[jaa36]

AG: Welcome back to the Wheelhouse. Jerry, good to have you back as always.

JD: Thanks Aaron. But I wish it were under better circumstances.

AG: Not the way you wanted to start the season, I'm sure.

JD: Well, no. If I could choose, I'd rather be 3-0 than 0-3. But at the same time, it's a very long season, and if you get hung up on just three games you're not going to last very long in this league.

AG: Why don't we get right to the point. What went wrong?

JD: Boy, you don't pull any punches, do you Aaron? (laughs) Well, right off the bat you didn't see Felix with his best stuff on Thursday. It's a shame because he was looking so good in the preseason, and on that one day it just didn't translate.

AG: It seemed like he was really struggling with location in the fifth when he gave up the three extra-base hits.

JD: I think he was thrown off a bit when Ryon Healy dropped the throw at first base in that inning. And that's not like Felix, he usually keeps his composure even after a tough break like that, but in this case I think he was just pressing too hard to get the win and it came back to bite him. Now, I will say for Felix, AFTER he gave up the six runs, he did pick up the pieces and struck out the last two batters in that inning.

AG: And there were a few other silver linings in that game. Wade Leblanc came out and gave you two scoreless innings.

JD: And Jean Segura came right out of the gates with a three-hit game. We really like having Dee and Jean at the top of the lineup, and you saw the impact that combination can have in the second game of the season.

AG: Three steals from Dee Gordon! That was quite a show on the base paths.

JD: Did I tell you he was fast? (laughs)

AG: You're not kidding. And it was a real outburst for the whole offense. Kyle Seager with the two home runs...

JD: It was great to see that. Absolutely great. Kyle will be first to tell you, he's no spring chicken...

AG: We usually see Kyle running around .200 in April and May...

JD: I would be thrilled to see him change this year. And you know, from year to year, he is our most consistent player, it's just getting him untracked in April.

AG: And Ichiro had some moments in that game as well!

JD: Yeah, it was fun seeing him rip one down the line and rolling into second base. That swing is something that would not have been out of place in the year 2002. Even at 44, the guy can still hit, absolutely.

AG: So we've talked about the offense in that game, but what happened to the pitching?

JD: It's tough. You know, we talked about Felix, how he didn't have his best stuff. For James, it's different because he DID have his really good stuff. He was hitting 99 with the fastball. The curveball had good bite. He just made a couple of mistakes, left the pitch to Brandon Guyer up in the zone, and honestly, just had some bad luck.

AG: Usually when you hear that James strikes out six and walks nobody you expect different results.

JD: Yeah. Exactly. So some things that didn't go our way there.

AG: The bullpen struggled in that one too.

JD: We feel good about the guys we have to put into those situations, but yeah, across the board, not a good day for the pitching staff. Even Eddie Diaz gave up three runs in that one, I think. The one bright spot I would say was James Pazos.

AG: Pazos- sans mustache- struck out four guys in a row there!

JD: He was dealing. It is absolutely incredible to have a weapon like him available to us in the late innings.

AG: There's something about tall left-handed pitchers named James... (laughs)

JD: (laughs) Right.

AG: And then the series finale, the bats just kind of went cold in that one.

JD: They did. Trevor Bauer was really good in that one. He's really come a long way as a pitcher in the last few years. On our side, we got a really good outing from Mike Leake.

AG: That's sort of what we've come to expect from him in his short time as a Mariner. Six strong innings, just two runs allowed.

JD: Right. I think you'll see him as a guy who can get fairly deep into a game and save our bullpen when we need him to.

AG: But a lot of off-days at the beginning of the year, so the rotation sets up nicely for Felix to pitch again tomorrow.

JD: Yeah, we're headed out to San Francisco and then to Minnesota from there.

AG: We don't get out to San Francisco much. Any memories from there from your playing days?

JD: It's just a great place. Lots of great places to eat. When I was playing the team was still in Candlestick- I believe they moved into the new stadium in my last year in the league- so the thing I remember the most about it was the wind. Just these gusts of wind that would come out of nowhere and knock down balls out of the air.

AG: That must have come as a relief from Coors Field.

JD: (laughs) Oh yeah. I remember I pitched in one game there- I believe this was 1999- and I came on in relief of a guy named Pedro Astacio, relatively early in the game I want to say. Suffice it to say I was not facing the heart of the Giants order- they did not let me pitch against Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent- but I think in that one I gave up four fly balls to the warning track. If I had been in pitching in Coors, my ERA would have been a tick or two higher, let's just say.

AG: All part of the plan, right Jerry?

JD: (laughs) Right. On that day, I was a fly-ball pitcher.

AG: Well, let's do a little bit of listener mail, if you've got a moment, Jerry.

JD: Sure.

AG: This is from Bob in Tacoma... Bob is wondering about when we'll see Ben Gamel back in the lineup?

JD: Ben is making good progress from oblique strain, and is actually ahead of schedule. He should be able to start a rehab assignment about a week from now, and we'll probably see him rejoin the team in two weeks if all goes well.

AG: How will the outfield mix sort itself out when he returns? The plan originally, before Ichiro, had been to have Ben and Guillermo Heredia platoon in left field.

JD: Yeah, we're fortunate that we have a wide range of options now. We can put Ichiro in center or right to spell Dee Gordon or Mitch Haniger when we need to. Obviously at age 44, Ichiro isn't going to play every day anyway. I think we'll have enough at-bats to go around. As you and I learned firsthand last year, having too much depth is not a bad problem to have.

AG: (laughs) That's right. Well, Jerry, anywhere you're going to eat in San Francisco while you're there?

JD: I don't always travel with the team, but this is just a great opportunity to do so. You know I'm a huge fan of Triple D- I've got my eye on a place called the Front Porch.

AG: I have been to the Front Porch! Nothing like good old-fashioned southern cooking on the West Coast.

JD: Something like that.

AG: Jerry, you won't go wrong. Just promise me one thing: that you won't get the salad.

JD: (laughs) Aaron, you have my word.

AG: All right, Jerry. Thank you, as always for your time, I know you're a busy man.

JD: Always my pleasure, Aaron.

AG: Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week on The Wheelhouse.