Latest / Foul Territory / Fair Territory: White Sox grab 1st place, Giants GRAND comeback, Las Vegas series a JOKE?!

Transcript

Fair Territory: White Sox grab 1st place, Giants GRAND comeback, Las Vegas series a JOKE?! · Foul Territory

0:04
Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to the Thursday edition of Fair Territory. I'm
0:07
Speaker 1: Ken Rosenthal here with Alana Rizzo, and we've got a
0:10
Speaker 1: lot to discuss, as always on the program and Alta,
0:14
Speaker 1: let's start with the first place team in the American
0:18
Speaker 1: League Central.
0:20
Speaker 2: I never thought we would be talking about this on
0:23
Speaker 2: June what is it, eleventh, twenty twenty six. Ken, Good
0:25
Speaker 2: to be back with you this week on Fair Territory.
0:28
Speaker 2: The first place Chicago White Sox. How did they get there?
0:32
Speaker 1: They got there by playing extremely well even without more
0:36
Speaker 1: when you Tako Morikami, they're great star who has been
0:39
Speaker 1: out for a while, but as I detailed in my
0:41
Speaker 1: notes Calumn today, their offense actually has been better without him.
0:46
Speaker 1: I don't know how to explain that. I don't know
0:47
Speaker 1: how to explain a lot of things with the White Sox.
0:50
Speaker 1: But they are a team that has the second best
0:53
Speaker 1: record in the American League since I believe April seventeenth,
0:57
Speaker 1: right behind the Yankees. They are a team that is
1:01
Speaker 1: getting enough from its pitching, and they are a team
1:03
Speaker 1: that is playing out of its mind at home. Eighteen
1:07
Speaker 1: and three at home in their last twenty one home games.
1:10
Speaker 1: It's an amazing stretch, and right now they are playing
1:14
Speaker 1: the Braves in the middle of a difficult circumstance. Here
1:18
Speaker 1: a schedule that has them playing the Braves, Dodgers, and Yankees.
1:22
Speaker 1: They've won the first two games from the Braves, they
1:24
Speaker 1: won this series, and they keep going in a weak division.
1:28
Speaker 1: So it raises the question a lot of what can
1:31
Speaker 1: they do to keep this momentum surging forward? And will
1:36
Speaker 1: they do much at the deadline. I try to address
1:39
Speaker 1: that somewhat in my notes column today, and clearly they
1:42
Speaker 1: are a team that will try to add I expect that,
1:45
Speaker 1: but like the Cardinals, like the Nationals. If the Nationals
1:49
Speaker 1: remain in contention, these are the other surprise teams. I
1:52
Speaker 1: do not expect them to go crazy and abandon their
1:55
Speaker 1: development plan. They are going to stay the course, but
1:58
Speaker 1: at the same time, they're not going to ignore where
2:01
Speaker 1: they are in the standings.
2:02
Speaker 2: Ken, nobody is more excited about a first place standing
2:06
Speaker 2: right now for the Chicago White Sox than a G
2:08
Speaker 2: eight Pierzinski, But you mentioned them as a surprise team,
2:12
Speaker 2: the White Sox, the Cardinals. Who was a bigger surprise
2:16
Speaker 2: in your opinion the Nationals?
2:18
Speaker 1: Is this?
2:18
Speaker 2: I mean to me, the White Sox are the biggest
2:20
Speaker 2: surprise so far of the twenty twenty sixth season.
2:23
Speaker 1: I would agree with you, Alana, but it is an
2:26
Speaker 1: interesting debate, and it's interesting because, of course, the White
2:29
Speaker 1: Socks were got off of the last couple of years.
2:32
Speaker 1: The Cardinals, though, traded three veterans. They were rebuilding and
2:36
Speaker 1: are rebuilding. They traded Sonny Gray, Wilson Contreras and Nolan Arnatto,
2:40
Speaker 1: and then they traded Brendan Donovan. Oops, four veterans, excuse me,
2:44
Speaker 1: and he's arguably their best player. So no one expected
2:48
Speaker 1: this out of them so soon. And the Nationals, it's
2:51
Speaker 1: just bizarre. They blew the game in San Francisco yesterday.
2:54
Speaker 1: We'll get to that. But they lead the majors in
2:57
Speaker 1: runs scored, runs per game, however you want to measure it,
3:01
Speaker 1: and no one really saw that coming. And they're pitching. No,
3:05
Speaker 1: it's not good at all. In fact, it's one of
3:07
Speaker 1: the worst tests in the majors. But they score enough
3:10
Speaker 1: to win, and they are one game out in the
3:12
Speaker 1: wild card standings. The Cardinals, they are the top team
3:16
Speaker 1: in the National League wildcard standings, and of course the
3:18
Speaker 1: White Sox are in first place. So all of them
3:21
Speaker 1: are surprises, and yes, I would still agree though with you,
3:25
Speaker 1: that the White Sox are the biggest.
3:27
Speaker 2: And how about Brandon Montgomery, of course, making his debut
3:30
Speaker 2: the other night, a walk off home or excuse me,
3:33
Speaker 2: Braiden Montgomery, a walk off home run for the Chicago
3:36
Speaker 2: White Sox. People were scouring for his jersey in the
3:39
Speaker 2: pro shop. They couldn't find it. They were making their
3:41
Speaker 2: own jerseys with Braiden Montgomery's name on it. That's a
3:44
Speaker 2: pretty special moment.
3:46
Speaker 1: That was one of the highlights of the season in
3:48
Speaker 1: my opinion. And not just was it a walk off
3:51
Speaker 1: home run in his major league debut, he came against
3:55
Speaker 1: the team that has dominated Major League Baseball this year,
3:58
Speaker 1: the Atlanta Braves. So to see that happen. And of
4:01
Speaker 1: course Montgomery was part of the Garrett Crochet trade and
4:03
Speaker 1: that trade has been bountiful, I'm sorry, bountiful for the
4:07
Speaker 1: White Sox. Kyle Teal will come off the injured list eventually,
4:10
Speaker 1: and when they get Teal and Murakami back, they're going
4:13
Speaker 1: to be that much better offensively. And they got the
4:15
Speaker 1: seventh best offense by runs per game in the Majors
4:19
Speaker 1: as it stands. So yeah, that was a great moment, Alana,
4:22
Speaker 1: no question, and it's going to be really interesting to
4:26
Speaker 1: see how this all plays out for them, for the Cardinals,
4:28
Speaker 1: for the Nationals, and just where this all goes.
4:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, good for the White Sox. All right, So from
4:34
Speaker 2: the South side to the north side. Ken a very
4:37
Speaker 2: different situation with the Chicago Cubs, but they do have
4:39
Speaker 2: an asset that other teams will covet at the trade deadline,
4:42
Speaker 2: by the name of Saya Suzuki. What's going on? You
4:45
Speaker 2: wrote about it in your notes column.
4:47
Speaker 1: Well, we haven't talked much about who the Cubs might trade.
4:51
Speaker 1: We've talked about who they might acquire. And they're still
4:55
Speaker 1: in a really interesting position. And forget what's happening on
4:58
Speaker 1: the field for a second. We'll get that, but in
5:02
Speaker 1: terms of where they are with their payroll and with
5:04
Speaker 1: the players who are eligible for free agency, even after
5:08
Speaker 1: signing Nico Horner, they still have a number of guys
5:11
Speaker 1: who are going to be free agents in Managa, tie
5:14
Speaker 1: On Boyd and Sayas Zuki and Ian Happ are among
5:18
Speaker 1: them as well. Says Zuki, because he is a right
5:22
Speaker 1: handed hitter, has particular value in today's game because basically
5:27
Speaker 1: you cannot find quality right handed hitters. It's a real problem.
5:30
Speaker 1: And I have a stat in the story today. Going
5:33
Speaker 1: into yesterday's play, the ops for all right handed hitters
5:37
Speaker 1: in Major League Baseball was six ninety six. That would
5:40
Speaker 1: be the lowest since nineteen ninety two. So Suzuki would
5:45
Speaker 1: have value in that sense. Teams covet right handed hitters,
5:49
Speaker 1: and the Cubs because of the situation they're in, not
5:52
Speaker 1: just with the number of potential free agents, but the
5:55
Speaker 1: team in general, they're falling apart. So they're a team
6:00
Speaker 1: that probably will look to shake it up. You remember,
6:03
Speaker 1: at one time they were twenty seven and twelve. Since
6:06
Speaker 1: then there's seven and twenty two. At one time when
6:10
Speaker 1: they were twenty seven and twelve, they led the majors
6:13
Speaker 1: in runs per game. Right now, since that time, in
6:17
Speaker 1: this seven and twenty two stretch there next to last,
6:20
Speaker 1: ahead of only the Padres. You see the numbers right there.
6:23
Speaker 1: It's incredible how they fall and they're scoring almost two
6:27
Speaker 1: and a half runs per game fewer than they were
6:30
Speaker 1: when they were hot. I don't know how to explain this,
6:32
Speaker 1: but this is a team that back at five hundred
6:35
Speaker 1: now and I imagine at some point they're gonna need
6:38
Speaker 1: to make some difficult decisions. Suzuki could be one of them.
6:41
Speaker 1: Now he has a no trade clause. But at the
6:44
Speaker 1: same time, players in their free agent years generally will
6:47
Speaker 1: be open to waiving their no trade clauses because it
6:50
Speaker 1: takes off the qualifying offer, and that would be something
6:53
Speaker 1: that would be enticing.
6:55
Speaker 2: As you mentioned, twenty seven and twelve can entering play
6:58
Speaker 2: on May eighth. Here we sit on in June eleventh,
7:00
Speaker 2: having lost twenty two of twenty nine, and as you said,
7:03
Speaker 2: they are even at five hundred.
7:08
Speaker 1: My dog Bella would do anything for a treat, and
7:11
Speaker 1: I want to give her a treat that will take
7:13
Speaker 1: care of her long term.
7:15
Speaker 3: And A quick message from today's sponsor, the ASPCA Pet
7:19
Speaker 3: Health Insurance Program. If you're frantically looking for what to
7:22
Speaker 3: do with your pup when they have an issue, the
7:23
Speaker 3: program offers customizable accident and illness plans, making it easier
7:28
Speaker 3: to get your pet the care they need. When you
7:30
Speaker 3: enroll in an ASPCA Pet Health Insurance Plan, you could
7:33
Speaker 3: get a twenty five dollars Amazon gift card. It's a
7:35
Speaker 3: little treat for you while you're doing something great for
7:37
Speaker 3: your pet to explore coverage. Visit ASPCA pet insurance dot
7:41
Speaker 3: com slash foul. That's ASPCA pet insurance dot com slash foul.
7:46
Speaker 3: Eligibility restrictions apply. Visit ASPCA pet insurance dot com slash
7:50
Speaker 3: Amazon terms for more info. This is a paid advertisement.
7:53
Speaker 3: Insurance is underwritten by either Independence American Insurance Company or
7:56
Speaker 3: United States Fire Insurance Company and produced by PTZ Insurance
8:00
Speaker 3: Agency Limited. The ASPCA is not insured and is not
8:03
Speaker 3: engaged in the business of insurance.
8:05
Speaker 2: Okay, So the San Francisco Giants. What an unbelievable game
8:09
Speaker 2: for them yesterday, I mean, could have been the win
8:11
Speaker 2: of the year. Could that spark something for them?
8:15
Speaker 1: I guess it could have on them. But they're the
8:17
Speaker 1: second worst team in the National League. They've got the
8:19
Speaker 1: second worst record, ahead of only the Rockies twenty eight
8:22
Speaker 1: and forty one. Okay, they're fifteen and a half games
8:25
Speaker 1: out in the division. They are eight back in the
8:28
Speaker 1: wildcard race. Now, some of their hitters have come around
8:31
Speaker 1: a little bit. Dever's got hot in many he's cold again.
8:34
Speaker 1: Chapman's been really good, John Hoolee's been incredible, and Bryce
8:38
Speaker 1: Eldridge the home run king yesterday, the guy who hit
8:41
Speaker 1: the Ultimate Grand Slam, becoming the youngest player ever to
8:45
Speaker 1: hit one of those, and the one previously was Roberto Clemente.
8:49
Speaker 1: All that is good, but they still have too many holes,
8:53
Speaker 1: too many questions, and I don't see them coming out
8:56
Speaker 1: of this. Maybe I'm wrong than wrong before, but this
9:00
Speaker 1: is just a team that is too challenged in my opinion,
9:03
Speaker 1: to really go anywhere. And I should mention as well
9:06
Speaker 1: Casey Schmidt, who's had a remarkable year playing on a
9:09
Speaker 1: number of positions. He is a guy who should be
9:11
Speaker 1: an All Star, should be their All Star. And there's
9:14
Speaker 1: the win probability charge from yesterday. They had a ninety
9:17
Speaker 1: nine point nine percent chance of losing this game and
9:21
Speaker 1: they won it. They were down nine to one and
9:23
Speaker 1: they want it. Good for the Giants yesterday, But do
9:26
Speaker 1: I expect it to spark a sudden surge to the
9:29
Speaker 1: top of the NS standings. No, I do not.
9:33
Speaker 2: The Nationals are probably a little bit shell shocked, perhaps
9:36
Speaker 2: not as much as the San Antonio Spurs are being
9:38
Speaker 2: shell shocked right now. But I tell you what, I
9:41
Speaker 2: doubt that they very seriously doubt ken that they thought
9:43
Speaker 2: they were going to lose that game to the San
9:45
Speaker 2: Francisco Giants. What do you like or dislike about the
9:49
Speaker 2: makeup of the Nationals? They are as surprise team, as
9:51
Speaker 2: you mentioned, but do they have what it takes to compete?
9:54
Speaker 1: I like James Wood, I like c. J Abrams, I
9:57
Speaker 1: like some of the lesser names who were contributing as
9:59
Speaker 1: well on the offensive side. Now do they have what
10:01
Speaker 1: it takes? They absolutely do not, and the reason they
10:05
Speaker 1: do not is because they're pitching is just not there.
10:08
Speaker 1: And I don't have the rankings in front of me,
10:10
Speaker 1: but I believe they're twenty second in era and that's
10:13
Speaker 1: not good enough. Actually twenty sixth in rotation era, something
10:17
Speaker 1: along those lines. So without pitching, you're not going to
10:21
Speaker 1: go anywhere. And offense, not that it's fleeting, because this
10:25
Speaker 1: has been more than two and a half months now,
10:27
Speaker 1: or actually about two and a half months of incredible
10:30
Speaker 1: offense from the Nationals, but at some point I expect
10:34
Speaker 1: them to slow down a little bit and then they're
10:35
Speaker 1: going to have to pitch. And while Lttela has been
10:38
Speaker 1: better and Michael is somewhat better, they still are short
10:42
Speaker 1: in that area. And I don't expect under Paul Taboni,
10:45
Speaker 1: their first year president of baseball operations. They're gonna go
10:48
Speaker 1: all out of the deadline to fix it. They're trying
10:51
Speaker 1: to build something like Saint Louis, like the White Sox
10:54
Speaker 1: for the long haul.
10:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, and your numbers back it up, Ken, because they
10:58
Speaker 2: are twenty fifth in team E out of thirty teams,
11:01
Speaker 2: so they just do not have the pitching. All right, guys,
11:03
Speaker 2: make sure you've subscribed to Foul Territory on YouTube and
11:06
Speaker 2: wherever you listen so you don't miss an episode. We
11:09
Speaker 2: want to spread the well. Get your questions in for
11:12
Speaker 2: Grill and Ken. Next, get those questions in for Grill
11:21
Speaker 2: and Ken. Ken Rosenthal answering those for you on Fair Territory.
11:24
Speaker 2: First question is a very serious one and it was
11:27
Speaker 2: a serious situation yesterday Ken seth Lugo taking a comebacker
11:31
Speaker 2: off of his head. Obviously Brandon Nimo, his former teammate,
11:34
Speaker 2: felt so badly about it. Should there be a way
11:37
Speaker 2: for pictures to better protect themselves. This is not a
11:41
Speaker 2: new situation. In fact, you wrote about this two decades ago.
11:45
Speaker 1: I wish there were a way to address this, And
11:47
Speaker 1: you're right, Alana, I wrote about this in the year
11:49
Speaker 1: two thousand, so it's actually two and a half decades
11:52
Speaker 1: ago for The Sporting News, and I remember writing a
11:55
Speaker 1: column after Bryce Flory of the Red Sox experienced something
11:58
Speaker 1: similar to Seth Lugo, and I asked the question, Hey,
12:02
Speaker 1: can't we fix this? And really the answer is no,
12:06
Speaker 1: and you go back to herbs score way back like
12:08
Speaker 1: in the fifties, and this has always been a danger.
12:11
Speaker 1: Now I would argue it's a greater danger now with
12:14
Speaker 1: guys hitting the ball arguably harder than ever. But outside
12:19
Speaker 1: of putting a protective screen in front of home plate,
12:21
Speaker 1: which is not I'm sorry, in front of them pictures now,
12:23
Speaker 1: which is not practical, outside of putting masks on the pictures,
12:27
Speaker 1: which is not practical. We saw them wear those outsized
12:30
Speaker 1: hats a few years ago. Most guys didn't like them.
12:33
Speaker 1: They never really caught on. So I don't think that
12:37
Speaker 1: there is going to be anything done. And my fear
12:39
Speaker 1: back in the year two thousand, when I wrote about
12:41
Speaker 1: this initially, and my fear now is only if something
12:45
Speaker 1: really terrible happens will the sport be forced to act.
12:48
Speaker 1: And that's a tough place to be in. And yet
12:53
Speaker 1: I just don't see a solution. I'd like to see
12:56
Speaker 1: a solution. I wish there were a solution, but again
12:59
Speaker 1: I asked those questions in the year twenty two and
13:02
Speaker 1: a half decades ago, and there still really aren't answers.
13:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, honestly, twenty six decade, twenty six years ago, unbelievable
13:09
Speaker 2: that obviously it's still going to happen, is probably gonna
13:11
Speaker 2: get worse, and probably the worst thing would have to happen.
13:13
Speaker 2: I still don't know, to your point, Ken, what the
13:15
Speaker 2: solution would be. All Right, moving on here on grilling Ken,
13:18
Speaker 2: this is a question from Daniel RDR nineteen nineteen. Is
13:22
Speaker 2: there a ceiling for these contract extensions for players before
13:26
Speaker 2: they have played in the majors. This is regarding obviously
13:28
Speaker 2: to the Brewers and the top prospect. Is it a
13:30
Speaker 2: big risk, big reward philosophy for small markets?
13:34
Speaker 1: It is, And I don't know that I can say
13:36
Speaker 1: there's a ceiling. Certainly, these teams are trying to get
13:39
Speaker 1: ahead of the curve. And they signed Laura the Brewers
13:42
Speaker 1: did yesterday seven years, thirty one million. They've signed Cooper
13:45
Speaker 1: Pratt he got something north of fifty million. And what
13:50
Speaker 1: the Brewers are trying to do are lock up players
13:53
Speaker 1: at fixed rates club friendly rates for the early parts
13:58
Speaker 1: of their careers. And it's a small market strategy in
14:01
Speaker 1: many ways, and it's a strategy that could backfire if
14:05
Speaker 1: you pick the wrong guys. Obviously, the Brewers are confident
14:08
Speaker 1: in these guys. You can point to extensions like this
14:11
Speaker 1: that have worked dramatically in the club's favor, and you
14:14
Speaker 1: can point to ones I remember Jonathan Singleton of the
14:17
Speaker 1: Astros in particular, that have worked in the player's favor
14:21
Speaker 1: because the players did not pan out. Now, what's really
14:25
Speaker 1: interesting about the Brewers is they've given these kids the money.
14:29
Speaker 1: Now when are they going to promote them. The Brewers
14:31
Speaker 1: have a left side of the infield offensive problem. They
14:34
Speaker 1: don't get any offense out of shortstop and third base.
14:37
Speaker 1: Joey Ortiz at short is a great defender, but he
14:42
Speaker 1: is offensively challenged. And Lara is a center fielder, and
14:46
Speaker 1: he could come up and make an impact in the
14:48
Speaker 1: outfield as well, where Freelick is struggling, where they could
14:51
Speaker 1: use maybe a center fielder. Actually Frelly's playing in the corner,
14:54
Speaker 1: but they could use the center fielder as well. So
14:57
Speaker 1: I don't know when they come up, but it's simply
15:00
Speaker 1: a case of a small market team trying to get
15:02
Speaker 1: ahead of the curve. And what they're doing is trying
15:05
Speaker 1: to get surplus value out of these contracts. And what
15:09
Speaker 1: I mean by that is get more value from the
15:12
Speaker 1: player than he is getting paid. That's always the goal,
15:16
Speaker 1: and that's what the Brewers are trying to do here, all.
15:18
Speaker 2: Right, Spencer Cooper Pratt rather their number four prospect, eight years,
15:22
Speaker 2: fifty point seventy five million dollars, two club options two
15:25
Speaker 2: thirty four and two thirty five. Next question on Grill
15:29
Speaker 2: and Ken is in regards to the Nationals, why did
15:32
Speaker 2: the Nats trade Mackenzie Gore? They could have used him
15:35
Speaker 2: this year hindsight, Ken always twenty twenty.
15:38
Speaker 1: Well, they created him Alona because they were rebuilding, and
15:41
Speaker 1: sure they could have used him this year, and the
15:43
Speaker 1: Cardinals could have used Brendan Donovan. But these teams are
15:47
Speaker 1: taking an approach where they're trying to supplement the young
15:51
Speaker 1: talent that they have with additional young talent. And the
15:54
Speaker 1: Nationals believe they got quite a coup or quite a
15:57
Speaker 1: score for Mackenzie Gore. Well that plays out, you never know,
16:01
Speaker 1: but Gore had two years of control remaining and they
16:04
Speaker 1: just felt this was the time to move him now,
16:07
Speaker 1: The bigger question had been where they traded CJ. Abrams
16:11
Speaker 1: at the deadline. He also two years of control beyond
16:14
Speaker 1: this one. And the answer to that, probably right now
16:17
Speaker 1: is no. He is not highly rated as a defensive shortstop,
16:22
Speaker 1: which is problematic. But in the offseason, what I expect
16:25
Speaker 1: the Nationals to at least listen on Abrams given where
16:28
Speaker 1: they are as an organization. Yes, at the same time,
16:32
Speaker 1: what would be the better play trading him or extending
16:35
Speaker 1: him and building around him considering he is part of
16:38
Speaker 1: this amazing offense you have. That's the question these teams
16:41
Speaker 1: are going to have to face as they go forward.
16:44
Speaker 2: A question for the first place White Sox Happy birthday,
16:47
Speaker 2: by the way to Baseball tossed. He has this question
16:49
Speaker 2: for you, Can the White Sox actually win the division
16:53
Speaker 2: and we need pitching any names that make sense?
16:56
Speaker 1: Well, I don't believe Trek Skoober will be traded to
16:58
Speaker 1: the White Sox in the division, and I don't believe
17:01
Speaker 1: the White Sox would pay the price for Trek school
17:03
Speaker 1: Freddy Peralta will be out there, and that probably is
17:08
Speaker 1: a stretch too. I would expect them to go for
17:11
Speaker 1: a lower level guy. Now names off the top of
17:13
Speaker 1: my head. Let's talk about Zach Lettel in Washington. Now,
17:17
Speaker 1: he's probably not good enough for what the White Sox want,
17:19
Speaker 1: but they would want back of the rotation guys to
17:23
Speaker 1: give them innings because they have a younger group of
17:26
Speaker 1: starting pitchers that come August and September might start to
17:30
Speaker 1: wear down. I had a note in my column today
17:32
Speaker 1: about how the only guy in their rotation who has
17:35
Speaker 1: thrown more than one hundred and forty innings in a
17:37
Speaker 1: season in the majors is Eric Fatti. Now Anthony k
17:42
Speaker 1: has done it, but he did it in Japan. So
17:44
Speaker 1: they could use someone simply to eat innings. I'm not
17:48
Speaker 1: sure who exactly that would be. Sandy Alcantra would be
17:50
Speaker 1: a great call, but maybe again too much in terms
17:55
Speaker 1: of what would be required to trade him prospect wise.
18:00
Speaker 2: All right, final question on Grill and Ken. Has Fernando
18:02
Speaker 2: Tatis turned a corner?
18:05
Speaker 1: Yes, and before the home run he had turned a corner.
18:08
Speaker 1: He over the last month has done really well from
18:13
Speaker 1: the standpoint of batting average and on pace percentage. No,
18:16
Speaker 1: the power has not been there exactly, but compared to
18:20
Speaker 1: Manny Machado, and Jackson Merrill, both of whom continue to struggle.
18:24
Speaker 1: Tatis has been a breath of fresh air. And again
18:27
Speaker 1: it's been a month now at least, I think that
18:30
Speaker 1: he has really excelled offensively, just hasn't ate home runs,
18:33
Speaker 1: but he did hit one yesterday and that was a
18:35
Speaker 1: big one.
18:37
Speaker 2: All Right, let's crown dude and dork of the week next.
18:40
Speaker 2: All right. Before we do that, though, I wanted to
18:42
Speaker 2: talk a little bit about your game coming up Saturday,
18:46
Speaker 2: Phillies and Brewers on FS one. Phillies offense is humm
18:50
Speaker 2: and ken, but I tell you what, the Brewers are
18:52
Speaker 2: a very good team as well. I'm looking forward to
18:54
Speaker 2: this game.
18:55
Speaker 1: This is a potential playoff preview and it should be
18:58
Speaker 1: a lot of fun seeing these two teams match up.
19:01
Speaker 1: The Phillies obviously have played much better under Don Mattingly,
19:05
Speaker 1: but they still are a team that has serious offensive
19:09
Speaker 1: questions and it's curious to me that they're not performing
19:12
Speaker 1: better offensively. Harper's having a great year, Schwarber's having a
19:16
Speaker 1: great year, but some of the players that they expected
19:19
Speaker 1: by now to be maybe star players, are not at
19:23
Speaker 1: that level yet. Bombs stop those kinds of guys but
19:26
Speaker 1: those Garcia's come on of late. Trey Turner is not
19:30
Speaker 1: having a good year. So yes, the Phillies are twenty
19:32
Speaker 1: eight and twelve in their first forty games under Don Mattingly.
19:35
Speaker 1: As John Clark points out, there matches the best record
19:38
Speaker 1: for any Phillies manager in his first forty games. But
19:41
Speaker 1: there are still some real questions with their offense. Rotation
19:45
Speaker 1: is outstanding, Duran, the end of the bullpen outstanding, but
19:50
Speaker 1: I'm wondering when the Phillies are going to hit like
19:52
Speaker 1: we think they should hit. They're an older group and
19:56
Speaker 1: maybe it's just not going to be there. But I
19:59
Speaker 1: don't know. I still believe believe that if they get
20:01
Speaker 1: better outfield production in particular, and Brandon Marsh has been
20:04
Speaker 1: absolutely outstanding, but I'm talking about the rest of the outfield,
20:07
Speaker 1: then maybe we're talking about a better offense. Again, Marsh
20:11
Speaker 1: probably should be an All Star.
20:13
Speaker 2: He's been amazing, and it would be at his home
20:15
Speaker 2: park in Philadelphia, Citizens Bank Park. All right, seat geek,
20:19
Speaker 2: we appreciate you being a part of the foul Territory network,
20:21
Speaker 2: and guys, we appreciate you being here. Of course, we
20:24
Speaker 2: have a code for you you can use Territory ten
20:26
Speaker 2: for ten percent off your next set of Major League
20:29
Speaker 2: Baseball tickets at seat Geek. That's ten percent off any
20:32
Speaker 2: MLB tickets with promo code Territory ten. Make sure you
20:36
Speaker 2: click the link and the description to download the app
20:39
Speaker 2: and have the code automatically added to your account so
20:42
Speaker 2: you can use it later. Again, Thank you, Seat Geek.
20:45
Speaker 2: All right, let's get to our dude of the week.
20:47
Speaker 1: I'm the dude, so that's what you call me.
20:54
Speaker 2: I couldn't think of two very different guys, the dude
20:57
Speaker 2: and Ken rosenthal here on fair Territory with Ken Rosendal,
21:00
Speaker 2: who dude. You know you're a dude, but you're not
21:04
Speaker 2: pompous like the dude. He's like, I'm the dude, so
21:07
Speaker 2: that's what you call me. I just can't imagine you
21:09
Speaker 2: ever acting like that. All right, who is your dude
21:12
Speaker 2: of the week.
21:13
Speaker 1: It's Stray Mancini, just recalled by the Los Angeles Angels
21:17
Speaker 1: and I wrote about him today. There it is in
21:19
Speaker 1: his return to the majors with the Angels, Trey Mancini
21:22
Speaker 1: authors another comeback story, and this was a big comeback.
21:26
Speaker 1: It had been almost three years since Trey Mancini had
21:30
Speaker 1: been in the majors and most fans know him of course,
21:33
Speaker 1: for him as a cancer survivor, missed the twenty twenty
21:37
Speaker 1: season while recovering from surgery for colon cancer, and he
21:42
Speaker 1: has been kind of not the same player since obviously,
21:46
Speaker 1: And also he had left the game in twenty four
21:50
Speaker 1: came back in twenty five with the Diamondbacks. Thought when
21:54
Speaker 1: he opted out on June first from his minor league
21:56
Speaker 1: deal he'd get a major league golfer. Never did, and
22:00
Speaker 1: Brady Anderson, the Angels hitting coach, talked him into coming
22:03
Speaker 1: back with the Angels this year on a minor league contract.
22:05
Speaker 1: Took a series of injuries, but Trey Mancini did get
22:08
Speaker 1: back to the majors, and for his perseverance, he is
22:11
Speaker 1: the dude of the week.
22:12
Speaker 2: My dude of the week is Paul Skins, So sorry
22:15
Speaker 2: about that, guys. He stopped at a little league field,
22:18
Speaker 2: decided to spend two hours with these kids. He signed autographs,
22:23
Speaker 2: he took photos, he played baseball with them. And not
22:26
Speaker 2: only that, but Major League Baseball Players Association Players Trust
22:30
Speaker 2: said that he was also their philanthropist for the month
22:35
Speaker 2: for June ten thousand dollars. That he is given that
22:38
Speaker 2: he is going to give to the Gary Sinise Foundation.
22:41
Speaker 2: So Paul Skins, I mean, look at these kids will
22:43
Speaker 2: remember this moment for the rest of their lives. So
22:48
Speaker 2: congrats to Paul Skins for taking a time to do that.
22:51
Speaker 2: All right, time now for the dork of the week. Ken,
23:00
Speaker 2: you and I are in agreement on this one. Why
23:02
Speaker 2: don't you go ahead and lead this one off.
23:05
Speaker 1: I'm not sure who totally deserves the blame for this,
23:08
Speaker 1: but Major League Baseball the Sacramento Vegas as they're playing
23:13
Speaker 1: a series, actually two series in Las Vegas in the
23:16
Speaker 1: outdoor Triple A Stadium this week, and there's been an
23:20
Speaker 1: offensive eruption, to say the least, and they are using
23:24
Speaker 1: a humidor. I asked MLB this morning about that. But
23:27
Speaker 1: the ball just flies in this ballpark. It's the age
23:30
Speaker 1: Triple A ballpark. It has flown there forever we know that.
23:34
Speaker 1: My question is why are we playing major league games? Well,
23:37
Speaker 1: actually I don't even have to ask the question. I
23:40
Speaker 1: know why they're playing there. They're trying to promote themselves
23:42
Speaker 1: in Las Vegas. I get it. That's valid, But this
23:46
Speaker 1: is Major League Baseball. This team is already playing in
23:49
Speaker 1: a minor league park, and now you're in a park,
23:52
Speaker 1: another minor league park that is crazy offensively oriented. The
23:57
Speaker 1: A's in the series against Milwaukee tie the franchise record
24:01
Speaker 1: from most home runs in a three game series with fifteen.
24:04
Speaker 1: The first game was out of hand fifteen to fourteen,
24:06
Speaker 1: second game was seven to five, third one was four
24:08
Speaker 1: to three, so it calmed down some. But at the
24:11
Speaker 1: same time, we saw balls flying out of that park
24:14
Speaker 1: that were whole runs in none of the thirty major
24:18
Speaker 1: league parks or twenty nine I should say, so, I
24:22
Speaker 1: get it, But these are players statistics that are on
24:25
Speaker 1: the line. More importantly, these are team's outcomes that are
24:28
Speaker 1: on the line, and we are wharping them by allowing
24:31
Speaker 1: these games to be played in Vegas. That's it, dork
24:34
Speaker 1: of the week. Everybody involved with making that decision.
24:37
Speaker 2: No question about it. I mean you're talking about the
24:39
Speaker 2: team outcomes. I mean the Brewer is barring anything catastrophic
24:42
Speaker 2: or in the postseason, Athletics still trying to get there.
24:45
Speaker 2: I mean, there are half game out of the wild
24:46
Speaker 2: Card right now, but they should not be playing meaningful
24:49
Speaker 2: games for Major League Baseball in a minor league park.
24:53
Speaker 2: For teams that are trying to compete and trying to
24:55
Speaker 2: get to the postseason. And again it affects players statistics,
24:58
Speaker 2: you know, that can lend itself to problems down the
25:01
Speaker 2: line in terms of contract negotiations and those types of things.
25:04
Speaker 2: So the whole situation is just unbelievable. And again it
25:07
Speaker 2: always seems like the athletics in some former fashion are
25:10
Speaker 2: part of our dorks of the week.
25:11
Speaker 1: All right, guys, yeah, we should say, we should say
25:13
Speaker 1: a lot on one thing that these statistics are affected
25:16
Speaker 1: positively and negatively. Obviously, Jonah Hine gets a whole run
25:19
Speaker 1: the other day that it was actually a flyball to
25:21
Speaker 1: right field. He gets the benefit. But you can wreck
25:24
Speaker 1: a pitching staff like this too. And now the Rockies
25:26
Speaker 1: come in and we'll see what happens.
25:28
Speaker 2: Well, they're wrecked anyway, But that's beside the point. All right,
25:30
Speaker 2: that's our dork of the week.
25:32
Speaker 1: You guys.
25:32
Speaker 2: We appreciate you being here very much. Don't forget. Ken
25:35
Speaker 2: is back on Monday for fair territory. That's it for us,
25:37
Speaker 2: but foul territory is coming up next. Aja persons be
25:41
Speaker 2: very happy man. Right now with the White Sox, Eric
25:44
Speaker 2: Kratz and Scott braun Bucks Show, Walter Tyler Kinney and
25:47
Speaker 2: Mark Weino are coming up with them. We'll see you
25:50
Speaker 2: guys next time. Thanks Ken, Thank you Elana. Looking to
25:54
Speaker 2: take your MLB action to the next level this season,
25:57
Speaker 2: Boosted Odds are here to crank up every pitch, swing
26:00
Speaker 2: and home run BETMGM is hooking you up with your
26:04
Speaker 2: very own MLB Odds Boost token to get things started
26:07
Speaker 2: all season long. Just add any MLB bet to your
26:10
Speaker 2: bet slip, activate your Odds Boost token, and lock it in.
26:14
Speaker 2: If your bet hit, you're catching out with an even
26:17
Speaker 2: bigger payout gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler or
26:21
Speaker 2: one eight hundred my reset