00:00:00
Speaker 1: It's time for our weekly conversation with legendary sports writer Larry Stone. Brought to you by the Ram Restaurant and Brewery. Bigger, better, and fresher since 1971. With eight Puget Sound locations from Marysville to Lacey and everywhere in between. There's a Ram near you. Now with Softie and Dick, here's Larry Stone.
00:00:21
Speaker 2: All right, lots to get to. Big thanks to the Ram. Gabe Spire will join us coming up in about a half an hour or so from T-Mobile Park before tonight's game one of three against the Rangers. And, Larry, why don't we just start right there and talk a little baseball. There's all kinds of college football news, professional football news to get to. apple cup reaction but here we are with 18 games left and the m's are six games out the astros are winning right now and i don't know man you're generally a positive guy but even you've got to admit that things are looking bleak right now with this baseball team what do you think yeah.
00:00:53
Speaker 3: Very very bleak i think divish's story today said it pretty well you know the math mathematically they're still alive but realistically they have very little hope um yeah six out with 18 to play Um, the, the, the schedule, the, the so-called easy part of the schedule, as I tweeted the other day, it's, it's predicated on them actually winning those games. And when you lose three out of four to the A's, uh, there's no confidence. There should be no confidence. They could win any of these games, including the other, the remaining games with the A's or the games with the angels or even the games with the Rockies.
00:01:28
Speaker 1: So.
00:01:29
Speaker 3: Unless they just turn it on and go practically undefeated the rest of the way, I think it's pretty hopeless.
00:01:35
Speaker 4: And, Larry, on the flip side, when are we going to just admit that the Houston Astros aren't a bad baseball team? Like, they haven't played bad baseball for a long, long time.
00:01:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, that's fair for, I mean, really, for years, if that's what you mean. Just even this year.
00:01:55
Speaker 4: I mean, they've been playing pretty darn good baseball for a couple months now.
00:01:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, they got off to a horrible start and people were writing them off. I kind of wrote them off, but they did have a lot of injuries. And when those guys came back, I mean, there's just a winning tradition and knowledge and muscle memory in that organization. And I think it came to the fore again this year. And they have a guy much like Cal last year. in your Don, who is playing MVP caliber ball and kind of leading the way, extraordinary seat, triple crown potential season. So when you have something like that, it can take you a long way.
00:02:35
Speaker 2: Well, they were 57-55 on the 1st of August, and now they're 73-71. Yeah, but they were 10 under. 500 at one point this season. Right, but, okay, sure. But, Dick, they were also 43-46 on the 1st of July. I mean, yeah, if you want to go back to early June, but the last couple of months they're playing like five or six games over. That's not bad. Right, but they're not a good baseball team. They're a mediocre baseball team. And they are kicking everybody's ass because everybody else stinks. I mean, I don't want to sit here and say the biggest reason why the Mariners are out of this thing is because the Astros are incredible. The biggest reason why the Mariners are out of this thing is because they're terrible, man.
00:03:13
Speaker 4: No, but the reason you said that one of the biggest reasons that you thought they had hope was because the Astros were terrible.
00:03:17
Speaker 2: And right now that's not happening.
00:03:19
Speaker 3: That's right.
00:03:19
Speaker 2: But the Astros have given you every don't-you-think-Larry opportunity ever. to run away with this thing. There are two games over 500 for F sake. What are we talking about, Larry?
00:03:30
Speaker 3: No, you're, you're absolutely right. It's it was there for the taking. I mean, you look at the years, recent years where the Mariners missed the playoffs with 89, 90, 88 wins. I think, you know, in recent years, the years they didn't make the playoffs, but had strong runs at it. That would have, if they had had that this year, it would have been a cakewalk. they have no one to blame but themselves. I mean, it's even ludicrous to think that they even have a chance when they're 10 games under 500 with 18 to play. That should, you know, they should be by rights just already looking to head to next year and bringing up kids and playing them. But because of the division, they have this outside shot, but it's not because they've earned anything. It's because they've been bad. And you're right. The Astros have been the definition of mediocrity, you know, basically a 500 team, but that in this division, that makes them the stalwarts.
00:04:26
Speaker 2: Correct.
00:04:27
Speaker 4: You mentioned the kids. I mean, I'm done there. I'm completely done with the season. I want to see a Royal and Montez every single game. I want to see what 2027 is going to look like. When do you think the Mariners will decide to do that?
00:04:40
Speaker 3: Well, I think they're going to do that sporadically the rest of the year. I mean, we've already seen Montez play almost every game. And, you know, Arroyo played the first day he was up. I think, I don't know if the, well, the lineup's probably out since the game starts in a few minutes. I haven't seen it yet. Is Arroyo in it?
00:04:56
Speaker 1: No, Montez.
00:04:57
Speaker 2: Montez is starting at DH tonight for them.
00:05:01
Speaker 3: Yeah. I'm with you. I would like to see Arroyo. And it's not like, I mean, how could it be much worse? Could, you know, could he be any worse than Taylor Ward, who has been essentially the worst Continuing the tradition of Rob Refsnyder of being the worst player in baseball. So, you know, what is it? What does it hurt? What are you going to lose by playing those kids? You might catch a spark even.
00:05:25
Speaker 1: Right.
00:05:25
Speaker 2: And that's the thing is that the Rainiers are still going. They got a couple weeks left. So Montez and Arroyo, those guys could be playing every day in AAA. Instead, they're goofing around up here in the major leagues. But I don't know, man. I mean, I'm just kind of wondering if this thing is going the way we think it's going to go. How long after the season actually ends do you think it'll be before there's an announcement that the manager job is now open?
00:05:51
Speaker 3: Probably the next day. I don't think it'll take, I don't think it'll take long. I mean, I think there's a growing sense, you know, I think I told you guys several weeks ago that if they didn't make the playoffs, I didn't think Dan would be back. That seems to be the consensus around baseball. Now you see national guys saying the same thing. So, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if it was within a couple of days after the big question, of course, is what happens to the brain trust to Poto and Hollander. And that's, I think it's hard to gauge that one really. you know, I think there's, there's arguments both ways and we'll get, it just kind of depends on what John Stanton feels. And, you know, he hasn't shown a tendency to be impatient and he seems to be, you know, he's always been a supporter of DePoto. So, you know, I, I, I think there's a, there's a possibility that, that, that there won't be any change there, that it'll all be on the manager and the coaching staff.
00:06:46
Speaker 2: Well, what do you think should happen?
00:06:47
Speaker 4: How, how hot would Jerry DePoto's seat be in your mind?
00:06:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you could justify firing him. And, you know, 11 years, two playoff bursts this year went wildly out of control. You know, just a total, I mean, every move, just about every move that he made in the offseason did not work out. But you have to also look at the fact that I think they were coming off five straight winning seasons, which they've never done. Two playoff bursts in the last post-rebuild. I'm not sure what I would do, Dick. I'm undecided on that one, which is not a great answer. I'd probably lean towards this organization needing a reboot and new direction, new philosophies.
00:07:43
Speaker 2: Right.
00:07:44
Speaker 3: And so I probably lean in that direction.
00:07:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just I'd be surprised if they let him go, to be honest with you. I think I understand your point about the reboot. And I'm not saying that I would not not fire him. I've always wondered if this is like Steve Sarkeesian and Chris Peterson, that there's only so far Jerry can take this thing. I don't know if he's hamstrung by ownership enough to make a major difference. Obviously, we'd like to have more money. But do you believe that? That, man, what Jerry did going from the outhouse to, I don't know, what's below the penthouse, right? Whatever that is, that next level before you get to the top of the hotel. The suites. The suites, right. Is it possible that he's done all he can do for this franchise?
00:08:29
Speaker 3: Uh, I don't know if I would say that. I mean, with the different pitching decisions in game seven last year, you know, they would have gotten to the world series, uh, and then he would have gotten them. He would have achieved that. So it wasn't like he, he didn't build a team that was capable of doing that. They almost, they almost did. They almost did that. So, uh, you know, sometimes things just go wrong. It happens to organizations all the time. This was just kind of a perfect storm of everything going wrong. Injuries, underperformance, manager decisions, everything. I think there's a school of thought that it could turn around next year with the right additions. Yeah. But I think you could also squint your eyes in a different direction and say that this team needs an overhaul too, that there's so many holes and so many deficiencies that it's not as close as it appeared at the start of the season.
00:09:33
Speaker 4: Our weekly conversation with Larry Stone brought to you by our friends at the Ram Restaurant and Brewery. Larry, let's talk some Apple Cup. I thought, and I've been to probably 25 of these, I thought it was the worst atmosphere I've seen in any Apple Cup I've been to. Um, do you think it came closer to death because of that this Sunday, or do you think the Cougars performance breathed some life into it because it wasn't 56-10?
00:09:57
Speaker 3: Yeah. It's hard to tell the atmosphere from watching on TV, but I'll take your word for it that it was Deadsville. Probably closer. Probably closer to death, I would say. Because, yeah, the whole thing is... you know, the, the argument for keeping it alive is that it means something to people. And if, if, if there's, if that atmosphere and that commitment is not there, then, then I think that there's stronger arguments for not keeping it going.
00:10:35
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:10:35
Speaker 2: Well, uh, would you want to keep it going if you were a Cougar fan?
00:10:39
Speaker 3: Yeah. I would want to keep it going. Yeah. Because I think it would mean more even, you know, it always meant a lot to the Cougars to, to win that game and upset the Huskies. And if you do it now, I, It's not going to happen often, but on the rare occasion if it happens like two years ago, I think it means even more. So I would like to give them that chance to pull that upset and to keep the rivalry going. It's just the... History and tradition mean something, and I'd hate to break that up.
00:11:09
Speaker 2: Larry Stone's with us, courtesy of the Ram. What about this proposed 2014 playoff that's getting kicked around now? You know, the CFP, ESPN in discussions to start the process about talking about a 2014 playoff. All three of us remember the days where you'd go to bed on a Monday night, wake up on Tuesday morning, and... the paper would tell you who won the national championship, right? And those days are over, man. So does a 2014 playoff appeal to you, Larry Stone?
00:11:39
Speaker 3: I haven't thought this one out too much, but, you know, at a point, you know, you can get a little too unwieldy. I would, you know, I think the way it is now is pretty good. I don't think I would expand it even more. So I would tend to not. proposed uh favor that got.
00:12:00
Speaker 4: It i'm with you i guess the only the only potential positive is i think if we have a 2014 playoff we're going to get a lot more of these texas ohio state games that we're getting this saturday instead of only one for the entire season we're probably going to have a multitude maybe even a big 10 sec crossover week so does that breathe a little bit of life into the possibility.
00:12:24
Speaker 3: Then Yeah, that's a fair point. Because I think you have too many teams weaseling out from not wanting to schedule those games. So if you can get more of those... absolutely, that would be a point in the favor.
00:12:43
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:12:43
Speaker 2: Larry, how about tomorrow night? Seahawks and Patriots. I don't know what your thoughts are on this season, but looking to do something that this team tried to do in 2014 and some ways got robbed of it. Some ways they robbed themselves. Otherwise, maybe they were robbed by somebody else. But back-to-back championships is what's on the line this year for Seahawks football. I mean, you tell me. Dick and I were debating whether or not these guys have a better chance to do that than the 2014 team did. I guess that 2014 team came within one yard, right, of repeating as champions. But what do you make of the odds of this team doing what that team could not do?
00:13:24
Speaker 3: Well, I would say the odds are stacked against them just because of how extraordinary– hard it is to do in any season not just to repeat but to win it in any particular season and to do it back to back i just think you know it's i would take the field and then nothing against the seahawks and i think they're going to be a strong contender and they've done a you know schneider's done a great job of of bringing back as much as you possibly can of the nucleus of that team given the restrictions of the salary cap and the like But it's just too many things could happen to derail that. And, you know, the 14 team did everything right and had it in their hand, in their grasp, and still couldn't pull it off. But, I mean, that team was there. It was right there for them, and they didn't do it. But, you know, it wouldn't shock me if they did it again. They have the capability of doing it. I just think it's just there's too many barriers along the way. So, you know. Always go for the field instead of the one team.
00:14:29
Speaker 4: Well, how much of a bonus is it, though, that they really don't have a target on their back? I mean, the NFL just got done with their player voting, NFL Top 100. there were three Seattle Seahawks voted in the top 100 and only two in the top 96 and the highest paid cornerback in the league until right now wasn't even on the list.
00:14:49
Speaker 2: What do you think of that?
00:14:50
Speaker 4: Just the lack of respect that the other players are showing the Superbowl champions.
00:14:55
Speaker 3: Yeah. I don't quite get it. This whole thing about sort of anointing the Rams is the, as the favorites and the, and the de facto champions, uh, I mean, you look, they were pretty dominant last year, you know, in the second half of the season and through the playoffs, they bring back, as I said, they bring back almost every starter, including most of the key players, coaching staff, except for the offensive coordinator. Uh, it is, it is puzzling why they don't, uh, have more respect, I guess is the word. And, you know, that will be a, I'm sure that will be a, uh, a galvanizing point for those guys and, and it's probably in their favor to have something to, you know, to feel, you know, to feel slighted that works in athletics. It does drive teams. So, uh, you know, uh, McDonald probably is very happy to have that scenario that they're not just, being touted as the obvious choice to repeat.
00:15:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt. All right, man, good stuff. And I feel like whether we like it or not, one week from today, we will officially one way either know that these guys are DOA, time for a eulogy, and they're dead and buried, or they have risen from the ranks of the dead and they have found a way to climb back in it. So we'll talk in a week.
00:16:16
Speaker 3: All right, man. All right, guys, thanks.
00:16:19
Speaker 2: All right, Larry Stone with us on the air. The update, if anybody cares, 6-4 Houston, top of the night. So the Astros win this game today, and the M's are going to fall further and further back because it's no longer just about what they're doing. It's about what the Astros are doing, obviously. I don't know, man. Houston, Dick, in the last 22 games, they're 11-11. Since the end of July, they're 17-16. End of June, they're 30-26. I mean, your point about how they started is fair. They were horrible in April and May. Since the end of May, they're 46-37. But they haven't done anything overall in the grand scheme of 2026 that should have you in a position to be six games behind them. Nothing. No, they haven't.
00:17:01
Speaker 4: But I mean, the talk two weeks ago was, hey, this Houston team could go 10 and 16, 10 and 17 down the stretch. And they've shown no, they've shown nothing in the last four months that would indicate that they would go 10 and 17.
00:17:15
Speaker 2: But that's what's pathetic is that they're just playing 500 ball. They're four games over since the end of June. And yet they're six games up. I mean, again, they've given you every window to run away from this thing, and you've pissed it away. We're going to break. Gabe Spire, Mariner Reliever. We'll talk to him next on 93.3 KJRFM.
Speaker 1: It's time for our weekly conversation with legendary sports writer Larry Stone. Brought to you by the Ram Restaurant and Brewery. Bigger, better, and fresher since 1971. With eight Puget Sound locations from Marysville to Lacey and everywhere in between. There's a Ram near you. Now with Softie and Dick, here's Larry Stone.
00:00:21
Speaker 2: All right, lots to get to. Big thanks to the Ram. Gabe Spire will join us coming up in about a half an hour or so from T-Mobile Park before tonight's game one of three against the Rangers. And, Larry, why don't we just start right there and talk a little baseball. There's all kinds of college football news, professional football news to get to. apple cup reaction but here we are with 18 games left and the m's are six games out the astros are winning right now and i don't know man you're generally a positive guy but even you've got to admit that things are looking bleak right now with this baseball team what do you think yeah.
00:00:53
Speaker 3: Very very bleak i think divish's story today said it pretty well you know the math mathematically they're still alive but realistically they have very little hope um yeah six out with 18 to play Um, the, the, the schedule, the, the so-called easy part of the schedule, as I tweeted the other day, it's, it's predicated on them actually winning those games. And when you lose three out of four to the A's, uh, there's no confidence. There should be no confidence. They could win any of these games, including the other, the remaining games with the A's or the games with the angels or even the games with the Rockies.
00:01:28
Speaker 1: So.
00:01:29
Speaker 3: Unless they just turn it on and go practically undefeated the rest of the way, I think it's pretty hopeless.
00:01:35
Speaker 4: And, Larry, on the flip side, when are we going to just admit that the Houston Astros aren't a bad baseball team? Like, they haven't played bad baseball for a long, long time.
00:01:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, well, that's fair for, I mean, really, for years, if that's what you mean. Just even this year.
00:01:55
Speaker 4: I mean, they've been playing pretty darn good baseball for a couple months now.
00:01:59
Speaker 3: Yeah, they got off to a horrible start and people were writing them off. I kind of wrote them off, but they did have a lot of injuries. And when those guys came back, I mean, there's just a winning tradition and knowledge and muscle memory in that organization. And I think it came to the fore again this year. And they have a guy much like Cal last year. in your Don, who is playing MVP caliber ball and kind of leading the way, extraordinary seat, triple crown potential season. So when you have something like that, it can take you a long way.
00:02:35
Speaker 2: Well, they were 57-55 on the 1st of August, and now they're 73-71. Yeah, but they were 10 under. 500 at one point this season. Right, but, okay, sure. But, Dick, they were also 43-46 on the 1st of July. I mean, yeah, if you want to go back to early June, but the last couple of months they're playing like five or six games over. That's not bad. Right, but they're not a good baseball team. They're a mediocre baseball team. And they are kicking everybody's ass because everybody else stinks. I mean, I don't want to sit here and say the biggest reason why the Mariners are out of this thing is because the Astros are incredible. The biggest reason why the Mariners are out of this thing is because they're terrible, man.
00:03:13
Speaker 4: No, but the reason you said that one of the biggest reasons that you thought they had hope was because the Astros were terrible.
00:03:17
Speaker 2: And right now that's not happening.
00:03:19
Speaker 3: That's right.
00:03:19
Speaker 2: But the Astros have given you every don't-you-think-Larry opportunity ever. to run away with this thing. There are two games over 500 for F sake. What are we talking about, Larry?
00:03:30
Speaker 3: No, you're, you're absolutely right. It's it was there for the taking. I mean, you look at the years, recent years where the Mariners missed the playoffs with 89, 90, 88 wins. I think, you know, in recent years, the years they didn't make the playoffs, but had strong runs at it. That would have, if they had had that this year, it would have been a cakewalk. they have no one to blame but themselves. I mean, it's even ludicrous to think that they even have a chance when they're 10 games under 500 with 18 to play. That should, you know, they should be by rights just already looking to head to next year and bringing up kids and playing them. But because of the division, they have this outside shot, but it's not because they've earned anything. It's because they've been bad. And you're right. The Astros have been the definition of mediocrity, you know, basically a 500 team, but that in this division, that makes them the stalwarts.
00:04:26
Speaker 2: Correct.
00:04:27
Speaker 4: You mentioned the kids. I mean, I'm done there. I'm completely done with the season. I want to see a Royal and Montez every single game. I want to see what 2027 is going to look like. When do you think the Mariners will decide to do that?
00:04:40
Speaker 3: Well, I think they're going to do that sporadically the rest of the year. I mean, we've already seen Montez play almost every game. And, you know, Arroyo played the first day he was up. I think, I don't know if the, well, the lineup's probably out since the game starts in a few minutes. I haven't seen it yet. Is Arroyo in it?
00:04:56
Speaker 1: No, Montez.
00:04:57
Speaker 2: Montez is starting at DH tonight for them.
00:05:01
Speaker 3: Yeah. I'm with you. I would like to see Arroyo. And it's not like, I mean, how could it be much worse? Could, you know, could he be any worse than Taylor Ward, who has been essentially the worst Continuing the tradition of Rob Refsnyder of being the worst player in baseball. So, you know, what is it? What does it hurt? What are you going to lose by playing those kids? You might catch a spark even.
00:05:25
Speaker 1: Right.
00:05:25
Speaker 2: And that's the thing is that the Rainiers are still going. They got a couple weeks left. So Montez and Arroyo, those guys could be playing every day in AAA. Instead, they're goofing around up here in the major leagues. But I don't know, man. I mean, I'm just kind of wondering if this thing is going the way we think it's going to go. How long after the season actually ends do you think it'll be before there's an announcement that the manager job is now open?
00:05:51
Speaker 3: Probably the next day. I don't think it'll take, I don't think it'll take long. I mean, I think there's a growing sense, you know, I think I told you guys several weeks ago that if they didn't make the playoffs, I didn't think Dan would be back. That seems to be the consensus around baseball. Now you see national guys saying the same thing. So, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if it was within a couple of days after the big question, of course, is what happens to the brain trust to Poto and Hollander. And that's, I think it's hard to gauge that one really. you know, I think there's, there's arguments both ways and we'll get, it just kind of depends on what John Stanton feels. And, you know, he hasn't shown a tendency to be impatient and he seems to be, you know, he's always been a supporter of DePoto. So, you know, I, I, I think there's a, there's a possibility that, that, that there won't be any change there, that it'll all be on the manager and the coaching staff.
00:06:46
Speaker 2: Well, what do you think should happen?
00:06:47
Speaker 4: How, how hot would Jerry DePoto's seat be in your mind?
00:06:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you could justify firing him. And, you know, 11 years, two playoff bursts this year went wildly out of control. You know, just a total, I mean, every move, just about every move that he made in the offseason did not work out. But you have to also look at the fact that I think they were coming off five straight winning seasons, which they've never done. Two playoff bursts in the last post-rebuild. I'm not sure what I would do, Dick. I'm undecided on that one, which is not a great answer. I'd probably lean towards this organization needing a reboot and new direction, new philosophies.
00:07:43
Speaker 2: Right.
00:07:44
Speaker 3: And so I probably lean in that direction.
00:07:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just I'd be surprised if they let him go, to be honest with you. I think I understand your point about the reboot. And I'm not saying that I would not not fire him. I've always wondered if this is like Steve Sarkeesian and Chris Peterson, that there's only so far Jerry can take this thing. I don't know if he's hamstrung by ownership enough to make a major difference. Obviously, we'd like to have more money. But do you believe that? That, man, what Jerry did going from the outhouse to, I don't know, what's below the penthouse, right? Whatever that is, that next level before you get to the top of the hotel. The suites. The suites, right. Is it possible that he's done all he can do for this franchise?
00:08:29
Speaker 3: Uh, I don't know if I would say that. I mean, with the different pitching decisions in game seven last year, you know, they would have gotten to the world series, uh, and then he would have gotten them. He would have achieved that. So it wasn't like he, he didn't build a team that was capable of doing that. They almost, they almost did. They almost did that. So, uh, you know, sometimes things just go wrong. It happens to organizations all the time. This was just kind of a perfect storm of everything going wrong. Injuries, underperformance, manager decisions, everything. I think there's a school of thought that it could turn around next year with the right additions. Yeah. But I think you could also squint your eyes in a different direction and say that this team needs an overhaul too, that there's so many holes and so many deficiencies that it's not as close as it appeared at the start of the season.
00:09:33
Speaker 4: Our weekly conversation with Larry Stone brought to you by our friends at the Ram Restaurant and Brewery. Larry, let's talk some Apple Cup. I thought, and I've been to probably 25 of these, I thought it was the worst atmosphere I've seen in any Apple Cup I've been to. Um, do you think it came closer to death because of that this Sunday, or do you think the Cougars performance breathed some life into it because it wasn't 56-10?
00:09:57
Speaker 3: Yeah. It's hard to tell the atmosphere from watching on TV, but I'll take your word for it that it was Deadsville. Probably closer. Probably closer to death, I would say. Because, yeah, the whole thing is... you know, the, the argument for keeping it alive is that it means something to people. And if, if, if there's, if that atmosphere and that commitment is not there, then, then I think that there's stronger arguments for not keeping it going.
00:10:35
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:10:35
Speaker 2: Well, uh, would you want to keep it going if you were a Cougar fan?
00:10:39
Speaker 3: Yeah. I would want to keep it going. Yeah. Because I think it would mean more even, you know, it always meant a lot to the Cougars to, to win that game and upset the Huskies. And if you do it now, I, It's not going to happen often, but on the rare occasion if it happens like two years ago, I think it means even more. So I would like to give them that chance to pull that upset and to keep the rivalry going. It's just the... History and tradition mean something, and I'd hate to break that up.
00:11:09
Speaker 2: Larry Stone's with us, courtesy of the Ram. What about this proposed 2014 playoff that's getting kicked around now? You know, the CFP, ESPN in discussions to start the process about talking about a 2014 playoff. All three of us remember the days where you'd go to bed on a Monday night, wake up on Tuesday morning, and... the paper would tell you who won the national championship, right? And those days are over, man. So does a 2014 playoff appeal to you, Larry Stone?
00:11:39
Speaker 3: I haven't thought this one out too much, but, you know, at a point, you know, you can get a little too unwieldy. I would, you know, I think the way it is now is pretty good. I don't think I would expand it even more. So I would tend to not. proposed uh favor that got.
00:12:00
Speaker 4: It i'm with you i guess the only the only potential positive is i think if we have a 2014 playoff we're going to get a lot more of these texas ohio state games that we're getting this saturday instead of only one for the entire season we're probably going to have a multitude maybe even a big 10 sec crossover week so does that breathe a little bit of life into the possibility.
00:12:24
Speaker 3: Then Yeah, that's a fair point. Because I think you have too many teams weaseling out from not wanting to schedule those games. So if you can get more of those... absolutely, that would be a point in the favor.
00:12:43
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:12:43
Speaker 2: Larry, how about tomorrow night? Seahawks and Patriots. I don't know what your thoughts are on this season, but looking to do something that this team tried to do in 2014 and some ways got robbed of it. Some ways they robbed themselves. Otherwise, maybe they were robbed by somebody else. But back-to-back championships is what's on the line this year for Seahawks football. I mean, you tell me. Dick and I were debating whether or not these guys have a better chance to do that than the 2014 team did. I guess that 2014 team came within one yard, right, of repeating as champions. But what do you make of the odds of this team doing what that team could not do?
00:13:24
Speaker 3: Well, I would say the odds are stacked against them just because of how extraordinary– hard it is to do in any season not just to repeat but to win it in any particular season and to do it back to back i just think you know it's i would take the field and then nothing against the seahawks and i think they're going to be a strong contender and they've done a you know schneider's done a great job of of bringing back as much as you possibly can of the nucleus of that team given the restrictions of the salary cap and the like But it's just too many things could happen to derail that. And, you know, the 14 team did everything right and had it in their hand, in their grasp, and still couldn't pull it off. But, I mean, that team was there. It was right there for them, and they didn't do it. But, you know, it wouldn't shock me if they did it again. They have the capability of doing it. I just think it's just there's too many barriers along the way. So, you know. Always go for the field instead of the one team.
00:14:29
Speaker 4: Well, how much of a bonus is it, though, that they really don't have a target on their back? I mean, the NFL just got done with their player voting, NFL Top 100. there were three Seattle Seahawks voted in the top 100 and only two in the top 96 and the highest paid cornerback in the league until right now wasn't even on the list.
00:14:49
Speaker 2: What do you think of that?
00:14:50
Speaker 4: Just the lack of respect that the other players are showing the Superbowl champions.
00:14:55
Speaker 3: Yeah. I don't quite get it. This whole thing about sort of anointing the Rams is the, as the favorites and the, and the de facto champions, uh, I mean, you look, they were pretty dominant last year, you know, in the second half of the season and through the playoffs, they bring back, as I said, they bring back almost every starter, including most of the key players, coaching staff, except for the offensive coordinator. Uh, it is, it is puzzling why they don't, uh, have more respect, I guess is the word. And, you know, that will be a, I'm sure that will be a, uh, a galvanizing point for those guys and, and it's probably in their favor to have something to, you know, to feel, you know, to feel slighted that works in athletics. It does drive teams. So, uh, you know, uh, McDonald probably is very happy to have that scenario that they're not just, being touted as the obvious choice to repeat.
00:15:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt. All right, man, good stuff. And I feel like whether we like it or not, one week from today, we will officially one way either know that these guys are DOA, time for a eulogy, and they're dead and buried, or they have risen from the ranks of the dead and they have found a way to climb back in it. So we'll talk in a week.
00:16:16
Speaker 3: All right, man. All right, guys, thanks.
00:16:19
Speaker 2: All right, Larry Stone with us on the air. The update, if anybody cares, 6-4 Houston, top of the night. So the Astros win this game today, and the M's are going to fall further and further back because it's no longer just about what they're doing. It's about what the Astros are doing, obviously. I don't know, man. Houston, Dick, in the last 22 games, they're 11-11. Since the end of July, they're 17-16. End of June, they're 30-26. I mean, your point about how they started is fair. They were horrible in April and May. Since the end of May, they're 46-37. But they haven't done anything overall in the grand scheme of 2026 that should have you in a position to be six games behind them. Nothing. No, they haven't.
00:17:01
Speaker 4: But I mean, the talk two weeks ago was, hey, this Houston team could go 10 and 16, 10 and 17 down the stretch. And they've shown no, they've shown nothing in the last four months that would indicate that they would go 10 and 17.
00:17:15
Speaker 2: But that's what's pathetic is that they're just playing 500 ball. They're four games over since the end of June. And yet they're six games up. I mean, again, they've given you every window to run away from this thing, and you've pissed it away. We're going to break. Gabe Spire, Mariner Reliever. We'll talk to him next on 93.3 KJRFM.
