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Cardinals winning streak hits 8: What's going right for St. Louis? · Cardinal Territory: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: That's eight straight wins for your Saint Louis Cardinals. They
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: sweep the Nationals at Nationals Park. They are twenty two
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: and nineteen and one game back from the Chicago Cubs
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: for first place in the National League Central. Sure, why
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: not welcome back to cardon territory, Bernie.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: What a weekend? What a week really for these Red Birds.
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: You know, remember the game, the first game in Cincinnati.
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: You know they got I think they lost that one
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: pretty bad. I can't remember, but they were really bad
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: at that time. You know, the Cardinals. I was just
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: looking at this up, looking this up tonight. You know,
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: at that point they had the what were they they
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: were like, they had that like the twenty fifth best
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: record in the majors, right, And so since that doubleheader,
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: you know, they're beginning with that doubleheader.
• 0:51
  Speaker 4: They're ten and two.
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: They have the best record in the majors since April thirty. Now,
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: small sample and all that, but it's a pretty quick,
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: pretty turn around.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: It seems that way.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Life comes at you fast, and usually we're talking about
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: it the other way around.
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: Usually it's like a very very strong, quick collapse.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: But I think we're just seeing such a strong brand
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: of Cardinals baseball right now, and was talking with Jeff
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: Jones of The Bubby News Democrat in Washington in DC today,
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: and we've made this discussion where I feel like this
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: team's floor is higher than maybe we thought and the
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: general consensus thought, and we're seeing what happened.
• 1:28
  Speaker 2: Really.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: I mean, everything's been great. The defense has been great,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: the offense has been consistent, the starting pitching has been
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: sneakily very good. The only change they made in terms
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: of operations was tweaking some bullpen rolls, but that's really
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: helpful get into the believers and all of that later
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: in the show. I just think you're seeing a strong
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: brand of Cardinals baseball. And are they going to go
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: out and rip off seventeen wins again? Loove, No, probably not,
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: But all of a sudden, we're six weeks into the season,
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: officially at the quarter mark of the year, and I
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: think everyone's feeling a little bit more excited about baseball again.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: This quote from Nolan Arnaudo post game. This is what
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: he said, and I feel like you can relate to
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: it if you're a Cardinals fan. Talk to Nolan after
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: his to run homer today. He said, we're excited to
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: come to the ballpark first time in a couple of
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: years where it feels like we're coming to the ballpark
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: ready to win a ballgame instead of coming to the
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: ballpark hoping for something good to happen.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: It's a different vibe, for sure.
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: And I feel that Cardinals when they get to the
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: clubhouse and they play a game, do you feel, Bernie, like, Oh,
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: they have a chance to win this game right now,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: and we're not hoping that everything goes right, but they
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: even if something doesn't go right, they can bounce back
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: and figure out and play a competitive baseball game.
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: Yeah, all parts of their team are working really well.
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: And I know we're gonna get into a bullpen later, so
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: thanks for reminding me of that. But this transformation to
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: the bullpen since they sent Ryan Fernandez down has been remarkable,
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: and I'm not blaming him. You know, there are a
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: lot of reasons, but that was the turning point and
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: it just continues to get better and better and better.
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: But anyway, starting pitching has been really good.
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: I don't you know, I don't believe that the the
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: Cardinals offense actually gets enough credit because people will zero
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: in on, you know, those times where they scored one
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: run or no runs, and they did have a they
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: did have a few of those. But actually I was
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: looking this up today and I won't go into the details.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: I'll just give you this the summation. You know, the
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: Cardinals actually when it comes to low scoring outputs there
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: they're they've actually like three run when they score three
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: runs or less, they're actually one of the best teams
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: in baseball and avoiding that, and they also one of
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: the best offenses in baseball in terms of scoring.
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: Five plus runs.
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: So but yet, you know what people will say, Well,
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: they don't have enough power, and and that's based on
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: home runs. I get it, they're down. They're down there
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: on home runs, but they going. They went in today
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: tied for first in the majors in doubles. Doubles are good,
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: They're very, very good.
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: And so I don't want to.
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: Hear that they don't have power. They don't have enough
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: home run power. But they're slashing doubles all over the place,
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: you know. And so anyway, yeah, I even if I
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: was looking for something negative, I couldn't find it. And
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: I'm not looking for anything negative. I'm enjoying this turnaround,
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: and I know, and you know, you know, there will
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: be some people that can enjoy the success even though
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: they're Cardinals fans, and they'll be downgrading it because of
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: the competition. You know, well, the Nationals suck. You know, well,
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: you know the Pirates suck. Well, this team sucks. It's like,
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: give me a break. You either win or you don't.
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: You don't get to draw up your own schedule.
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: And you know, they.
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: They're now four zero and one in their last five
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: five series, and when they went into Cincinnati, the Reds
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: were hot. I don't think the Cardinals have to be
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: have to apologize for you know, winning you know, two
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: out of three from the Mets instead of all three. Right,
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: I don't think. I don't think they have to apologize
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: for beating Paul Schemes again. Right, So, just if you're
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: a fan, enjoy it.
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: Enjoy it. We don't know how long this will last,
• 4:58
  Speaker 4: but enjoy it.
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: That would be my recommendation, not that anybody ask for
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: my advice.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: I like what you said about the offense, and I
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: think you might have had like a are you editing
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: my story right now or something?
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: Because I talk about the.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: Doubles being more of an indicator that there is power. Yes,
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: the home runs are down, sure, I get it, and
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: you want to see more thump. But just because the
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: home runs are down doesn't mean the slug is down.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: And those eighty two doubles tied with the Red Sox
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: that lead baseball, that's a sign that the slug is there.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: I'll throw some more offensive stats at you, Bernie.
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: Isn't that amazing? We're the same wavelengthd on this.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: No, my gosh, we did not trade notes before the show. Anyway,
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: go ahead, I'm sorry, we never do.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Bernie and I are very much. We'll just show up
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: and see what happens. So in the offense, in this
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: eight game winning streak, they've scored forty four runs, but
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: what stood out to me really has been the way
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: that they're scoring. Let's look at some things that the
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: Cardinals are doing really well. They coming into today have
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: a team batting average of two sixty one. It's the
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: fourth highest average in baseball. The three teams above them
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: the Padres, the Dodgers, the Yankees, So yeah, good company
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: be in. What I also thought was interesting was that
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: they are the third highest and on base percentage they're
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: tired with the Phillies right now. That might have gone
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: up because the Phillies are still playing right now. But
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: they are top three, okay, So they're getting on base
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: and they're hitting for average, and they are much much
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: better with runners in scoring position now and we know
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: how that was a problem last year. When you're looking
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: at where they are in runners in scoring position, six
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: that's seven eighty seven ops with runners in scoring position
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: in baseball. So they're they're finding ways to cash in
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: get on base, and they're doing it differently. Some days
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: it's the homers three today, some days it's manufacturing runs
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: and being smart on the bases. It's just I think
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: it's a much better offense that we're talking about, or
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: maybe from a national standpoint, and it's doing a very
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: good job of keeping the Cardinals in games. And the
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: ironic part is this series they didn't really have to
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: because they're pitching was lights out.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: Bernie, I mean, Eric Fetty, complete game shutout.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: Andre Polante twirled the gem, flirting with the shutout bit
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: of his own.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: Miles mikeliss I thought through the ball really.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: Well today, totally understand why he was lifted with sixty
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: nine pitches that lefty lane is tough, and that's why
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: you have Steven Mattz.
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: Again.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: We'll get to the bullpen. But a lot to like
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: about this Cardinals team right now, and I agree with you.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: Enjoy it because we don't know how long this is
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: gonna last, if this is sustainable, We don't know, but
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: I do know we're all feeling a lot better about
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: the club than we were maybe two weeks ago.
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and let's go back to last year if we could.
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: You know, through forty one games last year, that club
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: was seventeen and twenty four, it was a four to
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: fifteen winning percentage. This year, through forty one games, they're
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: twenty two and nineteen. They have a five thirty seven
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: winning percentage.
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: And this is a team that slash.
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: You can answer this better than I came because I
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: always forget the numbered less. I have it like pinned
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: on my laptop. They what did they slash from the payroll?
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: Like thirty thirty five million something like that from last year?
• 7:54
  Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, Like I.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: Think it's right.
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: So they cut forty million.
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: They declared, you know, it's the year of the re said,
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: it's the year the runway, It's the year of the transition, right, and.
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: They're not even uh, you know, let's face it, they're
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: not that.
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: They haven't gotten much from from Gorman or Walker and
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: Avon Herrera. You know, missed thirty games. I think it
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: was thirty games. He's he's back and he looks great,
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: and yet they're outperforming. They're outperforming in terms of where
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: they were last year. And you know, the starting last
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: year started rotation in twenty twenty four was was certainly
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: reinforced by signing Sonny Gray and Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson. Right,
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: but this rotation, which was kind of pieced together, not
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: out in any kind of desperation we have nothing else
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: type of thing. They gave it great opportunity to Liberator.
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: They stuck Polonte, Sonny Gray's good, Michaels has gotten really
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: really good people by his standards, He's been good.
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: And you know, Fetty, I understand why he was so
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: great the other night. I wish we would see that
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: more often.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: But it's not like Fetti's like this reprehensible starter, you know,
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: I mean, he's.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: Solid, serviceable, He's.
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: So this rotation is out performing last year's rotation, even
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: though last year's rotation was supported by all of that
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: spending to sign to sign three veteran starting pictures. So
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: welcome to the twilight zone. Everyone see I'm old. I'm old,
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: so I can reference to the twilight zone.
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: People are like, what.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: Anyway, tighlight zone? I got that one.
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: Okay, good, we're interesting.
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: Today, Bernie. I think it's a great point.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: I think when you're looking at the Cardinals right now
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: and why this team is I think more fun to
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: watch the nearest prior is a little bit because the
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: expectations have been lowered, right, let's acknowledge that. But because
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: we're seeing players start to develop and really take off,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: and when you're across the board from rotation to the bullpen,
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: you're looking at what Brendon Donovan and Victor Scott the
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: second are doing. They're carrying that team offensively. I just
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: think it makes for a really entertaining product. So dive
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: into a little bit more about what made the Cardinals
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: so good lately, especially over the National Series.
• 10:02
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• 11:06
  Speaker 1: All right, more pitching stats for you. But first, Bernie,
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: that's maybe the best you've had some great hats. I
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: really like that one.
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: I couldn't resist buying that one. You know, it's I'd
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: love it. I'd be very, very briefly. I mean one
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: of the one of the great honors and pleasures of
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: my life was becoming friends with Stan Musial. You know,
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: he liked me because I was Polish and you know,
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: so we would always say that's my here's my Polish cousin,
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: you know.
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: And so uh yeah.
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: So I've always wondered why they were there, weren't like
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: stand stand the man caps out there, right, And I
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: found one, you know, Arch Apparel in Saint Louis.
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: For give them a plug.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: You know, I love Arch Peril.
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they're they're they're founder Aaron, great dude. Uh, great
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: stuff out there.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: So now I know what.
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: This is a wonderful hat. So I'm happy.
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: I want everyone to get one who loves standing Man
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: in the card And by the way, I'm not receiving
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: any commission for saying that. I just think it's a
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: really great hat and a really great local companies put
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: it out.
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: We love supporting local Saint Louis businesses.
• 12:04
  Speaker 4: Sure, sure, we do, No, we do absolutely.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: And what.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: The cardinals like, they like when they're starting pitching staff
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: supports them. So here's some from the last turn through
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: the rotation. I don't know why I forgot the phrase
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: the last turn through the rotation. Cardinal starting pitchers have
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: combined for forty two third innings and they've allowed just
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: seven earned fronts. That's going to play, obviously, but Bernie
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: and I'm not sure if Cardinals fans realize this, so
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: let me enlighten you. Saint Louis starters have recorded the
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: most innings in the National League. They've recorded two hundred
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: and twenty five and two third innings and that's the
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: third most in baseball.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: Only the Red Sox and the Royals have recorded more.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: And having a rotation that provides length is important, right,
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: But what's more important is the quality of those innings.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: And we are seeing some lights out quality from Cardinals
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: starting pitchers, and it's allowed the segue to give more
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: breathing room to a bullpen that's still searching for roles.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: And talking to Ollie Marvel after today, I think we're
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: safe to say the bullpen over the last ten days
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: or so really really good. And I asked him what
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: the change was and if he's seen some correlation between
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: the rotation and the bullpen, and he said, I think
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: guys are just kind of claiming their roles now, roles
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: are becoming more defined in that bullpen. Obviously you have
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: Brian Helsley in the ninth and you had film Aton
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: coming in. But Kyle Lady has really seized his opportunity.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: Jojo Romero is slowly looking back like his normal self,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: his usual self, and I.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: Really like what we've seen. How to Stephen Mattz and
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: the results.
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: I'll just redo this one. I'm just reading stats out
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: of my story which will be up very shortly. The
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: results Cardinals bullpen dating back to the first gate, the
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: first game that they won, so that was the first
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: game of the doubleheader against the Mets last week, they
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: have combined to allow just two earned runs in twenty innings.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: That's an zero point nine to zeroer. So very well
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: pitched club. Are we ready to apologize to Dussie Blake yet?
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: Maybe not? But I just really like what the Cardinals
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: pitching staff is doing in general.
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: Right and there's always a little bit of an underlying vulnerability.
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: And by the way, I'm not doing I'm not now
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: being a hypocrite and doing something that I told other
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: people they shouldn't do.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: Just like enjoy it.
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: I enjoy watching these guys pitch, but I also know
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: it's still not there, you know, other than liberatory Sonny Gray,
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: you know, even Ryan Hell's these strikeout rates down there's
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: this isn't a team that's gonna They're pitching is not
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: going to thrive because they can outpower hitters overpower hitters.
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: But they're smart, they make good, good pitches. They have
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: an excellent defense behind them. So for them to have
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: a high ground ball rates actually works out well because
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: that those fellas in the outfield too, they cover, they
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: get to most stuff. It's just a great defense. And
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: the the other thing is that the Cardinals pitchers, all
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: of them, but more so with the starters, they keep
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: the ball in the ballpark too. And that's even happen
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: on the road. They keep the ball in the yard,
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: and that's a really that's a big deal. Remember Sunny
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: Gray last year with you know, bombs away all the time,
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: and it was an outlier season, but it was still
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: kind of disturbing to see that, right, But they're doing
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: a much better job as a.
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: Group of keeping the ball in the yard, not not
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: letting it get lost over the fence there. Like we
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: all all we all did we were we would play
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: you know, I would.
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: I would throw a ball over the fence by mistake
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: in my like when I was a kid, and my
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: my nasty, nasty, grouchy neighbor would take the ball and
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: keep it so anyway, I know, right, so until I
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: got I became big Bernie, it said, don't you ever
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: do that again, coming over that fence anyway. So the
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: but no, they keep the ball in the yard, and
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: that's really really important, you know, in that regard. You
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: know they're winning games because we talked about it a
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: minute ago, and I apologize for coming back to it,
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: but it's relevant. You know, the Cardinals may not be
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: the greatest home run hitting team on offense, but it's
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: kind that's kind of neutralized because they prevent They vent
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: home runs really well. Right, so we're talking about we're
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: talking about home runs being a huge part of the game,
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: both pictures giving them up hitters hitting him. The Cardinals
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: are actually coming out okay in.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: That, Bertie.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: The reason I started laughing when you started discussing your
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: workdown of the rotation is because that is again exactly
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: what I referenced in this series recap. One of my
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: lines is the Cardinals rotation is not going to overpower
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: opponents with velo and strikeout stuff.
• 16:27
  Speaker 2: Right, And then here you are.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: Saying the exact same thing, and I reference the home
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: run right, they have a lot of the third fewest
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: homers in baseball.
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: We are honest.
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: It's unbelievable and I hope people believe this. There was
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: no pre show meeting about Oh I got this stat
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: I got that stat.
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: No.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: No, I couldn't even be able to show up on
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: the time that we agreed to.
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: So no, But I can't wait to read the story
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: because I know you're spot on and you're on the
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: money with it, because we're thinking the same way and.
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: We both because I feel better about it now.
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: So I well, yeah, no, you should feel great about everything.
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: You're right, So I know we're gonna get to this.
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: You had a great story Friday too about John mazellech.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: Let's segue right to it, runway verse results. What does
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: mister John Mozelac think. I talked to mo last week
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: in Saint Louis about this very question. Can the Cardinals
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: balance runway and results at the same time. If the
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: story is available up on the Athletic I encourage you
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: to read it. If you feel so inclined because I
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: think MO did a very nice job of being candid
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: and honest about the situation. And if you read his
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: answers without the bias or your predisposed feelings about him,
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: which I know is hard, I get it, and you
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: really take into consideration what he's saying. You're getting a
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: lot of answers about what the Cardinals want to do here.
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: We all want to know, well, what are they going
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: to do the trade deadline? Are they going to sell?
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: Who are they going to trade?
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: We're going to take the.
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: Next six weeks to find out before they really have
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: to make a decision. So there are lots of stuff
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: from Mo in this story, but one thing that he
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: said was they're still straddling the fence of can they
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: do both? Can they present enough opportunity and develop players
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: and still win? And he says, you know, there might
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: be mid June early July where they could have to
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: make a decision, but right now they don't have to.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: They can still try to do both because it is working.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: And I don't disagree. If you can accomplish your primary
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: objective of developing your next core and that is also
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: translating to wins one, your core is probably a little
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: bit better than you thought it was going to be,
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: and this rebuild, reset, trans whatever is not going to
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: take as long.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: So that's a win.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: But also isn't that what you want as a baseball
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: club as long as the as long as the wins
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: don't deter from the actual number one goal. I'm on
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: board with this. Who doesn't want their baseball team to
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: win games?
• 18:46
  Speaker 4: Come on, no, I'm with you.
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: And it's actually working out better than I thought it would.
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: And obviously this big dramatic eight game winning streak and
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: also ten and two in the last twelve games, that
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: has a lot.
• 18:59
  Speaker 4: To do with it.
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: And we figured, hey, they would get hot sometime or
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: you know, all teams get hot. Well maybe not the
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: White Sox and the Rockies, but all teams mostly get
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: hot sometime. But no, they're they're really not looking. We
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: can we can look at examples of where they've held
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: some younger guys back. I know, I know that our
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: viewers and your readers at the Athletic, my readers at
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: you know, sportshof stl dot com will say, well, what
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: about s jac You know they held him back.
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: He should be up here Okay, I hear you. I
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: get it right right.
• 19:33
  Speaker 3: And so you and we we're all on the whole
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: Michael McGreevy thing. You know, I'm almost borderline.
• 19:38
  Speaker 4: Cuckoo over that.
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: But I gotta say at this point, right now, especially
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: after the way Polante pitched over the weekend, because I
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: was a little think he might need to tune up
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: down in Memphis, Like, is there anyone that's pitching so
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: poorly that you would, you know, completely rearrange everything.
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: We're going to do. Put Fetti in the bullpen, you what,
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: I'm going to try to send him to the mind.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: You know, I mean, it's just the rotation to your point,
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: you know, during this ten and two stretch that they're in,
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: this rotation has a start. There's a starting pitching starting
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: pitcher e ra A at two point seventy five, So
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: what you want to rip that up now and to
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: make room for McGreevy. And I'm not being a hypocrite.
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: I want to see McGreevy up here. I think he
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: will be this year. But you know, things are going
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: so well that you know, I'm I'm sort of disciplining
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: myself not to growl about a lot of things. When
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: everything is going really well. At this point, there's a
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: ton to growl about stuff. Uh, this isn't the time,
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: you know, but yeah, we could, we could point the
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: different guys here and there, so well, he should have
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: more an opportunity. But look at who the people they've
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: given opportunities to break out. Breakout starting pitcher of the year.
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: I think Matthew Liberatory he's one of the most He's
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: one of the most effective starters in Major League Baseball
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: because because of his strikeout walk rate ratio, strikeout talk ratio,
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: because he doesn't allow home runs.
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: He's also ninth and I think he's not seventh, seventh. Yeah,
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: he's sent in the.
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: Among starting pitchers and fielding independent y R. And that's
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: what's the difference. Well, because the things he can control
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: for the you know, you know in terms of you know,
• 21:19
  Speaker 3: good strikeout rate, very low walk rate, very low home
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: run rate. You know, that's why it's fielding independent. That
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: tells you how exactly he's pitching where you know, he
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: doesn't necessarily necessarily need a great defense behind him. So
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: and then Victor Scott the second he has been absolutely
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: terrific in every single way and even when he slows
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: down for a few days, you know, you think, oh, well,
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: maybe maybe it's kind of gonna turn, and no, it doesn't.
• 21:47
  Speaker 4: He's relentless.
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: And so think about Libertare and think about Scott, like
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: where they are as we record this on May eleventh,
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: think about what they've done.
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: They're runway guys. If we've ever seen runway guys, right right?
• 22:00
  Speaker 3: Yeah, So anyway, I know you have more to say
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: about this, but I just wanted to kind of throw
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: my pat hat in there. Yeah, because there's always gonna
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: be stuff we can fuss about, but now is not
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: the time. The only thing I'll probably fuss about is
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: if they don't commit to Herrera as a detch, but
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: that's another topic for another day.
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we ally Marvel today.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: Herrera was going to catch and he said yes, and
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: then I said when and he said he will catch.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: So maybe maybe they're they're in the process of that.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: But Bernie, I do like what you're saying. Look, in
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: this transition season, they were always going to be blocked
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: a little bit once the Nolan trade didn't go through.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: And I hear you. If you want Thomas Jaysey up
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: on the club or if this is a youth event.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Why isn't McGreevy in here? I hear you, and they're
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: valid questions, And to be quite honest and candid, both
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: Allie and Moe would love to have McGreevy up here.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: They've said it, but there's not a space for him
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: that makes sense. At some point there will be, whether
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: that's injury, whether it's under performance, there will be and
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: we'll see him. But the run Way Verse Results tandem
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: isn't going to be completely fair to everyone.
• 23:07
  Speaker 2: It's not.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: It's not cut as cut and dry as maybe fans
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: would like to think it is. It's not just oh,
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: this is about the youth movement, so we need to
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: play all the young players. It's also about trying to
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: do both at the same time, and again they're doing
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: a nice job of that. The eight game winstry certainly helps,
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: but what it's also doing is it's taking some of
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: the pressure off of Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker, who
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: are struggling and continue to slump and we haven't really
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: seen any substantial changes offensively from either of them. But
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: because the Cardinals are winning, we're not compounding on If
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman are going to figure it out.
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: It's a focus, it's a concern, sure, absolutely, but it
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: buys them more time to figure this out. And they
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: are the two designated faces of this runway movement, whether
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: they asked to be or not.
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: We've talked about this before.
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: So with the Cardinals winning ballgames and having different players
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: take strides forward, whether that's Victor Scott, whether it's Matthew
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: libertore go down the list, the two players that they
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: need to see the most out of aren't doing that
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: right now, and that is okay because they're winning without them,
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: and it's buying them some additional time. Because if the
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: Cardinals were let's say, four enter five hundred, would Jordan
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: Walker and Nolan Gorman's runway still exist? And that I
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: think is the bigger problem if you're trying to do
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: runway verse results and all of a sudden, the results
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: are overpowering what priority number.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: One should be, which is the runway.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: But I actually think the Cardinals have done a really
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: nice job of getting both and it's cost them a
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: couple losses, cost them a few in April, but they
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: more or less stuck to their plan of the players
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: they identified early on and getting them consistent playing time. No,
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: it's not exactly fair because to jac and McGreevy and
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: take your pick, aren't here. It's not a full fledged rebuild.
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: It was never advertised to be.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: It was. Here are the players we're giving playing time. Two.
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: This is going to change a little bit now that
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: Nolan Arnatto.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: Is still here, but we're still emphasizing above all Jordan Walker,
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: Nolan Gorman, new Bar and if some players in spring
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: training seize the opportunity, we'll give them that chance as well.
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: And that's what you're seeing with Scott and Liberator.
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: The results a.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: Straight wins, three games und of over five hundred and
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: the Cardinals fully back in the mix and then essentral.
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and you know, to your point, just to probably
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: saying the same thing, and I'll be quick about it.
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: See this winning streak, and you know, eight in a row,
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: ten out of twelve, that's the timing couldn't be better
• 25:27
  Speaker 3: because in addition, they needed to start winning, and they
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: needed to start winning on the road.
• 25:33
  Speaker 4: This gives them cover.
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: It gives them time because there's so many good things
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: happening with the team right now that I'm not in
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: any way suggesting that people are not paying attention to
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: Walker and Gorman because of course fans are, of course
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: we in the media are, But there's some other issues
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: that have kind of, you know, come to the forefront
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: about like, Wow, that's better than I thought it would be. Wow,
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: this is better than I thought it'd be. Wow, this
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: players better than I thought it'd be. Why look at
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: how they fix the bullpen. I thought the bullpen was
• 26:02
  Speaker 3: going to be their downfall, right, And so there's so
• 26:05
  Speaker 3: many positives that to your point, there's not as much
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: external pressure probably even internal pressure to like make a
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: move real soon with one or both of these guys
• 26:17
  Speaker 3: so they can write it out a little bit. I mean,
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: I do see some signs, you know, but I know, look,
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: it comes down to what you actually do. But I
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: see some signs that could lead to better days for
• 26:29
  Speaker 3: both of those guys. But nobody wants to hear that.
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: But I do see some signs. I look for all
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: kinds of stuff.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: One more thing on on Walker and Gorman, and I
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: thought this was important because eventually the Cardinals are going
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: to have to make a decision about one or both
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: of those players if they're not seeing any change, and
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: it doesn't have to be a dramatic change. The Cardinals
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: are not asking Jordan Walker Nolan Gorman to be superstars.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: They need to see.
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: Incremental changes that show that a consistent adaptability can take
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: place as these two young guys try to figure it
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: out out right, So when I asked Mo, like, how
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: are you evaluating Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman?
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: And I thought this was such a toning answer. It's lengthy.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: Bear with me, but I think it's important to reiterate.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: MO said, it's an important year for both. You only
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: get so many chances this year. That's not to say
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: that because of their ages they won't get more, but ultimately,
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: trying to have personal success as well as team success
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: is always the needle you're trying to thread. We are
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: trying to win out here. We did state we're going
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: to be patient, and so we are. But there are
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: some strategic things that these young men need to be
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: doing to start showing their making those changes. We can't
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: continue to do the same thing over and over again
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: and expect a different outcome. Yes, they are going to
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: be given a long opportunity to try to get themselves
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: where they need to be, but it's not infinite, and
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: that is as clear as day. We're going to keep
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: running them out there. We're going to give them as
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: many chances as they can to succeed. But if we're
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: not seeing changes and they keep repeating the same things
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: over and over again, no consistent contact from Gorman, not
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: laying off the slider low and away from Jordan, those
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: things keep happening, then we're going to make a decision.
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: Because we've given them the runway. Now, that runway is
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: not running out anytime soon.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: To your point, I don't think they feel any kind
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: of internal pressure because they're winning games, and I think
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: Alli Marmel has been really encouraged by Jordan's mentality and
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: the way Gorman's been going about his work with hitting
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: coach Bran Brown. So we're not looking at any pending
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: moves right now. They're going to use this runway. But
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: if after the next six weeks or so, I'm not
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: saying it's going to be six weeks, I'm just throwing
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: out the number, we're still talking about the same thing,
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: then there might be some changes. But right now the
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: Cardinals can do both.
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you look at a month from now, six weeks
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: from now, which is your reference?
• 28:38
  Speaker 4: Six weeks.
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: It seems about right. But a lot of it has
• 28:41
  Speaker 3: to do with how the team's doing as well. If
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: the offense craters and all of a sudden they're really
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: scrounging and they're losing, they're still pitching well, but they're
• 28:49
  Speaker 3: losing games four to two all the time or whatever,
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: there might be more urgency to do something. And I
• 28:55
  Speaker 3: know they have some I know that they could slot
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: some people in and and make it work. But I'm not,
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: in any way, no way whatsoever ticked off that they're
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: sticking with these guys through this, because number one, that's
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: what they told us they would do.
• 29:11
  Speaker 4: And so I have no idea why any.
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: Person who paid any attention whatsoever is surprised by this
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: or like revolted by this. Now, if we get into
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: Late Union, it's still happening. And Ali Mormola said it,
• 29:24
  Speaker 3: John Moselek told you, you know the runway, it doesn't
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: extend forever.
• 29:29
  Speaker 4: You know, it is a limit. You do run out
• 29:31
  Speaker 4: a runway.
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: So I think the conditions in the standings and just
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: the way they're playing and whether they're pitching, can still
• 29:40
  Speaker 3: win games for them, even if the offense isn't going great.
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: For a series, I think all those things will be
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: factored in, but also they just go Listen, those two
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: guys have to show some progress.
• 29:50
  Speaker 4: They just have to. You know, we're not asking to
• 29:52
  Speaker 4: be all stars, but they have to show some progress.
• 29:54
  Speaker 4: So this is going to be a.
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: Story no matter how well they're playing. I mean, these
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: two will always be a story because they were. They
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: were the brothers. They're the Runway Brothers of twenty twenty five.
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: There's no doubt.
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: Abat they're the faces of the season and they never
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: asked to be. But this is where we are. So
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: Cardinals fans, if you're looking for a question or an
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: answer on what the Cardinals are going to do, whether
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: it's with Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, the Toy deadline, are
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: they good, are they bad?
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: Are they right in the middle? Guess what, We don't
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: have an answer for you.
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: No, And this is going to be an exciting Cardinal
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: season because I don't think it's going to be very.
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: Predictable at all, and we are one thousand percent going
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: to write it together.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: But over the last eight days, I think it's been
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: pretty enjoyable. Burning anything else stand out to about the
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: Washington series, No, I just.
• 30:39
  Speaker 4: The all phases of the game really good.
• 30:40
  Speaker 3: And the thing that jumped out at me and again,
• 30:43
  Speaker 3: and it's nothing new, but I think we should reiterate
• 30:46
  Speaker 3: it a lot, which is this team takes their quality
• 30:50
  Speaker 3: of their bats is so much better than what we
• 30:53
  Speaker 3: saw last year in twenty twenty three. It's just and listen,
• 30:58
  Speaker 3: not every game is going to be like that, but
• 31:00
  Speaker 3: there were those were three games where they just put
• 31:03
  Speaker 3: together great at bats and you know, you can see
• 31:07
  Speaker 3: Nationals picture the starting pitchers trying to get him to
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: Chase and they were.
• 31:10
  Speaker 4: Like, Nope, we're not going to do that. Boom.
• 31:12
  Speaker 3: You know, just just mentally, they seem to really locked in
• 31:17
  Speaker 3: about what they have to do, and all the stuff that.
• 31:19
  Speaker 4: Brent Brown is stressing, they're they're applying it.
• 31:22
  Speaker 3: And that is a really really positive indicator for the
• 31:26
  Speaker 3: Cards because you figure by now, you know, maybe some
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: guys would be tuning Brent Brown out. I don't know
• 31:32
  Speaker 3: that that's happened around here a lot, but they all
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: seem to be really really right there with him and
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: everything he's trying to do.
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: And to contrast that, it's a great point about the
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: quality of at bats because on the other side, of
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: the Diamond. The Nationals at bats were dreadful. Eric Fetty,
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: I mean he was dominant, but Eric Fetty had one
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: free ball count in nine innings and then come out
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: there same approach against Polante early counts one, two, o
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: two and just not really kind of having any had
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: a pitch selection and then get their weak round balls
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: and it was like a really uninspiring performance from the
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: Nationals for three days. I think that really, to me
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: showed how impactful the quality of the bats from the
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: Cardinals side where because the Nationals I was I.
• 32:16
  Speaker 2: Was getting annoyed. I was like, do I need to
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: step down there and teach these guys on to work?
• 32:20
  Speaker 3: I don't know, no, no, And Dave Martinez kind of
• 32:23
  Speaker 3: went off on his team after Saturday's game and it
• 32:25
  Speaker 3: wasn't and it wasn't better today. It was not And
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: that was like a made to order opponent for Miles Michaelis.
• 32:32
  Speaker 4: You know, it really was.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: A lineup, James, What is a dude? Cj Arimams is
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: a dude, I get it.
• 32:40
  Speaker 3: But he didn't have to throw, you know, because his
• 32:43
  Speaker 3: his focus has been you know, I don't have to
• 32:44
  Speaker 3: throw as many strikes and I know he's.
• 32:47
  Speaker 4: Been working on that.
• 32:48
  Speaker 3: But the thing, the wonderful thing about the Nationals, their
• 32:51
  Speaker 3: bats are so bad, is that, no, he didn't have
• 32:54
  Speaker 3: to throw them many strikes because they get themselves out
• 32:57
  Speaker 3: and he's got enough of that trick ory to make
• 32:59
  Speaker 3: that happen. So listen, we've been on him so much too.
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: I'm actually happy for the guy. I have no reason
• 33:04
  Speaker 3: to hate on him. You know, he wants to do well.
• 33:06
  Speaker 3: You could tell he's really happy you're around him. I
• 33:08
  Speaker 3: think he feels like he's really as TLR would say,
• 33:11
  Speaker 3: putting his piece in. You know, he's putting his piece
• 33:14
  Speaker 3: in right, He's not along for the ride.
• 33:16
  Speaker 4: He's he's looked really hard.
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: And I get it because again, Cardinals fans want Michael
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: McGreevy in there, and the in the eyes of the fans,
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: I get it. The logical thing which to just get
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: rid of Miles and put McGreevy in there. We know
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: that's not going to happen. But or why it didn't happen.
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: The credit to Miles. Since that Boston debacle, he's been
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: very effective for his limit. We talked about it after
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: the game, said, my fastball command is better. I've really
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: been putting in like a different kind of approach, and
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: his mentality is there. Look, he didn't want to go
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: out there and suck, and he put in the work
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: and he knew what he was being said about him.
• 33:47
  Speaker 2: And when he was on.
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: The podcast earlier in the season, and I think was
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: really candid about the struggles and the challenges of adapting
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: so late in your career, and he did a really
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: nice job. He's done a really nice job for the
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: last month or so. So I'm with you Burn, Yeah.
• 33:59
  Speaker 3: And I'm a pretty simple guy. And as a writer
• 34:01
  Speaker 3: and a comment commentator. Is it because people will say, well,
• 34:05
  Speaker 3: you're you're kind of flip flopping on him.
• 34:07
  Speaker 4: No, No, I'm not.
• 34:09
  Speaker 3: When he's bad, he's really really bad, and he hasn't
• 34:12
  Speaker 3: been really good for a long time up until recently.
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: I'm going to write that he's bad and it's a
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: damn shame that he's blocking someone like McGreevy. But if
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: the guy starts to pitch better, what I'm going to
• 34:23
  Speaker 3: be like a petulant child in the corner and just
• 34:27
  Speaker 3: like stick to it.
• 34:28
  Speaker 4: Oh he stinks, he stinks.
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: You know, you guys are allowed to do that.
• 34:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, my you know, my motto has always
• 34:37
  Speaker 3: been I got to remind fans all the time.
• 34:39
  Speaker 4: And a lot of fans have been following me for
• 34:41
  Speaker 4: a long time.
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: I heard it a million times. Praise when warranted, criticize
• 34:44
  Speaker 3: when warranted. If you stick to that code, you're fine.
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: But just because you take a stand, you're saying a
• 34:51
  Speaker 3: guy stinks right, and then when he doesn't stink it,
• 34:54
  Speaker 3: he's he's doing really well.
• 34:56
  Speaker 4: You don't deny him the credit for that.
• 34:59
  Speaker 6: You know.
• 34:59
  Speaker 4: So someone should get shop, someone should make me a judge.
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: I think, so you're hot her.
• 35:05
  Speaker 4: I'm ready. I'm ready.
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: Anyways, all right, we got one city down to to go.
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: I'm in Philadelphia right now. I've never been to Philly before.
• 35:14
  Speaker 1: This is my last National League city and I think
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: I only have five ballparks left, so I'm super excited.
• 35:20
  Speaker 4: They're hot and the Cardinals are hot. Out to be
• 35:22
  Speaker 4: a great shage.
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: It's a great series, and you have two pictures that
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: you want three really coming with Betty coming out such
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: a good start. But I would love to see what
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: Matthew Libertore looks like pitching in a hostile environment such
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: as Citizens Bank Park against a really potent offense. That's
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: a different Phillies team than what the Cardinals saw in April.
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: And I think the Cardinals are a different team than
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: what the Phillies saw in April. I'm really excited for
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: that matchup. I cannot wait to see how Libby does.
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: One final thought, it's a question for you, and I
• 35:47
  Speaker 3: know I'm extending this longer than you want because you
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: got to you got to get this in. But please
• 35:52
  Speaker 3: tell me that you took the amtrak to Philly from
• 35:55
  Speaker 3: That's where I.
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: Found my story.
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: A bunch of the Cardinals did too. We were talking
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: after the game and there was like eight of them.
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: They're like, Katy, you gotta get on the five twenty.
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: It's like four forty. I was like, gentlemen, you can
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: leave some of us.
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: I do have a job. I have to write. They're like, no,
• 36:10
  Speaker 2: get on the fun twenty. Get on the fun twenty.
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: I did not make the five twenty, not even close.
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: I made the Sun when I moved to Saint Louis.
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: I mean, I love Saint Louis so much and people
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: say would miss anything. The only two things I missed,
• 36:21
  Speaker 3: And it's nothing against Saint Louis.
• 36:23
  Speaker 4: I mean, it's it's geography more than anything.
• 36:25
  Speaker 3: I miss not having an ocean like about a reach.
• 36:30
  Speaker 4: Eight eighty minute eighty minute drive from where I lived,
• 36:33
  Speaker 4: you know.
• 36:34
  Speaker 3: And I and I missed train travel because I have
• 36:37
  Speaker 3: assignment's all up and down the East Coast and it's
• 36:39
  Speaker 3: just oh in the in. The train station in Baltimore
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: was like five about four blocks from my house.
• 36:44
  Speaker 4: It's all I love.
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: I love the transportation and I love taking the train.
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: So I was really trained. We have a ton of
• 36:50
  Speaker 1: train trips too. We have San Diego to LA we
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: have Milwaukee to Chicago.
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: That's a great one.
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: I'll take the train to Chicago every now and then
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: just because it's you know, it's a forty five minute flight.
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: But I get a lot of work done on those
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: train trips.
• 37:02
  Speaker 4: So it's it's really cool, all right. I'm glad to
• 37:04
  Speaker 4: hear that. I'm not surprised, but I had to just check.
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: Traveler and I had a travel voucher anyway, so it's free.
• 37:10
  Speaker 1: And my company loved that.
• 37:12
  Speaker 4: Don't they always? Right, Well, you have a great week.
• 37:15
  Speaker 3: What we'll be reading you, you know, of course at
• 37:18
  Speaker 3: the Athletic following you on Twitter, all that good stuff.
• 37:21
  Speaker 3: Always always a pleasure to be with you.
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: I know it was really fun and I can't wait
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: to set a personal record for cheesteaks consumed in a
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: three day period.
• 37:30
  Speaker 2: Uh set the over at five point five. Stay tuned.
• 37:33
  Speaker 3: You got to give us a review next week. You
• 37:34
  Speaker 3: gotta next time we do this, like what your favorite
• 37:37
  Speaker 3: one was or something.
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: I'll be very prepared.
• 37:39
  Speaker 4: All right, all right, you take care for Bernie.
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: I'm Katie.
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: This is Cardinal Territory. Enjoy the ride, Cardinals fans. Eight
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: straight wins. That is something to be excited about. We
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: will talk to you next week.
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: Jo