Last night’s ugly loss to the Tigers had a few redeeming moments, although mostly on the offensive side of the ball, as will be the case when the pitching uncharacteristically gives up 18 hits and nine runs. But there was one bright spot on the mound: pitcher Carlos Vargas announced himself to Mariners fans in a big way, with a heroic nearly 3.2-inning effort where he allowed one inherited runner to score and had one run score on a combination of tough-luck hits (ground ball single, parachute single that should have been caught, ground ball single well off third base that Polanco couldn’t make a play on).

“Vargy, that was huge last night, being able to give us as many innings as he did” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson. “He had so many quick innings because he was attacking the zone and his ball was moving and they weren’t able to square it up, so that really gave us some much-needed length in the game.”

Mariners fans might not know Vargas as well, but Tacoma Rainiers fans are well acquainted with the slender hurler, who was acquired in the Eugenio Suárez trade-slash-salary dump with the Diamondbacks prior to the 2024 season. While trade-mate Seby Zavala got the most big-league playing time of the two that season, Vargas was the most interesting piece in that deal, with a sinker that even outdueled Andrés Muñoz’s in heat and an equally spicy four-seamer, both of which zipped in around 98-99. The caveat, because of course teams don’t give away these kinds of relievers for free, is that Vargas struggled to command that big stuff, a primary reason why the pitching-savvy Guardians, who originally signed Vargas as an IFA in 2016, flipped him to Arizona in a minor-league deal in the first place.

Vargas spent all of 2024 with Tacoma Rainiers, working on dialing in his command. Command is famously one of the hardest things to fix, but the Mariners pitching lab saw tantalizing stuff from Vargas, whose Stuff+ grades out very well, and a possibility to coax him into a more zone-focused mentality. Mariners pitching development preaches that pitchers should trust their stuff, throw their best pitches the most often, and not be afraid to throw in the zone. Vargas took those lessons to heart; he cut his walk rate in Tacoma literally in half from where it was in Arizona, the first single-digit walk rate of his career since he was at Low-A.

“Here they teach you, attack the strike zone,” said Vargas through translator Freddy Llanos, describing the changes he’s made in Seattle not as mechanical, but in mentality. “Always get ahead in the count, go out there and compete.”

Along with the walks, Vargas’s strikeouts also dropped, as he dialed back his highest-octane stuff. His sinker now comes in at a more modest 96 vs. 99. Between the upped sinker usage in lieu of his four-seamer from his Arizona days and the scaling back of his velocity, his profile is now firmly that of a groundball specialist in lieu of a strikeout maven. Contrast the two sinkers, first from Vargas in 2023 during his big league debut season, with a firm, running fastball that has almost purely arm-side movement and minimal drop:

Take that against one of his better sinkers from his Monday night outing against Detroit, which now features a significantly more drop-focused movement profile (and a more useful visual angle, thank you ROOT):

He still throws a hard cutter, at 92, which is his primary whiff-getting pitch, with sharp late downward break. He rounds out the arsenal with two secondaries he throws almost exclusively in two-strike or favorable counts: a changeup for weak-contact outs at the bottom of the zone; and a slider with has plus drop that he’ll throw up in the zone for whiffs and flyouts (and, in one regrettable instance, a Luis Urías home run).

While some organizations tinker with pitchers’ mechanics, encouraging them to change arm angles or change their position on the pitching rubber, Mariners pitching coach Pete Woodworth said that’s not at all a part of Seattle’s pitching development, which hammers home attacking the zone and trusting your stuff. “We show them what happens in two-strike counts” he said. “It’s just that easy. No one wants to believe it, but it is.”

In fact, he says the next step for Vargas—as it is for several of his pitchers—is getting him to expand the zone low with two strikes, and getting him off the plate.

For Vargas, he’s embraced the bigger-picture mentality.

“I’m just trying to be focused all the time” he said through Llanos. “Focused on intent, and how I can stay here, and how I can help the team. And I feel like every step I take, it’s with a purpose.”

That focus was on display last night as Vargas kept the Mariners in a game that looked to be a runaway blowout early on. His efforts saved the rest of the bullpen, and demonstrated his newfound zone-focused mentality and sense of intention, as he competed with every pitch, seemingly without regard for the scoreboard.

“Player of the game,” said Wodworth. “Maybe player of the week.”

The suspect in a hate crime against a transgender female in Seattle was previously bailed out of jail by the controversial NW Community Bail Fund group for a separate alleged anti-trans hate crime, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO). Somehow, this detail managed to elude a Seattle Times report, though the paper was made aware.

The 39-year-old suspect, Andre Phillip Karlow, allegedly attacked a Sound Transit fare inspector, who identifies as a transgender female, in October 2024. He pleaded not guilty and was bailed out by the NW Community Bail Fund, which indiscriminately pays the bail for suspects, usually based on whether or not the suspect comes from a marginalized community or is homeless. In this case, they posted $3,000 bail, according to KCPAO records.

Karlow is now awaiting charges in a separate alleged hate crime against a transgender female victim last Thursday. Had his bail not been posted by the NW Bail Fund, it’s possible that this alleged hate crime would not have occurred. Why didn’t The Seattle Times point this detail out?

Details in the accused anti-trans hate crime

Seattle Police say Karlow taunted the victim by calling her a “drag queen” and demanding, “to your makeup off.” He was allegedly in a group at the time.

When the victim attempted to photograph the group, police say the group began punching and kicking her. Someone in the group allegedly made reference to the Trump administration banning transgender military members after the victim tried to appeal to the group that she was a veteran.

One of the suspects, Karlow, was identified by police based on surveillance. Seattle Police says he was the suspect in an earlier domestic violence incident for allegedly throwing a can of food at his girlfriend, striking her and causing injury. Karlow was later arrested for the suspected hate crime.

The Seattle Times gets it wrong

In The Seattle Times coverage, reporter Catalina Gaitán pointed out the alleged Trump reference. But she managed to completely ignore the involvement of the NW Bail Fund.

“The man police arrested was previously released from the King County Jail in October, after he posted bond on his $30,000 bail for a separate hate crime charge, records show,” Gaitán incorrectly claimed.

But if the reporter saw the records, why not point out that the radical progressive group bailed him out? She must have known. In fact, the KCPAO explicitly told reporters via email that the NW Bail Fund was involved. “According to public court records, the defendant was released in that case after the Northwest Community Bail Fund posted his bond,” a spokesperson wrote to media.

NW Bail Fund is celebrated by the Radical Left

The NW Bail Fund has been celebrated by progressive activists as addressing what they falsely claim is a “racist criminal justice system” because some judges ask for cash bail. Ironically, the NW Bail Fund claims cash bail is “transphobic.”

“We oppose pretrial detention and cash bail, because they harm communities and are racist, classist, transphobic, and ableist. High bails do not increase safety; rather they make sure only the wealthy and people with resources go free, creating two systems of criminal process in Washington: one for people who can afford bail and another for people who can’t,” according to the group’s website.

In fact, the NW Bail Fund claims to “prioritize bail assistance for our BIPOC and LGBTQIA+, particularly transgender, community members: those at greatest risk in our current criminal punishment system.” If that’s the case, why would they pay the bail for a suspect in an anti-trans hate crime? The NW Bail Fund didn’t respond when asked to comment by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

The Seattle Times has been notable for its support of left-wing causes, with a newsroom that is transparently biased towards Democrats. Is that why this bail detail was left out? Gaitán did not respond to a request for comment.

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In recognition of International Transgender Day of Visibility on Monday, Mayor Bruce Harrell and city leaders signed new legislation to support individuals seeking gender-affirming and reproductive health care services in Seattle.