Seattle Mariners Group Leader Party (with management audio)

I attended the Group Leader party last Friday night at Safeco Field.  This is a Party put on by the Mariners that is a little thank you to the people that organized group party events at Safeco Field last year.  For instance, my firm hosts a BBQ in the center field patio every year.  So, this year I got to go as the representative of my firm.

Rick Rizzs was the MC and he did a great job, he is pretty funny and a real nice gentleman.  I talked with him afterwards and all the stories I've heard about his down-to-earth approachable personality is true.  Jack Zduriencik (GM) and Don Wakamatsu (Manager) were there also to answer questions from the audience and for the most part, good questions were asked.  There were two questions about bringing Ken Griffey Jr. back and why they didn't resign Raul Ibanez that were expected, yet still annoying.  If you are a serious fan, and you know anything about the Mariners current situation and what kind of value Griffey and Ibanez have versus how much they are asking for in salary, you wouldn't really need to ask those questions.

Anywho, I am very impressed with the Mariners new GM and Manager.  They weren't afraid to tell it like it is and I believe they understand, unlike many teams, the value of defense Yeah Defense!  They also understand the idea of a replacement level player, what that means and how to apply that knowledge and build a competitive roster.

I've posted some videos on youtube that I took while at the event of Jack and Don answering some of the better questions asked.  The video is pretty poor but my main objective was audio so bear with me on the videos.

Spring can't come soon enough.