Tuesday, June 18, 2013 @ 4:59pm

Taking issue with Harang's postgame comments

Monday's start against the Angels was a rough one for Aaron Harang, who allowed four earned runs on 12 hits over five innings and exited long before the Mariners would lose by a final score of 11-3.

Aaron Harang

"Obviously, that play with the throw that pulled Mike off the bag, if that play goes differently, I get the next hitter to fly out and it's a totally different inning. Probably getting through the next inning and still going out for the sixth inning, maybe even the seventh," Harang told reporters afterward.

"So it's crazy how one little play like that can change the whole aspect of a game."

Bob Stelton and Dave Grosby explain their issue with Harang's comments in the video below.

You can listen to Tuesday's show here.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013 @ 12:01pm

'El Hombre' coming to town in July

"El Hombre" Michael Bradley is coming to town in July and we hope you can join us at the White Horse Golf Club in Kingston on Friday, July 12.

Michael will join us for a live broadcast from the Greater Trinity Celebrity Golf Classic at the White Horse Golf Club and we will be hanging out Friday evening for all the post-tournament festivities at the Clearwater Casino.

Here's the best part: you can join us!

If you want to sign up to play in the tournament, you can do so here.

You'll be able play alongside Dave Krieg, Kenny Easley, Nesby Glasgow and many more former Seahawks and Mariners players. All the funds raised from the event will go to the Greater Trinity Acadamy, which strives to provide a high quality academic experience which stimulates a child's enthusiasm for learning throughout their educational career and beyond. You can find more info on the Greater Trinity Acadamy here.

So come on out on July 12 to hang out with Bob, Groz and Michael Bradley. Hope to see you there.

Monday, June 17, 2013 @ 5:30pm

A key issue with NHL potentially coming to Seattle

Mayor Mike McGinn tried to temper expectations when he acknowledged that the city has been in talks with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman about the possibility of the Phoenix Coyotes relocating to Seattle and playing at KeyArena this fall.

"We are very clearly Plan B for the NHL and this team," McGinn told Chris Daniels of KING 5 over the weekend.

Sean Gentille, who covers the NHL for the Sporting News, used the same term when he joined "Bob and Groz" on Monday. But while he agreed that talk of relocation to Seattle is partially about putting the squeeze on the city of Glendale, Ariz. – where the Coyotes currently play – he described Seattle as an attractive market and said the potential move shouldn't be dismissed as impossible.

"This has certainly been in the works for a while. This is a real thing because they (the Coyotes) needed a legitimate Plan B and that's certainly kind of what this qualifies as," Gentille said. "Now, Gary Bettman, his sort of stated stance on the whole thing for a long time – and his actions kind of back that up – is that he wants to keep the team in Arizona for a variety of reasons. So you can't discount that because all things equal the league would rather have the team stay put.

"But it doesn't detract from the legitimacy, I think, of the conversations that they've had with Seattle or the legitimacy of the threat that they'll move there soon."

Bob Stelton and Dave Grosby say that's much easier said than done, and they explain why in the video below.

You can listen to Monday's show here.

Friday, June 14, 2013 @ 5:49pm

On Marshawn Lynch's ranking on NFL's Top 100 list

Is Marshawn Lynch the Seahawks' best player?

That was a question Bob Stelton and Dave Grosby were asking after Seattle's All-Pro running back checked in at No. 24 Thursday on the NFL Network's countdown of the league's top 100 players. Five other Seahawks – Max Unger (95), Percy Harvin (90), Earl Thomas (66), Russell Wilson (51) and Richard Sherman (50) – rank behind Lynch on the list.

Stelton and Grosby share their thoughts in the video below.

You can listen to Friday's show here.

Friday, June 14, 2013 @ 10:23am

Baldwin, Seahawks happy to welcome back T-Jack

Tarvaris Jackson was the Seahawks' starting quarterback in 2011 when Doug Baldwin made NFL history by becoming the first undrafted rookie since the merger to lead his team in receiving.

Tarvaris Jackson

"My man T-Jack!" Baldwin interjected while being asked about Jackson's return during an interview with "Bob and Groz" on Thursday.

It's not just the connection those two had that season that has Baldwin happy about the reunion. Jackson is competing for a backup role behind Russell Wilson, after all, but the toughness he showed while playing through a torn pectoral muscle in 2011 still carries weight in Seattle's locker room two years later.

"T-Jack is a great human being, he's a great person, he's a warrior out there on the football field," Baldwin said. "We talk about the injuries that he went through in 2011 and played through, an injury that a lot of guys would have shut the season down with. He gained a lot of respect from the players.

"His wisdom out there on the football field, the knowledge of the game that he has, he was able to pass on a lot of that information to me. It's just gonna be great to have him back. I know Russ is gonna take all the knowledge that he can from T-Jack, and T-Jack, like I said, he's a great guy, so everybody's just so happy to have him back."

Bob Stelton and Dave Grosby share more thoughts about Jackson's return to the Seahawks in the video below.

You can listen to Thursday's show here.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013 @ 2:58pm

Gutierrez injury having ripple effect in M's outfield

This wasn't the way the Mariners' outfield was supposed to look.

Wrecked by injuries and a lack of depth, the Mariners' turn to an aging rotation of 41-year-old Raul Ibanez, 35-year-old Endy Chavez and 34-year-old Jason Bay is a microcosm for a season that was once filled with promise.

But that isn't to say the play of these three veterans has been the reason for the Mariners' lack of success. Quite the opposite, actually.

Ibanez is currently on pace to hit 32 home runs, drive in 79 runs and play 110 games, while Chavez's .292 batting average has helped solidify the top of the lineup. Bay has been less impressive, but he has still produced eight home runs, driven in 17 RBIs and scored 22 runs.

The problem isn't their play, Mariners insider Shannon Drayer told "Bob and Groz" this week, it's the role they've been thrust into.

"Your big problem right now is that you have a couple of veteran guys out there who you really weren't depending on to play every day – and they have been – in Jason Bay and Raul Ibanez," Drayer said.

Heightening the need for the weary legs of Ibanez and Bay to play every day has been the consistent absence of Franklin Gutierrez. Balky hamstrings have limited the 30-year-old center fielder to just 16 games and 54 at-bats this season, and while he was set to return off a rehab assignment sometime last week, continued discomfort forced the Mariners to move him to the 60-day disabled list with a return date as uncertain as is his future with the Mariners.

"Eric Wedge said (Sunday) that they received clearance to send him on another rehab assignment, but they don't even want to send him on that until he can show he can get out there back-to-back-to-back," Drayer said. "It's the same issues with the legs."

"You know Franklin Gutierrez is not going to be here next year," Drayer added. "He's got the option, but I can't see them picking that up."

The Mariners have a team option for Gutierrez that would pay him $7.5 million next season.

Intensifying the lack of depth in the outfield has been the recent struggles of Michael Saunders.

Since May 14, Saunders has seen his on-base percentage fall from .359 to .250, and his batting average has fallen from .278 to a paltry .200, accruing just 12 hits along the way.

"Michael Saunders is in one of the biggest struggles in his professional career," Drayer said. "When you look at his strikeouts, he is starting to look at strike three a lot more than he did at the beginning of the year, and that is when we thought we saw him take another significant step forward.

"I think he is a little in between. I don't think it is a swinging problem. I think it is a pitcher-identification (problem), and maybe a little bit of a confidence problem, as well as when to swing and when he is going to go for it … He is so far separated from what he was before he got injured."

While sending down Saunders may be ideal, Drayer noted, that would leave Chavez as the only capable center fielder, and nobody in the minors right now is either ready for the call or able to play the position.

Although unseasoned, Abraham Almonte is a name Drayer mentioned as someone who could spell some relief if the outfield deteriorates further.

"One guy who was called up (to Tacoma) about three weeks ago is Abraham Almonte, who has been playing very well," Drayer said, "but I don't think you want to make another 40-man move and take a risk on a kid that is barely up at Triple-A right now."

Almonte has played in just 23 games for the Rainiers, but is managing a .361 batting average with 18 runs scored and 13 RBIs. He's also shown a propensity to get on base, as evidenced by a .452 on-base percentage while not committing a single error in the outfield.

Drayer noted that while a potential trade for a starting outfielder is possible, she doesn't see the Mariners packaging prospects unless it is for a long-term solution.

Monday, June 10, 2013 @ 4:01pm

Injuries could necessitate position switch for Ackley

The Mariners likely didn't plan on recalling Dustin Ackley within two weeks when they sent their struggling second baseman to Triple-A Tacoma on May 27.

Dustin Ackley

"His first game down here he went 0 for 4 and took a bunch of strikes and looked just like the guy that the Mariners sent down," Rainiers broadcaster Mike Curto told "Bob and Groz" on Monday. "And then since then he's been a bit more aggressive. He has 20 hits in the last 10 games, he's batting over .400 with the Rainiers, he's only played 11 games here, he's walked more than he's struck out here."

Ackley had the same number of RBIs and extra-base hits in 45 games with the Mariners as he does in 11 games in Tacoma. He was hitting just .205 with 31 strikeouts and 12 walks before his demotion. According to Curto, the improvement he's showing in Tacoma is even more encouraging considering the caliber of pitchers Ackley has had success against.

"He hasn't just been feasting on Triple-A guys. Vegas the other day started Zach Wheeler, who throws in the upper-90s on the radar gun, and Ackley had two hard hits off him, including an opposite-field double that he hit to the fence. Then they brought in a left-handed reliever who was throwing 92, 93 and Ackley had a hard base hit against him," Curto said. "So these were encouraging things, and hopefully he's getting back on track and getting his confidence and getting closer to returning.

"The only question you have to ask, though, is what are they going to do because Nick Franklin is playing second base and playing well, and that's what Ackley has been playing down here at Triple-A. So I don't really know how they're going to solve this."

Dave Grosby has an idea, and he shares it in the video below.

You can listen to Monday's show here.

Sunday, June 9, 2013 @ 12:49pm

Position, not power, the question about M's top pick

On March 9, DJ Peterson went a remarkable 6-for-6 with three home runs, six RBIs and five walks in a doubleheader between his University of New Mexico Lobos and the opposing UC Riverside Highlanders.

Performances like that are a big reason Peterson was labeled as a can't-miss prospect heading into the 2013 MLB Draft, and why the Mariners took him with the 12th overall pick Thursday despite being unsure what position the 6-foot-1, 205-pound native of Arizona will play.

Peterson, who is a natural third baseman that also has experience at first base, told "Bob and Groz" that he knows his bat is his meal ticket, and he'll play wherever the Mariners tell him to. It's good news for the Mariners, considering Kyle Seager looks to have the hot corner locked up for the foreseeable future in Seattle.

"I'm a third baseman, (but) I was groomed (to be a) shortstop. I'm very open (to switching positions)," said Peterson, who led New Mexico with a .408 average, 18 home runs, 72 RBIs and an .807 slugging percentage this spring. "I want to get to the big leagues, I want to help the Mariners as much as I can, and whatever position they decide to play me at is the one I'm gonna play. Whether it's left field, first base, whatever's gonna get me to the big leagues and help out the club, I'm gonna play."

This year's draft wasn't the first time the Mariners showed interest in Peterson – they also took him in the 33rd round of the 2010 draft.

"I felt like I had a lot to work on in college. Obviously the Mariners felt like that as well," Peterson said of his decision not to sign in 2010. "I went to school, I worked on my footwork, my maturity and did all those basic tasks. The Mariners felt I did all that and took a chance at 12 and picked me again."

His three years at New Mexico certainly helped build his reputation among MLB scouts, and as a result he'll have to deal with lofty expectations while playing in a Mariners organization that is reeling from disappointing performances by other top offensive prospects.

"I want to go prove everyone what they're saying is right," Peterson said. "I'm gonna get up there and show why these scouts are saying 'Can't miss with this pick' and 'He's a true, legitimate college pure hitter.' I'm gonna continue to work and improve. My game is constantly going to be worked on."

The hope is Peterson can eventually bring some much-needed pop to pitcher-friendly Safeco Field, but the worries are that his numbers were inflated in the altitude of New Mexico.

"We have a huge field (at New Mexico) – 405 in the gaps, 420 in center – and I had more homers on the road," he said. "I think I proved to everyone that the altitude wasn't my problem, that I did have legitimate power, and I led Team USA with home runs (in 2012), so I felt like that helped my case."