Lookout Landing

John Trupin and Kate Preusser convene to discuss the many major deals going down in Mariners land. Of note, the rumored deal of Robinson Canó and Edwin Díaz to the New york Mets for OF Jarred Kelenic, RHP Justin Dunn, and RHP Gerson Bautista leads to hand-wringing over other people's checkbooks and prospect envy.   0:00 - 10:00: Kate and John outline the major news of the moment and compare Jerry Dipoto and Brodie Van Wagenen to a pair of Raki drinking competitors. How did we get here? Who is being traded? Why is this weird trade not going to change but somehow still has yet to happened? 10:00 - 49:00: We get into the implications of the deal, and go deep with the prospects returned in the proposed deal with the Mets. Kate chastises John for pronouncing Kelenic similarly to "colonic", John shoots back by insisting Waukesha cannot be pronounced "Wah-keesha" a la Keisha Phillips. Where do prospects like this put Seattle's system, and what does this mean exactly for 2019's roster? (It's gonna be rough, y'all)

After a long hiatus, we back baby! John is busy with other things this week so Kate is joined by staff writer Matthew Roberson to go over all the news...and boy, is there a lot of news. 0 - 13:00: After wasting as much time as possible talking about gyms, Kate and Matthew dive right into the major news of the Mariners’ off-season: Dr. Lorena Martin’s accusations of racism and sexism against the Mariners. Kate explores her feelings of betrayal and sadness regarding the situation, Matthew points out that no one will come out of this situation looking good, and both come down firmly on the side that the proper amount of racism to be in order to keep one’s job is “none.” 13:00 - 20:00: New stadium naming rights for the pending T-Mobile Park. Matthew pre-emptively cancels all “bad Servais” jokes and offers to workshop new ones, and converts Kate to accepting an all-magenta park might not be so bad. 20:00 - 44:00: Trades-a-palooza. Kate examines the wisdom of trading one of the best defensive catchers in baseball

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 qu

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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

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.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 wi

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/

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 cer

“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 sal

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

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 tr

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 com

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 w

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 Mira

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 togeth