October 3, 2025 • 40 mins
In the fourth hour, Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain chat with Bill Krueger about the Mariners in the ALDS against the Tigers starting tomorrow and the pitching with both teams, then we replay their conversation with M’s Owner John Stanton from hour one.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's time for our weekly conversation with Bill Krueger, brought
to you by the brand new Occidental Hall next to Lumanfield.
On Occidental, Seattle's newest hot spot for sports fans, with
massive HD screams and a menu backed with Seattle's best
smash burger wems and the best local craft beers in town.
Now with Bill Krueger, here's Saftian.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Did Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
They call this guy the Albert Einstein of the major leagues.
He is as smart as they come. Nobody knows the
game the way Bill Krueger does, and that's why the
Occidental Hall steps up to pay him and meet his
gigantic financial demands every single week on the radio show,
because they know what a genius this man. It really is,
our friend Bill Kruger joining us right now talking some baseball.
(00:42):
How are you, Billy?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Wow, I'm good. I'm good, Einsteinian. That's that's right, that's
a high bar.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
I'm just reading the notes that you texted me before
the show, all right, So I just want to make
sure that we're just good.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Getting all this clear.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
But lots going on here, man, I mean we haven't
talked obviously in a week, but Mariners announced today George
Kirby game one, Luis Castillo game two. I think a
lot of people were assuming Logan Gilbert in game one,
but your thoughts on that decision by Dan Wilson and
Jerry Depoto and Justin Hollider.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Today, I think they must be paying close attention to
matchup numbers. I'm not looking at him. I think I
heard you guys talking about Kirby's numbers in Detroit. I mean,
I think when you're when you're trying to figure out here,
here's what it comes down to. Brian Wu's their number
one pitcher.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
He's not.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
We don't know when he's gonna pitch, So then it
becomes a bake off with three guys that is tough
to split hairs on. Right, They've all had great stretches,
they're all elite pitchers. They all probably have unique circumstances
against certain teams. You know, for me, if you're asking
me what I think, it's Logan Gilbert. Yeah, that's what
(01:54):
I'm thinking. But then I was thinking Brian Woo in
game two. But that's not obviously where they're headed. They
want to see how he's recovered from whatever he threw.
He threw yesterday. They want to see how he feels
because they're trying to stretch him out as long as
they can so before they make a commitment to him pitching.
And obviously they feel there's enough risk of him not
(02:18):
being some one hundred percent sure he's going to be fine,
so they want to push it out a little bit further.
And that makes sense. I get it. And you have
depth of pitching, and all these guys can really really pitch.
I mean, Castillo has had a great run the last month.
He's pitched very well. He's made a couple of adjustments.
Kirby has been outstanding over hit the last three or
(02:39):
four turns as well. But for me, Gilbert's your best
pitcher outside of Brian Wu. So if it were me,
I'd be going Gilbert. But I mean, I think it's
tough when you have a bake off, right, and you
don't want to make others feel like you're making a
personal decision that isn't based on something. So I don't
know what that's based on, So I don't have the answer.
(03:00):
I mean, Castillo has shown struggles against left hand hitters.
That's been his m as we've watched him pitch over
the last couple of years, and he's made some adjustments.
But what kind of team is Detroit. Well, they've kind
of got a mixed bag, right, They've got some pretty
good right hand hitters, They've got some pretty good left
(03:21):
hand hitters. They've got a balance, they strike.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Out a lot.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Yeah, I don't know that there's a perfect perfect match
for any of our pitchers because they are a little
bit lefty and righty. Green Roddy Green's got big numbers
and he is left handed, but then they got turkles
and they got bias. They've got client hits left handed,
they got you know, you know, we can go back
(03:45):
and forth throughout their lineup. They have a mix, a
mix of hitters. So that's the choice to Dan made.
I'm sure it's well based on what they figure is
the best matchup against the Tigers, with the idea that
they're pitching at home and trying to play pitchers that
are pitching their best baseball.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Right now, Bill, how convinced do you need to be
that Brian wu will be available at some point in
order to put him on the roster?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
I mean sixty.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
Percent, you got to be ninety percent, And if you
do put him on the roster, would you consider bringing
him out of the bullpen or is he just a
guy that you think is going to start like a
Game four.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
I think they're just holding them off later and they're
trying to buy as much time with this injury. And
when I talk to you guys before, it made it
sound like, hey, it's great, you know they have the
extra time. Now, who's going to be fine, He'll be
able to start in the in this series. Well, here
we are at this series and it's unknown when he's
going to pitch, right, yeah, because he got hurt. He
got hurt in a in a game going full speed,
(04:45):
and that's what they don't know. They need to know
that he's truly ready to pitch, and when you're you're
not having Hey, look, he's the best pitcher they got.
Let's there's no question. He's had the best year. He's
the most unhittable pitcher. It hurts that he's not starting
this series. But they have other guys that can pitch.
So you want to head your bet with guys that
(05:08):
are pretty turnt good, even though they're not having the
year that Brian wu is having. So I think they've
got the depth of pitching to not to try to
take as much chance off the table as possible and
give Wu as much time as possible to pitch, feeling
that they can still win without Brian Wu, even though
(05:30):
once you know, we get further along with this thing,
you've got to have Brian Wu if you expect to
be the best form of the Mariners that you can be.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah, Hey, Bill, Bill Krueger with us courtesy of the
oxygenal hall here across from Loomenfield and Bill just going
back to Woo for a second.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
He's got the peck injury, right, Guys.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
So I don't know if you've ever pitched, if you
ever pitched for the peck injury in your career. I've
done a radio show with a peck injury and I
was fine. I don't know what Brian's problem is, by
the way, but I was okay. But tell me, tell
me about does he need to be one hundred percent
to pitch where the peck injury? Can he be ninety percent?
Can he be eighty percent? I mean, some guys, you
(06:09):
know elbow, you know finger, whatever you can, you can
find a way to get through it. But does that
peck need to be one hundred percent right for him
to be out there in your mind.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Yeah, okay, this is an injury. That's that that it's
unique because of the style of pitcher. He is right,
he's in his arm drops low, he gets forward pressed
with his elbow. He's different. He's throwing in a lower
slot and and it's and this is the reason we
(06:41):
want to stand tall and stand and use the stronger
muscles in the back of our arm. There's a reason. Okay,
he's not doing that. He's throwing against the physics a
little bit. And he's in great shape and he's a
very strong kid. This injury is because of the slotty throwstrum.
He's got a low slot. His elbow is low. And
you can just sort of picture what I'm saying. When
(07:03):
you've got your elbow below your shoulder line and you're
kind of leading your elbow a little bit, and that's
exposing the pack a little bit. He's shoving the pack
to his shoulder. Is his chest forward as he throws,
and you know, the pack injury could start to lead
into the biceps tendon that goes into the front of
the shoulder. So he has to really construct, he has
(07:23):
to say, super super strong behind the back of the shoulder.
It's got to be super strong because he's he's fighting
physics a little bit, but it's such an advantage. This
is the natural way he throws. He's very deceptive and
it's worked for him brilliantly. But we know he's got
a checkered career health wise, so they need to error
on the side of caution with him, particularly when you
(07:45):
have three other starters that are pretty tarn good, that
have been elite, that have been All Star caliber guys,
and that are all pitching in their minds right now.
Curby and Castillo pitching at the top of their game,
and maybe they feel being Castile benefit the most from
pitching at home. I think when you start splitting hairs
(08:05):
too much, careful, careful what you when you split hairs,
because you know, you always want to think about who
are my best guys for me? As I stand away
from this, the two best pitchers on the team from
a starting standpoint are Logan Gilbert and Brian wu. They're
the toughest guys to hit, and you've got a whole
compliment of guys you've got full rest. They're also the
(08:27):
guys that handle left handers and right handers. Balanced A
balanced lineup the best. So if it were me, those
are the two guys I'd be pitching. But it's not
as if this is this is a catastrophe because George
Kirby is an outstanding pitcher, and so with Louis Castillo
and Luis Castile plus has a pretty good track record
(08:49):
of pitching in the playoffs and pitching well you know,
it's not his first rodeo. So yeah, I think that
they're you know, they're making the best decision they possibly can.
But getting back to your question, Yes, he needs to
be right. He can't be sort of right. He's got
to be right, all right.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Good, Well you mentioned the experience for steal.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
I mean, they've got nine guys that played in twenty
twenty two in their playoff serieses and then they've added
six players that have double digit games of playoff experience.
So how much does that matter? And how much does
it did it matter for the manager? You've got a J.
Hinch with a with a lot of experience. You got
Dan Wilson with none.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
I don't know. I think Dan Wilson has played in
pressure situations his whole life. He's got a much deeper
record as a player in dealing with pressure situations. I
don't think Dan is going to have a problem handling
the pressure okay, and he's got a whole season now
of managing where the game has now slowed down for him.
(09:53):
Aj Hinch is a very impressive guy that's been through
it okay, and he's got a real clear idea of
what to do with this team. But so does Dan Wilson.
So I don't know that there's big advantage aj Hintch
or anything like that. I don't see that at all.
I think players that have been there before there's just
(10:14):
a little less anxiety for them because they've been under
pressure of playoff baseball. So yeah, the fact that we've
added a few guys like that, I think it's good,
particularly as you get into a series, particularly if the
Mariners come out. Let's just say, and we're to lose
a game in the first two, or we're to go
through a stretch where they don't hit for a game
(10:35):
or two. That's where experience matters. Guys that understand that
each game, you know that you got to keep your head,
you got to stay within yourself, you've got to be confident,
and plus it bleeds around to players that haven't been
there before, so they don't feel the inordinate pressure of
the situation. The Mariners have kind of been there, so
(10:56):
this is a good group. Their younger players have become
a little bit more season because they were there in
twenty two. And then you're added Floraz, and you're adding
a Rose Arena, and you're adding Naylor and these guys
and Political for that matter, they've been around the block.
There's a whole group of guys. Nobody has to feel
like they're.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Carrying the load. Julio or cal Or.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
And these guys. That's why this group should be fine.
They just need as far as how they operate offensively,
they just need a little more patience at the plate
and get guys on base so that when they do slug,
they can score multiple runs. Right right, And when I
look at this team from a pitching standpoint, we're a
(11:37):
right handed, power pitching team. So we're gonna knock down
all their rioties. The rioties are dumb. They're done. It's
a matter of how we handle the Riddy Greens and
the mckinch streets and the and the Carpenters and those guys.
It's how we handle those guys. Really, If those guys
don't hit, we win.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Yeah, Well, I guess that's the question. Bill Bill Kruger
again with us to see the occidental hall. Who does
this series set up well for from an offensive perspective?
We know there's a couple of guys for the Tigers
we can talk about, I mean, Carry Carpenter obviously against
George Kirby and Collaboratorrees.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
But let's talk about the Mariners.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
With the So what you know about the Tigers pitching staff,
both rotation wise, bullpen wise. Who does this series set
up well for from a Mariner offensive perspective?
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Well, first of all, the Mariners have really kind of
stuck it to him the last time they played, and
they put up some pretty crooked, ugly numbers on them.
And know that Waves in their head school has been
handled by our team. Maz got hit around by our team,
their bullpen got hit around by our team. That's fresh, okay,
And plus they've had some struggles down the stretch. So
(12:47):
a lot of that, I think, and the fact that
we stacked the deck a little bit more since then
with uh with Naylor and Suarez, and all, each one
of the guys in the first six causes you to pause,
and you've got to have a plan because you can
get the wrong side of the count. These guys can
all hit a whole run off yet, So I think
that's that's advantage Mariners for sure. I think as far
(13:09):
as our our are hitting facing their pitching, the fact
that we've hit schoobl twice is pretty good because he's
a high v low guy and we've struggled with high velocity.
That's the part where we struggle. When guys can can
get to the top shelf with big fastball, that that's
a that's a problem for our team. We're we're pretty
good at hitting the rest of the pitches. We actually
(13:31):
hit the breaking ball on the off speed stuff pretty good.
In fact, Scooble, we've beat him because he's leaned on
his change up. I mean, Rodriguez hit the big hole
run to beat him on a change up. He threw
him three or four straight change ups and he finally
got one that was a high, high middle ind he
had a home run off it. You know, good, keep
throwing it to him, you know, That's what I would say.
(13:51):
Uh So, I mean I think I think the fact
that Schooble's pushed back, he's not leading the series off.
They have to go with Johnny Hoolestaff the first game.
I think all that is advantaged Mariners.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
All that and stop.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Bowl has to and I don't know whether he has
enough rest to come back around to Game five, but
the Mariners may have him in the bag by then.
So this series really stacks well. They start at home,
the marriage are playing well. The Tigers had had to
pitch everybody, you know. I think it's it's in a
very good position. The only thing that is worrisome is
(14:27):
the fact that your number one pitcher is not in
the mix right now. We don't know.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
One potential drawback at a bye, which is a new
phenomenon now in baseball, is you know you've got a
week off, how do you mitigate the rust? Especially for
those hitters.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
Well, they do the best they can. This this is
a group that's got got some experience. I mean, I
think they've been there before. You've got a lot of
season's hitters, You've got a team. You know, in the past,
the Marriagers have had one or two guys and if
they don't hit then see you later. Right now, you've
got six guys they can all hit the ball of
the ballpark, and we got a little bit more depth
(15:04):
at the bottom of the order with some guys that
can get on base and some wildcards in there that
can have big moments. I think Roblaze is it's a wildcard, right,
can Zone it's a wildcard. Crawford's been a steady eddy guy.
They can kind of set the table. And then they
got six guys in there they can stick a dagger
in you. So I think that's the part that you know.
(15:26):
And then on the other side of it, you got
Crawford off his feet a little bit, you got rolling
off his feet a little bit. The bullpen that had
been pitching fourties a night quite a bit this year
got some rest. So I think that's all good. It
outweighs the negative in my opinion.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Bill Krueger, great stuff, man, appreciate it. Cannot wait for tomorrow,
cannot wait for Sunday. I mean, look, man, this is
honestly why we have you on, right, you know, for
moments like this. We've had you on over some pretty
lean years and lean times where you just get kind
of exhausted, right complaining and bitching and owning about the
same over and over.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
The third key, what's the third key?
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Well, the third key is how are we going to
lose tonight? And how many times do we have to
kind of eat those worsts for years now? We're playing
with the force of a very good team and can
be really positive and confident.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Right yep, Yes, this is why we do this, man
for right here, So let's do it for about another
five weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
How's that sound?
Speaker 4 (16:22):
That sounds really really good. It's going to be a
fun ride for sure.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Bill, you're the man, great stuff, and we'll talk next week.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
All right, all right, sounds good, guys, All right.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Bill Krueger, we'll get a break.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Come back on more from Jimmy's as we watch Mark
just pound a chicken sandwich and some onion rings.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Russ a very.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Impressive site, no doubt about it. I love how clean
he is. I have not seen one drop of food
hit the floor the entire time. Very impressive performance by him.
Olympian worthy. By the way, John Stanton was with us
earlier in the show, Mariner Chairman. If you missed it,
we'll give you some highlights coming up as well. On
ninety three three KJRFM.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Out back to football Fridays, once your fights, handmade vodka
on your home for the NFL Sports Radio ninety.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Three point three.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
FL. All right, we are back here on a Friday
afternoon from Jimmy's on First, where again we thought game
one was today.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
We got here early, It's like what and nobody's in
the bar. We were like, what's going on?
Speaker 3 (17:24):
We're just gonna go camp out outside the left field
gate and just get ready for tomorrow. I can honestly
say I've never camped out for a sporting event.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
I might do it tonight and just stay here for tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Man, But we got husky duties up at Tom's Watch
Bar eight thirty doors, twelve thirty kickoff, and then I
might jump on a line bike and just scoot right.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Down here for first pitch tomorrow around five o'clock.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
But joining us on the radio program, the CEO of
the Seattle Mariners, John Stanton, is with us here from
Jimmy's on First.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
How are you doing doing great?
Speaker 6 (17:52):
What a wonderful time in the city. And obviously I'm
excited about all the things going on with the Mariners.
But it's husky football season, and it's cracking getting going. Obviously,
the Seahawks are doing their thing. It's a great time
to be a sports fan.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Well, we'd like to remind you a conversation we had
about a year and a half ago. You might forget this, Adam,
I know will remember it from your PR staff that
you came on our show and you said, Okay, next
time we make the playoffs game one, you and get
Diamond club seats.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
So thank you very much for that. Oh yeah, yeah,
we're looking toward that. John, This is very nice, very
generous of you'd offer that.
Speaker 6 (18:24):
All I remember that conversation is you giving me advice
on what free agency is.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yeah, well I think, well, actually, you know, you signed
none of them.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
To be honest with you, you didn't get any of them,
but you made some moves of the deadline, which we'll
talk about in a second.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
So let's just backtrack for a second.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
So here we are in the playoffs, first time since
twenty two, second time since two thousand and one, and
we feel like we got a shot to maybe do
something that's never been done in this city.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
What is this.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
Moment like for you?
Speaker 3 (18:53):
And we were kind of half joking off the air
that you've got an opportunity here to really kind of
influence your legacy in Seattle right as the CEO of
this team. And also you're kind of responsible and directly
it's kind of a heavy burden for people's mental states
and the next maybe week and have So what does
this entire moment mean for you?
Speaker 5 (19:13):
Man?
Speaker 6 (19:13):
I have to confess, I don't think I have a legacy.
I don't especially care about my legacy. I'm all about
winning for the fans. And you know, these players are hungry,
they're excited, they're frankly in many cases, at the peak
of their their playing ability, and and I think it's
(19:35):
a it's a time for us to bring it all together.
We've got eleven players that have been All Stars in
the last three years, you know we I think that's
more than any other team in baseball. We have a
group of guys that believe in each other, the culture
that Dan's created in the clubhouse, and along with Manny
and Bone and and and Woody and you know, the
(19:58):
whole gang are due one just such a great job
of supporting the players. I mean, the legacy, if there
is one, is for the team, the players to see
you know cal Ralely, Julio Rodriguez, the starting pitchers, Mooney.
You know, all those guys achieved their dream since they
(20:22):
were playing Little League, of winning a World Series, and
that's what we're here to do.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
I saw you down there on the field after you
guys won the division title, and you were shaking hands
and you were hugging, and and I was wondering. I
was like, what's the emotion going through John right now?
Speaker 2 (20:35):
I mean it was a.
Speaker 6 (20:35):
Relief, was it?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Elation?
Speaker 5 (20:37):
Was a little bit of vindication. I mean what was
going through your mind and your heart at that time?
Speaker 6 (20:42):
Well, I got a chance to thank a lot of
people that you know. As much as they're twenty six
guys who played between the lines, there are probably a
thousand people that were working that night, and I get
a chance to thank those folks as well as the
folks that you know work here every day and in
accounting and HR and all. We had a celebration out
(21:04):
in the pen. We were going back and forth, got
a lot of steps that day. We were in the
clubhouse on the field taking a photo. Uh, then out
in the pen, celebrating with the with the employees, with
the front office staff, and then the cool thing was
a bunch of the players came out. You know, wo
I think is the one who said, what's going on
(21:25):
out in the pen and and I said, well, that's
where the employees are, and he said, I want to
go out there. I'm sure that drove some people nuts,
but you know the meaning security and all that. But
a bunch of the players went out and partied with
the staff because you know, they they live it every
single day, you know, and when we lose a game,
(21:49):
you know, they get a hard time from their friends
and their family. And when we win a game, they celebrate,
and you know it's we're We have a wall up
on the fifth floor up in the offices that says
at the top one Mariners, imprinted language with the logo
and then signatures. You know, I've signed it. All the
(22:10):
owners have signed it, most of the players have signed it,
and everyone in the front office has signed it.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Yea.
Speaker 6 (22:14):
And we're trying to be live up to that motto
of one Mariners and be one organization that succeeds.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
So we've been doing this for a long time. I
think they can combine like sixty years in this business, right,
and I think it's important to Obviously, there's room for criticism,
and then there's room for compliments and praise.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
And right now is.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
The time where there's a lot of good stuff going on,
and you and the ball club deserve some compliments and praise,
there's no doubt. But when that criticism comes, and you
mentioned that, sometimes the guys and the gals that work
for you hear that and they feel that. How much
do you feel that? How much do you live with it?
And how much does it bother you and drive you?
Speaker 6 (22:54):
Well, let's start with I'm old, right, you know, I
not that all. I've run a bunch of public companies.
I've started a bunch of businesses, some of which worked
and some of which didn't. And you know, I've gotten
criticized in what I do and maybe I've just you know,
got thicker skin now than I used to. But when
someone gives one of our young people a hard time
(23:16):
for something they had nothing to do with, that really
pisses me off. And y, you know, that's the only
thing that bothers me. And when you know, I know
how hard those players are working. I know if somebody
strikes out three or four times, you know it's it's
not because they wanted to right it, you know it
it's a it's a dynamic. I think that, you know,
(23:39):
this sport requires patience. You got us one hundred and
sixty two games in the regular season. You know, you've
got a month of playoffs, You've got you know, you
know that's after six weeks of spring training. I mean,
it's a long season, you know. I joke with my
friends at the Seahawks, and when we get to the
second week of September, we've got the equivalent of one
(24:01):
of their seasons left, right, we got another eighteen games,
And I think that that, you know, you have to
have patients.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
You have to have.
Speaker 6 (24:09):
Patients with the criticism too. You know, the fact that
we you know, got swept by someone, you know, in
the middle of the season. It may have had to
do with the pitching matchups. That may have had to
do with a flu bug going through the clubhouse. It
may just had to do with a sequence of uh,
you know, players not not having their best games. But
(24:32):
you know, when we conversely, when we sweep a series,
you know, the way we swept Detroit, Uh, you know,
it's an exciting time. You know, we had some amazing times.
I was with the team in Boston, New York and
Williamsport in Atlanta, god of three different trips during the season,
(24:53):
and I saw, you know, a resilience and and a
commitment that they all had U you know, and a
and a great attitude about you know, what they're trying
to accomplish. I mean, if you remember the Atlanta series
came right after the UH the Tampa series that they
they got swept in Tampa, they came back and that
(25:15):
Saturday game they came back and won, scored a bunch
of runs on the Saturday and the Sunday games and
and left that road trip. You know that was still
three and six. I think UH with a with a
lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy and came
back and I think they swept the home stand after that.
So you know, it's it's it's an up and down game.
Speaker 5 (25:37):
You use the word dynamic there, and this team has
got that dynamic and a lot of talented baseball teams don't.
Why do you think this one does, and where did
it come from? Were whom did it come from? I
think it's been grown over time. I mean I look
at the UH the players you know that that have
been with us. You know, I think JP has got
(25:58):
the the longest and you're now, you know, I think
they've built it over time. I look at those pictures
and you know, in addition to the time that that
Logan and George and Emerson have have spent and WU
have spent in the major leagues, they spent time together
in the minor leagues. I think that the you know,
(26:18):
I've heard you guys talk about it, the relationship that
that cal built with those guys moving from single A
to long A to double A, triple A and then
eventually making it here. And you think that that dynamic
a lot of those guys have been together almost ten
years now, and you know that I think creates a
camaraderie and you know it's you know, frankly, it's like
(26:41):
the two of you, right, I mean you finish each
other's sentences in much the same way.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Well you mentioned sometimes rudely, Yeah, exactly how much how
much of this show do you hear? I mean I
gotta ask you how much of that how much talk?
Speaker 6 (26:53):
Ready?
Speaker 2 (26:53):
You do you listen to? You ever flip on kJ
A R When you're sitting in the ark.
Speaker 6 (26:56):
I do flip on kg R some. I have to
confess I probably listen to music more than I listen.
I have the ability to download and listen to the
things that are particularly interesting, Okay, and I do that some.
And you know I even listened to your competitor.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Wow, there you go.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Well, I mean because we got passion, right, I mean,
this is something that we want very badly. And I've
mentioned on the year John Stanton with us Marin or
chairman by the way from Jimmy's I've mentioned many times
that you know, and you use the more patients there, right,
I think people Mariner fans have been just about his
patient as a fan base in sports, waiting for a
world series. And there's people that have come and gone.
(27:36):
You know, Dick's dads in his nineties. My dad passed
away a couple of years ago. You know, he's not
going to get that chance. But there's people out there
that deserve that opportunity. How much do you feel like
you need to deliver.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
That for them?
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Oh? I absolutely. I think about a couple of three
people when I think about the history, and my mom
was passionate fan. My dad died, you know, fifty years
ago now, and my mom was a widow for a
long time. She listened to it or watched every game,
and she was passionate, and she she'd have questions after
(28:10):
every game. She was she wasn't a particularly knowledgeable fan,
but she she had opinions nonetheless like us right, and
then in two political you know icons in this community
that that I had the good fortune to know for
for four or five decades, Slave Gorton and Dan Evans.
I was with Dan at the last Apple Cup. Sadly,
(28:33):
the last Apple Cup he saw was a year ago,
and he passed a few days after that. Dan used
to say to me, now, you got to promise me
we're going to win a World Series. And I said, absolutely, Dan,
I can't tell you when, but we're going to win
a World Series. And unfortunately he won't be there for that,
at least not in person. I think I'll be looking
down on us and Slagh Gorton every time I walk
(28:53):
into the lobby and see the display we've got with
the shovel from the first shovel of dirt for for
this ballpark, and you know the photos from from his
growing up period, and you know, he was an enormous
fan any saved baseball in Seattle three different times. That
(29:14):
we wouldn't have that stadium, We wouldn't have this team,
you know, if we had not, if it had not
been for a number of people, and and slights on
on the Mount rushmore of that list. But folks like
Gary Locke and and Slade and excuse me, Dan and
and other political leaders you know, stepped up at a time.
(29:36):
You know, it's it's hard to appreciate that the political
leaders came together, you know, to make this happen. Wes Holman,
you know, and you know they wanted a team. They
wanted the team to stay here. They didn't want it
to move to Tampa. And nineteen ninety, you know, all
of those folks came together, and most of them sadly
(29:58):
are gone. And but yeah, I guess I'm not particularly religious,
but I'm religious enough to think that they're probably looking
down on us and smiling.
Speaker 5 (30:06):
Mariners Chairman John Stanton joining us. And you know, Softie
and I were at Believe it or Not, the U
District QFC when we got word that Dan Wilson was
going to be the manager of the Seattle Mariners, and
we thought, oh, that makes sense. Well, we just assumed
it was going to be an interim situation, right like
a trial basis, and then we found out a little
bit later that afternoon, this isn't an interim thing.
Speaker 6 (30:27):
He's the guy.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Why was he made the guy right away?
Speaker 5 (30:31):
And how much of that was a John stant decision
and how much was a Jerry Depoter decision.
Speaker 6 (30:35):
It was a Jerry to Poto decision. But Jerry and
I talked about it long and hard, and I supported it.
And my office across the street is bookended by Kevin
Martinez on one side and Jerry Depoto on the other side,
and I'm talking to the three of the three of
(30:56):
us are talking along with Trevor and Justin every day
and so. But ultimately it was Jerry's decision, and I
know it was an incredibly hard decision for him to make.
You know, he and Scott were very close, and Scott,
you know, did some tremendous things for this organization. But ultimately,
the question I asked Jerry is do you believe we
(31:17):
can win a World Series with Scott as the leader?
And he said no, and he believed that, and he
still believes he believes today that we can with Dann
And that's you know, you got to be guided by something.
We have a mission at the Mariners. We talk about
all the time when our mission is to win championships,
(31:40):
create unforgettable experiences for our fans, and serve our communities.
And you know, the things that go on the field
on the field, you know, are primarily related to championships,
but they also create unforgettable experiences. How many how many
kids have posters of how of Cal hitting the break
the street home run in twenty two? How many think
(32:04):
about Julio And you know we're number forty four when
they're going out, when they're going to bed, or they're
going out to play in the in the yard. And
I think that, you know, serving the communities is also
very important to us. It's something that I was taught
by my parents and my predecessors, you know, John Ellis
and Howard Lincoln all committed, as our entire ownership is,
(32:28):
you know, to doing things to try to make this
a better community. And I think, you know, right now
you can say the best thing we can do for
the community is to win that World Series. So there's
a virtual circle there, but you know we've done you know,
our home base program is designed to eliminate reduce homelessness
by eliminating evictions. Our Hometown nine program where we help
(32:55):
kids that can't afford to play travel baseball and travel softball.
We make it possible for them and we have mentors
for them that you know, make a difference in their lines.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Yeah, well, John stant as well as Mariner chairman from
the Jimmy's on first. And first of all, I love
the fact that you hear this radio show. That's awesome.
And then number two, if you've heard this show, then
you've probably heard me say on many many occasions, I
think the Mariners weren't in the World Series would be
the greatest sporting accomplishment this town has ever seen. You've
you've heard me say that maybe a couple of times
over the years, and I'm I mean that it'd be
(33:29):
bigger than the Super Bowl, bigger than anything that this
team town has ever done. And to me, I get tired,
as I know I think you do, of being on
a list that says never when it comes to the
World Series you So let me ask you real quick,
because Dick asked about this ball club, So why why
why do you think.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
That is that we haven't gotten there yet.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Why do you think this time feels different for this franchise.
Speaker 6 (33:56):
I want to I want to address the predicate first. Yeah,
you know the it's a deep, dark secret. But you
and I know we grew up in the same neighborhood.
I know we did, right, I know, you know, maybe
twenty years apart, but neighborhood hasn't changed that much. And
we played pickup ball and little league on Woodridge Elementary's
(34:19):
right fields and all that. And anyone who's been here,
you know, spent their life here, you know, particularly a
baseball fan. You know you don't remember I do the
departure of the Pilots in sixty nine or its actually
in March of seventy. You know, this community deserves a championship.
I also remember June first, nineteen seventy nine, you know,
(34:42):
the championship that the Sonics won after losing in seventy eight.
You know, those are those are memories that are are
so vivid for me. You know, I can I can
practically tell you exactly what I was doing and drinking
at the same at that time. For us to win
(35:02):
a World Series I think culminates, you know, if you
include the pilots over sixty years of efforts to bring
a championship to this community in baseball, and baseball has
the ability to bring this community together in a way.
You know, it's an election year and you know, I'm
(35:24):
not going to get into politics, but you know, wouldn't
it be nice if everybody was holding hands at a
parade celebrating Mariners winning the championship.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Yeah, whether they're like to hold your hand? Would you
hold my hand? Everyone? If we win? Will you hold
my hand?
Speaker 6 (35:38):
Woodridge Brothers, Yes, it may not last long exactly exactly,
we'll do the secret Woodridge handshake. But the dynamic for
this community is they deserve it. We deserve it. And
you know, everyone who's been here their whole lives, you know,
I think you know has that. And you know, the
(36:00):
great thing about this community is we've also brought you know,
huge numbers of people who moved into Seattle for to
go to work for Microsoft or Costco or Team Mobile
or Starbucks or Amazon. You know those folks, you know
have come here to this community and fall in love
with his team. You know, it's a fun time. I
can't go to Starbucks right now without someone saying go Mariners.
(36:24):
Guys said it. Guy I've never seen before said it
to me in the elevator today. You know, people are
excited and it it has the ability to have a
long lasting effect.
Speaker 5 (36:34):
John, you had the fifteenth, twentieth, twenty third, twenty fifth,
and twenty eighth rank payroll make the playoffs this year,
so some could argue that.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
Doesn't matter that much.
Speaker 5 (36:43):
But you also had six of the top eleven payrolls
make the playoffs this year, so some could argue that
it is that important. How tightly linked do you think
payroll is to making the playoffs.
Speaker 6 (36:53):
And winning a championship? Well, you can't argue that it's
not correlated. You know, you're you're numbers suggest that. I
think that the key is to have a coherent strategy
and to be in a position where you can execute
on that strategy to succeed. And you know, more power
(37:14):
to the to the folks that sign the huge contracts.
But at least one of those teams didn't make the
playoffs at all. And you know, the the dynamic is that,
you know, payroll alone will not make a difference. You've had,
we've had plenty of evidence of that. We were willing
to step up. You know, the commitment we made at
(37:36):
the at the deadline, uh, to Geno and to to
nailor Uh. I think what and Ferguson, you know, was
an important statement by our ownership group that we believe
that this is the right time. You know, people want
us to win every year, and and we want to
(37:57):
win every year. But there's some years where you see
the opportunity and you can see the the path. Uh,
and I see the path. I know, Jerry and Justin
see the path. And this is a year where we
believe we can make a difference. And so we made it.
We made a commitment. You know. Uh. It's like it's
like anyone's purchase of any goods, you know, kind of
(38:19):
the ouch factor. You know, it was it was a
it was an expensive commitment on our part, but it's
a commitment that we think will result in, yeah, taking
this team all the way.
Speaker 3 (38:29):
Well you mentioned Itarez and Naylor. You think those guys
are back next year.
Speaker 6 (38:34):
I think we'll look at those kinds of issues after
the season's over. And you know, it's ultimately on Justin
and Jerry to to make those decisions. I would say
not not in juxtaposition to your question. We have some
unbelievable talent. You know, I don't know if you saw,
you know, the the irony of Colt Emerson out there
(38:56):
at second base yesterday, at the scrimmage, at the scrimmage
and each hero in the outfield, you know, the you
know whatever that is thirty two years apart in age.
I think that we've got, you know, I look at
Las Montes, who was our best hitter in the minors
this year. I think, you know, the the addition we
(39:17):
made with Anderson at the in the I mean, I
think we got the best player in the draft. I mean,
how in the world did we end up with a
number three pick? You know, I was there when it
happened and still can't believe it. And then you know,
the teams that had the number one and two pick
pass on what I think everyone believed was the best
(39:38):
player in the draft. I mean, the the opportunity for
us to actually have a tremendous left handed starter, you know,
for his his career, you know, I think is you know,
is phenomenal. And he comes out of LSU, where he's
got a comes from a winning tradition. I think the
future is very bright for us.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Well, let's start by getting a win tomorrow. How was
that game one?
Speaker 3 (40:02):
I love to hold your handring a parade. By the
way it's making it happen. Thanks for coming over.
It's time for our weekly conversation with Bill Krueger, brought
to you by the brand new Occidental Hall next to Lumanfield.
On Occidental, Seattle's newest hot spot for sports fans, with
massive HD screams and a menu backed with Seattle's best
smash burger wems and the best local craft beers in town.
Now with Bill Krueger, here's Saftian.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Did Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
They call this guy the Albert Einstein of the major leagues.
He is as smart as they come. Nobody knows the
game the way Bill Krueger does, and that's why the
Occidental Hall steps up to pay him and meet his
gigantic financial demands every single week on the radio show,
because they know what a genius this man. It really is,
our friend Bill Kruger joining us right now talking some baseball.
(00:42):
How are you, Billy?
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Wow, I'm good. I'm good, Einsteinian. That's that's right, that's
a high bar.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
I'm just reading the notes that you texted me before
the show, all right, So I just want to make
sure that we're just good.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Getting all this clear.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
But lots going on here, man, I mean we haven't
talked obviously in a week, but Mariners announced today George
Kirby game one, Luis Castillo game two. I think a
lot of people were assuming Logan Gilbert in game one,
but your thoughts on that decision by Dan Wilson and
Jerry Depoto and Justin Hollider.
Speaker 4 (01:12):
Today, I think they must be paying close attention to
matchup numbers. I'm not looking at him. I think I
heard you guys talking about Kirby's numbers in Detroit. I mean,
I think when you're when you're trying to figure out here,
here's what it comes down to. Brian Wu's their number
one pitcher.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
He's not.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
We don't know when he's gonna pitch, So then it
becomes a bake off with three guys that is tough
to split hairs on. Right, They've all had great stretches,
they're all elite pitchers. They all probably have unique circumstances
against certain teams. You know, for me, if you're asking
me what I think, it's Logan Gilbert. Yeah, that's what
(01:54):
I'm thinking. But then I was thinking Brian Woo in
game two. But that's not obviously where they're headed. They
want to see how he's recovered from whatever he threw.
He threw yesterday. They want to see how he feels
because they're trying to stretch him out as long as
they can so before they make a commitment to him pitching.
And obviously they feel there's enough risk of him not
(02:18):
being some one hundred percent sure he's going to be fine,
so they want to push it out a little bit further.
And that makes sense. I get it. And you have
depth of pitching, and all these guys can really really pitch.
I mean, Castillo has had a great run the last month.
He's pitched very well. He's made a couple of adjustments.
Kirby has been outstanding over hit the last three or
(02:39):
four turns as well. But for me, Gilbert's your best
pitcher outside of Brian Wu. So if it were me,
I'd be going Gilbert. But I mean, I think it's
tough when you have a bake off, right, and you
don't want to make others feel like you're making a
personal decision that isn't based on something. So I don't
know what that's based on, So I don't have the answer.
(03:00):
I mean, Castillo has shown struggles against left hand hitters.
That's been his m as we've watched him pitch over
the last couple of years, and he's made some adjustments.
But what kind of team is Detroit. Well, they've kind
of got a mixed bag, right, They've got some pretty
good right hand hitters, They've got some pretty good left
(03:21):
hand hitters. They've got a balance, they strike.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Out a lot.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Yeah, I don't know that there's a perfect perfect match
for any of our pitchers because they are a little
bit lefty and righty. Green Roddy Green's got big numbers
and he is left handed, but then they got turkles
and they got bias. They've got client hits left handed,
they got you know, you know, we can go back
(03:45):
and forth throughout their lineup. They have a mix, a
mix of hitters. So that's the choice to Dan made.
I'm sure it's well based on what they figure is
the best matchup against the Tigers, with the idea that
they're pitching at home and trying to play pitchers that
are pitching their best baseball.
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Right now, Bill, how convinced do you need to be
that Brian wu will be available at some point in
order to put him on the roster?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
I mean sixty.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
Percent, you got to be ninety percent, And if you
do put him on the roster, would you consider bringing
him out of the bullpen or is he just a
guy that you think is going to start like a
Game four.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
I think they're just holding them off later and they're
trying to buy as much time with this injury. And
when I talk to you guys before, it made it
sound like, hey, it's great, you know they have the
extra time. Now, who's going to be fine, He'll be
able to start in the in this series. Well, here
we are at this series and it's unknown when he's
going to pitch, right, yeah, because he got hurt. He
got hurt in a in a game going full speed,
(04:45):
and that's what they don't know. They need to know
that he's truly ready to pitch, and when you're you're
not having Hey, look, he's the best pitcher they got.
Let's there's no question. He's had the best year. He's
the most unhittable pitcher. It hurts that he's not starting
this series. But they have other guys that can pitch.
So you want to head your bet with guys that
(05:08):
are pretty turnt good, even though they're not having the
year that Brian wu is having. So I think they've
got the depth of pitching to not to try to
take as much chance off the table as possible and
give Wu as much time as possible to pitch, feeling
that they can still win without Brian Wu, even though
(05:30):
once you know, we get further along with this thing,
you've got to have Brian Wu if you expect to
be the best form of the Mariners that you can be.
Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah, Hey, Bill, Bill Krueger with us courtesy of the
oxygenal hall here across from Loomenfield and Bill just going
back to Woo for a second.
Speaker 2 (05:46):
He's got the peck injury, right, Guys.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
So I don't know if you've ever pitched, if you
ever pitched for the peck injury in your career. I've
done a radio show with a peck injury and I
was fine. I don't know what Brian's problem is, by
the way, but I was okay. But tell me, tell
me about does he need to be one hundred percent
to pitch where the peck injury? Can he be ninety percent?
Can he be eighty percent? I mean, some guys, you
(06:09):
know elbow, you know finger, whatever you can, you can
find a way to get through it. But does that
peck need to be one hundred percent right for him
to be out there in your mind.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Yeah, okay, this is an injury. That's that that it's
unique because of the style of pitcher. He is right,
he's in his arm drops low, he gets forward pressed
with his elbow. He's different. He's throwing in a lower
slot and and it's and this is the reason we
(06:41):
want to stand tall and stand and use the stronger
muscles in the back of our arm. There's a reason. Okay,
he's not doing that. He's throwing against the physics a
little bit. And he's in great shape and he's a
very strong kid. This injury is because of the slotty throwstrum.
He's got a low slot. His elbow is low. And
you can just sort of picture what I'm saying. When
(07:03):
you've got your elbow below your shoulder line and you're
kind of leading your elbow a little bit, and that's
exposing the pack a little bit. He's shoving the pack
to his shoulder. Is his chest forward as he throws,
and you know, the pack injury could start to lead
into the biceps tendon that goes into the front of
the shoulder. So he has to really construct, he has
(07:23):
to say, super super strong behind the back of the shoulder.
It's got to be super strong because he's he's fighting
physics a little bit, but it's such an advantage. This
is the natural way he throws. He's very deceptive and
it's worked for him brilliantly. But we know he's got
a checkered career health wise, so they need to error
on the side of caution with him, particularly when you
(07:45):
have three other starters that are pretty tarn good, that
have been elite, that have been All Star caliber guys,
and that are all pitching in their minds right now.
Curby and Castillo pitching at the top of their game,
and maybe they feel being Castile benefit the most from
pitching at home. I think when you start splitting hairs
(08:05):
too much, careful, careful what you when you split hairs,
because you know, you always want to think about who
are my best guys for me? As I stand away
from this, the two best pitchers on the team from
a starting standpoint are Logan Gilbert and Brian wu. They're
the toughest guys to hit, and you've got a whole
compliment of guys you've got full rest. They're also the
(08:27):
guys that handle left handers and right handers. Balanced A
balanced lineup the best. So if it were me, those
are the two guys I'd be pitching. But it's not
as if this is this is a catastrophe because George
Kirby is an outstanding pitcher, and so with Louis Castillo
and Luis Castile plus has a pretty good track record
(08:49):
of pitching in the playoffs and pitching well you know,
it's not his first rodeo. So yeah, I think that
they're you know, they're making the best decision they possibly can.
But getting back to your question, Yes, he needs to
be right. He can't be sort of right. He's got
to be right, all right.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Good, Well you mentioned the experience for steal.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
I mean, they've got nine guys that played in twenty
twenty two in their playoff serieses and then they've added
six players that have double digit games of playoff experience.
So how much does that matter? And how much does
it did it matter for the manager? You've got a J.
Hinch with a with a lot of experience. You got
Dan Wilson with none.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
I don't know. I think Dan Wilson has played in
pressure situations his whole life. He's got a much deeper
record as a player in dealing with pressure situations. I
don't think Dan is going to have a problem handling
the pressure okay, and he's got a whole season now
of managing where the game has now slowed down for him.
(09:53):
Aj Hinch is a very impressive guy that's been through
it okay, and he's got a real clear idea of
what to do with this team. But so does Dan Wilson.
So I don't know that there's big advantage aj Hintch
or anything like that. I don't see that at all.
I think players that have been there before there's just
(10:14):
a little less anxiety for them because they've been under
pressure of playoff baseball. So yeah, the fact that we've
added a few guys like that, I think it's good,
particularly as you get into a series, particularly if the
Mariners come out. Let's just say, and we're to lose
a game in the first two, or we're to go
through a stretch where they don't hit for a game
(10:35):
or two. That's where experience matters. Guys that understand that
each game, you know that you got to keep your head,
you got to stay within yourself, you've got to be confident,
and plus it bleeds around to players that haven't been
there before, so they don't feel the inordinate pressure of
the situation. The Mariners have kind of been there, so
(10:56):
this is a good group. Their younger players have become
a little bit more season because they were there in
twenty two. And then you're added Floraz, and you're adding
a Rose Arena, and you're adding Naylor and these guys
and Political for that matter, they've been around the block.
There's a whole group of guys. Nobody has to feel
like they're.
Speaker 2 (11:13):
Carrying the load. Julio or cal Or.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
And these guys. That's why this group should be fine.
They just need as far as how they operate offensively,
they just need a little more patience at the plate
and get guys on base so that when they do slug,
they can score multiple runs. Right right, And when I
look at this team from a pitching standpoint, we're a
(11:37):
right handed, power pitching team. So we're gonna knock down
all their rioties. The rioties are dumb. They're done. It's
a matter of how we handle the Riddy Greens and
the mckinch streets and the and the Carpenters and those guys.
It's how we handle those guys. Really, If those guys
don't hit, we win.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (11:56):
Yeah, Well, I guess that's the question. Bill Bill Kruger
again with us to see the occidental hall. Who does
this series set up well for from an offensive perspective?
We know there's a couple of guys for the Tigers
we can talk about, I mean, Carry Carpenter obviously against
George Kirby and Collaboratorrees.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
But let's talk about the Mariners.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
With the So what you know about the Tigers pitching staff,
both rotation wise, bullpen wise. Who does this series set
up well for from a Mariner offensive perspective?
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Well, first of all, the Mariners have really kind of
stuck it to him the last time they played, and
they put up some pretty crooked, ugly numbers on them.
And know that Waves in their head school has been
handled by our team. Maz got hit around by our team,
their bullpen got hit around by our team. That's fresh, okay,
And plus they've had some struggles down the stretch. So
(12:47):
a lot of that, I think, and the fact that
we stacked the deck a little bit more since then
with uh with Naylor and Suarez, and all, each one
of the guys in the first six causes you to pause,
and you've got to have a plan because you can
get the wrong side of the count. These guys can
all hit a whole run off yet, So I think
that's that's advantage Mariners for sure. I think as far
(13:09):
as our our are hitting facing their pitching, the fact
that we've hit schoobl twice is pretty good because he's
a high v low guy and we've struggled with high velocity.
That's the part where we struggle. When guys can can
get to the top shelf with big fastball, that that's
a that's a problem for our team. We're we're pretty
good at hitting the rest of the pitches. We actually
(13:31):
hit the breaking ball on the off speed stuff pretty good.
In fact, Scooble, we've beat him because he's leaned on
his change up. I mean, Rodriguez hit the big hole
run to beat him on a change up. He threw
him three or four straight change ups and he finally
got one that was a high, high middle ind he
had a home run off it. You know, good, keep
throwing it to him, you know, That's what I would say.
(13:51):
Uh So, I mean I think I think the fact
that Schooble's pushed back, he's not leading the series off.
They have to go with Johnny Hoolestaff the first game.
I think all that is advantaged Mariners.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
All that and stop.
Speaker 4 (14:04):
Bowl has to and I don't know whether he has
enough rest to come back around to Game five, but
the Mariners may have him in the bag by then.
So this series really stacks well. They start at home,
the marriage are playing well. The Tigers had had to
pitch everybody, you know. I think it's it's in a
very good position. The only thing that is worrisome is
(14:27):
the fact that your number one pitcher is not in
the mix right now. We don't know.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
One potential drawback at a bye, which is a new
phenomenon now in baseball, is you know you've got a
week off, how do you mitigate the rust? Especially for
those hitters.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
Well, they do the best they can. This this is
a group that's got got some experience. I mean, I
think they've been there before. You've got a lot of
season's hitters, You've got a team. You know, in the past,
the Marriagers have had one or two guys and if
they don't hit then see you later. Right now, you've
got six guys they can all hit the ball of
the ballpark, and we got a little bit more depth
(15:04):
at the bottom of the order with some guys that
can get on base and some wildcards in there that
can have big moments. I think Roblaze is it's a wildcard, right,
can Zone it's a wildcard. Crawford's been a steady eddy guy.
They can kind of set the table. And then they
got six guys in there they can stick a dagger
in you. So I think that's the part that you know.
(15:26):
And then on the other side of it, you got
Crawford off his feet a little bit, you got rolling
off his feet a little bit. The bullpen that had
been pitching fourties a night quite a bit this year
got some rest. So I think that's all good. It
outweighs the negative in my opinion.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Bill Krueger, great stuff, man, appreciate it. Cannot wait for tomorrow,
cannot wait for Sunday. I mean, look, man, this is
honestly why we have you on, right, you know, for
moments like this. We've had you on over some pretty
lean years and lean times where you just get kind
of exhausted, right complaining and bitching and owning about the
same over and over.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
The third key, what's the third key?
Speaker 4 (16:03):
Well, the third key is how are we going to
lose tonight? And how many times do we have to
kind of eat those worsts for years now? We're playing
with the force of a very good team and can
be really positive and confident.
Speaker 3 (16:15):
Right yep, Yes, this is why we do this, man
for right here, So let's do it for about another
five weeks.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
How's that sound?
Speaker 4 (16:22):
That sounds really really good. It's going to be a
fun ride for sure.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Bill, you're the man, great stuff, and we'll talk next week.
Speaker 4 (16:29):
All right, all right, sounds good, guys, All right.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Bill Krueger, we'll get a break.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Come back on more from Jimmy's as we watch Mark
just pound a chicken sandwich and some onion rings.
Speaker 2 (16:39):
Russ a very.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
Impressive site, no doubt about it. I love how clean
he is. I have not seen one drop of food
hit the floor the entire time. Very impressive performance by him.
Olympian worthy. By the way, John Stanton was with us
earlier in the show, Mariner Chairman. If you missed it,
we'll give you some highlights coming up as well. On
ninety three three KJRFM.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Out back to football Fridays, once your fights, handmade vodka
on your home for the NFL Sports Radio ninety.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Three point three.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
FL. All right, we are back here on a Friday
afternoon from Jimmy's on First, where again we thought game
one was today.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
We got here early, It's like what and nobody's in
the bar. We were like, what's going on?
Speaker 3 (17:24):
We're just gonna go camp out outside the left field
gate and just get ready for tomorrow. I can honestly
say I've never camped out for a sporting event.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
I might do it tonight and just stay here for tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Man, But we got husky duties up at Tom's Watch
Bar eight thirty doors, twelve thirty kickoff, and then I
might jump on a line bike and just scoot right.
Speaker 2 (17:40):
Down here for first pitch tomorrow around five o'clock.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
But joining us on the radio program, the CEO of
the Seattle Mariners, John Stanton, is with us here from
Jimmy's on First.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
How are you doing doing great?
Speaker 6 (17:52):
What a wonderful time in the city. And obviously I'm
excited about all the things going on with the Mariners.
But it's husky football season, and it's cracking getting going. Obviously,
the Seahawks are doing their thing. It's a great time
to be a sports fan.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
Well, we'd like to remind you a conversation we had
about a year and a half ago. You might forget this, Adam,
I know will remember it from your PR staff that
you came on our show and you said, Okay, next
time we make the playoffs game one, you and get
Diamond club seats.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
So thank you very much for that. Oh yeah, yeah,
we're looking toward that. John, This is very nice, very
generous of you'd offer that.
Speaker 6 (18:24):
All I remember that conversation is you giving me advice
on what free agency is.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Yeah, well I think, well, actually, you know, you signed
none of them.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
To be honest with you, you didn't get any of them,
but you made some moves of the deadline, which we'll
talk about in a second.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
So let's just backtrack for a second.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
So here we are in the playoffs, first time since
twenty two, second time since two thousand and one, and
we feel like we got a shot to maybe do
something that's never been done in this city.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
What is this.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
Moment like for you?
Speaker 3 (18:53):
And we were kind of half joking off the air
that you've got an opportunity here to really kind of
influence your legacy in Seattle right as the CEO of
this team. And also you're kind of responsible and directly
it's kind of a heavy burden for people's mental states
and the next maybe week and have So what does
this entire moment mean for you?
Speaker 5 (19:13):
Man?
Speaker 6 (19:13):
I have to confess, I don't think I have a legacy.
I don't especially care about my legacy. I'm all about
winning for the fans. And you know, these players are hungry,
they're excited, they're frankly in many cases, at the peak
of their their playing ability, and and I think it's
(19:35):
a it's a time for us to bring it all together.
We've got eleven players that have been All Stars in
the last three years, you know we I think that's
more than any other team in baseball. We have a
group of guys that believe in each other, the culture
that Dan's created in the clubhouse, and along with Manny
and Bone and and and Woody and you know, the
(19:58):
whole gang are due one just such a great job
of supporting the players. I mean, the legacy, if there
is one, is for the team, the players to see
you know cal Ralely, Julio Rodriguez, the starting pitchers, Mooney.
You know, all those guys achieved their dream since they
(20:22):
were playing Little League, of winning a World Series, and
that's what we're here to do.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
I saw you down there on the field after you
guys won the division title, and you were shaking hands
and you were hugging, and and I was wondering. I
was like, what's the emotion going through John right now?
Speaker 2 (20:35):
I mean it was a.
Speaker 6 (20:35):
Relief, was it?
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Elation?
Speaker 5 (20:37):
Was a little bit of vindication. I mean what was
going through your mind and your heart at that time?
Speaker 6 (20:42):
Well, I got a chance to thank a lot of
people that you know. As much as they're twenty six
guys who played between the lines, there are probably a
thousand people that were working that night, and I get
a chance to thank those folks as well as the
folks that you know work here every day and in
accounting and HR and all. We had a celebration out
(21:04):
in the pen. We were going back and forth, got
a lot of steps that day. We were in the
clubhouse on the field taking a photo. Uh, then out
in the pen, celebrating with the with the employees, with
the front office staff, and then the cool thing was
a bunch of the players came out. You know, wo
I think is the one who said, what's going on
(21:25):
out in the pen and and I said, well, that's
where the employees are, and he said, I want to
go out there. I'm sure that drove some people nuts,
but you know the meaning security and all that. But
a bunch of the players went out and partied with
the staff because you know, they they live it every
single day, you know, and when we lose a game,
(21:49):
you know, they get a hard time from their friends
and their family. And when we win a game, they celebrate,
and you know it's we're We have a wall up
on the fifth floor up in the offices that says
at the top one Mariners, imprinted language with the logo
and then signatures. You know, I've signed it. All the
(22:10):
owners have signed it, most of the players have signed it,
and everyone in the front office has signed it.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Yea.
Speaker 6 (22:14):
And we're trying to be live up to that motto
of one Mariners and be one organization that succeeds.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
So we've been doing this for a long time. I
think they can combine like sixty years in this business, right,
and I think it's important to Obviously, there's room for criticism,
and then there's room for compliments and praise.
Speaker 2 (22:33):
And right now is.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
The time where there's a lot of good stuff going on,
and you and the ball club deserve some compliments and praise,
there's no doubt. But when that criticism comes, and you
mentioned that, sometimes the guys and the gals that work
for you hear that and they feel that. How much
do you feel that? How much do you live with it?
And how much does it bother you and drive you?
Speaker 6 (22:54):
Well, let's start with I'm old, right, you know, I
not that all. I've run a bunch of public companies.
I've started a bunch of businesses, some of which worked
and some of which didn't. And you know, I've gotten
criticized in what I do and maybe I've just you know,
got thicker skin now than I used to. But when
someone gives one of our young people a hard time
(23:16):
for something they had nothing to do with, that really
pisses me off. And y, you know, that's the only
thing that bothers me. And when you know, I know
how hard those players are working. I know if somebody
strikes out three or four times, you know it's it's
not because they wanted to right it, you know it
it's a it's a dynamic. I think that, you know,
(23:39):
this sport requires patience. You got us one hundred and
sixty two games in the regular season. You know, you've
got a month of playoffs, You've got you know, you
know that's after six weeks of spring training. I mean,
it's a long season, you know. I joke with my
friends at the Seahawks, and when we get to the
second week of September, we've got the equivalent of one
(24:01):
of their seasons left, right, we got another eighteen games,
And I think that that, you know, you have to
have patients.
Speaker 4 (24:09):
You have to have.
Speaker 6 (24:09):
Patients with the criticism too. You know, the fact that
we you know, got swept by someone, you know, in
the middle of the season. It may have had to
do with the pitching matchups. That may have had to
do with a flu bug going through the clubhouse. It
may just had to do with a sequence of uh,
you know, players not not having their best games. But
(24:32):
you know, when we conversely, when we sweep a series,
you know, the way we swept Detroit, Uh, you know,
it's an exciting time. You know, we had some amazing times.
I was with the team in Boston, New York and
Williamsport in Atlanta, god of three different trips during the season,
(24:53):
and I saw, you know, a resilience and and a
commitment that they all had U you know, and a
and a great attitude about you know, what they're trying
to accomplish. I mean, if you remember the Atlanta series
came right after the UH the Tampa series that they
they got swept in Tampa, they came back and that
(25:15):
Saturday game they came back and won, scored a bunch
of runs on the Saturday and the Sunday games and
and left that road trip. You know that was still
three and six. I think UH with a with a
lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy and came
back and I think they swept the home stand after that.
So you know, it's it's it's an up and down game.
Speaker 5 (25:37):
You use the word dynamic there, and this team has
got that dynamic and a lot of talented baseball teams don't.
Why do you think this one does, and where did
it come from? Were whom did it come from? I
think it's been grown over time. I mean I look
at the UH the players you know that that have
been with us. You know, I think JP has got
(25:58):
the the longest and you're now, you know, I think
they've built it over time. I look at those pictures
and you know, in addition to the time that that
Logan and George and Emerson have have spent and WU
have spent in the major leagues, they spent time together
in the minor leagues. I think that the you know,
(26:18):
I've heard you guys talk about it, the relationship that
that cal built with those guys moving from single A
to long A to double A, triple A and then
eventually making it here. And you think that that dynamic
a lot of those guys have been together almost ten
years now, and you know that I think creates a
camaraderie and you know it's you know, frankly, it's like
(26:41):
the two of you, right, I mean you finish each
other's sentences in much the same way.
Speaker 2 (26:46):
Well you mentioned sometimes rudely, Yeah, exactly how much how
much of this show do you hear? I mean I
gotta ask you how much of that how much talk?
Speaker 6 (26:53):
Ready?
Speaker 2 (26:53):
You do you listen to? You ever flip on kJ
A R When you're sitting in the ark.
Speaker 6 (26:56):
I do flip on kg R some. I have to
confess I probably listen to music more than I listen.
I have the ability to download and listen to the
things that are particularly interesting, Okay, and I do that some.
And you know I even listened to your competitor.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
Wow, there you go.
Speaker 3 (27:16):
Well, I mean because we got passion, right, I mean,
this is something that we want very badly. And I've
mentioned on the year John Stanton with us Marin or
chairman by the way from Jimmy's I've mentioned many times
that you know, and you use the more patients there, right,
I think people Mariner fans have been just about his
patient as a fan base in sports, waiting for a
world series. And there's people that have come and gone.
(27:36):
You know, Dick's dads in his nineties. My dad passed
away a couple of years ago. You know, he's not
going to get that chance. But there's people out there
that deserve that opportunity. How much do you feel like
you need to deliver.
Speaker 2 (27:47):
That for them?
Speaker 6 (27:48):
Oh? I absolutely. I think about a couple of three
people when I think about the history, and my mom
was passionate fan. My dad died, you know, fifty years
ago now, and my mom was a widow for a
long time. She listened to it or watched every game,
and she was passionate, and she she'd have questions after
(28:10):
every game. She was she wasn't a particularly knowledgeable fan,
but she she had opinions nonetheless like us right, and
then in two political you know icons in this community
that that I had the good fortune to know for
for four or five decades, Slave Gorton and Dan Evans.
I was with Dan at the last Apple Cup. Sadly,
(28:33):
the last Apple Cup he saw was a year ago,
and he passed a few days after that. Dan used
to say to me, now, you got to promise me
we're going to win a World Series. And I said, absolutely, Dan,
I can't tell you when, but we're going to win
a World Series. And unfortunately he won't be there for that,
at least not in person. I think I'll be looking
down on us and Slagh Gorton every time I walk
(28:53):
into the lobby and see the display we've got with
the shovel from the first shovel of dirt for for
this ballpark, and you know the photos from from his
growing up period, and you know, he was an enormous
fan any saved baseball in Seattle three different times. That
(29:14):
we wouldn't have that stadium, We wouldn't have this team,
you know, if we had not, if it had not
been for a number of people, and and slights on
on the Mount rushmore of that list. But folks like
Gary Locke and and Slade and excuse me, Dan and
and other political leaders you know, stepped up at a time.
(29:36):
You know, it's it's hard to appreciate that the political
leaders came together, you know, to make this happen. Wes Holman,
you know, and you know they wanted a team. They
wanted the team to stay here. They didn't want it
to move to Tampa. And nineteen ninety, you know, all
of those folks came together, and most of them sadly
(29:58):
are gone. And but yeah, I guess I'm not particularly religious,
but I'm religious enough to think that they're probably looking
down on us and smiling.
Speaker 5 (30:06):
Mariners Chairman John Stanton joining us. And you know, Softie
and I were at Believe it or Not, the U
District QFC when we got word that Dan Wilson was
going to be the manager of the Seattle Mariners, and
we thought, oh, that makes sense. Well, we just assumed
it was going to be an interim situation, right like
a trial basis, and then we found out a little
bit later that afternoon, this isn't an interim thing.
Speaker 6 (30:27):
He's the guy.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Why was he made the guy right away?
Speaker 5 (30:31):
And how much of that was a John stant decision
and how much was a Jerry Depoter decision.
Speaker 6 (30:35):
It was a Jerry to Poto decision. But Jerry and
I talked about it long and hard, and I supported it.
And my office across the street is bookended by Kevin
Martinez on one side and Jerry Depoto on the other side,
and I'm talking to the three of the three of
(30:56):
us are talking along with Trevor and Justin every day
and so. But ultimately it was Jerry's decision, and I
know it was an incredibly hard decision for him to make.
You know, he and Scott were very close, and Scott,
you know, did some tremendous things for this organization. But ultimately,
the question I asked Jerry is do you believe we
(31:17):
can win a World Series with Scott as the leader?
And he said no, and he believed that, and he
still believes he believes today that we can with Dann
And that's you know, you got to be guided by something.
We have a mission at the Mariners. We talk about
all the time when our mission is to win championships,
(31:40):
create unforgettable experiences for our fans, and serve our communities.
And you know, the things that go on the field
on the field, you know, are primarily related to championships,
but they also create unforgettable experiences. How many how many
kids have posters of how of Cal hitting the break
the street home run in twenty two? How many think
(32:04):
about Julio And you know we're number forty four when
they're going out, when they're going to bed, or they're
going out to play in the in the yard. And
I think that, you know, serving the communities is also
very important to us. It's something that I was taught
by my parents and my predecessors, you know, John Ellis
and Howard Lincoln all committed, as our entire ownership is,
(32:28):
you know, to doing things to try to make this
a better community. And I think, you know, right now
you can say the best thing we can do for
the community is to win that World Series. So there's
a virtual circle there, but you know we've done you know,
our home base program is designed to eliminate reduce homelessness
by eliminating evictions. Our Hometown nine program where we help
(32:55):
kids that can't afford to play travel baseball and travel softball.
We make it possible for them and we have mentors
for them that you know, make a difference in their lines.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Yeah, well, John stant as well as Mariner chairman from
the Jimmy's on first. And first of all, I love
the fact that you hear this radio show. That's awesome.
And then number two, if you've heard this show, then
you've probably heard me say on many many occasions, I
think the Mariners weren't in the World Series would be
the greatest sporting accomplishment this town has ever seen. You've
you've heard me say that maybe a couple of times
over the years, and I'm I mean that it'd be
(33:29):
bigger than the Super Bowl, bigger than anything that this
team town has ever done. And to me, I get tired,
as I know I think you do, of being on
a list that says never when it comes to the
World Series you So let me ask you real quick,
because Dick asked about this ball club, So why why
why do you think.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
That is that we haven't gotten there yet.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Why do you think this time feels different for this franchise.
Speaker 6 (33:56):
I want to I want to address the predicate first. Yeah,
you know the it's a deep, dark secret. But you
and I know we grew up in the same neighborhood.
I know we did, right, I know, you know, maybe
twenty years apart, but neighborhood hasn't changed that much. And
we played pickup ball and little league on Woodridge Elementary's
(34:19):
right fields and all that. And anyone who's been here,
you know, spent their life here, you know, particularly a
baseball fan. You know you don't remember I do the
departure of the Pilots in sixty nine or its actually
in March of seventy. You know, this community deserves a championship.
I also remember June first, nineteen seventy nine, you know,
(34:42):
the championship that the Sonics won after losing in seventy eight.
You know, those are those are memories that are are
so vivid for me. You know, I can I can
practically tell you exactly what I was doing and drinking
at the same at that time. For us to win
(35:02):
a World Series I think culminates, you know, if you
include the pilots over sixty years of efforts to bring
a championship to this community in baseball, and baseball has
the ability to bring this community together in a way.
You know, it's an election year and you know, I'm
(35:24):
not going to get into politics, but you know, wouldn't
it be nice if everybody was holding hands at a
parade celebrating Mariners winning the championship.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
Yeah, whether they're like to hold your hand? Would you
hold my hand? Everyone? If we win? Will you hold
my hand?
Speaker 6 (35:38):
Woodridge Brothers, Yes, it may not last long exactly exactly,
we'll do the secret Woodridge handshake. But the dynamic for
this community is they deserve it. We deserve it. And
you know, everyone who's been here their whole lives, you know,
I think you know has that. And you know, the
(36:00):
great thing about this community is we've also brought you know,
huge numbers of people who moved into Seattle for to
go to work for Microsoft or Costco or Team Mobile
or Starbucks or Amazon. You know those folks, you know
have come here to this community and fall in love
with his team. You know, it's a fun time. I
can't go to Starbucks right now without someone saying go Mariners.
(36:24):
Guys said it. Guy I've never seen before said it
to me in the elevator today. You know, people are
excited and it it has the ability to have a
long lasting effect.
Speaker 5 (36:34):
John, you had the fifteenth, twentieth, twenty third, twenty fifth,
and twenty eighth rank payroll make the playoffs this year,
so some could argue that.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
Doesn't matter that much.
Speaker 5 (36:43):
But you also had six of the top eleven payrolls
make the playoffs this year, so some could argue that
it is that important. How tightly linked do you think
payroll is to making the playoffs.
Speaker 6 (36:53):
And winning a championship? Well, you can't argue that it's
not correlated. You know, you're you're numbers suggest that. I
think that the key is to have a coherent strategy
and to be in a position where you can execute
on that strategy to succeed. And you know, more power
(37:14):
to the to the folks that sign the huge contracts.
But at least one of those teams didn't make the
playoffs at all. And you know, the the dynamic is that,
you know, payroll alone will not make a difference. You've had,
we've had plenty of evidence of that. We were willing
to step up. You know, the commitment we made at
(37:36):
the at the deadline, uh, to Geno and to to
nailor Uh. I think what and Ferguson, you know, was
an important statement by our ownership group that we believe
that this is the right time. You know, people want
us to win every year, and and we want to
(37:57):
win every year. But there's some years where you see
the opportunity and you can see the the path. Uh,
and I see the path. I know, Jerry and Justin
see the path. And this is a year where we
believe we can make a difference. And so we made it.
We made a commitment. You know. Uh. It's like it's
like anyone's purchase of any goods, you know, kind of
(38:19):
the ouch factor. You know, it was it was a
it was an expensive commitment on our part, but it's
a commitment that we think will result in, yeah, taking
this team all the way.
Speaker 3 (38:29):
Well you mentioned Itarez and Naylor. You think those guys
are back next year.
Speaker 6 (38:34):
I think we'll look at those kinds of issues after
the season's over. And you know, it's ultimately on Justin
and Jerry to to make those decisions. I would say
not not in juxtaposition to your question. We have some
unbelievable talent. You know, I don't know if you saw,
you know, the the irony of Colt Emerson out there
(38:56):
at second base yesterday, at the scrimmage, at the scrimmage
and each hero in the outfield, you know, the you
know whatever that is thirty two years apart in age.
I think that we've got, you know, I look at
Las Montes, who was our best hitter in the minors
this year. I think, you know, the the addition we
(39:17):
made with Anderson at the in the I mean, I
think we got the best player in the draft. I mean,
how in the world did we end up with a
number three pick? You know, I was there when it
happened and still can't believe it. And then you know,
the teams that had the number one and two pick
pass on what I think everyone believed was the best
(39:38):
player in the draft. I mean, the the opportunity for
us to actually have a tremendous left handed starter, you know,
for his his career, you know, I think is you know,
is phenomenal. And he comes out of LSU, where he's
got a comes from a winning tradition. I think the
future is very bright for us.
Speaker 2 (40:00):
Well, let's start by getting a win tomorrow. How was
that game one?
Speaker 3 (40:02):
I love to hold your handring a parade. By the
way it's making it happen. Thanks for coming over.
Dave 'Softy' Mahler and Dick Fain News
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