In this, our first podcast of the 2018 season, Kate and John rehash, re-live, and generally glory in the Mariners’ opening series win against a tough team in Cleveland

0 - 8:00: Injury updates. Hopefully at some point this isn’t a regular feature of the podcast. At the time we recorded this the Cruz DL decision hadn’t been made, and at the time I started typing this article it still hadn’t. We make our best predictions about how things will play out over the coming week if Cruz has to miss time.

8:00 - 16:00: Reviewing the surprises of Opening Weekend, which aside from the injury part, were quite pleasant! We discuss new-look Felix, innings-eater Mike Leake, the strong bullpen performance, and the struggles of James Paxton. That surprise was admittedly not so pleasant. There’s also some Lineup Chat! Kate manages to only say “it’s really early” five or six times before declaring this team More Fun Than 2016. John throws some subtle shade at the bottom of Cleveland’s lineup.

16:00 - 29:00: Previewing the coming road trip. John throws some not-so-subtle shade at San Francisco’s entire lineup, and both Kate and John outright shade the vagaries of MLB scheduling. John points out that for a team like the Mariners, cloaked in uncertainty, getting off to a strong start means a little more, and Kate counters with the need to have realistic expectations against the Twins. Kate also cackles with glee at the prospect of Dee Gordon and Jean Segura breaking all of Brian Dozier’s unwritten rules, and makes a BOLD prediction about the first game in the series.

29:00 - 32:00: General basking in the light of a series win and how much giddity goldarn FUN this team is. John points out the team doesn’t always show up at home during big moments—cue whistling past the graveyard of Deadgar Weekend—adding to the FUN of Opening Night.

32:00 - end: Questions!
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