October 3, 2025 • 16 mins
Former Mariners Analyst and pitcher Bill Krueger joins Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain talking about the M’s starting the ALDS tomorrow against the Detroit Tigers, the game 1 and game two pitchers, Bryan Woo’s status, the playoff mentality, and Seattle’s offense.
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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 2 (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, getting all this clear. 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
(01:11):
Depoto and Justin Hollider.
Speaker 2 (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. He's not. We don't know when he's gonna pitch,
(01:34):
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,
(01:54):
that's what 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 out a lot. 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
(03:42):
got you know, you know, we can go back 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 4 (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? I mean sixty 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 2 (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. He's got the peck injury, right, Guys.
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
(06:00):
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
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 2 (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 4 (09:07):
Good, Well you mentioned the experience for steal. 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 2 (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 carrying the load. Julio or cal Or and
these guys. That's why this group should be fine. They
(11:19):
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
right handed, power pitching team. So we're gonna knock down
(11:41):
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. 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. But let's talk about the Mariners
with the So what you know about the Tigers pitching staff,
(12:18):
both rotation wise, bullpen wise. Who does this series set
up well for from a Mariner offensive perspective?
Speaker 2 (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. All that and
stop 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,
(14:14):
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
the fact that your number one pitcher is not in
the mix right now. We don't know.
Speaker 4 (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 2 (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? 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. How's that sound?
Speaker 2 (16:22):
That sounds really really good. It's gonna be a fun
ride for sure.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
Bill, you're the man, great stuff, and we'll talk next week.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
All right, all right, sounds good, guys, All right.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Bill Krueger, we'll get a break. Come back on more
from Jimmy's as we watch Mark just pound a chicken
sandwich and some onion rings. Russ a very 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
(16:53):
you some highlights coming up as well. On ninety three
three KJRFM
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 2 (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, getting all this clear. 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
(01:11):
Depoto and Justin Hollider.
Speaker 2 (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. He's not. We don't know when he's gonna pitch,
(01:34):
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,
(01:54):
that's what 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 out a lot. 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
(03:42):
got you know, you know, we can go back 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 4 (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? I mean sixty 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 2 (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. He's got the peck injury, right, Guys.
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
(06:00):
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
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 2 (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 4 (09:07):
Good, Well you mentioned the experience for steal. 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 2 (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 carrying the load. Julio or cal Or and
these guys. That's why this group should be fine. They
(11:19):
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
right handed, power pitching team. So we're gonna knock down
(11:41):
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. 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. But let's talk about the Mariners
with the So what you know about the Tigers pitching staff,
(12:18):
both rotation wise, bullpen wise. Who does this series set
up well for from a Mariner offensive perspective?
Speaker 2 (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. All that and
stop 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,
(14:14):
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
the fact that your number one pitcher is not in
the mix right now. We don't know.
Speaker 4 (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 2 (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? 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. How's that sound?
Speaker 2 (16:22):
That sounds really really good. It's gonna be a fun
ride for sure.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
Bill, you're the man, great stuff, and we'll talk next week.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
All right, all right, sounds good, guys, All right.
Speaker 3 (16:32):
Bill Krueger, we'll get a break. Come back on more
from Jimmy's as we watch Mark just pound a chicken
sandwich and some onion rings. Russ a very 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
(16:53):
you some highlights coming up as well. On ninety three
three KJRFM
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