Furness Show 8-25: Corbin Smith, Everett Fitzhugh, Gary Hill Jr.

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now, from the Star Rentals Sports Desk, your 93.3 KKRFM
Sports Headlines.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
All right, here we go. Headlines are brought to you
by Frostbrood Coors Light, like we all expected. Cal Raleigh.
Took a while. Where have you been? Three home run
game last night. Career high, three bombs. The Mariners putting
up eight. Count them, eight runs on Zach Wheeler and
the Red Hot Phillies. Julio went deep. Cole Young went deep.

(00:29):
Logan Gilbert, good enough. Five innings, two run ball. Mariners
wrap the Phillies 9-2. And tonight, George Kirby against the
guy turning it around lately, Aaron Nola. They'll be on
the mound. in game two of the series at T-Mobile Park. Additionally,
Mariners rookie shortstop Colt Emerson will have season-ending surgery on Wednesday.

(00:50):
That's tomorrow. That's to repair a partially dislocated tendon, left wrist.
The expectation, he'll be ready for the start of this
next season, according to GM Justin Hollander, who spoke with
the media last evening before the game. Emerson has been
battling the injury since spring training as well. The Seahawks
back home from Nashville. They'll practice in Renton today, tomorrow,

(01:13):
and Thursday. Quick turnaround after that. They'll take on the
Kansas City Chiefs. Final preseason game coming up on Friday. Starters,
in case you're looking, don't bother. They're not playing again,
and neither is rookie running back Jadarian Price. In soccer news,
Sounders FC acquiring Deion Jones. Juvalich, Dejan Juvalich from Sporting

(01:36):
Kansas City in exchange for $ 6 million in cash. The
Serbian international bringing much-needed firepower here to the Sounders with
107 career goals in all competitions, three league championships, over
11 pro seasons, by the way, on his resume in
Europe and in the U.S., No big deal. The Sounders

(01:58):
got a big one. Out of the show we go.
Ian Furness is off doing day-off things. The most valuable producer,
the MVP, is on the other side of the glass.
We call him Ogre the Moger, I think, or Moger
the Ogre. Soft he does. Yeah, he does. He's after
this show. It's a different show. I never heard that

(02:18):
one before. I've done work with you, of course, for
about roughly a year, at least on the Kraken side.
We may have to use that, by the way, down
the road. But I'll go with MVP, most valuable producer.
Thank you. Travis Mogers on the other side of the glass.
We had a bit of a shuffle and then some.
Here for today. Again, 49451 Tacoma Dodge Tech. We're going
to be covering it all today. And I mean covering

(02:41):
it all from Mariners and the implications and the fallout
of last night to the final preseason game for the
Seahawks against the Chiefs. Again, the starters on the shelf.
Jadarian Price on the shelf. It's going to be a
depth game, and as Greg Bell mentioned about a few

(03:02):
moments ago, there's not much depth as far as open spots,
but yet there is still more conversation on this as
far as where the Seahawks are moving. We're going to
get to this in a bit. Also, something very curious
caught my eye on the Kraken. We're not into hockey
season yet. We will be in about one month with
preseason games next. training camp will be opening in less

(03:25):
than a month. But for several weeks, we have been
sitting back wondering what's happening next with this roster. We
heard the word aggressive that was used as late as
development camp. That was back in early July about the

(03:46):
You're bringing in a big name. The Kraken tried their
swing at this. No Jason Robertson. He preferred to go
elsewhere and then eventually stay in Dallas. Yet, here we
are on August 25th, one day after a story comes
out on NHL.com, Jason Botterill telling Kevin Woodley, there could

(04:07):
be as many, get this, as seven to eight guys
on this roster who are forwards at 23 years of
age or younger.

Speaker 3 (04:19):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
You do the math. For so long, we have heard
about potentially... Where do they go again after a big
fork in the road that they just moved on from
with no playoffs for the fourth time in five seasons?
Do you want to go aggressive and overturn the roster
again and lean into proven talent that you bring in

(04:41):
via free agency and trades? Or do you just want
to say, forget it. There are young kids coming. make
room for them this year. Well, Jason Botterill said last
night to NHL.com, there could be the young kids coming again.
He said seven or eight forwards, a possibility they could
be here 23 years or younger by opening night. So

(05:06):
you do the math. There is a lot. And I
mean a lot to go forward from there. Everett Fitch
is going to be joining us by the way, to
talk about this at 1.20. On the Seahawks side, Corbin Smith,
our good friend of the program, jumping in right back
again at 12.20, coming up shortly. And at 2 p.m.,
Gary Hill Jr. on the Mariners as they get set

(05:27):
for Game 2 of this series. And I mean, it
is a gigantic one. It is a massive one against
the Phillies. Because, Travis, as of this moment, I still
don't know what to say about the Mariners. The thing
that they do so well this year is that They
do the funniest things ever. They will go and rip
off literally four wins in a row, maybe five wins

(05:49):
in a row, three or four maybe, and then next
day get blown out 22 to nothing or 19 to two.

Speaker 4 (05:56):
This is the most unpredictable season I can remember. It's
a roller coaster ride. They get blown out 19 to
two and then turn things around and Cal has three bombs.
They destroy Zach Wheeler, one of the best pitchers in
the National League.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
What is happening?

Speaker 5 (06:14):
It's crazy.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
I saw a graphic last night watching the Mariners broadcast.
To me, I had to chuckle with Aaron Goldsmith bringing
this up. It's the most Mariner thing ever. Before last
night's win, they were 6-10 or 6-4 last 10 days.
Best in the AL West. But their run differential in
that 10-day span? A whopping minus 34, baby. A whopping

(06:39):
minus 34. So Cal Raleigh has a multi-home run game
and not just a multi-home run game. The first Mariner
to have three home runs in a game in that
ballpark ever. And the first on home turf since Edgar
Martinez in the Kingdome back in 1999. When I was

(07:00):
getting ready to walk away from the podium of Glendora
High School onto the colleges as well. That's how long
it's been. 4-9-4-5-1. Has Cal turned this around? It's late
in the year, but are we seeing something 4-9-4-5-1? But
back to what you're talking about, Travis, about how rollercoaster-ish
this season has been. Greg Bell brought up such a

(07:24):
remarkable and, I think, spot-on comparison for what this baseball
team has been acting like here for much of this season.

Speaker 6 (07:32):
Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
And I thought at times when they're at their worst,
it's kind of like walking into a fancy car dealership
and you walk in and see no cars. There's all
the bells and whistles. There's the glitz. There's the shine
on the walls and the windows. Premium coffee right here
for you. But where are the cars? To me, Travis,
this team is like I-5 traffic. You hit the gas

(07:55):
for five miles. You slam to a screeching halt. You
look around at just a remarkable flaming wreckage wherever it is,
or a three-car pileup along the way. Then you get
out of it and hit the gas right again. Then
who knows about roughly 15 miles, 20 miles, you're hitting
the brakes once again. Lather, rinse, repeat. This team right

(08:19):
now feels like I-5 traffic.

Speaker 3 (08:21):
Oh, man.

Speaker 4 (08:21):
I mean, I'm drawing comparisons to having young children today.
Where one minute they're the sweetest thing imaginable.

Speaker 2 (08:30):
They're saying please and thank you. And you can ask me.
I've got two kids also.

Speaker 7 (08:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (08:34):
Mine are five and eight. And one second they're, you know, oh, daddy,
you're the best. I love you so much. And then
the next second they're screaming like a terrorist, getting whatever they,
you know, trying to get whatever they want. crying and
throwing things across the room. It just feels like up
and down, back and forth. It's crazy.

Speaker 2 (08:53):
And then you learn about the value of patience. And
maybe patience maybe applies most, I think, not just as
a baseball team, but for what was really, I think,
the craziest season in American League history, as far as
at least from what I remember. Somebody could legitimately win
this division with a sub-500 record.

Speaker 6 (09:11):
Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:13):
I remember a couple of bad teams back in the
two Ks. Remember, I think at one point, how bad
the St. Louis Cardinals were and they won the World Series.
How bad the San Diego Potters, I believe, were also
one year and they made the playoffs as like an
80-ish win team. It just kind of feels like how
bad that was, but it's worse. With this baseball team,

(09:33):
my thing is you win one, you lose one. You
win one, you lose one. You win two, you lose 22-0.
You win two more, you lose 19-2, and then you
bust out a five-homer game the very next day and
Cal has three bombs. So I think for me, there
are two sides of this. The glass half-full side, the
optimistic side is Cal's figuring it out. Julio is now

(09:56):
turning it around. This offense finally is showing up. They're
putting some consistent wins together. There is a chance for
this baseball team to make the postseason. And to some credit,
it's absolutely true. They're only three games back of first
place in the American League West. You put yourself on
a five, six game heater, you could easily find yourself

(10:17):
not just in first place, but also comfortably in first
place because it's mind-boggling how much they've hung around with
their record as of today 63 and 69 and yet
they are trailing one of the teams who not just
did fire you know who didn't just fire their gm

(10:38):
but told their manager hit the road jack after this season.

Speaker 4 (10:42):
Neither the rangers nor the astros are scary right now
the mariners they're take this opportunity and win the division.
That's what we all predicted from the beginning. There was
a point where I was just like, I almost would
rather them be in a better division and the season
would be just a lost season and I wouldn't have

(11:05):
to be on this crazy ride where it's up and down,
up and down.

Speaker 2 (11:09):
My emotions are being toyed with. And that's the one
thing is that people, I mean, and on the other side,
with the glass half empty, people around here are just
tired of having their emotions toyed with with this baseball team.

Speaker 3 (11:19):
Yeah, but..

Speaker 2 (11:20):
They're in it.

Speaker 5 (11:22):
They're in it.

Speaker 4 (11:22):
And, you know, they showed last night that the bats
are still alive.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
I just don't know what to make of this team.

Speaker 3 (11:29):
It's crazy.

Speaker 2 (11:29):
I mean, whatever Cal Raleigh is doing right now, he's
got to keep doing it here at this point. Because
this swing, I mean, I will admit, you know, watching,
listening to the analysis of this, something's starting to kind
of click a little bit. Now the issue is consistency.
But consistency is the biggest issue for this baseball team.
And now you hope that Brian Moose says he's healthy.

(11:52):
He'll pitch, apparently, tomorrow. Bryce Miller, it took a while
for him to come out and say, yeah, I've kind
of been battling some health problems here. How useful is
he going to be down the stretch? Especially given the
fact now Cade Anderson has entered the chat.

Speaker 1 (12:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (12:12):
And he didn't have maybe his best stuff. Maybe he's
being self-critical. But if he goes out and does this again,
maybe two more times over, he's here to stay, not
just in this baseball team, but also in postseason rotation
consideration on top of that. Oh, a thousand percent.

Speaker 4 (12:28):
I think Bryce, if he's feeling healthy enough, he should
be in the bullpen. Minimize his exposure, keep him to
an inning or two, and you go back to a
five-man rotation. Cade has shown he can handle himself maybe
uh dan will pull him a little earlier if he
starts to struggle um but i think they're set up

(12:49):
for a run they have to be.

Speaker 2 (12:52):
Well and also it goes back to that point you
know what does dan wilson do again if he's back
in this situation because this has also been a hot
topic with when does he make the right decisions if
at all i don't have to open the wound again
back in game seven last year but guess what happened
when you had to push the right button uh-uh It
didn't happen, unfortunately. So, hey, 49451, drop it in right now.

(13:13):
I mean, how are you feeling about this baseball team
after last night? I mean, are they good to go?
Are they back? Or are they real? Or do you
want to see more? And what do you want to
see more of? 49451, Tacoma Dodge text line, Seahawks in
the meantime. We apparently have seen enough of their starters.

(13:34):
They're out of the mix here for one last run
in the preseason against Kansas City. What do we make
of the QB room, fullback, offensive line, cornerbacks in the picture?
Corbin Smith will talk about this right around the corner
here on 93.3 KJR FM. Now back to Ian Furness
on your home for the Huskies, Kraken, and the 12th man.

(13:57):
Brought to you by Seattle's closest Snoqualmie Casino and Hotel
on Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM. One more preseason matchup
to go, and then finally it is for real for
the defending champs. Seahawks in Kansas City coming up on

(14:18):
Friday for a 5 p.m. kickoff. We have basically answered
every question across the board with who will be here
on this roster. I think maybe the one hang-up on
that is, will Nick Emanwari be ready here for week
number one? And I'll just go ahead and throw this
line out there, 49451, Tacoma Dodge text line. Are you

(14:38):
convinced that Nick Emanwuri plays in Week 1? After all
the chatter, after all the fuss, the surgeries, do you
see him playing here in Week 1, 4-9, 4-5-1? We're
expecting to get to Corbin Smith here in just a
little bit from Emerald City Spectrum. But a lot to
go over despite a game that will basically feature everything

(15:01):
out of the picture from your starters. Do not get
anybody else banged up here in this game. If there
is one thing I think that sticks out to me, Travis,
in that you're playing a game trying to outline your
depth because depth can certainly matter. Just look at what
the Seahawks are doing here in their secondary in the
loss of Eamon Warrie. Can you at least find something

(15:25):
to line everybody up and everything up so that you're
not caught, say, if you have another catastrophic injury? Just
ask how those guys in Santa Clara are dealing with
all of this right now, especially in this preseason.

Speaker 5 (15:39):
Oh, yeah.

Speaker 4 (15:40):
But if there's any front office that I trust to
find the guys, it's this front office.

Speaker 2 (15:46):
I believe in John Schneider. I believe in McDonald.

Speaker 4 (15:49):
I believe that they will find the right fits to
back up the players and fill the holes on the team.

Speaker 2 (15:56):
So, you know, injuries suck.

Speaker 4 (15:59):
You know, it's not a great preseason so far, what's happened,
but I trust them to find the right pieces to
fit the puzzle.

Speaker 2 (16:09):
And this is where I think the GM's role has
really come out and I think taken the spotlight here
ever since the Seahawks went through this massive changeover with
how John Schneider operates, what they do bringing in Mike
McDonald and that. You know, we're talking about a stark
contrast back when Pete Carroll ran this and John Schneider
was basically his co-pilot here for this, if I can

(16:30):
use that analogy. But again, I think it has peeled
back the curtain on just how much of a great
talent evaluator John Schneider has been to put all this together.
And the more that you go into your final preseason
game with less question marks, especially at the top, you're
doing yourselves a pretty big favor. And that's where this

(16:52):
team is at right now, despite all the chatter we're
hearing about. Could the Niners be back on the rise?
Could the Rams be back in the picture once again?
But has this team earned enough respect, I think, even
after winning a Super Bowl? I don't think so, but
you tell me, 49451, Tacoma Dodge text line. Against Kansas City.
where I'm looking, when you talk about their depth and

(17:14):
there are no starters, the wide receiver room has a
bit more of a question mark because you have no
Jake Bobo. Now, of course, there's the answer of what
do you do right behind, say, JSN, Rashid Shahid, going
right down the list, even Cooper Cup. You have your
cornerback depth maybe jumbled a little bit with no Bud Clark.

(17:34):
So the greatest battle to me might be, I think,
looking at that depth and plus also the offensive line.
But don't take my opinion here for it. Let's bring
this guy's valuable opinion into this right now. On the
Beacon Plumbing Hotline, the one and only Corbin Smith of
Emerald City Spectrum. Corbin, hi.

Speaker 5 (17:53):
Hello.

Speaker 2 (17:53):
How are you? Have you had enough of training camp here?

Speaker 6 (17:58):
Well, whatever they call it now since camp, they say
camp was over a few weeks ago, but I guess
we can call these preseason practices.

Speaker 2 (18:08):
When you look at the joint practices thing with Jake
Bobo going down and then the entries that have been
piled up here for preseason training camp as well, I
think at least there's a sliver of You know, I
think solace in that you're looking at less question marks
here at the top and you're looking more more so

(18:28):
here at death. But I mean, we've had this topic
thrown around a lot here on on these radio airwaves
about joint practices. How much do preseason games matter? I
go back and think after the joint practice here in Tennessee,
where do you lie on how useful they are?

Speaker 6 (18:48):
Look, I think at this point, these guys have got
to have a way to get ready for week one.
I don't think that just going in with a bunch
of training camp practices, especially now that they are much
more restrictive in terms of contact and tackling, I don't
think you can go into the regular season without any...

(19:09):
game type scenarios so if you're not going to play
guys in the preseason i think the joint practices are
still the best way to go about it because you
do get the control of the elements to an extent
you know in a preseason game it's a true football
game guys are tackling they're being brought to the ground
but in a joint practice you can change the pacing

(19:30):
and you can make it that it's uh thud it's
Tempo instead where they're rapping, but they're not bringing guys
down and you can get quicker whistles. So I think
that there are ways that this is still better than
just throwing guys in for preseason games and just hoping
they don't get hurt. And unfortunately... Jake Bobo's injury is

(19:51):
one that could have happened in a non-padded practice from
the understanding I have, the way the injury went down.
That is just the unfortunate reality of football and pro sports.

Speaker 2 (20:02):
With Jake Bobo out of the picture, I mean, we
talk a little bit about depth and how much this
is kind of all mattering here in this last game
against Kansas City because there's going to be no starters
here in this game. But, I mean, for as well-rounded
that the wide receiver room is here for this football team,
you look at maybe cornerback depth, maybe if you want
to call that jumbled or not, the offensive line as well.

(20:25):
I think to you going into this last preseason game, Corbin,
where's the greatest battle going to be waged? with this roster?

Speaker 6 (20:35):
I think that the two spots I'm still looking at
are the back end of the cornerback group. And I'm
really curious how running back plays out at this point,
because Emmanuel Wilson, we'll see if he's out there this
week for practice, but he's been sidelined for multiple weeks
with a hamstring injury. And if he's not going to
be ready for week one, you have to believe that

(20:57):
either Jakartier Wright or Bayless Jones Jr., one or the other,
is going to be on this roster in week one.
At least they're going to be practice squad guys that
are called up. So I think those two guys, seeing
where they potentially fit in for the start of the
season and the quarterback position where I don't know that
we're going to get to see Trayvon Diggs. My prediction

(21:19):
is that Seattle's going to hold him out and just
make sure he's ready for the regular season being a bat.
But It's a big game for Michael Dansby and Andre
Fuller and, to a lesser extent, Noah Igbenogany, who I
expect all three are going to play quite a bit
of snaps in Kansas City.

Speaker 2 (21:37):
I love the fact that you brought Diggs up here
as Corbin Smith joins us right now on the Beacon
Plumbing Hotline. I'll get to the backfield here, fullbacks as well,
in just a bit. With Diggs in the picture and
the possibility that the Seahawks could put him so to speak,
on the shelf. How long do you see this playing
out with them before they may need him?

Speaker 6 (21:59):
I think that they're going to probably open the season
with Nehemiah Pritchett as the number three, and they're going
to go into this process with the belief, hey, let's
see where he's at, and if Trayvon Diggs gets his
legs underneath him, and they're happy with where he's at
in the system. There are coaches on this staff that

(22:20):
have worked with him in the past. That relationship may
end up paving the way for him to play within
the first few weeks, but I would anticipate that this
is more of an insurance policy at this point.

Speaker 2 (22:31):
Yeah, a player who already seems pretty comfortable with his
surroundings right now just based on the relationship factor. We
heard him talk about this here from this last week.
On to the fullback position. No Robbie Utes, obviously, and
it looks like Brady Russell is the guy, and yet
is not a traditional fullback. So I think speaking to that,
do you think Corbin at this point is in the

(22:51):
direction to go after another fullback on the market?

Speaker 6 (22:56):
They've already brought one in for a visit. They've got
Brock Lampie on the roster. The issue is it is
so hard to find a traditional fullback now. Colleges are
not kicking him out with the proliferation of the spread.

Speaker 3 (23:10):
So..

Speaker 6 (23:11):
If they're going to keep another one around, I would
anticipate that Brock Lampe is going to be on the
practice squad because he's played for Thomas Hammock, the running
back coach, when he was at Northern Illinois. There's that
connection there. And look, I'm not saying Brady Russell is
Kyle Juszczyk because he's not, but he's much more closely

(23:32):
aligned to what Juszczyk's strengths are than what Robbie Hoots was.
So I think that... They're still going to be able
to make that work with him as the fullback. They
can move some of their tight ends to the backfield occasionally.
I think they're going to find ways to work around
it without having to go out and try to side
somebody else. Unless a true fullback gets released by somebody

(23:52):
else at the waiver wire, then maybe they'll look at
potentially bringing him on board in that case.

Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah, we'll see if they can maybe clone Mike Alstott
or something like that here in this case, but hey,
I kid. As far as the quarterback room, we're not
going to spend much time on this for obvious reasons.
I mean, when you have stability like this, it really
says a lot about where your football team is positioned,
especially coming off of this last year with Sam Darnold.
And then drew lock as well. But Jalen Milrow was

(24:21):
a lightning rod for conversation after this last weekend and
where his throws were going or did not go. So
I think just based on that to you, Corbin, does
he get a spot still on this roster by the
end of preseason?

Speaker 6 (24:37):
I think he's going to be on the roster. I
don't think Seattle is in give up mode yet there.
And they like having that emergency quarterback that they can
utilize to without him being active, so to speak, they're
going to continue to develop him. But it's not been
ideal because we've seen him. You've been out in the
practice field for some of these camp practices. I thought

(24:58):
he really had turned the corner this training camp, but
it hasn't translated to these two games. It's unfortunate, but
we just haven't seen him play with the decisiveness, the decision-making, weakness, progressions,
the accuracy. All that stuff has not been there that
we have seen consistently on the practice field. So I

(25:20):
think he needs every snap on Friday against Kansas City.
I wouldn't play Drew Locke, and obviously they're going to
play Sam Darnold. I would say, look, Jalen, this is
your game. We're going to treat this like a regular
season game for you. You get all four quarters and
see if you can get him going in the right
direction there. But I expect he's going to be on
the roster.

Speaker 3 (25:39):
No matter what.

Speaker 2 (25:40):
Where are you at right now versus roughly a month
ago with Nicky Manwari? Does he play in week one?

Speaker 6 (25:47):
I still think he plays. We'll see what happens here
over the next week, but I would be somewhat surprised
if he's not out there against the New England Patriots.

Speaker 1 (25:57):
All right.

Speaker 2 (25:57):
Corbin Smith joining us right now on the Beacon Plumbing Hotline.
I'll keep you around here for about a few more
minutes and then we'll cut you loose, my friend. But
I want to also get back to some discussion from yesterday.
I know that you chimed in on this on social media.
And I think to me, it really means a lot
as far as my core values with college football. Ian
spoke to this yesterday. Greg Bell spoke to this heavily yesterday.

(26:19):
about a couple of hours ago, just on the Anthony
Hankerson situation. And just it just seems like now the
transfer portal is basically a meme of itself right now.
And for him, Operation Van Wilder is back underway and
he's going to college. So, I mean, I'll first get
to the legal fallout here potentially on this in just
a bit. But, you know, for you, scale of one

(26:41):
to ten, eleven for me, it's there as far as ridiculousness.
Where are you right now with the transfer portal?

Speaker 6 (26:52):
Look, if I could go into the hundreds, I would.
I don't think ridiculous is the right word. I've seen
things that are ridiculous, and I'm like, yeah, that could
probably be fixed. I see this, and I'm like, although, hey,
I'll give the Big Ten credit. Big Ten today is

(27:12):
trying to pass it in conference that their teams are
not allowed to recruit and sign. Guys that jumped into
the NFL are now trying to come back to college.
This would be like a college kid saying, you know what,
I'm going back to high school. It's ridiculous. It doesn't
even sum it up.

Speaker 2 (27:29):
It's Billy Madison stuff, man.

Speaker 6 (27:32):
It's a joke. It's a travesty. And I just keep thinking, well,
they can't make college sports any worse. And they just
keep finding ways. It's not affordable. I do feel bad
for the kids. I know that they get a lot
of advantages with this, but, like, you've got to have
some structure. There's got to be some structure to this.

(27:53):
And the only way you're going to be able to
do that is with a collective bargaining agreement. The NCAA
doesn't want to do it, but guess what? If you don't,
this is what's going to continue happening all of this season.

Speaker 2 (28:09):
That leads me on to this. Would it surprise you
that in 10 years, we speak of the SEC and
the Big Ten not as a conference for student-athletes, but
full-blown minor leagues with a CBA, with a players' union,
and a feel where it is no longer college football,

(28:30):
but it is the minor leagues, and you're having rosters
just using the college name, the branding, the uniform, and
the stadium as all part of the package.

Speaker 6 (28:40):
Yeah, it's going to happen in less than five years,
is my prediction.

Speaker 2 (28:46):
What about the fallout here?

Speaker 3 (28:47):
Yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 2 (28:47):
Go ahead, yeah.

Speaker 6 (28:49):
Yeah, I think, you know, to me it's not a
matter of if, it's a matter of when. These conferences,
those two conferences have already talked about this and there's
already been individual schools that have been talking about, well,
we're going to privatize our football program. It's coming. You know,
that's the way this is going because the NCAA hasn't

(29:12):
been willing to do something like that themselves. And I just...
I think that's where we're headed. We've been complaining all
these years about not having a developmental league that would
last well. The NCAA and college football, as we know it,
that's what we're going to have now. Those schools are

(29:33):
going to be that developmental pipeline for real.

Speaker 2 (29:35):
Man, you can file that in the sad but true
category we've been talking about a bit. I've been talking
about stability, something that maybe we haven't seen here in
college football, even college basketball, on a smaller degree in college.
about roughly 10, 15 years, and it just kind of
feels like we have hit tip of iceberg status at
this point where this is all shaken out here on

(29:58):
the football scale. Corbin, before I let you go, I
did have someone reach out to me over the Tacoma
Dodge text line. I will always back up a friend
in the business for his apparel choices. You brought the
suit game to level 100 on Fox, I believe, earlier
in this town about a couple days ago, red-colored also.

(30:19):
Where'd you get it, man? It was awesome. It was awesome.

Speaker 6 (30:22):
I just got it off Amazon, to be honest with you.
Nothing too crazy. I, you know, I'm not the fanciest
when it comes to my suit choices, but yeah, You
got to be yourself, and I like bright colors, so
that's never going to go away.

Speaker 2 (30:40):
You are not the first to tell me that you
went there for a suit. Number one, it's the day
and age that we're living in right now, so why not?
But number two, I have a broadcast colleague on the
NHL side who actually purchased a suit from there, but
also had the pockets lined with Super Mario Brothers vintage
graphic designing on the inside. He was that much of

(31:03):
a Nintendo guy growing up, and all I could think
of was, My Lord, I want one of those now.
I want one of those.

Speaker 6 (31:09):
Well, now I'm wanting one of those. I've never customized
the pockets, but if I could customize the inside of
the pockets, I'll probably have a Critter or a Gremlin
from 1980s horror comedy movies.

Speaker 2 (31:24):
I can't wait. We still have time before week one
finally hits us in the face, man. Make it happen.
And again, do it for Instagram.

Speaker 6 (31:31):
Get my computer open. I've got to get Amazon open
right now and see.

Speaker 3 (31:35):
What's out there.

Speaker 2 (31:35):
Do it for Instagram. Do it for X. Do it
for any of the social media accounts, as the kiddos
say here for these days. But, hey, Corbin, appreciate this,
my man. We'll get you back on soon. Thank you.

Speaker 3 (31:46):
Thanks, Mike.

Speaker 8 (31:47):
Take care.

Speaker 2 (31:47):
I appreciate that. Corbin Smith joining us again from Emerald
City Spectrum again. Go to X, find his work right there.
Find Emerald City Spectrum also on the interwebs. And great
stuff that he shared with us. And I thought, again,
revealing with where we could be headed with the college
sports landscape, especially with football. And I'm going to get
to that here coming up in just a bit. But again,

(32:09):
Corbin Smith joining us here from Emerald City Spectrum. Are
we closer to the deathbed of college football and its roots?
We'll talk more about that next here on 93.3 KJR FM.

Speaker 8 (32:23):
Now back to Ian Furness on your home for the Huskies, Kraken,
and the 12th man. Brought to you by Seattle's closest
Snoqualmie Casino and Hotel on Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM.

Speaker 2 (32:37):
Set host of this program is off today. Mayor of
Maple Valley is doing day-off things, so I'm Mike, filling
in for him. Shout-out YouTube followers as well. Thank you
for hanging out with us. 49451 Tacoma Dodge text line. Also,
talkbacks via the iHeartRadio app. While we're at it, by
the way, big thanks again to Corbin Smith of Emerald
City Spectrum for joining us to talk Seahawks, where they're

(32:59):
headed here in the final game of the preseason against
Kansas City, but also college football. And I'm going to
get into this here a little bit more. And while
we're at it, because Corbin joined us, a big thank
you to also his friend of the show, friend of
the business, Jim Elliott, Windermere Real Estate, for having Corbin
on with us as well on a week-to-week basis. The

(33:19):
insight we get from him is invaluable. Earlier this morning,
the Big Ten set to pass a rule that would
prevent players from returning to the NFL to play for
a Big Ten school. And this set off a firestorm
of reaction just hours ago, because any player who has

(33:41):
declared for the NFL draft and did not withdraw, appeared
on an NFL roster, or signed a contract with a
pro league, will not be eligible to join a Big
Ten roster. And there are so many ways we can
go with this here. And this is, again, what I

(34:01):
think is turning into maybe a solution that, yes, works
in the vacuum, but there's also something called legal fallout,
which could easily play out here from this, not just
in the next few weeks, Travis, but also in years.
Because what happens if there's a lawsuit filed? This is
going to get tied up in the courts for a long,

(34:22):
long time. Not only that, But you also ask, well,
what kind of pressure does this put on the SEC?
They're talking about this as well. What does this put
on the ACC for those schools? Are they going to
be pressured here to follow suit? So the SEC is saying, hey,
we're cool with this. We want to do this. And then,

(34:44):
you know, you talk about the poster child of trying
to find loophole after loophole after loophole in LSU. And
guess who's running the show at LSU? Lane Kiffin. First
name Lane, last name Kiffin. There was one report that
suggested that he portrayed LSU as kind of like an

(35:05):
innocent bystander amongst a wider movement and maybe taken, I think,
a bit of a grandstanding approach here for this. A report, though,
from CBS Sports today suggested LSU proactively recruited multiple LSU
multiple NFL hopefuls to sue the NCAA in hopes of

(35:28):
winning a right to return to college football if and
when they were cut from NFL training camp. Does it
all make sense now to you? 49451. I'm just teeing
up for all of you. 49451 Tacoma Dodge text line.
Because right now, I mean, it just seems like as if,

(35:50):
you know, we're putting this rule out there, if I'm
speaking for the Big Ten or the SEC, that we're
making progress at 75 miles an hour, but yet we
could be on a 100 mile an hour course going
right back here to the courtroom. Corbin pointed this out
a few minutes ago, and there's just too much chaos
and too much lane changing here as far as where

(36:12):
we're headed in college football, all because of the transfer
portal and the Anthony Hankerson situation is only one of
several examples of this and could be one of more
several examples coming down the road. You are no longer
looking at college football as a protected amateur sport. And

(36:32):
to some degree, I agree with Corbin Travis, too much chaos, Ezra,
I think really begin to strip college football of its identity.
If I can go further with this. It's not like
the way it was about 20, 25 years ago. I
wish it was. It's not. I loved Ian pointing this
out the other day. His example was going to school

(36:55):
at Washington State and getting a chance to sit in
the classroom with a guy who just ripped off five
tackles in a game previously or a guy who ran
for 100 yards, the QB who threw for over 300,
four touchdowns as well. On a smaller scale, I had
that going to an NAI school at Azusa Pacific. Game
has changed for them. I'm not going to get into

(37:15):
that here. But there's that feeling of camaraderie and of
community that you had that you no longer have and
will no longer have. Because for me, with Corbin Smith
and what he talked about, 10 years down the road,
you're looking at the SEC and the Big Ten maybe
breaking away from the NCAA and establishing their own rules.
They're effectively ripping out the Band-Aid here from this and

(37:38):
they're saying, all right, we're done pretending. We're done pretending
this is college football. This is just another offshoot of
the pros. And we're using the college name, the college branding,
the college stadium. Here's your roster. Go enjoy the game
for three and a half hours.

Speaker 4 (37:55):
Well, we went from players having very little say in
where they go and what they can do and not
making any money. To now making more money in college
than they would in the NFL, which I can't blame
these players from going back to college. And being able
to transfer left and right, go to schools here and there,

(38:18):
and then play for six, seven, eight seasons. We've swung
too far in the opposite direction. We need a middle ground.
I don't know how that happens, but we need a
middle ground.

Speaker 2 (38:29):
And you're going to see every fight from every school
of every big nature here if you're looking to keep
this within the NCAA boundaries. LSU example exhibit A. Example
number one here. I love reading a tweet last night.
It said, quote, you need a paramilitary force to protect
college football from Lane Kiffin. End quote. But it's an

(38:52):
example here of coaches who are, they don't care. They
really don't care. Their one sole job is to fill
out a roster that gives them the biggest competitive advantage.
And this is what LSU's after. This is what Lane
Kiffin's after. They're exposing a massive loophole in all of this.
But it's going to continue going down that direction. And
here's one thing that I think that this has got

(39:14):
to be considered. Not just of where the Big Ten,
the SEC could be 10 years down the road, where
is it going to force the ACC as far as
who's in their conference and who's not in about 10 years?
Greg pointed this out. What about other small schools as well?
I mean, the Pac-12, what about them? The NAI, what

(39:35):
about them? Heck, I'll go there and say Division III
for me. What about them? There's going to be a
lot of movement here just because of where we're at
and how this thing is moving at about 85 miles
an hour per Because of college football and where they're
at right now with the transfer portals. So 49451 Tacoma
Dosh text line. You tell me where we're going to
be at, say, five to ten years down the road.

(39:58):
What are Huskies games? What are Oregon Ducks games going
to be looking like from that stage?

Speaker 5 (40:04):
Oh, boy.

Speaker 2 (40:06):
One more time.

Speaker 3 (40:07):
49451.

Speaker 2 (40:07):
We got more to come here. We'll get to the Mariners. Tonight,
Game 2 of a massive series against the Phillies. And
how far did they go with answering long-term questions about
their viability here in this playoff race? And could there
be any landmines here, maybe, in the schedule that we're
not thinking of? They have the easiest schedule in baseball,

(40:29):
but are you on the lookout for any landmines? We'll
get to that in just a bit. Much more to
come right here. Mike Benton in for Ian on 93.3 KJRFM. Now,
from the Star Runnels.

Speaker 1 (40:40):
Sports Desk, your 93.3 KJR FM Sports Headlines.

Speaker 2 (40:45):
Moving right along here. Headlines are brought to you by
Frostbrood Coors Light. And of course, as we all predicted,
Cal Raleigh. Breakout night in historical proportions. Three homers last evening.
That helped the Mariners put up eight runs on Zach
Wheeler against Red Hot Phillies. Julio went deep. Cole Young
went deep. Logan Gilbert good enough in five innings of

(41:07):
two-run ball. And the Mariners Routing, Philadelphia 9-2. George Kirby,
Aaron Nola, come on down. They take the mound in
Game 2 of the series tonight at T-Mobile Park. Bad
news here for Colt Emerson, their rookie shortstop. Season-ending surgery
on the menu for him on Wednesday to repair a
partially dislocated tendon in his left wrist, yet expected to

(41:31):
be ready for the start of this next season. That's
according to Mariners GM Justin Hollander. Emerson has been bothered,
of course, by the injury ever since spring training. Seahawks
are back home from Nashville. Quick turnaround for them. Before that,
practicing in Renton today. Tomorrow, Thursday, they'll fly to KC

(41:52):
and face the Chiefs in the preseason finale on Friday.
No starters in that game. Jadarian Price also will not
play in that game. So if you want depth, you
love depth, you got depth. In soccer news, big one here.
Sounders FC acquiring forward Dayan Yuvalich from Sporting KC in

(42:14):
exchange for $ 6 million in cash. He brings much-needed firepower
to the Sounders, 107 career goals in all competitions, three
league titles over 11 pro seasons. That's spanning Europe and
the U.S. Ian's out for the day. Mike Benton filling

(42:37):
in for him. Game two of the Mariners series coming
up tonight against Philadelphia. That, by the way, also a
great chance to remind you. Two o'clock, Gary Hill Jr.
from the Mariners radio broadcast booth will be along with
us as well. Four, nine, four, five, one. That's where
you chime in to Coma Dodge text line and tell
us after that route last night. where the Phillies laid

(42:58):
a stinker and the Mariners rubbed their faces in it.
How much are you convinced that this is the Mariners' long-term,
late August and into September, or is this just a
mirage again?

Speaker 6 (43:13):
49451 on.

Speaker 2 (43:15):
The Tacoma Dodge text line. George Kirby and Aaron Nola
will go after it here for tonight on the mound.
That gives us a chance to see kind of dissect
of where this game means here for tonight, because Kirby's
been a bit of a power keg. I love the
Bulldog mentality and what he brings on the mound. I mean,
to be honest, I saw it heading into the postseason

(43:35):
last year. I love the call to start him in
game one of the ALDS, have him go on the
mound for game seven as well. But his last five starts,
I mean, this has just been like a microcosm here
of inconsistency, Travis. His last five starts, six earned runs,
five earned runs, one earned run, zero earned runs, seven

(43:56):
earned runs. You want your roller coaster? You got your
roller coaster. Last five starts, nine hits, eight hits, four hits,
five hits, seven hits. And the only game where he
really shoved was against the Twins right back on August 2nd.
So helpful, yeah, you get that from George Kirby, but
consistency has been a massive issue, and he's got a

(44:16):
big challenge tonight against a guy who's kind of turning
it around now In Aaron Nola for Philadelphia.

Speaker 4 (44:22):
Guess which games he gave up six earned runs, five
earned runs, seven earned runs.

Speaker 2 (44:28):
Those were on the road.

Speaker 4 (44:31):
He gave up one earned run, zero earned runs, zero
earned runs his last three home games.

Speaker 6 (44:36):
So..

Speaker 2 (44:37):
Hopefully we get... Isn't that another Brian Wu comparison?

Speaker 6 (44:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (44:41):
It feels like Brian Wu 2.0 with George Kirby. But again,
with George Kirby, I think for me, you've got the
bulldog mentality. He knows how to locate. But again, the strikeouts,
the lack thereof, you're in strikeouts, and they've gone down
over the years. That, to me, is one of the
biggest concerns heading into August, heading into September, is finding

(45:03):
a put-away pitch.

Speaker 5 (45:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (45:06):
Because he's so good at command. He is so good
with control. He's proven that over the years. But the
put-away pitch is so critical. And against this Phillies lineup,
that's got Kyle Schwarber. That's got Alec Boehm. That's got
Bryce Harper. That's got JT Real Muto. You saw what
he did last night as well, despite swinging a bit

(45:27):
of an inconsistent bat this season.

Speaker 7 (45:30):
Oh, boy.

Speaker 2 (45:30):
Locate your pitches. Locate your pitches. The thing is for
the Mariners, once they get past this Philadelphia series, this
is where you can begin to look at the schedule
getting a lot lighter. And we use a traffic comparison
about roughly an hour ago. Well, you're almost right out
of that I-5 gridlock and you're almost hitting cruise control

(45:52):
once you get past this Philly series. And then what
is up next here for on the road, which is
Toronto and which is also Boston. The big question is,
Can the Mariners actually level up with their competition and
not level down to what they are playing against? Because

(46:13):
we said the same thing. I remember doing this right
back in July when I was in the studio. Coming
out of the All-Star break, you had San Francisco playing.
You had Cincinnati on that schedule where we were right
in the middle of, oh, big home run for Cole Young. Spark,
it's here.

Speaker 3 (46:32):
It's coming.

Speaker 2 (46:32):
Here's your turnaround.

Speaker 5 (46:34):
Oh, Cal Raleigh.

Speaker 2 (46:36):
Big bomb into the second deck. There's your spark.

Speaker 6 (46:40):
Nope.

Speaker 8 (46:41):
Nope.

Speaker 2 (46:43):
Ever since then from the all-star break, this baseball team's
record has Travis is 13-19. That should get you buried
at this time of year in Major League Baseball. But
this is a season unlike any other because the Astros
have been, to quote a good friend of our program

(47:04):
on Mondays, 10 pounds of crap in a 5-pound bag.
Texas as well. The Astros' record since the All-Star break,
only 18-15. The Rangers record, 17-19. You're getting every door
possible open right now to just blow through this thing.

Speaker 7 (47:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (47:26):
And you got through Texas. You got through the Dodgers.
You got through the Twins, the Tigers, Tampa Bay, which
was a stinker. The Yankees series, which was a stinker.
The Brewers series, which had plenty of stinkers. And then
you finally find a rebound with the Cubs and the
Phillies here. So this is a game of survival right

(47:46):
now in the American League. And to be quite honest,
if you were to ask me to predict what's going
to happen here in this American League West one month
down the road, it's a fool's errand. Because it feels
like you have better chances of guessing right if you
were to go on the prices right and spin the
wheel and guess where you're landing on. That's what it

(48:07):
feels like right now in this AL West race. It
has been absolutely horrific, but yet it has still given
the Mariners a chance. It's still anybody's game. So after
last night against the Phillies, where are you at right now?
Do you see promise or do you see a mirage 49451?
Are there remaining landmines here on this schedule after you

(48:30):
get past the The Red Sox and Toronto. I don't
want to overlook Toronto. Yes, they're out of the playoff picture,
but they're 13-9 since August 1. The Red Sox, their turnaround,
it's gone national as far as the headlines. 14-8 since
August 1. What you have right now at home, you

(48:52):
have the A's. You have Texas. You have the Astros,
which the Mariners have owned this season. As Cal Raleigh said,
Always good when the Astros lose. They get two more
times here to do it to them here in this ballpark,
in this city, this next month. And then you have
the Angels on the road. Your massive climb uphill is

(49:16):
at maybe a solid five miles an hour. I kid
because it is just the A's, the Angels and the Rockies.
The Mariners have a winning record against everybody after this
next road trip against Toronto and against the Red Sox.

(49:38):
I can't predict where the A's will be at that point, maybe.
I can't predict where the Astros may be at this
point because they've already shaken things up with their GM
out and their manager, which they have told hit the
road jack at the end of the season. They may
be playing a different brand of baseball with their mentality
coming up in September. That I can't predict. But with

(49:59):
the easiest schedule right now in baseball, this team has
been given every pathway to say or to be told,
last two months doesn't matter. You've got to win these games.
So maybe the only potential landmine I see in this
schedule might be those two games with Houston because the

(50:20):
stakes get higher. But yet, everything is being laid out
right now for this team to cruise right past the Astros,
right past the Rangers into an American League West title
despite how bad they've been with the rest right now
at 63-69.

Speaker 4 (50:40):
And not only that, the Astros face the Yankees, White Sox, D-backs, Phillies, Rays,
and Braves the rest of the way.

Speaker 2 (50:48):
That's 19 games against opponents over 500. Go back to
that over again. The Yankees, White Sox, D-backs, Phillies, Rays, Braves.
So that's 19 games against opponents over 500. 1, 2.

Speaker 3 (51:01):
3, 4, 5, 6.

Speaker 2 (51:01):
That's what I counted.

Speaker 5 (51:02):
The Rangers..

Speaker 4 (51:11):
Play the Rays, the Red Sox, D-backs, Brewers, and then
two more games against the White Sox. And that's 15
games against opponents over 500. Four opponents.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
I mean, that again, for as bad as this American
League West has been, Texas' record 17-19. You want to
level up against the Rays and the Red Sox and
the Brewers at this time of year?

Speaker 3 (51:40):
Good luck.

Speaker 2 (51:42):
Things are shaping up for the Mariners.

Speaker 3 (51:43):
Good luck.

Speaker 2 (51:44):
They got to take advantage. And what I mean by
taking advantage is, number one, preserve your health. Number two,
Cal Raleigh. I'm not asking for three home runs a night.
But what I am asking for is a catcher who
can show up at the plate and maybe hit. 250 or. 260.
Imagine that. Imagine that. And he's been the worst hitter

(52:06):
in baseball this season, one of the worst hitters by
historical proportions. Can you just show up and hit. 250 or. 260?
The power game will come. Just put the ball in
play and put it into the gap if you can.
Generate something. Where is Julio's mind going to be over
this last month? There's really a tale of two stories here, Travis.

(52:28):
We saw No. 1, a player... Who was throwing a
baseball into the stands. Not once, but twice under different conditions.

Speaker 1 (52:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (52:38):
One was just bad optics. The other, well, actually, I
shouldn't say just bad optics. One, it cost them a run.
Number two, the other side, it cost them an ABS
ball versus balls and strikes. But on the other side,
don't forget you've got a center fielder in Julio where
if you challenge how much does he care, do you

(52:58):
remember what the clubhouse sounded like after Game 7 last
year in Toronto and what his primal screams of frustration
sounded like? You can't tell me that's a player who
does not care. Can he get his mind and gear in-game?
That's a more appropriate question, I think. But late August
and September... This is what being a professional is all about.

(53:21):
You would assume, and I would hope that you assume,
that this is not even a question here with him.
You would hope.

Speaker 4 (53:27):
I mean, he has shown us in the past that
he can be that guy. Let's see if he can
do it right now when the team needs it the most.

Speaker 2 (53:36):
And the ALS is really the best path here for
this team to get into the playoffs because we're talking
about wildcard. I mean, you're jumping several teams right now
with having to get into one of those kind of spots.
I mean, hey, you're not going to overtake the Yankees
you're not going to overtake the Red Sox at six
and a half ups I mean you have to look
at right now if you get a wild card you
have to leapfrog the Orioles the Blue Jays the Twins

(54:00):
Astros and the Guardians so it really is American League
Western Buster for this baseball team where the Rangers and
the Astros sit as of right now three to two
and a half games ahead and That would put the
Mariners likely in an AL wildcard showdown, maybe at home
as of right now. And this could change a lot,
but at home with the Cleveland Guardians. And the question bears,

(54:23):
do you have enough to square off with them for
three games head-to-head here at T-Mobile Park? So you tell us,
you optimistic, or is this just a mirage after last night, 4-9-4-5-1,
Tacoma Dodge text line. Because baseball season is into the
stretch drive, it means hockey season is not too far away.

(54:43):
And we have some developments here on this Kraken roster
that Jason Botterill, the Kraken GM, maybe pulled the curtain
back a little bit on to give us a sense
of who might be making this team, but also potentially expectations.
Who better to talk about this than Everett Fitzhugh, my partner,

(55:04):
one of many here on this broadcast team on the
Kraken side. He joins us coming up in just a
bit right here on 93.3 KJR FM. Now back to
Ian Furness on your home for the Huskies, Kraken, and
the 12th man. Brought to you by Seattle's closest Snoqualmie
Casino and Hotel on Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM. Let

(55:32):
the music breathe. Let the music breathe. We haven't hit
the point yet where we're there, but we're getting awfully,
awfully close. Because that music only tells us one thing.
The NHL season is right around the corner. In about
a month from now, we are going to be neck

(55:53):
deep into preseason games. And before that, training camp time
for the Seattle Kraken. Mike Benton in for the mayor today.
Ian Furness is off. Who better then to bring on
to talk about all of this than one of my
partners in crime on the Kraken Audio Network. That is
the great Everett Fitzhugh joining us right now on the
Beacon Plumbing Hotline because we have a fresh batch of

(56:15):
things to get to on this team. Everett, my man,
it's been a while.

Speaker 3 (56:20):
Hello.

Speaker 2 (56:21):
How are you? How was vacation time? How was family time?

Speaker 7 (56:25):
Oh mikey doing well and you know before we go
any further i know you're doing ian a massive favor
by filling in today so we got to get that
we got to get that rejoiner updated but it has
to be like an obvious edit so it's.

Speaker 3 (56:38):
Like no back to mike.

Speaker 7 (56:39):
You know what i mean like you gotta make it
super obvious and uh no things are doing well man
i'm actually standing here in leavenworth right now not as
uh Not as smoky or as hazy as it was
a couple of weeks ago, but heading back tomorrow, and
then the real fun begins. But it's been good to
get away for a little bit.

Speaker 3 (56:59):
A lot of travel time the last month or so.

Speaker 2 (57:01):
The real question is, with you being a dad, I
can relate. How's the kid enjoying it?

Speaker 3 (57:07):
Oh, he loves it.

Speaker 7 (57:07):
We actually just got out of the pool, the community
pool here.

Speaker 3 (57:11):
Our Airbnb is right on the river, so we've gone
out on the river a little bit.

Speaker 7 (57:15):
I mean, but we're with one of his friends and
she's four as well. And she's all into Frozen and princesses.
So to her, we are in the middle of Arendelle
right now. So she keeps saying, we're going to go
tour Arendelle. We're going to go tour Arendelle. So, yeah,
we're down here in Arendelle, apparently, which is also Leavenworth.
But he loves it.

Speaker 3 (57:35):
Wes loves it.

Speaker 7 (57:36):
He's been stuffing his face with pretzels and sausages and
ice cream for the last two days.

Speaker 3 (57:42):
So he's fattened up.

Speaker 2 (57:44):
You have now brought a challenge and an idea to
my mind. For the next podcast that we do for
the Kraken Audio Network, we are going to say officially
goodbye to the off-season with your version of Elsa's.

Speaker 3 (57:56):
Let It Go. I'm going there.

Speaker 2 (57:59):
I'm going there. Hey, you were the show choir guy
anyway growing up, right? You can do this.

Speaker 7 (58:04):
I was.

Speaker 5 (58:05):
I was.

Speaker 3 (58:05):
Don't listen. I've been known to carry a tune. I've
been known to carry a tune, so. I don't have
a lot of shame either.

Speaker 2 (58:13):
Me, I'm just better at. I was recruited at one
point in high school to join the show choir, and
I said, eh, I'm better off playing the radio. Everett Fitz,
you're joining us right now on the Beacon Plumbing Hotline.
And I wanted to bring you on here for today, Fitz,
because this is fresh off a batch of things that
we can get to. And I think GM Jason Botter
will kind of peel back the curtain a little bit

(58:34):
on the dynamic and the construction of this roster, which
has really been as opaque as mud here for the
last couple of months. But before I get there, I
just want to kind of lean us here into this
point on August 25th. You talk about the buildup of
getting Bobby McMahon back in town, and we heard for
a week. So he's going back to the Leafs, future Avalanche,

(58:59):
future Ranger, future whatever you want, fill in the blank.
He openly chose Seattle and did so for a reason.
Mackie Samuskevich is here. You get some muscle in at
the front door in Curtis Douglas. You get some old
contracts as well out the door. So to you at
this point, go ahead and summarize the offseason.

Speaker 3 (59:20):
Yeah, I mean, I think overall, I would consider it
a success.

Speaker 7 (59:25):
Obviously, you don't have the big fish that you wanted
to to bring in, but it's not as if you
didn't go big fish hunting. You offered a massive contract
to Jason Robertson. You go back to the trade deadline.
You offered a massive extension for Artemi Panarin as well,
and it didn't work out. And I think a lot
of folks get caught up in the term of, well,

(59:47):
the Kraken didn't bring in the free agent, so that
means they weren't aggressive. In my mind, for me, I
think that aggression is the act of trying to to land.
I mean, the end product, yes, obviously you want that
end product, but at the end of the day, Jason
Boshrill went out and said, listen, we are willing to
put up eight by 15 for Jason Robertson. We are

(01:00:09):
willing to put up whatever the, I think it was what, 10,
12 for a three-year extension for Artemi Panarin. At the
end of the day, Panarin only wanted to go to
the LA Kings.

Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
There's nothing you can do about it. At the end
of the day, the Ottawa Senators and the St.

Speaker 7 (01:00:24):
Louis Blues also offered very lucrative contracts to Jason Robertson,
and he turned them both down as well. So, I mean,
you can't fault Jason for trying, Jason Bottrell for trying.
I do think that if you go back to his
words earlier this summer, the big thing.

Speaker 3 (01:00:41):
Is he wants there to be some growth and development.
He wants to see what.

Speaker 7 (01:00:44):
We have in these prospects, and he's not going to
make a move for the sake of making a move.
There are some rfa or some ufas right now that
haven't been signed but you could go out there and
make a panic move but you're not doing your team
a service by doing that it has to be the
right uh player i know yesterday he came out and

(01:01:05):
said we could see upwards of seven eight under 23
forwards in that opening lineup and i think that's going
to be good for the future of this team we've
talked for the last four years of this cracking experience
experience that, you know, the kids are coming.

Speaker 3 (01:01:19):
We have a lot of prospects. We have a.

Speaker 7 (01:01:21):
Top five, top seven prospect pool, depending on what expert
you read, what article you read. Well, now it's time
to see what you have in those prospects.

Speaker 3 (01:01:32):
So.

Speaker 7 (01:01:32):
For me, you bring in a player like Bobby McMahon,
who wants to be here. Mackie Samuskevich, who was playing
behind some very strong players in Florida. Now he has
an opportunity to showcase the speed and his willingness to
get to the net that he's known for. He's coming
off of back-to-back career high seasons, 30-plus points. each of

(01:01:53):
his last two years. What can he do now in
a bona fide top six role? And now you bring
in Curtis Douglas. This team has lacked some grit. They've
lacked some sandpaper historically. And now you bring in a
guy that's going to be able to add some of that.
So I like the moves. Obviously, I think he would
have liked to have gotten that big offensive piece. But

(01:02:13):
at the end of the day, there's still time. You
never know what could flush out between now and the
start of the season, now and November 1st. But for
where this team is right now, I don't mind the
direction that this team is going in.

Speaker 2 (01:02:28):
And I'll get to those names as far as the
seven and eight that we could maybe speculate on as
Everett Fitz, you're joining us again right now with the
Beacon Plumbing Hotline. But I did want to get to
kind of the fallout where you take a swing, it's
one thing, but yet you fail to land that big
fish that you potentially wanted. And we saw this, as
you mentioned, with Artemi Panarin and also jason robertson and

(01:02:50):
there was just a different and i thought unfair can
of worms attached to that latter situation here but when
you look at how young that you want to go
on this roster and the fact that the conversation has
been out there for so long about where do you
have a one c coming here on this team without

(01:03:11):
putting yourself in jason botterill's office and speaking for the
gm here on this i think the way i want
to phrase it is this Does conventional wisdom suggest that
this changes maybe how this team could operate, maybe in
free agency land or trade land? And how fair is
that to you?

Speaker 3 (01:03:29):
I think it does for a couple of reasons.

Speaker 7 (01:03:32):
I mean, if you look at the teams that have
won the Stanley Cup in the last 10 years, most
of them, with the exception of Vegas and maybe one
that I'm not remembering right now, but most of them
have been built internally.

Speaker 3 (01:03:47):
They've been built through the draft. They've been built through.

Speaker 7 (01:03:49):
Signing, you know, undrafted free agents and growing their prospect
pool very rarely. I mean, there are no more Yankees
of the nineties where you can just go and buy
everybody and, and, and win championships. If you want to
have sustained success, if you want to have some longevity and,
You know, you want to make the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (01:04:10):
You look at the Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Speaker 7 (01:04:12):
Obviously, they have Ovechkin and Crosby, but this is a
team that those teams developed internally. They've made the playoffs, what,
16 of the last 20-some-odd years? That's what you want.
The Colorado Avalanche, they've grown internally. Dallas, they've grown internally.
And these are teams that are perennial playoff teams. They
are teams that routinely are getting into the second, third round,

(01:04:35):
the finals, winning championships, things like that. That's where you
want to be. And it's very rare to be able
to buy your way into that. But I also think
that with Jason Bottrell, he wants to do both. I mean,
why not have both? Why not be able to have
a team that you've grown? You've developed a Berkley Catton
and a Matty Beneers. Then you're going to have Chase Reed.

(01:04:55):
You've got Jacob Melanson and Ryan Winterton. The list goes
on and on. Shane Wright could even be in that list.
I know his name has been thrown around a lot
this last couple of years as well, but then also
why can't you do what Dallas did and go out
and get Amico rants in it? Why can't you go
out and do what the Colorado did and go out
and get Brock Nelson to help push them.

Speaker 3 (01:05:16):
Over the edge, right? You can do both.

Speaker 7 (01:05:18):
You, you can have your cake and eat it too,
but I think the bulk of your success has to
come from the players themselves. that were grown in-house, that
understand what you want, that were drafted in your image
and in your vision of this team.

Speaker 2 (01:05:33):
Again, Jason Botterill's words to Kevin Woodley of NHL.com last
night said, quote, there's a possibility we could have seven
or eight forwards, 23 and under on opening night, end quote.
You threw a few names out there to me, and
I think to me they make sense. And I'll just
kind of, you know, go down the list as far
as maybe who we're looking at. You know, coming up

(01:05:55):
at about roughly a month from now, there's Matty Beneers.
There's Mackie Samaskevich. Jacob Melanson makes three. Ryan Winterton makes four.
Berkley Catton, five. Oscar Fisker-Molgaard, six. Yanni Newman, seven. And
depending on where this goes, and you hinted at this,

(01:06:15):
maybe Shane Wright makes eight. My goodness, how much of
a plot twist that would be after the news cycle
that spun wildly about roughly two months ago. So I
think ultimately where I want to get at here, Fitz,
is when you look at a crop this young, where
Matty Beniris has firmly established, in my opinion, himself as

(01:06:36):
a solid number two center in the NHL, where you
feel one C from there, where do these guys play,
factoring in that you've still got guys like Chandler Stevenson
and Jared McCann here to consider?

Speaker 3 (01:06:49):
Well, I mean, I think, listen, again, Jason has said
from day.

Speaker 7 (01:06:53):
One, he does not want to get in the way
of the growth and development of these younger players. So
I'll use Berkeley Catton as an example, and this is
just one broadcaster's opinion. Last season, we saw him on
a consistent basis get better. He made a lot smarter decisions.
Every game, he did something that left you, me, Al,

(01:07:15):
other folks in the press box saying, yep, this kid
is ready for bigger minutes. He rarely made the same
mistake twice, and if he did, he didn't make it
a third time. That's the kind of player that a
Berkley Catton, I think, could be with more confidence, another
summer under his belt. If you want to put him
and try him out, if you see him as a

(01:07:35):
potential franchise player, why not try Berkley Catton at the
first line center to start preseason, to start the year.

Speaker 3 (01:07:43):
Who knows, right?

Speaker 7 (01:07:43):
I mean, Matty Beneers is going to be, I think,
your number one center moving forward, de facto number one center,
but why not try it? He's also looked good on
the wing as well. I think a player like Ryan Winterton,
when you lose a Jayden Schwartz, that power forward type
of player, you haven't re-signed Ellie Tolvanen. He's still a
free agent out there, and hey, who knows what deals

(01:08:04):
are lurking for him, either in Seattle or elsewhere, but
Ryan Winterton can slide up the lineup to a second
line role and get some top six minutes to be
put in a power play position and see what he
could do there.

Speaker 3 (01:08:16):
I remember, you know, talking to a few.

Speaker 7 (01:08:17):
Folks internally that they thought Ryan Winterton could be a
Jaden Schwartz type of player, that power forward that can
get to the net, get some greasy goals for you
and work hard in a top six role. So let's
give him some more opportunity. So those are two players
that I think can take a big step this year.
jacob melanson i love his game you know i think
he's really calmed down a little bit he he's he's

(01:08:40):
sometimes having to find himself being the only muscle on
the roster but i think curtis douglas adds a little
bit more to that take some pressure off him and
then in kevin woodley's piece you talked about uh yesterday
when he said now the players are one more year
and they know lane lambert they know the coaching style
they know what his expectations are so now you don't

(01:09:00):
have to spend the first month of the season essentially
as an extended training camp trying to get to know
what your coach expects.

Speaker 2 (01:09:08):
Folks also may be asking, well, what about Jake O'Brien?
Because it's pretty clear-cut he will be a pro this
next season with the expanded rules and him being 19
years of age. But he'll be either with this team
or the American Hockey League. And it looks like that
the AHL with Coachella Valley is perhaps a preferred destination
unless he just unexpectedly blows everyone's doors down coming up

(01:09:29):
here in training camp. But how long would it take
for him... under realistic terms, to earn a call-up here
to the NHL? And where do those expectations lie for
Jake O'Brien?

Speaker 3 (01:09:43):
Well, I mean, a lot of factors go into it.
And I'm going to use last year as an example.

Speaker 7 (01:09:48):
I don't think anybody expected in September, Berkeley Cat and
the Bee here all season. But when you have the
amount of injuries the Kraken had last year, Seattle did
not have a full complement, a fully healthy lineup of
until game 54 last season. So, I mean, you were
well into February before you had your whole team healthy again,

(01:10:12):
and as a result, Berkeley Caton, I think, got thrust
into the fire maybe a little bit early than they
would have wanted. Hopefully, you don't have that with Jake O'Brien.
I think in a perfect world, Jake.

Speaker 3 (01:10:21):
O'Brien spends the entire year down in Coachella Valley.

Speaker 7 (01:10:24):
He gets used to playing against men, faster competition, professional competition,
and then maybe at the end of the season, depending
on where Seattle is, he's earned an opportunity in those
last five, 10 games, uh, to get some NHL time.

Speaker 3 (01:10:38):
But I think for, for.

Speaker 7 (01:10:40):
O'Brien, he plays a year, he's in your top five,
hopefully in scoring down in the American hockey league. And
then he's penciled into a roster spot next fall.

Speaker 3 (01:10:51):
Coming in the 27, 28.

Speaker 7 (01:10:51):
And I think The expectations on him are to do
exactly what he's been doing in the Ontario Hockey League.
He's an offensive player. He is going to be one
of those players you throw in with a birthday cat
and a Matty Bonier is a guy that you're expecting
to get 70 plus points out.

Speaker 3 (01:11:09):
Of in a consistent basis.

Speaker 7 (01:11:11):
You're expecting to get 35 plus goals consistently from a
player like that.

Speaker 3 (01:11:17):
And that's what I go back to that homegrown talent, right?

Speaker 7 (01:11:20):
Those are the type of players, all the superstars, the McKinnons,
the Kucherovs, the McDavids of the world, right? Those players
are drafted. Those rarely are those players traded for. Rarely
are those players acquired via free agency.

Speaker 3 (01:11:33):
It does happen.

Speaker 7 (01:11:34):
But those are the type of players that you need
to grow in-house and you need to have locked up
for a long time. And Jake O'Brien, I think, firmly
falls into that category. but I'd give him a year
in CV to get his foot, his feet under him,
get some professional games under him, let him, let him sink,
let him swim, let him fail, let him recover. And
then coming next, next fall, he's penciled into a lineup

(01:11:57):
on the NHL roster.

Speaker 2 (01:11:58):
Yeah, that's a center-picked eighth overall for a reason, where
if that 1C spot is open, he's going to get
every chance to try to seize that 1C when he
is ready. And maybe the question for me at 6'2,
and you turn that weight that's listed at 174 to
maybe a 190 or above, because you're playing against some
beefy competition in the NHL. And hey, I think the

(01:12:19):
same goes here for Chase Reed maybe as well, who
was picked No.

Speaker 3 (01:12:22):
7 overall.

Speaker 2 (01:12:24):
And with his skill set, 6'3, defenseman, many are saying potential,
McCarr type of qualities in him, Zach Wierenski, that experience
he'll get this next year in Michigan State is going
to be so big. But again, put the beef on, certainly.
Before I let you go, Fitz, when you have someone
walk down the street, cross and pass with you, ask
about this roster, ask about the fallout from this last season,

(01:12:48):
and then... With the season a little over a month away,
how do you define the expectations here for the postseason
Everett go? I think we lost Everett. You there? Oh,
I think we lost Everett. Right as we get into
the crescendo of all of this. The climax.

Speaker 6 (01:13:07):
Oh, boy.

Speaker 2 (01:13:08):
Let's try to get him back here on the line, Travis.
Appreciate you. But Everett Fitz, you're joining us again here
for the Beacon Plumbing Hotline. I hope that Leavenworth didn't
knock him out as far as cell phone reception. But
I think many of you can certainly relate to that
kind of experience and going through the mountains, the trees,
and you sometimes just have– sell quality dropping out. And

(01:13:29):
if we got him here, I think we do. I
know that you didn't ditch me here for the climax
of this conversation, but I'll, I'll go back and rephrase
it once again, again, before I let you go, say
you cross somebody down the street, meet them hockey fan.
They're getting past what was a year where they miss
the playoffs here for the fourth time in five seasons.

(01:13:51):
They've got questions on this roster, the overturn. It appears
to lean toward youth. When they ask, how do you
define the expectations when you bring in the word playoffs, Everett,
your answer, go ahead.

Speaker 7 (01:14:05):
My answer would be last season, the Seattle Kraken were
in a playoff spot until roughly game 70, 75, right?
Coming into the year, my number one goal for this
team was to be playing meaningful games after the deadline
into March. I think this year, now you have to
win those meaningful games. Yes, Seattle didn't make the playoffs

(01:14:27):
last But for all intents and purposes, they played playoff
hockey for three-fourths of the season. You just have to
bring it home. The roster, again, largely is unchanged. I
know you lose Schwartz. I know that you lose Jamie Oleksiak.
But again, you've got a lot of players, I think,
that can fill those voids. So there wasn't a large
turnover on this roster. The division isn't necessarily a world-beating

(01:14:51):
division necessarily. I mean, Edmonton is still going to be Edmonton. Calgary,
they're down. Vancouver is down. I think Anaheim, they may
have made a few missteps. I thought they were going
to be very promising moving forward, but I think they're
in a little bit of trouble.

Speaker 2 (01:15:05):
There will be no Christmas cards going from Anaheim to Philadelphia.

Speaker 1 (01:15:09):
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Speaker 7 (01:15:11):
But, you know, L.A., I think they're in trouble. How
long can Vegas continue to Vegas their way? into every postseason, right?
The bill's going to have to come collect here pretty soon.
And I think for Seattle, the playoffs is not a
question that is out of the realm of possibility. I

(01:15:31):
think this team can be a wildcard team. I mean,
this team last year at one point was three points
out of first place in the division last as late
as February. So I do think that there needs to
be some changes just in terms of, you know, this team,
they have to score more goals. You have to find
a way. I know you didn't do a whole lot
in terms of getting that goal score this summer. That's fine.

(01:15:53):
Every team's got excuses. Your power play has got to
get better. Your PK has got to get better. Defensively,
you were fine, but you can always improve there. But
I do think that this team can make the playoff,
but it's not going to be an easy road. But
I do think that a lot of the flack that
the Kraken are getting, I don't feel a lot of

(01:16:13):
it is fair. A lot of folks are comparing this
team to some of the worst teams in the history
of the NHL. And you forget they were in a
playoff spot until roughly March 25th, I want to say,
maybe even into April, early April, when they were officially eliminated.
They had a bad run down the stretch, 1-8 and
2 out of the trade deadline, out of the Olympic break.

(01:16:36):
That's going to do it for you. So for Seattle,
avoid the downfall, avoid the pitfalls. But the way that
they played last year, there's no reason to believe that
this team cannot challenge Seattle. for a playoff spot. They
have to win those games down the stretch, and we
could be sitting here in April talking about a first-round matchup.

Speaker 2 (01:16:52):
Well, you, me, a microphone, Al Koniski, good times. Not
going to be too far away, my man, but in
the meantime, enjoy Leavenworth and the height of the family, man.
Appreciate you.

Speaker 7 (01:17:02):
All right, I'm going back to my sausage.

Speaker 3 (01:17:04):
I'll see you later.

Speaker 2 (01:17:05):
Jump right back into it. Great to talk to you.
Everett Fitz, you're here in the Beacon Plumbing Hotline. We'll
have more reaction on this here right around the corner
on 93.3 KJRFM.

Speaker 1 (01:17:15):
There's more ways to stay connected to your home of
the 12s than ever before. Like our YouTube channel. Sign
up at 93.3 KJR. And make sure to wear your
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to your home of the 12s. Sports Radio 93.3 KJR FM.

Speaker 2 (01:17:37):
This report is sponsored by the YMCA.

Speaker 7 (01:17:40):
A crash in Tacoma, Southbound 5 near the Puyallup River
Bridge is blocking the right lane, causing a heavy backup
from the port of Tacoma Road.

Speaker 2 (01:17:46):
Still dealing with a stall at JBLM, southbound5. com to learn more.

Speaker 8 (01:17:50):
Now back to Ian Furness on your home for the Huskies, Kraken,
and the 12th man. Brought to you by Seattle's closest
Snoqualmie Casino and Hotel on Sports Radio 93.3, KJR FM.

Speaker 2 (01:18:05):
With the mayor out today, Mike in for Ian, and
a big thanks once again to Everett Fitzhugh joining us
here from the reaches of Leavenworth. He is diving right
back into that sausage. Why am I hungry again? All
of a sudden? I had lunch about three hours ago.
All the bratwurst talk. Onions, peppers. Sauerkraut? Sauerkraut, yeah. I'm

(01:18:28):
not that big of a sauerkraut fan. I've kind of
turned the corner with sauerkraut because of pastrami. throw that
right in with some Swiss cheese, some marble rye bread
on the grill or the Blackstone, whatever suits your fancy.
What kind of mustard do you like? Dijon. I like spicy.
I don't do plain mustard. It doesn't do much for me.

(01:18:51):
My only use for plain mustard is if I use
a big slab of meat, I'm talking brisket, ribs, whatever,
you want to kind of slather it up before it
goes on the grill. But yeah, I want some spice.
Not even like a hot dog? Hot dog? Hot dog,
yellow mustard?

Speaker 5 (01:19:07):
Nah.

Speaker 2 (01:19:08):
Nah, I'm way too complicated. That's just me and how
I'm wired. A big Seattle dog guy. Big Seattle dog.
Cream cheese, onions, you name it. I'll throw the Kraken
out there as far as how they do it world
class with the press food. Sometimes if you're there on
the right night, they have a spread at the very
top of the press gondola that serves a build-your-own Seattle

(01:19:29):
dog bar. Thank you. Good night. Sausages, cream cheese, onions.
The whole thing. Do they have the preview day yet?
The food preview day? Coming up in about a month. Okay.

Speaker 6 (01:19:41):
In a month?

Speaker 2 (01:19:42):
Coming up in about a month. I think mid-September, if
I'm not mistaken. That's exciting, though. We're going to have
a lot of food rolled out, and I will plan
to eat and consume nothing but a protein shake for breakfast.

Speaker 5 (01:19:54):
There you go.

Speaker 2 (01:19:54):
Just kind of keep the gut ready. Big thanks again
to Everett Fitzhugh. Very quick, we had a great chat again.
That's going to be up on the Ian Furness Show
via the iHeartRadio app. But again, 49451 Tacoma Dodge Text Line.
Where do your expectations lie with a hockey team that
maybe some of you have said has got to lean young,
but as Jason Botterill said, potentially seven to eight forwards

(01:20:16):
at 23 years of age or younger on opening night
for this team. That could be the reality you are
looking at. What's your expectation for 9-4-5-1? Shane Wright, that
thing has not been solved just yet. It is still
a thing, and he could very much well be in
the mix when training camp opens up this next month.

(01:20:39):
So remember I go back to Philip Grubauer about a
year ago, and we were talking about his numbers, where
his game was at, maybe his career was at, and
he had a great turnaround season. One thing that I
was reminded of in the NHL, especially in this day
and age, where players have so much power over their contracts,

(01:21:01):
and we saw this here with Panarin and Robertson, nothing
says solutions like finding those within your own team. They
did it here with Grubauer, and I'd be led to
believe here they've got to look at that for their
young players and finding a guy who finally takes the
mantle as a top-line center, whether it's Berkley Catton, whether

(01:21:23):
it's Jake O'Brien. They could be waiting in the wings here.
But that's where the solutions, the best kind of solutions lie,
as Everett also mentioned here, with how teams build themselves
into a contender. Like the Colorados will get Nathan McKinnon,
Pittsburgh with Sidney Crosby, and others as well. So 49451,
we'll get to your talkbacks and texts here. Brief break.

(01:21:46):
Gary Hill Jr. waiting right around the corner. The Mariners
take on the Phillies here for tonight. We also got word.

Speaker 1 (01:21:51):
J.P.

Speaker 2 (01:21:52):
Crawford officially back in the mix here. Reinstated. From the
10-day injured list, the outlook for him and the rest,
Cal Raleigh and this team's expectations with just several weeks
to go in the regular season. Gary Hill Jr. joins
us next here on 93.3 KJRFM. Now, from the Star Rental.

Speaker 1 (01:22:14):
Sports Desk, your 93.3 KJR FM Sports Headlines.

Speaker 2 (01:22:18):
All right, moving right along. Headlines are brought to you
by Frostbrood Coors Light. Breaking news on the Mariners' side.
The Mariners have reinstated J.P. Crawford from the 10-day injured list.
Leo Rivas was optioned to AAA Tacoma. Crawford, of course,
on the aisle since July 31 with a left wrist
inflammation issue. That was his third stint.

Speaker 1 (01:22:41):
On the I.L.

Speaker 2 (01:22:42):
As well, but J.P. Crawford is back in the mix. And,
of course, as we all predicted, thank you, Molly Wopp,
Cal Raleigh had a career-high three home runs. Last night,
the Mariners getting eight runs up on Zach Wheeler, and
the Mariners crushing the Phillies in a 9-2 victory. Julio
went deep. Cole Young went deep. Logan Gilbert, deep enough,

(01:23:04):
five innings of two-run ball. Tonight, it'll be George Kirby
and Aaron Nola. head-to-head on the mound in Game 2
of the series at T-Mobile Park. With J.P. Crawford back in,
Colt Emerson is out for good for this season. The
rookie shortstop going to have season-ending surgery tomorrow to repair
a partially dislocated tendon in his left wrist, yet expected

(01:23:27):
to be ready for the start of this next season,
according to To Mariners GM Justin Hollander, Emerson has been
bothered by the injury, of course, since spring training. Seahawks
back home from Nashville. Quick turnaround this week before heading
on the road to Kansas City. They practice in Renton today, tomorrow,
and Thursday. And then it's Friday for the preseason finale

(01:23:49):
against the Chiefs. No starters playing in that game for
the Seahawks. And also rookie running back Jadarian Price will
not play. in that game as well. Soccer news, big
soccer news, Sounders FC acquiring forward Dejan Julevic from Sporting
KC in exchange for $ 6 million in cash. He brings

(01:24:10):
a lot of offensive firepower to the Sounders, 107 career
goals in all competitions, three league championships, over 11 professional
seasons in Europe and the U.S. On to the show
we go. Well, you should feel hyped hearing that music.

(01:24:34):
Do you feel hyped after last evening? Against Zach Wheeler
and against a lot of odds, the Mariners come out
and don't just win, but they crushed the Phillies 9-2.
After last 9-plus, they get more reinforcements along the way.

Speaker 3 (01:24:50):
J.P.

Speaker 2 (01:24:50):
Crawford, come on down. We just talked about this fresh off.
the injured list here, and it's going to be George
Kirby and Aaron Nola tonight with the Mariners going for
the series win against the hottest team in baseball over
this last month. How do we put this here into
perspective over these next several weeks? Joining us right now

(01:25:13):
on the Beacon Plumbing Hotline is Gary Hill Jr., the
one and only from the Mariners radio broadcast booth. Gary,
good afternoon. How are you, my man? I'm doing great.

Speaker 5 (01:25:24):
How are you doing?

Speaker 2 (01:25:25):
Doing just fine, thank you. I kind of want to
keep the conversation, first off, going from one big league
broadcast booth here to the next, and we had Everett
Fitzhugh on with me about roughly an hour ago here
for the Kraken side of things, but we talked about
his trip here into Leavenworth, and that led into some
discussions on press box food. I've seen this here on

(01:25:46):
the NHL side. The Seattle dog is big with me.
The Mariners do this well, but to you... spicy or
non-spicy mustard on a hot dog, what's your take?

Speaker 5 (01:25:58):
I'm not a big mustard guy, so I'm out.

Speaker 3 (01:26:01):
Yeah, I'm out.

Speaker 2 (01:26:02):
Just give yourself a plain one. You're all good to go.
You're all good to go.

Speaker 5 (01:26:05):
Okay, good.

Speaker 2 (01:26:06):
All right, I'm with you. Well, Gary Hill joins us
right now. And, Gary, first off, I want to go
back and dive into last night's win because when we've
gone through this whole stretch of this last month, I mean,
it just felt like landmine after landmine here with the Mariners'
schedule that was supposed to really bury them. But here
they still are right now, three games out of first place.

(01:26:26):
And if they find a way– Tonight, again, they will
clinch a series win against the hottest team in baseball
in the Phillies. So given the facts of last night
and what transpired, the offensive outburst early on, Cal Raleigh's
historic three-run bomb night, let's rate last night's win over

(01:26:48):
the hottest team in baseball's scale of 1-10. Go ahead, Gary.

Speaker 5 (01:26:52):
Oh, I mean, in the context of this year, that's
a 10, man. I mean, Because of how it happened,
Cal going deep three times. And, you know, I think
we're all asking the same question after. Is this it?
Is this the start of the power Cal emerging here
for the final stretch? Because as we all know, he

(01:27:13):
is a difference maker for the Mariners when he's got
that power back going.

Speaker 8 (01:27:17):
So.

Speaker 5 (01:27:18):
Given the context coming into the game, it's funny. It's Gilbert.
It's Wheeler.

Speaker 3 (01:27:22):
Like, oh, this is going to be a pitcher's duel.

Speaker 5 (01:27:23):
This is going to be a close one. And the
Mariners erupt for five in the first inning. So it
was great because you referenced this stretch. And this was
the concern for me, you know, as the Mariners, because
I've always thought heading into this last road trip that
the key for the Mariners is to stay in touch,
stay in striking distance when September hits. And I thought

(01:27:46):
that was going to be difficult when you looked at
the schedule because it was a really tough road trip.
This stretch, the Brewers, the Cubs, the Phillies, all red hot,
all playoff teams, right? At the same time, the Astros
are taking on the Angels and the A's. I mean,
there was a chance the Mariners could lose three or
four games just in this stretch because of schedule. And instead,

(01:28:08):
it's been the opposite. They've gained on Houston. They're holding...
with Texas. And I still feel like if they can
get into September because the schedule, it turns so dramatically,
it's so much softer than it is now. It's tough
to win the games, obviously, but they're in pretty good
position with the way they're playing right now. I mean,

(01:28:29):
it really does give you some optimism heading into September.

Speaker 2 (01:28:33):
I think it's wild to take a look at this
schedule and see just how many times the A's pop up.
The angels, one of the worst teams in baseball population, up.
The Rockies, even though you're on the road, still one
of the worst teams in baseball as well. And you've
got that two-game series against Houston standing out. The Mariners
have admittedly owned them. But the Astros are the Astros.
And I'll kind of get on to more of this
as far as a surprise in a bit. But to you,

(01:28:55):
at least, in what the Astros did, Gary, with their
GM change, managerial as well coming, how surprised are you
with the Astros getting to this point?

Speaker 5 (01:29:06):
You know, being there a couple of times and just
being around, you know, talking to people and whatnot, I
guess I wasn't that surprised. His contract was up at
the end of the year. Same with the manager. Things
have not gone well in houston and and i'm talking
about not just this season but kind of big picture
they've been trending down the last couple of years and

(01:29:28):
i think the concern for them and especially comparison to
the mariners and big picture talking about okay what is
this going to look like next year and the year
after that you know their farm system is pretty dry
they've had difficulty growing their own guys, which is what
made them so good for all those years. And they
would let free agents walk and they'd replace them, right?

(01:29:50):
There was always an Alvarez waiting or whoever was next
up that hasn't happened the last few years. So they
have some big questions to answer. They thought Dana Brown
was going to be that because he had did that.
He had done that with Atlanta, but it hasn't really,
it hasn't happened with Houston. And so You know, I
wasn't that surprised. It's kind of weird timing, though, with

(01:30:12):
just a month to go. It feels like, well, why
not just wait until the end of the year? I
guess if anything surprised me about it, it was the
timing of it. But, you know, it's funny. You kind
of look at how Houston was built, and all of
a sudden that was three regimes ago. They've really churned
through some GMs here, and they've had some instability. And
I think, you know, they're ahead of the Mariners in

(01:30:33):
the division, but I'm talking big picture here. They just
don't have a lot of stability, not the same stability
they had for so many years.

Speaker 2 (01:30:42):
Gary Hill Jr. joining us right now on the Beacon
Plumbing Hotline. And we mentioned a few minutes ago the
breaking news with J.P. Crawford back off the injured list.
And it's kind of funny how it all works out
because Colt Emerson's done for the season and J.P. Crawford
moving from shortstop to third base was kind of a
move to not just get Emerson more reps, but also

(01:31:02):
manage Crawford's arm with him getting up there in age.
But it just kind of feels like all of a
sudden now with Emerson out, the game has changed. But
on top of that, I also go back here to
the clubhouse component because I remember being in the clubhouse, Gary,
last year after Game 5 of the American League Division Series,
not just seeing how J.P. Crawford ran up the ramp,

(01:31:23):
but just how much guys just flocked right to him.
It's only one of many examples, I think, of how
much of a clubhouse guy that he is here at
this point. So given where he is right now, with
his skill set, his game, his bat, his arm. But
now you're getting into that time of year where you
talk about clubhouse as well. The meaning of getting J.P.

(01:31:47):
Crawford back right now, what do you say?

Speaker 5 (01:31:50):
I think it's really helpful because I think he makes
the lineup longer. You know, just pro at bats. We've seen,
you know, Ward's numbers don't jump off the page, but
you kind of look at the bats have looked different
for the lineup here. the last week and a half,
two weeks, really starting in Milwaukee. And I think he
just adds to that, just pro at bats, not swinging

(01:32:11):
outside the zone, right? Just making it difficult on the opposition,
just kind of one through nine. It's what we've seen
here in recent days. And I think JP just adds
to that. And you think about his career arc, he's
played more games at shortstop than any other player in
Mariners history, you know, he's, this could be his final

(01:32:33):
month in a Mariners uniform, right. In the regular season. And,
you know, he wants to go out on top as well,
a playoff run, a deep run. Oh, you know, all
the goals that were there at the beginning of the season.
And it's funny enough, despite all the frustrations and the
struggles to the course of this year, it's really all
still there for the Mariners. You know, remarkably enough, you
look at where they're at with 30 some games ago,

(01:32:56):
it could all still happen. if they put it together
here in the final month. And so I think for
them to do that, JP certainly needs to be a
part of that, especially, you know, Emerson's out for the year.

Speaker 3 (01:33:06):
As you point out.

Speaker 5 (01:33:06):
So I feel like JP is going to slide right
into the shortstop spot. And when Donovan comes back, he'll
be the third baseman, kind of how this season started.
And you hope that JP can just contribute just getting
on base and doing his thing at the end of
the lineup because every little bit's going to help.

Speaker 2 (01:33:22):
And the roller coaster keeps on going here at this point. Gary,
I want to get back to Cal Raleigh and not
just the three home runs that he hit. And they
were absolutely smoked. And it kind of felt like the
Cal Raleigh of old that we saw last year. But
since homering at Houston, 7-for-21, with a 500 on-base percentage,

(01:33:44):
whether you want to buy, quote-unquote, he's back or not,
you know, do your thing. But moving forward here, what
can we learn from last night as far as the
expectations of Cal Raleigh, whether it might mean the power
numbers or even just the quality of at-bats that he has?

Speaker 5 (01:34:03):
Yeah, because we've seen both. He's beginning at-base drawing walks,
as you point out, the 500 on-base, but with the
power as well, four homers. in this homestand, which is awesome.

Speaker 1 (01:34:12):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:34:13):
So I think we're all asking the same thing and
it's in those words.

Speaker 3 (01:34:16):
He's back.

Speaker 5 (01:34:17):
He's back. You know, I don't know. We'll see how
it plays out.

Speaker 1 (01:34:19):
Right.

Speaker 5 (01:34:20):
But it is certainly encouraging because it's looked great. The
numbers are there, but the swings have looked great. The
swing decisions have looked great because despite the struggles this year,
when you kind of look at underneath the, you know,
what are kind of the differences between last year and

(01:34:40):
this year? And for me, it's been, we've seen a
little more chase and we've seen a little more of
not swinging as much in the zone, right? So you're
swinging at pitches outside the zone, which you just look
at the numbers. You just don't have great numbers when
you make contact out of the zone. You put up
your numbers with contact in the zone. So between those

(01:35:03):
two things, But that's a skill set that Cal has,
and he can get back to that. It feels like
when hitters talk about being in between, it's that, you know,
swinging at pitches they shouldn't, letting go fastballs over the
plate that they should swing at, that sort of thing.
But that's the kind of thing that can get turned

(01:35:24):
around because Cal has that skill set. We have seen it, right?
We have all witnessed it. So, Can he go on
a final month and hit, I don't know, eight homers
or whatever?

Speaker 3 (01:35:35):
Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 5 (01:35:36):
Get on base with walks? Yes, because he's that kind
of player. He can absolutely do that. We'll see how
it plays out, but I know if he does do
that and being that middle-of-the-order guy, I think he'd really
feel good about where the Mariners are heading into September,
given the context of where the other teams in the
division are, the schedule, everything else. Because he is a

(01:35:59):
true difference maker.

Speaker 3 (01:36:01):
For the Mariners.

Speaker 5 (01:36:01):
And I've said it all year, it's going to be
tough for them to achieve their goals without Cal Raleigh's
bat in the middle. And I'm not talking about 60
home run Cal Raleigh, because that's impossible, right? But, you know,
the power bat in the middle, the 30-plus home run guy.

Speaker 2 (01:36:17):
I think that you certainly raise a great point. I've
said this before here. I mean, if we're looking at 60, well,
I mean, it's almost kind of like a fool's errand,
but can you find a guy who is going to
be consistently putting up, you know, decent numbers as far
as whether you want to talk an average OPS, but
also power numbers getting back up into that 30 or
40 territory here. I want to touch on the bullpen.

Speaker 7 (01:36:36):
Yeah, go ahead.

Speaker 5 (01:36:37):
One of my favorite things about baseball is the beauty,
one of the beauties of the game. And you see
this from time to time where a guy could struggle
all year, right? But the beauty of the game, if
you can put together a great September when it really
matters and try and punch your team's ticket to the

(01:36:57):
postseason or have a postseason run, all of that can
get forgotten. Jorge Polanco is a great example. When you
really look back at his month by month last year,
he had a great first month and then really struggled
for a lot of the season. But no one cared
because he had a great September season. He helped ignite
that run. He had the walk-off. Everything else fell away

(01:37:21):
because of what he did in September. And I think
that's one of the beauties of the game. And who knows?
Cal could have that kind of run where he makes
us all forget what happened early in the season.

Speaker 2 (01:37:31):
Uncanny, yeah, uncanny how this just works out once the
calendar turns from September to October. And as they say,
flags fly forever, and you are forever immortalized if you
show up come October. Here is Gary Hill Jr. joins
us right now on the Beacon Plumbing Hotline. One thing, Gary,
I wanted to get to from last night, maybe that
kind of flew a bit under the radar, was the bullpen.

(01:37:52):
Logan Gilbert was good enough. Five innings you get out
of him. But even with no Andres Munoz, you get
a completely scoreless run around the track with Sir Anthony Dominguez,
Gabe Spire, and Carlos Fargas as well. Again, no Andres Munoz.
So where does this set the M's bullpen up eventually

(01:38:13):
when they can get Matt Brash back in there?

Speaker 5 (01:38:16):
Yeah, that was a good outing, I thought, especially from Dominguez,
who has had a couple of really good ones. He
was heroic the other day in extra innings, but that's
got to feel especially great against his former team. yeah
so that was good because as we all know the
phillies have a lot of pop and they've been red
hot and even in a six run game it's like
well you know you get schwarber up with a couple
guys one swimming the game can change so you're right

(01:38:38):
to point them out they were really good i think
uh Adding Brashback would be enormous because, as we know,
he is a game changer and there's just no way
to replace what he does. His stuff is so wicked.
And when there's guys aboard and you call on him
with his swing and miss, there's a good chance he's
going to get out of it. He's such a unique

(01:39:00):
weapon that you just can't replace that. So he's a
real game changer if he comes back healthy. When they
are right... what I mean by that is when they
are rested and ready now, it's been difficult, more difficult
to manage recently because they've had, they've had some starter blowups.
And I think that's going to be a key down

(01:39:20):
the stretch is they need more consistent consistency, especially on
the road from their rotation. But when they are rested
and ready, it's a good backend. It's a quality backend,
especially with brash because you get the ball to Munoz
has been nails for the most part, the last couple
of months, You have kind of everything you need. A
couple of really good lefties, a couple of really good righties.

(01:39:41):
You can really shorten games. But I think part of
that is making sure they're in a good spot by
getting consistent starts. And to Logan's credit, he's been phenomenal
really since the end of May. He has been the
head of the rotation. He's been really consistent. We've seen
him a number of times take the ball after a
really tough loss or in a game where they don't

(01:40:02):
have much in the bullpen and they need some innings.
He's been nails for them. He's been really good. So
they need more consistency, a little more like Logan here
down the stretch.

Speaker 2 (01:40:12):
I vividly remember taking the family and the kiddos and
the seats to the 4th of July and just seeing
Logan Gilbert deal in a game that had some potential
historical buildup, but he was dealing at an elite level
like that, which is certainly, I think, a sight to see.
But in comparison here with George Kirby, who will get
Aaron Nola for tonight, Gary Kirby, we all know about

(01:40:33):
the bulldog in him, but now we're getting into the
phase of this, where we talk about also the recent
stretches where I think it matters, given the fact that
you're facing a Phillies lineup that can absolutely feast on
this place pitches. I brought this up earlier. Kirby's last
five starts, nine hits, eight hits, four hits, five hits,
seven hits. And you got a few six earned runs

(01:40:55):
and seven earned runs. Also, sprinkled in there so given
the numbers but yet what we've seen when he's dialed
in with his command the biggest key for George Kirby
this evening against the Phillies is.

Speaker 5 (01:41:07):
What yeah command is it and what I mean by
that he can't leave balls over the plate to the
Phillies and I think part of that when you when
you all those numbers you just read when you talk
about hits and talk about runs I think that's it
is leaving balls over the plate against good teams and
the Phillies you just you've got to make sure you're

(01:41:28):
on the corners. You got to make sure you're hitting
the spots. You got to make sure you're ahead because
the Phillies will punish you with the way they're playing
right now. And especially, you know, you get guys on
for Schwarber, right? That's not a good place to be.
You get guys on for Harper. That's not where you
want to be. So it's just key that he is
not leaving balls over the plate. Cause I think that's

(01:41:49):
what's gotten them in the, in some of these last
few starts, especially on the road. So, It's at home,
so hopefully things are a little different. But they need Kirby.
They really do. They need him to be good down
the stretch. They're a much different team. It's a much
different rotation when George Kirby is the guy that we
have seen in the past.

Speaker 2 (01:42:10):
All right, finally, before I let you go here, after
this next week, it's going to lighten up. You mentioned
this as far as the Mariners' schedule. So whether you're
talking about Toronto, you're talking about Boston here, the tougher
piece of competition, who's it going to be, Gary?

Speaker 5 (01:42:25):
Ooh, I think that's going to be, that's a great question.
I think that's going to be a tough trip for
both because Toronto, you know, I feel like Toronto, you
never really know what you're going to get at this point.
Like they have, they're fighting, they're in the wildcard mix
with just about everyone else. But, you know, they've had

(01:42:46):
a similar season to the Mariners in that they had
high expectations coming in. They should have won the World
Series last year and didn't. You know, they felt like
they were going back and they have just not been
able to put it together this year at all. And
so I think it's going to be tricky from that aspect.
And as we've seen with the Red Sox, you know,
they've been excellent. You know, this last second half of

(01:43:08):
the season, they've won four in a row coming into today.
So I don't think either is going to be easy.
And I still feel the same. It's just a big
series because when they get back home, then you four
games against the A's. three games against the Rangers. So
circle that one at home because right now the Rangers
are the team in first place. But, you know, as

(01:43:30):
the Rangers have a series with the White Sox now,
the Brewers after that, so it's a tough stretch for them. But, man,
that's a good question. I don't have a good answer
because I think both are going to be tough.

Speaker 2 (01:43:40):
And, yeah, wouldn't it be funny with this whole roller
coaster season, we finally see a way where both the
Mariners and the Blue Jays wind up in the postseason
and they square off again. Would that not be the
creme de la creme of a topsy turvy season, Gary?

Speaker 5 (01:43:55):
I gotta be honest. I would not put anything past
this American league. I honestly, I have no idea what
to expect from anyone and wait till the playoffs. That's why,
you know, if you can just get in, who knows, man,
because this thing is wide open. There's not a team
in the American league that you look at and say,

(01:44:17):
Oh no, Can't beat them in a five-game series or
can't beat them in a seven-game series. And every team
is saying that about everyone else. I think the American
League is wide open. It's just you've got to get in.
That's the thing. You've got to get in.

Speaker 2 (01:44:31):
Nothing is certain in this league right now in this
day and age, but one thing for certain, you're going
to have a bang-up call here for tonight, my man. Hey,
appreciate you, Gary. Thank you. We'll talk to you down
the road again.

Speaker 5 (01:44:40):
Sounds good, anytime.

Speaker 2 (01:44:41):
I appreciate you. Gary Hill Jr. joining us here from
T-Mobile Park on the Beacon Plumbing Hotline. Texts, talkbacks, the
whole package right around the corner here on 93.3 KJRFM.

(01:45:01):
I'm an LSU alum. I went to school at LSU-S.
This is gross.

Speaker 3 (01:45:07):
Lane Kiffin, come on.

Speaker 1 (01:45:08):
What are we doing?

Speaker 3 (01:45:10):
Five years, that's what it should be.

Speaker 1 (01:45:13):
We all know it.

Speaker 3 (01:45:13):
Let's move on.

Speaker 2 (01:45:16):
Well, you want a name like Lane Kiffin for your program?
You better know what you're signing up for. Do I
even need to point you to the ESPN 30 for
30 on Lane Kiffin?

Speaker 3 (01:45:30):
No.

Speaker 2 (01:45:30):
Just job hops all over the place. But you should
have known this is how a guy in Lane Kiffin's
ilk and how he operates... Everything is within a realm
of chaos, of spin, of changing angles, changing lanes. This
is what you get with Lane Kiffin. Yep, wouldn't be

(01:45:51):
surprised if we're looking at a total teardown of the
SEC and the Big Ten and moving out to their
own private entity within five years. I said ten, but hey,
Corbin Smith said maybe five. Mike in for Ian, Travis Moger,
the MVP, the most valuable producer on the other side
of the glass here, by the way. 49451 Tacoma Dodge
text line. Got one here from Rod. When do you

(01:46:13):
think the Seahawks may extend Mike McDonald's contract? Rod in
the 206. I still think that we're years away from
that right now.

Speaker 3 (01:46:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:46:21):
I mean, I do think that Sean Payton's extension back
in June kind of gave us some direction on that.
But McDonald got a contract out of the gate that
was already up there With historic proportions and what coaches
were being paid, something around like 9 mil, I want
to say if I'm correct. But you get one ring

(01:46:41):
in the bag. You get another. You get another. And
when that six-year contract ends, I mean, let's put it
this way. The Seahawks got to be thankful here that
there is no salary cap on contract coaches. Because you're
looking at maybe paying Dodgers like some to keep a
guy like Mike McDonald and keep him happy.

Speaker 6 (01:47:03):
Do it.

Speaker 2 (01:47:03):
Whatever it takes. And Mike McDonald is presumably worth every penny.
If you're a 12. 49451. Is there a limit to
what you pay Mike McDonald years down the road? I
know that we're talking about something that's way, way, way
down the road. But when you get there, is it
worth it? Is there a price tag on Mike McDonald's contract?

Speaker 3 (01:47:25):
49451.

Speaker 2 (01:47:26):
206 saying JP is a liability here on the field. Yes,
I agree. And I look at this from every time
you have a ground ball to shortstop, where is it
going to land? Because we may have the same questions of,
will so-and-so be swinging at the slider about three feet

(01:47:46):
outside of the zone, which this baseball team can kind
of fall into the bad habit of doing. It's a
lot of swing for the fences, Travis. A lot of
home runs, but a lot of Ks and a lot
of ugly Ks also. Yeah, I mean, that's kind of
what you get with them. You've got to keep J.P.,
Let's put it this way. Insulated. Maybe expect, I think,

(01:48:08):
a few thrown balls. Five feet wide of the bag.
Josh Naylor, have yourself an adventure. Choose your own adventure.
This is what you get, though. Hoping that you're not
getting too many ground balls over the shortstop. Quinn253, some
sick part of me is rooting here for the Rangers
against the White Sox. Purely for the thought that we

(01:48:30):
can still run down number two in the American League
with what's ahead of them in September. And they choose
to pull... They're collective heads out of you-know-what. For some reason,
I still love this team, and I still believe that
from Quinn in the 2-5-3. So you root for the
Rangers against the White Sox. This would then bring the No.

(01:48:55):
2 seed back into play, but based on where the
White Sox are at right now, 68-63, I mean, it's
not inconceivable that We've said this before, five wins in
a row, six wins in a row. You haven't had
it much here in the American League and what has
been one of the most volatile leagues in years. But again,

(01:49:18):
I've been conditioned here to expect the unexpected this year
with this team and with this American League. Five wins
in a row, six games in a row, and with
the right kind of combination, look at the White Sox
and Rangers, you still could be in play. That would
go a long way with resting your arms and resting

(01:49:38):
your veterans to skip the wild card. Jumping down here.
2-5-3 expectation, the Kraken this season. All the talk about
going out and getting a player, making this team a
playoff contender. They're still going to be terrible, even if
they're rolling out seven or eight players at 23 years

(01:49:59):
of age. You just got to get used to a
tough season again. That from the 2-5-3. Here's where I'm
curious about where your mindset goes now versus back in
May or June. I lost count at how many people
said enough about We've seen too much of the old

(01:50:20):
guard hang around. Nothing is happening. It is time for
them to move on. That ultimately is what you're getting
right now. You've seen old contracts now go out the door. Really,
the only guys who are still here, if you want
to count full-time since day one on this roster, Jared McCann,

(01:50:40):
Vince Dunn, Adam Larson, Philip Grubauer, Jordan Eberle. If you
want to count Joey Decord, maybe he was technically there
opening night but did not play. But yet, when you
look at the kind of young talent that you need,
did we not say for months that this team has
got to go young? Many of you said this team

(01:51:02):
has got to go young. This is now what you're getting.
I think to me the ultimate question is, after you
took your swings and you missed on Panarin, on Jason Robertson,
does that condition you to be a little bit more cautious?
In the free agent market, given the fact, well, short-term
right now, Travis, there's no more names out there, realistically.

(01:51:25):
A lot of them are high-risk signings. And I'm talking
about one example, Patrick Laine, rocket shot, but has issues
of staying healthy. And some of the question may be
his defense, or in the words of James Harden, a
James Harden-level kind of defense.

Speaker 7 (01:51:41):
Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2 (01:51:42):
Those are kind of the high-risk guys who are still
out there, and curiously, they've not been signed yet, and
it's August 25th. But yeah, I even go here to
the trade market, where is it really worth it getting
a guy who's going to play at your top right now,
but block someone else who's younger and could be developing
with the right amount of ice time? That ultimately, I

(01:52:05):
think for me, is the biggest question, and many of
you have said, let the young kids play. They're coming.
But you have to take some lumps here with the
mistakes they will make so they can learn from said
mistakes and be better when they are older, when they
are stronger. And it's said in the NHL, you've got

(01:52:25):
to play with brains. Ultimately, they are wiser. One more
from Marcus206. Mariners will win the World Series. I don't
know much about hockey, but based on sports, a young
team won't do much. They're going to win the World Series, though.
I wouldn't be surprised. Just based on just how crazy
this season's been. But can you imagine saying that Sunday night?

Speaker 6 (01:52:48):
No.

Speaker 2 (01:52:49):
Like, after that game? I mean, realistically, I called them
dead after the Dodgers series.

Speaker 3 (01:52:54):
I did.

Speaker 2 (01:52:56):
The ups and downs. It's just... And they're still alive, man.

Speaker 3 (01:52:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:52:59):
They're still alive. It's so much. You're getting handed every
opportunity here to be competitive. and which they're doing right now,
and they're still only three games back. That's how crazy
this is, and one more win gets them a series
win against Philadelphia. I think Captain Positivity, is that Softie?
We call him that still, Captain Positivity? One was Captain Positivity,

(01:53:20):
and one was Sergeant Doom. I don't know, but Softie's
up next. You know, I'm kind of surprised that we
didn't get more traction here on the Tacoma Dodge text
line with Corbin Smith explaining the details behind his red

(01:53:40):
suit he wore on TV. Yeah, I thought he was
working at a movie theater. When's the last time you
ever owned a suit, by the way? Come on, man.
Like now?

Speaker 9 (01:53:50):
I own a suit now. Now the question is, how
often do I wear the damn thing? That's the question.
I don't think you've worn a suit since prom. No,
I last wore a suit. I went to a wedding
about six months ago. And I tried it on about
a week before the wedding, and I was horrified because
it did not fit me. And so I spent the
next week fasting, not eating a damn thing before the wedding.

Speaker 2 (01:54:11):
I can just picture the lining of this one. It's
got Don James inside.

Speaker 9 (01:54:15):
Like Michael Pennix in the Heisman Trophy.

Speaker 5 (01:54:18):
Exactly.

Speaker 9 (01:54:19):
I have all the names of people I want to
kill inside my suit. Like Steve Buscemi from Billy Madison.

Speaker 2 (01:54:25):
Remember that? When he put the lipstick on and wiped
all the names off and lipstick on the wall?

Speaker 9 (01:54:29):
That's what I have. I have a kill list inside
my suit. And you better watch yourself, pal.

Speaker 2 (01:54:35):
So now I can actually go to your desk. I
can now steal your jacket for 30 seconds and say, okay,
am I good?

Speaker 1 (01:54:41):
Am I good?

Speaker 2 (01:54:42):
Am I good? Okay, I'm not good. I better go hide.

Speaker 9 (01:54:44):
You got to come to the house and sit in
the man cave, man, and know the secret code to
get in.

Speaker 2 (01:54:48):
By the way, it's New England clam chowder. Not three times.
I can't eat that stuff, but I'll give you the password.
You can't eat that stuff. What are you, lactose intolerant?

Speaker 6 (01:54:56):
No.

Speaker 2 (01:54:56):
What's wrong?

Speaker 7 (01:54:57):
Fish.

Speaker 2 (01:54:57):
Fish allergy. You don't like fish? I've known you for
about six years. You had no idea about this? What's
your name again?

Speaker 5 (01:55:04):
Who are you?

Speaker 2 (01:55:05):
I have no idea.

Speaker 9 (01:55:05):
I don't know who this guy is. I'm an avatar now.
I didn't know you had a seafood allergy.

Speaker 2 (01:55:12):
God, that sucks, man. I can't have fish.

Speaker 3 (01:55:14):
Terrible.

Speaker 2 (01:55:15):
What would happen if you had a scallop or a prawn?
I need to go to the hospital.

Speaker 3 (01:55:19):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (01:55:19):
The closest thing I ever had though, when, when I,
I had a reaction and I survived it, like meaning
I didn't have to leave. My job was about 10
years ago with the Everett silver tips. I grabbed the
press meal. We didn't have signs on there. I thought
it was chicken Alfredo. I sit down and a coworker goes,
how's the salmon Alfredo? And I go, Oh, Are you
kidding me? So you carry like a pen with you

(01:55:41):
or something like that? Well, I didn't at that time.
So what I did, I dropped everything. I ran down
the hall at Angel of the Winds Arena. It might
have set an Olympic record. Wow. Bust right into the
locker room with the guys getting ready. And there was
like probably about eight future NHLers in that room.

Speaker 6 (01:55:55):
Right.

Speaker 2 (01:55:55):
And they look at me like, what the heck is
the radio guy doing in here at like 545? And
I go right in the trainer's room and I say,
get me an EpiPen now. But you carry one now,
is that right?

Speaker 6 (01:56:05):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (01:56:05):
Okay, good.

Speaker 9 (01:56:06):
That might be a hell of a party trick, by
the way. God, what's wrong with Benton's face? It's expanding
by the second like Will Smith and Hitch.

Speaker 2 (01:56:13):
Remember that? When his face got all swelled up? I
can just see you right now like, oh, I just
can't wait to stab Benton right now with something. Do
you guys not watch movies? What the hell's going on here?
I watch good movies. Unbelievable. I've watched Hitch like five
different times.

Speaker 5 (01:56:25):
I love it.

Speaker 2 (01:56:26):
Hitch is a phenomenal movie, man. What's wrong with you, Trav?
Come on, buddy. Will Smith, I think Eva Mendes is
in it, too, by the way.

Speaker 7 (01:56:32):
Who's the..

Speaker 2 (01:56:32):
The King of Queens guy. Kevin James, right? He's in it, man.

Speaker 3 (01:56:35):
Come on, Moger.

Speaker 2 (01:56:37):
Kevin James just cycles over and over and over. His
stuff never gets old.

Speaker 9 (01:56:42):
All right, well, I was going to get you a
gift card for your birthday to Duke Seafood Restaurant.

Speaker 2 (01:56:47):
Oh, I love Duke's. No, you're not getting it. Great Burger.
Great Burger. Can't have it, man. Oh, come on. Can't
have it. No, I don't want you anywhere near seafood.

Speaker 9 (01:56:53):
No takesie-backsies now. Nope, I don't want you anywhere near seafood.
If you die, I don't want that on my conscience,
by the way, at all. So I'll get you something else.

Speaker 2 (01:56:59):
At least I'll live here to see postseason baseball. Are
all the Mariners back, by the way? Are they back?
I don't know if they're back, but they're making the playoffs.
I said that two days ago. Oh, did you ever?

Speaker 9 (01:57:07):
I mean, dude, have you seen the difference in their
schedule versus the Rangers and Astros schedule in September?

Speaker 2 (01:57:12):
It's absurd. We talked about this. How many ouchies do
the Rangers and the Astros have on that schedule right now?
It's crazy.

Speaker 9 (01:57:18):
After today, we've got, I believe, five more games left
against teams that are above 500. Starting September 3rd, their
schedule is made up of teams that are a combined
88 games under.

Speaker 2 (01:57:29):
500.

Speaker 9 (01:57:29):
The Astros have 19 games left, starting with the Yankees tonight.
And the Rangers have 15 games left with the White
Sox series right now. So, I mean, again, you're being
given every opportunity in the book, every break in the book.
We're going to let you make the playoffs when it's
easier than ever to make the playoffs because half the

(01:57:50):
damn league makes the playoffs. We're going to put you
in the worst division possible. And if that's not enough,
by the way, if you're getting greedy, okay, fine. We'll
give you the easiest schedule in baseball the rest of
the way. Not just the easiest schedule in the division, Mike.
The easiest schedule in baseball the rest of the way.
So if they don't make it, shame on them.

Speaker 2 (01:58:09):
I'll tell you what.

Speaker 9 (01:58:09):
If the Mariners don't make the playoffs, you're having a
halibut for dinner tonight.

Speaker 2 (01:58:16):
The death march is on and they'll start with me.
They'll start with me.

Speaker 9 (01:58:22):
Dick and I had this conversation the other day on
the air because I wanted to do a bet with
Dick on the air about the M's making the playoffs.
Dick proclaimed about a week ago that they're done. So
he's Sergeant Doomsdale.

Speaker 2 (01:58:32):
Which, yes, correct.

Speaker 9 (01:58:32):
You are Captain Positivity. Which a lot of people have
done that, right? He's not the only one that have
said the M's are done. I said, all right, let's
have a little wager on the air. I'll throw in
like 500 bucks to Dukes, whatever. You could have a
great meal for 500 bucks, if not two great meals
for 500 bucks. All the wine, booze, you want appetizers, whatever.
What you need to do, and I saw this online
on Twitter, a guy lost a fantasy football bet, and

(01:58:54):
he played a round of golf wearing a dog shock
collar on his neck.

Speaker 2 (01:58:58):
And his buddies got to zap him whenever they wanted to.

Speaker 6 (01:59:00):
All right?

Speaker 2 (01:59:01):
Lighting up for a putt. Lighting up for a tee shot. Whatever.
Duck my face in like a whole vat of like salmon.
Imagine Dick Faina on the air. Well, I'll tell you
what's up.

Speaker 6 (01:59:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:59:10):
And he wouldn't do it because he's got like an
irregular heartbeat and he would die.

Speaker 2 (01:59:16):
Can you take another Mariners-Blue Jays playoff series, though? If
we beat him, yeah.

Speaker 9 (01:59:20):
Are you actually talking about like you could die from
this thing?

Speaker 2 (01:59:23):
That's how bad it is? If I don't go to
the hospital, yes.

Speaker 9 (01:59:25):
Okay, so as long as there's a hospital within how
many minutes? Five minutes away?

Speaker 3 (01:59:29):
Ten minutes away? Five minutes, yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:59:30):
Great, five minutes.

Speaker 9 (01:59:30):
So if the Mariners make the World Series, would you
be willing to have a plate– of shrimp scampi as
long as there's a hospital within five minutes away.

Speaker 2 (01:59:38):
If you get a piece of paper and color it
on there and i'll eat the paper yes would you
do that for me maybe is it worth the five
minute ride to the er for a trip to the
world series maybe i don't know the answer is absolutely
maybe so okay maybe so what you got going What's today?

Speaker 9 (01:59:52):
Tuesday, John Wilder will join us at 5 o'clock. Aaron Goldsmith,
who called not one, not two, but three Cal Raleigh
home runs. He'll join us at 4 o'clock today. Brian
Schmetzer after their big signing, right? Their big trade today
with Kansas City this afternoon. He'll join us at 545.
A little fun with audio, testimonials, the whole thing.

Speaker 2 (02:00:09):
Coming up, man. I'm just making sure that Softy's suit
says I'm still in good graces here. Good to see you, pal.
Don't eat any seafood. We don't want you dying. Big thanks,
Corbin Smith, Everett, Gary Hill Jr. Big thanks also, Trav, Softy,
Dick Fane. Up next for Ian, I'm Mike. See ya.

Speaker 9 (02:00:21):
For the mild-mannered and marginally objectionable Ian Furness, this is
Paddle Day saying so long, everyone.

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