Lookout Landing

Driveline Baseball’s founder Kyle Boddy has been described, kindly, as an industry disruptor, a visionary, an innovator; and less kindly, as abrasive, off-putting, egocentric and dickish. Appropriately, this week’s podcast jumps right into conversation with Boddy describing his setup at Driveline—no music or soft lead-in. Over the course of the conversation, and building off Levi Weaver’s excellent series of articles on Boddy in the Athletic, Boddy reveals himself as a polymath who’s been, in turns, a mathematician, philosopher, economist, classically trained pianist, scientist, entrepreneur, professional poker player, Magic the Gathering enthusiast, Little League coach, and Warped Tour bassist. He also presents himself as a more mellowed-out version of his earlier, swaggering online presence, an objective scientist who lets data win out over ego. More than anything, Boddy is a visionary who uses data in all its forms to create a holistic model for building a better baseball player. The conversation flows quickly and recursively, at times doubling back on itself to reinforce ideas or clarify concepts, and therefore we won’t be providing a full minute by minute listing of topics, because there are often multiple topics covered over a span of just a few minutes. Some of the things touched upon: why scouts don’t know what to do with Driveline; Blackberry vs. iPhones; Driveline’s staff of “miscreants”; why the most important question for successful people to ask is “what next?”; why teams should operate more like professional poker players; Mike Trout’s boring effectiveness; and what one thing he wishes all Driveline trainees would walk in the door understanding, and why most of them never will. Listen to all of it. We promise you’ll learn something.

With Kate on the DL (aka partying too hard), John Trupin calls on staff writers Grant Bronsdon and Zach Gottschalk for an all Garfield High School episode. Let's get angsty. 0-2:30 - Introductions, and the confession that we are all using #OneMic. 2:30-19:00 - A recap of the Mariners' recent escapades. Do we trust any relievers? Does a 6-4 road trip feel okay? It's the first off day after 20 straight games! Where should Canó play? Does Zach hate NUMBERS? 19:00-1:05:48 - Questions! How would a pitching staff of exclusively Edwin's Díaz fare? Which NBA player once pulled Grant's shirt over his head mid-crossover in a game of 3-on-3? Is Willy Wonka Bad? Does getting scowled at by a sitting Senator hinder John's political aspirations? Can any Mariners learn to walk?  Music: Youth - Glass Animals, Family (feat. Vic Mensa) [Blended Babies Remix] - Chance the Rapper

This week Kate and John are joined by staff writer Matthew Robeson to talk the current state of the team, the slumping offense, and a bunch of other nonsense because talking about the team isn’t super-fun right now. 0 - 12:00: Matthew and John offer a preview of their TED talk, How to Watch Mariners Baseball: a Primer. Matthew is outraged the team rosters both Nick Vincent and Zach Vincej, although for how much longer, who knows. The current state of the offense is discussed, and the word “brutal” is used a fair amount of times. Matthew is forced to revisit the long interview he just wrote up with prospect Bryson Brigman, traded for Cameron Maybin the day the article was set to publish. 12:00 - 24:00: Discussing Maybin and the trade deadline. Matthew invokes the name of Austin Jackson and some heavy magical thinking. John raises the question of what the Mariners’ best-ever trade deadline acquisition was, and Matthew makes a good argument that it might be Denard Span. Kate tries to delineate between loyalty to Félix and wanting accountability for things the King could have done better, and inadvertently causes Matthew to black out. 24:00 - 38:00: Looking down the stretch and assessing the panic levels for all teams not named The Boston Red Sox. Discussing the A’s bold trade deadline strategy of doing nothing and whether or not their heavily-taxed bullpen can continue to support starters who can’t make it through the seventh, assessing the sustainability of their offensive production, and examining their schedule compared to ours. 38:00 - 45:00: Assessing panic levels. John points out that the fanbase has a longer memory of the Mariners’ longterm failure than almost anyone who is currently playing for the Mariners. Sometimes not having any homegrown prospects is good! Matthew notes that in that way, the fanbase reflects the city itself. 45:00 - end: Questions! 

0 - 5:00: Whining about the heat because we are Seattle Wimps and some general weekend catching-up. Eric talks about a beer festival he was at over the weekend and gives Kate a severe case of FOMO. Is it FOMO? Suprisingly, this is not the first time our over-30 podcast duo will fail to nail a moment in the cultural zeitgeist. 5:00-15:00: Bemoaning the lack of offense against the White Sox and establishing which threat level we are at for the current state of the offense: higher or lower than the nation’s airports? Kate wonders who the hero will be who’s finally able to drive in Dee after he triples. Some general pooh-poohing of visiting fans flooding into Safeco is done because tickets for the Maple Grove are currently going for forty bucks, which is ridiculous. Kate tells a story about being annoyed by Giants Tech Startup Bro Fans at Spring Training this year, and Eric mentions Paul Konerko, because he’s apparently on some kind of rewards program. 15:00-22:00: Breaking down the offensive struggles a little more and examining Nelson Cruz’s recent slump. Kate argues this is actually the best time to extend Nelson Cruz. 22:00 - 31:00: Talking the Scott Servais extension and debating Heyman’s bizarre claim that Servais isn’t well-liked in the clubhouse. Kate tells a heartwarming anecdote about Servais that is only slightly emotionally dinged when she mixes up team surgeon Dr. Khalfayan and Wiz Khalifa. Using professional experience from each of our careers, Eric talks about Servais’s management style, and Kate talks about Servais’s philosophy as a teacher. We might not nail every reference but there are some benefits to being Olds. 31:00 - 34:00: Catching up on the BP at the Ballpark night event and Jerry Dipoto’s use of the word “turds.” 34:00 - end: Questions! 

0 - 10:00: Apologia, the pain of moving, Kate provides a map to (Mariners) stars homes, and John gently reminds everyone this is a baseball podcast. 10:00-24:00: Winning the games you’re supposed to win, the run differential, and how the Mariners are good conservationists. Marveling over the Mariners and Competent Baseball. Kate invents a stat called RUET [“Are you even trying?”]. John casually obliterates the Astros. 24:00 - 50:00 Previewing the upcoming 12 game/2-team series. Are the Angels broken beyond repair? What’s wrong with Colorado’s offense, and will they give us Jon Gray if we ask really nicely? Also Kate and John play everyone’s favorite new game: Where in the World is Roenis Elías? 50:00 - end: Questions! Music: Good Vibrations (the Beach Boys); Rocky Mountain High (John Denver); Going Back to Cali (the Notorious B.I.G.)

Kate, John, and Isabelle convene this week to talk about the Mariners’ recent hot stretch, including a split against the Astros, a series win against the Rays, and a sweep of the Angels at home. They preview the upcoming road trip, and answer some listener questions, which involves Kate doing a bad trumpet impression. 0 - 12:00: General discussion of the recent winning streak and the streaky players who have made that streak possible. One run magic forever. John mistakingly believers “shindig” is synonymous with “skulduggery.” Isabelle rejoices over the team not falling on its face in a high-profile situation at home 12:00-20:00: Glorying in the sweep over the hated Angels. Isabelle introduces the idea of “player sequencing.” Hand-waving about team chemistry is indulged in by all. 20:00-33:00: Reviewing why winning the off-season isn’t everything and reflecting on the Mariners’ reluctance to commit to a starting pitcher this off-season. The gifts a strong bullpen can give. Erik Goeddel’s name is invoked with reverence. A weird noise that sounds like cards being shuffled pops up for reasons we cannot explain, and we are sorry. 33:00-50:00: Previewing the Red Sox series, as well as the Big Bad East Coast Road Trip. Isabelle worries that the Orioles are infectious, and the specter of Chris Sale looms large and scissor-y, but as John points out, the team’s banked wins mean they have some string to play with over this miserable road trip. 50:00 - on: Questions!

After weeks of complaints pertaining to audio quality, we've decided to lean into the struggle - John, Isabelle, and Zach G. take the show on the road and record the first ever in-house episode of the Lookout Landing Podcast live from Safeco Field. Discussed are... Marc Rzepczynski's need to depart the roster (which he now has), Félix Hernández's struggles and the hopes of salvation (not imminent), and the miracle that is Wade LeBlanc. Despite the best efforts of multiple Safeco Field ushers, we managed to handle a wonderful wave of questions, including Mariners' church choir bona fides, our biggest breakout surprises, how Dee Gordon is all that is right with baseball, and much more, if you can hear it over the in-house PA system of Safeco Field. Let us know if you'd like us to do this again on Twitter, or if you're interested in something like this. Alternatively, if the auditory experience was absolutely appalling, well, Kate should be back soon.

This week, Kate and John are joined by staff writer Matthew Roberson, who makes us laugh a lot. 0:00 - 8:00: (John burped very loudly, which doesn’t come through on the podcast audio but definitely happened, and it results in the earliest F-bomb in the Kate/John podcast era, so milestones all over the place.) Some names are discussed, Matthew’s and J.P. Sportman, who I swear is a real player, and the crew tries to rename certain baseball players whose names don’t seem to fit them. Matthew points out the secret shame of the Trout/Subway deal, and Kate reminds everyone that Simpsons creator Matt Groening hid his initials in Homer’s ear, so minds are blown all over the place. 8:00 - 16:00: Reviewing the series against the A’s, or as Kate calls them, “the plucky little Athletics.” Kate and Matthew assert this series revealed the Mariners are better than the A’s, and John disagrees, so everyone please welcome my new podcast co-host Matthew! Some shade is thrown at the Nationals regarding Blake Treinen, which certainly cannot hurt us karmically later on, and Matthew tells an incredibly endearing story about his great-aunt. 16:00 - 38:00: It’s not an LL podcast until we shoehorn in some Chris Archer trade talk. Matthew offers a particularly dark vision of what Jerry Dipoto might be doing with that pizza oven in his backyard. Because any talk of Chris Archer leads to Kevin Millwood, Matthew tells the story of being in-house for two of the most recent Mariners no-hitters. Kate proposes an out-of-the-box solution to land Archer, which is what it will take at this point. 38:00 - 45:00: Discussing The Opener, the baseball strategy not the vicious dental tool. John explains why it is working well for the Rays, and how it might be slightly more difficult to translate that success to the Mariners. 45:00 - 60:00: Pleasant surprises on the season. 

“There are a lot of feelings? I have a lot of feelings. All the things happened, all the feelings were felt...If you are a Mariners fan, you will get simultaneously patted on the head while being punched in the mouth. Such is our lot.” 0:00 - 11:00 - SECRETS REVEALED. John just comes right out and admits that LL is a house divided. Kate threatens him with her newfound ability to zap dissidents into tomorrow, and posits that maybe this could be a gelato podcast? The road trip is discussed, Beyoncé is sung, Kate and John declare the Mariners clearly superior to the Wild Card contending (?) Blue Jays but not...to...the Tigers? Much shade is thrown at the Midwest. Kate compares the Tigers to her 2005 Toyota Corolla, which is a way sicker burn than you think it is. 11:00 - 19:00 - The Canó suspension, some dragging of the New York Post, and a discussion about identity. Playoff implications are discussed. 20:00 - 33:00 - Banking wins and the upcoming schedule. Potential acquisitions with all that sweet extra salary Canó’s suspension frees up. John advocates for an infielder or outfielder; Kate advocates for pitching, specifically CHRIS ARCHER because she read the Secret recently and made a vision board. 34:-00 - 43:00 - Some much-needed Ryon Healy appreciation, and All-Star chat (no, not about Smashmouth, sorry.) 44:00 - end - Listener quetions! Kate and John use the extra Canó money to invent SkyTarp!, Kate reveals the unpleasantness of the communal uniform pants box, Kate dubs Wade LeBlanc the Merchant of Junque, and the Facebook broadcast is discussed.  

Y’all we went a little overboard. After a week and a half of silence, Kate and I brought on fellow editor Isabelle Minasian to assess the Mariners at the ~1/5th mark of the season. Less dedicated podcasters might adjust the content of the audio to ensure a similar amount of audio is produced in totality by speaking less individually, but we are not here to half-ass things (you’re on notice, Marc Maron). The result is well over an hour of mostly cohesive/non-time sensitive discussion of the left fielders of the Mariners professional baseball association, Ryan Rowland-Smith, the concept of silent reading time in schools, Fergie, and whether anyone really knows what minerals are.  Enjoy. 0:00 - 7:00 - John forgets his last name and various ways of cooking shrimp and chicken are detailed.  7:00 - 30:00 - Somehow an exceptionally thorough discussion of Matt Harvey that precedes any evaluation of players actually on the Seattle Mariners currently, followed by a delightful discussion of RyOn Healy’s war against C’ing the Z and pitching hand-wringing. 1:04:00 - BREAK 1:04:30 - End - Questions! We preview the Blue Jays and Tigers (and Twins) series with great mixtures of confidence and confusion. The merits of different cotton candy formats are appraised. Guillermo Heredia and Ben Gamel are the subject of the most intense scrutiny imaginable, including Heredia’s budding friendship with Daniel Vogelbach. Also, Laffy Taffy. MUSIC:1. Fergie: Glamorous; 2. Sia: House on Fire; 3. Steve Aoki, Daddy Yankee, Play N Skillz, & Elvis Crespo : Azukita

Last week, for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which being John’s schedule and a mutual disinterest in granting the team the time of day after the conclusion of the Houston series, we missed an episode! We’re back today, however, with some good baseball vibes before the weekend finally embraces us. Of note: Do road trips ever end? Are any of the Marinersstarters good? Does the Mariners’ fixation with one-run victories have staying power? Was Pythagoras an old coot who didn’t know anything anyways? 0:00 - 8:00 - Intro and general lamentations of the weirdness of the Mariners schedule this week. 8:00 - 49:00 - Grading the road trip! Starting pitching fares poorly, as does the offense, but the bullpen has saved the day. Minor expressions of frustration with the roster moves thus far, alongside a continued remembrance of how drastically better this has been than last year. 49:00-49:30 - BREAK 49:30 - End - Questions! Sad understanding of Vogelbach’s demotion, Rzepczynski’s continued presence, and trust issues with starters. Kate nearly punches John in the face for disrespecting her childhood yet again. We invent the new and improved Mariners mascot, with an assist from the Street Sharks. We also discuss Wyatt Mills and other potential in-house bullpen upgrades. MUSIC:1. Rebelution: Attention Span; 2. Daddy Yankee: Dura; 3. Janelle Monae : The Way You Make Me Feel

0:00 - 10:00 - Discussion of the road trip, fretting over opportunities lost or taken 10:00 - 24:12 - Previewing the Mariners upcoming homestand, lamentations about the Angels, fretting over pitching. 24:12-24:42 - Break! 24:42 - End - Questions! What to do with Ichiro? Who will use Ben Gamel hats for evil? Movie recommendations from our childhood. Kate describes Fortnite. A surprising amount of singing. We get a B- in Pop Culture class. MUSIC: Nicest Kids in Town - Hairspray; Pray For Me - The Weeknd ft. Kendrick Lamar; Be Careful - Cardi B

In this, our first podcast of the 2018 season, Kate and John rehash, re-live, and generally glory in the Mariners’ opening series win against a tough team in Cleveland 0 - 8:00: Injury updates. Hopefully at some point this isn’t a regular feature of the podcast. At the time we recorded this the Cruz DL decision hadn’t been made, and at the time I started typing this article it still hadn’t. We make our best predictions about how things will play out over the coming week if Cruz has to miss time. 8:00 - 16:00: Reviewing the surprises of Opening Weekend, which aside from the injury part, were quite pleasant! We discuss new-look Felix, innings-eater Mike Leake, the strong bullpen performance, and the struggles of James Paxton. That surprise was admittedly not so pleasant. There’s also some Lineup Chat! Kate manages to only say “it’s really early” five or six times before declaring this team More Fun Than 2016. John throws some subtle shade at the bottom of Cleveland’s lineup. 16:00 - 29:00: Previewing the coming road trip. John throws some not-so-subtle shade at San Francisco’s entire lineup, and both Kate and John outright shade the vagaries of MLB scheduling. John points out that for a team like the Mariners, cloaked in uncertainty, getting off to a strong start means a little more, and Kate counters with the need to have realistic expectations against the Twins. Kate also cackles with glee at the prospect of Dee Gordon and Jean Segura breaking all of Brian Dozier’s unwritten rules, and makes a BOLD prediction about the first game in the series. 29:00 - 32:00: General basking in the light of a series win and how much giddity goldarn FUN this team is. John points out the team doesn’t always show up at home during big moments—cue whistling past the graveyard of Deadgar Weekend—adding to the FUN of Opening Night. 32:00 - end: Questions!

We recorded this podcast last week during Marco Gonzales’s final spring start but had some difficulties with the editing of it, because what else is new. Kate’s audio is weirdly quiet at times (and still cough-y) and John’s is fuzzy, but fear not: Kate’s replacement mic is on the way, and we will use some of our cut from the Mike Zunino shirts to get John an actual big-boy microphone. Speaking of said shirts, they are here and they are neat! If you would like to buy one, if you do it through this link we get a little money from that, so you are not only supporting our good boy Mike but also the site as well. 0 - 10:00: Kate and John talk dumplings and Marco’s final spring start. Kate makes a weird comparison between the night’s strike zone and Joan Rivers, and then later makes a weird comparison between Marco Gonzales and a Pokemon (which, to be clear, she has never seen), and then later, sings. It’s almost like you shouldn’t mix cough medicine and having a cocktail. 10:00 - 20:00: The only real news this week was bad news. Kate and John talk about how the bullpen shapes up sans David Phelps, and the overall bullpen composition. Some light roasting of the Mets takes place, with Kate dissolving into giggles while trying to explicate the Mets’ bullpen strategy before turning philosophical about the nature of change. Best and worst-case scenarios.

This week, Kate and John get together for the first time in what feels like forever to catch up on Spring Training, Kate’s trip to Arizona, positional battles, and the current state of the injury-ravaged team. Our only guest stars include two barky dogs. 0 - 9:00: Joyful reunion. Kate relays stories of her trip to Spring Training and communicates some dislike for the Grand Canyon state, apologies to our Arizona-based fans. (NB: My dislike for the state might be related to the death-cold I caught while there. Apologies for the coughing throughout.) 9:00 - 21:00: As any discussion of Mariners Spring Training must, we turn to a discussion of the injury plague. John breaks them down, from most to least freakish. John poses the question: how much do we actually need to see from players in the spring? Kate talks about the difficulty of being conditioned by the 2017 season to panic about injuries, when there’s potentially not anything to be panicky about quite yet. There is also some gentle joking about Ariel Miranda’s fleeing hairline. 21:00 - 33:00: Spring is the season of love and Daniel Vogelbach. Kate and John discuss his breakout performance and theorize about what might be fueling his strong spring. They also analyze where Mike Ford is in his development, and what his future as a Mariner might be, considering the intricacies of the Rule 5 draft. 33:00 - 36:00: Continuing the positional battles discussion, Kate forces John to talk about Mike Marjama for a while. Okay, Kate talks. 36:00 -51:00: Summing up the outfield positional battles and discussing Ichiro. Kate is unsentimental about Ichiro while John is somewhat sentimental, but neither are exactly thrilled with the move. John offers maybe his hottest take of ever.