Latest / Foul Territory / FairT - Alonso’s Mets reunion, Rays future, AL Central favs

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FairT - Alonso’s Mets reunion, Rays future, AL Central favs · Foul Territory

0:00
Speaker 1: Pete Alonso and Scott Boris, his agent. They could have
0:03
Speaker 1: seen this coming. It was like this kind of train
0:05
Speaker 1: wreck you could see coming from Afar and then it happened.
0:10
Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to the Thursday edition of Fair Territory. We
0:13
Speaker 1: are pleased today to be joined by a very special
0:16
Speaker 1: co host. Her name, you know her. It's Tricia Whittaker.
0:20
Speaker 1: She works for Apple TV on their Friday night broadcast.
0:22
Speaker 1: She was the Raised Dugout reporter for six years. She
0:25
Speaker 1: is also a professor at Indiana University teaching Media. So Tricia, welcome,
0:31
Speaker 1: We're thrilled to have you. And hey, we had some
0:34
Speaker 1: pretty big news last night.
0:36
Speaker 2: We had some huge news last night, Ken, so I'm
0:39
Speaker 2: glad I'm joining the show today. We have plenty to
0:41
Speaker 2: talk about. Sometimes the off season can be a little
0:44
Speaker 2: bit boring, but not last night, so we can get
0:46
Speaker 2: right into it. Pete Alonso and the Mets. That was
0:49
Speaker 2: such a big question on everybody's mind recently will he
0:53
Speaker 2: re sign with the Mets? From Steve Cohen saying that
0:56
Speaker 2: this has been an exhausting negotiation to a deal finally
1:00
Speaker 2: being made between the Mets and Pete Alonso, reportedly a
1:04
Speaker 2: two year deal fifty four million with a player opt
1:07
Speaker 2: out after this season. So can your first initial reaction
1:12
Speaker 2: to this deal finally being done.
1:16
Speaker 1: My first initial reaction was wow, that is low. And
1:20
Speaker 1: Pete Alonso of course turned down a seven year, one
1:22
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty eight million dollar extension in June of
1:25
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three that would have covered his final arbitration
1:28
Speaker 1: year as well, so it was effectively six years, one
1:31
Speaker 1: thirty eight million in his free agent years. Okay, so
1:36
Speaker 1: what happened here, Well, what happened is Pete Alonso is
1:39
Speaker 1: a first baseman who is thirty years old, who is
1:43
Speaker 1: not all that athletic, not a plus person defensively or
1:46
Speaker 1: as a base runner. Now he has elite power, we
1:49
Speaker 1: all know that. But last season, his platform year, he
1:52
Speaker 1: hit a career low thirty four homers. So his market
1:56
Speaker 1: was always going to be problematic. And this kind of deal,
2:00
Speaker 1: the one he did with the opt out after one year,
2:02
Speaker 1: the high AAV and the high salary for this year,
2:05
Speaker 1: which is thirty million, that's the kind of deal that
2:08
Speaker 1: Scott Boris has done a few times in recent years.
2:11
Speaker 1: Did it with Carlos Correa, he did it with Blake Snell,
2:14
Speaker 1: and he did it with Matt Chapman, all to great success. Now,
2:18
Speaker 1: those were successful deals because those players later in their
2:21
Speaker 1: next year signed bigger free agent contracts with Jordan Montgomery,
2:26
Speaker 1: with Cody Bellinger to an extent his kind of Still
2:29
Speaker 1: the jury's out. They haven't been successful, the player and
2:32
Speaker 1: the agent. So it remains to be seen now if
2:35
Speaker 1: Pete Alonso can do what Correa and Snell and Chapman
2:40
Speaker 1: did and build up his value this year and go
2:43
Speaker 1: back into the market and do really well. But in
2:45
Speaker 1: the column I wrote today, I raise all the questions
2:49
Speaker 1: that we have about whether Pete Alonso can do that,
2:52
Speaker 1: and I'm skeptical. Frankly, I'm skeptical that he's going to
2:55
Speaker 1: have the same kind of success Korea, Snell and Chapman did.
3:00
Speaker 1: It's just more problematic for him now. If he goes
3:02
Speaker 1: out and hits forty five this year with an eight
3:04
Speaker 1: to fifty ops, God bless him, and he'll get his money.
3:07
Speaker 1: But yeah, again, it's going to be difficult for him
3:11
Speaker 1: to do that. It's just the trend lines aren't pointing
3:13
Speaker 1: toward that at all.
3:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, I remember you talking about that in our meeting beforehand.
3:19
Speaker 2: Just if this was a good gamble for him to make,
3:23
Speaker 2: and one of the things you pointed to was his athleticism.
3:26
Speaker 2: Is that one of the things that you kind of
3:27
Speaker 2: look at for the next couple of years and think, well,
3:30
Speaker 2: you know, this is a great deal for the Mets,
3:32
Speaker 2: no long term commitment, the fans are happy, but for
3:35
Speaker 2: Pete that was kind of a gamble.
3:38
Speaker 1: Well, certainly a good deal for the Mets, and yes,
3:41
Speaker 1: it is effectively going to cost them about sixty million
3:44
Speaker 1: considering the luxury tax penalty that they'll be hit with,
3:47
Speaker 1: but it's one year or maybe two, and teams always
3:51
Speaker 1: prefer the shorter terms. So for the Mets, they have
3:54
Speaker 1: the now player who will hit behind Juan Soto, the
3:57
Speaker 1: additional slugger they needed. It works out really well for Alonso, Yes, Trisia,
4:03
Speaker 1: you're absolutely right. And with Snell, he was an elite starter,
4:07
Speaker 1: is an elite starter. Correa was a top of the
4:10
Speaker 1: line shortstop. Is the top of the line shortstop when healthy.
4:14
Speaker 1: And Chapman is different than Alonso in that he is
4:17
Speaker 1: an elite defender. So those guys kind of had more
4:21
Speaker 1: going for them in certain respects Alonzo I don't want
4:24
Speaker 1: to detract from what he is. He is a great
4:26
Speaker 1: power hitter, one of the great power hitters in the game,
4:29
Speaker 1: second in home runs just to Aaron Judge in the
4:31
Speaker 1: last six years. But it's these other things that brought
4:34
Speaker 1: his value down. And next year, well, there will be
4:39
Speaker 1: a lot of teams in the market for first baseman.
4:41
Speaker 1: But Vladimir Guerrero Junior could be out there. Josh Naylor,
4:44
Speaker 1: who is not all that dissimilar from Alonso in certain respects,
4:48
Speaker 1: certain statistical ways, and two and a half years younger
4:51
Speaker 1: of last four years younger. These could pose problems for
4:54
Speaker 1: him as well. So it just seems to meet Tricia,
4:58
Speaker 1: it's going to be something of an uphill battle for Alonzo. Now,
5:01
Speaker 1: we've talked a lot about Pete, We've talked a lot
5:03
Speaker 1: about the Mets all off season. We've talked a lot
5:05
Speaker 1: about the Dodgers all off season. But I want to
5:07
Speaker 1: talk a little bit about the team that you worked
5:10
Speaker 1: for for the past six years, or actually the team
5:13
Speaker 1: covered for the past six years, the Tampa Bay Rays.
5:16
Speaker 1: And let's start first, Trisha, with what you see from
5:20
Speaker 1: them on the field right now and how you think
5:22
Speaker 1: this will all play out in Tampa outdoors at Steinbrenner Field,
5:27
Speaker 1: the Yankees swing training facility.
5:30
Speaker 2: Yeah. So there's just so much uncertainty surrounding the Rays
5:33
Speaker 2: this offseason. And you know who I feel for the
5:36
Speaker 2: most ken is really the fans in that area because
5:40
Speaker 2: the fans in that area deserve a good baseball team.
5:42
Speaker 2: They've had a good baseball team on the field, but
5:45
Speaker 2: the uncertainty when it comes to the off the field
5:48
Speaker 2: stuff and the stadium saga that, let's be honest, has
5:51
Speaker 2: been going on four years. I remember when they announced
5:54
Speaker 2: that they were going to build the stadium in Saint
5:56
Speaker 2: Pete last year of a bunch of red flags went
5:58
Speaker 2: up in my head. I thought, over and over again,
6:01
Speaker 2: I don't know if they're gonna be able to get
6:03
Speaker 2: this done. And here we are almost less than a
6:07
Speaker 2: year later and it's looking like that this might not
6:11
Speaker 2: be a reality for them. Then enter the hurricane, which
6:14
Speaker 2: was devastating. It was horrible. I lived about four blocks
6:17
Speaker 2: from Tropicana Field when I lived in Saint Pete, and
6:22
Speaker 2: when that hurricane came through and you saw what happened
6:24
Speaker 2: to the trap, it was just devastating. That's not something
6:26
Speaker 2: that the Rays can control, right, So that's just an
6:29
Speaker 2: unfortunate series of events for them. But when you look
6:32
Speaker 2: at this season and playing at stein Berynner Field, obviously
6:36
Speaker 2: it's not ideal for them. However, I don't think it's
6:40
Speaker 2: gonna be as terrible as people might think. It's stein
6:43
Speaker 2: Brennerfield because they've done a lot of renovations. It is
6:46
Speaker 2: a very nice field. It gives fans in Tampa an
6:49
Speaker 2: opportunity to go to the games a lot more than
6:52
Speaker 2: they might be able to in Saint Pete. Because, let's
6:54
Speaker 2: be honest, there's a lot of fans in Tampa who
6:57
Speaker 2: don't go to the games in Saint Pete because it's
6:59
Speaker 2: so far away. A lot of people don't want to
7:02
Speaker 2: say it, but it's true. Right, you cannot just rely
7:05
Speaker 2: on baseball fans in Saint Pete because there's not enough
7:07
Speaker 2: of them. I lived there for six years. There are
7:10
Speaker 2: not enough baseball fans in Saint Pete, and that's just
7:12
Speaker 2: how it goes. But when you look at those renovations
7:14
Speaker 2: that they're doing there at Steinbrennerfield, it looks very, very
7:17
Speaker 2: nice and I don't think it's going to be as
7:20
Speaker 2: much of a disruption as people might think because it's
7:24
Speaker 2: a beautiful field, it's outside we love baseball outside it's
7:27
Speaker 2: going to be hot, but the Rays have kind of
7:29
Speaker 2: manipulated their schedule to make sure that they're not there
7:32
Speaker 2: for those eighteen twenty days, you know where it just
7:35
Speaker 2: rains every single day at four o'clock in Florida, right,
7:37
Speaker 2: So I don't think it's going to be as bad
7:39
Speaker 2: as people think it's going to be. I actually think
7:42
Speaker 2: that Raised fans in Tampa are going to enjoy it.
7:44
Speaker 2: And there's a lot of Rais fans in Tampa who
7:47
Speaker 2: don't get to the Trap, so this might be their
7:49
Speaker 2: opportunity to see that team, and that kind of excites
7:52
Speaker 2: me a little bit for them.
7:53
Speaker 1: Ken we'll get to the stadium again or a little
7:56
Speaker 1: bit more in depth in a second, but I want
7:58
Speaker 1: to ask about the team itself. Hasha on Kim to
8:01
Speaker 1: me was an excellent addition. They've been struggling at shortstop
8:05
Speaker 1: since Franco has had his issues, of course, and they've
8:08
Speaker 1: got pictures coming back. McClanahan, Rasmussen, boz I kind of
8:13
Speaker 1: liked them as a sneaky wild card possibility this year,
8:17
Speaker 1: and I wonder how you see it.
8:19
Speaker 2: Okay, Okay, I like that prediction. I worry still a
8:24
Speaker 2: little bit about their bats, right, That was the big
8:26
Speaker 2: problem last year. It was it was so frustrating last
8:30
Speaker 2: year for those months watching them not be productive at
8:35
Speaker 2: the plate. And that's really the big thing that they need.
8:37
Speaker 1: Right.
8:38
Speaker 2: We know that their bullpen is usually very very good.
8:41
Speaker 2: They put together a starting rotation. They get guys that
8:43
Speaker 2: you've never even heard of, like Drew Rasmussen. They took
8:47
Speaker 2: him from the bullpen and turned him in to a starter.
8:50
Speaker 2: That was very impressive. But you know, this off season
8:53
Speaker 2: a priority for them specifically was getting themselves a catcher.
8:56
Speaker 2: They went out and they got Danny Jansen. So I
8:58
Speaker 2: think he's gonna be good for them. I know in
9:00
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four he had a little bit slightly a
9:03
Speaker 2: down year at the plate. But when you look at
9:05
Speaker 2: Danny Jansen overall, he does have a solid track record
9:08
Speaker 2: offensively that can really help the raise against left handed
9:12
Speaker 2: pitching and it'll compliment you know, their left handed hitting
9:16
Speaker 2: internal options. And it's been said that he has some
9:21
Speaker 2: great leadership skills. I have never personally worked around him,
9:24
Speaker 2: but I know in that clubhouse right now, leadership is
9:27
Speaker 2: something that they need.
9:29
Speaker 1: Right.
9:29
Speaker 2: I think that it was difficult when Kevin Kiermeyer left
9:32
Speaker 2: that clubhouse. His leadership was never replaced in that clubhouse.
9:36
Speaker 2: It just it just wasn't. And you know, you can
9:39
Speaker 2: say that Zach Eflyn might have been a little bit
9:41
Speaker 2: of a leader, but in my opinion, the leader of
9:43
Speaker 2: a team needs to be an everyday guy, right, And
9:46
Speaker 2: so I think maybe Danny Jansen can fill a hole
9:49
Speaker 2: there for the raise. I you know, I love the
9:53
Speaker 2: rais Ken and I was there for six years, and
9:56
Speaker 2: I really really do I think your prediction is generous. Yes,
10:01
Speaker 2: I would like to think you're right. I just I
10:04
Speaker 2: don't know if I see them putting it all together
10:06
Speaker 2: this year, especially offensively. That's where the red flags go
10:11
Speaker 2: up for me when I look at that lineup. I'm
10:13
Speaker 2: not sure. But if you're right, I will be happy
10:17
Speaker 2: to look back at this moment. We can clip it,
10:19
Speaker 2: you can put it on Twitter, and you can say
10:21
Speaker 2: old takes exposed, and I'll be fine with that.
10:24
Speaker 1: Trisa, don't worry. I'm never right. So we're good now.
10:27
Speaker 1: One other thing on the rays before we jump further
10:30
Speaker 1: into the show. March thirty first is a deadline for
10:34
Speaker 1: the owner Stuart Sternberg, to come up with a plan
10:37
Speaker 1: or at least present his financing and what he's going
10:41
Speaker 1: to do to make this thing work, for the county
10:43
Speaker 1: to go forward with its bonds, and for the project
10:46
Speaker 1: to really get back on track. I wrote recently that
10:50
Speaker 1: what should happen here is either this deal should get
10:54
Speaker 1: going again or Sternberg should sell the team to interest
10:59
Speaker 1: that would move it to Tank because Tampa is the
11:01
Speaker 1: more vibrant market than Saint Pete. I wonder if you
11:05
Speaker 1: can share how you see it and how you see
11:09
Speaker 1: this playing out more that Trisia. How do you see
11:12
Speaker 1: this playing out?
11:18
Speaker 2: This is a loaded, loaded topic. And you know, when
11:22
Speaker 2: I worked for the Rais and when I worked for Valley,
11:25
Speaker 2: I had to be a little bit more careful I
11:27
Speaker 2: think about what I said. I'm still going to be
11:29
Speaker 2: careful about what I say. Right. However, I have always,
11:34
Speaker 2: and I don't know this might make some Raised fans angry.
11:38
Speaker 2: I have always personally felt that the Rays would be
11:41
Speaker 2: better in Tampa. Love I have always they do, but
11:46
Speaker 2: you say that sometimes in Saint Pete, and it does
11:49
Speaker 2: oh fare well for people there, and it would be
11:53
Speaker 2: better in Tampa. Now I have seen them try to
11:56
Speaker 2: get a deal done in Tampa and it not happened, right,
12:00
Speaker 2: So I have my doubts about a deal over there.
12:03
Speaker 2: But I do think Ken just reading through what has happened. Honestly,
12:08
Speaker 2: since the day that I said that I was moving
12:11
Speaker 2: on from the Rays, it's not been good. It is
12:15
Speaker 2: a very murky, muddy relationship between Saint Pete and the Rays.
12:21
Speaker 2: I mean, when you have the Panellas County commissioner tweeting
12:24
Speaker 2: sell the team, that's not a good relationship to get
12:28
Speaker 2: a deal done in Saint Pete. Now when you talk
12:31
Speaker 2: Ken about Stu selling the team, he did very recently
12:34
Speaker 2: tell the Tampa Bay Times you know that he's not
12:37
Speaker 2: looking to sell the team or actively engage in any
12:40
Speaker 2: talks to do so. You know, he said if it
12:42
Speaker 2: was for sale, people would know it. Now we've also
12:47
Speaker 2: heard many things said by the Rays that were going
12:50
Speaker 2: to happen that never happened. So it's almost like this
12:54
Speaker 2: mental game of not knowing what to believe. And I
12:58
Speaker 2: living there for six years. I feel for the fans
13:00
Speaker 2: because they got so excited when the race said we're
13:03
Speaker 2: here to stay, We're here to stay, We're here to stay,
13:05
Speaker 2: and it just feels like the rug has been pulled
13:07
Speaker 2: out from under them. So I feel for them, and
13:09
Speaker 2: in my opinion, I don't want the Rays to leave
13:12
Speaker 2: that area, right, I think there's an appetite for baseball.
13:15
Speaker 2: Moving to Tampa makes the most sense. The problem is
13:19
Speaker 2: a deal never seems to get done. And you know, Ken,
13:22
Speaker 2: like you said, if that's if the solution is still
13:25
Speaker 2: selling the team, then so be it. A lot of
13:31
Speaker 2: fans would probably like that. Would it be the best solution.
13:36
Speaker 2: I'm not entirely sure. I don't know that it would
13:40
Speaker 2: hurt things, though, I'll.
13:41
Speaker 1: Say that depends who he sells to and depends how
13:44
Speaker 1: this all plays out. And the way I wrote Attricia was, Hey,
13:49
Speaker 1: this is not Stuart Sternberg, the worst owner in the world.
13:52
Speaker 1: We have others who are worse. But yes, this is
13:54
Speaker 1: not Stuart Sternberg, a man who is deserving of sympathy
13:57
Speaker 1: when he's getting this great deal, or at least a
13:59
Speaker 1: really good deal, at least before the hurricane from Saint Pete.
14:03
Speaker 2: So yeah, and let me just say one more thing
14:07
Speaker 2: on that. I think sometimes a lot of people give
14:09
Speaker 2: Stu a lot of grief and I and I understand
14:11
Speaker 2: some of the frustration, I really do. But and this
14:14
Speaker 2: is a. I promise you this is not a team
14:16
Speaker 2: talk opinion, because my paycheck no longer comes from there.
14:20
Speaker 2: I did enjoy working with Stu, and for those people
14:23
Speaker 2: who might question, you know his who he is as
14:26
Speaker 2: a person. He is a very He's a very nice
14:29
Speaker 2: man to work with. I just think the business side
14:32
Speaker 2: of things in Saint Pete and Tampa have not gone
14:36
Speaker 2: the way that he would have liked, the city would
14:39
Speaker 2: have liked, or the fans of the team would have liked.
14:41
Speaker 2: That's where you know, the problem lies. And sometimes I
14:45
Speaker 2: think some of the personal attacks on Stu might not
14:47
Speaker 2: be totally warranted. I understand the business side of it, though,
14:51
Speaker 2: and that's been the biggest frustration for sure, and it's
14:53
Speaker 2: had my head spinning for the last six years. So
14:56
Speaker 2: but it's not spinning anymore because I've got there. So
15:02
Speaker 2: all right, let's add to a break. We'll be right
15:05
Speaker 2: back after a quick word from our friends at foul Territory.
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Speaker 2: I cannot wait to experience this segment with you, Ken,
16:21
Speaker 2: because I watch it a lot and the questions are
16:24
Speaker 2: entertaining and I really enjoy it. So it is time
16:27
Speaker 2: now for Grill and Ken, where we take live questions
16:30
Speaker 2: from our YouTube chat, and the first question will be
16:34
Speaker 2: on the Baltimore Orioles starting pitching, because I think the
16:38
Speaker 2: Orioles are a really exciting team for everybody to watch.
16:42
Speaker 2: The AL East is a really fun division. And the
16:46
Speaker 2: first question for you, Ken is from Mike Dowdy. Are
16:50
Speaker 2: the Orioles still looking for another starting pitcher?
16:52
Speaker 1: What say you, Mike? I keep wondering this myself. Now
16:57
Speaker 1: they have numbers right now. They've got Efflin rod Riguez,
17:01
Speaker 1: Dean Kramer, Tomoyuki Sugano who they signed out of Japan,
17:04
Speaker 1: and Charlie Morton. That's five. They've got Kyle Bradish and
17:08
Speaker 1: Tyler Wells in theory coming back from surgeries at around
17:11
Speaker 1: the All Star break. They've got Trevor Rodgers likely starting
17:14
Speaker 1: in the miners, and some other prospects that they could
17:17
Speaker 1: use as well. However, they do not have anything resembling
17:21
Speaker 1: Corbyn Burns, who of course was a key part of
17:23
Speaker 1: the team last year. So I would love to see
17:26
Speaker 1: them get one more starting pitching a pitcher from their perspective.
17:30
Speaker 1: I just don't know if they're going to do it.
17:32
Speaker 1: And yes, Dylan Cees is still out there. Yes, Luis
17:34
Speaker 1: Castile presumably could still be had in the right deal,
17:38
Speaker 1: But I just don't know that it's going to happen
17:41
Speaker 1: at this point because of the numbers that they've assembled.
17:44
Speaker 1: I'd like the quality to be a little bit better.
17:46
Speaker 1: It's not bad, but I'd like it to be better.
17:49
Speaker 1: I just don't know that they can accomplish that.
17:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, let me tell you, Camden Yards was rocking last
17:54
Speaker 2: year and it was fun to see, so you kind
17:56
Speaker 2: of hope that again for them this year. All right.
17:58
Speaker 2: Our next question is a question on Bregman. It's from
18:02
Speaker 2: Armand and it says, how does Pete's contract affect Bregman.
18:09
Speaker 1: I'm not sure it affects Bregman at all. But the
18:11
Speaker 1: key question right now with Bregman is will he need
18:15
Speaker 1: to take the same type of short term, high dollar
18:19
Speaker 1: deal that will have opt outs that will enable him
18:22
Speaker 1: to get back out into the market as quickly as
18:24
Speaker 1: Pete will, which is next off season. Gregman had a
18:29
Speaker 1: six year offer from the Astros. You've seen reports that
18:31
Speaker 1: he has a six year offer from someone else, maybe
18:34
Speaker 1: multiple six year offers. If he had a six year
18:36
Speaker 1: offer that he found satisfactory, obviously he would have signed
18:39
Speaker 1: by now, and he hasn't, So that's the question for me.
18:43
Speaker 1: It's a different player than Alonzo, entirely different. Alex Bregman
18:46
Speaker 1: is coming off his first Gold Glove at third base.
18:49
Speaker 1: He is not the slugger that Alonzo is, but a
18:52
Speaker 1: better pure hitter. So I don't know that they're related
18:56
Speaker 1: in any way except that they're both represented by got
19:00
Speaker 1: Boris and we're so late in the offseason where the
19:03
Speaker 1: shorter deals become seemingly more part of the conversation.
19:08
Speaker 2: Can I ask you one question about Pete that we
19:10
Speaker 2: didn't get to earlier, since we just talked about him,
19:13
Speaker 2: do you think that other teams are kind of looking
19:15
Speaker 2: at that deal that the Mets made with Pete and saying, well, crap,
19:19
Speaker 2: like we could have gotten that done.
19:22
Speaker 1: I don't know that any other team could have gotten
19:24
Speaker 1: it done, because I don't know that he would have
19:25
Speaker 1: settled for that type of deal from any other team.
19:28
Speaker 1: He is a homegrown product with the Mets. He is
19:31
Speaker 1: a big part of what they do. He is within
19:35
Speaker 1: striking distance of their all time home run record. He
19:38
Speaker 1: wanted to be there. So I saw a tweet this morning.
19:41
Speaker 1: I believe it was from Chris Catillo, who covers the
19:44
Speaker 1: Red Sox from mass Live, saying, Hey, that would have
19:46
Speaker 1: been a great deal for the Red Sox. Yeah, except
19:49
Speaker 1: I I.
19:50
Speaker 2: Saw those all morning too. I saw those all morning too.
19:53
Speaker 2: In it, I was like, you gotta wonder what's going
19:56
Speaker 2: through their head? All right, we got another question for you,
20:00
Speaker 2: who ken is your favorite in the AL Central?
20:05
Speaker 1: Wow? Good question, because the Twins have arisen this week. Yeah,
20:09
Speaker 1: thank you Michael for that. I like the Royals obviously.
20:13
Speaker 1: I don't know how you can bet against the Guardians,
20:15
Speaker 1: even with all the changes that they've made, new first basement,
20:19
Speaker 1: new second baseman. But they have Shane Bieber coming back,
20:22
Speaker 1: the rotation should be more stable, and they just have
20:27
Speaker 1: a way about them, right. They have done this, so
20:30
Speaker 1: the Royals have too. They've made the playoffs last year
20:32
Speaker 1: as well, and I like what they've done overall. I
20:37
Speaker 1: just think the Guardians are the team to beat until
20:39
Speaker 1: proven otherwise. And hey, Minnesota, if healthy, is the best
20:44
Speaker 1: of these teams. Right, They've got the two arguably best
20:47
Speaker 1: players in the division, well outside of Jose Ramirez and
20:50
Speaker 1: Bobby Witt. But they've got two really good players College
20:55
Speaker 1: Correa and Byron Buxton. They've got an a starting pitcher
20:57
Speaker 1: in Pablo Lopez. They've strengthened their this week with Danny Coolom.
21:02
Speaker 1: They are a team that, in addition, is added Harrison
21:05
Speaker 1: Batter this week and they're rounding out nicely. But the
21:08
Speaker 1: question is can they stay healthy. So I see it
21:12
Speaker 1: almost as a three team race with those three, but
21:14
Speaker 1: there's really a fourth team too. Let's not forget the Tigers.
21:17
Speaker 1: The Tigers have resigned Jack Flaherty, They've had Glaber Torres
21:21
Speaker 1: come aboard, They've got Alex Cobb coming aboard. They're going
21:24
Speaker 1: to be quite formidable too. So it probably comes down
21:27
Speaker 1: to who stays the healthiest, as it always does, and
21:31
Speaker 1: perhaps which teams fare the best at the deadline.
21:34
Speaker 2: Gosh, that al Central is going to be fun to watch,
21:36
Speaker 2: especially after what the Tigers did last year. But I'm
21:39
Speaker 2: going to have to say I think the Twins possibly
21:43
Speaker 2: are a little bit of a dark horse if they
21:45
Speaker 2: can stay healthy. You're right, Ken, because the conversation so
21:48
Speaker 2: long with the Twins in their lineup is that they
21:50
Speaker 2: haven't been able to stay healthy. Their best hitters have
21:53
Speaker 2: not been healthy. If they can stay healthy, I think
21:55
Speaker 2: we're going to see a very hungry Twins team. So
21:57
Speaker 2: they're my dark horse in the Ale Central. But if
22:00
Speaker 2: I don't go with the Twins, I would definitely go
22:02
Speaker 2: with the Tigers can all right? Yeah, I was were
22:11
Speaker 2: pretty safe bet if are. There are few things for
22:14
Speaker 2: certain in life, but the White Sox not being competitive
22:17
Speaker 2: in the Ales Central are one of those things in
22:20
Speaker 2: life that are for certain. All right. Another question for
22:24
Speaker 2: you is is there anything happening with the Cardinals and
22:28
Speaker 2: trading Ronato? This is from Matthew. He said, I saw
22:32
Speaker 2: some more talks with the Red Sox, but seems to
22:35
Speaker 2: be nothing else happening. What say you can?
22:38
Speaker 1: I don't think Arnado can resolve until Bregman resolves, And
22:41
Speaker 1: once Bregman picks his team, then the Cardinals can resume,
22:45
Speaker 1: whether it's with the Red Sox or someone else. Now,
22:48
Speaker 1: keep in mind, no one Arnado has a full low
22:51
Speaker 1: trade clause. We saw him invoke that clause with the
22:53
Speaker 1: Houston Astros this offseason. He didn't want to go there.
22:56
Speaker 1: He wanted to wait. Maybe he should have gone there.
22:59
Speaker 1: We can second us that later after this all resolves.
23:02
Speaker 1: But the Red Sox are a team that still has
23:06
Speaker 1: not replaced the right handed hitting presence of Tyler O'Neil.
23:10
Speaker 1: This is a team that needs a right handed hitter badly.
23:13
Speaker 1: They've needed it since last year, even when they had O'Neil.
23:17
Speaker 1: So at some point, in my view, they have to act,
23:22
Speaker 1: and whether it's Bregmant or whether it's or not, or
23:24
Speaker 1: whether it's something else, they need that additional bat, especially
23:28
Speaker 1: at Fenway Park. I don't know what they're doing. They're
23:30
Speaker 1: heavily left handed, which is fine. Most of their good
23:33
Speaker 1: prospects are left handed. Ralphaeld Devers is left handed. We
23:36
Speaker 1: get it, and that's the way the team just happens
23:38
Speaker 1: to be constructed as of now. But you've got to
23:41
Speaker 1: find some balance, and right now they don't have enough
23:44
Speaker 1: pops on the right side.
23:46
Speaker 2: All right, It is time now for a favorite part
23:50
Speaker 2: of the week, and that Ken is Dude of the Week.
23:54
Speaker 1: Dude, dude, dude.
24:04
Speaker 2: Okay, I'm so excited to be a part of this
24:05
Speaker 2: part of the broadcast to Ken because I see you
24:07
Speaker 2: guys do this a lot and it's really a fun thing.
24:10
Speaker 2: So give me Ken. We actually when we went over this,
24:14
Speaker 2: we had the same Dude of the week, so I
24:15
Speaker 2: have to choose a different one. But give me your
24:18
Speaker 2: Dude of the week because it was the same as mine.
24:21
Speaker 1: All right. Tiger fans were probably in a lather two
24:24
Speaker 1: minutes ago when I mentioned them last among my ALE
24:26
Speaker 1: Central teams. But the thoughts were just coming into my house.
24:30
Speaker 1: I'm redeeming myself right now, Scott Harris. Their GM is
24:34
Speaker 1: due to the week, and here's why. Last year he
24:38
Speaker 1: signed Jack Flaherty to a one year, fourteen million dollar
24:40
Speaker 1: deal to help stabilize their rotation. That was last offseason.
24:44
Speaker 1: Then at the deadline, remember the Tigers were sellers at
24:47
Speaker 1: the deadline, he trades Jack Flaherty for a guy who
24:50
Speaker 1: is now their shortstop, Tray Sweeney, and a top catching
24:53
Speaker 1: prospect they weren Loronzo. And now after getting those two
24:57
Speaker 1: guys in the trade, guess what he did. He resigned
25:00
Speaker 1: two years thirty five million with an opt out after one.
25:02
Speaker 1: Now there was some good fortune here. The market for
25:05
Speaker 1: Floherty didn't develop the way it should have. But what
25:08
Speaker 1: Harris did the combination of those three moves really the
25:11
Speaker 1: first signing of Flherty, the trade, and then the re
25:14
Speaker 1: signing of Flarerty That for me is due to the
25:17
Speaker 1: week Scott Harris.
25:19
Speaker 2: I love that pick because that was going to be
25:21
Speaker 2: my pick too. I especially go back to last year,
25:24
Speaker 2: you know, when the Tigers started winning and it kind
25:26
Speaker 2: of forced their hand in the front off and it
25:29
Speaker 2: was like, this is a team that is capable of winning.
25:32
Speaker 2: So you kind of wonder how things would have changed
25:35
Speaker 2: had they not made that incredible run at the end
25:37
Speaker 2: of the season, made the postseason, and had done what
25:39
Speaker 2: they had done. So I would say Scott Harris is
25:41
Speaker 2: my Dude of the week too, But since we have
25:43
Speaker 2: to have a little bit of a different opinion on this,
25:45
Speaker 2: we're going to have to also go with a snow
25:48
Speaker 2: sculpture that was done by an artist of Shohei Otani
25:54
Speaker 2: at a snow festival in Japan and can I don't
25:57
Speaker 2: know how much experience you have with snow, but that's
26:01
Speaker 2: very difficult to do. And I love that they included
26:03
Speaker 2: his dog in that as well. So that has to
26:05
Speaker 2: be my Dude of the week. Ken, what do you
26:07
Speaker 2: think of that?
26:08
Speaker 1: Showhy snow Tany as he is now known, That was
26:11
Speaker 1: an awesome, awesome sculptor, and I do have experienced with
26:15
Speaker 1: snow quite a bit of it, and there's not a
26:17
Speaker 1: chance that I could have ever done anything even remotely
26:20
Speaker 1: resembling that. So great job.
26:23
Speaker 2: Yes, I love that. I love that. I wish I
26:25
Speaker 2: would have been able to make my snowman look as
26:27
Speaker 2: good as that. So all right, now it is time
26:30
Speaker 2: for Dork of the Week, which is also another one
26:33
Speaker 2: of my favorite parts of the show.
26:44
Speaker 1: All right, let's start this off, Chris hold On. Let's
26:47
Speaker 1: start this off with a tweet from Bill shaik in
26:50
Speaker 1: this morning in honor of the person who is the
26:54
Speaker 1: namesake of Dork of the Week. Let's see it from Bill.
26:57
Speaker 1: Here we are, and we'll the owner elevating A's owner
27:01
Speaker 1: John Fisher to their executive committee. Rob Bamford said, do
27:05
Speaker 1: we even need to say more? Rob Bamford could be
27:08
Speaker 1: Dork of the Week for this decision actually and the
27:10
Speaker 1: owners who made it. But we're gonna stay away from
27:12
Speaker 1: John Fisher. The John Fisher Dork of the Week this
27:15
Speaker 1: week is not going to go to him. I'm gonna
27:18
Speaker 1: give it somewhat grudgingly, somewhat reluctantly, because this guy's not
27:21
Speaker 1: a dork. But Peter Alonzo, he misread his market. And
27:26
Speaker 1: obviously things happen in free agency from time to time,
27:29
Speaker 1: and you feel for the players circumstances just work against him.
27:33
Speaker 1: But Peter Alonzo and Scott Boris, his agent, they could
27:37
Speaker 1: have seen this coming. They could have seen the difficulty
27:40
Speaker 1: with a guy at first base who's thirty years old,
27:42
Speaker 1: who's not that athletic, has defensive issues, etc. Et cetera.
27:46
Speaker 1: And yet this all transpired the way it did. It
27:51
Speaker 1: was like this kind of train wreck you could see
27:53
Speaker 1: coming from afar and then it happened. Now, obviously, as
27:56
Speaker 1: I said earlier, Alonso can still get a great deal
28:00
Speaker 1: next year, and maybe that's what happens, but for now,
28:03
Speaker 1: this is not the outcome he wanted. So Peter Alonzo sadly,
28:07
Speaker 1: I must say dork of the week.
28:10
Speaker 2: I know John Fisher kind of teed that up for
28:12
Speaker 2: us a little bit, but Peter Alonzo has to be
28:14
Speaker 2: thrown into that category as well. So I hate the
28:17
Speaker 2: word dork actually because everybody called me a dork when
28:20
Speaker 2: I was in middle school because I wasn't cool and
28:22
Speaker 2: in baseball or anything yet. But I'm going to have
28:24
Speaker 2: to go with Jerry Depoto for dork of the week
28:27
Speaker 2: because recently he said that the Mariners didn't have a
28:32
Speaker 2: lot of holes to fill and that their offense doesn't
28:35
Speaker 2: get enough credit for the things that they do well.
28:38
Speaker 2: And if you are scrolling through Twitter or Mariner's Twitter,
28:43
Speaker 2: you know that this did not sit well with the fans.
28:46
Speaker 2: And yet understand why that comment might not have sat
28:51
Speaker 2: well with the fans. The Mariners missed the playoffs for
28:53
Speaker 2: the twenty second time in the last twenty three years,
28:56
Speaker 2: and gosh, those fans deserve a winning team, They deserve
29:00
Speaker 2: a competitive team, and you know, it seemed like such
29:06
Speaker 2: a letdown because you know, they had the best starting
29:08
Speaker 2: rotation in baseball. They have two franchise pieces in Julio
29:13
Speaker 2: Rodriguez and Cal Rawly, And I just think that saying
29:18
Speaker 2: something like that after clearly one of the biggest problems
29:22
Speaker 2: for the Mariners was their offense. That qualifies you for
29:26
Speaker 2: dork of the Week because that is just it's really
29:29
Speaker 2: rough for the fans to hear because all they want
29:32
Speaker 2: are players who can hit the ball, because they've got
29:35
Speaker 2: most everything else. So that qualifies for dork of the
29:38
Speaker 2: Week for me.
29:38
Speaker 1: Ken one quick thought Tricia on that they're only two
29:43
Speaker 1: major offensive editions this offseason. Jorge Polanco and Donovan Solano.
29:48
Speaker 1: Both those guys are solid pieces, they are not difference
29:51
Speaker 1: makers at this stage of their careers.
29:53
Speaker 2: No non solutions to their biggest problem. Ken, this is
29:56
Speaker 2: so much fun. I loved joining you. Before we go,
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Speaker 2: or concern, call one eight hundred gambler. Thank you to
30:36
Speaker 2: everyone for watching and listening. Ken, thanks for putting up
30:40
Speaker 2: with me in my first time hosting with him.
30:42
Speaker 1: Trisa, there was nothing to put up with. You were great,
30:45
Speaker 1: and remember join us Monday for our normal Monday Fair Territory.
30:50
Speaker 1: That will air well after we tape it at some
30:52
Speaker 1: point on Monday afternoon. Have a great weekend, everybody. Tricia,
30:55
Speaker 1: thanks so much.
30:57
Speaker 2: Thanks Ken, thanks for watching everyone Foul Territory. He is
31:00
Speaker 2: next to stick around. M m mmm