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Seattle Mariners Insider Discusses Slow Starts, End of 2024 For Julio Rodriguez

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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:

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“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.”

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.

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.

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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.





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Seattle, WA

Detectives Investigating Drive-By Shooting in South Seattle – SPD Blotter

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Detectives Investigating Drive-By Shooting in South Seattle – SPD Blotter


Seattle police detectives in the Gun Violence Reduction Unit (GVRU) are investigating a drive-by shooting this afternoon that injured a young man in the Rainer Valley and shut down multiple intersections.

At about 4:40 p.m., patrol officers responded to reports of a shooting at Rainier Avenue South and South Othello Street. Officers found three related crime scenes, with the initial location being the intersection of Rainier and Othello. There, officers recovered dozens of shell casings and bullet damage to a nearby business.

Police recovered additional ballistic evidence at the second scene, near Holly Park Drive South and South Myrtle Place. Officers discovered the third crime scene directly in front of the South Precinct, where they stopped one of the involved cars, a Tesla, that sustained significant bullet damage.

The driver of this car, an 18-year-old man, did not have any injuries. The passenger, also 18, sustained a grazing gunshot wound to his head. Firefighters arrived to treat his injury, and medics took him to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) in stable condition.

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Police determined that the suspects fired on the Tesla from another vehicle at Rainier and Othello. The victims sped away from the intersection and the suspect vehicle fled the area. Multiple cars drove away from the gunfire and pedestrians ran to safety. The Tesla sped off towards the precinct before being intercepted by officers.

Seattle police and King County deputies searched for the suspects but could not find them. Police did not make any arrests. GVRU detectives responded to the shooting. Police processed all three crime scenes and investigators conducted interviews at HMC. SPD’s Video Unit responded and recovered video footage from the area.

This is an open and active case assigned to GVRU. The circumstances leading up to the shooting are under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000. Anonymous tips are accepted.

Incident Number: 2026-96231

Seattle police officers close down an intersection in South Seattle as they search for evidence following a drive-by shooting.



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Who are your all-time favorite late-round Seattle Seahawks draft picks?

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Who are your all-time favorite late-round Seattle Seahawks draft picks?


We’re continuing our theme of Seattle Seahawks NFL Draft discussion today with a trip down memory lane.

The Seahawks have a deep history of finding some gems in the later rounds of the draft. Three Legion of Boom members were taken in the fourth, fifth, fifth, and sixth rounds, while Seattle’s first Super Bowl MVP was seventh-round linebacker Malcolm Smith. The only offensive touchdown scored in Seattle’s second Super Bowl win was by fourth-round tight end A.J. Barner, who might be on the cusp of stardom beyond the Seattle sports bubble.

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We want to know your favorite Seahawks late-round draft picks of all time, but there is a clear restriction to eliminate some obvious candidates. A “late-round draft pick” is defined as no earlier than Round 4, which means Russell Wilson and Tyler Lockett are ineligible as third-rounders. Once upon a time, the NFL Draft was longer than seven rounds—the Seahawks’ inaugural season had a 17-round draft—so if you want to really choose players from before the change-over in 1994 then go right ahead! Undrafted players like Doug Baldwin do not count because, well, they were literally not drafted.

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You don’t have to reason that they were legendary, all-time great Seahawks. Chris Carson is not one of the top three running backs in Seahawks history but I’ll be damned if it wasn’t a joy to watch a seventh-round pick become a quality starter whose career was cruelly cut short due to injury.

And yes, Michael Dickson (fifth-round pick) counts because punters are indeed people.

Refer to Pro Football Reference for the Seahawks’ draft history in case your memory needs jogging.

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Seattle area Iranian-Americans, activists react to ceasefire deal

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Seattle area Iranian-Americans, activists react to ceasefire deal


People from Seattle to Redmond are speaking out about the ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran after President Trump’s threat of massive attacks.

President Trump on Tuesday announced he would suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for two weeks as part of a temporary ceasefire brokered by the Pakistani government.

The suspension of attacks is contingent on Iran agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

ALSO SEE | Oil prices drop and stock futures jump as US and Iran agree to a 2-week ceasefire

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Iran responded by claiming victory, saying ships will be allowed to pass through the strait, but only under the management of the Iranian military.

Shayan Arya is an Iranian-American with cousins and friends in Iran, who have detailed by phone their experiences being near recent warfare.

“In the middle of our conversations, the bombing started,” Arya explained. “And so she said, ‘Can you hear the bombs dropping?’”

He said he was concerned about power plants being bombed in Iran, and is grateful they won’t be targeted, for now.

Meanwhile, on the steps of Seattle City Hall, a group rallied against the Trump Administration’s foreign policy and actions.

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On the steps of Seattle City Hall, a group rallied against the Trump Administration’s foreign policy and actions. (KOMO){ }

“Perhaps we should stop bombing the cradle of civilization and calling it freedom. We should be investing in people, the communities,” one woman chanted through a megaphone.

Counter-protesters showed up, leading to heated confrontations for a short time.

Arya said he feels relief, for now, amid the ceasefire, but that there’s ongoing concern about Iran’s future under its current regime.

“It’s just a matter of time [until the regime collapses], and at what price?” he asked.

CNN reports the White House is preparing for in-person negotiations with Iran to help broker a long-term peace deal.

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The developments come just hours after the president posted a message online, threatening, “A whole civilization could die tonight… Never to be brought back again.”



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