‘Hot Stove’ show, FanFest edition: Jerry Dipoto, Charlie Furbush, Kevin Mather and more

If you missed the special-edition “Hot Stove” from Mariners FanFest Saturday afternoon, never fear, we have a podcast.

Listen to the “Hot Stove” show from Mariners FanFest

James Paxton was first up on the 90-minute show. We had heard he had lost weight and you could immediately see the difference. The fingernail that sidelined him at the end of last season is completely regrown, and with the weight loss he feels lighter and more able to get off the mound to field his position. He told Rick Rizzs, Aaron Goldsmith and myself that he is ready for competition in Peoria.

“It makes everybody better,” he said. “It makes the team better. That’s what it’s all about.”

Team president Kevin Mather joined us next, and like general manager Jerry Dipoto – who stated earlier this week that he built the team to get into the 85-86 win range and see what happens from there – Mather wasn’t shy about stating where he thought this team should be after all of the changes.

“One of our owners asked (Dipoto), ‘How do you measure success?’ and he said, ‘I measure success … it’s time to be in the playoffs.’ And I said, ‘Whoa, I like that. I like that a lot,'” Mather said. “It’s time. We have the resources, we’ve gone after it, our fan support has been fantastic. (Hisashi) Iwakuma fell into our lap late and our ownership said go get him, so it’s time. We’re ready to go.”

Mather also talked about what it has been like working with Dipoto on a daily basis, and also gave us an update on some improvements to the stadium in Peoria.

Reliever Charlie Furbush was our next guest. He has spent his second straight offseason in Seattle and really deserves some big appreciation for all of the Mariners events he has taken part in this winter. If you haven’t had a chance to meet Furbush this offseason, you haven’t been trying hard enough.

Furbush, who was throwing from 90 feet last week, stretched it out to 120 Saturday morning while playing catch with Paxton and Steve Cishek at Safeco Field before the gates opened up for FanFest. While the bullpen around him will be almost all new, he got the opportunity to spend some time with Cishek on the Mariners Caravan and was teammates with Joaquin Benoit in Detroit. Furbush had great things to say about both.

Catcher Steve Clevenger was up next and we learned a few interesting things about him, like why a guy born and raised in Maryland has a Southern accent (Goldsmith was particularly fascinated with this), and how he made a transition you rarely see in pro ball.

Our last guest was Dipoto, who was clearly thrilled to see the turnout for FanFest.

“I am really excited about how people are embracing this team, these changes, these new ideas, and we do plan on building a culture here that really resonates starting now,” he said. “We are going to be fun to watch. I believe we are going to win some ballgames and we’ll just tell you what we are thinking. We’re fans just like you and we want to win the World Series and that starts today.”

Dipoto also talked about a couple of minor signings he would like to make before the start of camp and also said something a little bit more definitive about the battle for the right-handed partner for Adam Lind at first base than what we have been hearing recently.

FanFest continues on Sunday with the gates opening at 10 a.m. With unique opportunities to get on the field and behind the scenes access, it’s a great fan experience. Tickets are $10 for adults and free for kids 14 and younger.