0:00

Ask cal Rawley the same question you asked me. Will put the fan hat

0:03

on cal Rawley. Cal Rawley joins us right now from Peoria, Arizona.

0:08

The big dumpers with us. Cal. How you doing, man, what's

0:10

going on? Doing great? How are you guys? We're good, man.

0:14

I appreciate you doing this. I can almost hear it in your voice.

0:17

How ready you are for this thing to start officially on Thursday. Enough

0:21

of these dumb ass radio interviews, enough of these you know, pleasantries and

0:25

all that stuff. Let's get the hell out of Arizona and get back to

0:28

Seattle. I'm feeling that way as a fan, and I wonder if you

0:31

guys are there yet as players. Yeah, I couldn't have said it any

0:36

better myself. Where where you're going? And it's always fun here in spring

0:41

training, you know, get going, meet everybody you know, do all

0:45

the fun things. But it is it's time to get rolling. It's time

0:49

for some baseball start, and you're behind the plate catching all these flame throwers.

0:54

Cal and Softie just used the word fantastic to describe this pitching staff.

0:58

I use the word out. Give us the word or phrase you would describe

1:03

for the twenty twenty four Mariners pitching staff. You know, you look at

1:10

it, you can say you say elite, you say very any kind of

1:12

uh, any kind of those adjectives, or we'll fit, you know,

1:17

hard throwing, nasty stuff. So they they all got something that's really good

1:22

and they do a really good job with you know, from up the zone

1:25

and commend to our plan there and you know, it's a lot of fun.

1:30

Makes my job a lot easier as the catcher, and it's, uh,

1:32

it's fun to watch back there, no doubt. Kyle Roley is with us, big dumper on the air and Cal I want to just kind of

1:38

go back to the end of the year. You came out and you had

1:40

those strong comments about the organization, the team, and your showed a tremendous

1:44

amount of passion. And I'll just tell you I haven't had a chance to

1:48

talk to you about that. I I loved it. I was right there with you, The fans loved it. I thought you earned a lot of

1:53

credibility that day with the fan base. But I know that you had to

1:56

kind of work things out with upper management, with your manager. Maybe the

2:00

GM tell us about kind of how you guys all got on the same page

2:04

over the offseason to make sure that everybody was moving forward together. Yeah,

2:09

I mean, I think the number one thing is we want to win the

2:13

World Series. You know, there's uh, there's no you know, you

2:16

can look at it and you can kind of there's some gray areas, but

2:20

you know, I don't want to see me gray. I don't think anybody here wants to see me gray. Black and White just want to lose.

2:24

So you know, we just got to get on the same page in the

2:28

sense of one. World Series was the take to do that. So I

2:30

think we did a great job this offseason, acquiring some some great players,

2:34

you know, adding some some new coaches to the staff as well, and

2:38

uh, not only that, but you know, us getting better ourselves as

2:42

far as from what was already here. You know, you look at some

2:44

guys that've been here for a couple of years. I feel like we've all come back and we've we've tinkered or improved in some area one way or another.

2:52

So but like I said, it's all that way, and it's all the it's all we want to do. It's all we want to get to

2:57

the fans in the city. And you know, last year we kind of

3:00

you know, bad taste in our mouth. So that's what we're trying to

3:02

do. Well, you lose Gino, you lose Tail, but as you

3:07

mentioned, you bring some guys in. So how do you compare this year's

3:12

line up with the one you went to battle with last year? Yeah,

3:16

I think it's a it's a little more I'd probably say dynamic in the sense

3:21

of, you know, you have some guys that can do some different things as far as what they can do with the bat, as far as what

3:28

we do with the base running and kind of moving the ball forward, you

3:31

know, maybe cut down a few of those strikeouts. Guys maybe can can

3:36

take a few more hits. Uh. You know, I still don't feel

3:39

like we lost much power. You know, obviously Geno Tail tremendous power and

3:44

that was great. But you know, when uh, you don't need you

3:47

don't need nine guys trying to home run. Sometimes. See need some town

3:52

centers. See some guys that can get on base, still bases, strout walks, uh, things like that that can help you win games. So

3:58

it's uh, it's not always out the long ball. Yeah. Well,

4:00

your spring training numbers so far looks sensational. Man but I know you're not

4:04

concerned about your spring training numbers. I'm looking at Baseball Reference dot Com.

4:10

I don't I don't know how much you guys look at this analytics stuff on

4:13

the internet. But Baseball Reference dot Com has you projected for twenty seven bombs

4:16

seventy one ribis hitting two twenty eight with a seven fifty eight ops. Does

4:21

that sound like a successful year numbers wise for cal Roley in your mind?

4:29

You know, I don't really pay this to th though. You know they uh, you know, they can, they can come up with whatever they

4:34

want to come up with. But at the end of the day, my

4:36

job is dealt this team win baseball games. Uh you know, I think

4:42

my my season's gonna be determined how well we do with the team. So

4:45

yeah, I think that's kind of how we all we're all feeling right now.

4:47

You know, you look around the whole bucker and and that's that's kind

4:50

of the field. It's kind of the the way right now that guys are

4:54

feeling. You know, we don't really care about how we get it done

4:57

or what it looks like. We just want to get it done. So

4:59

right, well, how how you play and how your teammates play obviously will

5:03

will greatly impact how the team does. Right, So when you look at

5:08

Cal and get Cal cal riley with us, when you look at your individual

5:12

numbers and maybe an area or two, and maybe it's not even numbers,

5:15

maybe it's just certain situations, What do you have set aside for yourself for

5:19

for goals and things that you want to get better at this year? Yeah,

5:26

I think you know number one. I think the big thing this offseason,

5:30

not just for me, but for the team was, you know, trying to move them ball forward, trying to you know, have a better

5:35

two strike approach, you know, find a way to put that on the

5:40

ball and prevent you know, strikeouts, cry a little less of those,

5:45

and try to cause a little more problems, you know, whether it be

5:47

from them all play with two strikes, you know, whatever may be in

5:51

that situation. I think that was kind of a big thing for me.

5:56

Obviously. I want to also get better from the right side, or doesn't

5:59

Thay, just try to get a few more consistent abs from that side.

6:02

That way, I can you know, be a little more in rhythm and

6:05

tune with that side of the play. Love it well, Cal in the

6:11

three years that you've been with the Mariners. Really, the seasons have gone

6:15

almost identically. I mean I was looking at the numbers before he came on. You guys were thirty four and thirty six in twenty twenty one, you

6:19

were thirty five and forty one in twenty twenty two. You were thirty nine

6:23

and forty two last year, and then you just erupt for the rest of

6:27

the season. But why is it the first seventy eighty games. Why has

6:30

the struggles been there consistently? Now I can't really answer that, you know,

6:38

I feel like maybe maybe we didn't call all ready to play, Maybe

6:43

we had some injuries. There's a lot of factors that play in that.

6:46

Maybe it was, you know, some guys just needed to get you get

6:50

a few more vs on the belt. It's it's always different, it's ever

6:55

you know, obviously it was consistent of the past couple of years, but

6:58

it's always seems like a different things. And but I think I think we've

7:02

done a lot better job this year in spring training of somewhat getting ready,

7:05

being being a little more prepared in the sense of, all right, we

7:10

gotta be ready for Game one, we gotta be ready to go out and

7:13

you know it's gonna be just as important as Game one sixty two. So

7:15

we saw how that played out last year, and I think, you know, that kind of gave us a little more urgency coming into camp this year.

7:21

And you know, guys have been wanting to play. Guys been wanting

7:24

to get id. These guys have been wanting to get, you know,

7:28

things under their belt that way, you know when they start playing where I

7:31

feel like we've already been doing it for some time now and not just being

7:34

fresh and new. Well, Kyle Rawley with us in cal it just seems

7:38

like yesterday that you came up as a rookie in twenty twenty one, and

7:42

now you're heading into year four of your major league career. And you know,

7:46

look, I mean, as long as we've talked to you, everything we know about you, hear about you. People say you're a real humble

7:49

guy, and that that certainly comes across on the air, no question about

7:54

it. But the fan base loves you. You are really, I think,

7:58

turning into a leader in town. And I'm hearing that you're also turning

8:01

into a big time leader in that clubhouse. And I wonder if you feel

8:05

that way, and I wonder if you feel that responsibility in some ways.

8:09

Man, Yeah, I mean, I mean I think anytime you're the you're

8:15

the catcher of a baseball team, that you're gonna have a little more responsibility,

8:20

a little more kind of that leadership character, characteristic or role. And

8:26

then add on to that, you know now and then here a few years

8:28

of uh, I've seen some things. Got to know guys and know what

8:33

you know makes guys tick, what doesn't, what helps the team, what doesn't, And uh, you know, I'm just here to help the team

8:39

and whatever capacity I can. If speaking up right, if it's you know,

8:43

bowing guys to the side and helped them out, uh, even better.

8:46

So you know, it's whatever it takes. Really, I mean, there's not you know, there's more one more than one white to skin a

8:52

cat. So you know, it's not like I said, it's not one

8:54

certain way every single time. It's it's finding the right way to do things.

9:00

And you know, it's kind of what we're trying to build here with the culture and just finding a way to get it done. Calasopin and we're

9:07

talking before you came on about those slow starts that I referred to you,

9:11

and he mentioned, Hey, I mean maybe it would help you guys out

9:13

if the roof was closed every every day in April and May. What is

9:16

it like hitting in that park in April and May? And does it matter

9:20

to you? I know every hitter is individual, but does it matter to

9:24

you if they if the roof is open or closed in the cold weather?

9:30

I mean, yeah, it's you know, I'm not gonna say you're make excuses. It's it's cold, it's you know, the wind blows in uh

9:37

balls to travel well. But at the end of the day, no excuses,

9:39

right, because the other teams have been playing it too, So we're

9:43

gonna to find a way to combat that. And I think we've we've done

9:45

a good job of already talking about some things through camp, you know,

9:48

moving runners, finding a way to uh get guys in, finding a way

9:52

for you know, this score and kind of get runs across. So when

9:56

our sacrifies bunting, whatever may, And we've kind of already talked about that

10:01

stuff, and I think we're already already a step ahead of kind of what

10:07

we were wanting to be as so, and definitely ahead of the game, you know, compared to yours past. I love it. Hey man,

10:13

this is great. Thanks for doing this. I appreciate it. I know

10:16

you're just wrapping up spring training down there, so can't wait to get you guys back home and looking forward to having you on a ton during the season.

10:22

Man, appreciate this in best of luck in twenty four right now.

10:26

Yeah, you got a cal Raley with us on the air. I love

10:31

that guy. Yeah, I don't know how else I can say it.

10:33

I mean honestly, and he'd his stock. Like every fan, everybody has

10:39

their own little thing where they can be super duper impressed by somebody. And

10:43

maybe what impresses you want impress me, and vice versa. What he did

10:46

last year sitting in that dugout and talking the way he did and sharing his

10:50

opinion the way he did. You normally would get something like that out of

10:54

an eight or nine year veteran, not a guy who was in wrapping up

10:58

year two of his major league career, and his stock went through the freaking

11:01

roof when he did that last year. So you won't hear me saying a

11:05

bad thing about that guy. He busts his ass, he plays, hurts,

11:07

he catches every night, he's a freaking leader. He speaks up.

11:11

I mean, what more do you want to catch or dude? Besides what

11:13

that guy gives this baseball team, He's kind of a one in a decade

11:18

type player, the throwback guy, right, Someway Right, every franchise has,

11:22

like the Seahawks have had those guys. The Sonics had those guys that

11:24

that maybe, now, Cal's a great player, don't take anything away from

11:28

him, but he's not like the best of his position in baseball. It's

11:31

like it's it's one thing we have a Ken Griffy junior on the team and I'm not talking about Dan Wilson. Yeah, that's that was the guy just

11:37

described Dan Wilson as the guy for a cony years ago with and and every

11:41

ten years or so, this baseball team and our football team and our basketball

11:46

team in the past has had that dude, right, that guy that maybe

11:50

isn't the best player on the team, but he is just the leader. The guys follow him, and the fans absolutely fall in love with him.

11:56

He caught one hundred and twenty eight games last year. How many times times

12:00

did you see col Rowley in your mind's eye? Take a day off from

12:03

behind the plate. Obviously it happened, you know, thirty plus times a year ago. It doesn't feel like that, though. It feels like for

12:09

two three weeks, every single day that guy was sitting there behind the dish

12:13

with his knees taking a freaking beating man. So he's an absolute warrior and

12:16

I am so fired up for him. And by the way, my answer

12:18

to his projected numbers by Baseball Reference would be no, thank you. I'm

12:22

gonna go out and try to do something better than that. We're gonna break

12:26

fun with Audio three forty five Mike Decorsi. The bracket is out. We're

12:30

gonna chat about it. Coming up next on ninety three three KJRFM