Toby bell Ringer. Welcome to bat Flip and Nerds. Hello, and welcome
to bat Flips and Nerds, the Baseball Podcast with the British Twist. I
am Darius Austin and we are having a positive night tonight. There's gonna be
a ton of positivity and we're going to kick it all off with the main
man, British baseball commentary Extraordinary. Russell Aysom, how are you doing Russell?
I'm doing good, Darius. There are a few people out there that
are probably listened to my voice more than enough after commentating on What's now and
what five Games of baseball? Yeah, it's if people want to listen to
my voice ball, then there's places you can go listen to it. It's
like if you've missed out on our back catalog to day, then you're in
for a treat if you've enjoyed Russell's voice, because there's plenty of it,
so go back and check it out. Today we are going to do a
bit of a focus on the teams that have been eliminated or near enough.
We have had some pessimistic fans send us some nominations, but basically we ask
people we're going to spend a lot of time over the next month talking about
the playoff teams obviously, so I thought, why don't we focus on the
teams that are out of it? And what did you enjoy? What was
it a player was at a moment? Was it a game? Whatever it
is. We've got a bunch of suggestions from fans, so thank you to
everybody who contributed. I will mention all of you as we go through the
teams. But to kick it off, I think we should talk a little
bit about the national team playing at the European Championships, so russ So how
we get it on? It looks pretty good right now? Right, Yes,
a couple of wins, a couple of the two games that we were
expected to win, A close scheme against Sweden in for the first game,
but it pulled out a four nill win, which was to see, anytime
that you shut someone down in the game, it's a very good sign to
that. Backs weren't particularly flying in that one, but a good fur now
win against Sweden the morning of recording this GB then, I think obliterated hungry
is probably the politest way of that. That's a fair description. I think,
Yeah, it was a twenty two three ended after five innings of mercy
a twelve spot in the second and the ninth spot in the third, followed
by nothing in the fourth. But that was basically because they just all went
out swinging, so they could just get the inning over a pitching inning and
be done with the day. Yes, so that was a very very strong
performance. I still don't know too much what's coming out of those. Obviously
there the games who were expected to win tournament had pretty much gone to plan
if you were talking about seedings, until today when there was a bit of
a shock in GB's group of Sweden actually beating Italy. So that now makes
the match of GB against Italy tomorrow very interesting if Italy views that they weren't
finishing the top half of the tournament, which has got to be the first
and looked at it but for a very long time of Italy not making the
top half of European Championships. So it's going to be a very strong game
going into their tomorrow. It does GB because of now we could potentially have
three teams on two wins and at a loss if the result doesn't go our
way tomorrow. There's the lights of runs coefficients that could occur, but yeah,
it's fully simple saying GB wins, they'll have top neck group and I'll
avoid Tech Republic in the quarterfinal, which will be I think a good thing
to do. If they lose, they just don't have to lose by more
than five, and I think they'll still make it through that group. So
yeah, they're in a strong position. They're looking good. I think the
pitching has been the real strong side so far, obviously by that saying they've
got twenty two runs, but there was a lot, a lot of works.
Yes, I think it was the thirteen runs on five hits at one
point early in the game. Yeah, which gives you some idea of how
things were going for the poor or Hungarian pitching. So yeah, good start.
And it's all packed into a week, isn't it Friday? The finals
on Sunday? Is that right? Yeah? The finals is next Sunday,
so effectively, from like Sunday to Sunday, it is a is a tight
week, tight week of baseball. Yeah, so do you check that out.
We'll keep tweeting things out, I'm sure, but yeah, go follow
the British national team and of course our hero Harry Forward who is leading off
during a sterling job as usual. So onto the teams, the eliminated teams.
So obviously, you know some of these teams have had pretty disappointed seasons.
Some of these teams have done exactly what we expected them to do,
which may or may not make it less disappointing for certain fans. So we're
just going to go team by team. I'm I'm going to cover some of
the things that the listener suggested, and then perhaps RUSSA or I will have
our own things that they didn't cover. But maybe you'll learn something out teams
you didn't watch very much, and hopefully this puts things on a positive note
for people going into twenty twenty four. Where to start, Really, I'm
hesitined to do this, but I feel like we probably need to start with
the Oakland as they are heading for the worst recording baseball, perhaps not quite
as bad as it looks earlier in the season, but there have been have
been a few few little bright spots for the A's, so we had a
few few suggestions about their rookies. Stirry rees obviously up to sixty five steals
in the end, it looks like he could still catch a Kenya, which
would be pretty cool. Uries out I think on whether he's going to provide
a ton else butt fun, pretty fun that we've still still got a seventy
steel potentially contributor in the majors. Ago, Yeah, it feels like it's
not. With basically making stolen basis value slightly more, well maybe valued more,
but more available, we do get the chances of kind of Billy Hamilton
esque players kind of actually having more of a more of a chance to stay
in a team. And then yeah, I can bemoan that the rest of
Ruiz's value that he that he does provide, or even the fact that his
stolen basis doesn't actually provide that much additional value, but it is entertaining and
that and we do have to remember that baseball is a sport that it is
supposed to entertainers in the end. So him being more chance of being valuable
is a good thing. And so seeing him kind of steal the basis it
obviously to me, just seeing anybody steal at Oakland just brings kind of like
Ricky Henderson like vibes back, and I just any time that that happens,
it's got to be a good thing. Yeah, definitely, And I think,
you know, it's important to note that Ry's husband hurt, he still
has under five hundred flight appearances in the season, so you know, if
if you can take some steps forward, get you know, let maybe a
little bit better offensively. I don't know. I don't think it's the possibility
that you know, he's not going to do a Ricky, but could we
see eighty or ninety if he gets six hundred plus play appearances. I think
I think we could. Yeah, So that's sounds to look forward to.
And then a couple of guys Brett Walker, one of our contributors for the
site, doing a stirling job with all the content right now. He suggested
Ryan Noder and Set gelf as well. And I think this is a couple
of guys who could potentially be genuinely good longer term players for the AIDS,
right, Yeah, A hundred percent. Like obviously, like no do I
think it's had that start of the season. He was kind of like the
one of the ones that we were talking about like looking at being pretty amazing.
Gelf Is the is the man of them, is the man of the
moment, not even at like three hundred PA and he's he's he's a two
point eight fanger aft Wars. So if we're talking about like what a player
could be if they pushed that out, that is like all star level was
better than all star level performance that we've seen from him and some of them.
Of the underlying metrics also do suggest that it isn't like bad. It
is potentially like it is sticky. I'm always a little bit little bit hesitant
when someone has a strikeout rate as high as he does, you kind of
get a little bit a little bit worried there. But no, it's obviously
you've got to take the positives where they are at Oakland. It is I
don't quite know. I don't know how I would feel if this was ever
happening to kind of like a team that I chose to chose to support.
So finding that those small breadcrumbs is a beautiful one. You just want these
pillay Is to not be like the next Frank Windell or Joey Meneses. Yeah,
I think I think no does on base skills out out of the strip,
both of those guys for sure, and yeah get off I think yeah
strikeouts for reconcern, it might have actually struck out a bit less, so
I was expecting him to which maybe doesn't say about what I was expecting him
to do, But yeah, I think you know, as Brett said to
me when he sent me these suggestions, I hope they stick around, but
he didn't sound that confident about it. So hopefully the Aids have got some
of these guys to cheer for next season, wherever they end up. I
will note that Steve Paolo, fun guy in the fantasy community, basically said,
why are you talking to us about hope? We're A's fans, So
that was the alternative perspective provided. But the A's might still win fifty games,
which you know a lot of people said they wouldn't, so they're still
already better than that Orioles team that went forty seven and one hundred and fifteen
not so long ago, and better than that Detroit team which has the worst
record possible. I don't think this is something they have to say that I
think. I think at the start of the season, I don't know if
the front office tried too hard or not. The front office or the ownership
tried too hard do not be good and then kind of realize that, you
know, you can't throw out like Triple A pictures all the time, and
so it was it came to the point of like, actually, you know,
like they're at least a replacements level team. But yeah, they've had
they've had some good moments, Like to me, like they took a couple
of games off the Astros the other day, which I think would be kind
of like something that they would be pleased with doing, kind of if they
could something they could do to end their season or whatever was the scupp of
the chances of maybe like the Astroids, I think they'd take that. Yeah,
definitely, It's it's been a weird, odd time. You know,
we'll probably talk about the Astros next week. We'll be doing a playoff preview,
but I'm less convinced now that the Astroids are going to be in it
than a couple of weeks ago. The Royals have thrown a spanner in the
works. Why not, let's let's go there, Let's go to the Royals.
We didn't actually get any suggestions for the Royals, which is somewhat surprising
because I think they are one of the easier teams to identify a highlight it.
So I guess who's who's your Royals highlight or what's your Royals highlight this
year? US? Oh, well, I think Bobby Wick Junior is kind
of like the fairly easy one to go with. I do want to talk
about, like the Royals seem to be like a very interesting team that I've
obviously been watching Cleveland play and an attempt to just fade out their playoff chances
for the end of the season, but like managing to like sweep the Rangers
across a series, then basically get swept by Kansas before then going and picking
up a couple of games against the Orioles. I was like, what's going
on here? Like this is exactly like the reverse of what I what I
would saw what I happened here. But yeah, that that that team has
has interesting options like that. It's it's not to me if I was looking
at the Ale Central, I'd would be far more pessimistic about the Chicago White
Stock outlook and maybe even Detroit than I would for the Kansas City Royals.
Obviously they still need to overlay some money and actually kind of get out there
to make to make a difference. But yeah, like I think Boyward Junior
season is he is he taking Kosei Ra mirrors his place as the most underrated
player in baseball or although he's probably still rated in the fantasy world because he
picks up those stats that everybody will will love him for. But he just
because he's been on Kansas this year and they've done literally nothing that the general
person, the general viewer wouldn't know what a season he's had. Yeah,
it's an interesting question because probably it was a top prospect, So I don't
I don't know if the perception of him has changed. You know, he
had a difficult rookie season. At times he struggled to get on base.
Defensively, he was bad. He's really turned that well around this season as
well as kind of being good at the plate. And obviously he's still in
a bunch of bases too. But yeah, i'd be interested to know,
because it's difficult when you're you're in the fantasy community and it's like everybody's interested
in Bobby Witt. But you know, he might he's got a chance.
He's one homer away from from going thirty thirty. He might steal fifty bases,
which everybody's doing these days. But yeah, it's it's all been all
been pretty positive for where he kind of looks like the superstar he was supposed
to be, you know, five six win players, So yeah, that's
that's really exciting. And you know, I don't think we can let this
slide without mentioning Karl Reagan's, which is one of the weirder stories I think
from this season, because I mean a few of the Texas Rangers looking at
your pitching staff right now, boy would they love to have Carl Reagan's because
they've you know, evolved, these kind of fallen apart, and John Gray's
in the bullpen, and the Grumb's hurt and shares us hurt, and Karl
Reagan's since he was traded to the Royals made his first start on July the
fifth. He has a two thirty four r eighty one strikeouts in sixty five
and a third innings. It's just been unbelievable. He looked he looks like
an ace, and you know, he didn't look like it was a nice
with the Rangers. To be fair to them, he had a five ninety
two RA when he got traded and he was in the bullpen, so it's
not like you can say he was a stud over there. But he went
to the Royals and it seemed like immediately he was a stud. Like it
wasn't like it took a few weeks. It was like, right away,
here's one of the best pitches in bothable. It's one of those really weird
ones because he hadn't started a game for Texas this year, like he pitches
the startup them last year, had a pretty may like high forwards dra over
a few games where I was like eight or nine games but hadn't played a
single start for the Rangers this season, and then goes to Kansas, goes
back to being a starter, and pitching is a mental game as much as
it is like a physical game. But is there, Ah, there is
just one of those people that just couldn't get used to like the approach of
being thrown in as a reliever and warming up it's going bad and just being
given the chance to go back to being a starter. It's just like,
hey, I've taken maybe some of the things they've learned from throwing as a
reliever, but I've now going back to being a starter and actually have something's
clicked. But it does feel so daft that somebody can make that drastic of
a change with not even like on a week's notice. It's not like that
they were bad for a couple of weeks. I'm thinking like Giolito when he
came over to Cleveland, like this season is just like, oh, it
was just it was bad for the first couple of weeks. And now he's
looked like Jeli too evolved again, and I could be like, oh,
maybe like the magic of the Cleveland pitching system has like changed him. But
he was bad for a few games. Riggins wasn't bad for a few games.
He literally came out of the block and was great. Yeah, I
guess, you know he did. He spent a bit of time in the
miners, so you know, yeah, I guess there was some of that.
But from what I can gather, it sounds like he's done a lot
of work. Because you've been to is it Trade rather than drive Line,
I think he's gone too. I've had a couple of people say, well,
you know, we don't give the Royals too much credit here, Like
he's been doing a lot of work on the side himself. So regardless of
who is responsible for this, Karl Reagan's I think he's going to be very
interesting picture to watch next year and all of these Royals pictures, we thought,
you know, might be front of the rotation guys, and it happens
to be the guy they got in the random middle of the season. Oh,
I didn't think they've got much out of that trade trade. Who might
be the Eggs and baseball is weird? Okay, let's let's go back to
the Al West. Let's go to the Angels and Nick right. Shout out
to Nick, long suffering Angels fan. It's not been a great season.
I mean, you know, obviously, Ohtani is great, but even that
sort of entered under a bit of disappointing cloud with the oblique injury and the
weird stuff with him clearing out his locker and all that. But Nikkas highlighted
Noldan Chaniel, who Rob and I talked about a few weeks ago. But
he is now up to tied second all time for the longest on base streak
to start a career at twenty six, So yeah, kind of he showed
some some good IBP and the miners, but the aggressive promotion. I thought
this was just another mad move by the Angels, But it looks like he's
basically translated that straight across. Yeah, it's a really interesting one because I
I can't remember what other podcasts I was listening to that was talking about bad
talking about exit velocities, and it pretty much had like Nolan chaniel as like
the lowest exit velocity like recorded in like Major League Baseball, or one of
like the lowest exit velocities recorded or like the lost average like exit velocity.
So I was talking about the fact that, yeah, like maybe this is
something of this something that really do work on in like the minor systems to
get people to attune and kind of get that up there. But obviously he's
still he still has the OBP, he still has that discipline that he showed
before being drafted, And so these kind of players to come up really punk
fast make me sometimes question like why the minor league system exists like the way
it does. Like obviously there are going to be the exceptions that show that
they can work their way up pretty fast. Like sometimes plays just get thrown
in there, like Soto or whatever when it's just a gap and you're just
like, hey, like should we actually be throwing in a few more like
top end prospects just immediately from like single A or double a like single swim
kind of approach, because you know what, like you could get more value
out of them now than you could later on, or they could be like
immense and it is really interesting to see. I think when I come to
that sometimes, especially like I look at like the WBC and I look at
how generally that impacts a lot of the prospects to play in it. And
I think this year we can talk about how it's impacted some of the major
league players, but a lot of the prospects who played in it and played
well have played well into this season as well. So getting that experience of
high level baseball, even if it's not even if he goes back to like
Double A or Triple A next year, I think this is such a valuable
experience and what some of these teams, once they are actually done, should
be doing. It's just like throwing them up there. You've got no I
think there's there's no risk. Obviously, like a player could suck and it
might affect their confidence, but if they're round a headed athlete, they should
realize that they've gone from playing like college to then playing against the best players
in the world, like they might have to realize that like there's a bit
of a learning curve and this might help them, weren't it. But I
think it's a really interesting way of doing it. Yeah, and you know,
he did have absurd numbers. I mean, you know in college too.
You know he had a six fifteen OVP Florida or Atlantic got drafted.
That's that's a big number. Barry Bonds would be jealous of that number.
So obviously a guy with a great eye will be very interesting to see how
things go. If this is the max philosophy. He's tied with Tyler Wade
at the moment one hundred and three point five miles per hour from Maxective lost
It, which is outside the top five hundred of people with the twenty five
battered ball events this season. So yeah, it's a very very odd profile.
But sometimes these guys just you know, they know the strike zone and
that gets you a really, really long way. So we'll see how he
goes. But already a pretty pretty cool stat to start his career. Okay,
let's go on to perhaps the biggest disappointment of the twenty twenty three season
in some regards, but also a team with some pretty fun highlights I think,
and that's the set lowest Cardinals. We've got a bunch of cards ones
on here. I guess we should start with Adam Wayne Right, and this
is two hundred to win. Lightly the miracle that was the miracle that wasn't.
I've completely forgot that the Brewers can't actually play any like attacking baseball whatsoever.
I feel this is an entirely faux par on my my part of just
kind of just looking at going like, oh, the Brewers were a good
team, donte fan. I just it looked like Wayne Wright at his best,
which if we look at everything else that happens at Wayne right, and
this season is an indictment on the Brewers more than it is on on on
Adam Wayne Right. But yeah, obviously we've got to be up. Like
he got he got the Midlestone number. It's awesome, he's going to retire,
it's going to have that. He's it's it's it's a great position.
But kind of like him to get through and yeah, it was a great
way of kind of like I'm finishing that that season off it is. We've
we've been positive here, but it is an indictment of the Cardinal season.
He wouldn't have got to two hundred wins if the Cardinals didn't have such a
terrible season. So, as a Cardinals fan, do you where are you
happy that he got two hundred wins? I will say the weird thing over
the last fortnight the Brewers are a fifth in WRC plus including that game of
course, so baseball. But yeah, yeah, you're right, you know,
it would have been a difficult thing for them to do. I'm sure.
But if the Cards had been right in the mix of the wild card
hunt and they couldn't start Wayne Right every fifth day, it would have been
I think a painful decision for them to say, you know what I mean.
I guess they would have maybe stuck him in long relief or something and
said you can go and mop up at the back of games if you want,
but you wouldn't have been able to roll him out there as a contending
team, I guess on that topic, Mark Cards, Fanny brought up Wayne
Right, but he also brought up the London win on Sunday, which I
think, you know, after the first game the Cubs cruised it and the
start of the second game was a bit of a mess for st Lewis,
and I think you know, it's going to be pretty depressing weekend for Cardinals
fans, but they pulled it out in the end and they gave them sent
them home happy. I guess yeah. I think the split series from the
London series is kind of like the best for both teams. Everybody gets to
be like, well, if you assuming me, you went to both games,
kits to be like, oh, I saw my team win or London
also, so everybody can kind of be kind of happy because it didn't happen
for Boston. But yeah, I think any any Cards fan who's based here
in the UK has got to that that that day or even just that weekend
if they didn't go to that day, it's got to be a highlight for
probably a significant part of their baseball watching career. Not many people do get
the chance to go out to the States and watch games live. So having
an easier opportunity of doing that and seeing the experience that MLB in and of
the Europe put forward for the London series was I think it was a was
a phenomenal one and a better package than what we've had the previous year.
Previous time around. It wasn't the previous year. Yes, yeah, well
I think we all kept doing that, didn't we We you know, I
know I kept doing it, Tom kept doing it. We kept saying last
year, and it wasn't last year, it was it was four years ago,
which sort of made you feel quite odd, I will say, somebody
who really impressed me not you know, it didn't show up so much in
the games in London, but when we were watching batting practice and I was
watching Jordan Walker just watching the ball come off his bat, you were like,
this is a guy you know this It reminded me of watching Judge take
BP in twenty nineteen. You know, you could see that there was a
ton of power in there. And yeah, we had a couple of guys.
Ken Cards, who's in the discord, and Wesley McKinney both said Jordan
Walker was a highlight of this season, and he's you know, I think
after it maybe slightly difficult, you know, had that hitting streak to start,
but then he sort of called off and got sent back to the miners.
But overall, you know, it's clearly above average offensive contributor. And
I think we've seen the power start to come through as well. I think,
you know, there's probably a going to be a forty homer season in
here for Jordan Walking before too long, and let's not forget he's still only
twenty one, twenty one in May, so long career ahead of him.
I think, yeah, it's really interesting you say that like it would.
BP at the WBC was one of my like real grounding experiences in baseball,
kind of seeing that like even just in BP, you can see the differences
in like the levels of some players. Like I watched GV take BP in
in Chase Field for like the day before the tournament, and I was like,
Yeah, some of these guys are good, like hitting solid contact or
whatever. And then like Trace Thompson came up and like hit some big home
runs and I was like, oh, yeah, he's definitely like better than
like the other players around him when it comes to those sorts of things.
And then like the day afterwards, it was like, oh, I got
teach. So I watched Team USA take BP, and I was like,
Oh, these guys are just so clearly like the contact that they're clearly making
is like so much better they do that. And then one obvious at the
end, I've got to see if Tanny take PP and you're just like,
oh, This is just ridiculous. It feels like something obviously is as simplistic
as VP, that you can actually just see the process of how these players
actually do perform well when it becomes in game Like obviously PP is a isn't
easy or a tightened in scenario or whatever it's going on. But the fact
that they take VP and they actually hit home runs again and again and again
really kind of shows you of what those top players are actually like capable a
lot of Yeah, it is fun. I mean, you know, we've
got another game next year, I will say, if you're thinking about coming
down, you've got an opportunity. You know, hopefully we'll get the opportunity
to have some tickets to the Friday workouts as well. But even if you're
just going to one of the games and you've got the time to get there
early, it is a lot of fun to send and watch these guys hit
in band practice and see how far they send some of the balls. You
know, it's just a different feeling, especially if you're you know, you're
used to watching maybe Bestball in the UK, but you've never seen a major
league up place before. It's it's yeah, it definitely hits different. It
all so sounds different. Yeah. The other guy that Ken brought up,
which somebody I must confess, I hadn't thought about a lot this season,
but maybe you know a little bit about is Richie Pelasios, former Guardians farm
hand who I think always like he hit quite a bit in the miners and
then kind of briefly sucked it up for the Guardians and the Majors. But
Richie has had a nice little cameo for for Cleveland here. He's not striking
out very much, is it for a bit of power? Do you have
any memories of Richie Placios and a Guardians uniform? I pretty certainly played a
few games towards the end of last season and kind of was a bit.
Yeah, there was one of like the few that they threw out there kind
of during that fun but the young guys kind of play, and yeah,
he was I think he was ever really like ranked as like a player or
something to kind of like to think about it. I don't think he was
ever like top the in the Cleveland prospects or whatever, but he had some
like pretty solid numbers in Triple A I think the two years before he came
up and then just kind of didn't look good. And then I can't even
remember why he was let go, but I'm assuming he was let go because
of like forty man problems with Cleveland and always he actually darfaide, I don't,
I can't, I can't remember now, but I'm assuming it was probably
forty man problems because I'm just going to blame that all on every bad decision
that Cleveland has made when it comes to why we don't have any decent batting
or hitting prospects and they all seem to be playing for other teams, but
all of our pitching prospects phenomenals. We'll get to that at some point,
but yeah, that's probably a transition. But yeah, it's you know that
the o VP is is low, I guess for plasios, but yeah,
it does it you know, strike out though, So that was kind of
like Cook compared to like some of the other ones that are coming through,
like Gonzalez and a few of the others. He felt like he was just
he was he wasn't like swinging and missing. He was just not really generating
any massive like contact or power. Yeah, same same number of strikeouts as
walks in the minors for Cleveland before he was let go. This season way
more walks than the strikeouts for the Cards, and it seems to have moage
to hold the strikeout rate lower, at least in the three seventy nine plate
appearances for Solaris. So yeah, it's a crowded little picture still there,
I think for the Cardinals. But yeah, it'll be interesting to see what
they do with him. You know, wouldn't be the first time we've seen
somebody in the Cardinal's uniform way out perform expectations double margin. This is I
was going to trans but you've made me think of Nolan Jones. So let's
do the Rockies. We did, We did get a last minute Rocky suggestion,
but I don't know that we can scat past this without discussing Nolan Jones.
Well, I think the Guardians could probably have done quite a lot based
on the evidence of this is. Yeah, I think Nolan Jones is the
is that is the typical player that is lost because you have your franchise player
plays his position. So Jones was always a third base prospect, and once
Ramirez had signed his first kind of long term deal contract with Cleveland, it
was very much then like Okay, where is he going to fit in somewhere
else because he ain't playing third base because that's Jose spot. So I think
at Cleveland there was a lot of time missing around with him playing third,
playing in the outfield, and then it got to the point whether we're always
questioning, well does his back carry his defensive frailties of the other position because
he hasn't had time to play and learn them. And eventually Cleveland just kind
of gave up on it, like decided that it was like it wasn't worth
their their time to kind of like to work on that, and so traded
him away. And I'm now trying to remember off the top of my head,
which is always not the right thing to do. Who he was traded
away for Darius, you know, but he's obviously I'll let you look at
it, why vamp. But yeah, he's looked pretty solid, not only
from a offensive point point of view. This season actually had of having power.
Now I haven't looked in his splits to work out how many of his
home runs and stuff comes in. Carlia Colorado played to being away, but
he still has a pretty high regarded WSC plus one twenties one dirties. So
yeah, having that power on the Cleveland team this year. We'll get to
that probably eventually, but that's just he actually has more home runs on the
road than he does a course field. We go, it's actually like doing
well. And hey, like the highlights that I've seen the highs and keep
on annoying me is seeing that Nolan Jones being having using his actually can another
an arm in the outfield for getting outfield assists, and I keep on seeing
them, and I keep on seeing them with like the Rockies commentary team and
being like they keep on going on, know that they knowing boy, like
they keep on making the same mistake and seeing him throw. I think I
think it was like the fastest outfield assist in like five years. It was
something like one hundred and two and a half mile an hour throw from the
outfield, which you're like for like that play was like an absolute strike,
Like it was literally like on the money where like the catcher would want the
ball to be to make the tag and made them wanna look stupid because it
was like one of those ones where it was they're easily enough inside that the
catcher could just be like, yeah, you're done. Mate, Yeah,
you want to you want a fun stack carst profile Jockrvin Jones, He's he's
thirteenth in thirteenth percentile and range in the outfield, but one hundredth percentile in
armed value, one hundred percentile arm strength ninety eight point seven miles per hour
arm strength is year average there range because he was supposed to be a third
baseman. Yeah, he is tied with Juan Soto for twenty fourth in max
exit losty as well. So there you go. Let's say you hear a
bunch of home runs on a home on the road. Yeah, it looks
like an interesting little piece for the Rockies somebody else who I think it's been
kind of very un Rockies. But we had a suggestion from Orange and Brew
in the discord go during the discord of Ezekiel Tovar. So you know,
the usual Rockies mo is, we've got a prospect, who can we find
which veteran is out there, but we can sign for very little money to
block this guy. And Ezekiel Tovar came to the season's of twenty one year
old, and I think it was a bit of a struggle from at the
start and the Rockies just said we're going to let him play. We're going
to let him play all the season long. It was extremely un Rockies,
and you know, the line is not great, but I think considering how
it started, he's actually picked things up a little bit and you know,
been good defensively. Probably going to come out about an average player this season.
So as a you know, just turned twenty two year old, I
think he's he's done pretty well. Yeah, I think, yeah, it's
one of those interesting ones that you kind of will We'll see how he progresses.
I think, yeah, that first few games of the season were pretty
bad, and then he's kind of oscillated up and down since then. Kind
of a une was rough. But yeah, what was this April April line
was, I'm just yeah, two sixty three No, sorry, that's the
opp two thirteen two sixty three three zero three thirty eight w RC plus.
So yeah, not the best start, but I think the Rockies are stuck
with him, and I mean a few of the Rockies. There's no reason
not too. But that also isn't the way that we're used to the Rockies
operating. So yeah, I think if for another player that I've seen a
few like clips of like defensive performance. I think he's looked pretty like pretty
phenomenal as a as a fielder at the shortstop. Maybe kind of is it
a throwback to say that, like shortstops should be like defensively good and not
power hitters, Like I know we've we've had the gloss of like power hitting
shortstops here in the last like five years. To be like, you know
what, this is a premium defensive position where you can maybe afford to have
somebody's bat that isn't like exactly that solid, but like his like his fielding
like value is is probably up there as I think somebody who will be a
Gold Glover potentially winner. Yeah, well he currently he only trails Stansby Swanson
in outsbo average at shortstop. I'm just gonna have a look at ucr as
well. I think he will be up there. I nobody cares about USR
anymore, Darius, I can't actually say him on it. I know his
defensive value is very high, so on Fangrass is eighteen point two rather defensively,
which is basically made up for his bat, which is how he's going
to end up as an average player. So yeah, something to look forward
to for the future, and hopefully the Rockies can assemble a team around him
and Jones and a few other than they. I've got some interesting prospects in
the way for once, So let's let's see how it goes in Colorado.
I guess we will circle back around to the Guardians then. So we had
a suggestion from at Willsden Gooner on Twitter, who once again, I mean,
no surprise for Cleveland, but focusing on the pitching emergence of Tanna Byby
was about to kind of guess it was. It basically like Biby Williams and
yeah, who else will they? Yeah, and yeah, Tanna Byby,
Gavin Williams logan Allen, three young pitching prospects. The Guardians factory rolls on
the offense may not be up too much, but they're at it again,
right Yeah, and then it's I think Jay Jaffey did a PC other day
in Fancraft's talking about like the impact of Rockies on teams, and I think
Cleveland led for rookie pictures and then are pretty awful for rookie hitters. It's
it's phenomenal to seek because it's been really like tough injury ridden season for for
the pictures, so that some of these guys have even like had a chance
and gone through and obviously them deciding partly through the season too can sevale go
to as an attempt to kind of, I don't know, improve future seasons
and take take up high prospects bat that might actually be helpful in the not
too distant future to help them out, and knowing that they're kind of like,
actually, they've still got lots of things there. So yeah, you
can't really look beyond those those those those three I think really for the for
the season. I think Bibby is the one that a few people really thought
going into this season that if it was given the opportunity, that he could
have a phenomenal season, And obviously it's been curtailed a little bit by injury.
But you've got to look at those numbers and be like, Okay,
Mike, he should be good again come come next season. So yeah,
you can't you can't not be entertained by those players. What you cannot be
entertained by it's all the bats do. But we're being positive. Hit Darius
for being positive today. I'm not going to bemoan the Cleveland's inability to score
runs. I'm not going to bemoan the fact that we have like multiple sub
six hundred ops players and starting lineups or no, no, no, no,
We'll talk about the positives of I was it one positive? You get
a lot of one run games if your team can't score and you have kind
of good pitching. I think cleven the close to sixty. I think even
like Cincinnati have got like over sixty as well, Like the two Ohio teams
are basically keeping like one run games. Baby, let's have this like really
tight entertaining baseball when everybody else has just been like that's jack bombs. I
think, yeah, I guess probably in a pretty different mode, right,
I don't know how what's the difference. Reds are at four point seven runs
a game and five runs a game allowed, Guardians at four point one and
four point Yes, different types of games, but they're arriving at the same
result. It's usually close at the end. Yeah. I think I saw
something that like there were some teams that have barely had like thirty games at
like thirty like one round games. I think it's something like San Diego have
only had like twenty nine one run games and it's like, well, like
Cleveland have lost thirty one one run games, so they have won twenty six
as well. But it's like, yeah, the difference of what's going like
of what the viewish viewing experience is. It's nail biting, and it was
nail whiting last season when they got over that line, when they got into
like the playoffs. It's just it's entertaining. It's just it's ain't good for
your heart, mate. It's just been glad enough that they've been far enough
behind that they've never really felt like they've blown it because they felt that they
blew it months ago. But if they've been like three or four games better
off coming into this stretch, oh, it wouldn't have been good for me,
Darris. Yeah. I mean the Twins gamble, they said we can
win this division withouty five wins, and you know what, they were right.
That's where we are. I know we're being positive. We are going
to talk about the Padres. I've just got to say, I like fun
records, and I believe the Padres have now tied the record by going over
in twelve in extra inning games. It's been a full year since they won
an extra winning game. Now, they've got three days left, don't They
got three hundred and sixty two days. Yes, there's still time, Padres
fans, but if you go to the end of the season, then it
will be many more days than a full year by the Sorry you want an
extra anning game. So weird old season. But I guess let's talk about
Blake Snell. Sandra Botjes on Twitter. She said, Blake Snell, that's
the highlight and probably gonna win the so young now right, I think so
we were discussing it like the other week. I think he's done nothing but
like increase his credentials. We did get some feedback from from John Ours of
All Pod Partner saying that Darius is now a numbers manners guy. Give it
to to see the world has come come come full circle talking about the fact
that but no, I think he probably is going to get that. It's
it is such an interesting kind of way to watch baseball like that. It
will also be taking gets loads of swinging missus inside the zone as well.
Then obviously people don't swimming this at the stuff outside of the zone. It's
a very weird combination of how you're kind of like watching a game happen.
It's like it is that stuff versus control question that you know, arrists will
have your debating for the rest of your life if you want to kind of
get it, get involved in it. That it is there. He can
move that ball a ridiculous amount, you know, quite low where it's going
to go. Yeah, just like I think it. I think it was
there. You know, if somebody had had just an epic start, you
know, I think there's still you can make the case for Weirder. You
can make the case for Strider, you can make this case for Gallon,
But Snow is so far ahead in terms of keeping the runs off the board
now that I just don't see any of those guys quite edging it. Maybe
I'm wrong, you know, maybe the voters will look at the walks and
you know, the slightly diminished innings and they'll they'll say, you know what,
we're going to go for one of these other guys. But yeah,
I think I think Snails with the two thirty three r RA now is kind
of put himself in the driving seat. I think we're not quite at that
point yet. I think voters are willing to say, we'll look at other
things, But I don't know if they're willing to say we're going to ignore
like a run and a half different between him and Strider, you know,
that's that's probably not happening. So yeah, fantastic season for Snail. Be
very interesting to see what happens in free agency. Kind of an unusual arm
to bet On. I think a bit of a bit of a Robbie Ray
vibe, but perhaps maybe maybe with with more command issues than Robbie Ray.
So well, we'll see how it goes. But yeah, we should add
that, Like, after all the handwringing over Juan Soto, and I'm not
like not like just like, I'm just like sometimes I look at the Leader
bars and I was like, why why would people mad about Juan Soto?
Again, Like I don't, I don't even really remember, because like,
dude is just one of the best sitters. I mean, yeah, it
was obviously just that slightly extended period at the start of like twenty twenty two
or whatever, and maybe he started twenty twenty three a little bit slow.
He had a pretty kind of naff start to August, but then it's kind
of gone back up to his kind of quite a hundred like obp Pan Soto
is an eighteen point six perzen walk right and thirty three home runs and people
were mad about this guy. It's it's when you get the issues of like
when you get compared it's twenty four, but this is you get compared to
Ted Williams or something like that. That's what. But the issue is that
he was too good, too young, and it is almost on the same
as Press Harper, like you have that good a season when you're young,
everybody thinks you're going to be amazing, and then when you go and have
four and five win seasons instead of eight, nine, ten win seasons,
they're just like, oh, he's bad, and it's like, no,
he's not. You're like you're not watching what's going on. You're not seeing
the beautiful Soto shuffle every time that he kind of like teases that he's going
to kind of like swing, but then stops and then just kind of like
leans a little bit forward and then works it ways back. Like I love
watching like highlights of Soto at bats. I understand they're not like givevable moments
like some pitches are or some home runs are, but watching Soto like take
balls and how he kind of positions his body when he does it, it's
such a fun, such a fantastic like entertainment for me. Yeah, he's
one of the most fun players to watch at the plate in baseball. And
you know, I think we probably would be remiss if we didn't slide past
this section without crediting Hassi and Kim, who I think if the Padres had
been good this year, would probably be getting a bit more credit than he
has been. But mostly what I say is people are saying I can't believe
that USI and Kim is leading Padre certainly in b ref War, I think
he has for a while. I don't know Sotos, they were taken him
by now, but just tremendous defense. And I think, you know,
when he first came over, he really struggled with the adjustment, but just
looks like an excellent all around player now and a key piece of I think
a team. Hopefully we'll be better next year. Yeah, I think the
one other thing I'd like to had about the Padres is obviously shame for ending
up with kind of like injury, But the return of Gary Sanchez was was
an interesting moment to me, just to see a player that was close to
being like out of the league, like being like Mexican and Dominican Winter League
bound player for life. Just suddenly one do pretty terrible for the Mets and
and then look phenomenal for the Padres. Maybe everybody just wants to go and
play in Pecker. Yeah, Like Gary Sanchers, I think he's a guy
that people are just going to like keep betting on as long as they can,
because if you catch Gary Sanchez at the right moment, he is probably
still top five offensive catcher in baseball, and he has actually improved quite a
bit defensively. You know, people like have given him a lot of stick,
but you know that was just like the Yankees spotlight. I think.
You know, Gary Sanchez is one hundred and seventy three career home runs,
which is a lot of home runs for a catcher, and he hit nineteen
in two hundred and sixty plate appearances for the year. Like, you know,
there's a lot, a lot of power still in this back. Yes,
he's not going to hit for a high average, but you know,
if you can get a catcher who's like and a five average defender who might
hit thirty thirty five forty home runs, of season, then you should have
him on your roster. So good on Gary Sanchers. Okay, let's keep
it in the West. Let's do my team. I know the Giants aren't
technically eliminated, and the Giants are eliminated. Just to a you know,
avoid any semblance of doubt there, Giants fans, I'm calling it now.
I didn't think they were going to make it. They haven't made it.
It's been a fairly just average season, very average, not a ton of
highlights. But I've mentioned him a few times, and we got a couple
of suggestions from Rob Jones Robert on Twitter. He mentioned Logan Webb, who
you know, has been Logan Webb, good, consistent, probably gonna lead
National League in innings, doing what Logan web should. But I want to
focus on Patrick Bailey. I think it's run out of gas a bit at
the end of the season because he's just played an absolute ton, but he
is He really looks at the business defensively, and I think the Giants have
found their their capture of the next four or five year is because yeah,
he's very hard to run on. He's a good framer. Just you know,
it looks like, you know, I don't want to say Buster Posey,
because nobody's Buster Posy, but we seem to have found a worthy primary
catcher to replace him at the very least. Yeah, they says, well,
I seen from Giants games. I think the Valves looks pretty good.
Like still there's a as a top end reliever. That's one of those ones
you want when you kind of and have that player and you just want them
to kind of like continue to go in to go in that way. So
he's what's still we are, but he's still free agent will we are eligible
for quite a while, So I think that's a positive. I think for
the Giants to think that, hey, like we all know, relieving performance
is kind of this mysterious thing that can appear and disappear, but it does
look like you've got yourself. He's got great stuff and he's still very young,
so I guess I think we should always So let's give some props to
Tara Estrada because I think Tara Estrada was like the quintessential. Nobody believes this,
like, yeah, he had a great twenty twenty two. It's not
happening again. You know, he's probably having a three to four wedin season.
He's missed some time as well. He's been the Jarants best position player,
So I think all credit to him there. You know, it's not
he's not a big power guy, but just somebody who We don't have a
ton of these guys really, you know, it's all very mixed and match.
And I think you average had a steals, great defense, great great
defensive players. Like you can't have like a team of nine superstars like in
baseball anymore. That doesn't it doesn't exist. We don't have like the Yankees
old star teams in the past or whatever. You need to have some of
those unassuming but good players. And I think Estrada really is is that to
a like to a team? Yeah, exactly. And you know that I
think that the great teams understand this. You know, the Dodgers have had
these blue guys over there over the years. You know, they will fill
in everywhere he can. He can do a few things, and yeah,
now now they need to go out, they need to get the big the
big pieces. We'll see what they do this offseason. I've got to believe
that it is on that that list. They've tried a few times over there
in the last couple of off seasons and not hit the mark. So we'll
see how that goes. But yeah, I think you know, they're good
at building the base of the roster around players. It's of what if the
Angels. If you get to combine this and like what the Angels have not
done around Otani and Trout, I think you'd have a good baseball team.
I think that's what the Giants need. Okay, imagine what they both they
combined, how much they could have thwarted the Dodgers. Yeah? Can we
really thought the Dodgers? They don't know it happened once in intok a miracle.
So let's let's do the New York Mets, the confounding New York Mets.
But I think we can all agree Code I Sanger, he's come over
and it's been He's been a lot of fantasn't he like, you know,
not just the production, but the ghost Fork. I love seeing the ghost
fork highlights. I think he has over one hundred strikeouts on the ghost Fork
this season. I think that's been a big win for the Mets in and
I've always pretty disappointed. You. Yeah, I think it's one of those
ones where rightly or wrongly. I think people underestimated him coming into this season,
and I think people will read ready after the first two or three weeks
of the season to ride him off as being like that's another Japanese pictures come
over and hasn't like shown like shown the difference between MPV and and and then
will be and you're just like, thank you, you know what. I
think you're all giving a bit of time. You're all wrong here. But
he's a girl's like and yeah, so I think that coming through And obviously
I don't think any Mets fans would have want Singer to have been the ace
for this season. I think if that's kind of come out being the case,
this season has probably not ended the best because you would have probably obviously
when you start a season with Max Schezer and Justin Ferlando. Yeah, yeah,
if Codi Singer is your race, then yeah, unless they're all on
like seven wins, it's like, yeah, it's not a good thing.
But yeah, nearly twenty nine percent drack out right, sub three r right,
it's you know, it's been a very very good debut season. Yeah.
When I think he's what, I think only him McGill and Peterson and
maybe Twitchers to get more than one hundred innings pitched for them this season.
It's been a it's been that, and that's a hodge podge of players providing
starts for for them this season. So yes, I'm obviously going to put
my my might Cleaveland hat on again and talk about how awesome Linda is.
If I want to talk about another player that I think is one of the
most underrated players in baseball, I think lind Or is being underrated in the
New York market, which I thought was supposed to be the one thing that
wouldn't happen when he went to New York, he'd finally get like rated for
what he actually is. But he's what started the first season kind of badly
and then has now just been like phenomenal since. And I don't know if
this is just I don't see obviously the Mets have been performing performing poorly anyway,
I just don't see people talking about how good he is. Yeah,
so I should say we had three people nominated singer actually Christie or we were
Charling and Discord Richard Wilson. But Sam Skinner on the Twitter as well,
he did say the consistency of the core, which included Linda but also Brandon
Nemo and Peter Alonso. You know, those guys have all had a good
season. You know, the batting average has dropped off a bit for a
Lonzo, but he's hit forty five fronds. So but yeah, franciscan indoor
five win player. Once again, he's just just a very very good baseball
player. And yeah it is he's got a still getting stuck, I don't
but nearly up to fifty wins before his age thirty seasons. So well,
on that Hall of Fame track, he'll be an interesting I am sure when
we get to those Hall of Fame debates, but yeah, very much deserves
it in my book, on the strength of his career so far. I
think we'd also should talk about if we want to talk about how we're hitting
catches. Alvarez has come up and looks pretty good. Been maybe and at
least earlier on in the season, was the source of light for the Mets.
Yeah, I think I think it's you know, it's been tough for
him to catch all the seas and I've asked a lot of him. I
think the second half has been a big struggle. But there's obviously a ton
of power in the bat I think, you know what, what they want
really ideally is to be in a situation. Maybe they hope this would be
the case with Amana byas that he could spell in a bit more and you
know, gets altrest some time at the age to just hit. But to
his credit, Alvrez has been been very good defensively, so I think he
spent a lot of time working on that, and clearly he can still be
a very good offensive catcher. So as a you know, crazy He's also
just twenty one, So yeah, heading into his age twenty two season with
you know, close to five hundred plate appearances done to his belt by the
end of this year, I think, yeah, another bright spot for the
future Gary Sanchez, not the days Gary Sanders. I think, yeah,
this is already a better defensive season than Gary Sanchez has ever had. That
is a disservice to others. I will, I will, I will retact
that comment. Yeah, Otherwise, the batting line, yeah, not dissimilar.
But yeah, I won't cause Mets too much Mets fans too much pain
by bringing that up. And my BP colleague Mike Punella said the elimination was
the highlights of the Mets season. So thanks for that, Mike. Is
there just knowing that like the pain was done, like knowing the pain was
done? Basically, Yes, So there we go. Let's keep it in
New York. The New York Yankees, Mark blakemore good friend of the pod.
He suggested Anthony Vorpe, who has said, you know, an interesting
rookie season, but the Yankees have stuck with him all year young pretty much,
and I think, you know, there's there's some a lot of positives
there. Really. You know, he's played a good short stob he's got
power and speed. I think the overall batting line is obviously not what they
want them to be going forwards, but I think again there's another very young
player. There is some hope for the future there. Yeah. Once again,
like we're talking about players that have like raw power, Like it's obvious
that that's there, Like you don't come out and hit like as well as
he has done from from a power perspective, but he does have and he
didn't really show it, I think until he got to triple A. But
that disturbingly high strikeout rate, which is once it gets creeps closer and closer
to thirty. It's kind of like, okay, like, can can you
improve this? Because I think this is always a very difficult thing for players
to improve once they've kind of got going. We've only seen I think a
few players managed to drastically improve those sorts of things. But he's a he's
almost like like, I don't know what what I was saying that he still
is then like an under an under average level hitter and defensively good. But
it's a really weird combination for a short stop. You always think like if
your short stop is not the offensively solid, they usually don't they like the
power or whatever, but they're like contact hitter and we'll get on base,
whereas this is like, no, you had a power hitter who's also good
defensively but doesn't have the contact skills. Yeah, it's it'll be interesting to
see the striker has got a little bit better in the second half. You
know, you feel you feel like he's that guy. If you can get
it down until like twenty five percent, you know, just just get a
little bit more contact and maybe take a few more walks. You know,
there's if if you can get to that at least average contributor, you know,
I think it'll be a fixture in this lineup, but yeah, it's
it's obviously been a difficult season for the Yankees. I feel like we haven't
really talked about Aaron Judge at all, who was just like his hit five
home runs in one hundred and one games and has like an ops over a
thousand. But because he's been hurt a bit and the Yankees have sucked,
like, we just haven't talked about him. But yeah, partly partly because
I think, like last season was so incredible, it's just like, yeah,
whatever, this is just Aaron Judge through and Aaron Judge things. Yeah,
and that's the thing, like you know, we were talking about like
Soto, you you can it's going from back to Harper. You get compared
to your best seasons, no matter like if you put up a good season
or a great season, if it's not very good, then it isn't noteworthy.
I think I think that. I think ash thing is that I don't
know, if you get any of the Yankees people giving comments, you've potentially
got a frigging cy Young win it here. That was it, Yeah,
it was it was interesting. I don't know if Mark was avoiding the obvious,
but you know, I don't see how Cold doesn't win the cy young
at this point. The last start was Starer again, Yeah, he sit
there the two hundred things. Now, he's just you know, if you
are list being the most reliable pictures in baseball, now, you know,
I think cobbl is on the extremely short There aren't many left anymore. Yeah,
guys that you can count on to make thirty plus starts and pitch two
hundred innings and know that you're going to get an ace. You know,
those guys just are in extremely short supply, yes, I think. And
then it makes me interesting to think of got two years to probably two so
young winners who aren't going to make the posts. Yeah. Yeah, Michael
King is an interesting one as well. Just this quickly, but the Yankees
have put him in the rotation after you know, being a bullpen onarm for
a really long time. And he looks great at thirteen strikeouts against the Right
Jays again his last start one and run, and you know he's on a
streak now, I think five starts in a row and he's given up four
runs, and yeah, the Yankees pitching success. Well, has everybody just
seen what like justin Steel is doing. And if we've gone back to you
know what, we can have starters with two pitches. So let's let's ride
the momentum while it's there, but let's do it. Yeah, so that's
the Yankees season. We might as well keep it in the least. I've
got a few a few Red Sox suggestions which Dave Nico nine and m At
Badger Noble on Twitter both basically said firing high Bloom or was to that effect
that this indicates a potential change of direction. I've heard there's been a real,
like a significant amount of bloom discourse, isn't there I think, you
know, people having takes about oh, well you know, this is what
he was brought in to do or whatever, or it was a poison chatice,
wasn't it. Like Yeah, there's no there's no way that many people
have said this, but there's no way the Bloom went in there and said
I want to trade bets and they are the the owners were like, yeah,
that's a great idea. No, that was that was already done.
Now the deal that he got and how the players have managed to progress afterwards,
No, they haven't done great. Do I think he was fired a
bit early. When you think about what's actually about to come through this system,
I think, yeah, I think he's a bit unlucky, but he's
kind of paid the price of just the analyst being sorry, the a last
being too good. Like they're gonna finish this season what with a slightly under
five hundred record, and they'll be like, oh, they'll last in the
division or whatever. It's like, yeah, you would have been second probably
in the aon Central they might have white. Yeah, but yeah, so
like, yeah, you're you're in that position. It was like earlier on
in the season when the people were talking about, oh, like the Yankees
are in last place for the first time, and I'm like, yeah,
that's because all the teams are like close to five hundred or well over five
hundred, Like great for not putting context on your statistics exactly what. I
hate it because of what my day job is. So it's it is an
interesting thing to kind of talk up from that perspective. I don't know who's
going to take this opportunity, because like you've seen how they've handled the previous
few owners. Like it's fair to be like, even if you win a
world championship, you're not safe, and consumably Dave Dombrowski isn't available again,
so and they end getting Theo Webstein out to come out of like his m
MLB role or the bizarre of the future of baseball or whatever is his his
his role is. But yes, I think going to actually things have happened
on the baseball field. Did you get any suggestions of like actually good players,
because otherwise yea, so often I think would be like the any things
I would think of. Yeah, well, love you, Mike, he
said Tristan Cassus, as did Dave Nico, he said cass Us and your
and also Yashida and Bayo and maybe also Will you're a Breo and Sedana Rafriela.
So, you know, I think there's a recognition out there that Bloomers
has done a pretty good job when it comes to building up this farm system,
which was completely barren. I think, you know, the bets trade
specifically. I think Hanna Kaiser made this point on the Bandwagon that like you
can kind of look at that and go, well, you know, that
sucked, Like like the return that they got for generational player was basically nothing.
You know, downs is not in the organimic like Connor Wong is a
backup catcher that is not good. But when you look at how the farm
system looks now, there is a lot of promise coming through. And yeah,
there are a lot of players on the major league roster you can see
being part of the next great Red Sox team. Yeah, we're getting so
attract here. But you'll always stuss also, like the questions of was like
Deaf as the right person to give like the long term contract too, and
on all of those things. Obviously he had other poison chalices and contracts that
have been given out to pictures as well. So you work with what you've
got. But I think there is enough reason from the players coming through for
Boston fans to be happy. I think they still have to deal with the
bizarreness of how and will be functions. Is that they're in the division that
actually has five teams that seem to want to win the division, which is
unlike every other division in baseball. Yeah, there is interesting. I guess
there is an element of the dynamics there of having the certainly the Yankees and
the rest hours that there is not acceptable, you know, for them to
just tank it. You know, they can't do an Orioles and now that
the Orioles are good and the Raids are just very well run that Yeah,
they've got this like weird level of competition going on. Okay, so we're
nearly there. Let's set up the Pirates because we've got a lot Jason,
Tom's regular listener, Jason, thanks for all your suggestions. See, yeah,
actually came up with quite a lot of things going on the Pirates,
a lot of individual player highlights. I think I think the one we should
focus on is probably Kabrian Hayes, who kind of has actually started to be
an offensive star over the second half. Yeah, it's awesome to see because
maybe now he'll actually win a gold Glove because he hits the ball well enough,
Like you should have had the last two tot off any Cardinal fans.
No, like Ernardo does not deserve all the golden gloves. He's had fight
me about it. But yeah, actually I was so happy that he has
a bat because now this discussion can seemably happen in being serious. But no,
obviously seeing him come through is is a great sign for the Pirates.
Obviously, kind of on the top of seeing kind of like Reynolds not have
like an amazing season, but you can kind of see it's the same with
something like in like with Kansas thing. You can see enough there to be
positive about it just then needs to be fed with some more expensive players,
which isn't gonna happen, but let's be positive. Yeah, we're being positive.
There's you know, there's there's players here. I mean. He also
mentioned Jack Swinsky, who's having an above average season, you know, big,
big walk right, nearly fifteen percent, twenty six homers, So nice,
nice season from him. Gary Triolo who's put up at one and a
half four and barely a third of a season there. This was in to
be the three outcomes King this year. He's got pretty high strikeout rate as
well, hasn't it, oh Sewinsky, Yeah, it's three outcomes King.
Yes, yeah, fourteen point seven percent walk rate, two point seven percent
strikeout right, and yeah, twenty six homers he might might well be Yeah,
so yeah, that's a good little Actually, as a statistic on any
of the sites, one always quickly searched that we used we did. I
think we might have used to have three sh percentage at BP. I don't
know if we still do or a similar stat that calculated that. And then
on the pitching side, we've got the nominative determinism of Colin Holderman and of
course Mitch Keller, who is you know, I think still continues to frustrate
people a lot, but he's getting he's getting closer to the guy that people
thought he might be as a prospect, right, Yeah, I think it's
just going to be one of those players that people are going to be every
single year going to be like, yeah, no, you know what,
like Keller's going to get it back, but he's been solid, and so
is he just going to sit perennially and that there are going to be the
people that think that, no, that that talent was there that so like
he's going to come back and he's going to get the chance to improve and
really kind of excel. But is he just action now? Just he is
the solid number three or four starter and that's not actually anything to be ashamed
about. Yeah, it's not. You know, he's he's never quite reached
I feel like, you know, Cole never got to his full potential and
to be hit Houston, but I think he still was better than Keller has
ever been as a pirate. But yeah, you know you need you need
these guys too, Like if Keller is a guy who they can count on
to throw one hundred and eighty evenings at an above average rate every season,
then and that's still really valuable. And of course David Bednar has been unbelievably
good, so we wasn't David Bednar. I think he was a guy that
people thought would get traded, and maybe he still will, but for now
he remains a pirate and of the best relievers in baseball. I got a
suggestion for the Reds, which the Reds are less eliminated than the Giants and
Patresa I guess I'll read it out. It was ironically from an account called
Let's Go Reds on Twitter, but he hired Christian and Carassion Strand and Spencer
Steers rookie seasons, and in particular Ela de la Cruz stealing three bases in
one inning, which is probably one of the top three coolest things about the
twenty twenty three season. I think, yeah, I think that's going to
kind of come out as that like season of like what it's going to be
just one of those statists, like highlights of the season order, But like
when MLB does its top one hundred plays of the season. I imagine that's
going to be somewhere in the top ten, if not not leading. But
we've had a quite a few stealing come up with a few still on homes
this year. So it's the it's definitely it's coming back. It's the I'm
not I'll make the joke that we have in I talk about a lot that
like the minor tours, the team that I play for, which is like
in single A baseball in the UK, our walk is as good as a
triple because you're going to steal basically on the next two pitches anyway. So
when I see this kind of be implemented at like higher level baseball, it
it does. It does. It is thoroughly entertaining, and I think with
those those young players that you have there, like you can't not be entertained
with what you're being watched. Like you're watching, I think, as I
said, they have a ludicrous number of one round games, and I need
to look you back up again because they I think they were the only team
that has more than Cleveland having one run games, and it is they are
thirty four and twenty seven in one run games. So they've had sixty one
one run games in their one hundred and fifty seven games so far, so
that more than like a third of their games ending one run games, which
is like you're watching, it's entertaining, it's the edge of the seat stuff.
Maybe the result doesn't go the way you want it to, but that
has got to be got to be an experience, especially if it's just the
Reds after what they had a hundred losses last season. They didn't they,
I believe, so. Yeah, so that sort of swing, Yeah,
that's sort of swing is just it's got to be fun, even if they've
just not quite made it. But I think they're still there. And given
I didn't ask for suggestions for the Reds, this was provided unprompted, so
you know they're still in the hunt. It's it's possible. I think this
is premature elimination talk, Darius. I just wanted to mention it because I
got the suggestion. The Diamondbacks have lost to the Yankees already this evening,
so the door is still open. Okay, we just have talked about San
Francisco Wars and do higgo. Yeah, team that is definitely out of it,
and I think it felt like they were out of it perhaps two weeks
into the season. The Chicago White Sox, it's been I think, you
know, the Angels have spared the White Sox a lot of a lot of
grief because they've sort of been more depressing in a lot of ways. But
the wasting of this core has been something to behold. But we did get
a couple of suggestions onetheless. One of them was stilln't ceased, Still get
into two hundred strikeouts. You know, the control has been questionable, but
I think, yeah, the strikeouts have been there. And the other one
was Liam Hendricks, not not for his own field performance, but for his
activism. You know, his obviously battled cancer and he's done a lot of
work off the field around that. I wanted to shout that out and give
credits to Lam Hendricks, who, by all accounts seems to be a genuinely
excellent guy and somebody has done a lot of good work in the community.
Yes, we saw so much about the middle of the season about maybe how
this White Talk team is run, so you can't I don't know how much
optimism you can have from the future, but Cease looks good. Robert looks
good or Robert looks very good. So I think obviously having him going again,
he's what a couple of home runs away from a which way do you
do it, forty twenty season or whatever, So like another we would be
forty twenty. Yeah, so it's definitely like a good speed power guy.
Obviously has that questionable strikeout rate, but it doesn't have the low average that
goes with it. So yeah, and he is a plus defender. Like
if you're talking about having like a young player, he's what twenty five this
year, I think, well, it's his twenty five. Yeah, he's
twenty six now whatever, so it's his year twenty five season or whatever.
Next year he'll be twenty six or whatever. They've got him on club options
until twenty twenty seven, so he's still somebody that they can build a team
around. Like, he's still a phenomenal talent that you that any any team
would want to have. So yeah, hopefully they do build a team out
of him, and hopefully they don't do the shocking thing of trading away his
low value contract to some team that contends to try and scoop a load of
prospects. But maybe that might just that change might be interesting in Chicago or
something that needs to happen, because yeah, that's the only positives I can
actually think about it. Yes, obviously a change has been made and Kenny
Williams has been fired. I think most people would hope that Jerry Reinsdorff could
be fired, but he does own the team, so sadly that's not an
option. But yeah, what what songs? UK didn't dominate Hendricks and says
it's basically been meeting people with Limphoemer on every road series as well as in
their home games. So good and lame Hendricks is due. Yeah, so
we were almost there and we are left with a team for which I did
not receive any nominations to Washington Nationals. But fortunately we've got some things to
say about the Nationals. So did you want to highlight anybody? Yeah,
so the we had a brief discussion about this beforehand to throw back the curtain
of of of of our production. But the one that came to me with
CJ. Abrahams, I think, once again we're talking another not offensively stellar
shortstop who's maybe not the greatest with the glove either, but he's the fast
boy. He's zoom zoom boy, so kind of like he's getting on those
bases and kind of providing us with entertainment. In that regard, he's going
to be probably a forty twenty now we're twenty forty. Sorry, kind of
the wrong round a twenty forty player this season. Like, So, yeah,
I think it was he he was a player that highly highly regarded prospect,
and I think his kind of performance that we'd seen like last season or
maybe like the end of his time that San Diego was that favor was like
dropping or that idea of the top level of performable was dropping. But we're
starting to see like a bit more of that back come back. So I
think, yeah, he's definitely one to have positive one. Yeah, I
think, you know, there's been a lot of debate over Abrams in the
way that he was handled by the Padres, I think, and whether they
brought him up too early yet another one of the heat extremely young players we've
talked about tonight, But yeah, it's you know, I think his skill
set is better suited for these stolen based rules we have, and he should
have a very long major league career ahead of him now. I think if
he can be even league average with the bat. I think he's a threat
on the base paths. You know, maybe they end up with him at
second base at some point and he's more defensively suited for that. But yeah,
I think it's been a positive step forward. And I guess the other
the other guys is laying Thomas is definitely cooled after a very hot start for
the season, but there's still been a well above average contributor for the Nationals,
played in the vast majority of their games, and he's he's already at
a twenty twenty season, could go, could go thirty twenty with a hop
final week, So another ex Cardinal's outfielder doing doing the business somewhere else.
They've traded away a few over the years. So yeah, well, then
to Lane Thomas. I was having a look down the pitching side, I
guess, I guess if you want to highlight someone, it's probably Hunter Harvey,
who has had his injury shoes over the years and was sort of once
seen as a top pitching prospect and you know, barely ever pitched for the
Orioles really, but he's he's really looked excellent for the Nats this year and
managed to pitch more or less a full season of innings in the ballpen.
So I think he's a nice, nice guy for them to have. Certainly
next season we'll see. He's probably a prime trade candidate at this point in
his career. But yeah, nice nice season for hunder Harvey could see him
healthy, Yes, something could should say. I can't wait to hear what
you want to say now. I'm Braser and Patrick Gorbyn maybe on for three
years of black ink in a row for the most losses in the National League.
Patrick Corbyn has done stellar work. I said earlier, you don't find
many guys who pitch thirty plus starts a year. Now, let's give full
credit to Patrick Corbyn if you exclude the twenty twenty season in which nobody pitched
thirty starts. Obviously, Patrick Corbyn has a six seasons in a row of
thirty plus starts. Now, have the last three of those seasons been very
bad? Yes they have, But the National needed somebody to pick those innings
and nobody else was going to do it. So Patrick Corbyn did it.
And you know the results were mixed, but he has been there and he's
kept going. He's been better this year than he's been like the pre the
seasons, like he has improved. Yeah, third consecutive season of a hundred
earned runs? It out, But he's not last in National League? Who
is last in the Lash League? Do we think? What's your guests?
I'm gonna look it up. Wait, who's actually been bad this year?
I want one hundred earned runs? So let's find out. I think it
would be Freeland, Freeland or Colvin is only fifth? How many fifth?
So let's think he's been bad. I want to say, these guys have
all obviously pitched quite a lot. Yeah to give up that many many runs?
Who have pitched in the NL? And yeah, so I think Freeland,
I want to say rich Hill, I want to say Michaelis. Michaelis
is third, Rachel is twelfth, Freedom is fourteenth. Uh, what's the
pitch? You will know who it is as soon as I say it's a
guy who is obvious. Oh, that's really annoying. A guy who's a
guy who's definitely pitched all season and absolutely sucked. Oh oh we are we
are we doing all of Major league? Or as I was just thinking,
I was thinking Henel or oh yeah, so yeah, Well, I mean
it's a bit tricky with so there's one guy who's ahead of Michaelis who has
pitched in both leagues. All right, so that's Lanceletin, that's Lancelin.
Yeah. So in the NL, Michaelis is first if you count la on
me, okay, and then obviously then it has to be Jordan Miles.
It's Jordans one hundred and nineteen. I don't think Corbyn's going to catch him,
no, but obviously Lyles doesn't even have the He's yeah, he's got
what seventeen losses I think for the season. So he's got seventeen losses.
Yeah, fair place, Jordan Lyles. He has trucked along. He has
in fact throwing three complete games, which also leads to major eggs. Oh
yes, yea with what against Folio Alcantra. Even though he's been kind of
a bit nap this year, it's probably the only person that gets allowed to
go deep. Yeah. I always, I always enjoy looking at the leader
boards for complete games, and it's just a bunch of guys tired these days,
bleat games. Yes, Sandy and Jordan Lyles. Don't give me looking
at these leader boards. I'm going to start seeing things that I know and
no annoy me like do you know who leads to blown saves for the season,
dereuts Manuel Class, Manuel Glass. You know he has nine losses for
this season. Yeah, this is probably fitting. But I have almost almost
skipped over one final team, which is the Detroit Tigers, who, yeah,
to be fair, you know, hung around this season, and we
got a it does hung around count if it's because like the whole league is
bad, so they can kind of have hung around because they were You can
only beat the competition that's put in front of your us. The Tigers didn't,
but they thought about it for a bit and at Weeb of the Year
on Twitter suggested Parker Meadows walk off for his first career home run, which
was one of the more specific moments we got suggested. But there we go.
Do you have any Tigers you want to highlight? I think I'm just
going to say Tick Scruble has been the best picture in the majors since he
came back, hasn't it? Yeah? Yeah? Hands down? Like yeah,
I think yeah. And obviously just being one of those players that have
kind of like how did possible things coming through and then maybe not having like
the best moments. I think, yes, Google coming through ass has been
a pretty phenomenal picture and a good chance for them to actually really really something
to kind of make to build on. But now you just kind of hope
that you can get that he games out of him. That's gonna be the
that's going to be the next question. Like he's obviously had like two two
good seasons. Like obviously I think this season he's better than the last season
when it comes to like some of the numbers. But he's now got a
couple of a couple of hundred innings in him of good pitching. It's now,
can you get a couple of hundred innings of good pitching in one season?
Yeah, definitely. The stuff is there, Yeah, the talent is
there. Can we can we get him Let's you know, let's get him
too hundred and sixty at least next year. That would be great. We'll
see, But there's the making say, you know, he rode his back
again season. I think Sawyer Gibson long looks quite interesting in his early going
Resultsan's flashed a bit. And the other thing for Destroit fans to be positive
about. And we could have said this about White Sox fans and we can
say this about Cleveland fans, And we can say this about Royals fans.
That division is winnable, Like you're going to see a team win eighty five
wins and win that division. And the Twins aren't going to spend money to
get better because they spend their money on career MM. So yes, like
any team that wants to kind of try might win that division. So if
you believe that your team might try, it might be false hope, But
there's a division that's winning. Young boys and girls hit the al Center will
be fun. You heard it here? First? Is Tom going to have
to make me a new postcard? We definitely have to make him make here
a new firstcard if that happens. Okay, So I think that's it.
Everybody else is still in it. The Reds are still in it just for
the avoidance of wars out. It's still possible. It's going to be an
interesting final week for them. Oh. The Padres are also still in it
because I put a better than at thirteen hundred to one to win the ones.
It's the other day. It's technically possible the Padres play the Giants two
nights, so one of those teams is probably going to be eliminated. After
that game basically, but one of them will still be in it, so
anything can happen. And they Asteroid to play the Mariners as well this week,
so it's all happening, and we're going to be back next Monday with
a full playoff preview. The playoff field will be set, so we will
do our usual breakdown our bracket and probably immediately be proven wrong. While Card
series a tendency to do this to you, he still gonna win. That's
what I've said, probably for the last year. They're gonna win. Yeah,
Houston, I've got to get the Mariners out of the way first and
make sure they get into the postseason. But yeah, it should be a
fun final week in a wild card race and the West Race very much up
for grabs, and we will certainly break all of that down and break all
the playoffs down next Monday, So rust anything to plug before we go,
not from writing perspective, but if people want to to look at some of
the work that I have been doing on commentating Jenny Sports Media is what we've
been doing to try and show people British baseball that actually exists. Obviously we
did it for some of the finals that we've had at the end of this
season, so please go check share that so we can make more people be
aware that British baseball actually exists. Otherwise, no, nothing for me,
but obviously there's great on our website from some of the people who have given
their comments today. Obviously, like the series from Atlanta throughout the whole entire
season has been a really great read for me. The work being done on
the rivalry series with me and Gave were asked politely to do something about Cleveland
and Cincinnati and we kind of both responded, there isn't really a rivalry,
so I could have done it. I could have done a thousand word piece
on why the fact that they actually just get along, but quite what the
rivalry pieces were looking for. Yes, So Charlie Deeks, who has been
doing that great Atlanta series all year, and Josh Edwards did the Braves and
the Mets this week and rust whatever to Gav. He would never say this,
but he talked about he wrote about his twenty twenty three season highlight on
the side of this week, which was actually really an excellent piece. So
I know Gave is probably very embarrassed that I mentioned that, but you should
go to get out because I agree. Phenomenal piece. Yeah, so do
go and check that out. Batflips and nerds dot com. You can follow
us on Twitter at bat flips on score Nerds, you can yell at us
about the things that we missed about your team this season, and we'll be
back next week to break down the playoff picture. So we will catch you
then Bye,