Monday Morning Mariber is a collection of thoughts on the Mariners week that was, with a focus on the weekend games. This week the column returns to talk about the joy, the future, and its limited role in those things.

There is No Drug Purer than Youth

“What I can say, I’m just happy to be a Mariner,”

                                           –Julio Rodriguez 8/27/2022

I’ve seen it before. All of it. Anyone over 30 who has grown up with the Mariners has seen it before. We’ve seen phenoms; young players so talented, so energetic, so charismatic that even playing in Major League Baseball’s remotest outpost couldn’t keep them from becoming national icons. 

It’s not new to see a press conference announcing a contract extension for a beloved homegrown talent. As those go this wasn’t even particularly close to the most emotional one. Remember this?

Becoming slowly desensitized by the patterns in history is part of getting older, and watching talents like Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez, and Ichiro throw their primes at the maw of whatever demonic force has kept the Mariners from breaking through to a World Series before begging out to greener pastures is definitely a pattern. Felix Hernandez broke that pattern by staying here when there was no good sense to do so, and watching that career flail and flounder through failed season after failed season is perhaps the most painful experience I’ve had as a sports fan. 

It sucks you dry, watching it all these years. I can honestly say, left to my own devices without external stimuli, it’s almost impossible for me to imagine the Seattle Mariners making the World Series. My imagination is dulled and blunted by 40 years watching this team play and exist. At this exact moment, despite all my efforts to the contrary, being truly excited about this baseball team requires something more, something outside myself.

“That Steven Kwan catch has to be the greatest defensive play I’ve ever seen in my life!”

“Oh ok Sam Haggerty you now have my respect!”

“MITCH HANIGER OH MY GOD OH MY OH OH MY GOD [Paraphrased] OOHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECHHHHHHHHHHH”

–Isaac Bishop 8/26/2022

I had given up on raising baseball fans. My children are 14 and 11. The oldest starts high school next week. By the time I was his age I had been playing select baseball for three years. I literally cannot remember a moment in my life before I did not love baseball. Swinging a toy truck at a balloon tossed by my father at one is something I recall only through photographs. But for my children, by and large baseball has just been something dad watched after they went to bed, or something he went to with friends and left them at home, or kept him typing on his computer when they would rather he play games with them.

They say that baseball is magic, and maybe they’re right. But I know that magic doesn’t work without the energy of the young. I spent 11 innings in T-Mobile Park Friday night, sitting next to my 14-year old son. His newfound love of baseball met every marketing tactic, every on-screen prompt, every pitch, hit, throw, catch, and run in a thrilling 3-2 Mariner win with the urgent, authentic, cynicism-free joy that only youth can bring. As he did seven years ago he reacted to the game’s final play by throwing himself in my arms and wrapping me in a hug.

It changed, without my knowledge or effort. One day my kid was who he always has been – utterly indifferent to sports. The next, he was spending 45 minutes every morning watching highlights, watching THE HISTORY OF THE SEATTLE MARINERS (2020) with me, asking “why JUAN SOTO ever get traded???!!!?!?”, telling me that Paul Sewald is his favorite Mariners pitcher, and on. He’s a baseball fan now, bought and sold, for better and (most likely) for worse.

I love being here. I love being with everybody. And I love to keep representing this city and bring it a championship. That’s what we all want here. And I know that’s what we’re driving for — win for the city and win for these fans.

–Julio Rodriguez

It’s their thing now. What was mine and Junior’s is now Isaac and Julio’s. They get to do this together for as long as I can conceivably imagine either of them caring to try. The cynicism and burdens of almost 50 years of failure mean nothing to them. All they see is today and tomorrow, a team about to make the playoffs, and a future of limitless possibility.

It’s a good game, when you get out of the way and let the kids do their thing.

Three Up

The Plan is Working

There is perhaps no stauncher or more consistent critic of Jerry Dipoto’s time in Seattle than I. People who write/podcast/create look for ways to make their voices heard and, for some reason, being the guy who didn’t fawn over every Jerry Dipoto soundbite has resonated with folks.

That resonance, that platforming of your view, is a tasty tonic, and it’s very easy to chase it no matter what the circumstances. I’ve definitely let myself get carried away with that critical voice beyond the boundaries of facts in the past. I’ve tried to acknowledge it when it has happened and apologize but it has definitely happened.

I am not particularly concerned with being correct when I offer opinions here, on Twitter, the podcast, or radio. There are so many people who know so much more than I do about baseball, and business, and management than I do. It’s impossible to be correct all the time anyway. Literally everyone gets things wrong. No, the priority for me has always, always, always been to try and be honest. To say what I see at any given time, regardless of my previous opinions and/or what the fallout of that honesty may be. I think most of you get that, and I think that’s why some of you trust and listen to me when I say stuff. So with that out of the way let me offer the following:

The Seattle Mariners have a long road ahead of them before they are one of the best teams in MLB. They need offense. Their franchise Shortstop hits like a utility infielder. A single starting pitcher injury could fold them. Etc.

But the dream of legitimate window of contention, one in which they can compete for division, league, and World Series titles is on the verge of opening. The franchise has committed a truly generational, groundbreaking contract to a truly generational, groundbreaking player. They will be relevant moving forward in a way they haven’t been in decades. 

You can get bogged down in parsing each quote (and God knows there are so many of them), you can worry about their failures in free agency, and you can bring a lifetime of being taught the worst is not only possible but almost certainly real and headed directly for you like a freight train, but the broad structure of what this rebuild was supposed to produce is happening, and doing so within an acceptable bar of error. 

I am not, nor will I ever be, a particularly big fan of Jerry Dipoto’s style, but I have long said I would lavish him in praise if he succeeded in what he said he would do. By and large he has done so and Jerry, you have my absolute respect for delivering that. Well done.

Juliooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I’ve already talked a lot about him but whatever. He’s not tearing the cover off the ball at this point. The long season may be wearing him down a bit, his wrist may not be 100% still, there’s a chance Adley Rutschman could Bogart the AL ROY from him, whatever.

Julio Rodriguez has an outside chance of being a 30/30 player in his rookie season. He has a 128 wRC+ while learning centerfield on the fly. He is 21 years old and has had the most exciting, charismatic, hope-giving season of any Mariner position player since 1996 Alex Rodriguez. His contract extension, his play, he is the reason to be a fan of this team for the next decade. 

There is no hyperbolic language I know of that exceeds how happy and grateful I am that this kid is on this team for this moment in its history. We all deserve it so much, and I’m so happy he’s here.

More Like Curt Canblocki, IMO

This will be brief. Curt Casali is most likely going to end up a footnote in Mariners history. Cal Raleigh’s dumps have all but ensured any other catchers on this roster are going to operate in a strictly backup position. I just want to note when Curt Casali is in the game I worry so little about catcher framing, blocking of pitches in the dirt, calling of game, etc. You know, all that stuff you have to do to play the catcher position. Casali does it! It’s so nice, and such a refreshing change of pace from…….whatever it was Luis Torrens does back there. Thanks Curt. I appreciate you.

Three Down

Not doing Three Down today. I’m tired, this column is already on the longish side, and the Mariners have a month+ to clinch their first playoff appearance in 21 years. 

They can’t hit worth a damn, primarily because a lot of their baseball players are bad at hitting. That was a pretty easy problem to predict and, while the individual ways they’ve arrived at “bad at hitting” were not entirely predictable, the end result is. The Mariners have shown an aptitude for identifying/developing pitchers which is really, really, great. They have shown precious little of that same ability with hitters. They should accept it and start paying for fully armed and operational major league hitters moving forward until that fact changes. 

My kid says sign Trea Turner, Jerry. Just a thought.

The Weekly “Mariners Tweet that Made Me Laugh Most Embarrassingly in Front of My Family” Award

*****

The Mariners just finished a homestand in which they scored 18 runs over six games. That’s bad! They also went 4-2 because they gave up 12. That’s very good! This appears to be the way things are going to be moving forward, and with so many rancid offenses on their remaining schedule I can only imagine the disgusting 1-0 15 inning victories to come.

We’re hopefully just a few precious weeks from arriving at a destination most Mariner fans have literally never arrived at. We’re keeping the train going choo choo Good Vibes Express. I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful week. You are loved.

Goms.

You can follow Nathan on Twitter at @nathan_h_b. Additionally he appears on the Ian Furness show on Mollywhop Mondays on KJR 93.3 FM every Monday at 1:10 PM with Chris Crawford and Kevin Shockey. Please be nice, he is doing his best.