Steven Souza Jr on M’s Loss Sunday, Jazz Chisholm, Draft Pick

Steven Souza Jr, former MLB and Mariners outfielder, joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain to talk about the Mariners loss to the Angels Sunday including the availability of bullpen arms, if trading for Jazz Chisholm is a good idea, and drafting a switch pitcher.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Coming to you live from the LietAvenue studios of Sports Radio ninety three point
three KJRFM. This is our weeklyvisit with former Mariners outfielders Steven Susa Junior,
powered by Taco Time. For allyour favorites and to order ahead from
any Taco Time restaurant, download theTaco Time Northwest app today from the Apple
App Store or the Google Play Store. Taco Time a Pacific Northwest favorite since

(00:25):
nineteen sixty two, Now with StevenSusa Junior, Here's Safti and dig Hey,
you'd like to have your next gatheringcatered by Taco Time. They got
catering options on the website, likeJesson McIntyre used them over the weekend for
her post wedding celebration Taco Time inw dot com. Check out the catering
section right now and put smiles oneverybody's faces by letting Taco Time cater you're

(00:48):
next event. All right here heis courtesy of Taco Time. Our friend
Stephen Suza Junior. How are you, pal? I'm doing very just getting
beat up by some seven year oldsand some frontyard whiffle so this Mariners team.
Yeah, I was gonna say,can those seven year olds maybe hit
for the MS starting Friday against theAstros, because that was a pretty seven

(01:08):
year old wiffle ball display that Isaw against the Angels pitching staff over the
weekend. Man, what a downterof a way to end the first half.
Huh Yeah, I mean you wantedafter that series in San Diego,
you just wanted to believe. Andeven in the first game in Anaheim,
I'm sitting there thinking, these guysare turning it around. They got out

(01:32):
of Seattle, they're getting hot,Julio's warming up coals, getting hot again,
and they're gonna take this thing andreally prove everybody wrong about this offense.
And then come the last three gamesright where one run ball games,
and they don't have enough to justseparate, right, they keep these bad
teams or just teams in general,in the game too long and rely on

(01:52):
Mooney and Standing and Vote and Santosnow to keep them in the game.
And you know, as good asthey play in one run ball games,
it is just too difficult to sustainthat success in one run ball games.
And you have the upper hand whenyou play those one run ball games,
close ballgames and the extra ings athome because you're the last of that.

(02:13):
But doing that on the road,I think that's part of their you know
why they haven't had success on theroad is because they've they've gotten into these
one run ball games, and theteams have the last bat oh and five
in their last five one run ballgames, and they all came since July
the sixth. So it's all comingback to catch him right now. Steven,
And you mentioned leaving guys in toolong, Well, I think he

(02:34):
did the opposite with Logan Gilbert yesterday. What was your thought about how he
handled Logan Gilbert with eighty seven pitches. The only thing I'm thinking is he
wanted Logan to pitch in the AllStar Game, right Like, if he
runs them out there and gets onehundred and something pitches, he's probably sitting
out. And you know, Idon't know if he's still scheduled because he
threw right before the game, sohe might not even be scheduled. But

(02:58):
you know, it's a recipe thatI think he trusts and go to standing
and then and then Mooney comes inand it's over. But I think when
you've got a guy this's hot,you know, and and Logan this isn't
a like a fluke three starts ora seventh stretch. He has been dominant
from the start of the season untilnow. I think you let that guy
go. I think that's a chanceto let Mooney breathe and take a day

(03:21):
off or see if he can geta complete game. He's earned that right
this year. As much as Iknow there's a script for the game and
what the numbers say, third timethrough the lineup, you know, every
every year, every so often therecomes across this guy who's just on this
run that you just you have touse your eyes and say, you know
what. I know what they tellme, but I believe in the person
and his year and the role he'son more than what the scripts tell me.

(03:43):
You don't have to do that allthe time, but there's sometimes you
just have to do that. AndI thought Logan has earned that multiple times
in the last couple of start starts, since Scott has yet to give it
to him. Yeah, I justI don't know. I don't see it
with Stanek. I mean, Ithought he was gonna be better than this
banged up you know last year orwhatever with the Astros, and before that
had some good years but I mean, we're talking about Ryan Stanek like he's

(04:06):
you know, Jeff Nelson or ArthurRhodes going to Sasaki in two thousand and
one, right, or Nelly goingto Rivera when he was with the Yankees.
Are you seeing a guy that's thatreliable? We're pulling Logan Gilbert makes
sense? No, you know,I definitely would agree with you. It's
not a guy where you know,I think that he's been one of the

(04:29):
premier, you know, setup mansin the game, you know, for
a lengthy amount of time. Buthe does have some a track record of
pitching at the end of ball games. You know, in twenty twenty two
had a one to five ERA andyeah, last year he had a four.
But you know, I'm with you. I I want to know why
Santos wasn't available there, right,Like, that's who I would have gone
with Bread there, Especially he threwFriday, he didn't throw Saturday. And

(04:54):
I know they're probably trying to avoidthe back to backs, coming back to
keeping healthy, but I'm curious asto just why doesn't throw there? He
gets four days off and he's backfresh, ready to go. You know,
now he's gonna have a week offwithout throwing. That's that's why alder
Gun because you know, looking athis stuff, it's electric, right,
Like this guy is a premiere setupman, can be able to close games
for Mooney and No. I playedwith Stanik and look, he throws really

(05:16):
hard and it splitters good when he'son. But you know, this is
kind of what you get with Stanikis in that role. If you don't
have a wipeout pitch, you're gonnaget banged around a little bit at times.
And he just didn't have it thatday. Why do you think he
just didn't go right to Munos.I mean he's done that before, gone
in there in the eighth inning.It was a desperate situation and he could

(05:38):
have gone right and Andres Munjos.There's there's a thought, we said,
Chuck Powell on there's a thought thatpotentially he was saving him for the All
Star Game so he could pitch onTuesday. Yeah, it could be right,
like trying to play the bigger pictureor save Mooning opportunity to get that.
And if he is, like youknow what I commenced Scott for at
least trying to think above and thecharacter in that. But at the same

(06:00):
time. You know, both havegot out of some jams. I know
he gave it up to Willie Calhounearlier in the series, but both have
done a good job getting out ofsome jams for them earlier on the year.
And I think you don't want toput Mooney in a situation where he's
got this routine ready to go inthe ninth or even if you're calling him
earlier in the eighth, where it'sin the bullpen. You know, he

(06:20):
these closers are creatures of habit,right, and they want to control the
environment before they get into the gameand the chaos starts. And I think
he trusted both there to go outand warm up in front of everybody,
right and kind of awkwardly get readyto stand. It kind of threw him
out to dry and get a coupleout and maybe go to Mooney with you
know, a four out and say, but I think he was trying to

(06:41):
stay away from a six out andsave the going to the break with Mooney.
Well, I just I'll just addthis. I'll interject my opinion here
on the matter. I think anybodymanaging the baseball team in a tight game
on Sunday with Tuesday's All Star Gamein mind is ridiculous, totally man utterly
n You're trying to win a game, trying to win this division, You're
trying to make the playoffs. Andif you're telling me that you're pulling Logan

(07:04):
Gilbert or not, you know,using Munno's because of a practice game on
Tuesday, that won't even give youhome field, by the way anymore if
you win the damn thing. Imean, that's insane. And you know
what, guys, I gotta behonest with you. I don't believe that's
what Scott did because that is utterlyridiculous to manage the game like that on
Sunday afternoon. But Steven Susan Junior, the trade deadline is fifteen days away.

(07:29):
On the thirtieth, we had aguy on, David Sampson, who
does a podcast nothing personally. He'sthe former president of the Marlins, by
the way, so he knows thatorganization pretty well. He said to us
last week that acquiring Jazz Chisholm wouldbe the end of the Mariners World Series
chances he's that bad of a clubhouseguy. Then Bob Nightingale came out this
week and then said, hey,look at this, the Mariners are among

(07:51):
the favorites to land Jazz Chisholm.So when you hear that name, what
do you make of that fit herein Seattle. Well, funny story is,
Jazz had his first big league campwhen I was in Arizona, Okay.
And this kid is uber talented.And I'm talking Nick Ahmed, me,

(08:13):
Taiwan Walker, Jerrod Dyson tried topick this guy under his wing and
just because he was so talented,Hey, this is how the big leagues
work. This is kind of theway the flow goes. Get used to
things like this, and hey,come with us and hay in the morning,
Nick Ahman invited him to take groundballs. This guy wanted nothing to
do with it, right, Andso from Mike Hagan's credit, he traded

(08:35):
him right because he saw that alot of the veterans kind of said that
and traded him for Zach Gallen andthat down's an unbelievable So all that being
said, that's not what you needin there. He is a super talent.
I don't doubt that. I don'tdoubt he can come here and help.
But what you need in that lockerroom right now is you need some

(08:56):
direction offensively. You don't just needmore time. These guys have plenty of
talent. The talent is there onthat team. You need veteran superstars to
come in and help these guys andsay, look, we're okay. I'll
carry some a little load, takeit off some of the guys and go
forward, because you've seen I meanit with and Julio and Cal are carrying

(09:16):
that load. The rest of theoffense plays great and they fit in,
but those guys have just been hitor missed. They need a consistent force
in that lineup to take on thatpressure and dissipate some of that from the
rest of the group. Well,they got an all star in Taoscar Hernandez.
He just doesn't play for him anymore. But Adam Jude, Adam Jude

(09:37):
from the Seattle Times, just talkto Taoscar either today or he actually is
today the media day, and tayOscar said, I had a great time
in Seattle. Unfortunately I didn't feelthe way I wanted to feel when I
was playing at home. For somereason, I couldn't figure it out.
I couldn't feel good at the plateat home. He by the way,
hit six forty seven or six fortythree at home, eight thirty on the

(10:00):
road last year almost two hundred opspoints better. How much of a problem
is that and how much of wordgoes through the league that this is just
misery in this baseball on this partfor offense, Well, I think you
experienced it, right. It's whyguys don't line up to go to Kaufman
Stadium in Kansas City, right.It's why you know, guys that are

(10:24):
on a rebound here will go toTolorio. You know where the parks are
where it's a little bit easier toyou don't have to try hard, you
don't have to get a ball fullyright. That's that's what's really hurtful for
these guys is we've seen Julio hita ball one oh seven at a premium
launch angle and they get caught.That's really discouraging as an offensive player.
It's like, Okay, this ishard enough. I've done everything right and

(10:46):
some more and I still can't getrewarded. That gets to you, right,
because what ends up happening is youtry and add a little bit more.
Let me swing a little bit harder, let me get a little bit
more back. When we make sureI'm perfectly on time, and when you're
trying to do that in the game, that's already hard enough. It's going
to weigh on you mentally. Sothen when you get backed out on the
road, you're like, you takea deep breath and you start to let

(11:07):
it loose a little bit and realize, oh, I don't have to swing
a card, just have to getthe barrel there and it flies for me.
And when you don't have that inSeattle, it's difficult to tay Oscar's
point, though. I'll say Istood at home play in Seattle and I
struggled coming here as well. AndI had come here with series where I
was absolutely on fire, and youstand there and the field just feels like

(11:28):
the fences are one hundred feet fartherthan they are. Whether that's reality or
not, that's beyond me. ButI know that when you're feeling there in
the box, it feels far away, like I really got to get this.
And I know that's not true,because I've gotten balls out front and
hit the mountain in Seattle just likeI have anywhere else. But the feeling
is like that. It's pretty strange. Steven Susan junior with US trying to

(11:50):
see a taco time every Monday atfive talking baseball? Is it time to
play Victor Roblests every day? Regardlessof righty lefty? So my question is
who are you going to play themfor? Luke Raley, Camzone or Hanniger?
Which one are you going to sitout a little bit more? Hanniger
for sure. Hanniger for sure,But then you have you know, Rails

(12:11):
has kind of hit a big skidhere, and in Camzone you know has
been hit or missed. But theseare kind of this is kind of the
recipe of these guys is the oneguy like World Lads, goes on the
street and you start to play themevery day. The league can kind of
figure him out. Rarely goes onthe street. You start to play them
every day, the league kind ofadjusts to them. Right. They need
these guys to be able to haveneutral splits. Right, you look at

(12:33):
the lineups that are really good.They have like three or four guys that
have fairly close in neutral splits andthen the rest of them are platoons and
lining up matchups throughout the year.And I think the Mariners they have some
guys that are good against righties,good against lefties. But nobody besides probably
Julio and Cal this year has donea really good job from the right side.

(12:54):
That's just neutral all the time.I mean, even Garber has really
struggled his most of his career andespecially this year against Ritings and so you
know, yeah, I mean,you're up for any offense you need from
roadblads, but you know history tellsme with the Nationals that it's gonna end
up at the same recipe. Well, Handiger's got a three seventy two ops

(13:15):
against lefties. Pal uh so there, I mean, that is a complete
zero against left handed hit and Ijust I just wonder if we've reached a
point with him, and hell ifyou want to throw Typhrans in there to
go ahead where we're just going toassume that come the offseason we're looking for
a new right fielder and a newfirst baseman. Well, here's the thing,

(13:39):
Sothie. I'm pretty sure that Hannyhas a player option for next year
for four right, but that doesn'tmean they have to play him though that
money is going to be spent nomatter what right like like the Polanka money,
That's not how the Mariners operated.They're not going to sit a guy
making fourteen million dollars. Have theyever done that? We've got a bigger
problem, think we if we're justplaying a guy because he's making well,

(14:01):
do you believe what I just said, Yeah, yes, I believe that
they will take his player option,they will let him have it, and
they will let him go. There'sno way he's their starting right fielder next
year. Guy. No serious teamcan make Mitch Chandigers their starting right fielder.
The only thing I would say tothat softie is that you know they're
not You're talking in the scheme ofthem operating like a top five payroll team,

(14:22):
right, like a team that canjust eat salary. And they've never
operated like that, right where theycan just kind of let guys go and
they'll just swallow fourteen million. They'reoperating more like the Tampa Bay Raids right
where they have a dominant staff,they're paying their staff, and they're kind
of trying to piece it together offensively, right, And so I think you're
going to bank on Okay, Well, at least I'm going to give him
a shot and see what it lookslike next year for fourteen million, and

(14:45):
hopefully he can turn it around.And then if not, then you cut
him loose. Because to just cutloose unless somebody's going to take it over
sixteen million in this in this market, for this team, I just haven't
historically seen that, you know,And that's why we haven't seen them move
on as quick as a kid somebodylike the Dodgers and the Yankees and the
Red Sox who want to win andthey want to move forward to the next
guy up, like we'll follow itand keep going. But that's just not

(15:09):
how the Marinons have operated at tothis point. What do you think,
Steven, of this switch pitcher theMariners got in the first round, And
how would you use a guy likethat? Would you use him with both
arms in one game? Or wouldyou start him and then three days later
bring him in as a reliever fora couple innings with the other arm?
You know, I'll tell you this. With all all the negative about the

(15:31):
offense going on, one thing,the Mariners are really good at Jerry's really
good in the draft, right,like he finds supreme talent over and over
again to be able to help comeup. And this kid especially, I've
never seen anything like it, right, Like Pat Van Ditty was around when
I was coming up, and itwas like eighty eight from the right side
and kind of eighty four with somefunk from the left. This kid is

(15:52):
bringing some fuzz. I think it'sa cool luxury to kind of wrestle through.
Do we want you to dry tobattle with righty's with your right side
and then you know, you turnaround and you can throw the next day.
I don't think they'll do that,Dick, because it's still you're rotating
right and you're you're exerting a tonof effort with your lower half on any
given day, and so you're stillgonna be tired. And I think that

(16:14):
would put more stress on his otherarm, whichever one that he threw second.
And so I would say, youjust stick with the matchups in game,
like, nobody gets a good matchupagainst you, right like he throws
rights against righties, left against ussis, and you know what, good luck
everybody. And it's it's tough forthe other manager to figure out what he's
gonna do for the matchup, becauselet's just say that there's a better matchup.

(16:37):
He's got a right hander against theleft ended, he's better that guy's
got the the advantage on the mound. He can go right handed, so
it really puts it really puts theother manager in a buying. So this
guy's got electric stuff ninety three ninetyfive, you know, running up to
ninety seven from both sides. Soif he could put it together, what
a weapon to have on this team. By the way, for context,

(17:00):
eleven years ago, the Mariners paidSean Figgins nine million dollars to walk away.
No, okay, cut him.And that was eleven years ago.
All right, that's probably the equivalentto what Anditor is gonna make. Possibly,
so they did this. No,Stanton wasn't the primary guy back then,
so we'll you know, we'll know. But they did do this with
Sean Figgins where they said enough isenough? How much did the Astros pay
jose A Brai to walk away?And look, I realized they're the Astros,

(17:22):
you know, and they spend differently, But I just think it's a
sunk cost either way, with guyslike Polanco and guys like Mitch Hanniger,
it's a sunk cost. Man.So we'll see. All right, man,
how are you are you gonna enjoythe All Star Game? Are you
a big All Star Game? Guy. Still I do. I like it.
I think it's it's the last AllStar game that is pure and genuine

(17:44):
and you can watch the guys competeat a really high level like you like
I did growing up. So Ithink the home run Derby it's fun to
watch and exciting now, but theAll Star Game, they will be all
stargain. There's nothing like it andthere will never be anything like it,
with watching the best in the worldreally give it a go against each other.
I love it. You're the man, great stuff. Enjoy the week
off and hopefully with the next timeyou come on, we're talking about a

(18:07):
sweep of the Astros over the weekend. That'd be fun. Next Monday,
you're the man. Yeah, we'llturn all our eyes around and be so
happy about it. I love it, all right, man, Steven Susan
junior with us. That's the coolthing about baseball, right, You take
one weekend series against the Astros,get three in boom, we all feel
a lot better. All right.So there's a rumor that Hugh Millan eviscerated

(18:29):
me. Is that right? Thatwas the word to use on the radio
show on Friday? Is that correct? Yes, we'll hear that I have
not yet heard this. I'm interestedto hear what you think about it the
second time around, and I'm verycurious to hear what you had to say
next on ninety three to three KJRFM,