Lookout Landing

The season is over for all intensive purposes, so John and Kate look ahead at what could be done to fix some of the holes for 2018. We discuss and debate the merits of rebuilding fully and tearing everything down as opposed to retooling around the current core, and lament the inability of this team to Just. Do. Everything. Well. At. Once.  Ugh. Afterwards, they take listener questions on what should be done with Félix, first base, Servais, and health-inducing witchcraft. We also debate what constitutes chili and learn about a harrowing experience John had within the Seattle Public Schools system. Music: I'm On Fire - Bruce Springsteen

After a year of struggling to put together a cohesive pitching staff all season, this week Kate and John examine the starting pitching in the organization. After a brief recap of the Mariners’ current road trip, they peer into their crystal ball to look at the projected rotation for next year and discuss who might be headed for the bullpen. They rank the in-house options and discuss the futures of young players like Marco Gonzales and Andrew Moore, and John briefly forgets about the existence of one Erasmo Ramirez. They also cast an eye to the free-agency options and what type of pitcher the Mariners might be targeting and who said Shohei Ohtani? That was you, you said that, but okay, if you insist we talk about him...Kate talks about what non-baseball-question she’d like to ask Shohei Ohtani, which would be challenging as his English is limited and her Japanese, nonexistent. After a brief break, listener questions are answered that touch on topics ranging from a Yonder Alonso deal (John does not cry YONNNNNDEERRRR on the podcast, be not afraid) to who should start for the Mariners in a playoff scenario to how to break the Trident Curse. Kate says “we’ve wandered pretty far afield here...” at least five or six times before closing with an exhortation to #GoNuts. Please submit any of your future questions for the podcast to @LookoutLanding or leave them in the comments below. 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.

After a year of struggling to put together a cohesive pitching staff all season, this week Kate and John examine the starting pitching in the organization.

While the trade nearest and dearest to many hearts may be the Leonys Martin trade, conducted in the eleventh hour last night, the Mariners made another deal earlier this week that will impact their playoff odds this year and in the next few seasons more tangibly. The acquisition of Mike Leake was the second trade Seattle has made with the Cardinals to acquire a starting pitcher in the last two months. Kate looked at St. Louis early on as a good trade partner, but Jerry has gone back to the well. To better understand who the M's have gotten in Leake (and Marco Gonzales), we tracked down an expert. Craig Edwards is the managing editor of Viva El Birdos, SB Nation's Cardinals community, as well as a contributor for Fangraphs. We revealed to him how broken we were by weeping for joy when he mentioned Leake usually was only good for 5-6 innings, and inquired on what the experience is of seeing a franchise player you loved like Albert Pujols struggle so mightily for someone else. If you want to find more from Craig, you can find him on Twitter at @craigjedwards. Please submit any of your future questions for the podcast to @LookoutLanding on Twitter or email them to lookoutlanding3.0@gmail.com

We apologize for the delay in getting this week’s podcast up—we had some technical issues that couldn’t be resolved over the weekend because apparently some people don’t work on the weekend [glares in the general direction of Cast]. This is a lengthy one but we cover a lot of ground. We recorded in three parts, which is how we recommend listening: Part One (23:22): the Leonys DFA, reviewing the Barves series, the team’s unfortunate proclivity for injury, previewing the Yankees series (spoiler alert: John is Nostradamus) and discussing the Orioles series, and what makes last year’s Orioles so much like this year’s Mariners. Part Two (23:22 - 44:35): an interview with Casey Catherwood, in-game entertainment manager for the Tacoma Rainiers and overall delightful human. Casey talks about his love for Tacoma and his passion for record stores that lead to Hi-Voltage Night (which conveniently overlaps with LL Night at Cheney this year). He also gives us an insight into the twisted mind of The Inspector, and provides live updates on the ballpark wedding rehearsal he’s watching. Part Three: Questions! We talk September callups, Ben Gamel’s struggles, Mitch Haniger’s future, and HAHAHA NOPE LIES. This audio just doesn’t work at all and until Cast gets back to me [glares harder in general direction of Cast] this is just going to have to chill the heck out. But in the interest of getting this published before LL Night/Record Store Night at Cheney, I’m sending this out in the world now, with hopes we can eventually recover the audio with the questions later. Get your act together already, Cast. Music: "Love on Me," Galantis & Hook N Slink; "Since I Left You," the Avalanches; "Day I Die,” the Nationals

Kate and John are joined by Casey Catherwood of the Rainiers to discuss the upcoming

Kate is joined by staff writer Zach Milkis to talk baseball, books, and baseball books

John is off finding himself in some wild west town or some bullshit, so staff writer Zach Milkis and fellow book enthusiast joins Kate this week. They talk “Deadgar Weekend” (™ John)  and try to wrest a tiny bit of joy out of what was truly a remarkable suckfest, with mixed results. Speaking of suckfests, Zach and Kate revisit their Curse of the Amazon and ponder if that's the reason for the Mariners' recent struggles. They also make fun of Parker Bridwell’s name for a while, because you make fun of things so they can't hurt you, and discuss the Orioles series, which was...a win? We guess? The duo take a moment out to appreciate the Mariners' women in baseball night, and then look over the upcoming series. Hint: here be dragons. But there might be good things coming in Haniger's return (which might mean bad things for Ben Gamel), Marco Gonzales might be fun, and Emilio Pagan (aka Zach's homeboy) definitely is. Other topics include: book shaming, Matt Christopher, the potential for a Mark Twain/Joyce Carol Oates twitter takedown, and how Jerry Dipoto might sign a ten-foot alligator (only if it had options, natch.) For some reason, Kate discusses the 1995 film Showgirls on not one, but multiple occasions. Music: "Fuego," Bomba Estereo; "We Can Work It Out," Stevie Wonder; "If There’s A Hell Below (We’re All Gonna Go)," Curtis Mayfield  

The Mariners have clawed their way, inexplicably, to possession of a Wild Card spot, at least for the moment. John and Kate express their tempered optimism, their fears about the rotation, and appreciation for Ben Gamel and the entire offense. Since we had a flood of great questions we decided to make this an all listener questions episode. We take questions on potential ways to bolster the rotation, the fear of Lollablueza 2.0 this weekend, additional historical versions of the King's Court/Maple Grove, which Player's Weekend jerseys need fixing, and much more. We also discuss how meaningful Edgar's retirement ceremony will be to us, personally, and Kate shares a wonderful story she was told about Shawn O'Malley's generosity. We recorded before last night's loss, so while we do tangentially discuss Servais and his bullpen usage, we do not have any blistering takes on that. Music: Fire - Big Sean, Crash Bandicoot Rap - JT Machinima

John and Kate return after technical difficulties kept our episode featuring Grant Bronsdon from seeing the light of day. As they both bake in Seattle’s smoggy heat wave, they assess how the M’s stack up against their likely contenders in the suddenly real Wild Card race. The Tampa Bay Rays are essentially the 2014 Mariners, in style and in literal roster construction, we conclude, while the Kansas City Royals are probably hiding Kendrys Morales somewhere in Kauffman Stadium. They debate a potential Jarrod Dyson extension, the mixed bag that was the Rangers series, and some of the strange comforts and frustrations of this bizarre season as it enters the final third. Afterwards, to beat the heat, we play a quick game checking in on some of the biggest free agent signings that the Mariners didn’t make. Music: "Smooth" - Santana; "Fire" - Big Sean; "Louvre" - Lorde Please submit any of your future questions for the podcast to @LookoutLanding or leave them in the comments below. 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.

John bails on Kate this week because he is "moving," so Jamey Vinnick of Scout.com joins the show to talk about the Mariners' latest trade. They talk about the power of seeing Tyler O'Neill in the flesh, break down Andrew Moore's recent tough start, and talk about the new (old) Felix Hernandez.  Jamey, who has spent time in Everett and Tacoma watching Brayan Hernandez and Brandon Miller, gives his evaluation on what the Mariners gave away, and Kate discusses who she thinks might amount to the most valuable piece in the trade. They analyze what David Phelps brings and discuss his strengths and weaknesses, and speculate about whether or not he could potentially help the Mariners rotation in 2018. They also watch the Mariners make Felix feel like his old self by giving him no run support over seven strong innings. That part is less fun. You can skip it.  Finally, they take some Twitter questions and are simultaneously struck by a craving for Capri Sun and Fun Size Snickers (Kate) and pepperoni pizza (Jamey). Music: "I Just Can't Get Enough" - Depeche Mode; "Only God Can Judge Me" - Tupac Shakur; "Louvre" - Lorde

Kate and Jamey Vinnick of Scout.com discuss Jerry Dipoto's latest trade and the current state of the Mariners

John and Kate are joined by Jen Mac Ramos to discuss their experiences following the Mariners most successful minor league team this year - the High-A Modesto Nuts. Jen is fairly new to Lookout Landing but far from new to baseball or baseball writing. They can be found writing for Beyond the Box Score (Sabermetrics), McCovey Chronicles (Giants), Purple Row (Rockies), as well as working as a stats intern at Baseball Prospectus and contributing to The Hardball Times. They also filmed a group of minor league baseball players chasing chickens for us this year. Together we discuss the experience of learning to love minor league baseball, finding a connection to a team when it can change entire organizations in a single year, and the impression this year's dominant Modesto team has had on all of us. In an organization slim on high-end talent, we discuss at a few players who have made adjustments this year to improve their value, including OF Braden Bishop, OF Eric Filia, OF Luis Liberato, and OF/3B/C Joe DeCarlo. We also discuss the delight of home run derbies, be they in Miami, Tacoma, or, as Jen was witness to, on an aircraft carrier.  Afterwards, we take your Twitter questions, including Tyler O'Neill future possibilities, Yankee Candle education, and VERY MIXED REVIEWS of Rich Aurilia. Music: Let's Go Crazy - Prince, You're a Wolf - Sea Wolf, Modesto, the Home I Know - Mick V. Rubalcava

As John and I record: Sam Gaviglio melts down, the Mariners forget how to run the bases, and overall look like a garbage team next to the Oakland Athletics as the losing skid at home reaches eight. It’s pretty clear the Mariners won’t be buyers at the trade deadline, so we talk sweet sweet trading action, baby: who has value, who does not, what pieces might come in return, who we think will be traded and should be traded, and who the team will choose to build around. We also dip our toe into talking about some potential trade partners. We head off into talking about morticians vs. funeral directors for a while and John tells a pretty horrifying story about his time spent playing youth baseball and the sweet smell of death, which seems appropriate while watching this particular game. After a quick break, we take some Twitter questions and discuss the Mariners in a post-apocalyptic world, this time in a joking manner. We admire Tony Zych’s Camo Thursdays Everydays and fret about Felix attempting to navigate towards his bungalow in the Maldives in the wake of a zombie apocalypse. Speaking of Felix, we discuss what we think the future of the King’s Court might be, and things get a little somber for a while, as they usually do when talking about Felix nowadays. We try to end on a cheery note, with each of us talking about what is keeping us invested in watching the team at this moment, as we determinedly wrest some joy out of the 2017 Mariners. Later, as I mix the podcast, I will listen to Bread’s “Everything I Own,” decide it’s about Felix, and cry fluently. Music: Good Old War - It Hurts Every Time; Big Deal - Dream Machines; Bread - Everything I Own Please submit any of your future questions for the podcast to @LookoutLanding or leave them in the comments below.

John and Kate discuss the highs and lows of the past week and project what the Mariners may do in the next month with their roster.