Welcome back to another Blight Bat! This episode the show is happy to host Seattle Times’ Mariners beat writer Ryan Divish. We meander around topics here; there’s discussion about the current state of the team, Cal Raleigh’s absurd season, Ryan laying the groundwork for his sabbatical, the different experience of watching the team without writing about them, what makes ballplayers great, and a lot more.Stick around for some great insight on Kyle Seager’s cussedness, the God-kissed right arm of Felix Hernandez, Dave Niehaus profanity, and how bad teenage boys make a rain-soaked Montana cabin smell.Huge thanks to Ryan for his time and insight, and thanks to you as always for listening! If you enjoy the show, please feel free to subscribe and rate it wherever you get your podcasts.

The list of great guests continues to march ever onward, as The Blight Bat returns with another episode to soothe your ears and balm your soul. Today's episode feature Fangraphs' Editor-In-Chief, and Effectively Wild-stalwart Meg Rowley. Come for the thoughtful discussion on how being in baseball as a vocation effects your fandom. Stay for the exploration of how and why the standards and expectations of Mariner fans are (rightfully) different than other teams, and how Mariner ownership and management struggle to understand that.Meg does a wonderful job outlining in fair terms both the pros and cons of how the Mariners operate, and where they fall contextually within the fabric of the league. For anyone curious for what a broader view of the team outside of our insipid, self-loathing little tribe may be, I think it’s a very worthwhile discussion.

Additionally, there are some good Italian hand gestures in this episode. Given the visual medium that is podcasting we hope you enjoy them.

Support Fangraphs and all the people who work tirelessly to enrich your understanding and enjoyment of baseball!

Beep bop boop it's good to be back. This episode of the Blight Bat welcomes back old (and we mean old) friends Scott Weber and David Skiba, both formerly of Lookout Landing and Dome and Bedlam, now both full-time dads and increasingly casual Mariner fans.

This episode talks about how and why fandom ebbs and flows; both with the Mariners specifically, and with sports overall. There's some digressions into the NFL, a bit of NBA, and a lot more profanity than is normal for The Blight Bat. We're sorry about that.

Mostly this episode is about long, lasting friendship and connecting through the different seasons of life. A huge thanks to David and Scott - whom I am overwhelmingly grateful to have in my life for these many years and seasons - for carving out time to chat with their friend the Baseball Content Sicko.

We'd be remiss if we didn't thank our sponsor, The 2nd Annual Lagerhead Beer Festival. Make sure you get your tickets for great drinks, amazing food, and supporting an awesome cause. Thanks as always for listening and supporting The Blight Bat!

PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded in a different spot with worse WiFi than normal. My apologies for the audio snafus, even though in this case they are emphatically on-brand.