Mariners Hot Stove show: High-performance edition

Aaron Goldsmith, Mike Blowers and yours truly settled into the 710 ESPN Seattle main studio (which was a little chillier than usual sans hot stove) Wednesday night for two hours of baseball talk on The Hot Stove show. If you missed it, never fear, we have a podcast.

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We kicked things off with an extended interview with the Mariners’ new director of high performance, Dr. Lorena Martin, who went in depth on a number of topics that her department will tackle. That included the importance of finding and working with individuals’ fatigue thresholds, measuring response to wear and tear issues, and gave insight into new methods the team will use to help mitigate the effects of travel.

Martin, who was hired Oct.30, has hit the ground running having already talked with a number of players via phone or in person. She traveled to Miami in December for Nelson Cruz’s mini-camp, where she spent some time with Felix Hernandez, so she gave an update on his offseason work and expressed optimism for his 2018 season.

Pitchers Dan Altavilla and Andrew Moore also joined the show, calling in from Portland where they spent the day on the Mariners Caravan. Both gave the rundown on their offseason programs and how experience in 2017 helped shape their preparation for 2018.

Finally, we had a good discussion on the whys and what-nexts with the frozen free agent market the show’s last guest, Larry Stone. An update on Hall of Fame balloting was shared with Larry giving his thoughts on the dramatic upswing in votes Edgar Martinez has received this year.

The Hot Stove show can be heard on 710 ESPN Seattle Wednesday nights from 7 to 9 p.m.