see for a good team. Stephen Vogt used his bullpen so much last night. I'm going to be interested to see how they, they deploy those guys over the next couple of days and who's available, who's not. And they kind of went for it last night, I thought.

Starting point is 00:37:20 I thought they really, really. He really thought they could win that game. Yeah, yeah, he managed it that way. Like, he blew through everybody, so. Yeah, I was surprised to see McKenzie. I mean, obviously McKenzie wasn't good yesterday, but I was surprised that he gave him that quick of a hook. It was fast.

Starting point is 00:37:34 And a June 18th game. Seems like one of those games where you just have to have your starter wear it a little bit. A little bit. I mean, you got to do that from time to time, unfortunately. Yeah, but yeah, I mean, vote clearly from the Scott Service school where it's like winning that first game of the series is the most important game you can win. He tried to win it. We'll see if it has any ramifications for the next two. But yeah, that was really, he wore out a small path between the dugout and the pitchers.

Starting point is 00:38:02 It was a lot of us. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, there was a very clear reason why that was the longest game of the season. for the merits so weird to get over three hours that never happened right that used to be commonplace that was just yeah all right gary well i thank you so much again for for hopping on it again it's always a pleasure uh chatting with you talking ball with you would love to do it again sometime absolutely anytime so it's always good to talk to you guys appreciate it appreciate it

Starting point is 00:38:33 thanks gary and that's going to do it for our show but before we get out of here a reminder that locked on has launched the first ever national sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube and now it's also available on Amazon Fire TV in the free Fire TV channels app. Lockdown Sports Today is here for you 24-7 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local experts of Locked-on, plus our national shows covering every league. Find Locked-on Sports Today now available on the free Fire TV channels app. Thank you so much for joining us here on the Lockdown Marrars podcast from Colby Patnode. I'm Tadang-N-Gazales.

Starting point is 00:39:02 Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at LO underscore Mariners. You can follow me at Tidea-N-Gonzalez and Colby at CPAT-11. You can also find all that stuff in the description. of this episode. Have yourself a beautiful baseball day and we'll see you next time. Peace.

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