Lookout Landing

This week Kate talks to Louis Boyd, the Vancouver native and University of Arizona product whom the Mariners drafted in the 26th round of the 2017 MLB Draft. A Blue Jays fan growing up, Louis talks about why the Mariners are a great organizational fit for him, and shares the unique story of his draft day. He talks about his love for defense, and his experience at the University of Arizona playing with fellow Mariner Nathan Bannister. NOTE: Louis is participating in Braden Bishop’s #Hits2EndALZ drive for Alzheimer’s research. If you would like to match Louis at a dollar per hit he gets in spring training, tweet to him, he’d love to hear from you: @LouisBoyd2. MUSIC: This week’s music is Louis’s selection, a Vancouver-based band called Redwoods. The songs are “On the Run” and “Twisted,” and you can find the band on Soundcloud here

Tommy Romero was drafted in the fifteenth round by the Mariners in 2017. Romero led NJCAA Division I baseball in strikeouts and was fifth in ERA with a 1.13. His K/9 was practically 14 for the year. After college, as a member of the AZL Mariners, Romero pitched 43 additional innings with an impressive 10.59 K/9 and 3.12 BB/9 with an FIP of just 3.03. The Florida native joins us to talk about the progress of his baseball career and experiences in the Mariners organization so far.

Jordan Cowan was drafted by the Mariners in 2013, making him one of nine longest-tenured players in the Mariners organization while still just 22 years old. The Kentlake product joins Kate to talk about growing up a Mariner fan, the surreal experience of being drafted by his hometown team, and his career so far with the Mariners. 0 - 6:00: Introduction, explanation of what the PTPA challenge is, and an injury update. 6:00 - 16:00: Origin story! Jordan cops to going for Bret Boone frosted tips in the early 2000s, relives his Little League glory days, and talks about the experience of having his childhood dream come true when he was drafted by his hometown team. 16:00 - 25:00: Jordan talks about being one of the longest-tenured Mariners, the biggest differences in the new regime, and what teaching and learning looks like in the organization currently. 26:00 - 40:00 : As a member of the 2017 Cal League Champion Modesto Nuts, Jordan details what made that team so special. He discusses how the team held together despite losing multiple key players to promotions and trades, and how the overall organizational philosophy of “be who you are” helped propel the team deep into a playoff run. Jordan also manages to overcome his natural humility to walk us through his go-ahead three run home run in the Cal League playoffs. 40:00 - 46:00: Jordan talks about moving from the minor league side of the clubhouse to the major league side, and admits to being a little starstruck by childhood heroes Félix and Edgar. He also discusses what he’s learned from being in big league camp 46:00 - end: Kate does an extremely terrible Australian accent that Jordan nicely pretends is fine as they transition into talking about his experience in the Australian Baseball League and what he learned from his time there. Australians are snappy dressers, it turns out. 

Since we spoke last, Yu Darvish has signed, Ryon Healy’s hand was spurred, and frankly that’s mostly it for big news. Thankfully, pitchers and catchers have officially reported, meaning blurry photos from beat reporters have been rolling in across the two states in the nation where Spring Training occurs. We decided to get together on Kate’s birthday to discuss the things we want, hope, and need to see from the Mariners in Spring Training. We also get into what, if anything, of value can be gleaned from Spring Training numbers. The answer: not much! But it’s not all noise. Kate gets enthusiastic about seeing Dee Gordon defensively, while John hurls several hats in the ring on behalf of the Mike Ford train... circus. Kate rails against the tyranny of her inept local garbageperson and the two learn the very different ways in which Valentine’s Day was celebrated at Lowell Elementary School vs. Our Lady Guadalupe Catholic School. We’re sorry, Saint Leroy. NOTE: We recorded this Wednesday, after the knowledge of Healy’s injury, but prior to its specifics. The tone of our treatment of the subject holds up pretty much in line with the ultimate diagnosis. Total Runtime: 1:15:28 Music: Thundercat - Them Changes

This week Andrew Moore joins Kate and John to talk about serious baseball things and not-so-serious not-baseball things. Andrew talks about coaches he's had and how he became inovlved in Driveline, and how he's training this off-season. Andrew also talks about what he's working towards next year, what he learned from his first year in the bigs, and how he's grown as a pitcher and a person over the past year. Because this is a quasi-minor-leagues podcast, there is of course the requisite discussion of video games ranging from Madden to NBA Street to Fortnite. Andrew also offers a preview of his second career as a film critic, including a glowing review of the film The Disaster Artist, and submits to a wicked pop quiz regarding his Greek heritage (less Artist, more Disaster). Music: (Andrew's choices!) I Want You To Shake - Francis and the Lights; Children's Story - Slick Rick

After several weeks of enjoying guest perspectives, Kate and John reunite to dig back into the nuts and bolts that make up the 2018 Mariners. They discuss the spring media luncheon and the heavy spin employed by Dipoto and co., the current sluggish state of the FA market, and, as is required by Mariners offseason podcast law, try to answer the eternal "will they sign a starter" question. The balance of the episode is devoted to answering listener questions.  We talk about the supposed lack of space for another starting pitcher, the many bad coin flips of 2017, Jerry Dipoto’s Buffalo Exchange runs, Félix Hernández’s potential as a reliever, Ben Gamel’s remarkable faculty for performing well in the memorable moments, and Kate’s many microphones. We’ll be back early next week with another guest on the Mariners Spring Training Roster! Music: Carly Simon - Anticipation; Nu Shooz - I Can’t Wait

0 - 6:00: General introductions and the requisite "how do we say your name exactly?" Lindsey talks about his off-season regimen and learning from Andrew Moore (and I call Nate Yeskie "Ned" for some reason, please don't come after me Beaver fans) and getting involved in weighted ball training. 6:00 - 13:00: Lindsey talks about the adjustments he made from the first to the second half of the season that dropped his ERA from 5.91 to 2.08. Rather than attributing it to a mechanical change, he discusses the adjustments he made mentally, leaning on the Mariners' mental skills coach David (not James) Franco, and the mindset he brings to the mound that turned his season around. 13:00 -18:00: Lindsey gives a brief overview of his career and the injury that led him from the Dodgers organization to the Mariners. He talks about why he decided to return to baseball after being released, what he learned from being in Indy ball, playing in Venezuela, and why he feels fortunate to have had his journey lead him to being a Mariner. The word "logjam" gets thrown around a lot. 18:00 - 22:00: Lindsey expounds on the Mariners' organizational philosophies and what has struck him as the sharpest differences between being with the Dodgers vs. being with the Mariners, and why he's happy to trade free-range chicken for the opportunity to be given a set of personalized pitching goals. 22:00 - 30:00 Ben asks Lindsey about the lethargic minor-league FA market and why he decided to return to the Mariners, and Lindsey plays along with our refusal to say the name of a certain Japanese two-way player. We play a game of "name the injured pitcher," which is a sad and bad game and we're sorry, and talk about the kind of player that the Mariners seem to be targeting in their acquisitions.  

This week, John and Kate are joined by Casey Boguslaw of ForwardMile.com to talk some analytics and Statcast metrics, what to expect from the Mariners outfield, and about the fine city of Chicago. 0 - 5:00: Introductions and general tomfoolery.  5:00 - 13:00: Barrels and Barrels-FIP chat! Casey explains these metrics and analyzes the data to predict a couple of rebound candidates for the 2018 season. 13:00 - 16:00: Casey discusses Ariel Miranda's barrel problem, and James Paxton's lack of barrel problem. 16:00 - 26:00: Outfield defense. Casey talks about why the Mariners' 2017 outfield defense caught his eye. 26:00 - 30:00 : Casey offers a little bit of hope for Mariners fans regarding the Astros' acquisition of Gerrit Cole, and then promptly snatches that hope away by reminding us how good the Astros pitching staff is.  30:00 - 36:00: Defensive metrics chat! Casey talks about the importance of understanding the outfield as a unit, and analyzes a few of the best and worst defensive units around the league. 37:00 - 46:00: The risks and rewards of baserunning. Casey offers a surprising factoid about a Mariner who was actually better on the bases than you probably think. 47:00-53:00: John ties everything together with a discussion of how the outfield unit controls the running game, and Casey gives his analytics origin story (the villain is Robin Ventura). 54:00 - Listener questions!   Music: Chicago - Saturday in the Park; The Donkeys - Lower the Heavens

After a breakout season with the Mariners' High-A team, Art Warren burst onto the national radar with an AFL performance that saw him serve as the closer on a talent-stacked Peoria team that would go on to win the AFL championship and giving Warren the distinction of recording the final out in two separate championship games within the space of three months. Art talks about his draft day experience, his breakout season, embracing Jarrod Dyson's philosophy of champagne flow, and what he's excited about in spring training, where he'll be in big league camp. He also provides some key insights into the Mariners' organizational philosophies and his approach on the mound, and tells a pretty awesome story about getting some advice from "King Felix." As with any prospect podcast, there is a healthy discussion of video games, as well as Art's steadfast, and admirable, belief that the Cleveland Browns' day will come. Music: Belly - Man Listen, BROCKHAMPTON - GOLD  

The Hot Stove continues to cook for Jerry Dipoto alone, as he sends off three prospects, including top pitching prospect Nick Neidert and high-ceiling shortstop Chris Torres to Miami in exchange for...center fielder Dee Gordon? Oh, and a million extra dollars in slot money, which gives the Mariners the most out of all remaining teams, take that LA. 0- 6:00: General freaking out 6:00: Ohtani talk, all our hopes and dreams, and some crushing words for the NY media 20:00: Oh yeah, Dee Gordon is here now and he's playing center field. Ian Desmond's name is invoked. 28:00: Positional flexibility and lineup optimization. The slowness of the middle of the order. Kate and Jordan get shouty about Ben Gamel. Contract discussions: Nelson Cruz aside, is this the lineup we will see for a while? 39:00: Discussing the Fangraphs piece on front office rankings. 47:00: Hot Stove talk and a weird metaphor for Tyler Chatwood.  48:00: How the trade affects the M's shot at Darvish; revisiting the Mike Leake trade. 1:00:00: Back to Dee Gordon! 1:09: Kate and Jordan tackle your questions! Music: G Cinco, "I'm the Man" (Dee Gordon's brother!), "King Kunta" Kendrick Lamar, "Get Dancin'" Disco Tex and the Sex-o-Lettes Note: the audio levels are janky here for John. I know and I'm sorry. Also it cuts off weirdly because for some reason my audio dropped out totally at the end. I promise we are working on these things but THINGS ARE KIND OF CRAZY RIGHT NOW OK. Also note: I realized I called him "Pat Cashman" and not "Brian Cashman." My apologies to Pat.  

The Hot Stove has dried up entirely, so we turned our attention to the two things holding everything up: Shohei Ohtani’s impending arrival and Giancarlo Stanton’s impending trade. We endeavor to fill out the questionnaire Ohtani and his agent put forward to all 30 MLB clubs on why they are the best fit. It’s the dating profile that everyone is holding their breath on, and don’t worry folks, we nailed it. 0:00 - 7:20: Thanksgiving recaps. Kate made a list, checked it twice, and made a dope casserole. John ate a leftover turkey leg this week. 7:20 - 14:00: Discussing the excellent revelations from the Wheelhouse Podcast with Jerry Dipoto and Aaron Goldsmith, and the enjoyable nature of following a team that is transparent, even when unsuccessful. 14:00 - 1:16:31: We go through all seven questions on Ohtani’s test, focusing most on player development, strength and conditioning, and fit, which struck us as the most important: 1:16:31-1:17:01: Break 1:17:01 - 1:44:00: Listener questions! How/should baseball and softball be in the Olympics? Are moves to improve pace of play consequential? What are some Ohtani backup plans? And what can the M’s do to break the curse of the Trident? Music: Wheels Fall Off - The Good Husbands (both beginning and end), Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show (middle)

The Hot Stove season has officially begun, and of course it's Jerry Dipoto leading the charge, trading away steady rookie reliever Emilio Pagan to address the team's need at first base. In exchange for Pagan and a teenaged infield prospect, Alexander Campos, the Mariners receive Ryon Healy, Oakland's young, power-hitting first baseman.  0 - 5:00: Jordan makes a long-awaited return to the podcasting world, and gets to do it with people who are as into Mike Marjama as he is. It's a great day all around. 5:00: Kate and John bemoan their already-dinged off-season plan (it's just a little less first basey! It's still good!), which the team just published the last major leg of today, Jerry, you stinker. John and Jordan recall the first time they laid eyes on Healy and Jordan somehow manages to slip a Rhys Hopkins mention in, because of course he does. 11:30: The trio investigate Jerry's insatiable yen for both Oakland Athletics first basemen and 26-year-old ex-prospects as a way to drag down the team's overall age, and discuss what Healy might bring to the team. We also hold a brief moment of silence for Daniel Vogelbach. 22:30: With every un-bendy power-hitting first baseman come some caveats. We discuss them, and look into how Healy slots into the Mariners' lineup. 30:00: John gives a brief overview of the right-handed first basemen who were on the market, and Mark Reynolds gives Jordan the vapors. 34:00: It's not Hot Stove season without someone shouting OVERPAY! The crew investigates the veracity of this claim. Jordan gets a little shouty about predicting prospects born in the year 2000. Kate reminds Jordan Evan White exists, flooding him with delight. Kate gets shouty about Chris Taylor (again).   

The World Series is over and free agency has begun! We've had a lovely haitus but are refreshed and ready to discuss and debate how the Mariners can best improve themselves this offseason. Hopefully improved health will be a component, but improved talent would make us a lot happier too. Staff writer and offseason > regular season advocate Ben Thoen joins John and Kate to go over some of their desired pathways for filling the holes Seattle has at SP, OF, and 1B. There is, as there likely will be from every day until he signs, some Shohei Ohtani talk, but most of the focus remains on domestic free agents and trade targets. Ben dreams of Yu Darvish. Kate sets her sights on some of the mid-tier pitching options. John is really annoyed by how many former Mariners 1B are now their best choices once again. After a healthy discussion that gets into the Lookout Landing offseason plan, we take questions on specific moves, and somehow devolve into John explaining the concept of kaiju to the group. Kate designs a potential hit Mariners fan giveaway and Ben breaks his couch. Grab your earbuds, pull up a chair, and dream about the possibilities with us. Unless you're like Ben and your couch is broken. Maybe don't sit in that then. 0:00 - 8:50 - Intro and recounting the recent news (minor league free agents, waiver claims, mispronouncing Lindsey Caughel) 8:50 - 16:00 - What we expect other teams to be doing next year (The Astros/Cleveland/Yankees/Red Sox will be good. Everyone else might be bad?) 16:00 - 49:00 - The starting pitching options, internally and externally (Ohtani-watch, followed by more tangible options) 49:00 - 1:17:50 - Platoons?! 8-man bullpens? Wolfpacks? Tandem starts?! 1:17:50-1:18:20 - Break! 1:18:20 - End - Listener questions! Music: Dreams - Beck, Space Jam - Audio Jam ft. Lil Wayne

I don’t know if the refrain I’ve heard often throughout the Mariners corner of the internet rings true for you about these playoffs feeling a vacation has rung true for you, but it sure has for us. This week John and Kate kick their feet up and chat about the scintillating first couple of World Series games between the Astros and the Dodgers. We discuss the Astros potential to appeal to future players with “internships” and what an exceptional time to be a baseball fan this is. We also talk about the Arizona Fall League and the Mariners prospects within. Eric Filia looks mildly intriguing! So do the Mariners' several hard-throwing relievers! The Mariners have shown some ability to maximize their mid-tier prospects, but both of us are very ready to watch Kyle Lewis, Evan White, and co. get extended action in 2018.  After a bit of chatter on the coaching carousel hurling Joe Girardi, Dusty Baker, and John Farrell to the ground of the county fair, we discuss our feelings on Scott Servais (meh) and potential internal and external alternatives. We get sidetracked discussing the potential Halloween decorations of different Mariners bullpen members, and hypothesize a bit about Jerry Dipoto’s “wolfpack” theory. Finally, we let our eyes and mouths wander and dip a toe (a lot of body parts get involved, deal with it) into our hopes for the 2018 offseason.

Hello! After a brief vacation/some technical issues with our recording software, we are regrettably back on our bullshohei—[John forcibly rips away the keyboard]okay I promise that’s the last one. This time we are joined by Kazuto Yamazaki, NPB expert and author at Beyond the Box Score, Deltagraphs, and elsewhere. Kazuto offers his insight on baseball in Japan, from both a technical and cultural point of view: how does posting work? And what is up with the older gentleman wearing a poop emoji hat? Kazuto profiles a few interesting players before digging into the subject which most piques our curiousity: Shohei Ohtani. Where will he choose to sign? What role will he play for his new team? Will he even come stateside for the 2018 season? We have none of these answers! But listen to us speculate wildly, say what we do know, and overall dream on what acquiring a player of Ohtani’s caliber would mean for a team. Note: if you are interested in learning more about Japanese baseball (if you happen to be a baseball fan who works nights/has a newborn/is up at 2 AM on the regular, it’s a real gift to Club Insomnia), Kazuto is an excellent follow on Twitter. You can also check out Deltagraphs, which is like the NPB version of Fangraphs, and maybe consider becoming a member there to help grow the site. Note: If you’re searching for the podcast to subscribe (and we would love it if you did) please be aware that it is listed as simply “Lookout Landing” and not “Lookout Landing 2.0” which is understandably confusing. We’re sorry. Music: Nippon Ham Fighters Theme Song