Baseball 2026: Broadcast legends Lukens, Patchin, Nameck talk Mariners | Press Box Podcast
“Play ball, baby!”
With those words – and a little strategic maneuvering to schedule The Spokesman-Review’s Press Box Podcast while its regular host, Dave Nichols, was on vacation – Rick Lukens kicked off our 2026 Seattle Mariners preview alongside fellow local broadcast legends Bud Nameck and Dennis Patchin.
The trio talked about some Mariners history, how the roster shakes out and how they envision the season ahead.
You can find the podcast on The Spokesman-Review website at www.spokesman.com/podcasts/press-box/ or watch the video on YouTube at https//youtu.be/XpTh5Sil-1g.
Among a few highlights, edited for brevity:
Nameck: Let’s set the record straight. Rick is the die-hard Mariner fan of this group.
Lukens: 100% … So I went into mourning the day after the Mariners got eliminated … the moment that Julio struck out and the Mariners were eliminated in Game 7 of the ALCS. (I’ve) just been so stoked for today. I’ve actually been stoked for today as a Mariner fan going back to about somewhere after they started the rebuild, or as Jerry Dipoto called it, the step-back – in 2018. So this is the eighth season since the step-back. But it was about three, four seasons into that that you could see what was happening. I could see what was happening…. If anybody who follows me on social media knows – that I basically went into attack mode at some point when people were saying, “Oh, yeah, the Mariners doing it again. The Mariners suck again.” And I was like, “No, man. this is a good team and they’re going to make the playoffs this season or next.” And it turned out it was next. But I had people laughing at me calling me an idiot and you could see what (Dipoto) was doing.
Patchin: Normal things then, right? Calling you an idiot?
Lukens: Yeah. Yeah. It was a normal Wednesday.
On M’s pitching rotation:
Patchin: If you’re a Mariner fan and you are upset at any part of the pitching staff, I don’t know what you’re paying attention to. This might be, top to bottom, because they’re going to keep 13 guys, 13 out of 26 … their best pitching staff ever. You say, “Dennis, how can you say that? They had guys, you know, Randy Johnson, Jamie (Moyer)?”
Nameck: You’re saying one through four?
Patchin: No, I’m not saying the starting rotation. I’m saying that in total, they have so many talented arms in the roles that they need to be in. Not only that, they’ve got others and I wouldn’t be surprised if at the trade deadline, the Mariners went out and added another reliever.
Nameck: If there’s anything, because of the way they’re set now, if there’s anything this team needs, it would be another front-end reliever, an innings eater. (Eduard) Bazardo did a good job of that. But is Casey Legumina the guy who can do that sort of thing? You know, you can upgrade there.
Lukens: But if you have to settle, Casey Legumina is a decent settle.
Stay tuned for more podcasts from the heralded trio throughout the spring and summer.