Toby bell Ringer. Welcome to bat Flip and Nerds. Hello, and welcome
to Battlets and Nerds, these baseball podcast with a British twist. I am
your host this evening, Russa Leesum, and we are at the much maligned
halfway point of the season. Some people don't like calling it halfway because we
are beyond halfway. But we've had the All Star Game. We're all suffering
with the lack of baseball, or at least Major League baseball going on right
now. But I do have to fine first while individuals to give me their
thoughts on this season so far. So we'll start off with the man who
gives us the spicy takes, mister Rob Neervera. Hello, Governess, that's
there, and my fellow Statnard Darius. How are you doing. I'm doing
all right. How are you? I'm doing good. I'm doing good.
I feel there's going to be some talk about some good stuff and there's going
to be talk about, I think a lot of bad stuff. But what
we're going to do is we're going to go through each of the league.
So we're gonna go through the thirty teams and effectively give them a grade for
performances so far this season, and also a grade against expectation. So obviously,
if somebody's kind of started off into the season, we didn't think they
were doing well, and they're doing slightly better than we're actually going to give
them like a good grade for actually like against expectation, Whereas obviously somebody could
still be doing kind of good but have just been a bit mayor and so
it's kind of not really actually done anything good or bad against expectations. For
the record, I already don't understand good. It's fine. That's how we
want to go with them. So Rob, pick a division, A division.
I am going to pick the National League Central. What a place to
start? What a place to start? The National League Central? Okay,
Darius in the National League Central, let's start off with the team that has
currently run the roost, the Brewers. Well, would what would you think
of the Brewers season so far? It's fine? You know, yeah,
it's not like you know, you looked at the Brewers roster mid John John
would say, I don't know if he talks about the Cubs being made,
but it's you know, without Woodroffe, with Burns not being on it,
there's just not not a lot exciting here is there? And you know,
the division kind of sucks, so they're still in it. But yeah,
it's it's fine. They're by beverage, but nothing exciting. Yeah. In
my list, I've given them a bee for the performance so far in this
season and a see against their expectations, because I think I've got the expectations.
I agree with the see. Yeah, I think that they're just they're
kind of they're performing just a little bit worse. Yeah, it a bit
good. I mean, let's see, was like a pass when I was
doing what I was doing gcfcs, I mean, but for just like,
they don't even do letters anymore, do they. I believe they do numbers
now, which I have no clue about, but we all use the different
system. I think we should use the Greek letters. Yeah, yeah,
Like I see was decent when I was there, and you know what,
the Brewers haven't been decent because what the Brewers were supposed to do is the
Brewers were supposed to sort of amble to first or second in this division,
um barely comfortably making the you know, the playoffs, really like they were
unspectacularly going to be fine. But they're not really fine, are they?
I think they are that you know that they've not got big teams around them,
and they're not doing particularly well. The pitching is still very good and
the offense is just dreadful. Like it's basically just like the Marlins and the
Nationals. I think, who are worse than them? So to me,
yeah, I think the Brewers are basically a push from where they were at
the start of the season. I think of looking at fangraffs, they were
an eighty five point six win projection team at the start of the year.
They're now an eighty four win team projected. So they've they've they've they've done
it slightly worse than anticipated if you want, with their So there are still
favorites to win that division fifty one percent. Obviously to our main man,
Gabs slighted the team that are actually a top of the division right now by
by a game, but they do have a slightly worse playoff making odds,
which are the Cincinnati Reds. Rob, do you want to talk about the
Cincinnati Reds? Yeah, but just for are we sticking on C minus for
the Brewers then yeah, so B for their performance and C minus for performance
against expectations that what we're saying, great lovely the Reds now the red are
I mean, we didn't expect much from the Reds, if if we're honest,
we were we were thinking disaster zones with the Reds. We were thinking
the Reds were gonna be kicking around with the with the A's. Realistically,
the A's and Nationals at at the very bottom, maybe slightly above those but
but not not really giving as much more to talk about. But but my
goodness, like those young guns coming up and doing the job, like the
Reds are not only half decent, they're exciting to watch. They've got possibly
the most exciting baseball player in baseball at the moment playing for them, in
Elie de la cruz Um. I mean they are well ahead, shorty,
right, like I mean, I mean they are. They are A and
A right, I mean maybe B and A, but like they are,
they are fantastic. Like no one saw this coming from the Reds, that
the Reds were supposed to be crap? Am I wrong? I think there's
still a solid be on performance so far, just because because of where they
are like that their record is not amazing. But as I managed to confuse
rob with my rank the cheering system beforehand. I actually have them as an
S rank for against expectations because I think they've effectively improved their expected win rate
by about thirteen run thirteen wins already kind of against projections, which is from
from my calculations. Or they're effectively like the second best like improved team from
against expectations so far. So S is just like it just goes above A.
It's like super or whatever. If you've ever played any Gatcher game in
any existence ever, you know that things go up to A and then obviously
they now need to create something that is better than A. So what's the
Gatcher? Have you played it? Never played a mobile game where like you
get random like minions to fight. That's not a moving swiftly onwards, Darius,
I've got to be an S. I think. Yeah, the bullpen
Is is utterly phenomenal. The players that brought in have made the game be
entertaining, but they've also that troubled a bit on the pitching side, which
we thought what was actually going to be their strong point. Those three young
guns have all basically got injured. Yeah, it's not really come from where
we expected. I mean I think people were excited about Denna Cruz, but
you know, I think we should not overlook Spencer Steer. We shouldn't overlooked
Matt McClain. Like, they've caught up these rookies and they've they've all been
unbelievable, and yeah, Nicoladolo's been hurt and not really done it, Hunter
Green's hurt, growing Mashcraft is kind of getting lit up, and yeah,
it's all these young offensive rookies that are doing the job. So that's off
to them. I didn't know whether to save the S for the team that
has increased their percentage by the most, so I was also inclined to go
A or A plus. But yeah, they've obviously massively outperformed what any of
us expected. I think even even gav who was relatively optimistic, said they
were going to be about five hundred. For them to be, you know,
while above that and within shout of division title is pretty impressive. Cool.
I'm happy to go with a B and an A. We don't need
to move into slightly more depressing territory the Chicago Cubs, and we watched them
obviously play an entertaining series in London, but after that initial rush that they
had, they've not really managed to maintain that. So I have them as
a Oh no, I have them as a D team, but actually kind
of relatively in line with expectations because I did not think much of them going
into the season. Darius, do you agree? Yeah, I thought there
as a D A performance and a B against the expectation. Yeah, the
covers are funny one because they've still got like the best round differential division,
which isn't saying much, but they're positive and everyone else is negative. But
yeah, they've they've disappointed. I think, you know, I thought they
were going to be five hundred ish team and they're they're below that. So
I think C minus at best and yeah, like a D performance so far.
It's just it's a weird team. I can't figure them out. There's
still guys on this team that I like a lot. I think, you
know, there's going to be more coming from them, but it's it hasn't
worked and there's still a lot of holes. And you explain, Justin Steele,
Can I explain Justin Steel how somebody can throw two pictures and not throw
them particularly fast and still have a lower in Major League Baseball? I think
there's a deception element to it, which is usually the answer and these things
I don't like counting on deception going forwards, but he does get a lot
of weak contact. And yeah, even though I think he's thrown a lot
more strikes this year, and even though the strikeout rate has gone down,
you can tell that he is difficult to scraw up. I mean, we
saw him live in London and hitters couldn't really get on top of him.
He's obviously a difficult guy to face. So we'll see whether that continues going
forwards. But yeah, between Steven and Stroman it's a good one too,
and Bell and just bounced back. And still think that's more to come from
Suzuki, who's you know, having having a decent issue season. And obviously
we love Nico Horner, but then you look around at some of the other
guys that the Cubs have been playing and it's like, yeah, I can
see while this is not going quite how they wanted to, it's been a
precipitous fall. I mean I was in Chicago fairly early in the season,
at the end of end of April, and at that point they were absolutely
flying high. You know, they were I mean, we'll come onto the
Pirates in a minute. But like the Pirates were doing insane things, but
that the Cubs were doing, we're doing a great job behind them. They
were flying high, and people in Chicago we're talking about how the Cubs were
we were starting to find their their feet and this was the beginning of the
new window. But it's just dropped off a cliff since then. You know,
they've they've fallen a long way. I think it's a really bad time
for them because you start asking the question of the Cubs sellers, and then
you've got you've got the Stroman's and the and the you know, the a
couple of other guys on the team who you've that there's the basis of a
team here for the next couple of years. But as they start kind of,
you know, looking really bad, are they're going to sell and then
and then nose die even the second half? And I think that's probably the
way they're heading. So should we say any deeper for performance and a CEE
against expectation? Okay, so hang on, So a C would mean sorry,
I'm still struggling with the concept here. A C would mean that they
have done exactly asn't expected. Is that right? I think so? Right?
Okay, well then how how can they do exactly as expected yet get
a D in performance? Surely they're a CC because they were expected to be
bad and they are bad. Well they de Yeah, my expectation was,
yeah, absolutely, I mean I expect them five hundred night. I think
as they are constructed right now, they will probably finish about five hundred.
I do worry though, that the transfer deadline is going to be a trade
deadline is going to be it's gonna be an it after for them. So
as they're constructed, I would probably say a CC, but I can understand
a DC. There is. Yeah, I'll go D plus C. I'll
give them a little bit of credit for that run differential, but most of
that was that red hot first couple of weeks that Rob witnessed. So okay,
so we'll move on to the other team that was red hot at the
start of the season, Pittsburgh Pirates. Kind Of, as far as we
are like, we can'bably say too much difference. I think the Pirates weren't
actually expected to be that much worse than the clubs the season. Maybe a
little bit worse. You give them a little benefit into that regard, But
I had a bit of bid seventies win team. I think they're projected now
to still be a mid seventies win team, even though they won like fifteen
of the first twenty games and they've gone on being bad afterwards. We can
we smash this one out quickly and say almost exactly the same deep LUs C.
And yes they've been entertaining to watch, but it's not been not really
even much to actually talk about, apart from it being a little bit fun
occasionally. I mean the fall has been even more precipitous. I mean it's
been it's been insane. They were absolutely flying high and looked fantastic, and
then I mean we never believe it. No one actually believed it with the
Pirates. So I'm not like overdisappointed with them DP plus because you know,
they're they're basically the same record as the Cubs. But I had worse expectations
and they are basically the same. So for me, it's a D plus
C plus rather than a D plus C. I bull and then we'll talk
about probably one of the teams that might get closer, closer enough to the
lowest rankings in expectations than there was Cardinals. They are currently thirty eight and
fifty two, which I think it's phenomenal. I think by my calculations,
they have the second highest decrease in playoff percentage odds, So they've gone from
having a sixty seven percent percent it's a chance of making the playoffs to a
six percent chance of making the playoffs. This is like I have them as
E for performance and E against expectations, Darius and expectations. Christ, We're
going, We're going, yeah easily. I think I think it's an f
because it's the Cardinals, like, and this is not just record, this
is vibes. The vibes have been terrible and similar as the season, Oli
Marmal making an absolute mess of things. Adam Wayne, Right, oh yeah,
I'm coming back for another year getting absolutely destroyed. I love the guy,
like, you know, just obviously like such a charismatic, lovely guy.
But I really wish he'd just retired with the Adiam bootholes because this has
been an absolute disaster. Yeah, if the Cardinals are not in the playoff,
Mikes, what are we doing here? Like you're almost like you're almost
at d even if they like just missed the playoffs, So for them to
be like fIF fourteen games on the five hundred, that's an F to me.
They should have been winning this division at an absolute canter. Like they've
got the players there is yeah, yeah, there was always questions over the
pitching. Absolutely, there was always a bit of a question there. But
with this this life, I mean they've got Goldie and Arnado. I mean
that that that should be enough to carry them to being middling, you know,
absolute worst. But I mean this has been a disaster. It's an
ian an F for me because how Arlie Marmon is still employed I don't know.
Because they've taken a team which nothing has changed other than the manager,
and it's it's been a disaster and the vibes, as Darius said, are
disastrous, and every every problem they've encountered has seemed to be made worse by
marm Or rather than better. If that guy makes the end of the season,
I would be absolutely amazed at this point. So it's it's an absolute
F. Is as bad as it goes? Or is it going to ge
or you stick with I think that was the lowest I went as well.
So nothing said they're going to make trades like Cardinals fans that are not going
to know what's happened to them, because when of the Cards ever had to
sell off season, not since I followed baseball. Yeah, okay, so
that takes us through the NL Central, Darius, give us another division.
Well, let's do the AL Central and we'll build up from there. Okay,
we'll talk about Okay, so we can we can go to another team
that is somehow barely leading a division. At the time of speaking, there's
actually team in this division that has a five hundred record. It is a
five hundred record. It is the Cleveland Guardians are sat there at forty five
and forty five. I'll I think I'll take this one. I didn't really
have much expectations for them to be beyond this. Actually, kind of going
into the season, I didn't really buy some of the the extra hype that
happens towards the end of last season. I think there was a little bit
of work, a little bit of players are performing what we anticipated. So
I really had the Guardians as like an eighty two eighty three win team.
So as they're kind of on pace for that, there's not much you can
They're really waiting a little bit off what they're doing. It's just been there's
been injuries, there's been Armored Rosario playing absolutely terribly. There's been either any
of the catching options being or like, it's all great to see Bonela come
up and throw some dudes out at a second or whatever. It's in stellar
basis, but he can't hit at all, So it's not particularly useful to
have him and Milestraw and Armored Rossourio all failing to actually do anything with the
bat. So yeah, I've just gone to see and see because I just
think that's kind of what we anticipated. I was maybe a little bit higher
on on Cleveland. I thought the one thing they were missing last year was
a little bit of power. And then they tried to get some guys in
who had a little bit of power, who have been disasters. And then
and then you got some step backs by from some guys like like Stephen Kuan,
who's not not putting up the numbers like he was even without the power.
We didn't expect that. But he's he's not. He's he was a
big, average guy who's not anymore, you know. And Josh Bell he's
been I mean, he's not been great as he's he's he was there for
the power. He's not done that. You know, Nino has been a
disaster. So I would say that, if anything, a little bit worse
than I expected. I wasn't expecting much to start with. I was probably
expecting roughly a C plus and I'm probably a bad a D. I think
ce performance the expectations for me, I thought, I think we did have
them winning the division in our predictions, not with a great win total,
but above five hundred. And yeah, the offense, just outside of Ramires,
it's been so disappointing. You know, Josh now has been good,
but yeah, this just like the bottom half is a total dead spot.
You cannot carry this many guys who just do absolutely nothing with the bat.
So yeah, it's um, it's a D for me on the on the
expectations and the fact that they're still in it. It's got not very much
to do with them, I don't think. I mean, maybe Cleveland's front
office just looked at the division. I thought, yeah, we haven't got
to do much year, have we. Guys? They sturn not to have
been writer so far. But yep, it's not impressive. Oh so yeah,
let's go CD. Then and leave the response back to that up to
our audience the next team. But as the Twins, they do have half
game back, but they are actually predicted to win the division by most sources.
Darius, what do we think here? I think kind of, I'm
fairly similar to what we said before. It's pretty much probably like a sea
and a d If we've gone the same way with the Guardians, I think
we have to go in the same way with the Twins. Yeah, yeah,
I think so. I mean the thing about the Twins is, like
you said, oh, they need some pitching. Like the pitching suck last
year. There was no depths, it fell apart. They've done a great
job, fantastic job. I mean, I don't need to talk about Joe
Ryan again, but you know, Pablo Lopez has been great. You know,
they've really like overhauled that that pitching staff and it looks really good and
just collapsed. Absolutely sucks. In the context of the Ale Central, it
doesn't suck that much, but if you look at the rest of the Ale,
it definitely does. As a Giants fanom like, you know, not
that disappointed we didn't get Korea now because it hasn't gone well. Buxton is
supposed to just be hitting and now it's like just kind of all right,
it's yeah, it's not good. So seeing D, I think the division
is absolutely wide open there for the taking. I think they've got a better
team than the Guardians, but whether they can get it together to actually,
you know, realize the potential over the second half, I half my dance.
Yeah, just the Twins haven't done anything wrong. Like if you if
you look at what the front office did, they went out, they got
like you know, they got Korea, Like okay, yeah, there's an
injury question that doesn't seem to be what's filled him. Yeah, they made
the upgrades of the pitching. Yeah, they've done it. Okay, They've
not done anything that shouldn't have them in first place in this division. But
it's for whatever reason. I think Rock Obowdeli's another guy who's going to be
questioning whether or not his job is safe come the end of the year.
As you could basically say about everybody in this division. Um, yeah,
I mean C and D. The Twins should be doing better. They just
should be. There's no reason for this. Yeah, I think it would
take like something absolutely catastrophic to make the Guardians sack Francona. To be honest,
that was the only thing I was going to say. What t tooken
still stand. I think that's what would get him out of the job if
if his health preventsive from doing so. I don't think they would ever say,
yeah, he's too much credit. This would have to become like a
sixty win team for a couple of seasons I think before they would even think
about doing it. Okay, so that's now we've talked about the two relatively
optimistic teams within the Al Central. Let's go into the devils of not actually
that optimistic, or maybe a little bit more than we thought. The Tigers
are next at thirty nine and fifty obviously kind of were projected to be around
that sort of territory. I think at the start of the season. It
is a very healthy pigalty way which the Tigers do things. If you follow
our good friend jed On on Twitter, there are times where they are absolutely
awful and it says some particularly polite things about the individuals who play for the
twit or Traders, and then they go through combined no hitters. So I
have them at a D for performance, but a see gets expectation because yeah,
this is just what we anticipated. It's better than I thought. I
was unfortunate enough to see to stand there and watch the Tigers do batting practice
last year in twenty twenty one, and even in batting practice, I think
they managed to get out of about fifty balls, two of them went out.
I mean, there's a complete power outage there just just it's just nothing.
You know, it was it was. It was a disaster. And
maybe they got a little bit of that back this year. But you know,
I was expecting worse. They're doing fine. I think. I think
the thing about the Tigers is, if you say twenty nineteen, how are
they doing against expectations? This is an f But given how badly this rebuilder
has gone over the last couple of years, the supposedly new resurgent Tigers with
the you know, their their forward thinking manager and they're spending and all their
youth, it's been a disaster. So but compared to last year, yeah,
absolutely, I think I'm about the same. It's a it's a dep
performance, but roughly roughly about where I expected it. I'm going to be
a bit. I think they're like at least like a B minus and expectations.
I agree with the DN performance, but I thought they would be last
in this division, to be honest, and like I go, don't know
that we should give them credit for the Royals and the White Sogs being dreadful.
But they've they've been okay. They've had some moments like sort of in
spite of some of the decisions they've made. I mean, like when I
look up and the Tigers are like batting buyers fourth again, it's like the
dude's got a five ninety Ops, what are you doing here? Guys like
understand sunk cost like that kind of thing. I understand why it drives jead
nuts because they finally Dfad Scope, who hasn't hit for god knows how long.
But if you know, e Rod's looking looking pretty good, like that
deal might work out pretty well for them. Roddy Green has has turned up,
talkson actually has been hitting lately, like the last month. Talcuson looks
like the guy that people thought he might be. And yeah, you know
it's I wasn't expecting anyone, but I thought they'd be yeah, like mid
sixties win teams. So if they come out here and win seventy five then
I think they've they've done a right given what Scott Harris had to work with
at the start of the year, which was just a big fucking mess to
be honest. Yeah, I think there are seven. Yeah, I think
protected seventy one. There are at a seventy one record and still protected at
seventy one. So I think we go for fan grabs. I think we
were more negative. I think I think it's been a wash. I'll give
him a C plus against expectations. Can't quite get into into that B territory.
Um. But as you mentioned, next team, I think we should
discuss all of the Chicago White Sox. Um. Yeah, I've gone e
and E here for performance and expectations. Where has it all gone wrong,
Darius? Because they have probably one of the best center fielders in baseball,
They have a reasonable bullpin. How can you not have any of the other
players? I think I think that's it because like everything else that you didn't
mention, has gone wrong, like pretty much everything else. Like I guess
you know Andrew Benning and he has been average ish, Like I still don't
understand what that deal was. Jake Burger has hit, but yeah, it's
it's a total mess the rest of the roster. The pitching has been bad.
Tim Anderson, I mean I hope to disappointment of the year. I
mean that's awful. Tim Madison doesn't look like a major league baseball player right
now. Like it's been absolutely dreadful. Um, So yeah, that's that's
distressing. And yeah, I god knows how bad it would be without Rebel
carrying this team because there's just nothing else here like that. The depth isn't
there in the rotation. Um, you know, Ceasar's regressed. I thought
Sez would regress, and he has. Lancelin has been getting lit up.
It's it's rough out there, and there isn't a lot of depth on this
team. Like you looked at the system prior to the year and you thought,
well, you know, where is it coming from. If a picture
gets hurt, it's just not there. And we said what they're doing at
second base, like let's rerun the Elvis Andrew's miracle. Yeah that's going to
bat as well as you might have thought. So yeah, I'm not shocked
that it's gone wrong. I'm kind of surprised that it's gone this wrong.
But you could sort of see, Yeah, you guys get hurt that this
isn't going to work out very well, and guess what here we are?
Yes, I think the simple way of putting it is that the White Sox
have four point six more from their hitting players so far this season. Lewis
Robert accounts for three point seven hitting war the rest of the team combined is
at point nine. So they've basically had replacement level players from all of the
other hitting across the board this season, which is just unbelievable, especially obviously
you say like him, Anderson Is has a whole that I just looked at
his slashlight and that's absolutely disgusting. Two twenty three, two fifty nine,
two sixty three, and I still Fantasy League, you don't. You don't
see a zero point four is regular imagining players very I would love to know
actually what the last like sort of you know, five hundred plus plight appearance
zero point before I say, was from a regular because that can't happen very
often. I'm looking up keep talking, So do they? I think we
can have a happy with saying it's e for what's happened so far this season?
Are they? Do they fall into that f category for expectations or were
they just kind of bad enough that we thought this was going to happen.
So it's probably in the E E minus or an F plus. Like I
expected. The benchlanmark here is the Cardinals, and I had a little bit
more expectation of the Cardinals and needed the white socks that it didn't work last
year. So I'm a half grade down. So it's an E minus or
an F plus for me one or the other. I think, in going
by grading systems, an F plus really exists because F is kind of just
like stail. So I think then we'll squitch them into the E minus territory
E minus and then somehow there's been a team that's been even worse than them
this season, and I think this is potentially the luckiest team in all of
baseball. And the reason why they're the luckiest team in all of baseball is
everybody's been talking about another really bad team and has not actually looked and seen
how bad the Kansas City Royals are. They are. Also, they are
projected well. Their current rate would have them about forty six wins for the
season. They're projected from like fifty five, so they're already projected to be
an above dree hundred lost team, which is kind of ridiculous because nothing really
ever gets predicted that bad. So I just don't think there's anything more to
say than this is an F and an F like the best player that's on
that team. Yes, Bob, we were junior. I think has done
what we would love to have seen. Michael Garcia has had a good season
as the moments to say, I don't say. Arroldis Chapman has had a
good season with the rules, but he's not going to be there from the
end of this month. He is like prade bait number one. I think
on on out there to go with that. So he already got traded to
the Rangers. Oh you did, Yeah, sorry about that. Yeah.
So like anything that's good on this team is kind of going all of those
young pictures that we thought if we take a talk the same way as we
talked about the two Tigers, these pictures that were going to be amazing,
Singer, Boobage, all of that lot. Like what I think Singer has
a close to six r A. It's I think I think across the board,
I think the RARA has been about five five and a half. But
and the city so far this year. It's it's not been good. Um,
and they've destroyed the trade value of everyone. Like, worst case scenario
is you could trade away some of these pictures that promised. But I mean,
who are you picking up out of this lot? I mean the luckiest
thing that's happened to them this season is that Ryan Yarborough got his face broken
so they couldn't throw any more balls. I mean, it's been disaster.
I mean their best picture is a reliever who's no longer on the team.
I mean, and that's by War so far this season. That's insane.
Uh yeah, what's what is going on here? It was they were taking
the step forward, they were starting to make that move again, and it's
gone the other way. It's what's worse than a f I mean, this
is a disaster because I thought they might be doing a little bit better,
they may have started to make a move forward. It's it's a disaster.
Anything to have daris beyond disaster. I think, Um, just competing with
the A's for the worst record is the most damning indictment of a team I
think you could ever make. I didn't get the singer. I didn't get
the singer. Thing like people seem to believe in him this obvious season.
I was like, what you, I don't see it like he had a
lucky season last year. I didn't think it would be this bad. But
I think we had a conversation a few months ago about how, yeah,
the Royals had all these pitching prospects and where have they gone? Like they've
literally not got one good star out of them this year. It's mad So
nothing else to add. It's it's a total disaster. Update last hitter to
have a zero point four or lower ISO over a five hundred plate appearance season
there were two in two thousand and ten. Cesar Is tourists and Elvis Andrews
still a two win player. Believe Yeah, Okay, it's that gives us
another division complete, and I think we can now kind of get into low
maybe a happier mentality about what some of these divisions can be. So I'm
going to take it to the NL West. We're going to talk about rout.
Yes, So simplistically, the Dodgers are still in charge of the NL
West, which is not something that I think we all thought going into the
season, but wasn't beyond the realms of possibility. They are like projected to
be a ninety three win team. Now, I think we probably mosteen people
had them maybe in the high eighties or alone nineties for this season, given
a few of the players that they lost, and obviously with the injury to
Looks before the start of the season, I think most people sought them in
that territory. So I think there's still are of that. Is he just
they've just been boring this season, Like the Dodgers have just been so good
for the last ten years that they've just been kind of just outshone by other
things going on around them. I have them as basically is in a performance
and be against expectation because it's just they kind of bumbled along and as somehow
still predicted to win nineteen wins. Garis I think B plus performance. I
think it was saw the Dodgers falling off a bit this year. But yeah,
I guess it feels kind of like a see in that context, I
suppose I don't think people were expecting them to be the juggernaut Dodges and actually
in that context like, yeah, we fit the All Star break and they
are back in first place. And to be honest, like I know the
Diamondbacks are like exciting and a lot of good stories have happened, but if
you look at a lot of the underlying stuff, I think they're going to
be pretty lucky to still be here at the end of the season. Like
the Dodges are actually a much better team than they are, And you know,
I hope the Dodges don't win fomision again because we've had enough of that
over the last few years. But you look at some of the people's like
outside of Carol and Gallen, like, I think the diamond Backs roster is
pretty fragile, and I don't have that concerned about the Dodges because you just
know they're going to find something. I mean. Also, the other thing
is like Clayton kersh Or is leading the league in the ARI again, which
is pretty on the il with shoulder, isn't he Yeah, because it's casual.
But yeah, at some point the Dodges are not, Hey, Clayton,
can you throw one hundred fifty innings for us? Like, at some
point in the next couple of years, that's not going to be an option
for them anymore. So I'll be interesting to see where they end up then.
But yeah, they've figured out again. You know, Freeman's elite bets
is elite. They're always going to be all right as long as those guys
are around. I think, yeah, I still have them as probably the
third best team in baseball, Like, which is like this is a bad
and this is a bad Dodger season, right, yeah, and you know
what, what team isn't injured at this point. But I would say the
Dodgers have probably handing a little bit worse, especially when it comes to their
pitching. We knew their pitching was going to be a bit shaky, and
then they've had some bad luck with it as well. If they just get
back to neutral luck over the second half, I think they're gonna They're gonna
win it at a canter um. So I'm a B plus C. I
agree with Darius on the rankings. I'd have given them a little bit more
for against expectations because they've kind of matched it up. But I'm happy to
sit with what you boys just think. Also, it's predictable. But like
Jason Hayward is pretty good again. I know everybody said, oh Jason,
no, it was gonna go to the Dodges and they're gonna fix him,
And yeah, actually they have, so yeah, but it's also saying something
about them needing to even throw him out there, like, yeah, there
is in the game time for him to play there. This isn't the juggernaut
the Dodgers team that we had, but as we've meant to them a little
bit already, there's at the Diamondbacks. They sat tie on games back,
They've virtually won one more and lost one more to a slightly little worse with
percentage than the Dodgers. But this is this is a great season. I
think I've pretty much got Obviously, if if we said B plus for the
Dodgers, who kind of prey before, it's going to say be plus for
the diamond Backs and well on performance, but this has got to be close
to an A even an A plus against expectations. I'm going to be saying
that I definitely saw them to be. I thought they were a five hundred
team with a slight chance at sneaking into that playoffs if everything went well.
Well, everything is going well right now, it's how long everything goes well
four So rob Yeah, I'm personally I'm really enjoying watching the Longoria renaissance that's
been that's been lovely to watch. UM. I think they are a team
who if you look at the relative weakness of the rest of the National League,
UM, they're They're a fair showing at this point for UM for a
wild card unless unless they they hit those injuries and they are relying heavily on
a couple of superstars, and I think if they lose a little bit of
that it could get ugly quick. But as they're going right now, they're
doing they're doing a bloody good job. And they need an eye over the
shoulder at the NL East. But even that's not doing what it's supposed to
be doing. Will come on for that in a minute. The rest of
the vision is not doing what it's supposed to be doing, and they should.
They should from where they are at least be scrapping for the world card
at the end of the day. And is that something we thought they'd be
doing? Maybe an outside they put themselves in a position whereby we now expect
him to at least be in the conversations. So yeah, definitely definitely better
B plus two an A for me on the expectations performance wise, Yeah,
it's a B B minus maybe a B. It's a B Darius anythings to
add, so we need to. I think they're going to be a team
that's definitely going to go out there in the trade market for pictures, aren't
they, Because after Gallen and Kelly, I think it's not looked particularly exhilarating
elsewhere. Now. I've been very impressed with Scott McGough in the Bullpenny had
to go blow ups early, it made his line look bad, but he's
actually been very very good. Other than that, Yeah, I think they
need bullpen help. I think they need back of the rotation help. I
know people are excited about Brandon part and not just because they get to say
his name, but it has not worked. And I think if the Diving
Backs are going to go into a playoff series and saying we want three starters,
we can count who's the third guy, they don't have the third guy,
I don't think, so I think they need to go and find that
third guy. And I think they need to go and find another guy that
they can count one on the back of the bullpen. So as for the
ratings, yeah, I think I think in a works for me. Okay,
okay, So we're next to move on to your san Francisco Giants.
Darius, I give my two cents. First, I think I kind of
still had them falling off a little bit. I thought, l everything that
happened in the off season, where they were and everything, I thought they
were going to be five hundred or slightly below. So I think where they're
at, they're on a trajectorally for eighty eight wins, which I think is
solid. Shouldn't get them play season, which is definitely expect above expect patients.
So I had them at B and B the performance and expectations, Darius,
What's what's what's caused this little renaissance of the of the San Francisco Giants.
I mean, it's it's very Giants again, isn't it. Webb has
been excellent. Um, They've surprisingly like kept Cobb and disclafany healthy, which
is not a thing that's happened a great deal over the last few years.
But they've both basically made more or less every return in the rotation. M
Patrick Bailey has helped a lot since he has come up. He looks great.
Um. And then it's like, you know, the guys who like
didn't really work out anywhere else. Lamont Wade is back and getting on base
at like near bonds and rates. JD. Davis has suddenly figured it out,
and the piro restrata like probably the best player on the offense. I
think a lot of people have fought last year was a fluke and kind of
looks like it's not. It's a great defender and you know he's hitting enough
that you can definitely run him out there every day. So yeah, it's
it's been another real team effort. There isn't a superstar like website closest thing
we've got, I guess. But outside of that is just you know,
a bunch of good team construction, I think, and hats off to Zaidie,
I guess for defying our expectations once again. It's just more again once
it's been not just not having bad players on the team, because I think
obviously like Schmidt and Wisely have had a bit of time, but combined not
too much. Even Hanniger hasn't been like the greatest. But I think it's
came out about like replacement. So you just haven't had anybody been or which
has been, and I had to kind of like make that decision of you
you ride the poor person for longer. The people who have been bad have
been easy to cut. Yeah, you know they've got they've got the flexibility.
He likes that. And you know, Schmidt has has looked good defensively.
I don't know that or the metric degree, but when you're watching player
like this guy knows how to pick it. So, yeah, there's work
to be done with the batter. But I think that is one of the
strengths of this team that they're not like invested. They're not saying, hey,
have you buyers go out there and hit four for us every day.
If somebody's not getting it done, they just make a change. They've got
the flexibility to do that. They put guys in the right situations instead of
just rolling them out there regardless. So I think that that is a bonus
of this Jigs team and sort of keeps that flaw relatively high. And in
combination with the Padres not doing what they were supposed to and the Dodgers not
being as strong as as they used to be, I think it's you know,
helped them to get get here, but it's it's still I think there's
a bit of precariousness in the way this division is lining up that you know
that they might still not make the playoffs. Yeah, BB, any any
concerns with that? That's what I had rights a little bit anonymous. Yes,
let's talk about those part ters um I have D and E. I
didn't quite give them an f on their season performed against THEE against expectations so
far, because they still actually have like a thirty percent chance of making the
postseason, at least according to pangraphs. This is a weird one because I
look at that team and I go okay, Like Tatis has been amazing since
has come back, Soto has gone back to being Soto, Kim's having amazing
defensive season. Bogots and Manchado have both been reasonably good. Not Stella,
but like you thought, those five players between them have picked up clost to
fifteen war between the between the five of them. Great, that's fantastic.
The season's going to have gone okay, but it hasn't like it's been an
absolute war. Doesn't paint the right picture for the partaries this year. Seniel
Pringle in our chat has been constantly telling us that they don't do it with
runners in scoring position, like they just absolutely awful clutch Darius or robbed.
I actually want to take this first. What has been going wrong with the
Padres so far? I think if I had the answer, I'd be a
very rich man, because there's there's no real rhyme nor reason as to why
this team has done quite as bad as it has. I mean, our
rooting at a door and Gary Santra is getting too many app bats. Yes,
you could say so I'm compared to what they've got, but they've got
enough there that they really should be doing an awful lot better than they are.
Like, no one can, no one preseason could look at this and
say go, oh, there's a there's a real issue with the way they
constructed this team. You know, it's just not that's just not the way
it is, you know. And they've they've got good pitching performances. They've
pulled something out the bag with Michael Whacker which nobody really saw coming. You
know, Blake Snell's doing as advertised. There's maybe slightly under the weather performances
from you, Darvish, but a little bit more. But like, no
worse than the other team. They've not been injured worse than any other team.
They've They've not got a real explanation as to why it's quite so bad.
So for me, it's still a roll of the dice, and I
expect them to go on an absolute tear at some point in the second half
and be an awful lot better, because I think they are. They are.
Just it's sequencing, it's bad luck, whatever you want to say.
Maybe it's makeup, maybe it's the clubhouse effect. I don't know, but
there's no real rhyme of reason as to why this team is quite as disappointing
as it has been. There's that four games under five hundred, but still,
how are the other divisions are going have a basically a one in three
chance of gett into the playoffs? According to fangraffs. You're going to take
that bet. I'm going to take that bet. Yeah. I think I
think two things are true. One that the padres a disappointed relative to what
we thought there might be, which is, you know, they were finally
going to the Dodgers off the division. At the same time, they're not
this bad, They're not a sub five hundred team. It is going to
get better. Then there are definitely holes. You know, they traded away
a lot of that prospect talent, and now it would be kind of nice
to have a couple of those kind respects and be like, oh, yeah,
we need some reinforcements here because outside of the superstars, Yeah, maybe
it's not working out. You know, Gary Sanchez is playing so much because
Austin Nola has sucked real bad and he can't throw, which is a problem
with the new base or animals. But yeah, it's it's it's a better
scene than this. Whether they met the playoffs or not, I think that's
going to be touch or touch and go. But Tatis has been an absolutely
outstanding in right field, Like it looks like he's playing in that position in
his whole life instead of for four months. So when you've got a guy
like that on your team, I think anything can happen. And I think
I think I'll be writ in the mix at least for that World CUD spot
at the end of the season. All so glad I've got a C minus
for their performance there far and in e against expectations, I think that was
dearly. But yeah, okay, So we then move on to the Colorado
Rockies. I think another team that are kind of probably glad that two AL
Central teams are or two AL teams doing pretty pit Paul. They're plodding along
nicely. Are probably gonna maybe scoot a sixty one since sixty one win season,
just just avoid that hundred lost season. But they're bad, but they're
kind of just the bad that we anticipated. Like it's I think they are
still slightly worse than we anticipated. Like I have them as like Ian and
like a d just because I thought I did think they were going to be
this bad, just because I didn't think there was going to be as many
like Juggernauts in the NL this year, so I didn't think that they were
going to get their ass handed to them by like the Dodgers and the Giants
or the Padres as much. So, Yes, Daddius, the Colorado Rockies
the problem having the All Star MVP, who is has a pretty poor slash
line anyway. Yeah, props to Realist as having the season of his life
at thirty, which is not a particularly good season. I mean, you
know, we can talk about park adjusted stats and whether they're fair or not.
Currently the Rockies do have negative war offensively, maybe that's a little bit
unfair, but outside of Ryan McMahon, this is really a very bad line
up and there's nothing much speaking from the pitching side either, So yeah,
I don't know. I'm not surprised. I didn't believe in as advertised.
I believe Ben actually said to us this team is losing a hundred games when
we did the prediction pond. So no arguments here. But yeah, there's
there's no decent pitching. I think they're two best pitchers are probably relievers,
and then it's Kyle Friedland and I don't know, like it's terrible, But
did I think it was going to be terrible? Yeah, So performance is
I think it's an F and expectations of the sea I was an easy but
yeah, we're certainly heading to that duration. Yeah, I mean, I
suppose it depends. Do we need to differentiate between the Rockies and then the
Royals and the A's. I think I think I think the Rockies don't quite
deserve to get put down in the same territory as those do. As much
as they are constantly terrible, and there's much of the terrible, and they
have also constantly shown that they don't actually seemly want to win baseball games by
how they run there office. They still occasionally do a couple of things that
make you go, oh, okay, maybe they just all want to be
happy. Yeah, they have the you know, there's some decent like I
think there is some like decent scouting and like some player they do get prospects
coming through and you're like, oh, this guy could be something. But
they seem to have no recognition of where they are. That's something that worries
me. Yeah. Yeah, the top level of management has no idea how
bad the baseball team is. Okay, let's move across to the Ale West
then, which is currently sat atop by I think some people might have predicted
this, but you would have been a very bold prediction to go and tell
me that at the All Star Break that Texas Rangers were leading this division.
But they are. They are also now actually projected to finish ahead of the
Astros by Fangraphs only by point to two wars. It's basically saying eighty seven
point eight and eighty seven point six wins a piece. But yes, there's
Texas Rangers. I have them as an a and mainly because I was one
of the people who was pretty high on the expectations for the Rangers. I
thought they were gonna do it by having a utterly stellar and phenomenal pitching lineup
and their batting lineup was going to scrape through. And I think I've been
proved about as wrong as possible that it's they've obviously Begron was amazing for six
games, and Ivaldi's been pretty awesome, and Dunning has been pretty good.
But this is a Texas Rangers team that at one point had five players on
the field at the same time as the All Star Game, and then had
six players because I think Givaldi was pitching at the same time. So Darius,
Okay, Simeon and Seeger being doing good, but a dull as guys,
see Ye, Jonahaim, Josh Young, like anybody, anybody think this
was going to happen. I think there was some prospect love for Josh Young,
but he also had a pretty terrible time he was up last time,
did he he did? Yeah? He? I mean he was injured last
year. I think it was a shoulder issue he had and came up late
in season, and it looked like it was going to strike out a lot,
still striking out a decent amount, but acceptably so. But I think,
you know, we looked at this team and we said, yeah,
you know, they've got Sime and they've got seeing him maybe young Fause,
maybe low replicates his season. But then it's like, what is this outfield?
Even outside of Garcia and Leodi, Tavarius has stepped up and as he
creeled around, as stepped up and suddenly it's like, oh, well,
now now we have a complete team here. Yeah. Him has proved that
last season wasn't a fluke for him. In fact, he's been even better,
and suddenly it's like, oh, yeah, yeah, the Rangers have
got a complete lineup. It's stayed healthy pretty much. You know, all
these guys outside of Seeger's had you know, his customary trip to the aisle,
but he's not missed a massive amount of time and he's been pretty elite
when he's been on the field. And I think I still have concerns over
this rotation because I could see, you know, it would be surprising if
Voldi and Hey both stay healthy throughout the second half, and then you like
look at what they've got below that, and it's like, yeah, I
don't know about this. So I think they're going to go out and get
started, because without the Grom that's looking a bit of shaky, but in
terms of my expectations, yeah, this is this is absolutely an A and
it's an A performance as well. Yeah, I said pretty season. I
said, they're going to fly out the gates, absolutely fly out of the
gates, and then at some point Bits is going to start flying off in
all directions. Now we lost the Grom, big loss for them. The
miracle is that the Nathan and of Aldi's elbow is still connected to the rest
of his body. I think, I mean, you would be hard pressed
to find someone who would say he's going to go to the rest of the
season, keep this up, keep his body intact. I don't see it.
I don't see it happening. I'd love to be proved wrong, because
you know, it's nice to see a team actually sort of come from behind
and spend the money and do a good job. But I still cannot see
this rotation lasting. It's gonna the Bits are gonna come flying out, bits
of Wilbow going everywhere, and that's I think what's going to scuffer them at
the end. That said, absolutely, where they are right now, fantastic,
brilliant job. B plus for me, I had high expectations of where
they were going for this first half, and I would say they probably exceeded
those high expectations. As Darius said, the outfield much better than I thought
they were going to be. So I'm B plus B plus all right,
let's go on tumb us when a performance so far, so we'll go a
B plus for where they are. So they're now only a couple of games
ahead of the Houston Asterides that was a lot larger. At some point,
the Astroids of seemingly worked themselves and off like back into being not quite the
juggernaut we were at. Well, I think we didn't think they were going
to be that much of a juggernaut anymore. The lost a couple of their
players from the pitching side. Yeah, are they just basically I've got them
as like a B as performance or a B plus on performance and just kind
of like a B minus on expectations because they're basically going to be a ninety
win team, which is what I think they were going to be after the
changes that they had. Yes, I think Fraba Valdez has continued to be
amazing. Hunter Brown has been pretty good, especially if you prefer some of
his underlying metrics compared to some things that have happened on the hitting side.
Is Jeremy pinneare having a little bit of a sophomore slump? Darius is he
not quite the same? It's not going to be another five war player again
this season or whatever. But Sucker and Alvarez have been pretty phenomenal. I
just once again, this just goes with Jozo Breu being absolutely god awful so
far for them, although he's got a bit better. The fact that he's
kind of like, I think at one point was about minus one and a
half war and I think he's now managed to get that back to under minus
one war now, so he's kind of working his way back up to being
average. And the age old question, which was even on like effectively World
the other day, what does Martin Aldermard actually do for a team, because
everything that's publicly available suggest that he shouldn't be anywhere near that starting lineup.
Yeah, I think the brave thing alone like as doing this team down slightly
below from my expectations. I thought they would be kind of a load to
mid nighties win team again, maybe they can still get back there, but
you know, Bregman hasn't really hit Abreu definitely hasn't hit. It's not the
same level of fearsome. The lineup was our two days really struggled. You
know, it's been on and off the IL and yeah, Penia is,
you know, showing his approach issues to the great defender. But there's there's
questions there. So and then I think the pitching, the depth isn't there
either. We've seen have here not replicate his success from last year. Mccullars
might not pitch this year. And you know then they're starting like guys like
Reynold Blanco. You know, JP France has done it right actually, but
I don't know that's going to continue. It's not the same juggernaut. Oh
my god, how are we going to beat these guys asteroids? So I
think they're like a c widness on expectations for me. But I think you
still got given, you know, b Ish for performance. Have we had
a France versus France matchup yet? I think we have? Yeah, I
think twenty twenty five. Thank you very much, Rob plugging up future endeavors.
Yeah, so let's just say be for effort and see plus maybe for
the Astros for I'm not a plus on them yet. This is the Astrews.
This is the team who we've become expecting to be brainnially the big boys,
and yes, slight step back, but in there they are sneakily catching
them up, but they're not there later they are. They are a long
way behind, you know, the AA least at this point, at the
top of that that division. And I think that's not a place that you'd
expect the Astros to be, even with a slight step back. So i'm
cc minus, I'm not I'm not plussing them on that. Okay, take
that out of your mouth. Ty France is two for three against JP France.
Two singles. Be lightful the things that you can have at baseball.
Um. So, a few further games back, we have the Mariners,
who were just over five hundred forty five forty four. Now. They obviously
had the fantastic kind of run towards the end of last season and kind of
some fun in the postseason, but some people want to they were going to
pro jump forward. I don't think they made them moves to make this team
actually be that much better. So I kind of had these just being a
five hundred team and they are at five hundred team. So did he sit
fairly similar to what we've talked about with the Guardians and the Twins, where
it's kind of it's it's a bit more. Maybe you thought they would have
been a little bit better, but it's kind of it's either that CC or
CD sort of territory. I think CC for me and with you. You
know, I think if I was ranking teams that did exactly what I thought
they were going to do, the Mariners at number one, we looked at
this pitch and we said amazing. We looked at the offense and we said,
what are you're doing? Gary, Like you need more here, and
they didn't get more. And maybe some of it's been a bit worse than
we thought. You know, Culten Wong has been a disaster, But I
think overall lives like, if this team is going to have a problem,
it's going to be not hitting enough. And guess what, they haven't hit
enough. Pitching has been excellent and they haven't been able to back it up.
So I think this is exactly where I thought they'd be, you know,
eighty three, eighty four, ay five kind of team, and that's
probably where they're gonna end up. Yeah, one gun Pollocker not really done
what they hoped for? Have them now? Well? Do you see and
move on? Indeed? Two, So the Los Angeles Angels, who still
have the best team, best player in baseball and effectively can't make a five
hundred team. This is now I want to see. Yeah x it has
been ten years, since eleven years, nine years since the Angels made the
playoffs when they when it was twenty thirteen, and they dupe us every single
year, every single year. Lever people are fooled by the Angels every single
year. I don't get it. I'm not giving them a grade. It's
a U from me. It's twenty fourteen, twenty fourteen. So this will
be the bonus points if you can remember what happened listence, didn't they went
out on the wild card? Didn't they swept by the Royals? Like not,
they won't alone that vist season and getting swept by the Royals. But
one for twelve. Yeah, this is the thing, Like we look at
this team and it's like, yes, Trouts had a bit of time out
with Tho injured, but he's put up three point one war Atani is anywhere
between six and seven war depending on what metric you used to describe him with
him being one of the best hitters of the game and then also being kind
of a relatively solid picture as well. Um, I know why I've said
this before, but how on earth they can't seem to just put replacement level
players on the field, Like how like it seems to be just a combination
of things that like people just there have been some good stuff like Maniacs played
well at times and Nettos played well at times, but then they've not played
much and then obviously then on the opposite of scale, like Joe Walsh was
an absolute garbage fire and for some of the pitching wise, like Jose Suarez
did they give him six starts and had a close to ten ten and then
he went on the aisle. I think, yeah, yeah, You're like
it's like you've got you the top of that Debtmos has been okay, Sandoval
has been okay. Tyler Anderson maybe not quite. I think that's the problem
though, Isn't it like they've been okay and maybe you should say, yeah,
they've got the two of the best players on the planets, so okay,
should cut it. But it hasn't really, and they've like rushed a
lot of these guys, you know, deliberately, these guys when they had
their all picture drafts and they were just like, we're going to get these
guys to the majors fast, and most of them kind of look like it,
you know, they look like the rushed up pretty quick to plug the
holes. And it hasn't really worked that well. And I just, you
know, it would be nice if Layer in a position where I thought they're
going to go make out, go and make a big pitching addition and maybe
sure up this rotation a bit. But you know, with the Astros and
the Rangers ahead of them, and now Trout's going to be out for most
of the rest of the year, I don't see it. So yeah,
it's sad. But what were my expectations. I think we did say about
five because I was sick of predicting that the Angels were going to be good
this year. So I guess it's a sea and a sea again. I'm
sticking with you. You I'm not having it. It's just ridiculous, Like
for years we've been saying, stop the Stars and Scrubs, go for average.
Oh they went for average. Still didn't work. I don't get it.
It doesn't make any sense. I'm new youing this well. I've given
them a CD. I think they're similar to the Guardians of the Twins that
like, I think our expectations were we even if we didn't think as the
Watcher was going to happen, there were still some expectations that this team could
actually be Like, Yeah, in my heart, I expected more logically,
I was like for me six times shaw with me, yes, and so
we're gonna quite quickly move on to the one team which does get the the
other second team that gets the double FF or even if we want to just
say, we're just going to choose to just completely honestly not to rank this
team because everything that they've done makes them almost not worthy from an ownership perspective
of anything to do with baseball. But they give the ownership of g for
me, I think they're expelled, aren't they? Isn't that if we're going
with the school think they were. They got their phone out during the exam
and they were told to leave because they weren't allowed to do that. So
yeah, they didn't. They didn't finish happy with that one um to talk
about what's actually happened on the field, for a bit they've been out,
They've not been the worst team from a hitting perspective that I think people will
need to kind of obviously they had the perfect game thrown against them. I
may people do need to understand that from a hitting perspective, they are't actually
the worst team in baseball this year. They're probably like in the twenty five
the twenty ringe actually worth hitting teams set far this year. But from a
pitching perspective, they've done something that I just didn't think was possible. They've
just thrown out so many self replacement players that it genuinely to actually say that
someone is bringing the sport into disrepute, I think is a very hard thing
to really say or proval to get to get behind. But I think what
at least with the first few weeks of the season, what they were throwing
out there was some of it. It's not even like Triple A level pitching,
Like I would have prepared throwing Triple A pitchers up there and expected them
to perform better than these guys. Stereous. Yeah, I think it was
Rob who made the point that, like, you know, can't they find
somebody else that they should be there? Just anybody, anybody, they can
get it for free, would be better than this. I do like JPCS,
I'm not going to be mean about Sears, and Mason Miller looked fantastic
for the very brief time he was on the field. I do think they've
had a little bit of bad luck with some of the injuries you said the
other day as well rested the like. Once they put Fuji and Imi in
the bullpen, it was like, oh, yeah, this is this is
working because guess what, he's a reliever. He's got no control, but
it's got filthy stuff. So whatever they were doing at the start of the
year, yeah, but the rest of it is is a complete mess.
Like you just cannot believe how bad some of these pictures have been. And
still pitched a pretty decent chunk of innings for the AIDS. But I guess
this is just what happens when you literally do not care what happens in the
field. Yep, so they have well the chuck basically did just chuck.
So they walk so many guys it's crazy. Yeah, the teams were taken
to approach that I could only describe as single a British baseball which is literally
just do not swing until they throw a strike. We're just like, you
know what, they've got to throw three strikes, so you can just wait,
mate, and they'll walk you because they're not good enother. So,
yes, it was not not a good season. Where would you like to
go for our East discussion? N L L N l's more depressing. Let's
finish, Let's finish happier, okay, and L East we will go to.
Well, we'll talk about I think one of the one of the teams
that I have was an S rank for performance, the Atlanta Braves. I
don't think we can really go on much about this. I think most people,
even though everything that the Mets have done in the offseason, still had
the Braves being the best team in this division. I think I might have
had them maybe close or within one or two wins of each other, but
the Braves have taken expectations and kind of smashed them there. They're one of
two teams that are, if we go on off at a rate record would
actually get to that one hundred win mark. So they think they're they're on
pace for a one hundred and nine wins right now, which they're not going
to get because even if any team does get close to that sort of record,
they rest some of the players towards the end of the season to make
sure they could for the postseason. But they've been nothing short of phenomenal.
I think there's a couple of positions which people could say, yeah, maybe
we would actually want to change those, but other than that, they've basically
been the best team in baseball. Sorry, Rob, true, it's true.
So yeah, I have them as an s performance and a for expectation.
Could point give them the doubles just because I think a couple of the
teams have outperformed expectation even more than the Braves have outperformed expectation. Well,
yeah, absolutely, fantastic, brilliant. Mean that they are the best team
in baseball right now. There's there's really really no denying that they are.
They are pretty complete. If you're looking at the rotation as their weak point,
yes, it probably is their weak point, but that is a weak
point that every other team would be envious of. It's it's still very,
very strong. The Braves have been phenomenal for years. They had a dip
and some people were surprised when they won the World Series, but a lot
of people weren't because they've been showing that they had a bad year the year
before, but they've been hovering around the high nineties year after year after year.
For some reason, they still not quite getting that that sort of Astro's
Yankees kind of kind of these guys are perennially there and perennially massive, but
they are. These guys are have been there for a long time. There
is no reason to think that's going to stop anytime soon. They've got the
MVP, who is is all but locked it up already as long as he
doesn't get himself hurt in a Kunya is a fantastic team. I can't see
anybody topping them. No one is going to get close to him in that
division, and certainly in the National League, they're by far and away the
team to be. I think the question, Dearish you can probably go into
the further is pitches four and five. But as the season continues, pitches
four and five matter less and less, don't they they do? Yeah,
Freed is on his way back, I think, And you know, if
the Braves can roll out Strider Freed Morton, I think they're going to feel
pretty good about themselves. So and yeah, Strider is unbelievable, Like,
I don't think it's you know, his surface level stats reflect just how unbelievable
he is. And then a Kunya might go like fourty seventy what do you
what do you say about that? I think the only thing I would say
is I might not give them an A for expectations because I thought they'd be
a ninety five ninety six win team anyway. Um, yeah, but they're
protected, would be one hundred and nine win team, Darius, Like,
you know, they're they're they're they're protected now to win one hundred and three
games, like that's how far they well, they're like they've gone against Yeah,
I'm not I'm not saying it's a c They've exceeded my expectations, but
when I'm starting at ninety six, I don't know that I give them an
A for getting to one hundred and three A people, all right, I'll
give it then eight and a half games back, but still with a solid
record. The most confusing team in baseball, I think I think it's it's
fairly fairly simplistic to say this, Um the Miami Leans, Um, Darius,
do you know, off the top of the head, are they still
something like twenty one and four in one run games or yeah it' it' isn't
that region. I don't think exactly record, but I think, yeah,
it was twenty one and five maybe the last time I checked, which would
be the best of all time. Yeah, it's it's utterly ridiculous. This
team is where are they? Sorry? They still have the negative run differential.
Yeah, twenty one and six they have a negative run different differential.
So the Pythagorean luck is that like eight wins. I will say that I
heard this other day. It might have been on the bandwagon. I think
that against like Atlanta, they've got like a negative fifty five run differential,
and against everyone else they're like, you know, plus forty nine or whatever.
So there is just they are getting absolutely host every every time they play
Atlanta, and then against everyone else they are actually a pretty decent team.
Yeah. Sorry, just one thing. So this is the team that I
found hard is to actually say what I think their performance was, because I
was just takeing their with wins record, it would easily be like an A
or a B plus or whatever, but not certain what their performance actually.
It's like, it's so this is like that Seattle team from three or four
years ago, where they were just winning every single one run game and kind
of making a play even though everybody else was kind of relatively certain that they
were naps. I do think somebody who say that, I think sometimes we
need to look at run different the pip bagarian win loss record, or look
at run differential in a different way now that we have teams that are throwing
out position player pitchers when they're kind of out of it because they're just they're
going to get shelved even more so, like they're just eating innings that nobody
actually cares about. Like, yeah, it's it's good for some players stats,
but from the team's perspective, like they don't actually care that they conceded
ten runs from position player pitching. But it would be remiss of us also
not to talk about the fact that they have a player who's chasing. I
don't think he's going to get anywhere close to it four hundred from a Banning
much perspective, and to be still be at three eighty three when we have
played ninety games is utterly phenomenal. Rob Everyone was very anti that trade from
a Marlin's point of view, when it happened. I think it is um
Personally, I wasn't through through sharing durrants and luck rather than knowing anything.
But I think it is certainly leaning a little bit further back towards the middle
than it was on most people's scales these days. Um, I don't think
there's a major jump in the multiverse to Marlin's team that is that is getting
hammered day in day out here. Um, it's a it's a slight change
in the wind and the guys are These guys are forth and looking hopeless,
you know so? Um, But yeah, I mean where they are,
it's a solid B. Expectations are well up on where I thought they would
be. So I'm a BN and A yeah. I had to definitely an
A for expectations. It work out where I was going to put them for
actual performance, Darius, Yeah, B B plus Like I think they should
get maybe a better effort performance from an actual performance like win loss record.
But I just do not believe fifty three thirty nine. It looks. It
looks wrong every time I look at it. So yeah, I think they
deserved probably to be like an above five hundred team despite the slightly negative run
differential, but I do not think that they remotely deserve to have over fifty
wins. Okay, so yeah, I think anything they can do to make
sure that GC Goora doesn't play anymore is what the Marlins need to do during
this trade window. Moving swiftly onwards to the other teams that is above five
hundred in this league, is the Phillies. They are They're forty eight and
forty one. It's this basically, as as Rob shouted out, boring,
is this basically a B in a B This is kind of or even maybe
a B in a C plus this is is reasonable performance and kind of what
we anticipated to them from them. Or does the all performances from Pat Turner
kind of have a little bit of a knock on effect on it? Did
you? Were you thinking they were going to get closer to that ninety wins,
Darius? No, I didn't really believe in the Fities that much.
I didn't even really believe in the Fities that much when they're in the World
Series last year. So this this half season definitely hasn't done that mostly change
my mind. I mean, it's not you know, Castianos's back back,
bounce back, But yeah, training turning up being good and Harper. You
know, its like had a weird production season, Like you know, if
those guys are all firing in all cylinders and you are scared of this lineup.
I don't think I'm scared of this lineup right now. The pitching I
think is better than you know, the R Ray numbers show. I think
we live and are both going to be better over the second half from a
represent the French and standpoint, which makes them, you know, a pretty
scary team to meet in the playoffs if they get there. But yeah,
I think I think B and A B is it's fair for me. I
you know, wasn't expecting them to be that much of a five hundred.
So if they get to night, I think that will be definitely be at
the end of the season. Yeah, I fine, Fine, So I
think it'll gonna be in simplus. Yeah, they probably should beat the Marlins,
but they're definitely not going to catch at Lander, so it's fine.
Yeah, I sell think the Phillies are a scary team for a postseason.
I think with Wheeler, Nola and Walker and Suarez and Craig Kimberl's kind of
back again. Like I love this. I love the kimberl roller caster.
You're just never gonna know what you're gonna get to. Oh yeah, did
you watch the end of the All Star Game? I did not watch any
of ther Star I game. Well, it's like he got the final linings
to close out for like for the NL or whatever, walk too struck two
out like it was such a it was grand teetering on the edge of form,
like an implosion that would have cost them the game, but kind of
somehow got it of the line. Like he he threw the most pictures to
pitch his inning out of anybody's like who they all threw like one inning or
less. Yeah, it's not efficient, but he is still one of like
the filthiest pitchers in baseball. Oh so the New York Mets forty two and
forty eight, and um yeah, where do we start here? I think
I think we actually have to start here from the pitching perspective, because I
was one of the people who was pretty doubled on this pitching lineup coming into
this season. I thought that they had six, seven, maybe even eight
reasonable starters. They had three or four that I thought the top class shares
are and Verlander. I think Verlander has kind of definitely been been better.
Shares there has not quite been to the level that we anticipated. Codey Singer
has been after a thing a rough first month or whatever, it's been pretty
pretty strong and close to like phenomenal pitching. But given the fact to rely
on Peterson and then McGill and all and all that, I think Carrasco has
been poor. It's it's just not nothing's come together here, Like Linda Or
and Nimo have been good. Alberts I think it's pretty amazing since he's come
up and then you've just got a lot of kind of Mayor and it's just
yeah, it's just it's just it's I think that's the word it's been.
It's been just the team as mayor. And we were expecting so much more,
so much more from this team. I was even expecting Daniel Vocal back
to get a stolen basic. He still hasn't done it. Like, yeah,
probably fam shouldn't be your your fifth best hit to buy war at this
point for a team to spend that kind of money. Mark Hanna has has
been disappointing. Um even Brett bay To who you know, he's he's come
up with with high hopes. He's not looking what we hoped he would.
It's just been it's been very mere, as you say, and in what
has been a surprisingly competitive from the other teams being the Marlins and the Phillies,
they've been left behind a bit and they are they are as mere as
the Phillies are. But in the other direction, I'd say it's also add
the expectations are horrific. Yes, I think the I's gonna say that the
Mets Bullpen I think has been absolutely shocking this season. I think they've potentially
got to be up there for the most blown saves or some of the most
kind of pretty much worst leverage situations. Darius Is, you're a fellow officionado
of the Pulpen. I think that's been pretty shocking. With the exception I
think of like David Robinson and maybe Brooks Raley. Yeah, David Robinson has
been unbelievable and Rady has been very good too. I'm sure Robert be familiar
with Brooks Raley's works time and Timm and Bay. But yeah, the guys
backing them up has just been nothing. Nothing, they're at all like so
often they're not getting to the eighth and the ninth because these guys in the
sixth and seventh to blow in the games for them. And you know,
I don't think they're bad. You know, you look at those names,
they're not They're not this bad a team. Lindor and Nemo and alongside,
like this is a good baseball team. But we also looked at the team
when they were putting it together and said, wow, this is this is
an old team and Justin Verlander had no right being as good as he was
last year, you know, coming off Tommy John at his age, like
it was an unbelievable season. But yeah, you know he stepped back a
bit. He's still a good pitcher, but he's not an ace anymore,
shares us. Yeah, he's been up and down. I think the saner
has worked out, but yeah, it's kind of it was like, they
really need to win now and they're not winning now, and you do wonder,
like, what is this team with all these mid to late thirties if
not forties, guy, it's going to look like because you know, there's
a lot of money going to a lot of guys who Yeah, Marte looks
kind of done. It's um, it's not great and they've you know,
they've it's gone now. The division is is well gone. And you don't
love less answers of the wild card either at this point. So there's a
lot of guys here who you've heard of and were good a few years ago,
but they are not anymore. It's very much that that someone is possibly
missed. The c himself is um, you know, he's looking at a
spreadsheet and all have that guy, you'll have him and heard of him.
Yeah, you'll be good. You know you've got your Tommy Hunters and your
Adam Otavinos and your dominic Lyones, and you know your Carlos Carrasco is Like
these are players who five years ago this would have been a brilliant team,
but not so much anymore. I think there's a little bit of shortsightedness and
not a lot of clever thinking put into this. It was a it seems
to be found out as a as a bit of a fantasy pick from someone
who's plaid half attention and not full attention. Yes, I got them for
a D for performance so far and E against expectations yep, agreed bad.
And then the Nationals, who I just have E for expectations for performance and
see against expectation because they're bad and we expected them to be bad. Yep,
is there more to say, Darius? I don't think we need to
talk about the Nationals. They are We said they'll be a bad team,
and here they are being a bad team, just a regular or bad team,
not like an Oakland bad team. So world on Washington. How's joy
Minesa's doing? He's thinking for average but not power, which is kind of
a bit, a bit strange, a bit strange. This year's French Windel
better than the French Windel repeat was doing. Yeah. I mean, Laine
Thomas is having a great season. It's not going to hold up. But
I hope they trade him for something good before he collapses. Yeah. I
feel that they've got to trade him and Candelario, haven't they, Because yes,
absolutely, Candelarian is going somewhere. Yeah, yep, and you'll do
well. Key, Okay, that becomes nice. Look at E and C.
And then that brings us to the stunningly spectacular a at least, which
has five teams above five hundred, which I don't know. I can't be
asked to look this one up to say how many times that has happened at
the All Star gap, but I can't imagine it's happened many times. But
we have to talk about the second best team in baseball and the best team
in the Al the race. They came out of the block absolutely firing on
all cylinders. That remarkable start to the season, a little bit of a
mini stall, I think, where you could say either a little bit of
luck that went away when you get a winning record went the other way.
But they've kind of steadied that ship now and consistently have kind of just kept
their margin against some of the other teams. But yeah, they are now
only two games ahead, but they do have a fifty eight and thirty five
record, and by fan grabs, they ninety eight percent chance of making the
playoff. This has been a pretty phenomenal start to the season. Franco Or
as a Rainer, people you'll expected it from, but Parades, Diaz,
Raley, not people that maybe we expected to do so well. I think
once again, the reason why the Rays do so well is they didn't really
have much time for bad players on their team, and the only one is
Mahea, who at this point I don't understand why anybody is playing like mahea
as watching him come through the prospect at Cleveland and basically any time that he
saw major league, but I think be utterly awful. I don't quite know
why people give him the time of the day. I think he'd had a
reasonable season back in twenty twenty one, but yeah, that one kind of
ows me. But I think the shocking side more to the Rays has been
Zach Cleffin is probably the best pitcher and obviously a fan of hand has been
good, if not very good, depending on whether you do runs for nine
runs against kind of metric instead of a fit based metric. But yeah,
this this is the Raids kind of producing stuff that we would anticipate, but
the movie taking it to that next level. Rob Yeah, absolutely, the
winds doesn't It doesn't matter what order the winds come in and did they had.
They've had a rough, rough run for the end of the first half
up to the All Star Game. They won the last game, but they
were on a losing streak of seven before that or six, can't remember exactly
how any was, but it was. It was ugly anyway, and they've
they've not looked great and they've been brilliant. They've been really fun to watch.
The first half as has been exceptional. We've been well well above expectations
we've had, We've had contributions from from everywhere on the field, but it's
not been without its holes. The bullpen has not been typically raizy Um.
It's hoping to come back a little bit with some injuries coming back. How
it looks for the rest of the season. I don't know every every fan
will winge about the injury crisis to their team, but the Rays right now
probably have a first place rotation on the injured list that's not coming back anytime
soon with you know, and and they've had a lot on there through the
season, and I'm not as on the raise for the second half as as
they've looked for the first half. I think the Orioles probably are going to
catch them, but that doesn't take anything away from where they are right now.
They've they've been absolutely brilliant. They've led in steels, they've led in
home runs at points, they've been they've been absolutely everywhere they've they've they've been
a fantastic team and been really fun to watch, and they've been playing with
with joy, and they've been playing playing with excitement. As well. So,
um, did we think the Rais would be good? Yeah, Hell,
we thought the Rays would be good. We didn't think they'd be this
good. Um. So, I mean, yeah, they're they're They're in
an a in an a for me. They've they've done, They've done more
than we hope they would do. I think that's going to slide off a
little bit in the second half. And when I say a little bit,
I mean a lot. They need they desperately need to go out and get
themselves some rental pitching. Yeah, so I had them as I've given them
the s on the expect on the performance, I think, being by now
that they are still one hundred win on one hundred win projected record, which
I think it has to be up there, and an A for expectations,
Darius, anything to add, No, I don't think so. I mean,
yeah, if you'd ask me six weeks ago, obviously I would have
been more aggressive. I'm almost like sort of a minus on the expectations now
because they are sliding back down towards Yeah, I thought the Raids were going
to be a nineties something win team, and yeah, they're still on the
hundred at the moment. But the way the trajectory is going, like preemptively
say, but yeah, based on where they are right now, I think
it's it's still an A. Okay, so yeah, let's go with S
and an A. And as we've talked about, the team that has kind
of caught up to them most is not the Blue Jays or the Yankees or
even the Red Sox. It is the Timore Orioles, who are now only
two games back with a fifty four and thirty five records. There are actually
no games back and they're haven't lost any more games, so it's all games
in hand, which is the difference between these two teams right now. I'm
gonna have to be very careful about how I say what I think the performance
and expectations would would be for this team, but I do believe it's an
S for both of these things. I think the Orioles have played beyond any
expectation. I think I would have been one of maybe the champions of the
Baltimore of bottled this team or or people with those plaqucards up at the start
of the season because they chose them not to invest on pretty much any free
agent beyond what Kyle Gibson so it was that their biggest free agent siding Aaron
Hicks. Yeah, it was Kyl Gibson and Adam Frasier. Yeah. Yeah,
Well Frazier has pretty much done nothing, but Karl Gibson has actually been
a solid inning seater um for them. But then obviously that's that's where it's
come from. It's come from pretty much solid people hitting across the ball,
not much bad stuff happening on that regard, but then a phenomenal set of
probably a phenomenal ballpit. I think that's the real thing that's kind of propelled
Baltimore to where they are right now. I just don't. I don't know.
I'm completely opposite to you, Rob, because I just I just don't
see it continuing. I just don't see like I just think the starting pitching
is enough of an issue, but it's gonna it's gonna break at some point.
And I just can't if you with the likes of was it the Kyles
Gibson and Bradish and then what was it like Tyler Wells and Dean Kramer,
I just don't. I just don't really like it. You leave Tyler Wells
out of this. I think obviously everybody was excited for Grace and Rodriguez,
but that kind of completely fell apart. I just without the starting pitching.
And obviously they could they've got the prospect depth to trade for someone right now,
but we've also seen their reluctance to do that. So I just don't
quite see this continuing on. But still absolutely amazing performance. So for the
season, beyond expectation to where they are right now, I don't think they
are like they are pretty much. They're a little bit a little bit of
luck compared to what they run differential wis, but that would have them what
at forty nine and forty or whatever. There's still a phenomenally good team here,
Darius. Do we how far do we think this Orioles team can actually
go? Yeah? I mean it's it's tricky because, yeah, it sort
of looks on the face of it that they have been a bit lucky,
but then you look at the lineup. You know, Henderson started slow.
If you actually look at what you've done over the like the last six weeks
or so, it looks like a superstar. Rachman is a stud, Austin
is having a career year, and then they're just like the prospects and they're
coming and they're like, you can't believe how many guys they've got to come
in Westburg and Cowser, and you know there's more on the way. It's
unbelievable that the hitting pipeline they've got there. I do like Bradish and Wells,
to be honest. Yeah, I don't think they're elite pictures. The
reports from Rodriguez and the miners have been pretty good, so I think that's
going to make a big difference. If he can come back up and be
the guy they thought you could be, then maybe we're talking about a different
team in the second half. But I think you're right that, Yeah,
as currently constructed, you don't have that much confidence in the rotation. Probably
they'll just find another couple of like elite bullpen arms that have literally nothing,
which you know, maybe helps them if they make it to the playoffs.
But yeah, i'd like to see the make some admissions that said. I
think this is, you know, absolutely completely beyond what anybody could have expected.
I think the consensus was they'll take a step back from last season,
and they've gone in the office duration and very well could win this division.
So I don't know, is this is this an S expectations I gone double
s. Yeah, both expectations and performance. And you know what, I
think they've been fairly lucky with the injuries that they don't seem to be one
of the teams that have been worse hit by it. Maybe that is because
it is you, But as Darius said, we've still got this backlog of
of guys to come, which is why I still think there's there's more to
it, and that they eat more than most teams, I think, have
the ability to weather a couple more more broken players and to come back with
you know, decent, decent upside to it. So yeah, A plus
A plus because I don't understand your your your ss but yeah, so with
you cool, Yeah, I think they are. They've had the fourth least
warp missed by bps and calculations. Yeah, so they have not not had
a lot of injuries. Who's who's leading the who was basically even the least
injured so far the diving backs yea, which does explain a few things,
and who's the worst, who's the worst? Just out of interest, we're
going to get to them. Yeah by an absolutely mad for times and Stanton
or whatever. But yeah, yeah, I will get to them in a
second, but before then we have to take our say hello to the neighbors
of the north, the looks Aronto Blue Jays, who we have managed to
put themselves in in another solid position. They're fifteen forty one. The seven
games back are the raised, but they are in one of the World Cup
positions right now. I feel bad to say that this is like a BC,
but it's like I think some people thought they were going to be amazing.
Yeah, I think some people thought they were going to be amazing last
season, but I think I after seeing their performance last season, I've kind
of took a step back. I'm thinking they were going to be like this
ninety five hundred win juggernaut team that I think some people thought two for last
season. So but it's been amazing. A good old chap Matman has been
amazing as well. Obviously, Gassman is potentially the picture of the season so
far from the al perspective that there's some solid discussion there, but he's definitely
been one of them. It's just I think the same again. It's just
it's the depth that's not quite given what you would hope for, Like Danny
Jansen, and Alejandro Kirk are not mashing the same way that they did before.
Dalton Varshow isn't an amazing elite hitter. He's still phenomenal defensive player or
whatever, but he's looked under like Bigio I think has been pretty poor when
he's had some playing times. So they've done good, they've just not been
amazing. So do they do they sit in that that category is over saying
or it's just it's just a BC. It's just what we expected. But
in any other division and people are people are excited, you know if they
are in the central and this would be silly, wouldn't it Like they might
have absolutely Yeah, yeah, they are the ultimate victim of the division they're
in. Uh, you know, they're behind the raising the Orioles who have
had had very unpredictably good starts. Um. I think I think we all
think of the Blue Jays is not doing as well as we perhaps thought they
would do. But they're they're doing just fine. They really if you take
them in there in isolation, they are doing just fine. I almost bang
on where you sort of thought they'd be. Really, I'm not I'm not
disappointed in them. I think, Yeah, they're doing. I think the
sense of disappointment comes from the fact that people just thought that they were going
to be a gummernaut by this point, with lad and with Bishett and you
know, all these young guys they had. Yeah, and you know,
maybe maybe if Manoah doesn't absolutely collapse, then they're much closer to the division
lead than they are right now. But it's that potentially the most shocking thing
in baseball this season that it's not just like one or two bad games.
It's been like consistent bad performance from from Manoah compared to like where he was
last season. I think it is one of the most precipitous declines. Yeah,
I think, you know, there were a few warning flags that maybe
he wasn't going to quite live up to some of his run prevention numbers,
but this is yeah, I mean this, this did happen to Royal Day
obviously, had a few few people have brought that up that they would just
turn into a total mess mechanically and they had to send him down. But
yeah, you know, they kind of fixed Barrios. And I thought if
that if you told people at the start of the season, you'd be like,
yeah, the Jays are going to be going to be great this year,
and it's sort of been more than offset by the fact that Manoah is
tanked. Basically almost every start is made for them. Yeah, you've had
Bassett and Facucci providing solid numbers for what should be like your fourth and fifth
starter. If I if you if Alete Manoah was anything close to League Ridge,
I would be saying that like this, like Toronto have a five,
like where a lot of teams barely have two or three. Like I don't
think the bullpen is great either. Likes I have concerned Romana is good,
but yeah, I have have concerns about some of the bullpen alarms. What's
the No, I'm not going to get his name. Who's the one that's
come out of semi nowhere as it miser Maser may Tim miser yea um,
but yeah, I don't know, Like no persons looked pretty good at times,
but he's had his health woes and consistency issues, and yeah, I
don't know. I'm not sure it's quite as reliable as you want. All
right, I think we're both all sold all soul. Three of us are
sold on that just being a BC or it's just it's just what we anticipated.
B minus C minus. Rob's even being being a little bit harsher.
I can't give them a B minus for an eighty nine kind of like win
record. I think that would be a bit ash what we've given to everybody
else in similar sort of win records. I'm just really struggling to watch Kevin
kim I have a wonderful season, so I really don't want to score them
too high. Dude, viewers at home contell, but I am wearing Michael
Brantley T shirt, so I can feel you're some player that you kind of
very much was beloved to see yourself do well for some of the teams.
Heartbreaking when it's a team that you don't really want to see do well.
Yep, okay, BC minus. How's that? Okay, I'll take that.
Um. The New York Yankees, I think the one word to describe
the season is injuries, but it is also like nobody but it's I think
the other I kind of put a piece of about this earlier in the season,
but it's also like nobody's like, who would these people that are get
time? But the New York Yankees is utterly unbelievable. From this team that
is supposedly regarded as kind of like the juggernaut of this sport, like the
Yankees are, well, you could say they are the man united at the
sport. They were good fifteen twenty years ago when I've been a pretty nath
even that they've managed to maintain their global brand for an entire for the entire
time, they're just a bit, just just nothing. But when Willie Calhoun
has been getting time, when FRANKI. Corderiu has been getting time, when
Jake Bowers has been getting time, when Billy McKinley has been getting time,
when Greg Allen has been getting time, Like I'm sorry, there's a multiple
rejects from Cleveland on that team there that are like if you're if you're prettyeople
that Cleveland have decided that are not worth while their time, what effort,
and you've decided to roll them back out again. Like the thing is,
since Judge went there, Bowers is basically the Yankees best here. Like that
you need to know about the Yankees offense, that that's that's how things are
going over there. They got they got nothing out there. It's like players
like Vulpa is good defensively Agassioca and Travina were both absolutely phenomenal defensive catches,
but are not that great with the bat like this. You look at like
the WRC plus that they're putting up outside of judge, it's awful. Like
Stanton's I knowed he's he's he's looking close to being a freaking Galusian lightning instead
of a Stantonian blas. I mean, Josh Donaldson's line is like my favorite
thing in baseball this season though, have you seen Josh donaldson line? Robin,
No, Josh Donaldson has has ten home runs in one hundred and twelve
plate appearances, right, I hear that, Like that sounds great. He's
got a zero point eight three babbit so he's slashing one fifty two, two
thirty two, four sixty five. But you never see like this is not
a line that people have ever. Yeah. I saw someone saying that he
had the least number of hits to a ten home run, to get ten
home runs like in a season, I believe it. Yeah, And like
lemayheu is a horrible liability at this point, doesn't he mean, What's what's
going on there? I mean, yeah, Donaldson has as a fifteen hits
and ten of them a home runs or nothing. Yeah, le mayheu looks
pretty pretty cooked. Yeah, it's it's nothing. Really. I think you
know, Bobay at least is young, and you can say, well,
he's learning, and I think he has cut the strikeouts down and development is
coming. But you look at Stanton and Donaldson and lemahere and you're like,
I don't think these guys are liable to get much better. Yeah, yeah,
I guess obviously injuries aside because Judge spent some time out. But if
you told me Judge was hitting like one nine w LC plus Garrett Cole had
a below three era, I'd be thinking, all right, the Yankees are
having a good season. But the Yankees are having an okay season. I
think it's under expectation just because we expect so much from the Yanks and they're
sating fourth. It looks a lot worse than than their records is. I
think they probably like they'd be Yeah, I have them as a BD like
for b B minus a performance. But like if you like showed somebody who
was on the field for the Yankees, it would be like, wow,
they're doing pretty good. But from a preseason perspective, you're like, this
is terrible. Yeah, so it's good to be minus D. I think
obviously seeing what we might get from Rhodon for the rest of the season.
Obviously there have been some great things that have said. Cole has been amazing
play homes and I think it's been phenomenal once again, and the others have
done done fine in the bulpin. Obviously, it would be kind of rebiss
not to talk about the fact that Domingahan did throw a perfect game. Obviously
we all need to put into context the things that he has done off the
field, so you're fully aware that he is somebody who has suspended for domestic
violence and has been suspected multiple times for sticky stuff. So take all that
information as you want to go with it. I feel a very interesting scene
that the lack of kind of push by MLB after like the day kind of
very much feels that they kind of like perfect game and then very much went
and now we don't care, Whereas I think if somebody else that's are in
the perfect Game, they might not shut up about it for a little bit
longer. But we shall move on to the final team that we have managed
to avoid talking about for close to an hour and a half or if not
more. The Boston Red Sox. I'm tired, sorry the Boston Red Sox,
who are forty eight and forty three, but our bottom of their division.
This is I think an improvement of what we were anticipating. I kind
of had as a'm a CB, you're a CB CB. I think I
B have them at B minus and then B on sinc. Obviously they're above
five hundred teams, so I think giving a C would be a would be
a taed hash. But yeah, I thought they'd be above five hundred,
but probably not this far above five hundreds. So yeah, I don't know.
C plus minus C plus B minus feels like to me, yeah,
okay, you know, like they've had some success stories, right like James
Paxton being back is pretty cool. Yeah, Brian Baio looks great, but
then it's like fine shot Cara Chris sails her like, well, okay,
we saw that coming. Oh they've been an absolute mess at shortstop. Well
yeah, everybody saw that coming, Like the holes were easy to see and
they have happened. So yeah, well, John's gonna tell us if we
don't talk about how great they're outfield has been offensively, Yashiida looks great for
Dugo has been great. Dan Duran Duran Duran, Yeah, fantastic. Yeah,
but yeah, it's it's very incomplete team. I feel like I think
they were in a really weird position because of who the Bossom Ducks are and
fact that I think Pangras still has them as a thirty percent chance of making
the playoffs. Like what happens to them in the next two weeks really decides
what they should do at the trade did because I think they've got pieces which
could they could get some good value you for. But you can't really trade
if you're above five hundred and still have a reasonable chance of making the especially
when you're the Bostom Red Socks, like Michael Michaelis did it last season.
But it's a bit different for the Oils. I guess, yeah, they
could, it wasn't it wasn't their competitive schedule window or whatever, but like,
yeah, yeah, the issue is that there aren't four wild cards,
because I do think that's a pretty good chance that they remain better than whoever
Wednesday out Central. But yeah, I mean they're only two games out.
I mean, it takes one team to take a bit of a step back
and they're they're in the postseason, so they can't be set as surely.
Yeah, if you're if you're looking at that Yankees team especially and yeah thinking
that maybe yeah Baltimore is going to fall off or something like, you know,
there's there's opportunities here right now, but as you say, Russ,
if it goes badly in the next couple of weeks, then maybe they won't
think there are Okay, so that completes are expectations and our review of the
season so far. I hope you we've all enjoyed, are not so quick
dart through. I kind of thought when we were going to do this,
maybe we should have split A L and N L in two separate occations,
but who knows, I might do that in postum. No, obviously the
m Friday, which is tomorrow, baseball is MLB is full is back.
I don't belie gave start again. If you have been remiss and I've been
missing out on baseball, I do very much recommend that you actually check some
of the softball which is going on right now. The gb women's team are
taking part in the Baseball World Cup, the Women's Softball World Cup. Sorry,
they are currently three and o going through their first three group stages,
which involves win against the Netherlands team which is ranked ninth in the world.
Would you be a ranked fourteenth or sixteenth something around that and against Chinese type
which are ranked third in the world. This is all off the back of
Georgina Corrix pitching. She has got the triple as she got She got the
triple crown in ncable A Softball this season for basically having the most strikeouts,
the lowest DRAA and the most wins in college shopball this year. She is
a phenomenal pitcher. So this is something you really should try and check out
if you can. Why it'd almost add matters to us. It's like a
baseball thing and a baseball podcast. Is softball a baseball You get treat it
as the same. Here in the UK, we get our funding kind of
treated the same way. If baseball softball UK and if this women's team looks
like they're good and potentially come being an Olympic medal team, that's there's the
possibility that this team they could obviously be baseball on softball back in the Olympics
in twenty twenty eight. This is massive for funding for sports in this country.
So obviously beyond your base level of patriotism of going out of supporting GB
teams in softball and baseball, this is really really a big one for on
top of the what GB did in the World Baseball Classic so far earlier on
this season. If the women's team, women's softball teams to phenomenal here,
this could be amazing for baseball going forward. Right, So do you watch?
Do watch if you can the games of beaver In. They're playing in
Dublin, So any of our Irish listeners get out there, or if you
want to get a cheap flight out to Dublin for the weekend and go watch
them softball. But do you know a couple of people who have basically done
that, because it's like forty pounds for a ticket, So get out there
for the weekend if you've got no plans. Right, otherwise we are obviously
bufflets and nerds. Rob. I'm assuming you don't have any writing, Darius,
and assuming you've got writing for BP coming about stolen bases, which is
always the thing. You're great, Thank you for listening. Hopefully next week
we shall be back, hopefully with a prospects and draft fased focused podcasts.
We do have some an external guests lined up to talk us through that because
some of us are very interested in what we've seen from the latest draft and
how some of the prospects and minor league baseball I've been playing out this year,
So those interested in that please do listen into next week