WEBVTT 1 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:21.280 Hello, and welcome to Badgets and Nerds the Basebook podcasts Ucious Twists by I'm 2 00:00:21.320 --> 00:00:25.600 your hosts human Russels, and I'm delighted to be chatting once again to some 3 00:00:25.679 --> 00:00:31.480 of my besties about baseball. We have the other stat Head, the man 4 00:00:31.559 --> 00:00:34.679 who will tell you everything about stolen bases, which is quite a lot right 5 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:37.960 now, Darius Austin, how are you doing, Darius, I'm doing well. 6 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:41.920 There are so many stolen bases. I've spent about two years telling everybody 7 00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:44.799 how many stolen bases there would be if the rules were here, And now 8 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:47.320 the rules are here, and there are a load of stolen bases, so 9 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:52.320 I'm feeling extremely vindicated right now. Still, there are some teams which don't 10 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:55.679 steal, and I still find that absolutely ridiculous. And there is something really 11 00:00:55.719 --> 00:00:59.039 worrying about the fact that the Rockies still stuck at this, even though they've 12 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:02.479 made it so easy, the Rockies still sack. I think that's quite rassure. 13 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.319 Yeah, it is kind of glorious to see in that regard. I 14 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:07.799 was wondering there are going to be a few, if not maybe three or 15 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:11.439 four times, maybe five or six teams that might get out stolen by players 16 00:01:11.480 --> 00:01:17.079 this season, but yeah, otherwise, I'm also joined by Rob Nevarius, 17 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:22.000 fresh off his journey to the States where he managed to see quite a few 18 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:27.640 baseball games, had an experience in Chicago that we'll get into at some point. 19 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:34.439 Rob, how is it back being in Blighty? Well, I landed 20 00:01:34.439 --> 00:01:38.599 two days ago and then yesterday I had to go to but my work, 21 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:44.840 like a all of the arenas nationally, they come together and have a big 22 00:01:44.879 --> 00:01:49.079 meeting followed by quite a lot of alcohol, and so I am jet lagged, 23 00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.799 drunk, don't know what day it is, hungover all at once. 24 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:59.680 So yeah, I'm I'm good, good ish, Yeah am I? So 25 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:02.079 we explact Pringle level contributions for me. This part is what you're saying, 26 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:07.840 Come on, mate, that's that's unfair. That was too harsh, not 27 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:15.240 that bad, too far. So obviously we've we've been off for a few 28 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:17.879 weeks for a couple of various reasons. But there's just a bit of baseball. 29 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:23.520 But I think the place to start is that once again MBA Europe and 30 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:28.080 have managed to wrangle the BBC to get quite a good name of individuals Bellini, 31 00:02:28.199 --> 00:02:35.719 Unhuman, White and Scrubs to head up Baseball on BBC again, and 32 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:39.599 it's going to be the Dodgers versus the Cardinals, which are probably two of 33 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:44.280 the most informed teams in baseball right now. So, Darius, what are 34 00:02:44.280 --> 00:02:47.840 your Obviously it's great to have BBC on terrestrial television. We don't need to 35 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:51.400 kind of go into going to further than that, but what are your thoughts 36 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:53.800 on seeing this message kind of drop out of nowhere, even for us. 37 00:02:55.199 --> 00:03:00.120 Yeah, quite quite surprising. It sounds like pretty much everybody and was a 38 00:03:00.120 --> 00:03:02.159 bit blindsided by this news. I think it's yeah, great to have it, 39 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:06.199 you know, a month fish before London. Get this back in the 40 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:08.280 minds of people too. I mean, we can talk about the Cardinals a 41 00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:13.560 bit later, but two ostensibly very good teams, the Dodgers are dodging again, 42 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:16.039 and obviously there's a lot of talented players in the field. So yeah, 43 00:03:16.080 --> 00:03:19.879 look, a little bit surprising that this wasn't hyped up more and it 44 00:03:19.960 --> 00:03:23.520 just kind of got dropped in this week. But definitely I think good to 45 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:24.520 get it in front of people, get it, get it back in their 46 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:29.120 minds, and yeah, maybe convince a few people to come down to London 47 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:32.120 and see what's going on in person. Yeah, obviously, I think that's 48 00:03:32.120 --> 00:03:35.319 got to be part of it, to try and get rid of those by 49 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:38.400 enough few tickets that they have, Rob Do you have any any thoughts on 50 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:43.960 this apart from it is good? Yea, it is good? Yeah, 51 00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:47.919 is accurate? Yeah? Yeah. I think the fact that we didn't need 52 00:03:47.960 --> 00:03:52.960 to make a massive who are about it when it got announced, I think 53 00:03:53.199 --> 00:03:58.439 that's possibly by design. I think what we're trying to do is normalize baseball 54 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:02.360 as as as a sport that's just around. And if we have to make 55 00:04:02.360 --> 00:04:06.199 a song and dance about it every time, then it's saying, well, 56 00:04:06.199 --> 00:04:08.800 look, look look here, it is. Here it is. But if 57 00:04:08.919 --> 00:04:11.319 if we can, if we can just start drip feeding in so it's just 58 00:04:11.360 --> 00:04:14.039 part of the background noise. That's that's how you make fans. That's how 59 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:15.560 pretty much all of us ended up getting there one way or another. Is 60 00:04:15.839 --> 00:04:17.639 you know, it's the Channel five effect, wasn't it? You know? 61 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:21.439 And I walked past the sports bar last night and the baseball was on in 62 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:24.920 the sports bar and I pointed up and say baseball, and no one around 63 00:04:24.920 --> 00:04:27.480 me gave a toss, but you know, there was baseball on the wall 64 00:04:27.519 --> 00:04:30.480 in the bar. I was in, So, yeah, I think it's 65 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:32.720 about about just just getting that drip feed in. Yeah, BBC's got some 66 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:35.680 baseball. Let's not make a song and dance because that's where baseball is now, 67 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:41.560 it's on BBC. Yeah. I think some of us, I think 68 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:46.480 I may in particular, have really thought that the Sunday evening game is something 69 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:53.639 that is should be pushed so much by MLB in the UK because for people 70 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:56.839 like myself who are NFL fans, like during that part of the season, 71 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:00.560 the Sunday is like is red zone. Like, there's no British sport that 72 00:05:00.600 --> 00:05:04.879 basically gets put on a Sunday evening unless it's a bank holiday weekend, So 73 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:10.720 you have such a gap in for people who are sports fans who want to 74 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.839 watch. So it's good that they've pushed this again. Well, as I 75 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:15.360 think we tweeted out, we're like, hey, look it's all our friends 76 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:19.720 as again that are on this podcast that they are decided to put on put 77 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:23.839 on, put on the show. So obviously we'll we'll we'll love to see 78 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:26.160 how they do. I think it's a it's a great combination of people and 79 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:31.639 will be will be very interestous to see how they deliver the game, because 80 00:05:32.079 --> 00:05:35.000 in some ways we kind of have to realize that this is maybe not going 81 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:39.000 to be delivered for some of the diard fans. It's going to be a 82 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:44.680 little bit more explaining, maybe a little bit more into that kind of podcast, 83 00:05:44.759 --> 00:05:48.360 the delivery of like a of a game that we see sometimes some of 84 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:53.639 the ESPN games compared to just like a standard broadcast, because they have to 85 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:58.040 explain a little bit more what's actually going on and why some of these things 86 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:01.279 matter. I think it is also good to see that one the Dodgers are 87 00:06:02.600 --> 00:06:06.759 playing amazingly well right now, so we do have effectively I don't know, 88 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:11.439 are they probably the informed team in baseball right now? I think in the 89 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:15.399 last couple of weeks they've basically just shown that they that starting was a blip, 90 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:21.560 and the Cardinals are coming back after looking frankly awful and not knowing how 91 00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:26.399 to bat whatsoever, they now looked like a little bit like themselves. It's 92 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:30.519 like Norah Aroronardo has remembered how to bat. Yeah, dog interest and Cardinals 93 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:33.199 are both eight and two over their last ten, so they are jointly the 94 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:38.720 most informed teams in bastball. Yeah, So that's awesome. I think while 95 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:42.600 we're here, do have to discuss the Cardinals, which has, in our 96 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:47.639 minor absence, have had one of the more bizarre escapades in baseball, at 97 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:55.120 least in my memory of kind of watching the game closely effectively. Within the 98 00:06:55.160 --> 00:07:00.720 space of about two weeks, they were playing bad. A couple of their 99 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:03.879 pictures seemingly complained that Wilson Contreras wasn't Yaddy and Molina, which is like, 100 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:14.680 yes, that's the case, And then the Cardinals front office and ownership came 101 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:17.120 out and basically said, yeah, so we're gonna d h him for a 102 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:20.759 while. No, we'll put him in the outfield. Actually, no, 103 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:25.000 wait, we won't put him in the outfield. He's just gonna DH for 104 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:29.079 a bit. But he's not actually his faults. He's doing a good enough 105 00:07:29.160 --> 00:07:32.720 job. This is nothing again his catching, then a week later being like, 106 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:36.399 oh yeah, he's now ready back to catch. And they seem to 107 00:07:36.480 --> 00:07:42.199 have been pitching either equally bad during his absence as they were before, and 108 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:46.040 it's just because they've learned to hit theres is my summation of this. I 109 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:49.439 don't think, I don't want to know that what substance there is behind this 110 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:55.519 because the Cardinals have always seemed a relatively sensible organization and they've just basically gone, 111 00:07:56.279 --> 00:08:01.480 well, we're having a bad season for the first time ever. What 112 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:03.120 do we do? What do we do? Like running around like, well, 113 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:05.639 there's a fire on in the kitchen and having no idea what's going on. 114 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:09.720 Yeah, it feels pretty much like that. I mean, I guess 115 00:08:09.720 --> 00:08:13.160 two things can be true at the same time. One that you know, 116 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:16.800 Wilson Cadreris is not defensively the catcher that the idea of Malina was, which 117 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:20.360 I would have hoped that the Cardinals knew when they signed him. But maybe 118 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:24.720 they thought they could do some sort of training and they would make him better 119 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:26.920 and it hasn't worked, and then it did work in the space of the 120 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:31.000 last week. I don't know about that. If the Cardinal was really wanted, 121 00:08:31.200 --> 00:08:35.679 like the guy who's going to be the stud defensively behind the plate and 122 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:39.559 they don't care how he hits. Austin Hedges was a free agent this offseason. 123 00:08:39.799 --> 00:08:41.639 They could have just done what the Pirates did and gone and signed Austin 124 00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:46.159 Hedges for much less money and had a guy who's great at working with pictures 125 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:48.399 and is an elite framer, and then maybe everybody would have been happy. 126 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:52.519 Who knows and Andrew k isn't It isn't that person either, so it wasn't 127 00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:58.840 no. So the move to do that, yeah, felt profoundly strange, 128 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:01.519 like they were just doing it because they had to react to something, and 129 00:09:01.559 --> 00:09:05.879 the most obvious thing they could do to react was to say, well, 130 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:11.200 it's Wilson Contreras's fault, seemingly just based on Jack Flatty being a bit mad. 131 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:15.919 And Jack Flatty has not pitched very well until Monday night when he had 132 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:18.200 like a ten strikeout game, which was his best in about three years with 133 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:22.559 Wilson Contreras catching. So yeah, all much to do about nothing. I 134 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:26.840 really don't like Olie Marmol's demeanor either. He's got like just this massive chip 135 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:31.240 on his shoulder. I watched some of the press conference after that Flaherty game 136 00:09:31.320 --> 00:09:33.559 when they had a great game and you'd have thought they lost, Like he 137 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:37.919 was miserable. Obviously, it didn't seem like he wanted to take the questions. 138 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.360 I get that they're still not don't have a great record. He's probably 139 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:43.679 had a hard a few weeks, but yeah, he's just really got like 140 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:46.360 this edge to him, and we saw this with the Tyler and Neil stuff 141 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:50.399 as well earlier in the season. I'm not convinced that he's doing a super 142 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:54.559 job of managing that clubhouse. That seems like he's everybody's out to get me 143 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:58.240 and I'm going to be this tough guy and you know, like if you 144 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:01.399 can't even didn't even crack a smile while he was talking about that win, 145 00:10:01.559 --> 00:10:03.600 and I'm, yeah, not really sure where he's going with it. That 146 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:07.000 Dusty Baker he ate. I guess it's what I'm saying. Yeah, I 147 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:11.879 think it's obviously it's hard to kind of you can't be Dusty Baker when literally 148 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:16.679 Dusty Baker has been a manager since before you were born. Yeah, but 149 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:22.679 I think that's probably right. Yeah, it's not that old, no, 150 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:26.200 no, yeah, money Marmal is Crisis only a couple of years older than 151 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:33.200 me. Yeah, so I think he definitely has a chip on his shoulder. 152 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:37.720 I think obviously, how everything, I still think they didn't really do 153 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:41.799 things well when they got rid of Schmidt beforehand, so it was a very 154 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:46.759 weird kind of system. But Marmal was part of the Cardinals that has been 155 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:48.279 part of the Cardinals for a very long time, so it was like an 156 00:10:48.279 --> 00:10:52.279 internal promotion. You were like, well, this is somebody who's part of 157 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:54.879 the system. He understands the system. But I do agree that I think 158 00:10:56.080 --> 00:11:01.399 some things have gotten to him during his tenures. Everything with Tyler Nils seems 159 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:05.240 absolutely ridiculous. I remember reading somewhere about like, you know, I can't 160 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:09.840 remember which umpire he had a tiff with last year, but one of them 161 00:11:09.879 --> 00:11:13.759 basically told him that he's an upstart and like he's not from around here, 162 00:11:13.840 --> 00:11:16.799 effectively calling him like young and inexperienced when an umpire had a go at him, 163 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:20.360 which is kind of funny and also kind of like ridiculous at the same 164 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:26.720 time. But yeah, this has just looked bizarre. The Cardinals are still 165 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:31.399 sold out or had like forty thousand people turning up for every single one of 166 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:35.720 the games, even though until I'd say a week ago, they were like 167 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:41.600 ten and twenty or whatever. I think they might have a ten and twenty 168 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:46.639 four when the whole mess kicked off. So it was bad. So Rob 169 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:50.039 during your your time abroad in the States, did you hear anything about this 170 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:54.759 or is this this usual thing that when you're out on holiday in America, 171 00:11:54.919 --> 00:11:58.360 baseball kind of passes you by far more because you're actually doing things with your 172 00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:01.480 life and not just waiting to go home every evening and turn on MLB. 173 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:05.440 It did a bit because that that bit of your life that is switched on 174 00:12:05.480 --> 00:12:09.480 to baseball is when you sit down in the evening, like you know, 175 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:13.120 make it starts at very earliest six o'clock when you're in this country, and 176 00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:16.480 then when you sit down at you know, you finished doing what you're done 177 00:12:16.480 --> 00:12:20.159 for day by eight, nine ten, then a lot of it's done. 178 00:12:20.799 --> 00:12:22.639 I did pick up a little bit on this and listening to a little bit 179 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:30.320 of what they were were saying on the talk shows in America. One of 180 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:33.120 the things had been mentioned so much is is the strength of the schedule they've 181 00:12:33.159 --> 00:12:37.360 they've had, they have had and now this isn't the anticipated good teams, 182 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:39.679 but they run into the pirates they've had, you know, they've they've bumped 183 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:45.600 up against the oddly lost to the Giants, but the Dodgers, they've you 184 00:12:45.639 --> 00:12:48.840 know, the Angels whilst they were high flying, they've they've played against the 185 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:50.679 braves. You know, they haven't had an easy go of it to start 186 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:54.440 with. And I think, you know, you're absolutely right. And they 187 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:58.399 were talking about how, um, when you have a couple of tough series 188 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:01.279 in a row, you you need a manager who's going to that That's that's 189 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:05.919 where the manager does his things and he brings the team together, and that 190 00:13:05.960 --> 00:13:11.399 potentially was what was lacking. It was it was a perfect storm of of 191 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:15.200 that man managerial sort of sort of not being able to pick them up and 192 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:18.559 cheer the guys up and and actually quite an unexpected buzz soor of the beginning 193 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:22.759 of the season. So I think there's something to that. I think it's 194 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:26.960 the Cardinals. You know, they're they're very good at putting on at least 195 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:31.399 at least average to slightly better than average team every single year, and that's 196 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:33.639 that's what they'll do. They've got to be catching up to do. We've 197 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:37.080 seen them do that in the last couple of years. They're going to be 198 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:39.360 there or thereabouts. It's just been a scuffling start, and you know, 199 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:43.879 I don't read too much into it personally. I think I think it will 200 00:13:43.919 --> 00:13:46.360 pass and then the Cardinals will be the Cardinals the rest of the way. 201 00:13:48.440 --> 00:13:50.080 Yeah, that makes sense, But we're going to be lucky enough to see 202 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:58.120 the Cardinals up front in just over a month's time. Um, so far 203 00:13:58.200 --> 00:14:01.639 this season, like the Chicago Cubs and the Cardinals paths had gone in the 204 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:05.759 completely opposite directions that I had anticipated. The Cubs came out at the start 205 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:11.039 of the season high flying, the Cardinals absolutely stank. Then right now the 206 00:14:11.080 --> 00:14:13.200 Cubs are now two and eight and the Cardinals the raid and two, and 207 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:16.480 it feels like the world, the right of the world is kind of coming 208 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:22.759 back together. There's what are you kind of anticipating from these teams come like 209 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:24.639 June when we see them, do we think they're going to be both in 210 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:28.360 and around five hundreds? Kind of like, really, this is going to 211 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:31.679 be a really, actually important couple of games, even though we're actually only 212 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:35.679 will be less than halfway through the season. Yeah, I mean, I 213 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:37.720 think it is going to be pretty key because the Cards, despite that start, 214 00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:41.480 they're only six and a half games back. Nobody has really stamped their 215 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:45.879 authority in that division. That the Pirates had a total collapse after I think 216 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:48.039 twenty and eight was it they were at one point, they've almost come back 217 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:52.639 to five hundred. Of the Brewers haven't exactly stepped on it. So I 218 00:14:52.679 --> 00:14:54.279 think this could be really key. I do expect the Cardinals to be much 219 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:58.279 closer to five hundred by that point. I think if the stadium plays like 220 00:14:58.279 --> 00:15:01.240 it did last time, I think we're going to see a lot of runs 221 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:05.559 again because the Card's rotation is not great and the Cubs, you know, 222 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:09.039 they've had Justine Steel's been a bright spot. Drew Smiling is a right spot, 223 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:13.000 but depending on how the rotation lines up there, you know, but 224 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:16.399 once after those two are Marcus Stroman. It's not looking back good at the 225 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:20.039 back of the Cubs rotation either, and none of those guys that you know, 226 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:24.000 Stiegler's kind of got the the r a of an ace, but he 227 00:15:24.039 --> 00:15:26.840 hasn't really got the strikeout numbers. I think it could be difficult games for 228 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:30.120 all of those guys. And with you know, guys like Noland Gorman, 229 00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:33.720 Patrick Wisdom, you know, huge home run power we've gotten to these teams, 230 00:15:35.159 --> 00:15:37.519 not to mention you know, goldshmt Erronardo, et cetera. I think 231 00:15:37.679 --> 00:15:43.399 we could see another pretty high scoring fest here. Do you think that teams 232 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:46.639 are gonna the teams might do similar to what like Boston in New York did 233 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:50.840 and not really line up their races to kind of pitch in this environment. 234 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:56.879 So we're probably actually going to get I doubt well. Obviously we've the pictures 235 00:15:56.919 --> 00:16:00.480 of Struman or Flaherty is kind of part of like the promotional stuff what's going 236 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:03.480 and winning. But if I was Chicago and if I was st. Lewis, 237 00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:07.960 I probably wouldn't pitch them here. Yeah, it's tough, right, 238 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:12.559 Like I mean, the card's rotation. They haven't got anybody that was of 239 00:16:12.600 --> 00:16:17.440 the quality of the pictures available to the Yankees and Red Sox in that series. 240 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:19.679 Anyway, I don't think so. I don't know that you would say, 241 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:22.440 oh this guy, I definitely don't want to pitch here. Um, 242 00:16:22.639 --> 00:16:26.080 they're all, you know, kind of pitch to contact you guys. I 243 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:30.240 guess in some regards maybe Flatty is a guy you'd want just because he's a 244 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:36.440 bit more likely to strike somebody out than most of the cards rotation. But 245 00:16:36.919 --> 00:16:38.399 I don't know that I see somebody here when I'm like, you know, 246 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:45.279 I definitely think he's the ace, so they'll they'll save him. It's I 247 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:48.639 think it's it's going to be a mess of sort of from a pitching standpoint, 248 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:52.639 but great fund for the fans again, Rob, you got your eyes 249 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:56.559 on the Chicago Cubs. Is anything that you took away from watching a few 250 00:16:56.559 --> 00:17:00.080 of your get a few of the games up there the Cubs OPPOTU. I 251 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:04.119 mean the infield's good and the infield's good. With about the infields, it 252 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:08.680 really it really gelled together, really works together. It really looked looks good 253 00:17:08.680 --> 00:17:12.599 out there. The outfield. Some questions, yeah they're pitching some some questions 254 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:17.559 for sure, Um, but I was mostly the thing I took away from 255 00:17:17.559 --> 00:17:21.480 the Cubs was was being Wriggley was was everything it's supposed to be. I 256 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:25.920 know we're sort of stepping aside a little bit here, but that it really 257 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:27.680 has has heart. I mean, I haven't been too many baseball stadiums. 258 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:33.160 I've been to four major league stadiums, um five if you include the London 259 00:17:33.240 --> 00:17:38.119 Stadium and two minor league stadiums now. But Wriggley by far and away. 260 00:17:38.160 --> 00:17:42.920 You walk in and it's it's really it's got the feel. It's it's not 261 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:45.759 made like the rest of them. It's not just concrete, you know, 262 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:49.240 it really is. It really is a special place to watch watch baseball. 263 00:17:49.240 --> 00:17:52.680 And now I've heard people say Yeah, no atmosphere there at all either. 264 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:56.599 But I went there whilst the Cubs were flying high. First game I was 265 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:00.400 therefore they banked the padres and and it was it was a day game. 266 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:04.039 It was packed. It was great. It was really really good experience. 267 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:07.759 And anybody who's not not been out yet and it is thinking, oh where 268 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:11.640 am I going to go to see a see a team? If if you're 269 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:14.240 not going to go and see your team, I would say Wriggley, do 270 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.079 go to Ring. It's it's a cliche, it's an absolute cliche. But 271 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:21.640 that was a fantastic experience, fantastic place just to go and be able to 272 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:26.000 be in a baseball game. Yeah. Sure, the concourses weren't the biggest. 273 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:29.480 It was a little bit cramped. M it probably doesn't have the best 274 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:32.559 stuff going on the screen, which isn't pointed in quite the right direction. 275 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:36.680 But all that I really added to it. I really cannot highly enough rate 276 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:41.640 what it was like to be in Wrigley. But I get back to the 277 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:45.200 team watching them, Um, they were fine, they're they're they're a decent 278 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:49.079 team. They looked they looked like a five hundred team who were pushing over 279 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:56.359 a team that were scuffling a bit in the padres, and again it's where 280 00:18:56.359 --> 00:18:59.160 the Cubs probably should be. You know, they've they've got holes, but 281 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:03.799 the holes are hunt as glaring as some mothers um. There feels like it's 282 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:07.920 quite a lot of homogenization to the middle in the In baseball in general this 283 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:11.799 year, there's a lot more sort of a lot less boom boom and bust, 284 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:14.799 a lot more towards the middle, and I think the Cubs are a 285 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:15.839 part of that, and I think that's where they'll be. They're going to 286 00:19:15.880 --> 00:19:19.920 finish about five that's what they look like, a five hundred team. But 287 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:26.000 fun, yeah, I know it will be really interesting obviously with I think 288 00:19:26.039 --> 00:19:30.240 with Terry bell Ringer looking a little bit better again, it's always it's a 289 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.599 fun thing. It'll be. It'll be fun to have him down in the 290 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:37.720 London series. There are a few players that I don't know many many other 291 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:41.720 people would be really interested in seeing, but I'm I'm interested in maybe getting 292 00:19:41.720 --> 00:19:45.880 a chance to speak to Yan Gomes, a long time player, especially at 293 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:49.039 the Cleveland time he was around there. It's also like we'll have Trey Mancini 294 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:55.039 and like Eric Hosmer for Tom to have a wonderful conversation with will we have 295 00:19:55.160 --> 00:20:03.720 Eric Costmer really get through customs? I looked at Eric cosmos line earlier today 296 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:08.519 and it's not going well. Yeah. The question is like, who would 297 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:14.160 you? Who would who would be there? Instead of well, I've got 298 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:18.559 I've got Marvis just playing Marvis. True, we could be in the square. 299 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:22.200 I watched a Hasma home run and honestly, I swear it did. 300 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:26.279 It did not get above the height of my head. It was as line 301 00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:32.079 drivey as a line drive home run as you could possibly expect. So obviously, 302 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:34.160 some of the other news that we've heard in the last couple of weeks 303 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:41.880 or so is a potential matchup for the next London series in twenty twenty four, 304 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:47.519 being the Mets and the Phillies. If I actually remember correctly, yes 305 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:51.039 that was what it was. I nearly drew a mental blank there for a 306 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:55.480 second. This looks like it is the case. It hasn't been reported by 307 00:20:55.640 --> 00:21:00.240 MLB, but pretty much most other major sources have kind of said this is 308 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:04.759 what's happening. This was what was supposed to happen in twenty twenty one as 309 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:08.119 well. So it does look like this has been in plan for a time 310 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:15.319 period. It seems like a pretty pretty sweet matchup to to be getting any 311 00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:21.240 thoughts, juds. My thoughts are looking forward to the Mets. I would 312 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:23.319 rather have the Mets this year because God only knows how many of those old 313 00:21:23.319 --> 00:21:26.240 guys are going to be pitching next year, and I'd like to see them 314 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:29.359 pitching. I really would like to see some of those guys. I'd like 315 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:33.160 to see the Verlanders and the Shoes as um, if they make it that 316 00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:36.119 but I'm sure they will. Um, But yeah, absolutely, I think 317 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:38.519 it's a It's a decent, decent matchup. You can't can't look much further 318 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:42.799 than that all star studded team. Um, we get to see Bryce Harper, 319 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:45.680 assuming he's fit, and that would that would be that would be really 320 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:48.039 special to get to get a player like Harper over here, you know. 321 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:51.680 Um. So yeah, I think it's a great one. It's it's two 322 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:56.920 very very sort of metropolitan teams also playing in another big city. I think 323 00:21:56.920 --> 00:22:00.200 there's they can really play on that and I think, yeah, I think 324 00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:03.440 it's a great, great matchup. I will do my absolute danders to be 325 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:06.039 there. Think it's gonna be a great one. Yeah, I think we've 326 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:10.599 seen from from what's being kind of rumored for like the Korean game the start 327 00:22:10.640 --> 00:22:14.279 of next year as well, it definitely does look to split out in the 328 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:15.960 idea that was what we thought would happen, is that we're going to see 329 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:21.160 East Coast teams coming to Europe, We're going to see West Coast teams going 330 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:23.680 to Asia, and we'll see a mixture of everybody else take part in the 331 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:29.119 Puerto Rican Games and the Mexican Games as to throw out. So sorry, 332 00:22:29.160 --> 00:22:32.359 Darius, it doesn't look like you'll probably get to see your San Francisco giants 333 00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:36.720 in London or parents in the next few years. Yeah. I was never 334 00:22:36.759 --> 00:22:41.240 expecting it really because you know, given it's different with the NFL when they 335 00:22:41.319 --> 00:22:42.839 give them the bye week afterwards and you know there's so much more time to 336 00:22:42.839 --> 00:22:47.160 prepare, when it's basically just oh ye know here, have a day off, 337 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:48.720 flight to London, play two games, come back, have another day 338 00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:52.359 off. I don't think they're going to do that at an our time difference. 339 00:22:52.359 --> 00:22:55.920 It's not it's not happening. I think the West Coast teams would fight 340 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:59.240 that pretty strongly, so as much as it would be greed to have Giants 341 00:22:59.240 --> 00:23:03.079 Dodgers in and I don't think we're going to see it. Yeah, And 342 00:23:03.119 --> 00:23:06.680 also, so who is the potential for the Korean game? It was the 343 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:10.519 Dodgers and somebody I can't remember. I thought it was. Have you got 344 00:23:10.519 --> 00:23:18.359 it off the top of your head? And I'm not using Google? Google? 345 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:27.720 Yeah, I think, okay, Google still is great. This is 346 00:23:27.720 --> 00:23:37.200 still great content. Padres Dodgers Padres. So yeah, that is obviously a 347 00:23:37.319 --> 00:23:42.240 potential barn stormer overseason. Do we think, well, this is now a 348 00:23:42.359 --> 00:23:56.359 fundle throwout show here Tari's debut in Korea. Now you think the Orioles are 349 00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:00.680 finally going to fish your boat out and the Oris Orioles Orioles step up from 350 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:06.319 Adam Frasier to shahead the free agent market. I'm gonna say, given the 351 00:24:06.319 --> 00:24:08.759 fact that the Orioles have come out saying that they want to replicate the Rays 352 00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:12.480 and not to the Astros, makes me think that they ain't going to be 353 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:19.079 big spenders at any point, which is a bitterly disappointing aspects what they want 354 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:23.079 you to think. On the other hand, it is sort of already working, 355 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:27.559 isn't it. So yes, it's one of the one of the sad 356 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:32.079 signs that constantly tanking and then having all of the top prospects means that you 357 00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:37.440 can I'm definitely going to talk about the Oris again later. Yeah, So 358 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:44.759 based off that, that's a couple of like really interesting things, we thought 359 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:45.960 we'd probably get to this team and are two good two bads that we'd have 360 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:48.559 at the end of thing. But I think they need to have just their 361 00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:56.200 own segment right now. Um, the Oakland Athletics on and off the field 362 00:24:56.279 --> 00:25:03.319 are doing things that I'll just unprecedented. Like I think now Oakland have three 363 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:11.799 separate or the Athletics have three separate land agreements for Vegas, which so they're 364 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:17.559 doing exactly the same thing they were doing in Oakland beforehand, but still not 365 00:25:17.599 --> 00:25:22.119 actually finalizing any of it, just kind of putting their way between different potential 366 00:25:22.200 --> 00:25:30.599 sites. In Vegas. They're also averaging giving up seven point four runs a 367 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:40.799 game. This is like utterly ridiculous, Darius, Like, I'll come to 368 00:25:40.839 --> 00:25:45.160 you because to me, like they are putting out below replacement players, which 369 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:52.039 means that they can't even scrub like the wavewire to find like replacement level pitchers. 370 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:59.240 Yeah, I mean, I think I forget what the exact current figure 371 00:25:59.319 --> 00:26:03.440 is, but placement level team is set about fifty two wins. I think 372 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:07.480 forty eight. Now, yeah, they're round round fifty. The As are 373 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:11.599 not going to win fifty games at this place. They might well be the 374 00:26:11.640 --> 00:26:15.759 worst team we've ever seen in the modern era. It's you know, it's 375 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:18.680 entirely possible they don't win forty games at this rate. And yeah, it's 376 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:22.559 it's not really because of the offense, it's it's the pitching. The pitching 377 00:26:22.599 --> 00:26:29.400 has been just monumentally bad. It's kind of hard to believe that they're keeping 378 00:26:29.400 --> 00:26:34.000 it up, really, but I'll just get the stats up, do you 379 00:26:34.359 --> 00:26:37.640 that's Rob has been a probably out of the leaflow. Do you know what 380 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:42.079 the Oakland's team era is at the moment the ra it's going to be something 381 00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:48.039 horrible like sticks and a half. You are too low. It's seven point 382 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:53.000 one three the entire team, not not their worst pitcher, that's the whole 383 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:59.920 team, z Ra. You've got to think there's going to be a cup 384 00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:03.640 again. That's scrubbing the wave wire. A couple of guys you could just 385 00:27:03.680 --> 00:27:07.839 throw in there to make some sort of difference. I will say that old 386 00:27:07.839 --> 00:27:11.920 Dick Lovelady has pitched twelve for them so far. So that's that's the thing 387 00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:17.000 that's happened. But Mason Miller is hurt now, Yeah, next question for 388 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:21.119 Rob on the Oakland Aids. I will tell you that the Chicago White Fox 389 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:26.119 have walked one hundred and seventy five people. That is the second worst out 390 00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:30.680 of the teams so far this year. How many have the Oakland Aids walked 391 00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:36.240 across forty five games? Forty five games? Okay, so if it's forty 392 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:38.119 five games, I'm going to siventy five is bad. That is really bad. 393 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:48.680 It can't be further than two hundred shortly two hundred and nineteen. Jesus, 394 00:27:52.880 --> 00:27:57.079 It's like, what's what's remarkable is that they still actually struck out more 395 00:27:57.079 --> 00:28:03.880 people than like Colorado, Mill Detroit, Watchington in Cleveland. Yeah, if 396 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:06.400 you watch, if you watched Fregion Army pitch, for example, you can 397 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:08.480 believe it because the stuff is nasty, but he got no idea where it's 398 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:17.839 going. Yeah, it's it's utterly kind of like remarkable. Yeah, to 399 00:28:17.960 --> 00:28:21.559 see, Like I think on one of our preview podcasts were very start of 400 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:22.920 the season night, I think everybody was seeing the like opening we're going to 401 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:26.359 win like forty teams. And I didn't believe it because I didn't believe that 402 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:33.759 anybody would throw out like below average pitching because I thought that hitting was it 403 00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:40.279 was bad, but it wasn't historically bad. This pitching is like historically bad. 404 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:45.160 I think Fangrafs has them at like minus three point four WAR, which 405 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:49.559 if you were to throw Rata out to a season, they'd be getting like 406 00:28:49.640 --> 00:28:55.880 close to like minus eleven minus twelve WAR from their pitching across the season, 407 00:28:55.920 --> 00:29:00.039 which is just after Lee ludicrous. I don't know if that's the worst of 408 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:03.000 all time. I can't imagine teams we even have to be. I don't 409 00:29:03.000 --> 00:29:08.240 think any many teams have ever got below like much below zero across an entire 410 00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:12.359 season. So the and the offense is fine. The offense is better than 411 00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:19.200 Houston's, for example, they're they're seventeenths by WRC plus. They're actually they're 412 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:26.000 hitting all right, But the pitching is just destroying everything that you can't really 413 00:29:26.039 --> 00:29:30.680 overcome that. Yeah, it looks at the Triple A team. Do we 414 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:34.920 think their Triple A team would be able to play better than their team? 415 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:42.440 So Team r A for the LAS Vegas aviator Las Vegas is a launching pad. 416 00:29:44.240 --> 00:29:49.359 Yeah, it's not good. Actually I have it's not totals, but 417 00:29:49.400 --> 00:29:55.759 it's not pretty. Yeah, but no, it's not a pretty it's not 418 00:29:55.799 --> 00:29:57.440 pretty. But I mean you look at something. You look at some of 419 00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:02.440 those the Triple A teams, do you genuinely is there a Triple A team 420 00:30:02.519 --> 00:30:06.680 up there there's that would finish better than the ass here? I think, 421 00:30:06.759 --> 00:30:11.160 yeah, probably a handful of them. And if that's there, I mean 422 00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:12.759 the rais the Raised Triple A team would obviously better better than the Ays, 423 00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:18.160 wouldn't they obviously? Well, I don't know, obviously because given the fact 424 00:30:18.200 --> 00:30:22.079 that probably like nine of the players that are either in the main mid the 425 00:30:22.079 --> 00:30:25.440 main team right now because they've got like ten players injured or there were ten 426 00:30:25.440 --> 00:30:29.599 pitchers injured or whatever, the Rays and sets somehow still like doing it picking 427 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:33.880 up Jake Diekman and then he throws like innings without giving up runs, which 428 00:30:33.920 --> 00:30:34.759 is just this is what I mean. It doesn't matter who they are, 429 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:37.319 like the right, just give them to the Raise and then they'll be good. 430 00:30:37.400 --> 00:30:41.240 So so yeah, sorry, Oakland's minus three point four, which they're 431 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:44.400 already at if the season was to finish right now at minus three point four 432 00:30:44.640 --> 00:30:48.720 by fangrafts war, that would be the fourth worst pitching season of all time. 433 00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:52.680 If they just stayed, if they just if they just went replacement level. 434 00:30:52.720 --> 00:31:00.359 From then onwards, we have, um, yeah, it's some nineteen 435 00:31:00.920 --> 00:31:07.279 twenty five n LG. Who on earth is this when we now get into 436 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:10.720 like acronyms for teams that haven't existed, so like nineteen twenty five, nineteen 437 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:15.519 twenty seven, nineteen twenty five are the three teams that are worse according to 438 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:22.480 photographs wall, which is just beyond beyond amazement, Like what, well those 439 00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:27.279 guys would actually beat but yeah it is it is New York Lincoln Giants. 440 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:33.240 There you go. That would make the already threw me off, but I 441 00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:37.720 guess they can't use NYG. So yeah, yeah, so there we go 442 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:41.839 like this is and then we don't mean to kind of like bag on like 443 00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:45.319 Oakland fans and things like like they are some of the best fans that are 444 00:31:45.319 --> 00:31:48.920 out there. Like if you guys, or if you want what following, 445 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:53.039 I really suggest you follow like the Last Dive Bar, which are like a 446 00:31:53.079 --> 00:31:57.240 hardcore group of oak Athletic fans to do lots of fun things down ocl State 447 00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:01.920 at the Coliseum, Like they're absolutely hilarious. You'll see them out in like 448 00:32:02.039 --> 00:32:07.200 left field bleachers. They're dressed up in like Mario costumes, like when like 449 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:12.279 when it was like the release of the Mario movie. And so yeah, 450 00:32:12.480 --> 00:32:15.000 they're a great bunch and they're just obviously still just trying to promote what they 451 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:17.839 can as as as this kind of season goes on, and you just kind 452 00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:22.759 of feel a little bit more depressed for them. I just the final point 453 00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:29.039 I want to talk about is that this is kind of is this actually against 454 00:32:29.079 --> 00:32:34.319 some of like MLB's rules or like the CBA at some point that they aren't 455 00:32:34.319 --> 00:32:37.440 putting the money back into like the team or making a team that is actually 456 00:32:38.920 --> 00:32:43.440 capable of like winning a game. Because there's there's I know that there's there's 457 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:49.720 already been some lawsuits going on for a few seasons back about teams not actually 458 00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:53.200 kind of investing like the competitive balance money or whatever. But this just seems 459 00:32:54.039 --> 00:33:00.359 to actually be taking the pits. Yeah. I felt mad this with like 460 00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:04.319 the Das signing and that you know this that one's very much we're gonna we're 461 00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:07.880 gonna give somebody a bit of money, so that we're a bit less likely 462 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:09.119 for someone to come to us and say, or your your payroll is not 463 00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:15.720 high enough, which is what fifty nine million is the estimated now, so 464 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.000 you know, still not high. But you know they went out in Jason 465 00:33:19.000 --> 00:33:22.079 Peterson, you know, have ten million, why not, so that we 466 00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:27.440 looked like we're spending a bit of money. But yeah, it definitely feels 467 00:33:27.480 --> 00:33:30.160 like that. And I will say the aids have not like kept the same 468 00:33:30.359 --> 00:33:35.000 pitching. Like I've been doing the death charts for the al West this year 469 00:33:35.400 --> 00:33:39.519 and it's driving me nuts because Oakland literally is just changing their ballpin like basically 470 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:43.720 every week. I don't think a single person in their ballpin right now was 471 00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:45.680 in their ballpin on opening day. So it's not like they're like, we're 472 00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:47.920 going to stick with these guys no matter how bad they are. They've just 473 00:33:47.920 --> 00:33:53.160 gone out and find somebody else also bad. At a certain point, maybe 474 00:33:53.200 --> 00:33:55.319 they'll just luck into people who are good. I mean, yeah, as 475 00:33:55.359 --> 00:33:59.880 I said, Richard love Lady has actually pitched well. So maybe they'll just 476 00:34:00.039 --> 00:34:02.240 settle upon a seven or eight guys in the end and they'll be like fine, 477 00:34:02.559 --> 00:34:09.039 and that will improve them from worst pitching stuff in history. But you're 478 00:34:09.119 --> 00:34:12.599 right, and they're not. They're not playing the game properly though, and 479 00:34:12.719 --> 00:34:15.239 they're not playing the game properly. They're they're supposed to try and win. 480 00:34:15.559 --> 00:34:17.519 That there's absolutely no way you can say that this team is trying to win. 481 00:34:17.960 --> 00:34:21.639 Now, when it comes to the teams, and again a bit of 482 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:23.679 a raised bias, but it comes to the teams that don't spend any money 483 00:34:24.599 --> 00:34:30.800 but seem to have either success or or a plan towards success, you you 484 00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:36.760 you can have the argument, however wrong it is that that they are they're 485 00:34:36.760 --> 00:34:38.000 just finding a different way to do it, that they're putting their money into 486 00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:40.880 development and other things, and great, I remember, sure a lot of 487 00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:44.440 that's just just washover to try and try and get out of these things. 488 00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:47.400 But but what is the plan in Oakland other than to squeeze money out of 489 00:34:47.719 --> 00:34:51.719 out of Las Vegas. I mean, there's there's there's just nothing here. 490 00:34:51.760 --> 00:34:57.440 There's no plan, there's no their their trades the deadline were utterly nonsensical, 491 00:34:57.599 --> 00:35:00.079 you know, they weren't. They're not bringing in these in prospects. They're 492 00:35:00.639 --> 00:35:05.639 they're overspending on when it comes to talent, you know, it just doesn't 493 00:35:05.639 --> 00:35:07.039 make any sense that you don't see how they are going to get out of 494 00:35:07.039 --> 00:35:09.960 this. It's almost like, as bad as this is now and it is 495 00:35:10.039 --> 00:35:15.519 terrible, it still doesn't feel like they're quite bottomed out because there's no sign 496 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:17.920 of sort of where's the way forward? So are they playing this game to 497 00:35:17.960 --> 00:35:22.599 win? No, they're not, absolutely not. And and to take it 498 00:35:22.639 --> 00:35:24.800 to its further further way. Is that giving it a big leg up to 499 00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:28.639 their divisional rivals, you know, compared to the rest of the league. 500 00:35:28.679 --> 00:35:30.760 Is is it fair that they get to pay play the A's who just don't 501 00:35:30.800 --> 00:35:35.599 care. I don't think it is, um so so no. I I've 502 00:35:35.639 --> 00:35:37.920 always been on the side of, well, if they're doing something else, 503 00:35:37.119 --> 00:35:40.599 fair enough, let's see what they got, you know, and the Pirates 504 00:35:40.639 --> 00:35:44.400 they don't spend any money. But god damn that has a fun team to 505 00:35:44.400 --> 00:35:47.000 watch at the moment, and they are seemingly turning it around. Final let 506 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:51.679 them have that. The Orioles awful for years, awful and it felt really 507 00:35:51.679 --> 00:35:53.119 bad. But yeah, okay, they're starting to get results. There was 508 00:35:53.119 --> 00:35:57.519 always a clear plan there. What's the plan in OpenD? Where is this 509 00:35:57.599 --> 00:36:01.840 going? What is next? Because I don't have the answer because they don't 510 00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:06.280 even have a great prospect system, do they. There is no no, 511 00:36:06.440 --> 00:36:10.960 because all these trades they've made have been for like proxy like and Ruiz has 512 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:15.760 been you know, fairly decent, but you know, Sean Murphy is like 513 00:36:15.360 --> 00:36:19.639 top five player in baseball this year, and they didn't go out and say, 514 00:36:19.639 --> 00:36:22.480 oh, let's get a premium prospect back for Sean Murphy. That you 515 00:36:22.519 --> 00:36:25.000 know, I think, I think Reies looks like you can probably stick as 516 00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:28.880 a regular major lego. But that's not what you're looking for. Really, 517 00:36:28.960 --> 00:36:31.760 that's not turn your team around. That's okay, we found a guy who 518 00:36:31.800 --> 00:36:35.480 can play for us every day, which I guess on this age team is 519 00:36:35.480 --> 00:36:38.400 makes him like one of their three best players. But you know they've they've 520 00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:40.840 not tried to do that, and that's what all of these trades have been 521 00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:44.239 like for them over the last few years, you know, trading away Alston 522 00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:47.400 as well. They've not got somebody like or you're like, wow, this 523 00:36:47.440 --> 00:36:51.800 guy is a starred prospect. And Miller. Miller looked like a guy. 524 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:54.440 You know, he was the most exciting chip they had in that farm system. 525 00:36:54.480 --> 00:36:58.719 And he has looked electric when he's pitched, but he's now also in 526 00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:01.880 the IL and they're always concerned about whether he'd be able to hold up as 527 00:37:01.880 --> 00:37:05.559 a starter, and you know, if he can't, then I just don't 528 00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:08.639 see an awful lot here for them to turn this around. Yeah, Brent 529 00:37:08.679 --> 00:37:13.159 Rigle looks great. He's twenty eight, and you can guarantee that if the 530 00:37:13.199 --> 00:37:15.519 Aids find somebody who want to trade for him, then how he goes. 531 00:37:17.039 --> 00:37:20.880 Yeah, he's something that always thinking we could discuss today, but I'll probably 532 00:37:20.920 --> 00:37:22.599 leave it for another one in a line that he's he's potential one of those 533 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:28.320 trade deadline candidates. Also, I feel half of the Chicago Whitehocks team is 534 00:37:28.320 --> 00:37:32.800 potentially a trade deadline candidate to most people. We'll move on from them, 535 00:37:34.119 --> 00:37:38.679 Rob, let's just give us, give us the whistle stop of the nolva's 536 00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:43.159 tour of Major League Baseball. Then, so where did you get out to 537 00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:51.960 beyond the Wriggly as we've already discussed. Yeah, so oddly there was two 538 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:55.320 our contributed writers were out there, contributors hard Wood to say, we're also 539 00:37:55.400 --> 00:38:00.199 out in Briggy at the same time. So I didn't actually bump into either 540 00:38:00.199 --> 00:38:01.599 of them, but they were out there and I believe there is some writing 541 00:38:01.679 --> 00:38:06.079 coming somewhere already up and maybe a little bit more coming about about that trip, 542 00:38:06.360 --> 00:38:07.519 to keep an eye off for that. But after that, I made 543 00:38:07.559 --> 00:38:14.280 it over to Guaranteed rate Field. Horrible mouthful, Darius. You'd been guaranteed 544 00:38:14.320 --> 00:38:16.280 rate Field, haven't you? I have? I quite enjoyed myself a guaranteed 545 00:38:16.320 --> 00:38:21.920 right, actually felt a great view of the Chicago skyline and a considerably more 546 00:38:21.960 --> 00:38:25.280 pleasant experience than you had from the South. Well, so guaranteed rate Field. 547 00:38:25.280 --> 00:38:29.400 First of all, I turned up to a team that was scuffling, 548 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:34.599 and that's probably the low point of of the White Sox season so far. 549 00:38:34.760 --> 00:38:37.639 Unfortunately for them, they'd they'd already run into the Raised twice, you know, 550 00:38:37.639 --> 00:38:40.159 they'd had the away series and they have now had the home and they 551 00:38:40.159 --> 00:38:45.119 were just getting steamrolled by them the whole time, and so the atmosphere was 552 00:38:45.559 --> 00:38:50.719 lacking when I got there. First of all, you you get to the 553 00:38:50.800 --> 00:38:55.480 stadium, you get on the their equivalent, the Metro. The train station 554 00:38:55.719 --> 00:39:00.880 is literally on this central reservation of a six six lanes of highway either side. 555 00:39:00.880 --> 00:39:05.920 It's I've never seen anything like it. Just just just google it, 556 00:39:05.920 --> 00:39:08.039 have a look. It's literally there are there are six lanes of freeway on 557 00:39:08.079 --> 00:39:13.639 your right, then you are on a concrete platform, and then there's another 558 00:39:13.639 --> 00:39:15.719 six lanes of highway to to your left, and you walk down the platform 559 00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:20.760 up and over a bridge over the highway. But it's just it's so loud. 560 00:39:21.079 --> 00:39:22.920 It's so loud, and you've got you've got an entire stadium's worth of 561 00:39:22.960 --> 00:39:28.760 people crammed onto these platforms with with a fall to the tracks one side or 562 00:39:28.800 --> 00:39:31.199 a fall into six lanes of highway the other side. It's insane place. 563 00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:37.760 It's absolutely insane. The town itself. You talk about the divide the north 564 00:39:37.800 --> 00:39:39.719 side of the South side of Chicago, and it's stark. It is stark, 565 00:39:39.800 --> 00:39:45.880 so um and all side Wrigley, it's very sort of being redeveloped, 566 00:39:45.920 --> 00:39:50.840 very bill it's all very very pleasant. A lot more edgy, a lot 567 00:39:50.880 --> 00:39:54.320 more edgy down the down the south side, heading towards towards the White Sox. 568 00:39:54.400 --> 00:39:59.880 So they I would say, they probably put on a better game experience 569 00:40:00.039 --> 00:40:02.840 in the way that they matched music up to the what was going on. 570 00:40:04.440 --> 00:40:10.079 The food offerings seemed good. Unfortunately, I went right at the very end 571 00:40:10.119 --> 00:40:15.800 of the game and got some chips which were literally the scrapings from the bottom 572 00:40:15.840 --> 00:40:20.119 of the can, and I stupidly ate them. And whilst I stood there 573 00:40:20.119 --> 00:40:22.559 watching the fireworks, which which was super brilliant firework display, it was a 574 00:40:22.559 --> 00:40:29.119 little bubbling in my tummy. And I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize 575 00:40:29.159 --> 00:40:34.840 to the cleaning staff of whoever had to sort out the portoloo outside the stadium 576 00:40:34.880 --> 00:40:39.559 after I'd been in there. Um, and also my hotel cleaners. Um 577 00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:43.840 that's the explicit tag on this one. Rush. Yeah, obviously sided to 578 00:40:43.840 --> 00:40:47.000 dest up his name fires. I did. I did so they were not 579 00:40:47.039 --> 00:40:51.920 pretty. They were not pretty fireworks. UM. So yeah, I did 580 00:40:51.960 --> 00:41:00.599 spend spend a day in the bathroom essentially after that one. Um. Whilst 581 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:07.199 in between brown fireworks, I got the Metro back to the hotel as quickly 582 00:41:07.280 --> 00:41:08.960 as I could, and on the way there was a there was a gang 583 00:41:09.000 --> 00:41:15.880 fight in in my carriage. Um, two kids at the end of the 584 00:41:15.920 --> 00:41:19.840 carriage, and then someone stopped, pulled pulled the emergency stop and about twenty 585 00:41:19.880 --> 00:41:22.719 people came on and literally all around me. I was I was sat sort 586 00:41:22.719 --> 00:41:28.119 of two seats in from the end of the carriage and this this this twenty 587 00:41:28.280 --> 00:41:30.519 person punch up started and just grabbed Becky by the wrist and dragged around of 588 00:41:30.599 --> 00:41:35.920 there. And so yeah, my experience of the White Sox was was perhaps 589 00:41:36.079 --> 00:41:43.280 a little bit more u edgy then and the Wrigley experience. But but but 590 00:41:43.440 --> 00:41:45.000 don't let it put you off. Your boys are good place to go. 591 00:41:45.360 --> 00:41:49.559 Just don't eat the chips after the fifth inning, and make sure you can 592 00:41:49.559 --> 00:41:52.760 get up and move away from the doors if you need tow on the metro. 593 00:41:52.960 --> 00:41:55.639 Other than that, absolutely super great game. Though, great game. 594 00:41:55.639 --> 00:41:58.800 I would add that it was a fantastic game. Came right down to the 595 00:41:58.840 --> 00:42:01.199 wire. Um the ra Rays clinched it right in the end, sort of 596 00:42:01.280 --> 00:42:05.400 last pitch, you know, with with men on and it was it was 597 00:42:05.400 --> 00:42:08.480 a very very good game. But so that was yeah, that was that 598 00:42:08.559 --> 00:42:12.000 was. That was Chicago and the Chicago. The city is worth a visit 599 00:42:12.039 --> 00:42:15.480 on itself. Architecture fans, you you will be in an absolute playground there. 600 00:42:15.480 --> 00:42:17.880 It's fantastic. Got boat tripped down down the middle, did all the 601 00:42:17.880 --> 00:42:22.079 touristy stuff as well. Really really great city just to go and visit. 602 00:42:22.599 --> 00:42:24.320 You don't need to be a White Sox fan or or a Cubbs fan to 603 00:42:24.360 --> 00:42:27.599 go there, there is there is plenty to keep you, keep you involved. 604 00:42:27.599 --> 00:42:30.360 There a fantastic place to go and visit. And then afterwards I went 605 00:42:30.360 --> 00:42:32.320 down to Tampa because that's where my team is and it's a nice sunny place 606 00:42:32.320 --> 00:42:37.159 to go and visit for for some games. Saw the Pirates there and their 607 00:42:37.159 --> 00:42:42.880 fans travel very very well. Um, and that team is it's got to 608 00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:45.440 be one of the best teams to watch this year. Yeah, maybe they're 609 00:42:45.440 --> 00:42:49.639 not winning so much anymore, but but fantastic fun team, fantastically fun team 610 00:42:49.639 --> 00:42:52.760 to watch play baseball. No, it sounds awesome. I'm glad that you 611 00:42:52.800 --> 00:42:58.480 managed to like enjoy yourself out there. I spent most of April or even 612 00:42:58.559 --> 00:43:01.480 May being like I just to go back out after like the WBC and then 613 00:43:01.519 --> 00:43:06.840 just spending three weeks in the UK of being in a bomb and all weather 614 00:43:07.480 --> 00:43:10.320 that there we had, which meant all of the threason why I came back 615 00:43:10.440 --> 00:43:15.039 was to have preseason training for baseball, that me playing baseball, and that 616 00:43:15.199 --> 00:43:16.039 none of that happened. So I was just like, I could have just 617 00:43:16.119 --> 00:43:22.320 had three more weeks in the States, So I want to move on to 618 00:43:22.400 --> 00:43:27.480 one final thing before we get to our two good two bads. And this 619 00:43:27.639 --> 00:43:30.159 is something that I've been thinking about for quite a while, and I don't 620 00:43:30.239 --> 00:43:35.679 quite know how to articulate it. But the kind of the crux of it 621 00:43:35.760 --> 00:43:40.519 is, what the f is the point of ejections? Like I genuinely think 622 00:43:40.800 --> 00:43:46.320 that it is the most retarded thing in baseball. I think that this basically 623 00:43:46.360 --> 00:43:52.519 allows players, managers, and umpires to act like children, to act like 624 00:43:52.719 --> 00:43:57.360 vulgar children, to act like thugs, and allow them basically to get away 625 00:43:57.360 --> 00:44:01.800 with being piss ants and whatever they want because they know that, oh, 626 00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:06.719 I'm out of this game. Oh it doesn't matter, like unless I put 627 00:44:06.760 --> 00:44:08.719 a hand on someone or actually throw a punch or something like that. I'm 628 00:44:08.719 --> 00:44:13.440 not missing like more than half a game of one hundred and sixty two game 629 00:44:13.559 --> 00:44:15.599 season. It's not even like a percentage of like my playing time or whatever. 630 00:44:16.079 --> 00:44:21.840 I think it just allows everybody to act like whankers, and so because 631 00:44:21.840 --> 00:44:25.039 there just aren't the consequences that you would have in other sports almost behaving, 632 00:44:25.119 --> 00:44:30.320 So you get people ejected for stupid reasons like I feel, you get the 633 00:44:30.400 --> 00:44:34.519 umpires basically just feeling like they've been shown up, and then they choose to 634 00:44:34.519 --> 00:44:37.920 eject somebody. Look at real mutuo being ejected for moving his glove away from 635 00:44:37.960 --> 00:44:44.760 being given a ball by an umpire. Look at somebody got ejected the other 636 00:44:44.840 --> 00:44:49.480 day for clapping when an umpire made a good decision, which is like if 637 00:44:49.599 --> 00:44:52.639 I know they would had said some words about something else, but if you 638 00:44:52.679 --> 00:44:57.440 basically can't accept a sarcastic to clap, like what are you doing that? 639 00:44:57.519 --> 00:44:59.719 Like this is the state of affair, but also just the way, like 640 00:45:00.320 --> 00:45:02.280 the way that anything happens that like a player gets ejected or a manager to 641 00:45:02.320 --> 00:45:07.119 get ejected, then they just go out and shout directly in somebody's face for 642 00:45:07.320 --> 00:45:13.199 like three minutes. It wouldn't be acceptable anywhere in the world, but it 643 00:45:13.360 --> 00:45:16.119 is acceptable on a baseball field. And I just I don't have a better 644 00:45:16.159 --> 00:45:19.519 idea, which is the reason why I've not written this up as an article 645 00:45:19.599 --> 00:45:22.639 yet, because I just can't work out what would be a better way to 646 00:45:22.719 --> 00:45:28.159 do it, Like I obviously think it's only basically having more severe The base 647 00:45:28.239 --> 00:45:31.519 level of a being ejected or being removed from a game is like a minimum 648 00:45:31.519 --> 00:45:36.320 five games suspension or whatever, because then it's like the level of what you 649 00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:40.280 have to do to get ejected? Is higher like just find people for stuff 650 00:45:40.320 --> 00:45:44.840 below. I know major leg players probably don't care about it, but I 651 00:45:44.880 --> 00:45:46.360 don't know if what you guys think about this, because I just this season. 652 00:45:46.400 --> 00:45:49.800 I don't know if it's got more or worse, or maybe I've just 653 00:45:49.840 --> 00:45:54.360 watched a bit more John Boy media content this year, but I just don't 654 00:45:54.360 --> 00:45:57.679 get it. And I've just under sat here being like, is it just 655 00:45:57.719 --> 00:46:01.119 because I've watched cricket and crickets as a gentleman's game where there hasn't been the 656 00:46:01.199 --> 00:46:05.880 need for this since the eighteen since the eighteen hundred. Sort of seemingly there 657 00:46:05.960 --> 00:46:09.400 has been the need for this in baseball since the eighteen hundreds. Darius or 658 00:46:09.480 --> 00:46:13.159 Rob where do you want to who wants to chime in on whether I'm just 659 00:46:13.199 --> 00:46:15.840 being like, Yeah, I mean, there is this peculiarity of baseball in 660 00:46:15.920 --> 00:46:22.199 that this guy is calling this invisible zone and you just have to agree with 661 00:46:22.239 --> 00:46:24.559 it. And you know, maybe we'll get this quasi robot ump thing at 662 00:46:24.639 --> 00:46:29.880 some point in the relatively near future, and you know, players can challenge 663 00:46:29.920 --> 00:46:35.440 or whatever that might misget some of that. But it's all very childish and 664 00:46:35.639 --> 00:46:38.760 I do think there should be bigger suspensions. It's it's just it's dafter me. 665 00:46:38.840 --> 00:46:43.480 It's so performative on both sides, you know, the managers coming out 666 00:46:43.519 --> 00:46:45.760 and blowing their tops, but also the umpires, the way they react when 667 00:46:45.760 --> 00:46:47.800 they toss somebody out of the game. They always have to make a show 668 00:46:47.840 --> 00:46:51.639 of it. It's like, you know, yeah, they can never just 669 00:46:51.679 --> 00:46:54.079 be like normal. You know, they don't say get out of here like 670 00:46:54.199 --> 00:46:58.320 that. You never see any of them do just something like quiet another state. 671 00:46:58.400 --> 00:47:00.400 It's always like, look at me, I'm the boss, Gary, 672 00:47:00.519 --> 00:47:01.639 and I get that that's what trying to do. But it's also like, 673 00:47:01.880 --> 00:47:05.679 you know, do we have to do this children? Could we all just 674 00:47:05.719 --> 00:47:07.119 not be like, oh well it's a bad call, move on with our 675 00:47:07.119 --> 00:47:10.360 lives. I don't really understand it. Yeah, I think we should have 676 00:47:10.400 --> 00:47:15.159 bigger suspensions. I mean, I'm now imagining like if we had like Eurovision 677 00:47:15.639 --> 00:47:19.360 and like you know, one of the acts just came up and like started 678 00:47:19.400 --> 00:47:22.840 screaming in the presenter's faces or something that's basically like the equivalent, right if 679 00:47:22.880 --> 00:47:25.159 they didn't get the votes they're wanted. Like, you know, I don't 680 00:47:25.159 --> 00:47:29.880 really know what is the comp here. Because even in other sports you don't 681 00:47:29.960 --> 00:47:32.639 see this level of bad behavior against the officials. And I don't think you 682 00:47:32.760 --> 00:47:37.960 really see the officials do this kind of show either. No from the official 683 00:47:38.000 --> 00:47:42.519 side, this doesn't exist in any other Yeah, like it just it's just 684 00:47:42.920 --> 00:47:47.199 not there. Like there are some performative referees and managers, I mean referees 685 00:47:47.360 --> 00:47:50.719 in some of the sports, so you can think back to maybe like Penny 686 00:47:51.000 --> 00:47:54.280 Kalina or whatever, and but that they're usually like the best and therefore like 687 00:47:54.599 --> 00:47:58.719 they can have a performative decide to what they're doing because they are actually regarded 688 00:47:58.719 --> 00:48:05.320 in the best. And you do shut up and listen, like obviously robber, 689 00:48:05.400 --> 00:48:08.239 your thoughts are gonna go completely the other way. I think if you 690 00:48:08.400 --> 00:48:14.280 assume that everybody knows this is a performative act, it's a bit of silliness, 691 00:48:14.800 --> 00:48:17.159 and that we're doing this for at some point some entertainment. Um, 692 00:48:17.760 --> 00:48:22.480 it's also for firing up you guys behind you, and it's it's for the 693 00:48:22.480 --> 00:48:27.239 panto villains in the in the in the manager or in the umpire. I 694 00:48:27.320 --> 00:48:30.480 think as long as everybody kind of knows that they're not taking this home and 695 00:48:30.519 --> 00:48:34.239 actually taking things to heart, I think, I think it's great. I 696 00:48:35.079 --> 00:48:38.840 was in the ballpark for my first objection. I watched Pirates manager what's his 697 00:48:38.880 --> 00:48:44.599 face, Derek Shelton. Watched him get booted for some some terrible calls. 698 00:48:44.960 --> 00:48:45.880 And they weren't they were bad. They were bad both plays. But I 699 00:48:45.920 --> 00:48:49.960 watched him get booted. It was brilliant. It was brilliant theater. It 700 00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:52.400 was fantastic going off in front of me. It was it was all a 701 00:48:52.440 --> 00:48:55.159 bit silly. Everyone was waving their arms. The crowd absolutely loved it, 702 00:48:55.159 --> 00:48:58.840 and it was great being a part of that little crowd. And and you 703 00:48:58.880 --> 00:49:01.199 know what's Yes, it's a bit flag wavy, but you know, sometimes 704 00:49:01.280 --> 00:49:04.760 you want to see, yeah, my managers, he's right here, he's 705 00:49:04.800 --> 00:49:07.639 going out there, he's having his words. So yeah, I enjoy it. 706 00:49:07.800 --> 00:49:12.199 I do enjoy watching an ejection. I actively seek out. At the 707 00:49:12.239 --> 00:49:15.320 end of the year, I go onto YouTube and I look up MLB manager 708 00:49:15.400 --> 00:49:16.880 ejections twenty twenty three. I think, yeah, it's a great one. 709 00:49:16.960 --> 00:49:20.920 Get on u, Terry Lavallo, you know, fantastic. He's got some 710 00:49:20.960 --> 00:49:24.880 of the best. So I really like him, and I say, we 711 00:49:24.920 --> 00:49:28.840 could we could have this really somber years. You have a yellow card, 712 00:49:28.880 --> 00:49:30.039 so you need to be waiting for your red card, and that'd be really 713 00:49:30.079 --> 00:49:34.400 bad. Oh, here's your red card, now off your pop. And 714 00:49:34.440 --> 00:49:37.400 I do agree there should be there should be more fines, there should be 715 00:49:37.440 --> 00:49:40.559 more suspensions. But I like the theater of it. Let's have some fun 716 00:49:40.599 --> 00:49:44.199 with it. We've we've taken something that is a very somber we're going to 717 00:49:44.280 --> 00:49:45.880 ruin the game now because he's done something bad and we've made it into something 718 00:49:45.880 --> 00:49:49.199 a bit more performative. We can have a bit of a shout about it, 719 00:49:49.239 --> 00:49:52.639 we can exercise it there and then and then it's done. We're not, 720 00:49:52.719 --> 00:49:54.920 you know, vring it because we've had our shout, we've had our 721 00:49:54.960 --> 00:49:58.639 scream, thank you very much. Everyone's fun. Let's be one with the 722 00:49:58.639 --> 00:50:02.840 game now, so one way it continue for me, so I can see 723 00:50:04.320 --> 00:50:07.119 the entertainment side of it. And this is something that like, I think, 724 00:50:07.159 --> 00:50:08.679 this is one of the reasons why I don't want to just get I 725 00:50:08.760 --> 00:50:12.239 don't want to get rid of it entirely. I do see that there is 726 00:50:12.280 --> 00:50:15.480 a performative aspect to it all. And in the end, we are trying 727 00:50:15.519 --> 00:50:21.199 to watch baseball because it is fun to watch and this kind of this does 728 00:50:21.280 --> 00:50:24.559 come into it, obviou see the other side to it is obviously like it 729 00:50:24.599 --> 00:50:30.400 just goes down into like every like level of the sport. So let anything 730 00:50:30.440 --> 00:50:34.079 you and I think you see this more like in football probably in our side 731 00:50:34.119 --> 00:50:37.800 that anything you see that basically happens at the top level also happens at like 732 00:50:37.920 --> 00:50:39.719 the bottom level. And it even happens in freaking baseball in the UK, 733 00:50:40.199 --> 00:50:45.679 like the people crap a crap, I don't umpire when when they say stuff 734 00:50:45.679 --> 00:50:47.960 and they get ejected and you're kind of like, what are we doing here? 735 00:50:49.719 --> 00:50:53.000 I just I don't know. I just think there has to be a 736 00:50:53.000 --> 00:50:57.519 better way of doing it, but I can't think of what it is, 737 00:50:57.639 --> 00:51:00.239 and so I just end up going round around in circles going like, well 738 00:51:00.280 --> 00:51:04.400 if we just got rid of like ejections or like the bar had to be 739 00:51:04.480 --> 00:51:09.159 higher to actually get ejected, and like you could see something to an umpire 740 00:51:09.360 --> 00:51:13.360 like I didn't think that was the right call, and the umpire doesn't immediately 741 00:51:13.400 --> 00:51:15.519 then go like and wanted you I would say something like that, like maybe 742 00:51:15.599 --> 00:51:19.239 drawing a line on the floor and that sort of thing where you'll really kind 743 00:51:19.239 --> 00:51:22.400 of going like no, I think you've got to completely enoughly wrong. Yeah, 744 00:51:22.440 --> 00:51:25.199 maybe like you you're you're you're crossing a line out of there. I 745 00:51:25.280 --> 00:51:31.039 think that arbitrary nature of it is a particular concern for me because you might 746 00:51:31.079 --> 00:51:34.199 have some upsoe just like you know, they playing against him a look, 747 00:51:34.239 --> 00:51:37.119 maybe he mouths up a little bit, but he doesn't do the like I 748 00:51:37.199 --> 00:51:39.039 think Kyle Schwarber's last year was the one that I always think of where he's 749 00:51:39.119 --> 00:51:44.199 like gesticulating wildly and at the plate and then he's like pointing in the air, 750 00:51:44.239 --> 00:51:46.119 and you know, I get I get that one. But when it's 751 00:51:46.159 --> 00:51:49.320 just like you know, the guy just turns and looks at the up and 752 00:51:49.320 --> 00:51:52.119 he's like, come on, you know. And sometimes some amps will just 753 00:51:52.119 --> 00:51:54.800 be like you're out of here, mate, and others will let it go. 754 00:51:55.079 --> 00:51:59.320 But there's no like consistent. It's like the ball crawl, right, 755 00:51:59.360 --> 00:52:01.519 like nobody knows the ball quares, nobody knows what you actually have to do 756 00:52:01.559 --> 00:52:05.239 to get ejected. It's just like it is the umpire a little bit, 757 00:52:05.440 --> 00:52:09.440 a little bit touchy today, you know, give me another reason to watch 758 00:52:09.480 --> 00:52:15.679 the Royals against the Tigers. Uh. Yeah, that's a good point. 759 00:52:15.360 --> 00:52:20.840 I mean, speaking of the Tigers. Now we're going to do this the 760 00:52:21.159 --> 00:52:25.639 Rich Hill. Oh that was on my one should let's talk about that. 761 00:52:25.719 --> 00:52:29.280 Let's go, let's go, let's go too good, too bad. Rob 762 00:52:29.480 --> 00:52:34.840 leaders are good. I'm gonna go with Miggie and Rich Hill chasing to first 763 00:52:34.840 --> 00:52:37.280 base. Do you remember bed nobs of broomsticks? I do. Do you 764 00:52:37.320 --> 00:52:42.920 remember the football match with the Rhinos and the It was just like that. 765 00:52:43.079 --> 00:52:45.920 It was brilliant. I loved it. I love watching the big guys run 766 00:52:45.920 --> 00:52:47.800 and they were they were giving it, they're all and it was still really 767 00:52:47.840 --> 00:52:52.360 slow, but it was brilliant. Loved it, absolutely loved it. Didn't 768 00:52:52.440 --> 00:52:54.599 Hill's first sprintspeed come out in like twenty one ft per second or something? 769 00:52:54.920 --> 00:53:00.920 I think I said reference like the worst in the league is like twenty four. 770 00:53:00.960 --> 00:53:05.119 And he still got there first. He still got there first. He 771 00:53:05.159 --> 00:53:09.039 didn't have as far to run as Mickey did. Moment afterwards as well, 772 00:53:09.039 --> 00:53:12.079 you know, they both sort of stopped, looked at each other and there 773 00:53:12.119 --> 00:53:15.360 was kind of this realization of yeah, we're too old for this, um 774 00:53:15.159 --> 00:53:22.360 forty three and forty Yeah, And I think this is only like the second 775 00:53:22.400 --> 00:53:25.960 or third time that you'd ever faced Miguel Cabrera like in his career in the 776 00:53:27.039 --> 00:53:30.239 first time back in like two thousand and five in his debut. So it's 777 00:53:30.280 --> 00:53:35.280 just he's just one of those wondrous little things of baseball where you have it 778 00:53:35.400 --> 00:53:38.239 like it just slew brilliant. And I do love the of all of the 779 00:53:38.280 --> 00:53:42.360 clips that I think MLB Europe could have tweeted out about last night, like 780 00:53:42.400 --> 00:53:47.360 the first one, they do rest between two old guys. It's like I 781 00:53:47.719 --> 00:53:53.199 one dopts the cap to these social media individual there for picking for picking a 782 00:53:53.239 --> 00:54:00.960 good one. Have you good yourself good? I've got us off a good? 783 00:54:01.679 --> 00:54:06.559 My good is Yenny a Canoe. I don't know how many people are 784 00:54:06.599 --> 00:54:08.039 familiar with Yenni a Canoe. But when I said I'm going to talk about 785 00:54:08.039 --> 00:54:12.960 the Orioles later, this is why I'm talking about the Orioles. Do yourself 786 00:54:12.960 --> 00:54:15.079 a favor. If you want to look at a stupid stat line, just 787 00:54:15.159 --> 00:54:19.440 you know, get yourself on Baseball Reference or hand Grouse or whatever your stats 788 00:54:19.440 --> 00:54:22.719 side of choices and go and look at Yenni A Canoe's stat line, because 789 00:54:23.239 --> 00:54:28.920 so far this season he has pitched the twenty one and two thirds innings, 790 00:54:29.840 --> 00:54:35.320 he has a zero ra's that's no runs allowed, no walks allowed, four 791 00:54:35.400 --> 00:54:38.440 hits, sixty seven batters faced, four hits. Everybody else he's got out. 792 00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:44.639 And he sucked last season, like he absolutely sucked. The always got 793 00:54:44.719 --> 00:54:47.400 him back in the or Hey Lopez trade. He was dreadful. He was 794 00:54:47.440 --> 00:54:51.079 dreadful at Triple A, he was dreadful the majors. He sucked at the 795 00:54:51.079 --> 00:54:52.960 start of spring training. And then he said, oh, you know what. 796 00:54:53.039 --> 00:54:55.400 He was throwing from two different arm slots and he said, I'm going 797 00:54:55.440 --> 00:54:59.840 to stop doing that. I just started throwing his change up in his sink 798 00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:02.440 from the same arm slot. And now he's like literally the best relief for 799 00:55:02.519 --> 00:55:07.880 in baseball in the space of two months. And Mike the funniest thing last 800 00:55:07.960 --> 00:55:12.719 night, he was starting these stupid changeups, Oh Tani and Trout and were 801 00:55:12.760 --> 00:55:15.199 just waving away. Nobody could hear him, and Michael IIAs is just sitting 802 00:55:15.239 --> 00:55:19.519 in the stands laughing his head off, just like, yeah, this is 803 00:55:19.599 --> 00:55:22.079 this is how you do it. So we can shout out the Orioles all 804 00:55:22.119 --> 00:55:24.719 you want to spend money, but when you get this guy basically for free 805 00:55:25.119 --> 00:55:28.719 and turn him into the best relief for in baseball and spoke to two months. 806 00:55:28.719 --> 00:55:31.199 I don't know that I can really argue with you that much. Yeah, 807 00:55:31.280 --> 00:55:35.559 I think Mike put out a piece about him Twins. I think it's 808 00:55:35.599 --> 00:55:39.559 worth one. But he was from the Twins, which they'd given him up, 809 00:55:39.800 --> 00:55:44.320 and he's gone back and brought It's just it's unbelievable. I think, 810 00:55:44.320 --> 00:55:49.000 once again, this just shows the glorious nature of like relievers. But yeah, 811 00:55:49.039 --> 00:55:51.960 there's like there will be three or four that will be consistent for a 812 00:55:52.000 --> 00:55:58.559 few seasons good, and then everybody else you'll be like who like I think 813 00:55:58.639 --> 00:56:02.679 the top three by like us Warries Canoe that it's like Alexis Diaz and David 814 00:56:02.679 --> 00:56:07.400 Benner and always I think we already knew that like Benner and Diaz weren't bad 815 00:56:07.440 --> 00:56:13.400 pictures. But the fact that like Hayda isn't up there, or Emmanuel class 816 00:56:13.440 --> 00:56:20.039 A isn't up there. Obviously Da the Odas is injured. But it's just 817 00:56:20.599 --> 00:56:24.480 it's remarkable that you have like Cano is eighth in the majors in war in 818 00:56:24.519 --> 00:56:29.320 bastaball restaurant war for pictures, not for relievers, for all pictures, he's 819 00:56:29.360 --> 00:56:37.239 eight. This is very stupid right behind Joe Ryan Ben Carter. Anytime you 820 00:56:37.320 --> 00:56:39.280 want to wasshare that apology to Joe Ryan, I'm here. I'm waiting, 821 00:56:45.199 --> 00:56:51.920 Yes, Okay, So I will switch on to me and I will jump 822 00:56:51.960 --> 00:56:59.920 into the desert of Arizona to talk about Zach Gallen like it's not he's having 823 00:56:59.880 --> 00:57:05.280 another Stella season like we I think for probably part of the way through last 824 00:57:05.320 --> 00:57:07.960 year, everybody was just like, oh, he's actually like finally becoming the 825 00:57:08.159 --> 00:57:16.119 picture that we all thought was possible after sputtering in twenty nineteen twenty. I 826 00:57:16.159 --> 00:57:20.320 think it was pretty good in twenty twenty the shorts twenty twenty season, but 827 00:57:20.480 --> 00:57:27.519 wasn't amazing in twenty twenty one. He's just had another ludicrously long like streak 828 00:57:27.559 --> 00:57:30.159 of innings without giving up a run. Seems to be able to do this. 829 00:57:31.039 --> 00:57:37.280 He's dropped his walk great again, like further whilst Dale's still striking out 830 00:57:37.320 --> 00:57:39.840 like the most that he's done. He's sat. I think, what the 831 00:57:39.880 --> 00:57:45.280 two point three five er a and he's got two point six war He's basically 832 00:57:45.320 --> 00:57:49.199 leading the majors in war right now. He's been he's been great and it's 833 00:57:49.239 --> 00:57:54.119 not like he's I think recently, he's faced some pretty nap teams, which 834 00:57:54.239 --> 00:57:58.119 is kind of like padding the stats if you look through it. When it's 835 00:57:58.199 --> 00:58:01.800 kind of like the Giants, Miami, not necessarily Texas, but Kansas, 836 00:58:02.880 --> 00:58:06.679 you're like, Okay, he's faced some bad teams, but he's really kind 837 00:58:06.679 --> 00:58:12.480 of put them like all in their place so far, and it's just phenomenal 838 00:58:12.760 --> 00:58:15.519 to watch and it's amazing. Like I didn't think he can say, like 839 00:58:15.559 --> 00:58:21.039 he got not badly lit up in the first couple of games against the Padres 840 00:58:21.039 --> 00:58:23.360 and the Dodgers, but we were like, oh, it's just going to 841 00:58:23.480 --> 00:58:28.440 kind of rivert back to maybe what we saw and then yeah, since then, 842 00:58:29.159 --> 00:58:31.280 good game. A few hits against Texas, but yeah, looks he 843 00:58:31.360 --> 00:58:37.719 looks pretty amazing. And so it's awesome to see one of those players who 844 00:58:37.760 --> 00:58:44.320 were a kind of highly tarited prospect but then maybe not like the top end 845 00:58:44.519 --> 00:58:49.280 of pitging prospects come out and actually hit the mark. I think you'll probably 846 00:58:49.320 --> 00:58:51.960 correct me up the wrong hivid areas, but he's probably been a fantasy darling 847 00:58:52.920 --> 00:58:55.079 for quite a while for quite a few people waiting for him to actually kind 848 00:58:55.119 --> 00:58:59.639 of like break out. He's not quite not quite the this season will be 849 00:58:59.760 --> 00:59:04.719 Nick Fervetta's year sort of picture, because that's obviously not happening, and it 850 00:59:04.760 --> 00:59:08.280 looks like he's going to the ballpen. We all warned you. But Gallen 851 00:59:08.360 --> 00:59:12.920 has always been one of those little darlings, hasn't he. Yeah, it's 852 00:59:12.960 --> 00:59:15.800 always one of those guys that there there are always people out there who are 853 00:59:15.800 --> 00:59:17.920 like, I think there's more more in here. And I think in that 854 00:59:17.920 --> 00:59:21.840 that Jazz Chisselm trade, they were like both guys where people were like, 855 00:59:22.079 --> 00:59:23.480 you can see that, like if they if they get it right, if 856 00:59:23.480 --> 00:59:28.280 everything clicks, these could be like, you know, true stars, and 857 00:59:28.360 --> 00:59:30.880 that was why it was such an interesting trade, which, you know, 858 00:59:30.920 --> 00:59:35.280 speaking of bad things, Jazz is on the aisle. That's that's a shame. 859 00:59:36.119 --> 00:59:38.320 But yeah, he really has realized that potential. And I think, 860 00:59:38.480 --> 00:59:44.280 you know, definitely little leading so young contender right now. Oh yeah, 861 00:59:44.320 --> 00:59:47.239 definitely. I think obviously I think you talked of it earlier on won't jump 862 00:59:47.239 --> 00:59:51.719 into any of the other top players just in case anybody else is thinking about 863 00:59:51.719 --> 00:59:55.559 discussing them, But yeah, he's he's looking good. I would say he'd 864 00:59:55.559 --> 01:00:00.960 also look like an overall MVP. But Akunia is also smashing it, So 865 01:00:00.599 --> 01:00:04.599 it's going to be difficult to do that. Usually picture has to win when 866 01:00:04.639 --> 01:00:07.840 there isn't really a standout hitter as well, Rob, if you got a 867 01:00:07.880 --> 01:00:15.719 bad I do, and it's Zach Gallen genuinely is. Zach Gallen has pulled 868 01:00:15.719 --> 01:00:22.519 a Randy Johnson yes yesterday in his warmups, he has murdered another bird, 869 01:00:22.760 --> 01:00:28.039 much like Randy Johnson did in his famous clip. Um So, yeah, 870 01:00:28.119 --> 01:00:34.239 Zack Gallen is now in trouble for cruelty to animals. Um So don't don't 871 01:00:34.280 --> 01:00:36.320 don't let him get away with it. We need to get get on the 872 01:00:36.320 --> 01:00:42.320 anti Zach Gallen bird hating uh rope now, and we need to We need 873 01:00:42.320 --> 01:00:45.599 to stop him from from harming birds. So let's get it with. Like 874 01:00:45.639 --> 01:00:51.320 the all the weird things in baseball, two Diamondbacks pictures separately killing a bird 875 01:00:51.360 --> 01:00:55.159 about twenty years apart might be like number one in the Weirdest Things about Baseball. 876 01:00:57.159 --> 01:01:00.239 It's insane. I mean, it's it's insane that just just the odds 877 01:01:00.360 --> 01:01:07.880 on this happening. Sam Miller fantastic piece about the Randy Johnson bird strike on 878 01:01:08.039 --> 01:01:12.239 his sub stack a few weeks ago. We're worth a look if you're gonna 879 01:01:12.280 --> 01:01:15.559 go back and see that. But but just the odds, the odds that 880 01:01:15.599 --> 01:01:20.280 this happens twice, regardless of of it happening to two d Backs players, 881 01:01:20.360 --> 01:01:23.239 just twice. Ever, it's insane. There's so much air and there's so 882 01:01:23.320 --> 01:01:27.880 much space for balls ago and so much space for birds to going, Yet 883 01:01:28.519 --> 01:01:30.760 it happened again. So I'm gonna say that it just happened way more than 884 01:01:30.800 --> 01:01:36.800 you actually think about it, and it just isn't reported. Just happened twice 885 01:01:36.840 --> 01:01:38.559 in the majors. I mean, Gallon wasn't in the game either or no, 886 01:01:38.679 --> 01:01:40.760 he was just throwing a curveball in the outfield, doesn't it ye? 887 01:01:43.679 --> 01:01:49.039 And I think like a curveball, like yeah, still probably eighty five miles 888 01:01:49.079 --> 01:01:52.320 per hour. It's one of those ones where just feel like it wouldn't have 889 01:01:52.360 --> 01:01:57.760 been anything would have been made off it. If it was many other players, 890 01:01:58.000 --> 01:02:00.880 maybe it was still who's still major leagu player. I think people would 891 01:02:00.880 --> 01:02:06.480 have made of it. But it takes somebody rolling a camera like pre game 892 01:02:07.360 --> 01:02:10.400 that isn't probably the Diamondbacks, because I doubt the diamond Backs are releasing that 893 01:02:13.960 --> 01:02:15.920 to be like, oh, yes, look he's how o a player is 894 01:02:15.920 --> 01:02:23.199 because that's how I saw something. I saw something seeing Gallon um like living 895 01:02:23.199 --> 01:02:27.880 on from Randy Johnson's legacy, and I was like, oh, yeah, 896 01:02:27.880 --> 01:02:29.960 he's been pitching quite well. And then I looked at it and it was 897 01:02:30.039 --> 01:02:32.440 him taking out a bird, and I was like, geez, Louise. 898 01:02:32.559 --> 01:02:38.559 People you talk about like your tortured like tagline to go with? What what 899 01:02:39.039 --> 01:02:43.960 your piece was that? Yeah, we're not going to like go that far. 900 01:02:44.199 --> 01:02:46.320 That Gallan is not Randy Johnson yet it's got a little way to go, 901 01:02:46.480 --> 01:02:53.719 I think with culture. Sorry, MLB players that have killed a bird 902 01:02:53.800 --> 01:03:00.320 during a game September twenty twelve on the Acronox whatever that is. I'm a 903 01:03:00.360 --> 01:03:04.280 little bit concerned actually from the yeah blob on the side, but I'm not 904 01:03:04.280 --> 01:03:07.440 going to talk about that five players affiliated with the MLB you have killed a 905 01:03:07.519 --> 01:03:13.760 bird during a game? This says, this is the ESPN encyclopedia they're citing. 906 01:03:13.760 --> 01:03:16.679 I don't know what that is. But then the person writing the article 907 01:03:16.679 --> 01:03:21.239 says they've found even more than five. So yes, it does happen more 908 01:03:21.239 --> 01:03:25.480 often than you think. Okay, but don't go to that website because I'm 909 01:03:25.519 --> 01:03:30.119 on it and I agree I'm going to read what it says now because people 910 01:03:30.159 --> 01:03:32.320 are gonna be wondering. It's got a little box in the right saying mission, 911 01:03:32.599 --> 01:03:36.840 and it says the Ecronox exists to promote the free flow of information, 912 01:03:36.920 --> 01:03:40.159 to protect the First Amendment, to stimulate high standards and the practice of journalism, 913 01:03:40.159 --> 01:03:44.880 and to fox foster excellence among dent journalists. The second half is fine. 914 01:03:44.920 --> 01:03:47.199 I'm a little bit concerned about what the first part means. I haven't 915 01:03:47.199 --> 01:03:51.199 actually to convert. I haven't read around this website. I'm not going to 916 01:03:51.199 --> 01:03:54.360 do so. But it's possible that you know, this is not the kind 917 01:03:54.360 --> 01:04:00.000 of website I would normally frequent. Okay, Darius, give us a bad 918 01:04:01.679 --> 01:04:05.360 give you a bad yep in money and I'm over. But I think it's 919 01:04:05.400 --> 01:04:14.800 probably the Mets, and specifically the Mets messing around the young players because why 920 01:04:14.920 --> 01:04:17.599 Buck Shell Walter. So they called up Mark Fientos, Brett Bait, He's 921 01:04:17.679 --> 01:04:21.880 up, Francisco Alvarez is up. He won't put them ball in the lineup. 922 01:04:23.679 --> 01:04:25.400 He was asked about it. It was like, I can't play two 923 01:04:25.400 --> 01:04:28.239 guys at the third base. Meanwhile, we've got like Tommy fam out here, 924 01:04:28.599 --> 01:04:30.760 We've got Dann Vogel back out here. It's not you know, they're 925 01:04:30.760 --> 01:04:34.320 not all Francisco. The indoor you can find room. The Mets are not 926 01:04:34.400 --> 01:04:36.719 doing all that well. They have just beaten the Raid, so you know, 927 01:04:36.800 --> 01:04:41.000 maybe it's working, but they only scored three runs. Like, you 928 01:04:41.000 --> 01:04:44.079 know, let let the kids play, Buck, what are you doing out 929 01:04:44.119 --> 01:04:47.000 here? Yeah? They seem to the kids seem to have a good night 930 01:04:47.079 --> 01:04:51.960 last night? Was it homers from Alvarez and Pienthals and then well I guess 931 01:04:53.000 --> 01:04:56.000 Pilance is no longer a youngster, but his walk off as well, So 932 01:04:57.559 --> 01:05:00.440 yeah, yeah, ever's time the game up. With a three run homer 933 01:05:00.519 --> 01:05:01.840 in the eighth, I think it was no Botmo than I either. I 934 01:05:01.840 --> 01:05:05.440 think it was. Yeah, so it's working for them when they play, 935 01:05:05.559 --> 01:05:10.679 and yeah, monster power out there. Lets could certainly use an injection. 936 01:05:10.800 --> 01:05:15.400 But yeah, Buck is you know, being traditional? And I guess I 937 01:05:15.440 --> 01:05:18.960 don't know. Tommy Famer has had a good career, but I'm not quite 938 01:05:18.960 --> 01:05:27.039 sure what he's still doing on this team. Really. Yeah, yeah, 939 01:05:27.079 --> 01:05:32.559 it's not great. I don't think anybody really thinks everything's going swimmingly in at 940 01:05:32.599 --> 01:05:38.480 City Field. Yeah, I'm going to move on to my bad just because 941 01:05:38.719 --> 01:05:43.519 I've saved my tongue for about an hour now. God damn Cleve in the 942 01:05:43.599 --> 01:05:53.800 bath. I think we're currently at a two twenty nine average and a sixty 943 01:05:53.800 --> 01:06:00.480 five ops all the team that is, we might as well go for it. 944 01:06:00.800 --> 01:06:08.800 Fucking awful thing is that, like, this is exactly what any pessimistic 945 01:06:08.800 --> 01:06:12.800 Cleveland fan, which I probably include myself instead, was going to happen. 946 01:06:13.119 --> 01:06:18.639 Like this team, there's a slap hitting team with no power. They added 947 01:06:19.079 --> 01:06:25.800 Josh Bell, who was off a good half bad half season and has kind 948 01:06:25.800 --> 01:06:29.639 of seemingly moved onto the bad half. And they added Zannino, who is 949 01:06:29.679 --> 01:06:34.519 a Mendoza aligned power catcher, which doesn't really give you anything here. And 950 01:06:34.599 --> 01:06:40.280 it's like, oh, it's shocking that they're now not performing. It's not 951 01:06:40.800 --> 01:06:43.480 like, yes, they've had a few injuries, so they haven't had some 952 01:06:43.519 --> 01:06:45.159 of the starting pitchers out there, so they've lost maybe a few more than 953 01:06:45.159 --> 01:06:51.679 they thought. But they are the lowest scoring team in baseball. They're struggling 954 01:06:51.679 --> 01:06:55.320 basically to score four runs a game. I think they're averaging like three and 955 01:06:55.360 --> 01:06:59.679 a half runs a game, which it is not going to do you anything. 956 01:07:00.440 --> 01:07:03.320 I watched the game last night against the Chicago White Sox, and I 957 01:07:03.320 --> 01:07:09.360 think they went over eleven with the runners in the scoring position, which is 958 01:07:09.400 --> 01:07:13.000 just brutal to watch. Am I see the Troy Cleveland if hit twenty three 959 01:07:13.079 --> 01:07:16.679 home runs, Yeah, there's nobody hitting home runs like literally, and I 960 01:07:16.719 --> 01:07:18.800 would say like half of those, not half of those, but most of 961 01:07:18.800 --> 01:07:23.320 those will be Joseira mirrors, like I think he's got like six or seven, 962 01:07:23.760 --> 01:07:28.599 and then like Josh Naylor's got a few, and Bell's got a few, 963 01:07:28.800 --> 01:07:31.599 and then everybody else will be absolutely like awful, like probably not more 964 01:07:31.599 --> 01:07:36.639 than two or three for anybody else. Naylor six from Mirrors four given as 965 01:07:36.679 --> 01:07:42.719 three Bell three, that's everybody above two. Yeah, and what Peterelanso just 966 01:07:42.760 --> 01:07:48.880 hid his sixteenth today? So like, how how the Rays have eighty six 967 01:07:49.000 --> 01:07:56.159 home runs hit nearly four times as many home runs as Cleveland. It's it's 968 01:07:56.239 --> 01:08:00.239 ridiculous, Like, yes, like things are quite going in their favor, 969 01:08:00.440 --> 01:08:04.360 but but then also it's like when they're on base, they're stealing like more 970 01:08:04.400 --> 01:08:08.719 than anybody else. They have some of like the base running because like it's 971 01:08:08.760 --> 01:08:12.880 it's some of the most exciting yet frustrating baseball to ever watch, because as 972 01:08:12.880 --> 01:08:15.239 long as they stop the other team scoring, it's going to be a low 973 01:08:15.359 --> 01:08:23.640 scoring like dog fight at a game. But it's bad, like this is 974 01:08:23.680 --> 01:08:27.560 exactly what was going to happen if things didn't go to plant. Yes, 975 01:08:27.640 --> 01:08:30.359 this is if you look at what projections would be out there, some of 976 01:08:30.399 --> 01:08:34.159 the players are performing below their projections, like him and z is not having 977 01:08:34.159 --> 01:08:39.960 another good season. Rosario is having a pretty bad season, like the only 978 01:08:39.960 --> 01:08:45.840 people that are hitting well or like Wan who's basically just about league average and 979 01:08:45.439 --> 01:08:47.880 Jose who's a little bit above in the average, but that's probably not what 980 01:08:47.920 --> 01:08:54.279 you were anticipating from him either, like Miles Straw had an amazing first week 981 01:08:54.319 --> 01:08:59.079 of the season and then has been done absolute garbage hitter that we've seen for 982 01:08:59.199 --> 01:09:04.159 most of like the last year and a half. And as much as I 983 01:09:04.279 --> 01:09:10.560 like maybe what Zannino is as an idea of a player like he is, 984 01:09:10.720 --> 01:09:14.479 he's a catching Joey gallow whatever. That's sort of like level of a player. 985 01:09:14.479 --> 01:09:17.720 But when he's hitting pretty one sixty five, you're not really going to 986 01:09:17.760 --> 01:09:21.000 get anything positive about it. But Cleveland had the worst catching fading for I 987 01:09:21.039 --> 01:09:28.399 think the last three seasons. It just feels that everything has just gone as 988 01:09:28.439 --> 01:09:31.520 to pot as with peer anticipated and they're not even that far out of this 989 01:09:31.840 --> 01:09:36.680 like the league, because Minnesota aren't that good. The White Socks are terrible, 990 01:09:38.199 --> 01:09:44.760 Like Detroit. We're making Detroit look possible, which is well. Outside 991 01:09:44.800 --> 01:09:50.479 of the two central divisions, Cleveland have the fourth worst, fourth worst results 992 01:09:50.560 --> 01:09:54.600 out of anybody. Yeah, if you weren't in a central division, they 993 01:09:54.600 --> 01:10:00.199 would basically be bottomed. Yeah, and this is my point, obvious Royals 994 01:10:00.199 --> 01:10:06.000 are absolutely terrible like this, it's just not on Like I just don't know. 995 01:10:06.039 --> 01:10:08.800 I don't don't know how to kind of like put it, like it's 996 01:10:08.840 --> 01:10:13.039 such an obvious issue that was just never solved. I'm laughing because I just 997 01:10:13.079 --> 01:10:16.000 sortedto teams by IVP. Should I read the bottom four? Yes, give 998 01:10:16.039 --> 01:10:20.239 me, give me, give me three or four? Cleveland three h three, 999 01:10:20.960 --> 01:10:25.880 Kansas City two ninety seven, Detroit two ninety four. That's right, 1000 01:10:26.359 --> 01:10:33.359 the four worst teams in OVP are all in the Guess what, the Twins 1001 01:10:33.399 --> 01:10:36.039 aren't much better. They are at three or nine, that's twenty fourth. 1002 01:10:36.800 --> 01:10:41.720 It's garbage out there. Yeah, Like there was the point the other week 1003 01:10:42.000 --> 01:10:46.319 when literally the al East Upo the Al Central was the order of the ten 1004 01:10:46.399 --> 01:10:49.920 teams, Like, this is how if the Red Sox win tonight that that 1005 01:10:50.039 --> 01:10:55.359 is still going to be the case again. Yeah, it's like it's awful. 1006 01:10:56.720 --> 01:11:00.880 It's just he's one of those things that actually makes me think that the 1007 01:11:00.920 --> 01:11:06.159 redistribution of the league's needs to happen. Yeah, yeah, Rob, pick 1008 01:11:06.199 --> 01:11:11.000 us up. Give me a good Well, I've got two Yankees ones. 1009 01:11:11.760 --> 01:11:17.560 Either of them could also be bad depending on your no, both. I 1010 01:11:17.560 --> 01:11:21.560 mean, let's let's let's let's talk about Aaron Jodge's dodgy eyes, shall we. 1011 01:11:24.039 --> 01:11:26.960 What do we think? Bugs? What do we think? No, 1012 01:11:27.039 --> 01:11:30.279 because it's canting it fairly cleased to come out. But the guy was tipping 1013 01:11:30.319 --> 01:11:32.840 his pictures? No, what was he looking at? Then? What was 1014 01:11:32.840 --> 01:11:35.640 he looking at? The first base coach who was telling him what was happening? 1015 01:11:36.479 --> 01:11:42.560 Oh? Yeah, but where was he finding this out from? Pretty 1016 01:11:42.560 --> 01:11:45.359 certain? Was it? Stevenson? He was pitching that he's come out and 1017 01:11:45.399 --> 01:11:47.960 said that basically he was tipping his pictures. So but I do love that, 1018 01:11:48.119 --> 01:11:53.520 like the finest thing handle. Yeah. Yes, what I was saying 1019 01:11:53.560 --> 01:11:56.159 is I love the scandal of it all. I love the this, this 1020 01:11:56.279 --> 01:11:59.600 is a continuation. Believe it not. This is a continuation of the bin 1021 01:11:59.720 --> 01:12:01.600 Gate, you know, this is this is the next step on from it. 1022 01:12:01.640 --> 01:12:04.520 This is Apple Watches. It's all still out there. It just proves 1023 01:12:04.520 --> 01:12:08.359 it's all still there. We're all still watching it for a teeny tiny little 1024 01:12:08.359 --> 01:12:11.479 move, and yes, Judge was looking as yeah, first basica, I 1025 01:12:11.520 --> 01:12:14.119 would be facetias. Absolutely, we all know what really happened there. But 1026 01:12:14.399 --> 01:12:17.680 it's the reaction to it. And for a brief while the internet court byre 1027 01:12:17.880 --> 01:12:24.479 with Baseball and Aaron Judge and uh yeah yeah, why why wouldn't they be 1028 01:12:24.520 --> 01:12:28.279 suspicious on that that Blue Jay's Blue Jay's broadcast. It was. It was 1029 01:12:28.319 --> 01:12:31.000 crazy, So yeah, brilliant loved it, absolutely loved it. So more 1030 01:12:31.000 --> 01:12:34.720 of that. I just think it was great that Judge is able to look 1031 01:12:34.760 --> 01:12:40.880 over its first basicoats literally immediately before the pitch is delivered and then look straight 1032 01:12:40.920 --> 01:12:44.319 back and hit like a four hundred and fifty home run. I think he 1033 01:12:44.399 --> 01:12:49.399 gets through six sliders and hung one. So yeah, it's like, you 1034 01:12:49.439 --> 01:12:54.600 know, we'd be like trying not to die and jud yeah, just have 1035 01:12:54.640 --> 01:12:58.319 a quick glance over to first face. Oh there's a pitch. It wasn't 1036 01:12:58.319 --> 01:13:00.199 a quick glance, it wasn't a slow one. It was a really strange 1037 01:13:00.239 --> 01:13:03.279 sort of the way his eyes moved. It was it was almost like someone 1038 01:13:03.359 --> 01:13:08.000 was moving them with like you know, yeah, it was obviously obviously behind 1039 01:13:08.000 --> 01:13:10.279 the painting. You know, there was something really weird about the way his 1040 01:13:10.319 --> 01:13:14.319 eyes moved, because body was like static, like he was in his like 1041 01:13:14.560 --> 01:13:17.640 position ready to to kind of to go, so like his whole body was 1042 01:13:17.640 --> 01:13:21.680 static. And you just you said you got that frigging ghost painting in a 1043 01:13:21.720 --> 01:13:27.399 friggin movie level of like just the Eyes movie. It was. It was 1044 01:13:27.439 --> 01:13:30.119 beautiful. I do need to correct you on one thing, Rob, We 1045 01:13:30.159 --> 01:13:33.079 do have to make sure that we call it the banging scheme to give it 1046 01:13:33.119 --> 01:13:38.920 to give it correct terminal. Mark Rowley, Yeah, yeah, yeah, 1047 01:13:39.439 --> 01:13:44.439 sorry, Um yeah, no, I did love it as well. And 1048 01:13:44.640 --> 01:13:46.920 obviously it's kind of seen movie span over into the next couple of games where 1049 01:13:47.159 --> 01:13:51.199 they've got pissy at the third base coaches not being in the third base coach 1050 01:13:51.359 --> 01:13:58.720 area. Um. Yeah. As if we talk about a manager who always 1051 01:13:58.760 --> 01:14:00.439 seems to permanently have a chip on his shoulder, I think Aaron Boone is 1052 01:14:00.479 --> 01:14:04.560 definitely one of those, like I think he needs to like either prove that 1053 01:14:05.000 --> 01:14:10.560 he's got something or has some worth. I don't know if that's the right 1054 01:14:10.560 --> 01:14:15.479 way of saying it, because he always wants to wants to look at things 1055 01:14:15.640 --> 01:14:18.399 or kind of get out there and shout his way into into something. Have 1056 01:14:18.479 --> 01:14:26.319 actually happening. Yeah, it was. It was amusing. You could tell 1057 01:14:26.359 --> 01:14:30.359 that Judge really like has absolutely no interest in what he was talking, just 1058 01:14:30.399 --> 01:14:33.600 like, yeah, Booney was doing his thing, and he's just like he 1059 01:14:33.600 --> 01:14:39.960 could definitely do without Boone doing his thing. Coodn't he? Yeah, one 1060 01:14:40.000 --> 01:14:44.239 of those ones where how many of the Yankees players would like Boone and Cashman 1061 01:14:44.319 --> 01:14:49.760 gone? Probably the same amount of Yankees fans if you're perfectly honest. But 1062 01:14:51.000 --> 01:14:58.840 Darius, give us another good. My second good is Casey Schmidt's Giants infielder, 1063 01:14:59.159 --> 01:15:01.840 who is just you guys have heard me bang on about Matt Chapman over 1064 01:15:01.840 --> 01:15:06.000 the years. Just get yourself on there. Watch some Casey Schmidt defensive highlights. 1065 01:15:06.079 --> 01:15:10.840 Watched him, watched him last night. He's you know, placed shortstop, 1066 01:15:10.880 --> 01:15:13.840 plays third base and yeah, just made a phenomenal stop and then I 1067 01:15:13.840 --> 01:15:16.159 think ninety four mile per hour throw over to first base hardest story in Major 1068 01:15:16.199 --> 01:15:19.199 this year. He's a defensive whiz and he's and he's hitting a little bit 1069 01:15:19.239 --> 01:15:23.319 right now too. So if you're wondering what we're going to do when Bradon 1070 01:15:23.359 --> 01:15:29.359 Crawford finally collapses and has to be ejected from the league, then Casey Schmidt's 1071 01:15:29.399 --> 01:15:34.000 the answer, because he looks great out there. The Giants, Um Giants 1072 01:15:34.039 --> 01:15:36.399 social media did a really good thing following it, didn't they. They did. 1073 01:15:36.439 --> 01:15:41.319 They followed his first day from call up to yeah that was actually and 1074 01:15:41.359 --> 01:15:44.640 it was a really good, really good bit of bit of work from them. 1075 01:15:44.680 --> 01:15:47.720 So qued us to the Giants social media guys. There's some there's some 1076 01:15:47.760 --> 01:15:50.920 good team social media content out there now. In general, I feel like 1077 01:15:50.960 --> 01:15:55.199 they've got some really you know, people who were in touch with the current 1078 01:15:55.239 --> 01:15:59.000 state of social media. On a lot of the content. There's quality tiktoks 1079 01:15:59.000 --> 01:16:02.199 and me and everything out there. I'm waiting for the first two hour video. 1080 01:16:08.119 --> 01:16:14.079 Okay, well we'll move on to me for my final good and I 1081 01:16:14.079 --> 01:16:18.239 think it has to be if we go for another Meg Rawley trademark ground Beef 1082 01:16:18.359 --> 01:16:23.720 himself, who is no longer ground beef. What is the bad terminology which 1083 01:16:24.000 --> 01:16:30.319 effectively well have come up with now because I don't think the four But no, 1084 01:16:30.439 --> 01:16:34.840 I am talking about the man who is currently sat at one hundred for 1085 01:16:34.920 --> 01:16:40.319 average exit velocity, ninety six for max exit velocity, in ninety nine for 1086 01:16:40.439 --> 01:16:44.359 hard hit percentage, ninety eight for x WOBER. This man is, of 1087 01:16:44.399 --> 01:16:49.279 course, Yandy Diaz, who has seemingly I nearly learned that hitting the ball 1088 01:16:49.920 --> 01:16:55.680 slightly upwards is a good thing. But that's actually not what he's doing. 1089 01:16:56.479 --> 01:17:00.840 It's like he's just not swinging at so many pictures that are kind of kind 1090 01:17:00.840 --> 01:17:05.840 of bad, so like his actually overall average of like what pictures he's either 1091 01:17:05.920 --> 01:17:12.199 getting or when he's actually choosing to swing he's better. It's kind of ridiculous 1092 01:17:12.239 --> 01:17:16.640 because I have spent i want to say, the best part of six years 1093 01:17:16.720 --> 01:17:23.680 fawning over the size of Andy DearS his arms ever since there seeing a Cleveland 1094 01:17:23.680 --> 01:17:26.600 Prospects, seeing an image of him in the gym with seeing like that the 1095 01:17:26.680 --> 01:17:30.000 size of his bicet was the same size as like somebody's head and you were 1096 01:17:30.039 --> 01:17:40.520 like, oh hello, And finally seeing him blossom into and certainly above average 1097 01:17:41.560 --> 01:17:48.760 hitter has just been beautiful to see. I will be tooting my own horn 1098 01:17:48.760 --> 01:17:53.239 a little bit, basically saying that I thought he was massively underrated, especially 1099 01:17:53.279 --> 01:17:57.159 in the fantasy regard at the start of this season. But as some of 1100 01:17:57.159 --> 01:17:59.960 the guys said in our preach out, I was not expecting him to be 1101 01:18:00.640 --> 01:18:06.680 like on pace for thirty five forty homers. I can't confirm that Russell was 1102 01:18:06.720 --> 01:18:11.520 asking everybody why isn't Yandy d As being drafted higher? He did not say 1103 01:18:11.560 --> 01:18:14.439 he's going to hit forty home runs, but he was in on Yandy Das. 1104 01:18:15.880 --> 01:18:18.159 But no, it's it's it's just it's amazing to see and they kind 1105 01:18:18.159 --> 01:18:23.119 of I don't know, like I don't I don't really know Yandy d As 1106 01:18:23.119 --> 01:18:26.359 well to say, it's like it's a good guy story of somebody like finally 1107 01:18:26.479 --> 01:18:29.640 kind of getting kind of like everything right or at the moment, but it 1108 01:18:29.720 --> 01:18:33.000 kind of feels that way to me. I also speaks a little bit to 1109 01:18:33.039 --> 01:18:38.279 what what the Rays are actually doing and where where there's success has come from. 1110 01:18:38.840 --> 01:18:42.359 It's a complete rethink of their philosophy, a philosophy at the plate. 1111 01:18:42.960 --> 01:18:45.880 They've talked about it a fair bit now. They were the archetypal team that 1112 01:18:46.039 --> 01:18:48.960 didn't mind a strikeout. You know, swing hard, doesn't matter. They 1113 01:18:49.079 --> 01:18:53.960 they've worked hard over over the offseasons, but they're claiming they've done It is 1114 01:18:53.960 --> 01:18:56.600 all about pitch selection now and only going off for the right pitches. And 1115 01:18:56.760 --> 01:19:00.720 it seems like that has worked better for nobody more so than Andy Daz. 1116 01:19:00.840 --> 01:19:04.079 So long may it continue? Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what's going 1117 01:19:04.079 --> 01:19:06.800 to happen. Like he's starting to see more and more breaking pitches and so 1118 01:19:06.920 --> 01:19:12.880 whether he manages to connect as well off those as he does a fastballs. 1119 01:19:12.960 --> 01:19:15.640 It by looking at the stats so far, he's been teeing off on those 1120 01:19:15.640 --> 01:19:20.319 breaking balls, So like, who knows what people might try to do to 1121 01:19:20.399 --> 01:19:25.680 him next. But um, when you kind of see like some of those 1122 01:19:25.880 --> 01:19:29.399 like stats, the stat line that he's kind of hunting up right now, 1123 01:19:29.800 --> 01:19:33.359 you're like, oh that is when you ever, when you have an ops 1124 01:19:33.439 --> 01:19:39.079 that starts with a one, that's always it's always a very good sign. 1125 01:19:41.680 --> 01:19:45.199 Rob shall We finishes off with a quick fire round of bads. What final 1126 01:19:45.279 --> 01:19:50.840 bads have you got? Dug out celebrations? Enough enough, folks, we've 1127 01:19:50.880 --> 01:19:55.199 seen silly plastic cheap hats. How we move on and find something else. 1128 01:19:55.239 --> 01:19:58.159 Now we are bored of dugout celebrations. They're a bit stupid. I've had 1129 01:19:58.239 --> 01:20:01.079 enough. I don't like it. When one or two was happening organically, 1130 01:20:01.079 --> 01:20:04.000 I was all about it. Now it feels contrived. It feels like, 1131 01:20:04.079 --> 01:20:06.279 oh, we've got to have some kind of and they've got to be stupider 1132 01:20:06.319 --> 01:20:10.840 than the last one. What is the twins were all about? I mean 1133 01:20:10.880 --> 01:20:14.520 it's just too much effort. I mean, the Orioles were dicking around with 1134 01:20:14.600 --> 01:20:17.560 a bloody funnel earlier. And I've had enough. I've had enough of it. 1135 01:20:17.600 --> 01:20:19.920 I don't want to see anymore. I don't want to see silly hats. 1136 01:20:19.960 --> 01:20:23.680 I don't want to see gongs. I don't want to see shopping trolleys. 1137 01:20:23.720 --> 01:20:25.880 I don't want to see blow up dolls. I'm done with it all. 1138 01:20:25.960 --> 01:20:28.680 Let's just let's just move on from that, and if in a couple 1139 01:20:28.680 --> 01:20:31.279 of years it happens organically, I'm all about it. Like the Sombreros, 1140 01:20:31.319 --> 01:20:34.439 I'm not too fussed about because that was clearly like a Mexican thing that happened, 1141 01:20:34.520 --> 01:20:38.680 like because they were in Mexico, great, you know, And the 1142 01:20:38.800 --> 01:20:41.920 cups of team drinking from Team GB great, Okay, I get why that 1143 01:20:41.960 --> 01:20:45.319 happened, but you know what, why does San Diego need a great, 1144 01:20:45.319 --> 01:20:47.199 big tacky chain with an ste on the bottom of it? Then no, 1145 01:20:47.439 --> 01:20:53.600 don't care, moving on, it's not for me. This feels like given 1146 01:20:53.640 --> 01:20:59.479 by the Hunter Pence Signs thing to me, which was like funny for maybe 1147 01:20:59.479 --> 01:21:02.199 a week and that everybody did it like all season long, and it was 1148 01:21:02.239 --> 01:21:05.359 like, yeah, okay, you know, as usual, much like the 1149 01:21:05.359 --> 01:21:09.439 internet does with everything, we had a joke and then it was yeah, 1150 01:21:09.520 --> 01:21:13.079 okay, as we drive to left field, Yeah it's not funny anymore. 1151 01:21:13.600 --> 01:21:16.560 Yeah, you know, the Cassiano's thing was very quickly not funny. As 1152 01:21:16.600 --> 01:21:23.159 as I've probably said on this podcast before, people still do it. Yeah. 1153 01:21:23.199 --> 01:21:28.000 I think the I think to me is as soon as there was the 1154 01:21:28.039 --> 01:21:31.840 fact that committees had to come together to determine what their celebrations were, they're 1155 01:21:31.880 --> 01:21:36.199 not fun and they're not kind of of the moment anymore. It's a good, 1156 01:21:36.399 --> 01:21:39.880 good life for all. I think generally, once once you've had to 1157 01:21:39.960 --> 01:21:48.600 introduce a committee, it no longer becomes fun. It's not some not bad, 1158 01:21:48.359 --> 01:21:50.960 bad bad life place that Yeah, I think obviously I don't want to 1159 01:21:50.960 --> 01:21:55.239 stop people having their own fun. If they're actually having fun doing it, 1160 01:21:54.640 --> 01:21:59.439 yes, but it does it looks contrived it I feel like, so we 1161 01:21:59.520 --> 01:22:02.439 have to blame Team GB for this, for taking it to the pull this 1162 01:22:02.600 --> 01:22:06.840 extent with the grounds and the capes in the WBC. Did everybody the teams 1163 01:22:06.840 --> 01:22:11.000 are doing it last year anyway, some of them were, So we can't 1164 01:22:11.079 --> 01:22:17.079 quite blame Harry Ford and Team GB for this. Darius one final bad, 1165 01:22:18.039 --> 01:22:21.880 one final bad. Well. The Astros have not been great offensively this year. 1166 01:22:21.880 --> 01:22:26.399 They've been very unhuston, like, certainly not your done hour's fault. 1167 01:22:26.439 --> 01:22:29.920 But I'll tell you whose fault it primarily is, and that's Jose Abreu. 1168 01:22:30.439 --> 01:22:35.479 Oh my god, is over as cooked. He had a slow start and 1169 01:22:35.479 --> 01:22:38.600 he's always had been a slow starting guy, and I thought, oh, 1170 01:22:38.680 --> 01:22:42.119 yeah, it will come around. It's Jose Brew. He's now played forty 1171 01:22:42.159 --> 01:22:44.920 two games, one hundred and seventy five plate appearances, no home runs, 1172 01:22:45.119 --> 01:22:49.279 zero home runs, flashing two twenty two sixty nine two sixty two. That's 1173 01:22:49.359 --> 01:22:54.880 right, the slugging lower than that terrible OVP. It's it's all gone. 1174 01:22:55.119 --> 01:22:58.359 It's thirty six, and the Astros little that they've just given a three year 1175 01:22:58.359 --> 01:23:02.920 deal to an absolutely finished first basement after having a terrible first basement last year. 1176 01:23:03.119 --> 01:23:05.600 I really liked the Abrain signing. I thought, great, addressed one 1177 01:23:05.600 --> 01:23:11.119 of your biggest weaknesses. But it's not worked and it doesn't look like it's 1178 01:23:11.159 --> 01:23:15.319 turning around. He is currently the worst player in the majors. So that's 1179 01:23:15.359 --> 01:23:20.640 sad. But yeah, that's that's my second bad. Yeah. I managed 1180 01:23:20.640 --> 01:23:26.560 to pick up a Brave White Sox jersey for thirty dollars from the White Sox 1181 01:23:26.600 --> 01:23:29.920 shop whilst I was there. And if you know how much a jersey costs 1182 01:23:30.199 --> 01:23:32.760 in an MLB team shop, I mean it's less than the toilet paper. 1183 01:23:36.319 --> 01:23:42.640 Yeah. I don't have much more to add apart from I think he might 1184 01:23:42.680 --> 01:23:47.800 have been close to like one of my most drafted players because of my funcy 1185 01:23:47.840 --> 01:23:50.920 teams this year. He's literally been one of the best sitters in the league 1186 01:23:50.920 --> 01:23:56.279 ever since he arrived in the US, and he's suddenly just become completely useless 1187 01:23:56.319 --> 01:23:58.399 like this. This has not been a gentle I know he didn't hit that 1188 01:23:58.439 --> 01:24:00.399 many home runs last year, but you know he had a great slash line. 1189 01:24:00.439 --> 01:24:06.960 He hit three or four and now it's it's complete collapsed. Yeah, 1190 01:24:06.960 --> 01:24:13.039 whoops. Whoops. I mean, who knows, maybe maybe firing the gym 1191 01:24:13.039 --> 01:24:15.159 that won you the World Series and just letting Jim Jim Crane do what he 1192 01:24:15.199 --> 01:24:20.840 wanted, wasn't actually Jim Crane him Crane? Did you just say, Darius, 1193 01:24:21.000 --> 01:24:25.760 who knows what I said? You can't prove Krim Jane. I think 1194 01:24:25.960 --> 01:24:29.199 that's probably well, you know, we don't want to have to get the 1195 01:24:29.279 --> 01:24:33.039 legal involved on this. Yeah, you know, I like the siding. 1196 01:24:33.039 --> 01:24:35.680 I'm not going to sit here and say I thought Jose Bray was going to 1197 01:24:35.720 --> 01:24:40.159 be the worst hitter in baseball, but that is what is happening a quarter 1198 01:24:40.199 --> 01:24:45.319 of the way through the season. Yeah, it's it is rather remarkable. 1199 01:24:45.800 --> 01:24:53.239 Um, so it'll come to me. Um, I don't. I don't 1200 01:24:53.239 --> 01:24:56.000 want to kind of just go through like a load of like relievers who've been 1201 01:24:56.079 --> 01:25:00.159 like utterly awful. But there have just been like some which you just can't 1202 01:25:00.159 --> 01:25:06.680 of like watching like Kyle Finnegan pitch for Washington is just like watching like any 1203 01:25:06.960 --> 01:25:14.159 Obviously, I watch a kind of like a reasonable amount of M and AL 1204 01:25:14.199 --> 01:25:19.640 Central games because that's just where my team is. Um. There's a pitcher 1205 01:25:19.640 --> 01:25:25.760 called Mason Engel, a angler for Detroit who's basically been awful, but I 1206 01:25:25.880 --> 01:25:29.680 still managed to pitch like twenty three innings in relief so far this year, 1207 01:25:29.720 --> 01:25:33.000 and you're kind of like, do you have nobody who's better? Like I 1208 01:25:33.039 --> 01:25:35.880 think this kind of goes back to Oakland because obviously there's a few quite a 1209 01:25:35.880 --> 01:25:42.159 few Oakland players on this list, with like Jara's familiar and like Oiler and 1210 01:25:42.479 --> 01:25:47.880 Danny Hummetz or whatever. I feel that some teams are just not trying here, 1211 01:25:49.319 --> 01:25:54.239 Like there's they're just kind of none of these people, Like there's a 1212 01:25:54.239 --> 01:25:57.399 few good names that are having what goodish names that are having bad season? 1213 01:25:58.039 --> 01:26:01.199 James Carracheck has shot the bet again, like it seems to just not understand 1214 01:26:01.239 --> 01:26:08.239 the pitch clock and and you go through all of those things, but not 1215 01:26:08.319 --> 01:26:12.359 to see poor of your your San Francisco Giants. But I think, um, 1216 01:26:12.840 --> 01:26:17.000 both Strippling and Mania have looked pretty bad. Yeah, I don't know, 1217 01:26:17.159 --> 01:26:23.159 Like Strippling just looks weird. What do you pictures? To be honest? 1218 01:26:23.600 --> 01:26:27.079 Last night? And I think the funny thing I want to get when 1219 01:26:27.359 --> 01:26:30.000 actually kind of discussing this is like, are these guys at fault or do 1220 01:26:30.079 --> 01:26:35.159 we just have another bloody ball again. But it's just behaving differently. So 1221 01:26:35.199 --> 01:26:40.439 we're just seeing the adverse effects of like some of these relievers just looking utterly 1222 01:26:40.479 --> 01:26:44.520 awful because they're throwing something that's completely different to what they were throwing last year. 1223 01:26:45.000 --> 01:26:47.039 I think it's a bit of that. I think there probably is like 1224 01:26:47.079 --> 01:26:50.880 a decent chunk of the pitch clock. You know, it's difficult to know 1225 01:26:51.079 --> 01:26:56.479 how much, but I think it has definitely changed the cadence of the game, 1226 01:26:56.640 --> 01:27:00.279 and I think it's suiting some people better than others. You know, 1227 01:27:00.439 --> 01:27:06.760 Danielson lamit not Danielson lamit um. Yeah. So I'm sure we'll, you 1228 01:27:06.800 --> 01:27:11.119 know, we'll get loads of stories after the season or whatever of players saying, 1229 01:27:11.119 --> 01:27:13.079 oh, you know when the pitch clocks didn't agree with me, or 1230 01:27:13.119 --> 01:27:15.039 you know, I got an injury and I think it was because of the 1231 01:27:15.079 --> 01:27:19.239 pitch clock or whatever it might be. But yeah, clearly Embid doesn't know 1232 01:27:19.279 --> 01:27:24.680 how to control the ball either, So it is definitely livelier than last year. 1233 01:27:25.880 --> 01:27:29.079 But I think also you're right that probably the Tigers are not trying all 1234 01:27:29.079 --> 01:27:34.239 that hard to put a great ballpen out there. Yeah, and on that 1235 01:27:34.319 --> 01:27:44.520 bombshell my crack analysis Tigers suck, and yet somehow they're only what five and 1236 01:27:44.520 --> 01:27:47.279 a half, six and a half games out of the lead. They've played 1237 01:27:47.319 --> 01:27:50.600 okay to be fair, but you know, if you look at the pythag 1238 01:27:50.840 --> 01:27:57.960 it's not good. So I do feel that we couldn't can't go through a 1239 01:27:58.000 --> 01:28:02.600 whole entire episode without commenting on fourteen and one, which is now the Miami 1240 01:28:02.640 --> 01:28:08.399 Marlins one run record. This is just utterly unbelievable. We will end on 1241 01:28:08.479 --> 01:28:15.479 just on this discussion point of how unbelievable is this? Darry Well, if 1242 01:28:15.520 --> 01:28:17.359 there was if you'd given me a list of you know, just said, 1243 01:28:17.439 --> 01:28:21.000 pick the teams you think might be most likely to have a stupidly good record 1244 01:28:21.000 --> 01:28:25.439 in one run games, I think I probably would have put the Marlins pretty 1245 01:28:25.439 --> 01:28:30.000 close to the top because their lineup sucks. You know, we looked at 1246 01:28:30.039 --> 01:28:33.199 the lineup preseason. We were like, what are they doing? And yeah, 1247 01:28:33.279 --> 01:28:35.960 Louis Rises worked out, but guess what, the rest of it still 1248 01:28:35.960 --> 01:28:42.079 sucks and the pitching is great. So that sounds like a recipe for a 1249 01:28:42.119 --> 01:28:45.680 lot of low scoring games to me as a Cleveland fan, I'm sure you 1250 01:28:45.119 --> 01:28:49.039 agree. Oh yeah, win nine and ten. We've had nineteen out of 1251 01:28:49.079 --> 01:28:58.640 the forty two games. Ye, speaking of terrible positions that the Marlins catches, 1252 01:28:58.680 --> 01:29:03.039 I think are currently the worst offensive unit in MLB history behind the plate. 1253 01:29:04.840 --> 01:29:08.640 I think Mike petrionoche I again, I think he tweeted that earlier because 1254 01:29:08.640 --> 01:29:11.960 he saw how bad Cleveland's were and he went to see how historic it was 1255 01:29:11.960 --> 01:29:15.880 and realized that the twenty twenty three Marlins were worse. That's how it's going 1256 01:29:15.880 --> 01:29:18.640 for the Marlins offensively. But yeah, the pitchings found, you know, 1257 01:29:18.640 --> 01:29:23.319 they just caught up a earie prayers. Sandy's not really been sandy, but 1258 01:29:23.800 --> 01:29:26.520 actually, you know, they've got some really good production out of the bullpens 1259 01:29:26.520 --> 01:29:29.920 so far and certain places as well this year. And yeah, they're not 1260 01:29:29.960 --> 01:29:32.840 scoring runs because when are they ever going to score runs? Plus that park 1261 01:29:32.920 --> 01:29:39.079 is dreadful for offense. So it's a perfect storm, and I have a 1262 01:29:39.119 --> 01:29:42.000 feeling that this isn't going to end all that well once again for Miami. 1263 01:29:42.079 --> 01:29:45.640 But if the Phillies and Mets keep sucking it up, then who knows, 1264 01:29:45.680 --> 01:29:49.880 maybe they're going to sneak into a wild cud spot. Anyway, Well, 1265 01:29:49.920 --> 01:29:57.319 on that beautiful thought for our good friend Peter to go on, Darius, 1266 01:29:58.399 --> 01:30:02.520 do you have any upcoming work where people can find on Baseball Prospectus. You 1267 01:30:02.560 --> 01:30:06.720 can find me week every week at Baseball Prospectus. I have revived my needs 1268 01:30:06.760 --> 01:30:12.399 for speed series so that I can write about steals literally every week. So 1269 01:30:12.680 --> 01:30:15.920 this week I wrote about guys who maybe are not running as much as we 1270 01:30:15.960 --> 01:30:21.279 might have expected them to. But I will be looking at how the urus 1271 01:30:21.319 --> 01:30:26.359 have kind of changed who's running as well. If it's letting slow guys run 1272 01:30:26.399 --> 01:30:29.960 more often they used to, that's going to be coming up. So do 1273 01:30:30.000 --> 01:30:32.359 you check that out? And yeah, just generally go to Baseball prospectives dot 1274 01:30:32.359 --> 01:30:38.199 com. Lots of outstanding content there and I recommend all of the analysis, 1275 01:30:38.239 --> 01:30:43.000 not just my steals. Rob. You are we going to have a surmise 1276 01:30:43.079 --> 01:30:45.520 of your a trip up on the site or is this this podcast is going 1277 01:30:45.520 --> 01:30:49.800 to be the limit of the knowledge being passed on from your journey. I 1278 01:30:50.079 --> 01:30:57.520 don't think people want any more details about the water toilets and they're branding or 1279 01:30:57.520 --> 01:31:01.800 anything like that, so I might just leave it there. Cool. I 1280 01:31:01.800 --> 01:31:05.279 don't have anything in the works either. I've been playing around looking at how 1281 01:31:05.279 --> 01:31:10.239 bad certain teams are and it's just funny. It's quite hard to find articles 1282 01:31:10.239 --> 01:31:13.159 when you're kind of just depressed and like looking at teams being like, oh 1283 01:31:13.199 --> 01:31:16.920 god, they're bad, They're just really bad. But there's always there's great 1284 01:31:16.920 --> 01:31:23.159 work coming out from our correspondence, with wonderful series going on about the Land 1285 01:31:23.199 --> 01:31:27.119 of Braves throughout this year which has been as really good fun ones to read 1286 01:31:27.159 --> 01:31:30.239 out. Obviously, as we head into the London series in just over a 1287 01:31:30.239 --> 01:31:34.479 month's time, they'll be plenty more content coming out from ourselves around that. 1288 01:31:38.199 --> 01:31:41.760 Next week, I'm going to go eat a load of baseball food and to 1289 01:31:41.800 --> 01:31:45.880 tell you all about what you can expect at the London series, So do 1290 01:31:46.000 --> 01:31:49.000 look forward to that. And yes there's always you can find us at back 1291 01:31:49.000 --> 01:31:53.840 Flips, Underscore Nerds on Twitter and bapplips and nerds dot com and search back 1292 01:31:53.840 --> 01:31:58.640 flips and nerds wherever you get your podcasts, which just looks like Apple podcasts 1293 01:31:58.680 --> 01:32:03.119 if I look at our metrics, have a good day, Rob and Darius 1294 01:32:03.119 --> 01:32:06.119 hope to speak to you both in the Nazidis the future and our listeners Hope 1295 01:32:06.119 --> 01:32:34.399 you have a good day at all, and I hope you don't throw up 1296 01:32:34.399 --> 01:32:38.520 when you have all that food Russell because let me tell you, it's not 1297 01:32:38.560 --> 01:32:42.159 a good way to end a baseball experience. Well, they told me the 1298 01:32:42.159 --> 01:32:44.319 boomsticks were going to be there, so I don't know if I'm going to 1299 01:32:44.399 --> 01:32:45.439 go for a two foot but