August 6, 2024 • 19 mins
Steven Souza Jr, former Mariners and MLB outfielder, joins Dick Fain and Hugh Millen to talk about the M’s series win over Philadelphia, early returns from the trades the team pulled off, Victor Robles making adjustments, and Mitch Garver’s comments last week.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Coming to you live from the Elliott Avenue studios of
Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM. This is our
weekly visit with former Mariners outfielders Steven Souza Junior, powered
by Taco Time. For all your favorites and to order
ahead from any Taco Time restaurant, download the Taco Time
Northwest app today from the Apple lapp Store or the
(00:22):
Google play Store. Taco Time a Pacific Northwest favorite since
nineteen sixty two. Now with Steven Susa Junior, Here's Safti
and Dick he Safti today.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hugh Millan is with us today, as is Steven Susa. Steven,
how you doing, man?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
I'm doing good. Excited about this win against the good
Phillies team.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, two out of three against the Phillies, and you know,
let's let's talk big picture for a second. I mean,
they're seven and eight cents the All Star break? Are
they a fundamentally different team now than fifteen games ago
when they were Actually, you know, I had a better
record towards five hundred than they do right now.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah, you know, I think they they've played some good teams,
like Boston's a really good team. We just saw that
and how they've played the Texas Rangers in this past series,
and the Phillies are a really good team, and I
think they played the Ashes coming out of the break.
So their schedule has been a lot tougher with Eve
Miix and obviously the White Tucks and the Angels in there,
but you know, the Angels have played them really well,
(01:30):
so I'm not so much worried about the schedule in
the short term. But I think the vibe around this
team right feels a lot better than that. Bats or
are really good. The quality of that bats are really good.
I think since the acquisition of a Rosa rain that
they have scored six or more runs in seven of
the last nine games, Like that's a good sign. There's
some games in there, even the loss to Boston when
(01:53):
Logan Gilbert kind of had a rough start, they scored
some runs in that game, And that's a great signist, right,
you can see that this pitching staff is going to
hold their own all the way through. They're going to
be okay. But when the offense is clicking like it
is right now, it gets everybody and me included a
little excited for what's to come down the stretch.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Well, you look at the additions.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
Let's break that down, Stephen in terms of you talked
about a rose arena and the effect of the offense,
but just in two parts, what are you seeing from
the acquisitions, just the their contributions, but then speculate as
to how there may be a halo effect on how
it's impacting the rest of the team.
Speaker 6 (02:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Absolutely, I mean Randy's been really hot. I mean since
even before we got him in Tampa. I mean he's
in two eighty eight over his last thirty games with
I think a nine to thirty three ops. So he's
just been really banging. And what that does, Q is
when you get somebody like that to interject some energy
(02:58):
because he plays with energy, and you send a signal,
which Jerry did, to the rest of your team like, Hey,
it's been rough up until this point, but I still
believe in this group and I'm going for it. I'm
adding the pieces that we need and I'm going for
and guys start to see a purpose to the season
right as it was kind of going downhill. It kind
of re energizes the group and you see like this
(03:19):
presence in the lineup right like that we talked about
the names.
Speaker 6 (03:22):
I think Dick had mentioned this a couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Ago, where you go through the names in the lineup
and you're like, you're not that intimidated. But now you
see a Rosa Rena, you see cal Rawley right in
the middle of it. Justin Turner, Jorge Polanco has been
an absolute on an absolute tear since.
Speaker 6 (03:37):
The All Star break.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
So there's now this shift in the lineup and you
can include Victor Roebliz in that where guys are kind
of starting to respect And what that does is the
guys who don't need to be the guy on the
team or the offensive like shouldering, they play a little
bit better because they just have to slide into their roles.
And so that's what I'm seeing is everybody's kind of
(03:59):
fitting into the and doing a really good job since
the acquisition.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, you mentioned Roblaz there, so it's a perfect time
to ask you about your tweet you sent out today.
You sent out a split screen video of Victor Roeblace
as a member of the Washington Nationals along with a
picked video of him swinging the bat right now and
to the best of your I mean, obviously every you
should go to your website or ever. You should go
(04:23):
to your Twitter page and watch the video. But to
the best of your ability on radio, give us the
difference between a Victor roeblaz swing now and what he
was doing at Washington.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Yeah, it's just, you know, the timing of every swing
that he got off. It just seemed like he was
consistently behind right, so he picked up his foot and
he would get uphill with his hips right, and it
just made him a chick late. Because this guy's got
really fast hands. And so what they did since I
got over here is they basically went no stride with him,
(04:56):
almost like a two strike approach, where it's like, let's
use your you're lightning quick hands and maybe not worry
about doing as much damage. And what that's essentially done
has made him more on time, made him more direct
to the ball, and actually unlock some power.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
That he hasn't in the past.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Because the reality is, like I said, this guy's got
quick twitch muscles and he's strong. So if he can
get the barrel there, then he's in a good position.
The other thing is in that leadoff spot. Now he's
kind of taken the role of like, yeah, I just
need to get on for the guys behind me, and
so him just kind of spraying the ball around and
creating havoc on the base path. It's been really really
(05:34):
good for this team. He's been an absolute huge acquisition
that you have to tip your cap to Jerry. And
Jerry does a good job on the waiver wire picking
up good acquisitions throughout the years.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
You know, you look at this outfield as we're talking
about Victor Roeblas and when you get Junior back, I mean,
some of these guys are coming on and I mean here,
you know, Ray had a great weekend, you know, big hit,
and you know Garver's coming on a little bit. Luke,
(06:06):
you've got Roblace. I mean some of these guys. I mean,
do you consider what do you do Steven Susan? What
do you do is a rose arena? Would you consider
him as a d H? Will you consider moving Julio
to right field? That almost like I like my I
get my hair on the back of my neck, like
that sounds idiotic, But but how do we handle these
(06:27):
players and how they're playing now? If you're making all
the decisions, how do you handle this outfield and who
goes where?
Speaker 6 (06:34):
You know?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Interesting enough, I kind of brought this up the other
day to Saftie and I said, you know, just because
it's a soft isssue injury for Julio, you know, it
doesn't have to be a permanent move, but hey, this guy,
we need this guy in the lineup every day. I mean,
Julio is a top ten player in the game, top
five when he's absolutely right. And so Victor roblaz is
playing an unbelievable centerfielder. He's been nominated for gold gloves.
(06:58):
He has no problem holding it in center field. I
would slide Julio over to right field and take the
pressure off of him, like, hey, you don't have to.
Speaker 6 (07:06):
Run around out there.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Let Victor do that. You just worry about throwing guys
out from right field with your your rocket arm and
driving the ball all around the field. And then I
would keep a rose rain and left and outfield with
a rose raine of Victor Roeblaze and Julio is an
unbelievable outfield a rose raine. I know his numbers, defensive
numbers are down this year, but he's actually a good
(07:28):
outfielder when he when he's got some purpose behind why
he's playing. So that gives you some flexibility to mix
and match with with Ray League Spell Spell a day
off for those guys, and but those three in the
outfield running around, it's gonna be really fun to watch.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
And then how about DH in that scenario.
Speaker 6 (07:47):
Yeah, you know, I think it's gonna be a revolving door.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
I think you could slide Raleigh into there at times.
You know, I know you had a couple of big
knocks this past series, but he's he's kind of been on.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
A little bit of a slump over.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
The last month and a half, almost two months, and
so you know, I would like to see him really
catch fire and start to move the ball forward a
lot more consistently before Lulio comes back. But I would
put Hanneger in there. He's been swinging the bat a
lot better in the second half with an eight ninety
six ops since the All Star break, and you just
kind of roll with the hot hand. Garber can do that.
(08:23):
Give JT a day off and let him do that
and just kind of keep it a revolving door based
on matchups.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
I want to go back to a Saturday Nights game,
a very unusual Mariner game because the Mayors we indicated earlier.
Speaker 7 (08:34):
In the in the show.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
I mean, the Mariners either get up five to one
or down five win. I mean the game's over like
ninety nine times out of one hundred, right, you don't
even need to watch the last few winnings.
Speaker 7 (08:44):
But we got in trouble in the fifth inning.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
And you know, I'm not second guessing here, because I
was saying at the time when I saw Scott Servis
walk to them out and it said because my first
instincts was, oh, he's just he's just settling down Bryce.
Speaker 7 (08:58):
Right, he's just settling him down. It's just the fifth inning.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
He's only thrown eighty four pitches, he's only given up
one run. Yeah, he's got ducks on the pond right now,
but he's just settling down Bryce.
Speaker 7 (09:09):
And then it said pitching change in the corner.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I'm like, really, you're taking Bryce Miller out, not letting him.
Speaker 7 (09:17):
Work through the jam. And then you're going to Taylor's Sasato.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
And so that was my exact thought at the time,
and then all hell broke loose is you know, all
the runs came into score thanks to Sasato. So what
did you think of that at the time? And then
bigger picture question, what do you think about these managers
now just not letting starters work through jams anymore. It's
like as soon as they get in troubles, like, oh,
you're done, you've thrown eighty plus pitches, you're in a jam,
(09:44):
You're out.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Yeah, you know, it's it's definitely a new era where
guys just aren't allowed to work through stuff. And you know,
there's the old idea that third time through the lineup,
you know, the the numbers they ain't past when guys
are pitching, and so managers are really aware of that
that it's really difficult to kind of navigate through a
lineup third time through the order. And you know, for
(10:09):
whatever reason, you know, if he thought Bullpen was healthy
enough and he's got some weapons down there, he felt
like he could get the matchups with Salcedo. You know,
he went to him pretty early and mixed and match
all the way through to the end. You know, I
am shocked though at times when he kind of yanked
him pretty early. It seems to work out for him
most of the time. But you know, this is just
(10:30):
kind of the nature of the Mariners. I think their
number one goal is to protect their starters and keep
them as healthy as they can all the way to
the end, and you.
Speaker 6 (10:38):
Know, we have to admit like they've done a good
job of doing that. For the most part.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
These guys have been healthy these five starters with the
you know, obviously, besides WU being hurt here and there,
these guys haven't had any major injuries over the last
three years, which has been a huge part of their success.
And so I think you got to kind of give
it to Scott Service at this point, even though he's
not going to be right every single time he has death,
they protected these guys from being healthy and allowed them
(11:02):
to go out and compete, you know, from twenty five
to thirty starts a year, and you absolutely need them
to do that with how bad the offense has been
the last couple of years. So as much as we
could second guess in here, I think overall he's done
an unbelievable job keeping those guys healthy and matching up
in the.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
Bullpen Steven Susan with us and Steven. Admittedly, this is
not a timely question. This would have been better a
week or two ago, but I still think there's some
interest for me for the you know, watching them, not
just the Mariners. But all the acquisitions here, the manners
they go out and to get a couple of bats
from the American League. I know you're going to say, hey,
(11:39):
the most important thing is just get a good bat.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
I know that.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
But to the extent that you, as a Mariner fan,
were rooting a National League acquisition both a bat and
an arm in the mid season, right right at the deadline,
is there something that you watch for. Do you think
there's some significance to hey, in your league, not in
your league, or do you say it just doesn't matter,
it's a non issue.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
No, I think there's actually a small factor in that
view for sure. I remember when I was in Tampa
and I went to the National League. You know, hadn't
been in the National League in quite a few years.
You have to kind of relearn pitchers and how each
organization is going to pitch you really quickly. You know,
these guys being in the American League has faced all
these guys that they've pitched, and it's a little bit
(12:26):
different now that you play everybody in the league. So
it's probably not as big as a factor, but there's
definitely some comfortability when you kind of go back through
and face the guys that you've already faced, you know,
like Victor roeblazais faced the Phillies already multiple times. So
he's got a good idea of what he wants to
do against those pitchers. And so it's definitely going to
(12:47):
help them those two down the stretch, you know, knowing
who they're going to face, and having played those guys
already in the comfortability then in those stadiums a lot.
Speaker 6 (12:56):
So there is a small factor in that view.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Steven Susan joining us Mitch Garver made news this week,
and it was tough to read, you know, tough to
hear what he had to had to say.
Speaker 7 (13:08):
But you know, it's kind of twofold one.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yet you feel sympathy for Mitch saying that, hey, he's
received death threats. But at the same time, it was
really surprising that it almost seemed like he was just
resigned to the fact that he wasn't gonna hit well
the rest of the year.
Speaker 7 (13:23):
I mean that that to.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Where he says, you know, I've already I've already just
decided I'm not I'm not gonna hit two hundred this season,
and he raised a good point a couple.
Speaker 7 (13:30):
Of days ago.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
He said, it's gotta if he hits two seventy the
rest of the year, hits two hundred on the season.
It's not like he's got to hit four fifty to
get to two hundred. So what did you make of
the whole Mitch Garver conversation a few days ago?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
You know, I think there's a couple of things there.
You know, when you're when you're struggling like Garv has
this year for a long time, you weigh that on
your shoulders, you know, especially given an opportunity from a
contract to come into a team that's chased in a
world sew he's ring and you don't even live up
anywhere close to the expectations that you were have. I know,
(14:05):
I know that ways on him, right And and it
was kind of similar around the league when when when
guys have that expectation of coming in and they really
fall flat. Yeah, you get some some crazy fans that
come in, you come into your you know, Instagram or Twitter,
or they see you on the road, and and that's
part of the business, right, Like, that's the that's you
(14:27):
expect that because those guys are just passionate about the
team that the fans are. You know that being said,
I I don't think he really has that in mind
that he's not going to hit above two hundred. I
think what he's really trying to say is, I can't
worry about that anymore. That can't be my goal of
I need to climb over this mark. And he has
to just stay in the day to day focus worth like,
(14:48):
I just have to have good at that after good
at that, and you know what, I'm giving up chasing
the Mendoza line and I'm gonna stay right here and
just help this team compete on a daily basis. You know,
if I were a train that for him, because you know,
we'd be lying to say that Mitch Garver doesn't want
to hit four hundred the rest of the year and
climb it back up to two fifty, right, Like we
(15:09):
know that's what he wants to do. But he can't
focus on those things and be a productive hitter for
the team because it's going to do him no good.
He can't control that. All he can control is going
in there every day, putting together good at that, squaring
up the ball and hopefully they fall and he gets
on a hot streak.
Speaker 6 (15:23):
Down the stretch.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
Well, look, I think it goes without saying everybody has
empathy for a guy who's struggling, you know, and and
so so I.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Think that should be noted.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
But I think a couple of the comments Stephen that
that if I were a teammate, you know, where he says, hey,
I don't know if it's going to get get better,
it might get worse. And then you know, talking about
the death threats. Look it read obviously that's inexcusable from
the fans that that's not even a point worth debating.
But you know, then just report it to the FB.
(15:55):
You know, there's there's there's a mechanism to report that
to team authorities. They can assess that it doesn't need
to be brought out in the media. It almost seems
like a manipulation, like, hey, feel sorry for me.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
I don't know. Hard things are hard.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
It's hard to be a professional athlete, and it's certainly
hard to be a baseball hitter, you know the mental
but but you know, you got a cowboy up and
I don't know. I just think that there's a line,
you know, the Trey Turner when he's when when he
had that same situation with the Phillies, he just said, Look,
if I make that play, we win the game. I
(16:31):
booted it, obviously, the reason we loss is on me.
I just I only know one thing to do is
work hard and get better, and that's what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
That's it. That's all. He didn't bring in the rest
of the drama. Drama. So that's my take. Feel free
to disagree.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
If I got blinders on or something I'm missing, that
would be would have been my take if I was
a teammate.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
No, I totally agree with you, Hugh. And you know,
one thing when I was playing in my career is
I always wanted to be available in the good and
the bad, and I wanted to take accountability for the
bad when it was on me, and I wanted to
kind of give the good away to the guys around.
Speaker 6 (17:07):
Me that really deserved it. And so you know, in twenty.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Twenty one, I was up at the plate and Tyler
Matzek punched me out on three straight pitches in the
NLDS and I got home and I got crushed. Right
with all these LA fans that were just they were
just disappointed, right, But I didn't feel the need to
be able to like seek empathy, like I you know,
(17:31):
I lost that at bat in a big situation, and
that's part of the game, right, Like, if you're playing
in this league, that is what's going to happen.
Speaker 6 (17:39):
Right.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
People are going to be passionate about it. They're gonna
say stupid thing. Most of the time, they don't come through.
And if you really feel like they're threatened, you're threatening
your life. You're one hundred percent right. There's an mb
security that you can kind of go to to kind
of diffuse the situation, which I've had. You know, I
think plenty of players have had to do. But you know,
I never wanted to seek empathy because I wanted people
(18:01):
to know that I was working hard and even if
they were disappointed that I was going to go out
and work just as hard. I didn't need sympathy for
what was going on. I was just gonna, like you said,
buckle down and keep going. And I think some of
the good players are doing that. I think this is
very foreign to Mitch to struggle this bad and look,
expectations change the way you respond in a lot of situations,
(18:22):
and I think that's what's kind of happened to him.
So I'm with you on that sense. Where I wouldn't
bring it out to the media. I tried to keep
as much attention away from the media as I can,
away from my teammates as I could, and you know,
hopefully this is just a small story that would look
back and don't even mention down the stretch.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Steven, great stuff. Detroit coming in. They've lost nine of
their last twelve. They got a kid that's one and
five with a six cra against a red hot Luis
Castillo tomorrow night.
Speaker 7 (18:48):
So let's get started with a w all.
Speaker 6 (18:50):
Right, yeah, let's go.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
They can beat this team offensively, so good sweep and
then let's get out there.
Speaker 7 (18:57):
Thanks man, appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
Thanks he alright, guys, Okay, hey.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Great stuff from Stevens. Stephen Sue's at SUSA Junior on Twitter.
Check out his breakdown of Victor Roeblace. Very interesting. A
massively different type of swing now for Roeblas than he
had when he was at Washington. We're switch our focus
to a little Husky football and here from Denzel Boston
could be the number one wide receiver for this football team.
(19:21):
We'll get Hughes take on him as well. Next on
ninety three point three KJRFM,
Coming to you live from the Elliott Avenue studios of
Sports Radio ninety three point three KJRFM. This is our
weekly visit with former Mariners outfielders Steven Souza Junior, powered
by Taco Time. For all your favorites and to order
ahead from any Taco Time restaurant, download the Taco Time
Northwest app today from the Apple lapp Store or the
(00:22):
Google play Store. Taco Time a Pacific Northwest favorite since
nineteen sixty two. Now with Steven Susa Junior, Here's Safti
and Dick he Safti today.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hugh Millan is with us today, as is Steven Susa. Steven,
how you doing, man?
Speaker 3 (00:40):
I'm doing good. Excited about this win against the good
Phillies team.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Yeah, two out of three against the Phillies, and you know,
let's let's talk big picture for a second. I mean,
they're seven and eight cents the All Star break? Are
they a fundamentally different team now than fifteen games ago
when they were Actually, you know, I had a better
record towards five hundred than they do right now.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah, you know, I think they they've played some good teams,
like Boston's a really good team. We just saw that
and how they've played the Texas Rangers in this past series,
and the Phillies are a really good team, and I
think they played the Ashes coming out of the break.
So their schedule has been a lot tougher with Eve
Miix and obviously the White Tucks and the Angels in there,
but you know, the Angels have played them really well,
(01:30):
so I'm not so much worried about the schedule in
the short term. But I think the vibe around this
team right feels a lot better than that. Bats or
are really good. The quality of that bats are really good.
I think since the acquisition of a Rosa rain that
they have scored six or more runs in seven of
the last nine games, Like that's a good sign. There's
some games in there, even the loss to Boston when
(01:53):
Logan Gilbert kind of had a rough start, they scored
some runs in that game, And that's a great signist, right,
you can see that this pitching staff is going to
hold their own all the way through. They're going to
be okay. But when the offense is clicking like it
is right now, it gets everybody and me included a
little excited for what's to come down the stretch.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Well, you look at the additions.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
Let's break that down, Stephen in terms of you talked
about a rose arena and the effect of the offense,
but just in two parts, what are you seeing from
the acquisitions, just the their contributions, but then speculate as
to how there may be a halo effect on how
it's impacting the rest of the team.
Speaker 6 (02:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Absolutely, I mean Randy's been really hot. I mean since
even before we got him in Tampa. I mean he's
in two eighty eight over his last thirty games with
I think a nine to thirty three ops. So he's
just been really banging. And what that does, Q is
when you get somebody like that to interject some energy
(02:58):
because he plays with energy, and you send a signal,
which Jerry did, to the rest of your team like, Hey,
it's been rough up until this point, but I still
believe in this group and I'm going for it. I'm
adding the pieces that we need and I'm going for
and guys start to see a purpose to the season
right as it was kind of going downhill. It kind
of re energizes the group and you see like this
(03:19):
presence in the lineup right like that we talked about
the names.
Speaker 6 (03:22):
I think Dick had mentioned this a couple of weeks.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Ago, where you go through the names in the lineup
and you're like, you're not that intimidated. But now you
see a Rosa Rena, you see cal Rawley right in
the middle of it. Justin Turner, Jorge Polanco has been
an absolute on an absolute tear since.
Speaker 6 (03:37):
The All Star break.
Speaker 3 (03:38):
So there's now this shift in the lineup and you
can include Victor Roebliz in that where guys are kind
of starting to respect And what that does is the
guys who don't need to be the guy on the
team or the offensive like shouldering, they play a little
bit better because they just have to slide into their roles.
And so that's what I'm seeing is everybody's kind of
(03:59):
fitting into the and doing a really good job since
the acquisition.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Well, you mentioned Roblaz there, so it's a perfect time
to ask you about your tweet you sent out today.
You sent out a split screen video of Victor Roeblace
as a member of the Washington Nationals along with a
picked video of him swinging the bat right now and
to the best of your I mean, obviously every you
should go to your website or ever. You should go
(04:23):
to your Twitter page and watch the video. But to
the best of your ability on radio, give us the
difference between a Victor roeblaz swing now and what he
was doing at Washington.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Yeah, it's just, you know, the timing of every swing
that he got off. It just seemed like he was
consistently behind right, so he picked up his foot and
he would get uphill with his hips right, and it
just made him a chick late. Because this guy's got
really fast hands. And so what they did since I
got over here is they basically went no stride with him,
(04:56):
almost like a two strike approach, where it's like, let's
use your you're lightning quick hands and maybe not worry
about doing as much damage. And what that's essentially done
has made him more on time, made him more direct
to the ball, and actually unlock some power.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
That he hasn't in the past.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
Because the reality is, like I said, this guy's got
quick twitch muscles and he's strong. So if he can
get the barrel there, then he's in a good position.
The other thing is in that leadoff spot. Now he's
kind of taken the role of like, yeah, I just
need to get on for the guys behind me, and
so him just kind of spraying the ball around and
creating havoc on the base path. It's been really really
(05:34):
good for this team. He's been an absolute huge acquisition
that you have to tip your cap to Jerry. And
Jerry does a good job on the waiver wire picking
up good acquisitions throughout the years.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
You know, you look at this outfield as we're talking
about Victor Roeblas and when you get Junior back, I mean,
some of these guys are coming on and I mean here,
you know, Ray had a great weekend, you know, big hit,
and you know Garver's coming on a little bit. Luke,
(06:06):
you've got Roblace. I mean some of these guys. I mean,
do you consider what do you do Steven Susan? What
do you do is a rose arena? Would you consider
him as a d H? Will you consider moving Julio
to right field? That almost like I like my I
get my hair on the back of my neck, like
that sounds idiotic, But but how do we handle these
(06:27):
players and how they're playing now? If you're making all
the decisions, how do you handle this outfield and who
goes where?
Speaker 6 (06:34):
You know?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Interesting enough, I kind of brought this up the other
day to Saftie and I said, you know, just because
it's a soft isssue injury for Julio, you know, it
doesn't have to be a permanent move, but hey, this guy,
we need this guy in the lineup every day. I mean,
Julio is a top ten player in the game, top
five when he's absolutely right. And so Victor roblaz is
playing an unbelievable centerfielder. He's been nominated for gold gloves.
(06:58):
He has no problem holding it in center field. I
would slide Julio over to right field and take the
pressure off of him, like, hey, you don't have to.
Speaker 6 (07:06):
Run around out there.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Let Victor do that. You just worry about throwing guys
out from right field with your your rocket arm and
driving the ball all around the field. And then I
would keep a rose rain and left and outfield with
a rose raine of Victor Roeblaze and Julio is an
unbelievable outfield a rose raine. I know his numbers, defensive
numbers are down this year, but he's actually a good
(07:28):
outfielder when he when he's got some purpose behind why
he's playing. So that gives you some flexibility to mix
and match with with Ray League Spell Spell a day
off for those guys, and but those three in the
outfield running around, it's gonna be really fun to watch.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
And then how about DH in that scenario.
Speaker 6 (07:47):
Yeah, you know, I think it's gonna be a revolving door.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
I think you could slide Raleigh into there at times.
You know, I know you had a couple of big
knocks this past series, but he's he's kind of been on.
Speaker 6 (07:58):
A little bit of a slump over.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
The last month and a half, almost two months, and
so you know, I would like to see him really
catch fire and start to move the ball forward a
lot more consistently before Lulio comes back. But I would
put Hanneger in there. He's been swinging the bat a
lot better in the second half with an eight ninety
six ops since the All Star break, and you just
kind of roll with the hot hand. Garber can do that.
(08:23):
Give JT a day off and let him do that
and just kind of keep it a revolving door based
on matchups.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
I want to go back to a Saturday Nights game,
a very unusual Mariner game because the Mayors we indicated earlier.
Speaker 7 (08:34):
In the in the show.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
I mean, the Mariners either get up five to one
or down five win. I mean the game's over like
ninety nine times out of one hundred, right, you don't
even need to watch the last few winnings.
Speaker 7 (08:44):
But we got in trouble in the fifth inning.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
And you know, I'm not second guessing here, because I
was saying at the time when I saw Scott Servis
walk to them out and it said because my first
instincts was, oh, he's just he's just settling down Bryce.
Speaker 7 (08:58):
Right, he's just settling him down. It's just the fifth inning.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
He's only thrown eighty four pitches, he's only given up
one run. Yeah, he's got ducks on the pond right now,
but he's just settling down Bryce.
Speaker 7 (09:09):
And then it said pitching change in the corner.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
I'm like, really, you're taking Bryce Miller out, not letting him.
Speaker 7 (09:17):
Work through the jam. And then you're going to Taylor's Sasato.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
And so that was my exact thought at the time,
and then all hell broke loose is you know, all
the runs came into score thanks to Sasato. So what
did you think of that at the time? And then
bigger picture question, what do you think about these managers
now just not letting starters work through jams anymore. It's
like as soon as they get in troubles, like, oh,
you're done, you've thrown eighty plus pitches, you're in a jam,
(09:44):
You're out.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
Yeah, you know, it's it's definitely a new era where
guys just aren't allowed to work through stuff. And you know,
there's the old idea that third time through the lineup,
you know, the the numbers they ain't past when guys
are pitching, and so managers are really aware of that
that it's really difficult to kind of navigate through a
lineup third time through the order. And you know, for
(10:09):
whatever reason, you know, if he thought Bullpen was healthy
enough and he's got some weapons down there, he felt
like he could get the matchups with Salcedo. You know,
he went to him pretty early and mixed and match
all the way through to the end. You know, I
am shocked though at times when he kind of yanked
him pretty early. It seems to work out for him
most of the time. But you know, this is just
(10:30):
kind of the nature of the Mariners. I think their
number one goal is to protect their starters and keep
them as healthy as they can all the way to
the end, and you.
Speaker 6 (10:38):
Know, we have to admit like they've done a good
job of doing that. For the most part.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
These guys have been healthy these five starters with the
you know, obviously, besides WU being hurt here and there,
these guys haven't had any major injuries over the last
three years, which has been a huge part of their success.
And so I think you got to kind of give
it to Scott Service at this point, even though he's
not going to be right every single time he has death,
they protected these guys from being healthy and allowed them
(11:02):
to go out and compete, you know, from twenty five
to thirty starts a year, and you absolutely need them
to do that with how bad the offense has been
the last couple of years. So as much as we
could second guess in here, I think overall he's done
an unbelievable job keeping those guys healthy and matching up
in the.
Speaker 5 (11:18):
Bullpen Steven Susan with us and Steven. Admittedly, this is
not a timely question. This would have been better a
week or two ago, but I still think there's some
interest for me for the you know, watching them, not
just the Mariners. But all the acquisitions here, the manners
they go out and to get a couple of bats
from the American League. I know you're going to say, hey,
(11:39):
the most important thing is just get a good bat.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
I know that.
Speaker 5 (11:42):
But to the extent that you, as a Mariner fan,
were rooting a National League acquisition both a bat and
an arm in the mid season, right right at the deadline,
is there something that you watch for. Do you think
there's some significance to hey, in your league, not in
your league, or do you say it just doesn't matter,
it's a non issue.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
No, I think there's actually a small factor in that
view for sure. I remember when I was in Tampa
and I went to the National League. You know, hadn't
been in the National League in quite a few years.
You have to kind of relearn pitchers and how each
organization is going to pitch you really quickly. You know,
these guys being in the American League has faced all
these guys that they've pitched, and it's a little bit
(12:26):
different now that you play everybody in the league. So
it's probably not as big as a factor, but there's
definitely some comfortability when you kind of go back through
and face the guys that you've already faced, you know,
like Victor roeblazais faced the Phillies already multiple times. So
he's got a good idea of what he wants to
do against those pitchers. And so it's definitely going to
(12:47):
help them those two down the stretch, you know, knowing
who they're going to face, and having played those guys
already in the comfortability then in those stadiums a lot.
Speaker 6 (12:56):
So there is a small factor in that view.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Steven Susan joining us Mitch Garver made news this week,
and it was tough to read, you know, tough to
hear what he had to had to say.
Speaker 7 (13:08):
But you know, it's kind of twofold one.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
Yet you feel sympathy for Mitch saying that, hey, he's
received death threats. But at the same time, it was
really surprising that it almost seemed like he was just
resigned to the fact that he wasn't gonna hit well
the rest of the year.
Speaker 7 (13:23):
I mean that that to.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Where he says, you know, I've already I've already just
decided I'm not I'm not gonna hit two hundred this season,
and he raised a good point a couple.
Speaker 7 (13:30):
Of days ago.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
He said, it's gotta if he hits two seventy the
rest of the year, hits two hundred on the season.
It's not like he's got to hit four fifty to
get to two hundred. So what did you make of
the whole Mitch Garver conversation a few days ago?
Speaker 3 (13:45):
You know, I think there's a couple of things there.
You know, when you're when you're struggling like Garv has
this year for a long time, you weigh that on
your shoulders, you know, especially given an opportunity from a
contract to come into a team that's chased in a
world sew he's ring and you don't even live up
anywhere close to the expectations that you were have. I know,
(14:05):
I know that ways on him, right And and it
was kind of similar around the league when when when
guys have that expectation of coming in and they really
fall flat. Yeah, you get some some crazy fans that
come in, you come into your you know, Instagram or Twitter,
or they see you on the road, and and that's
part of the business, right, Like, that's the that's you
(14:27):
expect that because those guys are just passionate about the
team that the fans are. You know that being said,
I I don't think he really has that in mind
that he's not going to hit above two hundred. I
think what he's really trying to say is, I can't
worry about that anymore. That can't be my goal of
I need to climb over this mark. And he has
to just stay in the day to day focus worth like,
(14:48):
I just have to have good at that after good
at that, and you know what, I'm giving up chasing
the Mendoza line and I'm gonna stay right here and
just help this team compete on a daily basis. You know,
if I were a train that for him, because you know,
we'd be lying to say that Mitch Garver doesn't want
to hit four hundred the rest of the year and
climb it back up to two fifty, right, Like we
(15:09):
know that's what he wants to do. But he can't
focus on those things and be a productive hitter for
the team because it's going to do him no good.
He can't control that. All he can control is going
in there every day, putting together good at that, squaring
up the ball and hopefully they fall and he gets
on a hot streak.
Speaker 6 (15:23):
Down the stretch.
Speaker 5 (15:25):
Well, look, I think it goes without saying everybody has
empathy for a guy who's struggling, you know, and and
so so I.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Think that should be noted.
Speaker 5 (15:33):
But I think a couple of the comments Stephen that
that if I were a teammate, you know, where he says, hey,
I don't know if it's going to get get better,
it might get worse. And then you know, talking about
the death threats. Look it read obviously that's inexcusable from
the fans that that's not even a point worth debating.
But you know, then just report it to the FB.
(15:55):
You know, there's there's there's a mechanism to report that
to team authorities. They can assess that it doesn't need
to be brought out in the media. It almost seems
like a manipulation, like, hey, feel sorry for me.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
I don't know. Hard things are hard.
Speaker 5 (16:09):
It's hard to be a professional athlete, and it's certainly
hard to be a baseball hitter, you know the mental
but but you know, you got a cowboy up and
I don't know. I just think that there's a line,
you know, the Trey Turner when he's when when he
had that same situation with the Phillies, he just said, Look,
if I make that play, we win the game. I
(16:31):
booted it, obviously, the reason we loss is on me.
I just I only know one thing to do is
work hard and get better, and that's what I'm gonna do.
Speaker 4 (16:38):
That's it. That's all. He didn't bring in the rest
of the drama. Drama. So that's my take. Feel free
to disagree.
Speaker 5 (16:44):
If I got blinders on or something I'm missing, that
would be would have been my take if I was
a teammate.
Speaker 3 (16:52):
No, I totally agree with you, Hugh. And you know,
one thing when I was playing in my career is
I always wanted to be available in the good and
the bad, and I wanted to take accountability for the
bad when it was on me, and I wanted to
kind of give the good away to the guys around.
Speaker 6 (17:07):
Me that really deserved it. And so you know, in twenty.
Speaker 3 (17:10):
Twenty one, I was up at the plate and Tyler
Matzek punched me out on three straight pitches in the
NLDS and I got home and I got crushed. Right
with all these LA fans that were just they were
just disappointed, right, But I didn't feel the need to
be able to like seek empathy, like I you know,
(17:31):
I lost that at bat in a big situation, and
that's part of the game, right, Like, if you're playing
in this league, that is what's going to happen.
Speaker 6 (17:39):
Right.
Speaker 3 (17:39):
People are going to be passionate about it. They're gonna
say stupid thing. Most of the time, they don't come through.
And if you really feel like they're threatened, you're threatening
your life. You're one hundred percent right. There's an mb
security that you can kind of go to to kind
of diffuse the situation, which I've had. You know, I
think plenty of players have had to do. But you know,
I never wanted to seek empathy because I wanted people
(18:01):
to know that I was working hard and even if
they were disappointed that I was going to go out
and work just as hard. I didn't need sympathy for
what was going on. I was just gonna, like you said,
buckle down and keep going. And I think some of
the good players are doing that. I think this is
very foreign to Mitch to struggle this bad and look,
expectations change the way you respond in a lot of situations,
(18:22):
and I think that's what's kind of happened to him.
So I'm with you on that sense. Where I wouldn't
bring it out to the media. I tried to keep
as much attention away from the media as I can,
away from my teammates as I could, and you know,
hopefully this is just a small story that would look
back and don't even mention down the stretch.
Speaker 2 (18:39):
Steven, great stuff. Detroit coming in. They've lost nine of
their last twelve. They got a kid that's one and
five with a six cra against a red hot Luis
Castillo tomorrow night.
Speaker 7 (18:48):
So let's get started with a w all.
Speaker 6 (18:50):
Right, yeah, let's go.
Speaker 3 (18:52):
They can beat this team offensively, so good sweep and
then let's get out there.
Speaker 7 (18:57):
Thanks man, appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (18:59):
Thanks he alright, guys, Okay, hey.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Great stuff from Stevens. Stephen Sue's at SUSA Junior on Twitter.
Check out his breakdown of Victor Roeblace. Very interesting. A
massively different type of swing now for Roeblas than he
had when he was at Washington. We're switch our focus
to a little Husky football and here from Denzel Boston
could be the number one wide receiver for this football team.
(19:21):
We'll get Hughes take on him as well. Next on
ninety three point three KJRFM,
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