Seattle, WA

Salk: Who do Seattle Mariners need to step up over last 10 games?

Published

1 year ago

September 20, 2023

Salk: Who do Seattle Mariners need to step up over last 10 games?

When the Seattle Mariners depart Oakland after Wednesday’s series finale, they will get a day off to take a deep breath before what could be the most intense 10 days of baseball we have seen here in ages. My suggestion is to get your rest when they do, because you’re gonna need it.

Tuesday: Mariners beat A’s 7-2, inch within 1/2 game of AL West lead

Have you really thought about what the final 10 games of this season are going to be like? It is essentially a 10-game playoff series against two different division rivals, and it hopefully will lead to more actual playoff games that will be even more stressful.

That’s kind of hard to even imagine.

What should we call this stretch that starts with three at Texas, then returns to Seattle for three against Houston and four more against the Rangers? The Play-Ins? The No-Delay-Offs? The Three-Way-Offs? The Al-Most-Season? The Lone Star Super Series?

MLB Standings: Division | Wild card

Dopey dad jokes aside, I can’t wait for this. We often talk about how baseball changes throughout the season.

It goes from the excitement of spring training, when all you can think about is the warmer weather on the way, to the optimism of opening day.

April and May are supposed to be casual – you watch, listen and cheer knowing the season is so long and so much will change.

June and July are for discussion. How do you improve? How do you make the team better? How much of the future are you willing to sacrifice to help right now?

Then you lock in for the intensity of August that ratchets up in September and (hopefully) even more in October.

Baseball is great in all of its forms, but absolutely at its best when every moment matters. And we are about to get an extra 10 days of ultra-intense action.

It’s been popular this year to focus a lot of attention and angst on the Mariners’ offense. It’s understandable given how inconsistent it has been, yet the M’s start the day ranking 11th in baseball in runs scored. They get there in an unconventional and often unaesthetic way – but they get there. If they want to make it to October, they’ll certainly want that offense to come to life and look more like it did in August than so far in September. But I’ll be honest: I wouldn’t bet the farm on that happening.

I’d be shocked if they could withstand and prevail in too many derbies against the teams from Texas that are built to win them. Not only do the Mariners not have the horses for it in their lineup, but it would drain their best resource: their pitching.

Last week, we asked Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto who he would choose if he could wave a magic wand and get the very best version of one player on his team for the stretch run. He chose Eugenio Suárez, who can make the middle of that lineup a lot more imposing. Certainly, that would be great.

On Tuesday’s Brock and Salk, we asked ESPN’s Jeff Passan the same question, and he went with the struggling Ty France. Hard to argue against given how little thump the Mariners have gotten from first base this season.

I’d go with Andrés Muñoz, because if this team is going to get past their Texas brethren, they are going to need more than Matt Brash in the late innings. They are going to need the bullpen, which has been their calling card for the last three seasons. The one that can neutralize some of those big bats and keep the most stressful moments of the games under control.

Look, the Seattle Mariners have one superpower, and that is their pitching. The starters have to be good – if they aren’t, this team is toast – and with the big three of Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Logan Gilbert, you have to think that has a high probability of happening. But those offenses are going to keep grinding. They are going to try to get those starters out early and feast on the pen. If Muñoz and his buddies can give the Mariners an edge in the late innings, I think they can do what they need to: win more games than they lose in a full-on sprint to the finish.

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Mariners’ J.P. Crawford homers, celebrates by petting dog
• Which big bats could M’s get this winter? Watch for trades, says Morosi
• Drayer’s Seattle Mariners Notebook: Talks play role in needed win

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Seattle, WA

State ferries: A better idea from Nordic countries

Published

2 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

State ferries: A better idea from Nordic countries

Re: “Diesel or hybrid ferries? How about simply reliable” (Jan. 7, Opinion): Gov. Jay Inslee, Gov.-elect Bob Ferguson and The Seattle Times editorial board are asking the wrong question: diesel or hybrid ferries? Inslee and the majority of Democrats support…

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Seattle, WA

Manhunt underway for Mason County shooting suspect

Published

11 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Manhunt underway for Mason County shooting suspect

Manuhunt underway for Mason County assault suspect

Mason County deputies are looking for a man wanted in a shooting in Belfair on Monday.

MASON COUNTY, Wash. – The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching for a convicted felon wanted in a recent shooting.

The sheriff’s office says Michael Allen Beyer is wanted for first-degree assault and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Deputies believe Beyer was involved in a shooting that happened in Belfair on January 6.

Beyer is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, do not approach him and call 911 immediately.

Anyone with information regarding Beyer’s whereabouts is asked to call Detective Helser at 360-427-9670 x657, or Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

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Seattle, WA

Two more Seattle restaurants close due to minimum wage hike

Published

19 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Two more Seattle restaurants close due to minimum wage hike

Two more Seattle restaurants are calling it quits thanks to the untenable minimum wage hike.

At the same time that the Seattle minimum wage rose from $19.97 an hour to $20.76 an hour, the city ended the tip credit of $2.72. Under the previous rules, restaurants were able to pay $17.25 hourly wage if their staff earned at least $2.72 in tips per hour. But as cost of business continues to skyrocket in Seattle, a minimum wage hike without a tip credit is simply untenable for many small businesses.

Jackson’s Catfish Corner in Seattle’s Central District closed its doors in this new year. In an interview with Converge Media, owner Terrell Jackson argued Seattle is too expensive to operate in.

“I know that the minimum wages went up to 20 bucks an hour … I know that’s hard for my business as a small Black business,” Jackson said. “I’m not Amazon or Walgreens or Walmart who can pay their employees that much.”

Jackson isn’t alone in his complaints.

More from Jason Rantz: Panic as Seattle restaurants may not survive massive minimum wage shift

A second West Seattle eatery closes, citing the minimum wage hike

Bel Gatto, a bakery and café, became the second West Seattle eatery to close its doors over the Seattle minimum wage hike. The owner posted a sign to the front door to thank supporters but said she can’t afford to stay open anymore.

“Our revenues, unfortunately, are not able to cover the close to 20% increase in mandated wages, salaries and payroll taxes put into effect by the Seattle City Council effective 1/1/25. This ruling has made the continuation of our bakery operations untenable,” the sign read.

The owner, Peter Levy, explained to the West Seattle Blog that, “we were approaching close to a break even status in the last quarter of 2024, but the requirement to absorb another $4,000 per month in payroll expenses with the new mandate by the city put a break even further from our grasp which is what led to the closure.”

Last week, a video by Corina Luckenbach, owner of Bebop Waffle Shop in West Seattle, went viral as she said the minimum wage hike was forcing her to close after 11 years. She said she didn’t have an extra $32,000 a year to pay her staff what the city mandates.

More from Jason Rantz: Democrats blame Los Angeles fires on climate change to deflect from their own complicity

Will more restaurants close?

Ahead of the minimum wage hike, restauranteurs offered many warnings over what’s to come.

Ethan Stowell operates a number of Seattle’s top restaurants, including How to Cook a Wolf, Staple and Fancy, and Tavolata. He warned this change would be exceptionally costly for businesses in an industry notorious for razor-thin margins. And restaurants can’t merely raise menu prices again.

“I know everybody wants to say, ‘Just raise things (on the menu) a dollar or two,’ and that’s what it’ll be. That’s very simplified math. I wish it was that easy, but it’s not. This is a large increase that’s probably large enough to be equal to or close to what most restaurants in Seattle profit,” Stowell told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Portage Bay Cafe co-owner Amy Fair Gunnar noted the minimum wage change will cost her about $45,000 more a month. She said restaurants will have to “seriously change what they’re doing or they’re going to close their doors.”

More from Jason Rantz: Here’s why Seattle residents vow to stop tipping in new year

Ignoring the warnings, mocking the business people

The warnings from restaurant owners were mostly ignored or mocked.

Efforts by the Seattle City Council to address the forthcoming crisis fell apart after activists said they didn’t want restaurants to get an exception. Council president Sara Nelson told “The Jason Rantz Show” they will take up the issue again this year but there’s no specific idea yet to forward for legislation. The Mayor of Seattle, Bruce Harrell, has been almost completely absent from the issue.

Left-wing voices, meanwhile, claim to not care. That if businesses “can’t afford to pay a living wage,” then they shouldn’t be in business.

One reporter with The Stranger mocked one of the closures, quipping on X, “Has anyone ever eaten at bebop waffle lol.” Left-wing Seattleites condemned the business for “creating a right wing media darling to complain about paying people a living wage.”

KING 5 reporter Maddie White helped elevate this talking point by citing the National Low Income Housing Coalition, claiming “the average renter needs to make upwards of $40 an hour to afford rent.” But she’s quoting a stat for two-bedrooms. Minimum wage jobs aren’t meant to cover the cost of a single person renting a two-bedroom home or apartment.

Ironically, as activists dismiss the concerns of small business owners, they fail to acknowledge the inevitable consequence: when those businesses shut down, people lose jobs. A $20.76 hourly minimum wage — even with a $2.72 tip credit — means nothing if you’re unemployed.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-7 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here. Follow Jason Rantz on X, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz

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