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AG: Jerry, I'm so excited I can't even get through our introduction properly. This is The Wheelhouse and welcome to the show.

JD: (laughs) Thanks, Aaron, I'm excited too.

AG: Five more wins against just one loss. The Mariners have now won 10 of 11 and lead in the race for the first Wild Card for two games, and are six and a half games in front of Boston, who trails Minnesota for the second Wild Card. It's a good time to be a Mariner fan!

JD: It sure is. Our guys have really executed in the way we want them to. This week we weren't just winning, we were blowing teams out.

AG: We got two vintage starts from Felix this week. On Tuesday, he came within one out of the first complete game and first shutout by a Mariner pitcher this year, but gave up a homer to Wil Myers to end that bid. And then on Sunday, six shutout innings, nine strikeouts.

JD: It's been great to see that. He's been firing on all cylinders lately. As you know, Felix's never been in a playoff game, and you've gotta believe he's ready for it. He's made a big change this year with trying to use the upper part of the zone more, and the results speak for themselves.

AG: Well, how about the offensive outpouring we saw this week? Twelve runs in two games, eleven in one, nine in another...

JD: A lot of really good at-bats going on, and the team strung together some really good innings. In yesterday's game, we had just a four-run lead before we got eight runs in the eighth inning to put the game away. And that was just an example of keeping the pressure on, four singles and four doubles and a walk. We really got the A's bullpen on the ropes, and once that starts to happen, it's hard to recover.

AG: One of the exciting moments of this week was, of all people, Hisashi Iwakuma emerging from the bullpen on Friday night. We had gone into this season thinking, eh, maybe he'll be back and give us something in the rotation, but then he had a really rough go of it in Triple A, with a 2-8 record, 6.49 ERA. Tell us a little about the decision to bring him up.

JD: Well, Hisashi's obviously got a long history with our team, and he's worked incredibly hard to get back from some shoulder problems over the last few years. We were in a real bind with our bullpen after Marco Gonzales had to leave the game after the first inning the day before with an injury. And while we might have had a couple of guys higher on the depth chart to bring up from Tacoma, maybe Dan Altavilla or Austin Gombert, Hisashi was rested and ready to go, and he came right up and gave us two and a third innings in the bullpen.

AG: You mentioned Gonzales's injury. When do you expect him and Mike Leake back?

JD: Both of them are doing OK, and more than anything we've kept them out as a precaution. Marco has some soreness in his shoulder- we've really been cautious with him this season, and at 114 innings, he's right about where he was last season, so we think it's actually good timing to give him a bit of a break now and then hope for 30 more innings out of him through the rest of the regular season and postseason. Mike Leake is also on the mend, and he should be back next week as well. We'll probably see a spot start from Andrew Moore this week, and at least one turn from Doug Fister in the rotation as well before those two get back.

AG: Did they ever ask you to make a spot start in the majors, Jerry?

JD: (laughs) Thankfully, it never came to that, even in Colorado. I was a starter all the way through Double A, and even a little bit in Triple A, but the writing was on the wall at that point, that I'd be a bullpen guy.

AG: Well, why don't we take an audience question. This week it comes from Brad in Walla Walla, who asks, how do you see Ichiro's role changing in the future?

JD: Great question. Obviously Ichiro's playing time has gone down with Kevin Pillar joining the organization. Ichiro has been an incredible asset to our team, both on the team and off the field. He's been really clear in saying that he wants to play until he's at least fifty, and you can see what an impact he makes on our guys in the clubhouse, where he'll kind of set up shop, and then you've got Dee Gordon there with him, and Mitch Haniger, and Jean Segura, and everybody just soaking up the knowledge that he's got from over four thousand major league hits. We're really hoping that he stays with the club next year and beyond, perhaps in a coaching or special assistant role of some kind, but it's really up to Ichiro and what's a good fit for him.

AG: One other thing I wanted to bring up. All seven minor league teams finished their seasons this week. All seven finished below .500. Should we be worried?

JD: I don't think so. You know, two years ago, all seven teams were above .500, so it's a little bit cyclical. We've very consciously shifted our resources towards the major league team in the last few years since we've thought of this as our window of contention, and we're not worried so much about minor league records as we are developing the skills we think guys will need as they reach the major leagues. I'll put it this way. I'd rather have our seven minor league affiliates losing and our major league team winning than the other way around.

AG: Yeah, good point. Well, the Mariners return for an eight-game homestand. Any plans for the week?

JD: We've got Bark in the Park this week- that's always a favorite- and then our Salute to Kids day over the weekend.

AG: You've mentioned your dog before, will Louie make an appearance?

JD: Louie will be there, and would love nothing better than to curl up near the heater in the dugout.

AG: Very good. Well, Jerry, good luck this week, and thanks for being with us.

JD: Thank you Aaron.

AG: We'll see you next week on The Wheelhouse.