More fun at the Salty Senorita

By Shannon Drayer

There is no doubt this is one of the favorite things I get to do in this job. “The Cactus League Show” from the Salty Senorita in front of a good crowd in great weather. Yes, great weather despite the fact that three of the five of us are wearing long sleeves. Thanks to Jeff Evans for the photo.

The podcast for hour one of “The Cactus League Report” can be found here.

Pitching coach Carl Willis kicked off the hour and talked about everything from what he discussed with Taijuan Walker after a shaky performance Monday to what he saw in starter Jon Garland. He gave us a good evaluation of the young arms in the bullpen and interestingly enough pointed out that the walks were up a bit for the staff as a whole.

Casper Wells followed and gave us the rundown on what he is trying to do at the plate and how important it is to stay within the situation you find yourself in when you come up to bat. He also filled us in on what on Mike Morse’s taste in music is and explained exactly how the veterans can help take pressure off of the younger players.

Tom Wilhelmsen closed out the hour and was Tom Wilhelmsen. Find out what instrument he played in middle school band (he was first chair), the transformation to being a closer and the big hurdle he has to throwing his changeup.

Stephen Pryor joined us in the second hour and explained why he is the first to get to the ballpark every day and talked about his quick rise to the bigs and the lessons learned last year.

Mike Zunino was up next and he had plenty to say about his first big league camp. Zunino is impressive in that he has the energy and enthusiasm of a first-year guy but doesn’t sound like one. He is not intimidated by any of this.

In the final half hour Seattle Times writer Larry Stone gave his observations of the ballclub and Dave Fanucci talked about his book, “Miracle on Grass”, the story of the 2000 USA Olympic Baseball Team which against great odds won the gold medal. The Mariners interestingly enough had four prospects on that team, the most from any organization.

The podcast of the second hour can be found here.