Seattle Sports’ Mariners roundtable looks at ’24, ahead to offseason
Oct 17, 2024, 3:46 PM
The offseason will officially kick off once the World Series champion is crowned, and to get the ball rolling a bit early we put together a Mariners roundtable with a number of voices from Seattle Sports.
Drayer: Important dates for the Seattle Mariners offseason
Mike Salk, Bob Stelton and former Mariners pitcher Charlie Furbush sat down with me for a two-part, end of season/pre-hot stove discussion that hit on the most pressing topics for the M’s.
Part 1 started with the panel playing a round of “Pack, Forget and Steal,” a game played throughout the year on the Mariners radio pregame show, which revealed areas of frustration, agreement and disagreement when it comes to what worked, what didn’t and what each would like to see moving forward. Topics addressed included what to make of Julio Rodríguez’s 2024 performance, a look at the many factors that contributed to the Mariners’ hitting woes, and the areas of great need – some of which could be relatively easy to fix.
Part 2 looked ahead, starting with the August change at manager and hitting coach and the 34 games that followed. The panel addressed just how “real” they believed the improvement the offense showed in September was in terms of taking it into next season. Salk saw a different style of ball played, and while I largely did not agree, I did point to comments from Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto in his end of season meeting with the media that stood out as a potential change of direction.
Part 2 ended with another favorite game from the radio pregame show, with a question posed to the panel that led to an exploration of trading a starting pitcher and whether or not such a move would be wise.
To watch or listen to the full roundtable:
• in video form from the Seattle Sports YouTube channel above or here – Part 1 | Part 2
• in the podcasts below or here – Part 1 | Part 2
Subscribe to the Seattle Sports YouTube channel or the Hot Stove podcast (Apple/Spotify) so you don’t miss any of our offseason conversations.
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