Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Hector Santiago's Sticky Situation: Part II

Episode Date: June 30, 2021

D.C. was rather salty in this episode at times. Maybe it's the heat. In any case, the Mariners got blown out by the Toronto/Buffalo Blue Jays yesterday afternoon, but that's not the lead story. Hector Santiago was suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball for using an illegal glove. D.C. reacts, and he's not very pleased. He also wasn't pleased by what the bullpen did yesterday, and one certain relief pitcher has earned his ire. D.C. goes off Rafael Montero in the final segment of the day. 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.

Today on Locked-on Mariners, the entire inland northwest spontaneously combusts. Welcome to Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on podcast network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lunders. Well, gang, we set a record yesterday. Not only did we break the record for all-time high temperature in Spokane, we broke the all-time high temperature in the northwest. It was 111 degrees at the airport yesterday. Not something I would like to go through again, but it's something. supposed to only be 108 there today. And the good news is that we are no longer expecting

triple-digit temperatures the rest of the week, but it should be 99 until Sunday when it drops to 97. I'm D.C. Lundberg and I'm melting. Welcome to this Wednesday edition of Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on podcast network brought to you by the Spotify Green Room. Please remember to download and follow this program on whichever podcasting app that you personally care to use. Ask us some of some. smart device to play Locked-on Mariners podcast or any program here on the Locked-on Network. It was not a good day for the Mariners yesterday. The game was horrible.

Chris Flexen was not that good, and certain members of the bullpen were downright horrible. In addition, it was announced yesterday, a little after 1 p.m. Pacific time, that Hector Santiago has indeed been suspended, 10 games by Major League Baseball for using an illegal glove. I'll also note that this announcement did come before yesterday's show was published, but way after it was already completed. This suspension came as a surprise to the Mariners who stated that they did not expect Mr. Santiago to be suspended following his ejection from the first game played on Sunday. I'll talk about yesterday's game in B block and spend A block talking about Mr. Santiago again. To refresh your memory after Hector Santiago had pitched two and a third innings to restart the majority of Saturday afternoon's suspended game on Sunday.

He was ejected by home plate umpire Phil Coussey after Coussey had found something sticky on the underside of the wristband on Santiago's glove. Both Santiago and manager Scott's service said in post-game press conferences that the substance found was rosin. And Santiago also stated that it was his ordinary method of operation to put rosin on both forearms. The humidity factor in Chicago that day was around 90%. So this explanation is totally reasonable.

reasonable, especially considering where the stickum on his glove was found. Not a great place to try to hide something. It would be rather obvious if one was trying to load up, so to speak, using a substance found underneath the wristband of his glove. Major League Baseball announced yesterday that Mr. Santiago was in fact suspended for 10 games and find an undisclosed amount, and in accordance with the rules, he is not allowed to be replaced on the active roster during the course of this suspension. Major League Baseball did not explain any further what exactly they found on his glove, and Mr. Santiago is appealing this suspension, which would have begun yesterday had he not appealed. Service said prior to yesterday afternoon's game, quote, Just to be clear, there was no foreign substance on his glove.

It was Rosen, and Rosen is behind the pitcher's mound, so it's not foreign. It's not a foreign substance. So I am surprised to some degree, but, you know, I understand what Major League Baseball is trying to do, end quote. You know, I do too. They want to make an example out of the first person that they get, but I still think it's ridiculous. But to reiterate something I said on Monday's show, a lot of what Major League Baseball is doing these days is ridiculous. This kind of reminded me of the pine tar game from 1983, where George Brett used an illegal bat. He had hit a home run with two out on the top of the ninth inning in Yankee Stadium to put his royals ahead. And afterwards,

Yankees manager Billy Martin went to the umpires to ask them to inspect Mr. George's bat. Phil Rizuto, who was doing play-by-play for the Yankees at the time even said, well, that's a little light. Anyhow, the umpires found that Brett had too much pintar on his bat, or rather had pint tar up too far towards the barrel of his bat. It's not allowed more than 18 inches up from the knob. And the umpires ruled the bat illegal, declared Brett out, erasing the home run and ending

the game. The scene that followed is an all-time classic. Weeks later, the American League president overruled the umpires, reinstated the home run, and ordered that the game be resumed with the Royals leading with two out and the top of the ninth. Why do I bring this up? Because George Brett was using illegal equipment, but gained no advantage from it. Exact same situation Hector Santiago finds himself in. Was his glove illegal?

Yeah. Did he gain any advantage from it? I don't think so. Another point in Mr. Santiago's favor. If it was indeed just Rosen on his glove, that's not a foreign substance. It's legal. Totally 100% legal. Again, I have no problem with the ejection. The umpire's hands are tied. They were doing their jobs. They found something. They didn't know what it was, so they had to toss them. I have no problem. with that. The glove was sent off to Major League Baseball, and they're supposed to analyze it and try to figure out exactly what it was, and they did not announce their findings, which makes me suspicious. But maybe I've just seen one too many episodes of forensic files where they send items off to, you know, the crime lab, and they can precisely analyze just what specifically was found on the item

being expected. But at the same time, doesn't Major League Baseball have an obligation to publicly explain their findings, and if the findings were inconclusive, shouldn't that warrant no suspension? I realize that this is not a court of law, but the same principles should apply, shouldn't they? Innocent until proven guilty? And if they cannot figure out what was on the glove, they haven't proved a damn thing. They haven't proved innocence or guilt. Nothing. It just does not seem right to me, ladies and gentlemen. I can't help but think that Major League Baseball isn't announcing what they found, either because they just couldn't tell, or they did find it was just rosin.

They really wanted to nail someone. They were wringing their hands, waiting for the first chip to fall, and they were hoping it would be a clear-cut case. You know, this starting pitcher had pine tar on his forearm, or this really good short reliever had, I don't know, maple syrup on the underbill of his cap. But no, the first one was a middle relief pitcher on a mediocre team, with Rosen on the inside of his wristband. Oh, you sure showed us, Major League Baseball, didn't you?

I don't know what else to say, ladies and gentlemen, and if you've listened to this show for any length of time, you know my thoughts about cheating in baseball. Well, cheating in anything, really. My idea is for discipline for athletes caught cheating border on medieval. I just don't think Hector Santiago was cheating. He had an illegal glove on him, yes. Was he using it to gain an advantage?

No. Same thing with George Brett 28 years ago. 38 years ago, my goodness of my old. Illegal bat. Did not gain an advantage from it. League agreed with Mr. Brett and took his side. Baseball is just trying to make Hector Santiago

a scapegoat. See? We got somebody. Look at us. We're doing our jobs. This is horsesh-sh-t. Total horsesh-s. I'm going to talk about yesterday's disastrous game.

Coming up in the second segment today, right now we're up at the trivia corner, and I'm going to tell you about something that happened that many of Minosso did a while back on this date after this word from the Spotify Green Room. The locker room is now the Spotify Green Room, the first social audio platform made for sports fans. The app is free to download, and once you're in, you can talk with me, other fans, athletes, and insiders in real time about your favorite team or sport. I'll be hosting rooms for Locked on Mariners once a week. Green Room is the perfect place to join or start conversations about the league. If I'm not there and I am only there once a week, you can start your own conversation about the Seattle Mariners

or whatever sport you happen to be watching at that time. You'll find fans just like yourself on Green Room for watch parties, debates, post-game breakdowns, and of course reacting to big news or rumors. Download the free Green Room app currently available on all iOS devices with a beta version for Android, which is what I use. Be sure to create a profile and join the major. League Baseball Group for the latest league updates. Follow me at Locked-on Meriters, oddly enough, to be notified when my room goes live.

Green Room, changing the way we talk about sports. On June 30th, 1993, 67-year-old Minnie Minosso appeared in a game for the St. Paul Saints of the Northern League. It's an independent league. I'm probably not even going to live to be 67 years old, and quite frankly, I'm totally fine with that. Anyways, Mr. Minoso grounded out to the pitcher in a little bit of a game. is only at-bat against the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks.

There's a name for you. He last played regularly in the Major League in 1963 with the Washington Senators at age 37. The longtime member of the Chicago White Sox returned to Kamisky Park in 1976 at the age of 50, appearing in three games and collecting one hit in eight at-bats. The White Sox brought him back again in 1980 in order to become a five-decade player. He had begun his major league career in the 1940s, played through the 1950s at an all-star caliber level, and played regularly through the early 60s as well. This one at bat in 1993 was not his last. St. Paul brought him back 10 years later at age 77 for one final plate appearance in which he drew a base on balls.

Mr. Minoso played at least one professional game in seven decades. That is amazing, ladies and gentlemen. Coming up, what's up with Chris Flexen? Well, his bunny rabbits, Mr. and Mrs. Sniffles, just had babies. Isn't that adorable gang? And I hear that Mrs. Sniffles is already expecting another litter later on this summer. Also, congratulations to Marco Gonzalez and his wife, Monica, on the birth of their daughter, Grace. Welcome back to Lockdown Mariners.

Here once again is your host, D.C. Lundberg. Thank you very much, Joey Martin. One quick note before we continue. The show sounds a little wonky today. I'm doing this in a temporary studio with a handheld microphone. It's just too damn hot upstairs to do this where I ordinarily record the show, which is my bedroom. So I'm in a basement room down here. It's the coolest room in my house that I can utilize without disturbing anybody else.

And as for yesterday's game, I was listening to it on the radio in the car. I was out with my housemate Shannon pretty much all afternoon, just since it was so miserable yesterday. I had the idea that it would be better to be in the car with the fans and air conditioning blowing directly on us rather than in the house, which has air conditioning, but it just can't compete with 111 degree heat. Anyways, as disastrous as yesterday's game was, it started off so well. J.P. Crawford turned in yet another great at-bat out of the lead-off spot. Made Robbie Ray throw a lot of pitches, fouled off a lot of pitches, fought them off, and eventually worked a base on balls.

In addition, the at-bat started strike one, strike two, and Crawford came all the way back to draw a walk. Mitch Hanninger stepped up and also put together pretty good at-bat, which ended in a single-to-left field, and that at-bat also started strike-one, strike-two. Kyle Seeger was next, and things were looking pretty good. He was battling, fouling off pitches, but that ended in typical Kyle Seeger fashion,

disappointing with the strikeout. Ty France also struck out, and then Luis Torren, lined out, ending what could have been a really promising opening inning. But the silver lining is that Robbie Ray had to throw 30 pitches. You don't want your starting pitcher. Throwing anywhere near that in the first inning, ladies and gentlemen, and the Mariners really made him work.

Chris Flexen, on the other hand, needed only five pitches to retire the first two Blue Jays hitters, but then he walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr., gave up a single to Teoscar Hernandez, but then got, pardon me, George Springer to fly out. Same number of hitters that Robbie Ray faced, half the number of pitches that he needed, however. Still not looking bad, but that was really all. Flexen gave up two runs in the second on a succession of singles. He did pitch a one, two, three, fourth inning, however, but he more or less fell apart in the fifth. Only allowed one run.

It could have been a lot worse. One out double to Vladdy Jr. Then he walked the next two guys to load the bases. A sacrifice flies followed to make it three to nothing. But a strikeout then ended the inning, so he was able to limit the damage at least. Then in the sixth inning, the Mariners themselves did some damage. J.P. Crawford and Mitch Hanigar, once the culprits once again, when J.P. Crawford leads off an inning, good things happen, ladies and gentlemen.

And Mitch Hanager, more often than not, follows up by also doing something good. They both singled to open up the sixth inning. Kyle Seeger struck out on three pitches. It was another tough day for the veteran third baseman. And that brings up who I suspect is Shannon's favorite Seattle mariner, Thai France. And as Shannon and I were driving westbound on I-90 near Sprague, Ty France tied up the ballgame on one swing of the bat,

homering out to center field. Shannon has nicknamed Ty France Frenchy, so I think that I will start. calling him that on this program. Prior to that sixth inning, ladies and gentlemen, the Mariners had done pretty much nothing against Ray after the first two men of the ball game reached base. Robbie Ray went six innings, allowed three runs, all of them earned,

all of them on that home run by Frenchie, five hits and a walk, and that was the first batter of the game, that home run to France that I mentioned, and he struck out 10. Flexon, meanwhile, only pitched five innings. He gave up seven hits, three runs. They were all earned. he also walked three and only struck out two.

This is also the first time all season that he had walked more than two hitters in a start. Raphael Montero was the first man out of the pen and ladies and gentlemen, well, I'll save it for C Block. I've got a little bit to say about him. He allowed a three-run, home run to Bo Bichette. That was among the four hits he allowed in his lone inning of work. Bo Bichet, by the way, when Shannon was looking through the box score, It reminded her of the Star Wars character Boba Fett. Boba Chet, Boba Fett.

So maybe Bobichet has a new nickname, but I'm probably not going to use it on this show. I'm not a Star Wars fan. In any case, Will Vest followed Mr. Montero, and he wasn't much better, honestly. He also gave up four hits, also including a three-run home run. This one, to Marcus Semyon.

Johann Ramirez had the final inning in a mop-up duty, and he didn't allow a base runner. And that's pretty much the ballgame, gang. The Mariners struck out 14 times. Mariner pitching allowed way too many hits, had Blue Jays on base pretty much all game, a pair of three-run home runs doing most of the damage. Chris Flexen wasn't terrible. He wasn't great either.

Definitely a far cry from the pitcher who shut out the twins through eight innings a few weeks ago. It was the bullpen. It was Raphael Montero. It was Will Vest. But I'll also say that the opportunity that the Mariners squandered in the very first inning could have led to a very different result. If they cash in at least one of those runs, they would have had at least a little momentum on their side, and then who knows what could have happened. They left seven men on base.

The Blue Jays left nine, but then again they also scored nine runs, while the Mariners only scored three. Rough day for the Mariners once again. If you have a question or a comment for this show, I encourage you to send it on over to Locked-on Mariners at gmail.com. Questions and comments on any subject are highly encouraged. Does not have to be about baseball. does not have to be about sports at all, really.

And I have one question so far. It's a non-baseball question, and it is a good non-baseball question. I'll also take this opportunity to say to our regular emailer, Aidan Soans in East Hampton, Connecticut, your Hartford yard goats are getting a new catcher. Willie McGiver, who had been playing for the Spokane Indians, has just been called up to AA,

and I really like this kid. I like watching this kid in Spokane. So let me know how Willie McGiver does in Hartford. Would you please? I like that kid a lot. Coming up, I complain about Raphael Montero. Yeah, that's it. But before I do that, I offer this word of interest from Bilt Bar, the greatest protein bars in the history of protein bars.

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Now back to Locked On Mariners and your host, D.C. Lundver. Thank you once again, J.M. Final segment for me this week. Remember no show tomorrow as it is a day game, 10 a.m. start. And John Miller will be guest hosting on Friday. This afternoon's game, by the way, gang, is not going to be televised. Root Sports is going to rerun a soccer game during most of the Mariners game. I'm sure that you'll all love watching that.

And it is going to be broadcast over the Internet, though. Whatever. But in any case, it will not be on TV. So don't turn into Root Sports expecting to see the Mariners, and instead you're going to get soccer. On the other hand, I really enjoy listening to Rick Riz on the radio, so it's really no big deal. In any case, Raphael Montero, time to talk about him.

I'll try to keep it short. I hate piling on people like this, but ladies and gentlemen, it's time for him to go. He was acquired to anchor the back end of the bullpen, and he failed utterly. Now he's used as a middle inning reliever, and he's failing utterly. Over the last two seasons in Texas, he'd appeared in 39 ball games, finished 22 of them, earned eight saves, pitched 46 and two-thirds innings, had a 309 ERA, and a whip under one at 0.986, 6.8 hits, nine innings, 2.1 walks per nine innings, and 1.4 home runs per nine innings. This year, in 34 and 2 thirds innings, he has a 6.75 earn run average. Whip has almost gone into orbit at

1.5 o'0.10.4 hits per nine innings. That's really where he's fallen apart. He's also walked more than he did in his seasons in Texas, 3.1 walks per nine innings, but somehow fewer home runs at 0.8 per nine innings. And a strikeout rate is also down. He gets hit. Opponents are hitting 284 against him this year, as opposed to the 190 opponent's batting average he allowed last year. His first outing of the year on opening day was an unfortunate sign of things to come.

And while he has had some good outings, the bad outweigh the good, especially lately. In April, he had an ERA of 450. Okay, that's not terrible. But certainly above what you want, one of your top back end relievers to be. In May, he had an ERA of 511 and was moved to the middle innings temporarily in the middle of the month.

And in June, 11.32 ERA, opponents are batting 333 against him. And since June 12th, that ERA has gone up to 14.7. Four walks in seven and a third innings. And opponents are hitting 382 against him. And get this gang, since June 12th, He has an opponent's OPS of 9-9-1. He's bad. He is very bad.

He couldn't get the job done as a back-end short reliever, and he cannot get the job done as a middle-innings short reliever. He's the type of pitcher that you bring in when you're ahead seven runs and need to cover an inning or two, and don't mind if the guy gives up two or three. Or when you're behind by seven runs, and you need somebody to just go out there and wear it for a couple innings, to save the rest of the bullpen. Will Vest has been struggling lately also.

He's in a different situation. He's younger than Mr. Montero, and he could help this team in the future. If he wasn't to rule five draft pick, he'd probably be in AAA to work out his problems. Pardon me. Also remember that Mr. Vest had not pitched really all that much at all above advanced A ball prior to this year,

and he was not at the Tigers' alternate training sites in 2020. Mr. Montaro, on the other hand, is a 30-year-old veteran, is under contract for this season only. He's arbitration eligible, though. But the Mariners have to at least try to shop him before the deadline. I don't know what the hell they could get for him, really. Maybe just, but maybe a change of scenery could do him some good.

Who knows? He had success in limited action in the last two years in Texas. He just has not gotten the job done in Seattle. Eric Swanson began a rehab assignment a couple of days ago, so his return could be imminent. Johann Ramirez is still on the active roster, so I'm guessing that he is most likely going to be the one sent out when Mr. Swanson returns. The Mariners do not have to expose him to waivers to send him to a AAA,

but I really would not be all that surprised to see Mr. Montero DFAed when Swanson comes back. Johann Ramirez might have more value with the big league level right now than Raphael Montero, even though Mr. Ramirez has basically zero command of his pitches. He's another guy that you do not bring into close. ball games, but he is at least young and might have a future as a contributor to the Mariners while Montero doesn't. That is the last I'm going to say about Raphael Montero. I don't want to pile on the poor guy anymore. I've said my piece and I'm going to leave it at that. Remember gang, John Miller will be with you on Friday to close out the week and talk about the next two Mariner

games against the Buffalo Blue Jays. No show tomorrow. It's a 10 a.m. Pacific Coast start time. Also remember no television for this afternoon's game. Please remember to download and follow Locked-on Mariners. Look for us in any podcasting app you can think of. Leave a rating and review if your podcasting app of choice so allows. And remember to check out all the other great programs here on the Locked-on Network. I am D.C. Lundberg. As of midnight tonight, 2021 will be half over.

And since I will not be talking to you again before this weekend, have a fun but safe 4th of July. Wherever you may be, especially if it's going to be as hot and dry as it is here in the inland northwest, be smart, be safe, but also have a hell of a lot of fun celebrating this great nation's birthday. I'll be back with you on Monday, ladies and gentlemen. In the meantime, try to stay cool. Get all the sports news you need in under 20 minutes with the Locked On Today podcast. Host Peter Bukowski will keep you updated on the latest news in every major sport with Locked On's team of local experts. Follow the Locked On Today podcast on the Odyssey app or wherever it.

else you get your podcasts. This is Joey Martin for Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.