Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners Insider Discusses Slow Starts, End of 2024 For Julio Rodriguez
There’s hope for the Seattle Mariners offense to be better in 2025 than it was in 2024.
The offense improved over the last 34 games of the season under hitting coach (now senior director of hitting strategy) Edgar Martinez. In the offseason, Seattle hired Kevin Seitzer, who’s offense averaged a ninth-place finish in batting average over his 10 seasons with the Atlanta Braves, as the new hitting coach.
There’s also hope that the face of the franchise, Julio Rodriguez, can take a step forward and avoid the struggles that have plagued him in the first halves of his three pro seasons.
On the Foul Territory podcast, Rodriguez’s potential was discussed between the hosts and Seattle Times Mariners beat writer Ryan Divish. The question was posed if Rodriguez can avoid the slow start in 2025:
“It took (Rodriguez) so long to get going last year, that it’s a problem,” Divish said. “They have to find a way. I think he’s in a better spot to handle it. I think he’s in a better spot mentally and physically. What he did in the last six weeks of the season with the influence of Edgar Martinez, getting him to refocus on driving the ball up the middle, into the right-center gap and kind of getting him away from trying to yank the ball over the wall in left field was big. Increase the contact rate — and he makes such hard contact when he does hit it — increase the contact rate a little bit more, and good things will happen. His approach was better with two strikes, his approach was better with runners in scoring position, I think that’ll carry over.”
Is Julio Rodriguez a hot-start away from MVP-level numbers? @RyanDivish and @ErikKratz31 debate pic.twitter.com/wC2xMvOAds
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) February 10, 2025
In addition to his slow start, Rodriguez missed three weeks and was held out of the outfield for a month with a right ankle sprain. Despite his injury, Rodriguez finished the last six weeks of the season on a strong note and hit for a .273 average with 20 home runs, 68 RBIs and 24 steals.
JULIO RODRIGUEZ GO-AHEAD HOME RUN! pic.twitter.com/Edi5pC6XUX
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 14, 2024
Rodriguez’s slow start has been acknowledged by the media and several Seattle front office executives alike. And Rodriguez could lift the offense to higher heights in 2025 if he can start the year off where he left off in 2024.
MARINERS INSIDER TALKS ABOUT TEAM’S SLOW OFFSEASON: Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times went on the Foul Territory podcast and talked about the Seattle Mariners unusually slow offseason. CLICK HERE
ICHIRO SUZUKI TO THROW OUT FIRST PITCH ON SEATTLE MARINERS OPENING DAY: The 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee will kick off the season for the team he spent most of his career with. CLICK HERE
MARINERS POST VIDEO HYPING SPRING TRAINING: The Seattle Mariners are set to return to baseball activities this week at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Ariz. CLICK HERE
Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE.
Seattle, WA
Armed suspects linked to 3 Seattle robberies within 30 minutes – MyNorthwest.com
Three robberies occurred within 30 minutes of each other on Friday in Seattle, with law enforcement believing they were connected due to the timing, proximity, and similar descriptions of the suspects.
The first of three robberies began at 4:30 a.m. in the 200 block of Highland Drive near Kerry Park, when the Seattle Police Department (SPD) received reports of two men pointing guns at a man, SPD told KIRO Newsradio.
As officers arrived on scene, they located a 32-year-old man. The victim was sitting in his car when two suspects parked their car beside his and approached him with guns. The suspects ordered the victim to exit his vehicle and give them his necklace.
The victim claimed he had nothing of value, and the suspects ultimately fled in a dark sedan, possibly west on W. Highland Drive. The suspects were described as Black males, possibly in their late teens to 20s. Each suspect wore a mask and gloves, but the victim could not accurately recall what the suspects were wearing.
Second Seattle robbery came minutes after the first, this time at a store
Two minutes later, at 4:32 a.m., dispatch received a report of a robbery at a convenience store in the 1600 block of Queen Anne Avenue N. At the scene, officers made contact with a 25-year-old man.
The victims stated that two suspects entered the store, threatened them, and took money from two of the cash register drawers.
Soon after, the suspects fled the scene in a dark colored sedan. One suspect was described as a Black male in his 20s, roughly 6 feet, 2 inches tall with a medium build, wearing a mask, gloves, and dark-colored clothing. The second suspect was described as a Black male, 6 feet tall, with a medium build, wearing a mask, gloves, and dark-colored clothing.
Final robbery targeted a Beacon Hill convenience store with two victims
At 4:51 a.m., dispatch received a third report of a robbery, this time at a convenience store in the 4800 block of Beacon Avenue S.
Officers arrived and made contact with two victims, a 55-year-old man and a 24-year-old man. The SPD investigation revealed that one of the victims was in the cooler and the other was behind the counter when the two suspects first entered the store.
The victim in the cooler exited to see what was happening, then shut the door to the employee area and stayed there until it was safe to come out.
The 24-year-old victim was behind the counter when the suspect pointed a firearm at him. The suspect forced the victim to open the cash register and took the cash while the other suspect stood by the main entry door with a handgun.
Both suspects exited the store and fled the scene in an unknown direction. The first suspect was described as a Hispanic or Black male in his 20s, with a medium build, wearing a mask, gloves, and dark clothing. The second suspect was described as a Hispanic or Black male in his 20s, wearing a mask and gloves, with light colored pants and dark shoes.
No victims reported injuries as a result of each of the three robberies, and no suspects have been apprehended as of this reporting.
SPD’s Robbery Unit has been assigned to each case.
Anyone with information is urged to contact SPD’s Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000.
Follow Jason Sutich on X. Send news tips here.
Seattle, WA
Seattle Mariners acquire INF Buddy Kennedy from San Francisco
The Mariners have made the first move in what’s sure to be a rip-roaring Trade Deadline season, acquiring INF Buddy Kennedy from the Giants in exchange for cash considerations.
Kennedy was designated for assignment by San Francisco earlier this morning as outfielder Heliot Ramos returned from the Injured List.
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The 5’10” infielder has spent most of the season with Triple-A Sacramento, hitting well, even for the PCL. He’s in the 78th percentile for xWOBA, has a nearly identical K% and BB% (12.6%/12.1%) and rarely whiffs. This all has come out to a .322 batting average and a 152 wRC+. He’s made just a minimal impression in the bigs this season, with 8 plate appearances in 7 games, and zero hits.
Kennedy is likely to head to Tacoma. He can play 3B and 2B in a pinch, and will likely backfill Patrick Wisdom’s role if Wisdom is called up to take over right-handed pinch hitting duties from the currently-employed Rob Refsnyder.
The 27-year-old has not found much traction in the five years since his debut with Arizona in 2022. He’s amassed less than 200 plate appearances across 74 games, with a career 50 wRC+. On the mound, Kennedy has made one appearance this season, pitching one inning and giving up four runs, all earned.
Seattle, WA
PHOTOS: Thousands gather in downtown Seattle for city’s iconic Pride Parade
Despite some overcast skies, thousands of Seattleites showed up in rainbow colors and bright smiles to celebrate the Seattle Pride Parade on Sunday.The march kicked off at 11 a.m. along Fourth Avenue in downtown, and wrapped up around 3:00 p.m. near Seattle Center.Seattle Pride traces its roots to 1974 and has grown into one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ celebrations, drawing hundreds of thousands of people each year. (KOMO)
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