By Robin Dich, Sport Radio KJR

With the season starting to slip away, it is now time to look at options. As Erik Wedge and Jack Z would say, they are still rebuilding and need a couple of more years to get where they want to be. Steve Phillips makes his weekly visit on the Mitch in the Morning show and talks about Hisashi Iwakuma and Kendrys Morales possibly being traded.

Hisashi Iwakuma has been a huge surprise for the Mariners these past two years, and a surprise for the rest of the league. Iwakuma is 32 years of age right now and arguably pitching at his prime, but realistically how long can he pitch at this level? Right now he has a 16-7 record with an ERA of 2.67 in his career in the MLB. However, if you watch his style, he isn’t over powering, more of a command and control type, there only a few pitchers that can maintain that throughout the years.

“You look at what the Mets did with R.A. Dickey last year. They ended up trading him in the offseason, thinking he was the CY Young award winner, yet they traded him. Because they thought to themselves here’s an older guy, 37-years-old, how much better is going to be? Can he sustain this kind of success again? Or can we capitalize on what could be a one year wonder and move on?” Steve Phillips said.

He does comment later that Iwakuma is much better than just a one year wonder. But if you look at history and what the Mariners are doing, you have to keep your ears open to any possibility. When you look back over the season, Hisashi Iwakuma has a tendency to give up home runs. Again it has to do with his lack of dominating speed. It doesn’t give him the chance to miss his location because when he does, it won’t get by any major league hitter. Sometimes you have to look at the situation and think two or three years ahead.

“Can I predictably say Iwakuma’s going to be a great pitcher in the next 3 – 4 years in Seattle? I don’t think I can. So if I can get some blue chip talent in return. I would certainly be open to it,” Phillips told Dick Fain.

Now we move onto our best trading piece on our offense, Kendrys Morales. First off, Morales’ agent is Scott Boras, which means money in the sporting industry. Morales who has been hitting around .300 will be 30 tomorrow and a free agent after this year. A switch hitter that can hit batters in and an average will be in demand for a competing team at the end of July.

“You might get a couple of B level prospects in return. Certainly can help your future, I think they need to consider doing that, hoping that B level prospect turns into something better. But I think he will be a guy who will be on the market. I wouldn’t suspect he will resign back there and I think there will be teams with interest out there,” Phillips said about Morales.

Sometimes you have to cut ties with players and not keep them longer than they need them. The Mariners organization has done that way too many times. If it is a rebuilding year, than you must rebuild and try to acquire as many talented prospects as possible and if that means you give up great players now to have great players for a decade to a decade and a half, it is worth it. We just can’t keep players past their primes anymore, it doesn’t help our mission.     

With the season starting to slip away, it is now time to look at options. As Erik Wedge and Jack Z would say, they are still rebuilding and new a couple of more years to get where they want to be. Steve Phillips makes his weekly visit on the Mitch in the Morning show and talks about Hisashi Iwakuma and Kendrys Morales possibly being traded.

Hisashi Iwakuma has been a huge surprise for the Mariners these past two years, and a surprise for the rest of the league. Iwakuma is 32 years of age right now and arguably pitching at his prime, but realistically how long can he pitch at this level? Right now he has a 16-7 record with an ERA of 2.67 in his career in the MLB. However, if you watch his style, he isn’t over powering, more of a command and control type, there only a few pitchers that can maintain that throughout the years.

“You look at what the Mets did with R.A. Dickey last year. They ended up trading him in the offseason, thinking he was the CY Young award winner, yet they traded him. Because they thought to themselves here’s an older guy, 37-years-old, how much better is going to be? Can he sustain this kind of success again? Or can we capitalize on what could be a one year wonder and move on?” Steve Phillips said.

He does comment later that Iwakuma is much better than just a one year wonder. But if you look at history and what the Mariners are doing, you have to keep your ears open to any possibility. When you look back over the season, Hisashi Iwakuma has a tendency to give up home runs. Again it has to do with his lack of dominating speed. It doesn’t give him the chance to miss his location because when he does, it won’t get by any major league hitter. Sometimes you have to look at the situation and think two or three years ahead.

“Can I predictably say Iwakuma’s going to be a great pitcher in the next 3 – 4 years in Seattle? I don’t think I can. So if I can get some blue chip talent in return. I would certainly be open to it,” Phillips told Dick Fain.

Now we move onto our best trading piece on our offense, Kendrys Morales. First off, Morales’ agent is Scott Boras, which means money in the sporting industry. Morales who has been hitting around .300 will be 30 tomorrow and a free agent after this year. A switch hitter that can hit batters in and an average will be in demand for a competing team at the end of July.

“You might get a couple of B level prospects in return. Certainly can help your future, I think they need to consider doing that, hoping that B level prospect turns into something better. But I think he will be a guy who will be on the market. I wouldn’t suspect he will resign back there and I think there will be teams with interest out there,” Phillips said about Morales.

Sometimes you have to cut ties with players and not keep them longer than they need them. The Mariners organization has done that way too many times. If it is a rebuilding year, than you must rebuild and try to acquire as many talented prospects as possible and if that means you give up great players now to have great players for a decade to a decade and a half, it is worth it. We just can’t keep players past their primes anymore, it doesn’t help our mission.     

It seems that Phil's day got worse after losing on Sunday.  According to this story, Phil was shut out of an area for "champions" only at the US Open.

Geoff Baker joins the program to talk about the Mariners and one of the topics he goes over is when Ackley will be back in Seattle. He is hitting around .390 with a OBP of around .500. He has already began to play outfield for the Tacoma Rainiers and it's been almost 20 games. Geoff Baker makes a prediction of when he will be back.

By Miles Liatos  Sports Radio KJR

This 2013 NBA Finals have been largely decided on whether the Heat decide to show up, and whether Tony Parker can physically play.

The Heat play well when they are able to drive the lanes and take the Spurs to the rim. They were able to do that last night after failing to do so in the first three games.

Ari Temkin from ESPN Radio San Antonio was sure LeBron and crew would be able to do just that this series, but it didn’t show up until Game 4 last night. He joined Mitch during the Daily Schnoz today.

“[Spurs Forward] Kawai [Leonard] is a good defender, but Lebron can back him down and take him to the rim, but he just didn’t show that through three games,” Temkin said. “When you see that with Lebron and Dwayne Wade getting to the rim, then that opens the high-low game and that’s exactly what they employed.”

The Heat were able to beat the Spurs in San Antonio with a handed 109-93 performance in Game 4, but they will have to face the Spurs again at the AT&T Center Sunday night.

The health of Tony Parker will be a factor. The hamstring strain he suffered didn’t initially appear to affect him in Game 4, but it seemed to in the second half when his play dropped off.

“In this series he’s averaging 13 points and shooting 44 percent from the field,” Temkin said. “That’s not good enough to win a championship.”

The world will see if Parker and the Spurs can be good enough come Sunday’s Game 5 Finals match-up.

Listen to the full interview with Ari Temkin and the Daily Schnoz below.

By Miles Liatos  Sports Radio KJR

Mike Zunino just made his debut in the major leagues yesterday after less than a year at the minor league level. So it’s fitting that he personally welcomed Mariners first-round pick DJ Peterson to the Mariners organization. Peterson said he wants to be up to the majors “as fast as him if not quicker” than Zunino on Mitch in the Morning June 7.

McNamara said he was there to witness the meeting between the two prospects, as he joined Mitch to talk about the Mariners’ draft today.

“It was pretty cool to be standing there, watching those guys just shake hands … and Zunino just told him to work hard, just stay focused and keep playing,” McNamara said.

McNamara said he’s known about Peterson since he was in high school. When Peterson was available with the Mariners’ 12^th pick in the 2013 draft, McNamara was excited to select the New Mexico product.

“We got the guy we wanted,” he said.

There is question as to where Peterson will play. He can man both first and third-base, but that isn’t why the Mariners drafted him. McNamara remembered a specific philosophy about getting the best prospect available.

“The people in this game that have had a lot of success … they always tell me, ‘Take the bat.’ You know, if you got a really good hitter there, you can’t walk away from a really good hitter because you don’t think he can play short[stop], or he may be a corner outfielder instead of a centerfielder,” McNamara said.

By drafting Peterson, the Mariners took the bat. His college numbers would show you as much. He was top-five in batting average (.408), home runs (18), runs batted in (72) slugging percentage (.807) and on-base percentage (.520) in 55 Division I games this season.

McNamara thinks those numbers will translate to the major-league level. Peterson could be a big bat in the Mariners lineup, just like Zunino is expected to be.

“As a hitter, a middle of the order bat, that’s why we took him,” McNamara said. “We took him because he’s got an extra-base swing, but he’s got power, and he’s also a good hitter.”

By Miles Liatos  Sports Radio KJR

When you’re general manager of the Seattle Mariners, and you haven’t had a winning season since 2009, you’re going to have a sense of urgency.

That urgency may be exactly what prompted M’s GM Jack Zduriencik to call up AAA catcher Mike Zunino. Zunino bears lofty expectations after being drafted third overall in the 2012 draft. He has been a pro for just under a year, making him an early call-up by major league standards.

Former Mets GM Steve Phillips said Zduriencik needs to develop a “spark” in a Mariners organization that is 26^th in the major leagues with a .238 batting average.

But the last time the Mariners tried to develop a catcher as a legitimate hitter, they sent him down to AAA May 23. Jesus Montero batted a mere .208 serving double-duty as a hitter and majority-time catcher. He is currently being transitioned to a DH/1B role, suggesting the learning of the catcher position hindered his ability to hit well.

Phillips said Zunino is a much more polished catcher, though.

“I think that part will come more quickly than anybody would’ve dreamed of with Montero,” Phillips said. “The question is how he’s going to handle it offensively.”

Zunino has been hitting for power in AAA, with 11 home runs and 43 RBI in 185 at-bats. However, his batting average is .238 with a .303 on-base percentage.

As Mitch pointed out, the main reason Zunino is being brought up is because of a lack of depth at the catcher position. Calling up Zunino is not ideal for his hitting, but his catching abilities will be called upon most in the coming games.

“They’re going to want him to come in and handle the [pitching] staff, and make that his priority,” Phillips said. “Whatever you get is gravy offensively.”