[jaa36]

AG: Welcome back to The Wheelhouse. I'm Aaron Goldsmith, and with us as always is Jerry Dipoto.

JD: Aaron, thanks for having me.

AG: Well, Jerry, about a million things to talk about, and all of them good. You are coming off a 6-1 week and the team now has won nine of its last eleven games. That includes a sweep of the Texas Rangers, and taking three of four from the Astros. The Mariners, after an 0-3 start, are in first place, and April isn't even over yet.

JD: It's been great watching our guys perform the way we know they can. It's truly been a team effort, with huge contributions from our lineup, the starting pitchers, the bullpen. Kind of the way we've drawn it up the last few years.

AG: Now, I could talk about this topic every week, but we need to take about one guy this week: Dee Gordon. He won the American League Player of the Week this week after getting 16 hits, 9 stolen bases, and one incredible home run.

JD: The home run was the capper. Just barely cleared the right field fence, and as you know, with Dee, he doesn't have a slower gear, so it's not a home run trot so much as a sprint around the bases.

AG: Gordon now has 20 stolen bases on the season. No one else in baseball has more than 10.

JD: Yeah. If he gets on base, it's pretty much a given that he'll be on second base. Not that different from what you would see from Rickey Henderson or Vince Coleman way back when.

AG: It's been fun to see him flying around the outfield as well.

JD: He's really taken to it. Still learning about the trajectory of the ball, the best route to take, but he makes up for that with his acceleration and his top speed. And the rest of our outfield has been outstanding too.

AG: Ichiro with a few diving catches, not afraid to put his body on the line at age 44. And Mitch Haniger, really consistent in right field.

JD: You bet. Outfield defense has been a big priority for us, especially given that we've tried to accumulate fly-ball pitchers to fit with our ballpark, and this year, at least, they're making us look smart.

AG: We should talk a bit about Jean Segura as well. Now up to a 13-game hitting streak.

JD: Jean Jean the hitting machine. We saw this from him last year too, just a guy who gives you consistently good at-bats and knows how to put the ball in play away from the defenders. We feel incredibly fortunate to have him and Dee at the top of the lineup. I don't know if there's a guy in baseball as likely to end the season above .300 as Jean.

AG: We saw a few really good outings from the starting pitchers as well. James Paxton has given up a few long balls, but other than that has had a really nice start to his season.

JD: Yeah. His ERA doesn't reflect it, but he's been excellent. Now has 33 strikeouts and just two walks. This was the first game where he was able to get into the eighth inning, and keep runs off the board. And Nick Vincent was able to finish off the shutout.

AG: I don't know if anyone would have guessed that Wade Leblanc would have been in the starting rotation when you guys broke camp in the spring, but another excellent performance from him as well.

JD: He was excellent, absolutely excellent. Wade is a guy who really relies on deception and location, given that his fastball tends not to break 90, and thus far this season he's been able to put the ball where he wants to, and with really good results.

AG: He also made into the eighth inning in his most recent start, and the performance of the starters has really trickled down to the bullpen thriving.

JD: Right. They haven't been stretched too much this season as of yet, even with this current string of games without an off-day. I don't know if you've noticed, but we actually haven't had to make any moves to our active roster thus far.

AG: I have noticed! What a huge difference as compared to last year, where it seemed like a new arm was coming up I-5 from Tacoma every other day.

JD: And there's a lot of credit to go around there. Probably most of the credit goes to Lady Luck, as we've been able to avoid the injury bug. But it also comes back to the performance of our team, to Scott for making sure our guys are adequately rested, and to our Department of High Performance for helping our guys recover from game to game.

AG: Jerry, we're talking about a lot of really positive developments this week. And in the interest of fair and balanced reporting, I feel like we should bring up one, shall we say, area for improvement in this young season. Robinson Cano is not off to a great start, hitting just .207 and with no home runs.

JD: I think Robbie will be the first to tell you that he's pressing at the plate, and opening up a bit with his front foot. He's been thrilled with the performance of the team, and you know that any day now he's going to break out. He'll get a day off tomorrow. He's in the cage every day working harder than anyone on the team. No worries about Robbie, he's gonna hit.

AG: Well, let's see, Jerry, let's take a question from the audience. This one comes from Evan in Linden, Washington. Evan asks, how tough an out was Scott Servais as a player?

JD: (laughs) For me, Aaron, incredibly difficult.

AG: I remember you saying, Jerry, he was three for five off you in his career?

JD: Sure was. I think that was something that helped him get his job.

AG: (laughs) Now, you did strike him out at one point, didn't you?

JD: Yep. Got him an an off-speed pitch. He still talks about that.

AG: So, heading to Chicago and then to Cleveland this week to finish up a ten-game road trip. And I understand you are in Clinton, Iowa today?

JD: Yep, seeing our single-A affiliate. Then heading out to Arkansas next to catch the double-A team.

AG: Any news to report out there?

JD: I got a chance to see one of our top pitching prospects, Sam Carlson, who looked terrific yesterday, but unfortunately came out of the game with some tightness in his arm. He already had some trouble with his neck earlier this season, so we'll keep a close eye on him.

AG: How about in Arkansas?

JD: One of the guys we're really high on there is Braden Bishop. He's a guy we drafted out of UW, and he can fly. He is your classic center fielder, a guy who's come a long way as far as his ability to get on base and really move from station to station.

AG: Well, Jerry, I hope you found somewhere to eat there in Clinton...

JD: Sure did, Aaron. Clinton, as you know, is not a big town, but I was told about a place called the Candlelight Inn, got something called the Chicken George, and it was delicious.

AG: All right, Jerry. Well, here's hoping the M's can continue last week's success into the rest of the road trip. Thanks as always for your time, I know you're a busy man.

JD: This is the highlight of my week, Aaron, the absolute highlight.

AG: All right, Jerry. Thanks to everyone for listening, and we'll see you next week on The Wheelhouse.