Let's Talk All Things Mariners w/ Gary Hill Jr.

Mariners broadcaster, Gary Hill Jr. is back alongside Puck and Jim. Gary shares his thoughts on the Marniers last game, and George Kirby's struggles as of late, should fans be optimistic about the Mariners at this point, and much more.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, let's talk a little littlea little baseball, can we They're an
off day down there in Anaheim,and our next guest is not only a
Hall of Fame Mariners broadcast from,he's a world renowned chef and people that
don't know this, and it's downtimewhen he's in Anaheim, he heads over
to Disney World, where he ison road trips many he dresses up as

(00:22):
many on his off days. Andjoining us right now from Anaheim is Gary
Hills, Junior from the Mariners broadcastteam. Hello, Gary, how's the
park? You know that I amhonestly in Disneyland right now as you say
that, so no way, youknow it's the family trip. So my
family is here with me. Theyare in line for Pirates for the Caribbean.

(00:45):
I stepped out to talk to youguys because I love you so much.
But you're not kidding. I amin Disneyland right now. Wow,
Pirates of the Caribbean's awesome. Yougotta get back in line. We'll call
you later. I know, Idon't know, I'll jump back in.
It's a long line, so it'syeah, it always is, and it's
the only one there right where youcan't get the fast pass. That's exactly

(01:06):
right. Yes, you gotta waitit out. Yeah I was. I
was just there, but a fewmonths ago. It's the only one.
See Gary cares more about his familythan Brad does. Because Brad's out golfing
today again. Yeah, Brad wouldn'tdo this. Bradwood tell us the pounds,
saying, are you gonna go?Hey? Have they closed? Have
they closed because they're redoing it?Have they closed Splash Mountain yet? Splash
Mountain is closed? Yeah? Yeah, finly my oldest is upset by that,

(01:30):
but we'll be okay. Are youa roller coaster guy? You're gonna
You're gonna go to Space Mountain,You're gonna do the Matter Horn all that.
I'll do a couple probably not thosetwo, though. Oh you don't
like him. See I don't likeroller coasters. Well I'm okay with them,
but I can't. I can't waitin line for an hour to put
myself through that. That doesn't makeany sense to me. Like I'm not

(01:53):
really enjoy it, and I'm gonnawait an hour for it? Like that
doesn't make any sense. What's aday of Disneyland US for a family?
These days? Everything I have.I mean we're talking five hundred that type
of thing. No, it's morethan that. It's up there man,

(02:14):
because I mean how many kids youhave? Two? Yeah, I mean
you factor in like to eat therethe ride, Yeah, you got a
factor all. This isn't all We'rehere all day because this is the one
up day. So it's all day, food, the whole thing. Yeah,
it's gonna be a lot. Idon't want to know, honestly,

(02:35):
Yeah, you don't. You don'twant to know. Hey, you know
it's got a good lunch. Icouldn't tell you who's got a good lunch?
Really, I like it is rightby the parents of pirates of the
Caribbean. Is that little uh,the one right next to the Louisiana restaurant,
that's right there. Oh that's agood spot, really good spot.
Oh, by the way, thankyou for the dinner suggestion. In San
Diego, did you go? Didyou guys go? Yeah? We do.

(02:58):
Yeah, it was excellent. Yeah, it's a good spot that oh
barrio up there and buy the zooin San Diego, San Diego, Do
you find yourself wishing why do IWhy do I not live here? San
Diego is the Greatest Game. I'malways so mad that it's always a two
game series and it's like it's notlong enough for San Diego. Those should
be four series. Hey, thiswas this was kind of someone had wrote

(03:21):
about it or I saw at someplace, and it was a great description of
these two games. And again,Gary Hill Junior is with this Mariners broadcast
team and where it was the goodand bad for both teams because both teams
are kind of stuck in this likeweird season right now, expectations are not
planked up to their expectations. Whereyou saw the good for the Mariners and

(03:43):
the bad for the Padres in gameone, and then you know the potential
of both, and then you sawthe potential the Padres in game two,
and then the bad of the Marinersthey're in game two. So kind of
a weird series and kind of aweird last few starts. It feels like
for George Kirby, you're right onboth those things that I kept thinking that
in the entire series against the Padres, where that it's it's a mirror match

(04:05):
in a lot of ways because bothteams have sky high expectations and both teams
haven't met him yet. And bothteams are looking for the spark to get
it going, and both teams hadone of those games. Like I thought,
the Mariners first game of the serieswas exactly what they want to do
and how they want to play thatstarting pitching was excellent, Gilbert was great,
bullpen was great. They had long, solid vats not to start out

(04:29):
early, and they hit a coupleof home runs. It's like two scripts
how the Mariners want to play.Game two was not and that was the
Padres team that we kind of expectedcoming into the season. Soto five hits,
but chat of the whole thing.It's weird when you look at their
line up, how they're not goodoffensively. It makes no sense. And
yeah, Kirby thinks so odd.He's been so consistent and so great all

(04:50):
year, yet these last couple oftimes or not. You know, the
time before against the Yankees, itwas great. Time before that he struggled.
This time it was. It wasreally strange. I felt like this
start hinged on a couple of plateappearances where I don't know if he gets
through Sanchez, I feel like thestart is different instead of the home run,
And I felt that way about Carpenterit's just he had them O two

(05:14):
and they scored their first round becausehe just left it over the plate for
Carpenter to hit. And thats sensenot something you usually see from Kirby,
but a strange series. And youwere hoping after the first game that they
would really build off in game two, But now you're hoping after an offta
if they can get things rolling againstthe Angels, because the reality now,
when you look at things, they'restaring up at a bunch of teams.

(05:34):
The Angels are one of them.So it's important when you have fewer cracks
at teams in your division that youtake advantage of it. So they'll try
and do that starting tomorrow. Okay, Gary, I'm I'm a negative guy
at heart, at nature. Iadmit it. My glass, my glass
is usually half emptym cynical, skeptical, I'm all those things. But well,

(05:57):
I mean you're not, You're notlike that? What what? What?
What could give me? What aboutthis team should give me hope?
I mean seriously, because I meanthere's so many reasons to not have hope
anymore. Wait about the Mariners,about everything for that matter, Why do
you think get drinks so much?Yeah, it's good. Thank you for

(06:20):
narrowing it down, because I didn'tknow what which direction we're going on.
This is what i'd say. Ifeel like you could have said the same
thing about last year, and wesaw how last year it turned out.
I would say the rotation is stillreally good. And I know they've had
some hiccups, but when you're rollingout Castile Gilbert Kirby three year fifths,

(06:43):
that's really so that's a really goodthreesome. And I still do feel like
and I know we haven't seen itfull yet, although like Taosker spent better,
there are track records with their offense. You're not asking guys, except
for probably Kellnix, who's in adifferent both than everyone else. You're not
asking you guys to do things they'venever done before. You're just hoping that

(07:04):
they can revert to what they've beenin the past. And if you couple
what the rotation has been with whatyou're hoping to see what the guys have
been in the past, and you'renot asking for eight runs a ball game,
you're asking for four or five.And if you do that consistently,
they can put her on together.So that's that's the hope I think is

(07:25):
the world yea, yeah, yeah, I mentally yeah, you know,
you don't seem convinced over there.No, Gary, Yeah, Gary's a
kog man. I'm gonna listen towhat he has to say here. I
think that the I guess the flipside of it would be this, Gary,
would be the teams that are now, like opposed to last year,
there are more teams playing better now, especially you know in the American League

(07:47):
East, and you know with theshortened schedule, and I not shortened schedule,
but with the you know, you'renot playing you know they're gonna play
the A's nineteen times anymore, right, you're playing you're playing everyone thirteen times.
And it's been mentioned before like theAL East is not going to cannibalize
itself like it probably did. Imean, there's just teams that are playing
so much better in front of themright now, and it just seems that

(08:09):
they are not being able to takethat next step where they left off last
year. And I would ask this, I don't on the horizon, whether
it's trades or what they can do. It doesn't seem like there's much out
there as of now. And Iknow what can change here the next month
or so. But it just feelslike the core of their guys are the
ones that have got to turn itaround. I agree with that one hundred

(08:31):
percent. I don't think there there'sno one you're calling up, There's no
one you're bringing in that is gonnamake that kind of difference. It's who's
here. I mean, it's theguys here that are going to make the
difference. That's the thing. Andthat's where we're kind of waiting on.
So I think you're one hundred percentright on that there's no one riding in
to save the day, Like it'sgonna be a this group of guys to

(08:52):
turn it around. I mean,maybe there'll some guys to help on the
margins, you know, maybe DylanMoore comes in and helps against lefties,
that kind of thing. Smunos isback, obviously, that's that's a big
difference maker. But it's this corethat's the thing. I mean, it's
it's Julio and te Oscar and Suarresbeing better and just go down the list.

(09:13):
That's what it is. His nameis Gary Hill Junior. He's the
one that got out of Edward ourMerle School of Communication, everyone's envious.
They look up to him, andwhy he hasn't won. Have you been
awarded yet, like a Merrow Symposiumaward yet? I mean, we're not
gonna get one, but I thinkyou should. I mean, you know,
besides, you know, the thegreats Copple and rather, when when's

(09:35):
your turn? I am never gonnawin an award, mostly because I'm not
deserving of any kind of award.Really, I mean that's why. It's
it's the they don't really award mediocrity. So well, you know, Pucket

(09:56):
Knight, give us. We haven'twon anything either. Gary. It's it's
it's sad. It really is sad, and it's a reflection. I look
in the mirror every morning. Gomediocre is good, It's okay, it's
fine. Hey, I said,we had we had Goldsmith on I don't
know, last week, two weeksago. Let me have Goldsmith, Yeah,
I said, Rough, I'll behonest with him. Ruff. I

(10:18):
said this to him, and I'vetold you this before. It probably in
private stuff. But the chemistry betweenyou two is is unbelievable. It's great.
It's like a comedy routine. Um, I wish I could listen to
it more. And more and moreof it. I mean, if I
was putting charged on more of it. But um, this is great.
You guys do a great job.You do a fabulous job calling games,

(10:39):
running the ship there pre and postgame show and also calling the games.
Keep it up, man, you'redoing great. Get back to your family,
enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean. We'lltalk soon. Thanks for that.
And it's all pretend with me andAaron. We actually don't speak off there
at all, so it's it's all. You're the best, seeing Gary.
Thanks Gary, Thanks guys, talkto you soon.