The Chaos Ball Podcast

In this episode I propose some baseball related things that need to change, and I propose a radical way to improve the discourse around the sport. I also break down the bizarre April that Julio Rodriguez has had and what it might mean for the rest of the season. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

Torpedo bat, engaged. Cal Raleigh is dumping all over the place and the Mariners are playing exactly .500 baseball. What can we take away from the first 20 games of the season, if anything, and how have the Mariners played up or down to the early season expectations thus far? I ramble about the current state of affairs without delving too deeply into the stats, because that's a task for early May. Matt Brash can you please come back? Thank you for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

Well, we haven't had to cancel the Mariners season yet, which is good news. In this episode I talk about what has been happening in the first week and change of baseball, I chat torpedo bats, the Dodgers, Johnny Cueto? and then get into some brief Mariners chat. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

Big Dumper got PAID, Mitch Haniger was released, and a new streaming service was launched, what a week for the Seattle Mariners! I take a temperature check of the assumed opening day lineup, and look who is going to make up the last two bullpen spots. To finish the show, I give my MLB predictions and get them 100% yet again. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The table is set, the pitching staff gives this team a solid floor, but can the offense take them to the postseason? In this episode I talk about this group of position players and what they can do this season. I talked a lot about how we should both appreciate what Julio has done as a player and also expect more, because the offense will go as far as he can take it. Talked about everyone else and what we can expect from the AAA group as well! Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

In this episode I preview the pitching staff for the 2025 Seattle Mariners, and chat about how good they'll have to be yet again for the team to contend, and I set out to answer some questions. Can the rotation continue their healthy ways? Can the bullpen get back to 'best in baseball' conversations? Is the depth enough to get through the season? Cy Young? All of those questions are pondered in this one. Thanks for listening, position player preview is next!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

Spring Training is in full swing, and I chat about what I generally look for from players over the Spring. I go over the interesting pitch additions by many of the Mariners pitchers, some notable hard hit balls from some position players, and I chat about the 3b conundrum the Mariners have manufactured for themselves. Plus, what kind of milk do you think Mitch Haniger drinks? I answer that question in this episode.Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

What's happening down in the Mariners farm system??? They've got plenty of interesting fellas that are worth talking about! In this episode I talk about what prospects we are likely to see make their debut's this season, what prospects we will 100% not see in MLB this season, and all the interesting names in between. Twitter - @chaosball1977Email.- mschaosball@gmail.com

Welp, the off-season is pretty much wrapped up for the Mariners. This podcast has zero structure, and it's mainly just me vamping about how I feel about the team heading into pitchers and catcher reporting. I chat about Jorge Polanco and the rest of the position player depth, or lack of. I finish the episode with talking about Luka Doncic and Ben Zobrist. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschoasball@gmail.com

It's episode 100 baby! I talk about Roki Sasaki signing with the team that is allegedly "ruining baseball" and the discourse surrounding that. I touch briefly on the Mariners failure to get a meeting with Sasaki and their signing of Donnie Barrels. Then I talk about the HOF for the rest of the episode. Congrats to Ichiro, and I talk at length about Felix Hernandez. Thanks for listening to 100 episodes!!!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The Seattle Mariners are making me sad, more news at 11. Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The Seattle Mariners were very quiet during the Winter Meetings, at least quiet in a baseball operations sense. In this episode I talk about the trade rumors surrounding Luis Castillo, the Mariners "all-in" comments on Roki Sasaki, and how much money Juan Soto just made. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The Winter Meetings are almost upon us, and the Mariners are poised to make more noise this year compared to last year. But will they actually do anything, or will they just whiteboard for three straight days again? This episode is very lax, I chat about the trade rumors with both Chicago teams, and I talk about how the team could address 2B with a Kim. Thanks for listening, I'll be back after the Winter Meetings!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

In this episode I go over what has transpired so far this off-season, from Juan Soto and Roki Sasaki to... Austin Shenton? The second half of this episode I chat about the Mariners non-tender decisions, and talk about the implications of Josh Rojas no longer being on the squad. Now is when the hot stove could really heat up, will Jerry ignite the gas and make a trade soon? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Thanks for listening, I'll be back soon!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

What players are on the Mariners books heading into a crucial off-season? For the first time in a while, they have a lot of arbitration decisions to think about as they gear up for next season. Who and who isn't non-tendered will tell us a lot about their strategy for the off-season. I recorded this podcast on my couch while watching Game 2 of the World Series, so there are some live reactions mixed into an otherwise low key discussion of the Mariners contract situations. Thanks for listening! I'll be back soon with a Farm System episode.Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

I wrap up the double episode, three hour podcast week on a good note, talking about the 2024 Mariners pitching staff. There is much more good than bad in this episode, and a full hour of it is praising everything that the starting rotation accomplished this season. I talk about the rotation and the bullpen, and touch on the arbitration situations the team faces heading into the off-season, and what the pen may look like next season. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

I'm back and ready to evaluate the Seattle Mariners lineup contributors from this season, who was good, who was bad, who was just mediocre, and why did they fall short? I take a look at the offense as a whole and then focus on the individuals, with some very brief looking ahead to next season. Thanks for tuning in, the pitcher review is coming later this week!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

I say farewell to the 2024 Mariners, and take a look back at the last decade of M's baseball and the pain it's provided to us fans. I touch on the recent Dipoto comments on the off-season, and the Jude article going over what we should expect in terms of $$ spent by the team to prepare for the 2025 season. I salute the Oakland A's at the end and yell at billionaires to end this episode. Thanks for listening all season!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The Mariners are hanging around and gearing up to dish out maximum pain on the fanbase once again. This episode I check in with the offense that's been quite good for a month now, but is it too little too late? I also talk about Julio and Robles' TOOTBLANs against the Yankees this week. Thanks for tuning in!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

Let's check in on some of our pals! This is a very short and sweet episode, and I decided to take the focus off of the current Mariners for a moment, and check in on some former 2023 M's. I take a look at a couple of Snakes, a Dodger, and a Brave and see how they're all doing with their new teams. No, I didn't discuss Jerry being around in 2025 in this episode but I will at a later date, don't worry. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

Just some classic banter about the Seattle Honkbal team. I take a look at some eye opening stats that tell us how good this Mariners team could be, but why they simply aren't great. I give some pitchers their flowers this episode as well, because as bleak as thing can look, we deserve to celebrate the best players on the squad, Thanks for tuning in!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

They really did it. Plus, Sisyphus!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

Well well well, we find ourselves with another podcast episode where I critique trades that Jerry Dipoto has made. The majority of this episode is talking about the deadline moves and where they put the team at right now. I grade each trade and then talk about the broader MLB landscape and what it meant for the 2024 deadline. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

This episode was recorded+edited hours before the Randy Arozarena trade broke, so the Randy talk will have to wait until next week. But in this episode, I throw out a fun comparison for who the 2024 Mariners remind me of and what the next couple months could hold. I run through the various absences in the current lineup and the state of the team as we head into the biggest week in the Jerry Dipoto era. Thanks for listening, tune in next week for the trade deadline recap!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

On this weeks short and sweet episode, I go over Jerry Dipoto's most recent comments on the teams approach to the trade deadline. And then I talk about the calamity that was last weeks series in Anaheim. I also emphasize how important the start to this second half is for the team. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

After a holiday break, I'm back to name you some dudes. I talk briefly about where the Mariners are at after the first week and a half of July, but the bulk of this episode is focusing on what teams might be selling at the trade deadline. After identifying who might be selling, the naming of dudes commenced. I named the top guys on each of the sellers that might be moved, and highlighted a few key guys that the Mariners should be in business for if they're a serious organization. Thanks for listening this week!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The Mariners went to Florida and things did not go as planned, but they look to get back on track back home in Seattle. In this episode I take a look at the state of the team as a whole, and assess my current confidence level with the bullpen. I also examined what's going wrong with the offense and rant about the importance of the upcoming month of July.Twitter - @chaosball1977email - mschaosball@gmail.com

I open by talking about Willie Mays and why he was such a sensational baseball player and a bridge of the game. I do talk about the Seattle Mariners as well this week, with some mentions of notable prospects performing very well right now, and I touch on the positional headache that the coaching staff finds themselves in. Also, as of June 20th, the Mariners run differential is equal to the amount of games they are above .500 (11), and I think that's just flat out hilarious. Thanks for listening this week, onto Florida!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

I'm back! In this episode I recap the recent run of Mariners ball, highlight their very important record at home, how I feel about the division lead, and I wax poetic about how clutch Big Dumper is. On top of my weekly random notes, I go more in depth and look at the pitches Dominic Canzone has been seeing this year, and I also highlight Bryce Miller's improved secondary pitches this season. Thanks for tapping back in this week after the short hiatus!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

You smell that? Smells like chaos to me. The Seattle Mariners are currently in 1st place with a negative run differential, they're playing true to themselves and I love (hate) it. This episode, I recap the strange week in Mariners baseball and contextualize it within the standings. I talk about Luke Raley's Baseball Savant page, JP's success since coming back, and the Ty France back meter. I touch on the Negro League discussions that were in the news this week as well. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

This week I talk about the top 100 list updates and the relevant Mariners prospects involved, and I make a bold statement about the 2025 rankings that should include Felnin Celesten in some capacity. I recap this past week of Mariners baseball and the okay on field results against two great AL East teams, and I compare where the 2024 M's are to where the 2023 M's were at the same point last season. I finish the show by proposing a new MLB rule and look ahead at the important final week of May. Thanks for listening this week!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

We're back to talking about the big league club this week! I got some housekeeping out of the way with injury updates, and then I talked about the state of the team in the month of May. Who's been hot, not, and mid in May so far. I also started turning the tires on trade talk, we're getting to that point in the year where the sellers are starting to show themselves in the standings, and it may be time for the fringe contenders to vulture some players on the middling squads. The mariners embark on a brutal roadtrip, and we all hope they have a good showing against the bets the AL East has to offer. Thanks for listening this week!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

I am taking a break from talking about the big league Seattle Mariners this week, and instead I used this weeks episode to highlight what has been going on in the minor leagues. What are the Mariners top prospects doing? Who is each team performing? I highlight some non-top prospects and their strong starts to the season, and I give my picks for early season pitching and hitting breakout players in the minors so far this year. Also, if you live near Modesto, I implore you to go to a Nuts game as they are a WAGON of a baseball team and are just mashing beyond belief to start the year. Thanks for listening, we'll be back to regularly scheduled programming next week!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

Join me as a recap the last month of Mariners baseball! One of my keys to the season was a strong month of April, so, was it a strong month? I dissect what's going wrong with the offense, what's going right with the pitching staff, and what the 17-14 starts means in the context of the AL West. I also take a look ahead to the month of May and assess what they need to improve on for the long term. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

In this weeks episode, I talk about the last two weeks of Mariners ball and what's been good about it, and what's been not so good. I talk about what it's going to take for this offense to be productive all season, and I go over the slashlines of the hot weeks Julio, Cal and Rojas just had. I wax poetic about Gabe Speier and the M's bullpen development strengths, and I speak about some guys who need to show me some more at the plate in the next week or two. Thanks for listening, be sure to follow and rate/review the show if you enjoy!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

In today's episode I take a deep dive into Logan Gilbert's pitch arsenal. How the pitch mix is playing in 2024, and how much it's changed since he debuted in 2021. I also look into some Ty France numbers and rate him currently on the "Ty France Back Meter". I finish the episode with some Mariners notes from this week of ball like Jonatan Clase's debut series sweep, the pitching staff finding its footing, and the bizarre Julio off day pick off fiasco. Thanks for listening, give it a rating and/or review if you enjoy!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

What's going on with the Mariners? More of the same. Tap into this episode to hear me sigh a lot about the current state of the Seattle baseball team. They refuse to be a normal baseball team, so they decided that the bottom of the order should actually do most of the work to score the runs, which is a really neat idea that I totally support! On top of M's talk, I finished the episode with some pitcher elbow discussion, and offered some fun solutions to the problem. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

We made it folks, the Mariners played baseball games that actually mattered this past week and the vibes are already on the floor. Somehow, they are 3-4 but it doesn't feel that way. But I don't focus too much on the actual baseball they played, more about the general vibe and my feelings from the first week of ball. I talk about the new Salmon Race and mourn the loss of the Hydro Plane Race in the process. I transition to talk about some broader MLB topics like the Fanatics jersey fiasco, the A's, and Anthony Rendon. Thanks for listening, we are in for a long season!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

We've officially made it folks, opening day is right around the corner and it's time to preview the Seattle baseball Mariners! I rant about the current state of the team for the first third of this episode, so be prepared for a very long string of thoughts to open this one. The last 2/3 of the episode I get into each player projected to be on the opening day roster. What are the keys to success for this team, who is the X-Factor, what are my predictions? Find all that out in this final preview before the season begins. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The last divisional preview pod! And I saved the meatiest division for last, if the NL Central was a knife fight in an alley, the AL East is a gladiator fight in the Colosseum. I can make a case for each team in this division to make the playoffs, yes, even the Red Sox. Join me as I breakdown this loaded division, and wrap up the divisional previews with a spicy division winner pick. Thanks for listening along this past month, Opening Day is almost upon us and my Mariners preview will be dropping next week, so stay tuned for that!Timestamps:Red Sox - 2:55Blue Jays - 21:54Orioles - 39:47Rays - 57:11Yankees - 1:18:35Twitter - @Chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The NL West is home to maybe the best team in baseball, and probably the worst team in baseball as well. Similar to the NL Central, I have no clue how the three teams in the middle will shake out! We have four teams trying to be competitive and that should provide plenty of entertainment, and then the Rockies are here also. Thanks for listening, we are almost done with the divisional previews, just one left later this week!Timestamps:Rockies - 1:16Padres - 12:30Giants - 32:07DBacks - 55:40Dodgers - 1:17:14Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The NL Central will be a knife fight the entire way, I could see every team winning this division when it's all said and done (maybe not the Pirates). I think this division is going to be really fun in 2024, full of young exciting players and at least four teams that all have playoff hopes. Tap in and listen to me attempt to decipher how this group will shake out this season.Timestamps:Pirates - 1:58Reds - 15:55Brewers - 33:41Cubs - 48:20Cardinals - 1:06:18Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The wild wild AL West preview is here, and this division should be fun just like last year. The top teams all have very clear strengths and weaknesses, and they all project to finish within a few wins of each other like last year. The A's have some young players to watch, and the move to Vegas looms. And the Angels exist, Mike Trout is healthy, can they be the spicy thorn in the Mariners, Rangers and Astros side this year? Thanks for listening to this one, the next preview is coming out next Friday!The Mariners are not included in this preview, they get their own preview later in MarchTimestamps:A's - 0:54Angels - 15:09Rangers - 33:30Astros - 52:03Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The NL East is home to the best team in baseball, and also the Washington Nationals. The three teams in between should provide plenty of entertainment throughout the 2024 season as they hunt for a wild card. There are plenty of fun players and interesting team builds going on in this division, and I break it all down for you and attempt to predict what happens this season! Thank you for listening, the AL West preview is coming later this week!Washington Nationals - 2:30Miami Marlins - 19:35New York Mets - 39:05Philadelphia Phillies - 59:37Atlanta Braves - 1:18:27Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The start of the divisional previews is upon us! The AL Central is not what you called a "good division" but there is some fun to be had in there. I go over each teams projected lineups and pitching staffs, and noodle on what I think the outcome is for the team in 2024 as well as identify each teams X-Factor and Key Questions for the year. There are 5 more of these divisional previews on the way, so strap in and get ready to listen to me name a bunch of dudes for a month straight. Please rate and review if you enjoy the show, but I appreciate you if you just listen to these long shows at all!Team Timestamps:White Sox - 5:40Royals - 19:12Tigers - 37:16Guardians - 58:55Twins - 1:14:31Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

This is the last episode before the divisional previews begin! In this very short and sweet edition of the pod, I banter very briefly about the schedule for next month, early pitchers and catchers news from Arizona, and Fanatics/Nike garbage jerseys. And I finish the episode talking about Grover Cleveland Lowdermilk, a 100% real baseball player from the early 1900s.Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

Jerry made another trade, and unexpected but delightful move for Gregory Santos. I breakdown who exactly the Mariners acquired, and who they gave up, and how this improves the team and makes a lot of sense. Who did the M's give up, was it worth it? Plus I touch on some broader MLB topics such as, where do we put the A's? Thanks for listening, please give it a rating and/or review if you enjoyed the show!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

The Mariners did a thing! Jerry Dipoto made a trade that everyone had been mocking for months now, but the return package was surprising. I spent about half the episode talking about Jorge Polanco to the Mariners, and what it means for the lineup and the bullpen. I round out the episode with some HOF talk, and finish with Ichiro and Felix 2025 HOF propaganda. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

This is what happens when there isn't much to talk about, the only big signings of late have been a pair of relievers, and for the Mariners... Austin Voth? I went down a rabbit hole thinking about the Mariners bullpen for next season after the Voth signing, highlighting the core, the fringe, and the wild cards of the potential pen in 2024. I then meander about and talk about what teams have had the best/worst off-season up until this point. And then I end the episode drafting a Seattle Mariners NBA roster because why the hell not. The off-season slowly drags on, but we are close to season preview season, so episodes will have more meaning soon. Thanks for listening!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

It's been a while since I recorded, but I am back to talk about the many moves that Jerry Dipoto and Co. have done since I last podded. Mitch Garver first and foremost, and then I talk about the pair of trades that happened more recently in which we saw our beloved boy Mitch Haniger return to the Seattle Mariners, and Anthony DeSchlafani has to be mentioned because he is indeed, a baseball player. Dipoto also found Jarred Kelenic's replacement in the outfield, and he traded with his favorite pals the Rays to do it. All this and more in this episode, thanks for joining me again in 2024!Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com

Jung Hoo Lee has signed, Shohei Ohtani has signed, Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed an hour after I recorded. Who's left on the free agent pile and what's doable at this point for the (broke) Seattle Mariners? With the lack of significant Mariners news, this is a shorter episode and I decided to defer the rest of this podcast to 2024, so happy holidays and I'll see you next year.Twitter - @chaosball1977Email - mschaosball@gmail.com