Hour 1 - Late Night Mariners Texts, Jeff Passan

Get out of the freaking out from the quantum fiber studio. This is Brock and Salk on Seattle Sports. I don't read the Internet guy. Take the ball by the hands and brook wire. You are and brook. You are now here are your hosts Brock, you are and Mike's all. All right. Hello. Good morning, everybody. It is a Brock and Salt show. Seattle Sports on 7 10 sale sports dot com. The Seattle Sports app, all the podcast platforms, 97 3 HD 2 and YouTube here I am on YouTube. Brock will be in a little bit later. He'll be here at seven. Daniel Jeremiah is going to be with us today. I think Shannon Dreyer is going to join us from Texas a little later this morning, 7 30. So a lot of good stuff. I'm sorry, I was almost late because I was busy putting together all of the late night overnight Mariner tax. There are a lot of them not going to lie. And it was taking me so long that I nearly wasn't ready to start the show. Yesterday was a was a lot like the day before. To be perfectly honest, four one run losses in a row here now for the Mariners. They've lost four straight. The record is now four and eight through 12 games. People are mad and we have for you overnight. Mariners texts. There we go. What do we think? Do you like the effects? Does it feel real? Lyle, now that we have that overnight Mariners texts. Yeah, why not? Do we like overnight? Should we go late night? I don't know. Overnight Mariners texts. That one has a little more echo on it. Text, text, text, text, text, text. Anyway, here we go. Here's a bunch of overnight Mariner texts for you guys. I know there's a lot of games left, plenty of time to play some better ball. But I'm a little nervous about how sloppy this team has looked overall so far. Yeah, you and me both, buddy. That's a good one. There's nothing over the top about that. Being a little nervous about the sloppiness. I would say that one makes perfect sense. Nothing exaggerated about that one. It has been sloppy, certainly here. And that's why you lose so many one run games. Execution, little things. Absolutely. Sloppy, no doubt. Totally agree. Uh, I guess we can't complain about the offense. After all, the Mariners doubled their offensive output and got to two runs. Yay. That's true. Can't can't argue that one either. So far, you guys are two for two. I can't argue with that. Can't wait for the Brock and Salk show to tell us how good the Mariners are tomorrow morning. Well, I mean. I'm not going to do that. They haven't done anything good. What's this? Has that what we've been doing every day? Whitewashing? I don't think so. I don't think we've whitewashed. I don't think we've said to cut cow. But I don't know there. We've whitewashed that they haven't played good baseball. And you're now almost two weeks into this thing. For the Brock and Salk show, I'm so happy to see the Mariners decided to listen to Mr. Goldstein's advice and not bunting the ninth inning. It worked wonders. Lyle, you were taking heat this morning. That's not the only one. How about this one? Lyle. Lots of exclamation points. Please give us a rant about that ridiculous bunt to end the game tonight. Does he mean Donovan? He swung on accident. No, I think he's saying that they should have bunted these being sarcastic. Oh, how interesting. Should they have bunted first and second? No, no, no, no, no. You shouldn't put a runner on set. And third one out. That's not a better situation in the back. No, you don't think it's a better situation of second and third one out. No, really, because swinging the bat is going so well. Down one in the nine. The only, the only situation where I would not straight up break my TV over a bunt in that scenario is if it's Leo Reeve, us that happens to be up in the game. No, I'm not pinch hitting for him to lay down a bunt. And no, I'm not having somebody else on the team lay down a bunt. I will agree with you. The can zone is not the guy to lay down a bond. Do you think Dom Canzone is practice bunting significantly in his life? I hope not. Yeah, I mean, I hope not. Then why would he be doing it? Yeah, but that doesn't mean it's not a good bunting situation. Yeah, I'm out. First and second, nobody out down a run. Nine thinning. I don't hate it, man. I don't hate it. But I understand. But I understand the argument that you're making here as well. You just have to actually make it, right? The argument goes, OK, let's say you bunt and you get one run out of it. Now it's tied. And if you lose in the bottom of the ninth, which is not like, you know, out of the question, you feel really stupid because the other thing that could happen, right, if you start going down the road, not traveled is Dominic Canzone. It's a three run home run, which, you know, he's perfectly capable of doing. And now you're up to. And now you're actually in a safe situation. And so like, I understand your argument. Luke Rayleigh just doesn't miss first base. Then JP Single gets him to third. But this is after that. But this is after that. I still wouldn't. But this is after that. Yeah. I mean, like that did happen. We'll talk through it. Obviously, the Luke thing is challenging. But like once you're at first and second, nobody out. I think there's I think you got a good case either way. Personally, I would have I would have bunted there. I don't know that. I mean, I probably am pinch hitting for Canzone or are fine. I'm probably bunting there. But I am. I understand your argument against it. You I think there's something to it. Oh, good. Another morning where I get to listen to Salk talk about how this really isn't a bad thing. There are some positives to take from the fourth straight loss in a row. Not offering you guys any positives. You got to do the little things. You got a hit. They haven't hit. That's all. There are two reasons why I hate baseball. Number one, it's early. Number two, that's just baseball. While it is early, I don't know what to tell you. I can't help you with that. I sure wish the Mariners weren't making a say it again this year. But they are. The Mariners have lost five one run games this year. Donovan defensive play here, a mental mistake there. All of a sudden, those little mistakes add up to more L's in the loss column real fast. And when your team overall isn't hitting, that sloppy play just stings a little bit more. That text is 100 percent accurate. 100 percent. The mental mistakes, the defensive errors. And they do add up and become glaring when your team's not hitting 100 percent. Right. That's exactly what we've seen so far. I can't explain to you why we've seen mental mistakes. I can't explain to you why the execution and the little things have been off. I don't know. I've given you my theories. I'm not trying to just blow smoke. I've given you my theories. I think the expectation level and all of that has been a challenge for them. I think it's hard to deal with the weight of those expectations. And I don't know that, you know, embracing them and saying the words World Series over and over again. I don't know that that was the right call. I was nervous about it. Didn't really care for it at spring training. And it still seems to me as if, you know, it was not the right way to handle it. Certainly the four and eight start is showing that something is a little amiss. And I think that whatever happened with Cal and Randy and everybody coming back from the WBC, I think you put all that together and I think there's a strain on the team. That doesn't mean they can't get over it. Again, huge difference between saying and talking about what you see in front of you and making a declarative statement about what it will mean for the future. What we're seeing right now is bad. The way the team has been constructed, I still think is fairly good. Fairly good. So good teams don't always live up to their potential, but I do think the team is a lot better than what they've shown through the first 12, 12 games of the season. Another angry tax. Maybe Cal should have worked on his swing this off season instead of filming 38 commercials. Come on. Although you do make yourself a target, the more you do the bigger target you get. That's for sure. That's for sure. Okay, I know it's early and everyone's in love with Dan Wilson, but top of nine down one man on first and second no outs and he doesn't bunt. Coles fly ball would have tied the game. If it's because Canzone's not a good bunter, then put Rivas in to bunt them over. Sorry, it's just not smart baseball. By the way, I'm 74 years old and I've been an Avin Mariner fan since the obsession. Please tell it like it is. That's not a surprising end to that text, to be honest with you. It's not that surprising. And then finally this bit's not funny anymore. This team actually stinks. Stupid me. I actually believe this year was going to be different. Well, I don't know if they stink, but they're definitely not playing good baseball right now. This has been overnight Mariners text. Yes, text, text, text. Okay, there you go. That is, that is just another round, another addition. Hopefully we get to do these at some point after a Mariner win, but we haven't seen enough of those. Four and eight to start the year. Yeah, I don't, I don't have a, I don't have a way to, and I'm not looking for a way to tell you that the way they've played is good. It's not. They haven't played good baseball. I mean, like again, they've been in all these games and they still haven't gotten anything really from the middle of their lineup. And I think that will change. I think the lineup is still fairly complete. I think it's good, but now they're four and eight facing a lefty today. They've already lost another series to Texas. And you know, you got to worry about being swept because they do not hit very well against lefties and Mackenzie Gorse pretty good. So yeah, I think there's a lot of reason to be, to be nervous right now about the way they're playing. Am I nervous about the long-term prospects of the season? No, not yet. Not yet. At some point. Yeah. Do I think that some of the conversation about, Hey, this is the year for Julio? Like, dude, you can't wait until June and July. You got to start hitting. So yeah, there, there is, there are some issues right now. And I think we have said that with the expectations that were put on them and the stuff coming out of the WBC to start to this season was going to be under a microscope more than ever. And right now, it's not going very well. So it's up to them to try to turn it around. They got a day game to do it today. 1130 start will come back with everything you need to know next. It's Brock and Salk sale sports on 7 10. Highlights don't win games. The full box score does. I'm Brock cured and most business leaders aren't short on data. They're short on clarity. Numbers are scattered across ERP CRM's and spreadsheets, making decisions reactive instead of confident. And that's not how great businesses are built. Marquee IQ brings all your data together into one clear view. Even if it lives in disconnected systems or offline, so you can see what's really happening and act faster. Stop running your business on highlights. Get the full picture. Visit data that wins.com to see what Marquee IQ can do. When you're running the hurry up and don't have time for your favorite Seattle sports shows, listen to the podcast on demand. How about that? Unbelievable. What a thought. Every hour, every interview, every look behind the scenes. He is your new Seahawks head coach, Mike McDonald. We want to play a certain way and you're just going to chisel away at it every day. Find us on seahawksports.com, the Seattle Sports app or wherever you get podcasts. All signs continue to point to it being the right hire. Never miss a minute of Seattle sports. The home of the Seahawks. Old Windows cost you money and security. Lake Washington Windows and Doors installs energy efficient, high security windows that lower your bills and increase protection. With leak armor installation and lifetime warranties, you're protected for life. Choose LakeWashingtonWindows.com today. Get more baseball for your buck with Mariners value options, tickets for less than $12 to select games all season, and the biggest ever value menu and beer lineup, featuring 36 items and available every game. Check it out at mariners.com slash value. Need to know 15 minutes past every hour with Brock and Salk presented by Marquis data. Here's what you need to know. Up first felt like a rerun in Texas last night. Mariners played nearly an identical game as Monday. This time it was Brandon Donovan who had the first inning home. Brandon Donovan will lead things off. Here's the first pitch by a baldy swinging a fly ball deep to right field. Down the line and this one is gone. Goodbye baseball. Brendan Donovan jumping on the first pitch from Nathan Evaldi hits it out of the ballpark. His third home run of the season. And just like that, the Mariners have a one nothing lead. Yeah, there was some thought that this might be different. In fact, they got up to nothing thanks to a Cal Raleigh single, but. You got a couple of iffy defensive plays and the next thing you know, you got a couple runners on or a runner on base for Higa Shioca. Runner goes swinging a well hit ball deep to left center field. Randy going back in this one is gone. Home run by Kyle Higa Shioca to run line shot and the Rangers now lead the ball game by a score of three to two. Yeah, that was all they would need. They never looked back. The Mariners mounted a thread in the ninth, first and second couldn't get him in. So two hits apiece for Donovan and Rayleigh. Nice to see Cal and Julio have hits as well, but didn't lead to enough runs. It wasted a complete game performance for George Kirby, who was very good in this one. And, you know, he was obviously not happy about what he gave up there with the home run, but overall pitched pretty well. Yeah, I mean, George, you know, his pitch count was down. You know, he's been so aggressive. They had been very aggressive early swinging and he got a lot of early outs. And so, you know, he was in great shape in terms of his pitch count. And like I said before, just what was coming out of his hand was still electric. And, you know, all the way through the eighth inning, I thought, you know, he was still throwing 96, 97 there in the eighth. And, you know, I thought good command of his secondaries. It was just an outstanding night for George. And, you know, he we've seen this from him. You know, he stays focused and, you know, he was he was locked in tonight. It was a good night for George. Unfortunately, it was sort of the same night for the bats. Mariners now four and eight. They do have a chance to at least avoid the sweep today. Brian will be on the hill. That's a good thing. He goes up though against lefty Mackenzie Gore. That's probably not 1135 a.m. First pitch pregame show at 1030. Obviously, you can listen right here on Seattle Sports or on the Seattle Sports app. Here's the second thing you need to know. 15 days from the NFL draft. The Seahawks have, as you know, just four picks. Bill Barnwell proposed an all trades Monk draft yesterday and for the Seahawks, he had them dealing number 32 for pick number 39, seventh pick in the second round, plus a third and a fifth. You making that deal? Probably. Yes. You're not moving far that far back. That was with Cleveland, right? So you move back seven spots. You still pick at number 39 and then you add a third, which you could really use and you add the fifth round pick. Yeah. I think I'm probably doing that. You end up with two seconds, two thirds and a fifth. Yeah. A fourth and a fifth. Yeah. That's probably right. Yes. I'm doing that deal. I'm in on that half the world right now mocking Jadarian price the running back from Notre Dame to the Seahawks. Why? Well, here's Rob Staten on yesterday with bumping Stacy. He had the most explosive plays of all of the running backs who are eligible for this draft from the 2025 season. So if you are looking to replace what Ken Walker gave you in terms of big plays, the Jadarian price has shown that he can do that. His missed tackle force rate is amongst the highest in the class. I think it is at the top. His second for yards after contact per attempt. So all of those different statistics that you're looking for to try and replace Ken Walker, he ticks those boxes. Yeah. I get the idea of a running back. Totally understand. And I know they need another one. I know there's a lot of people mocking corner. I'm still probably sticking edge with the first pick that they make this year. If it's me, I just think the position is of such value. But if there are other ways to bring that edge in, yeah, I get it. There could certainly go with a running back. I don't know that I could do it at 32 at 39. If you could make that deal go from 32 to 39, add the third and a fifth and then take Jadarian price. I don't think I'd have a problem with that. I think that actually makes a fair amount of sense. It was rerun night for the Mariners. It was exactly that for the crack and they got run out of Minnesota after taking an early lead. Sound familiar? Yep. They led two to one after the first period and then they gave up four straight goals. Nice job, boys. They lose five to two. Just a hideous effort, just hideous, hideous effort by a team that just, I think is telling the world they're crying out for something to change and not something small, something big. Please change what we're doing out there. They seem to be saying every single day they step on the ice. Torrent lose also the life of an expansion team. They're getting close to elimination themselves. Again, in their case, you end up with the top three pick. You're going to end up with somebody who could help change your franchise. So some real positives, even though they're losing right there, that is everything you need to know. Quarter past every hour here on the Brock and Sulk show. God, let me see if I could find the text I got about the crack and earlier because I thought it was pretty good. It was essentially saying that it doesn't matter how many times you fired the man in this case, the coach. It doesn't matter. No matter how many times you fired the coach, you got to get the right coach. You can't worry about what you did three years ago or whatever. You've got to get the right guy. And I don't necessarily disagree with that. I don't. I don't know that you hear you go. Jake from Leavenworth. Sulk, you got a good crack in point that they haven't made a splashy coaching hire so far. I think we agree. Let's clean it all out all on New Jersey. Who cares how many coaches we've had so far? Upper management has been constant and we've constantly gotten it wrong. I've heard on the sheet with Jeff Merrick, the average shelf life event NHL head coaches two and a half years. Bring in a recycled known coach, Bruce Cassidy, Gerard Galant, Bruce Boudreau, new young coach, David Carl from DU, Manny Malhotra, Ryan Worfowski. Yeah, there are a lot of other options out there. There's no doubt. And it did not go that great. There didn't seem to be top tier candidates the last time they tried to hire. Well, why? Well, you got to figure that out. And if that means going higher than the coach, going higher than the, yeah, then you've got to do it. Because what they're doing right now, it just unfortunately isn't working. So, okay, Jeff Passon joined us a little late yesterday. Why? He had a good excuse. He was talking to Cal Raleigh. So we'll hear a little bit about his conversation with Cal. We'll also hear why he used the word codpiece in an interview. It doesn't happen every day, but it happened yesterday. Stick around and you'll find out why. Find out why next on Brock and Salk. Highlights don't win games. The full box score does. I'm Brock Heard and most business leaders aren't short on data. They're short on clarity. Numbers are scattered across ERP, CRMs and spreadsheets, making decisions reactive instead of confident. And that's not how great businesses are built. Marquee IQ brings all your data together into one clear view. Even if it lives in disconnected systems or offline, so you can see what's really happening and act faster. Stop running your business on highlights. Get the full picture. Visit datathetwins.com to see what Marquee IQ can do. When you're running the hurry up and don't have time for your favorite Seattle sports shows, listen to the podcast on demand. How about that? Unbelievable. What a thought. Every hour, every interview, every look behind the scenes. He is your new Seahawks head coach, Mike McDonald. We want to play a certain way and you're just going to chisel away at it every day. Find us on seattlesports.com, the Seattle Sports app, or wherever you get podcasts. All signs continue to point to it being the right hire. Never a misadventure of Seattle sports. The home of the Seahawks. Get more baseball for your buck with Mariners value options, tickets for less than $12 to select games all season, and the biggest ever value menu and beer lineup featuring 36 items and available every game. Check it out at mariners.com slash value. For decades, Seattle has lived and breathed baseball. The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, and the memories made at the ballpark. At Levitt Group Northwest Insurance, they get it because they call Seattle home just like you. They know this community and they know what it takes to protect it. That's why they listen, shop around, and tailor coverage for your home, car, or business. Call 877-4-LEVITT. Levitt Group Northwest Insurance, you can count on, season after season, 877-4-LEVITT. Levitt Group Northwest Insurance, you can count on, season after season, 877-4-LEVITT. And Seattle's Sport Time YouTube. I'm surprised that Clayton has kept Clayton from doing his segments. I mean, we miss John. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't found a way to have left recordings or something so that he would still do segments every day. I mean, he just never said no to anything. Never. And it could be, you want to do the 1am overnight hit? Yeah, what time? I'll be there at 12.30. Can we tape at 12.30? Yeah. Always and forever. This one says, Brock and Salk shows the best thing, one of the best things in my life. My brother and I listen every day and then discuss. I was born a Seahawks fan, Salk talked to me and he would be a baseball fan. Now I listen to most Mariner games while I'm working. Thank you for the laughs and the fun sports discussion. Well, you're welcome. 17 years in yesterday, 17 years that this station has been doing its thing. You know who would not have joined us 17 years ago yesterday? Jeff Passon. No. He would have wanted no part of this. Yeah, no. Yeah, and who could blame him? There wasn't a whole lot to join. Jeff, good morning. Thanks for finding some time for us. How are you? This is Cal Raleigh's fault, by the way. Okay. This is his phone? No, this is his fault. Oh, I thought you said you're calling on Cal Raleigh's phone right now. What happened? Why? So why are you recording with Cal? Yeah, I would. I was recording with Cal, but I was only recording with Cal today because our original record date, I'm pretty sure he slept through it. And you, like, like, you know, you know, when you get that call from someone, and this is, like, this is very Cal, like he is, you know, he's an incredible baseball player, but also he's just like a dude. And you know, sometimes dudes forget that he's an... You probably don't know this name, Jeff. Do you know the name Adam Moore? He was a catcher for the Mariners in like 2011, 1011. That's a real deep... There's no reason you should remember him. But Adam Moore was once supposed to be on this show at 1.45pm. And at 1.30, he had told me text me at 1.30 to make sure I'm up for the 1.45 segment. That's true. Sure enough, texting him, he's like, okay, I just got up. I was playing video games all night. I was like, God, Adam, that's a really sad state. Honestly, good for Adam Moore, but how many years did Adam Moore have? Not many. Probably would have had more if he was awake a little earlier than two o'clock every day. All right. Well, I want to hear about your interview with Cal. Can we start there? Is there anything you can tell us about it? Yeah, this is going to be a podcast episode. And my... I'm finally, you know, everyone else had a podcast. I just got jealous. We're starting it up. The first episode is going to be running on TV, actually. Cool. So that's kind of exciting. And it's going to... You know, the whole idea of it is I'm very fortunate to talk to people inside the game. And every person has a specific... Not story necessarily, but perspective that they can offer. And the first episode is going to be Tarek, Scoobl, and Paul Schemes together talking about pitching. And I wanted to do an episode on what it's like to be a catcher. And I didn't think there was anybody better than Cal Raleigh out there to explain the duties, the responsibilities, the necessities, everything that comes with this job that I think is going to be a good thing. And he did an awesome job explaining all of that and getting into all of the other Cal things that he tends to. Cool. So were you jealous or was this part of the New Deal? No, this was part of the New Deal. You know, we're about the facts here. The Brux Salkshow. We cut through that stuff. You weren't jealous about anything. You want a New Deal? You want extension? No, I wouldn't. Are you kidding? I don't want to do more work. I have no need for that. But I will say this. This is, it's not going to be, I think, a typical podcast. We're getting a little weird and it's got some interactivity and I think people are going to dig it. I love it. You told him, and by the way, that doesn't surprise me at all. Of course you will do something. Jokes aside, you will do something to make it more interesting. Jokes aside, you will do something to make the podcast format unique and kind of change it a little bit. That doesn't surprise me at all. So the first one debuts when? Just give me the dates on it and when does Cal come out? I believe Thursday is going to be the first one. We're still getting that taken care of. But that's going to be like a 4TV episode. The first full one, I believe, is going to be a week from today. And what's it called? And that's going to be, I haven't announced the name yet, but you know what? Screw it. Breaking news. It's going to be, yeah, here's the thing. If you go and look for it like on your cable or on your TV provider, it's actually there. It's going to be called sources tell Jeff Passon. Hmm. A little double meaning there, you know? Sources tell Jeff Passon. Okay, I like it. Yes, very cool. Well, thank you. Nice job. I appreciate that. Jeff, help me with something here. Is there something we can tell people today? Besides it's early, like it'd be really nice because I know it's early. You know it's early. Brock knows it's early and deep in their heart of hearts, the fans who are watching this super this World Series bound team go four and seven to start the year. We all know it's early, but I think we're sick of hearing it year after year. Is there something else we can say today to help with the four and seven start other than it's early? No, not really. I mean, they're not like they're just they're not hitting right now. I don't I don't know if they have the worst batting average in the big leagues, but it's got to be close there. And I know batting average is batting average. And you know, the fact that they're walking as much as they are as good, the fact that they're striking out as much as they are not so good. But I think it's just it's just a matter of time. We saw this last year too. We're at the Mariners in the last place at the end of April. I don't think so, but they were four and seven. They were actually three and seven last year and then they went on a bit of a run throughout the rest of April. Yeah, I mean, I I'm just, you know, just looking right now at the numbers of the guys who were playing every day. Who Lea Rodriguez not having an extra base hit 11 games into the season. Not ideal. Cal Raleigh only hitting his first home run last night and striking out 43% of the time. Not ideal either. And and for the good things that we've seen this year, Brennan Donovan has been awesome and an excellent fit for this team. And Cole Young's emergence has been great and the power growing has been nice. But yeah, the the bats have just straight up disappeared. That's that first series. And this team needs to be better offensively simple as that. And I think it's going to be a matter of time. I don't think Cal Raleigh is going to finish the season hitting 140 something. I don't think coolie Rodriguez is going to finish the season. He's going to finish the season. They've been 140 something. JP Crawford is going to get on track. Josh Naylor is going to be better. But yet they just have not hit at all. And for for 10, 11 games that you know, you accept it once we get to 25 or 30, then that starts being problematic. And you've dug yourself a hole. That's really difficult to get out of. Fortunately, they're in the American League West. What are you seeing? I think we're seeing a lot of people getting ready every day and we talk about it. And Ozium with some of these struggles and everything else and all the numbers right in front of us. You get to see on sources tell Jeff Passen a little bigger picture and you get to see it in its entirety. I guess American League and American League West. What's jumped out to Jeff? American League, I think the Yankees look like the best team right now. And I'm not just saying that because they have the best record. Pitching has been otherworldly and they've hit two. And with the Mariners, their pitching has been really good and they just haven't hit quite as much. But you look at the rest of the league guys, the Orioles don't look good. The Blue Jays are banged up like they have a lot of injury issues. And I was just in Toronto yesterday, sitting down with Dave Roberts and John Schneider for an episode on what it's like to manage game seven. And you know, Schneider was just going through the laundry list of injuries that he's had to deal with and losing Alejandro Kirk to thumb surgery and Cody Ponce to an E-injury. Jose Boreos is out already. Like their pitching staff, Shane Bieber is out. Their pitching staff is a mess. There is no greater mess than the Boston Red Sox right now. They have, I think, the worst record baseball at two and eight at this point. Then you go to the central. Nobody really in the central distinguished itself and there's not really a scary team there. And then out West, I know the Astros got off to a hot start and they're hitting, but they've also given up, I think, the most runs in the American League. The Angels, I get that they're six and five right now. I'm not buying it. The Rangers, I think the Rangers might actually be the biggest threat to the Mariners in the division and even their 500. So right now the American League looks like a big old pile of mediocrity. And that's a little surprising because frankly, I thought that that was going to be more the line of the National League except for the Dodgers. And in the National League, the Brewers have looked fantastic so far. The Pirates have looked good. Cincinnati, it's interesting seeing like the Mariners and the Reds, they've had very similar seasons so far just in terms of difficult time scoring runs, but good pitching. The difference is the Reds are seven and three and the Mariners are four and seven. So when I say it's early, that's what I mean that these small samples, they really do not indicate a whole lot about the trajectory of a team. But it's some of those little things that you can take away that maybe a couple months down the road you saw the signs of early on in the season that it turned out are going to be true in a good way or maybe enough. And I think that's why there's a little frustration. Look, we know, again, like we saw them have the exact same record this time last year. But I think the hope and Brock brought this up earlier, like the hope was not to win 90. The hope was to win closer to 100. And Julio is going to turn it around and be 30 30. But the hope is for Julio to be 40 40. And in order to do those things like you can't wait until May or June, like you kind of have to get it going pretty quick. Yeah, I mean, it's nice that way. But the the ultimate thing Mike, is it not I would rather than be doing this in August and September than April and May. And we we we want all of it, right? Like we we want them to from the jump be a juggernaut. Sometimes it doesn't happen, but that doesn't damn this team, you know, to a disappointing season. You learn anything new from sitting down with Cal. I did, but I got to say that for the show. Can you work around it? Can you give me can you just maybe hypothesize? Not sources tell just Jeff Jeffries own thoughts. I, you know, I think the cool thing about this show, this specific one in particular is that it gave insight into what every day is like for him and all of the things that he has to juggle at the same time. And there was a question, a question I asked is catching more chess or crisis management. And his answer was yes. And I love the fact that it simultaneously he has to sit there when he's squatting behind the plate and not just think about the psychology of his picture and how he's feeling and what he might want to throw at a particular point. But also to understand everything else that's going on around you, the game situation, the batter who's coming to the plate, what's going on on the base pass and who he has to be responsible for there. It's just constant brain activity. And if you were, you know, he said this, like you can't take a pitch off. If you're not engaged on that one pitch, something is going to happen and it's not going to be good. So in addition to the physical elements of it, you know, he got hit in the nuts last night on a foul ball back. Not cool. Not great. Doesn't feel very good. I'll say this. I did learn that he got a custom jockstrap this year that has a big dumper written on it with the Mariners Tri-Damp logo. That is breaking news. Thank you, Jeff. It is. You're welcome. I'm here for transactions and cup updates. Did he tell you that story in a high-pitched voice like an 80s comedy? He did not. It's in every Goonies and Ferris Bueller, like all of these 80s comics. Oh my God, and then the ball hit me. Such a weird trope. So did you in any way, and I'm kind of curious on this front, and we asked Angie Mentink yesterday about it and just kind of curious for your perspective of all your years of covering baseball. Do expectations weigh down baseball teams and individuals? They can. Yeah. I think it depends on the team. I think it depends on the levels of confidence there. And I would believe that after last year that the Mariners would understand who they are. And it's why I think they're not panicking right now. It's because I think they know that they've been there, that they've done it, that they were a few outs away from advancing to the First World Series in franchise history and that nothing changed between last year and this year. There are going to be performances that differ from last year. I would be stunned not just because of the beginning of the season, but I would be stunned if Cal Raleigh had 60 home runs again. I would have said that before the season started though. And so I think the expectations are reasonable and reasonably high for the Mariners because they've shown what they're capable of being. And if they're not going out improving that and reiterating that, then it's a fair question to ask why. What has changed? Now, I think it's too early to ask that question, but if this doesn't turn around at some point in the near future, asking what's different between last year and this year is something that everyone's going to be doing. You get an opportunity to see Emerson Hancock at all or hear about what he's done in these first couple of starts because he's making for some potentially interesting conversations down the road here. Yeah. I mean, this is a sincere question. What do you do when Bryce Miller comes back? Do you guys read Lance Bresdowski at all? Yeah. Okay. So Lance Bresdowski is as good of an analyst, I think, of all of the high level metric stuff when it comes to pitching as anyone there is. And from his newsletter yesterday, the first six words, Emerson Hancock's breakout is upon us. And, you know, he's talking about the differences in like the release height of his foreseamer, which is three inches lower this year and the arm angle, which is down from 18 degrees to 13 degrees, which is lower than 97% of right handers in MLB. And what sort of effect that's having on his arsenal. And I give the Mariners is an organization, a lot of credit for their ability to figure out how to best optimize a pitcher in his movement patterns, in his grips, in the way that the ball is coming off of his fingers, trying to get the best version of himself. And I'm not going to sit here and say yet definitively that the Mariners have cracked that with Emerson Hancock. It's just a couple of starts at this point. But they've been really good starts. And I think the version of Hancock that we're seeing now is like the version that we thought we could see when he was drafted, but not the version that when he was ascending through the minor leagues, I anticipated. I thought Emerson Hancock was a number five. He is not pitching like a number five right now. He's pitching like a good mid rotation starter. And the fact that there could be more if this becomes a consistent thing is a great time for an organization that already has five good starting pitchers. And with Ryan Sloan and Kate Anderson on the come up in the minor leagues, it's even more. And it just, it opens up a world of possibilities for Mariners, some of which are, you know, exciting. And I think it's a great idea of potentially moving a pitcher to get some more help with the bats or get some more help in the bullpen or wherever it is that you want to upgrade. But it's also a little scary because, you know, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert in particular are getting closer and closer to free agency. And you wonder if one of these guys who's been a seminal as both of them have to this rise of the Mariners is going to suddenly become a potential trade candidate. You ever think about taking a little relic from each of your podcasts interviews? What kind of a relic? I don't know. Something in the background you could put back there like a bobblehead. I was just thinking about that jockstrap of Cal Rawls. How amazing that would be to have like in the back. I think you're going to make a joke about my dad being a big jockstrap guy. No, I just, I'm like, how my dad likes to wear a jockstrap whenever he plays softball or goes swimming. He puts it under the, you know, he puts it under his bathing suit or whatever. Your dad goes full codpiece in the pool. Well, I mean under a bathing suit and not anymore, but he used to. Brock's been fascinated by this for years. Was he afraid that he was going to like crash into the bottom of the cup? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, not the cup. No, just the athletic supporter part of it. Just the old athletic, no, not an actual cup. No, no, no, no, just the athletic supporter part of it. Nevermind. Just the strap. All right, Brock, why would you distract us? I have actual baseball questions. I have Jeff Passett and you're asking him about codpieces. No, you're the one who brought it up. You said it. No. Brock is fascinated with my dad. Thank you. That's only because he wanted it in the background of your, of your video. That's ridiculous. Hey, let me ask you quickly about these young youngsters. As we watch Kevin McGonagall and Connor Griffin, should we be paying attention as a potential roadmap for Colt Emerson? No, I don't think so because I think that they're all just unique players with unique skill sets and unique abilities to transition to the big leagues. I mean, Connor Griffin, I don't think he has a hit aside from his first at bat. He played good defense there. McGonagall now hitting in the leadoff spot. I would argue that he is the Tigers best every day player already. That's not going to be the case with Colt Emerson. Colt Emerson is going to come into the Mariners lineup and will probably hit seventh or eighth. And his presence, it's going to be nice. It will be good to have that bat around and to see what he can be long term. I am interested in seeing what kind of an effect it has on Brandon Donovan though, because some players, you know, Brandon Donovan is the kind of guy who's had a scrap for the kind of career that he's made for himself. And in terms of respect to him for doing that. So maybe he is used to this idea of being super utility guy, but there is some comfort guys in knowing where you're going to play every day. And if that gets thrown into question because Colt Emerson is taking over third base when he comes up and Brandon Donovan is just going to be that Swiss Army knife who's in the lineup every day. It's just a question of where, what kind of an effect does that have on him? The great Jeff Passon who joins us Tuesdays generally at 8.30, replay Wednesday morning at 6.30. And thanks to Jeff for spending the time with us yesterday. It would have been nice if it had felt dated. It would have been nice if playing it this morning was like, ah, yeah, that was yesterday back when we were worried about the offense and the Mariners. Everything changed overnight and now everything is rosy. But instead we watched what felt to be almost exactly the same game only this time. It came with an especially bright spotlight on the one biggest problem the Mariners have right now. That's next on Brock and Salk.