Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Tommy Birch talks baseball, Vinnie Iyer on the NFL & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports

Transcript

Tommy Birch talks baseball, Vinnie Iyer on the NFL & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

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All right, hour number two. Welcome back, Miller and Condon.
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Iowa Sports Radio Network here for another hour.
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Not quite. I will turn things over the top
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of the hour. The drive is no more.
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You caught yourself, You didn't have to say.
0:14
It I know it's off the bench with Sean Robertson, Lucas
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Strain 2 until 5. Vinny Iron about 20 minutes.
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We're going to talk some NFL with Vinny.
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I look forward to picking his brain on what he thinks is going
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to happen this year. But right now, let's talk some
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baseball, in particular the Iowa Cubs.
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But I want to get a report card on Otter Creek Golf Course.
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Bertie, that's where I live. You drove by my house when you
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were driving to the clubhouse and I've never set foot.
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Well, I shouldn't say that I've walked it in the winter time,
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but I've never played the course.
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How do you like it? I like it.
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It doesn't like me very much, I'm not that great of a golfer
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anyways, but hopefully I can sneak some kind of NIL dealer
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something some kind of sponsorship out of plugging them
1:03
here. Absolutely.
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Well, if you get a chance, the Tin Cup is the the Bar and Grill
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in the clubhouse at the end of it and it's very popular spot.
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I don't know what your schedule allows, but anyways, he'll be
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fighting a packed election. I'm sure he will.
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And remember, Tommy, it's 25 miles an hour on Otter Creek Dr.
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They say that found that. Out the hard.
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Way, yeah, Good stuff. All right, Tommy, let's get into
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the reason we had you on. And that's obviously trade
1:27
deadline. Two weeks from today.
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We think the Cubs are going to be very active.
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We'll be disappointed if they're not.
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We keep hearing that they need a number 2 starter, somebody from
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the back of the bullpen, although I like Valencia, but
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there's a veteran perhaps obviously third base.
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Shaws glove is unbelievable as bad as cooled off significantly
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since he got recalled. And what comes with, you know,
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those those price tags are some of the talent that you watch
1:54
when when they're in Des Moines and that's at the Iowa Cubs.
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And I guess Tommy, correct me if I'm wrong, I've seen a million
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tweets from you about Owen. Is it Casey or Cassie who just
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turned the cover off the ball? Is he?
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Will he be as coveted as any minor league Cub farmhand at the
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deadline? Yeah, I think he's tops on the
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trade market right now when it comes to Cubs prospects just
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because of how well he's played in the past.
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But then right now he is just swinging as hot and bad as you
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can. Over the last month, he's been
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on an absolute tear and then went to the Futures Game and
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played pretty well there. So yeah, when it comes, when it
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comes to possibilities in terms of what people are looking for
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from the Cubs, I think Owen Casey is the first person that
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you ask about. And he is probably going to be
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one of the first people that the Cubs offer too.
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Because you look at what they have in the outfield and where
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Casey is, they just have absolutely no room for him right
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now. So I think Owen Casey has been
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on the trade block for a while, but the right thing hasn't come
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along for the Cubs. It probably will if I'm around
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though. Tommy, when you're at Principal
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Park in the Randy Peterson press box, I should mention watching,
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watching the game, Have you noticed more scouts in town,
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Tommy, from other teams as we get closer to the trade
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deadline? Not as much recently.
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And I think that speaks more about the the the trade when it
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comes to scouts and how they're kind of viewed.
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I think more teams are are kind of paying attention to what's
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going on, you know, from afar, watching minor league games
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where just nowadays there's just so much, there's just so many
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tools that are at their disposal when it comes to watching people
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from afar. That's whether that's watching
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minor league games on TV with MILB app or just with track man.
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There's just so much information.
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So I think the aspect of being there in person isn't the most
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important thing. But having said that, yeah,
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there have been teams that have been in town specifically for
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the trade that bind to to watch a few of those guys then to
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maybe getting up close. Look, you know, part of the, I
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think part of the reason why you do want to get to the part to
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watch some of these guys or maybe to watch them take VP,
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watch them take infield, get a better sense of who they are and
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what type of work ethic they may have outside of what you can see
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in the in the box store and outside of the the tracking and
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stuff. So there has been, but I
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wouldn't say it's been abnormally unusual when it comes
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to this time of year. And I think for a guy like going
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CC to, you know, it's the guy that's been, we've been around
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the minor leagues for a couple years now.
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We play a full season in AAA last year.
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I think teams have a a really good grasp of what type of
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player he is by now. Question on Matt Shaw.
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He got sent down here, did the work, put in the work.
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He's been good with the glove and better than he was before he
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was sent down, but the bat just hasn't been there.
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Batting 198 with two home runs, OPS plus at 62.
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I mean, that is hideous. If they do make a move for 1/3
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baseman, are there teams that would be interested in bringing
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Matt Shaw along with him? He's a former top 100 prospect.
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What have you heard about his prospects if he would be part of
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a trade if they do go out and get a third baseman?
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Yeah, I mean, the key is going to be are the Cubs going to be
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willing to offer Matt Shaw? Because I know they still value
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him a ton. Whether, and that's for a
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variety of reasons, obviously what he showcased with the
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glove. You know, the weird thing going
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into this season, the biggest concern when it came to Matt
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Shaw wasn't is this guy going to hit?
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It was like, OK, can he play third base?
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Like the biggest concern was like, does he have the defensive
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skill set to play that position? He has done more than that.
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He's been he's been exceptional when it comes to playing third
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base and you know a lot of the scouts and the value layers.
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But I talked to you like there is not one bit of concern about
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Matt, Sean, whether he will be able to hit the big league
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level. I think everybody feels a
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tremendous amount of confidence that one way or another he'll
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get it turned around. That's kind of those early pumps
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and bruises that you go into. But when it comes to the trade
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offline, absolutely there would be a ton of tea.
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So would love that match off for the reasons I mentioned before
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and that he is a first round draft pick.
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He even though he isn't considered a prospect anymore,
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he's still got that shine of, you know, being a top 100 guy.
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But he's the guy that is playing great defense and everybody in
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the industry seems to think he will hit at some point or
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another. Our our regular Wednesday guest
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David Kaplan said no shot they're trade.
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Matt Shaw not sure he has a vote.
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The other one that he said, and I don't think you've seen him
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yet and he may or may not get here.
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Jackson Wiggins is where I'm going starting pitcher who's
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down at AA right now. Tommy, what's the likelihood
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that Wiggins makes a stop here at in in Des Moines or is or is
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he this type of player that you know, just might jump right over
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AAA and head to the big league club?
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Do you expect to see Wiggins down here this year?
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Yeah, I, I think we will see him at some point this year
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probably. I mean, obviously we're at the
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second-half of the season right now, but I would assume by the
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end of the season we'll wind up seeing him just because he is a
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guy that's been kind of sidetracked a little bit when it
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comes to injuries and kind of slowing his right rise to the
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minor leagues. With how old he is, how well he
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is pitched, and with the idea that man pitching is going to be
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a need at the AAA level too, I think they'll want to give him
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that test eventually if he keeps pitching well in AA.
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So who else? Is there?
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Other names that would make sense?
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Any other names if the Cubs go out at the AAA level that are
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expendable, are blocked? Those kind of things that would
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make them good trade candidates off the I Cubs roster.
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Yeah, I mean, I think everybody is for sale right now when it
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comes to what the Cubs, you know, want to do at the trade
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deadline. Look, they whatever they want to
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go out and get, they can get it because they have that type of
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capital in the minor leagues right now from Owen, KC to, you
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know, a bunch of other guys have the AAA level.
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Jonathan Logs played really well.
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Moistly by Feros has played well.
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You know, he could be an important chip to it all.
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I think when it comes to buy a Feros to is I think a lot of
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teams are kind of indifferent when it comes to him because he
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has hit so well. But he doesn't have a tremendous
8:45
amount of power that would make you say like, OK, he is going to
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be a great DH. He's not going to hit 3035 home
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runs. He may hit 1520 with a ton of
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double S, but he's not going to put up monster numbers to make
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you think like, OK, this guy is kind of the prototypical
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designated hitter and I don't think any, but I have yet to
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talk to any scout from an opposing team that absolutely
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believes that bias. Pharaohs is going to be a big
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league catcher, so that kind of leads in first base where he is
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not played exceptionally well either or BH.
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So I think that's going to impact what type of trade
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potential he has. I think another guy that people
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are going to be extremely interested in is Jordan Witch,
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the left hand, the pitcher who's been up and down pitch well
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here. I think people are going to look
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at Jordan Licks as a guy that like needs a fresh start.
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He was the first round draft pick, a big pitching prospect, a
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guy that had success at the big league level.
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So I think there's going to be value in him as well.
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So when it comes to the Cubs, like, man, there's there's a ton
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to offer there. Owen Casey Moises, Jonathan
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Long, James Triantos, Contra Contra too.
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You know, my understanding is that the Cubs have kind of add
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him on the trade block over the last year or so.
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And I don't know if the offers haven't been what they have
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wanted or just that he just doesn't have that type of appeal
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to him anymore. But he has played really well
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recently. But I get the sense that the the
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trade value for Kevin L Contra probably isn't as high as what
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many people think it probably actually is.
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Well, Daniel Polencia, because I think they've got their closer
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and I know that Cubs fans, I maybe maybe it's not that
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they're not sold. They're kind of indifferent
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because when it comes to what's we haven't seen them in
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September and obviously October, etcetera.
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And we'll be able to handle the pressure when he's here.
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Tommy, when you're watching him when he was here in Iowa, did
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you think that this was a guy that was going to go up and
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just, you know, really impress at the big league level, Big
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league level as a dominant closer, which is what?
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Yeah, I mean, I actually did just because he had the stuff
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down here. And, you know, if you don't
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believe me, somewhere out there, it's the desmoinesregister.com
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story where I talked to him about possibly being a closer at
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some point, where he'd talk to me about like, this, the
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entrance song I want to have. This is, you know, the setup I
11:22
want to have. He grew up really watching K
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Rod, I think exchanged some DMS with him over the years.
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So it's been on my radar. It's been on his radar ever
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since he moved to the Bolton because I think a lot of people
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forget he came up a starting pitcher.
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They moved him to the Bolton. There have been some ups and
11:40
downs but he he has been very, very good this year.
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So off the MLB and minor league system take us to the draft last
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week on Sunday as Tate and Gray, the kid from Dallas center
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Grimes was selected. He goes to Tampa and then Sean
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Gamble, who was a part of Dowling Catholic program, you
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know well and finish up his career down at IMG.
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He was selected in the first round.
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I know you wrote stories on both of those guys.
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Take us into the Iowa natives on their way to looks like to the
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MLB. Yeah, Sean Gamble was just a
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great athlete that can play the infield, play the outfield, has
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a really good bat. He has speed.
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He he's kind of that Bobby Wood type of Bobby Wood junior type
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of player that, you know, I don't know if he's not going to
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be that good. That's a very high bar.
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That's but it's like that type of player where he he is
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supposed to all kinds of athleticism and can do so many
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different things. So that's kind of appeal to him
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and then taking great just have some massive power that he's
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just off the charts. Like, you know, I heard some
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amazing stories about him going up to private workouts that some
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big league person hitting, hitting baseballs into parts of
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the stadium that big league guys weren't hitting.
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So he he has got a tremendous amount of power potential.
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Like the most intriguing thing when it came to tan Grey is that
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he was maybe the youngest guy in the entire draft at 17 years old
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and a switch hitting catcher that can play the outfield as
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well. So there are a lot of different
13:07
things when team do team great that teams really love.
13:13
One more for you as next week the big school classes 3A and 4A
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for the first and only time for the foreseeable future will go
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to Sioux City for the state baseball tournament.
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Cool venue over there. Going to be a long drive for
13:25
basically everybody outside of Sioux City East and and Heelan
13:28
and Sergeant Bluff Luton. But the for a field I know you
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watch a lot of for a baseball Birchy.
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I've been covering this for a long time.
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This is as open of a state tournament as I can remember at
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the big school level. Yeah, I mean, they're, they're a
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lot of really good teams. That was, you know, you look at
13:44
the sub state final that we had last night in between Johnson
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and Valley. See, both of those teams could
13:50
have been state championship contenders.
13:53
I mean, Valley's a really good team with some really strong
13:56
pitching. I think that staff has like 4
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kids that are throwing 90 plus. So there's some really good,
14:03
really good teams. Obviously, Johnston's always
14:06
there and what they've been able to do as a program for the past
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decades really been phenomenal, and that's going to be
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interesting to see moving forward with this thing last
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year for Michael Barda, can they sustain the success?
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And you know, if they can win a championship going out during
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his last year, that's going to be a phenomenal story for that
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team. Don't you have to hit soon?
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You should be. You should be up.
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We're going to let you go. Hey, Tommy.
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Listen, I'll get inside. Thanks for doing this, brother.
14:34
Appreciate it as always. Love picking your brain.
14:36
Trade deadline two weeks away. We think there's going to be
14:39
some activity going on. Thank you.
14:41
Have fun, Tommy. Appreciate it.
14:43
Thanks guys. Yep, good to talk to you.
14:45
Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register.
14:47
Read him as he also covers Iowa State women, etcetera.
14:50
Tommy Birch desmoinesregister.com So
14:52
yesterday there's a bad job out of us.
14:54
We talked about the All Star game, talked about things we
14:56
liked it said there was a lot of things to like.
14:58
It really was. One of the things I really liked
15:01
that we didn't talk about was the challenge system.
15:04
Oh yes. And, and the naysayers that
15:07
thought that this was going to, it was a bad day for the
15:09
naysayer crowd on there. Yeah, 'cause this was fast.
15:12
Yep, it was accurate. I think it was.
15:15
Was it used three times? It was two or three.
15:18
I think it was 3 because it went two and one.
15:20
One was upheld, the other two were overruled.
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And it happens very quickly and you can see the ball going
15:27
through the box. And I don't think the umpires
15:30
were embarrassed by it. Nope.
15:32
As they shouldn't have been. We're human after all.
15:35
I'll never forget, and this goes back to oh God, 2007, 2008,
15:41
right before base, before replay came to the bases.
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And at the time for my money, as good a show as KX and overhead
15:50
was the UMP side view with Tim McClellan and the late Derek
15:53
Cooper. But prior to it being
15:56
implemented, they were against it.
15:58
No, I bet they hated this. We don't want this, we don't
16:01
need this. Very quickly afterward, Tune
16:04
totally changed. They were, they were all for it.
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It wasn't you weren't called out.
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The speakers weren't or Three Blind Mice.
16:13
They were none of that stuff. It was just baseball getting it
16:17
right. But it I was always struck by,
16:19
you know, they were dead fast against him and very quickly
16:22
came around. So I mentioned when I went out
16:24
to the I Cubs game now over a month ago and took Jack out
16:28
there, seeing it in person for the first time, I had the same
16:32
reservations initially. What's this going to be?
16:34
What's it going to look like? And then?
16:37
Because you're expecting him to go to the sidelines all over
16:40
your. Head and it is so fast so that
16:42
whole plate umpire that night is struggling.
16:45
I want to say there were 6, maybe 7 challenges throughout
16:49
the course of the game. He just went right back there,
16:52
right? Right.
16:53
Yes, all right. It's not that big.
16:55
It got changed. It got you, you made the right
16:57
call. It was the right thing happened.
17:00
It was the ball or a strike and you got it wrong.
17:03
But it's for the betterment of the game and was really fast and
17:07
I enjoyed it. I enjoyed seeing it for the
17:09
first time in person. Well, I was in person.
17:11
I was watching on TV, obviously. And now that you bring this up,
17:13
I'm so mad at myself because you remember the one thing that is
17:17
annoying me about this. It's that slider that cuts
17:19
through the zone. It's not a strike.
17:21
You can't hit that pitch, but it nips the box as it's going by.
17:25
And that's going to be a strike in this era.
17:28
There was an article I was reading, It's probably 2-3 weeks
17:30
back now and I'm sure it'll be impossible for me to find now
17:32
that I want to get it. And I should have sent it to you
17:34
because it brought up many of those concerns that both
17:37
baseball players as a whole have.
17:39
People in the minor leagues talked about it and say there
17:42
are unhittable pitches in this system and there's nothing that
17:45
you can do about it because of pitcher challenges.
17:49
And it's called a strike. There is still that part of it
17:52
that I think when it gets to the major leagues, not if when it
17:55
gets to the major leagues, there will still need to be some
17:58
things that are tweaked, adapted because of pitches like that.
18:01
But short of that, it is getting it right, and that's the bottom
18:06
line, right? What?
18:07
What's stopping them from doing it starting tomorrow, players?
18:10
Union, Yeah, yeah, I mean, that's something that needs to
18:12
be voted on. There has to be other parts of
18:14
it. The umpire union too.
18:15
I'm sure there's going to be a part of that.
18:16
Yeah. So that would be the reason.
18:19
Just get the damn thing right. Well, we're we're coming to the
18:21
end of that era because I think pretty soon, as you say, they
18:24
are going to be getting it right, maybe as early as next
18:27
year. All right, we will talk Vinnie
18:29
Iyer about the NFL when we come back.
18:31
Look forward to catching up with Vinnie.
18:33
We'll pick his. Do you have a fantasy question
18:36
for Vinnie that's burning in your mind?
18:37
Do you have a player too that you think is going to have a
18:40
breakout season? Yeah, that's one that I.
18:43
You're holding sort of yourself in case some members of your
18:45
league are listening. In I know they are, I have a
18:49
couple of names that are intriguing.
18:51
So the way that I draft is I always wait on quarterback.
18:56
I do not have usually one of the top end guys.
18:59
So I'm looking usually at that tier in a quarterbacks 8 through
19:02
15 and maybe grab two of them just to have hopefully one of
19:06
them hit at a high level. But kind of that tier of
19:09
quarterback, if there's a particular guy that he likes in
19:11
that realm, that's going to be kind of my most burning question
19:15
because I like to wait. I stack up wide receivers and
19:18
running backs to get as many as possible.
19:19
I might have 678 on my roster and hope one of those Flyers
19:23
kind of hit later on. That's the way that I draft and
19:26
because of that, it's waiting on quarterbacks.
19:29
I've been successful times, I've been awful times.
19:30
It's fantasy football. It comes down to injury luck
19:32
more than anything. Yeah, no, it absolutely does.
19:35
We'll take a time out before we go to break though.
19:37
Let's give you an opportunity to win $1000.
19:40
It is indeed time for bonus bucks.
19:42
There'll be more opportunities coming up with off the bench
19:46
with Sean and Lucas from 2:00 until 5:00.
19:49
But right now you can head to KX and o.com.
19:52
This nationwide contest. The keyword this hour is green.
19:56
green@kx&o.com. Your chance to win $1000,
20:01
green@kx&o.com. Miller and Condon Vinny Iyer
20:06
joins us next from the Sporting News.
20:09
It's the Iowa Sports Radio Network 130.
20:12
Welcome back, Miller and Condon. Iowa Sports Radio Network off
20:15
the bench top of the. The hour Sean Roberts, Lucas
20:18
strain take you until 5:00 overtime Iowa 5 until 6.
20:22
Let's talk some NFL, shall we? Little fantasy toward the end.
20:26
Vinny Iyer locked on network where he does fantasy football
20:30
and he writes for the Sporting News and he joins us.
20:33
Vinny Trenton, Ken, thank you as always for finding a few minutes
20:35
for us here in Iowa. Appreciate it.
20:38
Vinny, as we get another day closer to the start of the NFL.
20:41
Good to talk to you. How are you?
20:44
I'm doing well and I've been reminded the count was 50
20:47
yesterday for days before the NFL season.
20:50
So I guess in the math it should be 49.
20:54
That Northwestern education serving you well, Vinny higher.
20:58
So, Vinny, I want to start with the other conference that moves
21:01
the division rather that moves the needle here more than the
21:03
others. And that's the NFC North with
21:06
three of our, quote, regional team surrounding us here in Des
21:09
Moines. Boy, if you ask 10 people, you
21:11
get 10 different answers how it's going to finish.
21:13
I think this is going to be fascinating from really top to
21:16
bottom because the Lions who had such a great year last year, can
21:19
they overcome the loss of both coordinators who are head
21:22
coaches? We think the Bears arrow was
21:24
pointing up. How do you see the North Vinny
21:27
as we get to move to within 50 days of the start of the NFL
21:31
season? Yeah, I think there's a lot of
21:34
excitement around this division. I think the Lions considered to
21:37
have unfinished business with losing the Commanders as not
21:41
being able to get to that championship game against the
21:43
Eagles. I think that was disappointing
21:45
for sure. Everyone thought they were
21:47
headed there for sure, and they thought this might be the year.
21:50
But then the wheels come off with the coordinators, Ben
21:54
Johnson, Aaron Glenn leaving. That doesn't say they don't have
21:57
enough talent to compete and be right there in the mix in the
22:01
NFC. But the competition has gotten
22:03
stronger here. You know, the Vikings are pretty
22:05
consistent. They have a good offensive
22:07
system where they've made it work with Kirk Peasants and Sam
22:09
Darnold. The wild card is doesn't
22:11
continue to work with JJ McCarthy, who's essentially a
22:15
rookie after seeing his first year wiped out with a knee
22:18
injury. So he's a wild card, but we know
22:20
the systems in place with what they have, Kevin O'Connell and
22:24
Brian Flores are very good. They've got a lot of talent in
22:27
those systems. So that's a favorable spot for
22:32
sure. Then you look at Green Bay, bit
22:34
of a wild card. How do they back from all these
22:36
receivers with Jordan live control of rebound here where
22:40
we're going to see more from the defense after a little bit of a
22:43
get well season last year. So that's the team that you look
22:46
at then the Bears, all kinds of upsides.
22:49
Speaking of Ben Johnson, they've got him that got Caleb Williams.
22:52
There's a lot of offensive buzz, but how does this team fare
22:55
defensively without that evil flu?
22:57
So a lot of things to look at here, but I think the division
23:01
is going to be fun, but I would still maybe learn lean toward
23:04
Detroit and Minnesota being the team soon one.
23:07
Of the more surprising entries, the team you mentioned in that
23:09
NFC championship game a year ago, Washington, the commanders
23:12
with a rookie quarterback and a bunch of kind of mid tier free
23:15
agents that went in there and they hit the ground running.
23:17
Obviously what they were able to do, they go out.
23:19
Now Von Miller's going to make his way there.
23:21
We'll see if there's anything left in the tank but bubbling
23:23
under the surface. You got Terry McLaren.
23:25
He's not happy with the way things are going.
23:28
Said he was quote pretty frustrated with negotiations.
23:31
Looking for a new contract there.
23:33
What's your outlook on the the semi finalist from a year ago,
23:36
the Commanders? Yeah, it's hard when you set
23:40
that high bar right away with your rookie quarterback as
23:43
you're expecting to get there again.
23:44
It's really hard to win all those games and fight and
23:48
tournament to get there. I mean, you have to execute
23:50
along the way. But they should be looked at
23:52
more behind the Eagles. I think everyone looks the
23:54
Eagles, but they did take a few hits here with their personnel,
23:57
some older players that they had as well.
24:00
And their defensive pieces have kind of been reshuffled a little
24:03
bit here. And I think the Eagles are still
24:05
going to be pretty formidable here as a team to watch and beat
24:10
in the NFC. But when you look at the
24:12
Commanders, I mean, they really don't have a lot of holes at
24:14
this point. They had that extra receiver,
24:16
DeVos, Samuel. I think all these people are
24:18
trying to get paid. That means you see the Bobby
24:21
Wagner and Von Miller type of like it's a refuge for these
24:24
older defensive players maybe trying to get one more ring.
24:28
And then then you have these guys in the middle of their
24:30
career that have been on the underachieving commanders team,
24:33
like Karen McLaren looking at his payday before they have to
24:36
commit and break the bank for the Daniels contract coming up
24:40
soon. So that's fair.
24:42
But if I'm fair, McLaren, though, look, I know it's a bad
24:46
situation with the quarterbacks before Daniels got there.
24:48
I don't want to leave the Arrows pointing up that Cliff
24:52
Kingsbury, you've got a developing relationship with the
24:56
quarterback that you have to factor in how much Daniels
24:59
played a part in raising Mclaurin's game last season.
25:01
So I think Alan Mclaurin, I go out there, perform my best, and
25:05
then everything will take care of itself.
25:07
Like there's a big season with Daniels then.
25:10
Yeah, you sure, But you just signed a deal recently.
25:13
If you cut, it's the whole thing in the NFL, you got to bet on
25:17
yourself a little bit, keep getting those contracts that you
25:20
want. And again, it's not always
25:22
recommended, but sometimes you do it and it's not something you
25:26
regret if you sound a bigger deal.
25:28
But I think right now he has to go out and play with it because
25:31
that's just kind of the way it falls.
25:34
You can't always time it with everything with a breakout.
25:36
But again, he also needs kind of Daniels in that situation to get
25:41
the most out of it. The other regional team about 3
25:44
hours of the South of us here is the Kansas City Chiefs and that
25:48
division Viddy. That seems like the Broncos
25:51
Arrows pointing up. I think you'd say the same about
25:53
the Chargers. I love their draft and there's a
25:55
new regime in Las Vegas. A new coach, new quarterback, a
25:59
new running back, maybe tight end, the best tight end in
26:02
football. And that's hard to say because
26:04
there's still some good ones. But boy, I'd love some Brock
26:06
Bauer stock if there was such a thing.
26:08
AFC West. Is it the slam dunk that it's
26:11
been the last 9 nine years that you can just go ahead and you
26:14
don't need to, boy, use a pencil?
26:15
Go ahead and write the Chiefs on top of that division in Penn.
26:18
Where are you in the West? Yeah, I do still like the
26:22
Chiefs. I mean, they're going to be that
26:23
consistent team to beat, much like the Patriots were in the
26:26
AFC East for all that time. But yeah, it's a real question
26:30
mark who's the second best team in Denver's defense was
26:33
fantastic last year, so the next played really well.
26:35
But then you have the Chargers, who other coaching and their
26:39
potential to raise their offense another level, fix a few more
26:42
things defensively. So I think those two teams are
26:45
going to be a factor again, I think the Raiders, I mean, they
26:47
seem to be one of those teams are probably headed to like 9
26:50
and 8, like one of those Seahawks teams there with Dino
26:53
Smith and Pete Carroll where there's a lot.
26:56
But then there's a lot of things that they don't have.
26:57
There's some stabilizing things, but I think they have a decent
27:01
floor as a team, but I don't think they have a pretty high
27:03
ceiling. So I think the Broncos and
27:06
Chargers I think do have a ceiling, but is it as high as
27:08
what the Chiefs an offer? That can be the question.
27:11
Couple of old guys moving around.
27:13
Aaron Rodgers makes his way to Pittsburgh.
27:15
Russell Wilson makes his way to the Giants.
27:19
Do you anticipate success? Not just success in terms of
27:22
stats. I mean, you look at Aaron
27:23
Rodgers stats last year, they looked fine, but we know the
27:26
winning did not follow there. What do you think of those two
27:28
veterans in 2025? Yeah, I mean, it's a different
27:33
situation for each. I mean, Rodgers is trying to put
27:35
a quick fix in a this team that keeps just revolving the doors
27:39
of quarterback and the steers want to run the ball, play
27:42
defense, want a guy who can make a few big plays in the passing
27:45
game to complement that. And Rogers can do that.
27:47
He's not going to have to try to do too much because Pittsburgh
27:52
defense is there. They got that key secondary
27:54
piece and John Ramsey they're missing more so than what they
27:58
had at safety of Mika Fitzpatrick.
28:00
So this defense is going to be pretty good.
28:02
They expect the running game to be better with the teams, with
28:05
the employee and the seven Caleb Johnson back there.
28:08
So that's really what they look forward to doing and just want
28:12
to throw the ball down field effectively to decay.
28:14
Metcalf probably run a lot of 12 personnel.
28:16
So they're going to do a lot to lift Rodgers and it's not going
28:19
to be on him. He's not.
28:21
But I thought this was the same case with The Jets, right?
28:23
They had a very good defense coming in the defense kind of,
28:26
but down and there was more put on Rodgers.
28:28
Rodgers has to have a limited burden on him to be successful.
28:31
So that's going to be an all high situation with The Jets and
28:35
their situation. I think you have Justin Fields
28:39
some upside there joining New York and the other New York team
28:43
with Russell Wilson. I think that's more of a
28:45
placeholder type situation, who's got it left here between
28:48
Russell Wilson and James Winston until Jackson Dart is ready.
28:51
So when we're looking at those, those are the three most
28:54
intriguing, The Jets, Giants, Steelers for sure with what's
28:57
going to happen in quarterback from where we are in the
29:00
beginning to where we are at the end.
29:01
Which Los Angeles team is closer to a Super Bowl, Rams or
29:04
Chargers? Well, you look at Shawn McVeigh.
29:09
I mean, the track record says he can win it and you know that Jim
29:11
Harbaugh can get to it. So I think right now the Rams,
29:15
you'd have to say that. I mean, they've had the defense
29:17
rebuild very quickly that Aaron Donald.
29:20
I think they need a few more of their young pieces to do well
29:22
there. But their offense is pretty
29:24
loaded right now. I mean, you'd have two very good
29:27
receivers again, where the Adams, Samantha Adams being in
29:30
his prime where Cooper comp was fading.
29:31
So you got Adams and Nakua, you got Kyrie Williams.
29:34
You can run the ball, you can pass downfield fast and
29:37
Stafford. So I think they're a little bit
29:38
closer. And we've also seen Stafford go
29:41
through a tournament where Justin Herbert still looking for
29:44
kind of his playoff footing after a couple disappointing
29:47
trips. So the NFC South year after year
29:51
is as topsy turvy of any division that we have in the
29:53
NFL. You have the Saints that look
29:56
like, I don't know what the term they're going to use.
29:58
Tanking for arch, a fart for arch.
30:00
I don't know what it's going to be, but they're going to be
30:01
terrible. The box, Tristan worse, former
30:04
Iowa Hawkeye, he's going to be out for the beginning of the
30:06
season. A lot of people like Tampa
30:08
coming into the year where you are located down in Charlotte.
30:12
Of course, Carolina, maybe they're ascending forward.
30:14
Who do you like in the NFC South?
30:17
Yeah, I tell you what, I don't like it's New Orleans either.
30:20
One of the worst quarterback situations I've ever seen,
30:23
especially in the league where I really do believe this, that
30:26
more teams have reliable quarterback talent than ever
30:30
before, like with a lot of the younger guys in this league.
30:33
So this is kind of shocking to see a team that far removed.
30:37
But I mean, the Derek Carr probably came pretty shocking
30:40
there. But yeah, I think Tampa is still
30:42
a favorite, but Atlanta could have a new look here, what
30:46
they're doing. I thought they would be more
30:48
competitive last year, but now you have a quarterback
30:50
transition there. Panthers are definitely an
30:52
interesting team because they have a lot of these little
30:54
pieces that could come together really well around Dice Young,
30:58
and then they have some defensive guys that are young.
30:59
So as a team, we're going to monitor quite a bit.
31:04
Tampa is going to be hurting a little bit.
31:05
Their defense is not going to do the same.
31:07
They lost Liam Cohen, a second straight off and coordinator
31:10
from that team. So I'm going to watch this
31:12
pretty carefully. I don't know if it'll be one of
31:15
the better divisions since we're probably, I think you'll have
31:17
some lumps sticking here. But if I had to go with anyone,
31:19
I'd go with the buck. Baker Mayfield is now pretty
31:22
established and that team, no matter what we do, doubting
31:25
them, they seem to figure out new ways to reshape their
31:30
identity and win games. Vinny, since you're locked on
31:33
part of the locked on network when it comes to fantasy
31:35
football, we're getting to that time when drafts are going to
31:38
start to be taking place. A name that I keep hearing and I
31:42
don't play, admittedly, but I when I do read about it, Jordan
31:46
Mason's name seemingly comes up in every single one of the
31:50
articles that are read. The backup running back for the
31:53
Vikings, Aaron Jones is getting old.
31:54
Mason had a decent year last year, rookie quarterback and I
31:58
think O'connell's going to run the football more.
32:00
Is Jordan Mason a guy that seemingly is getting a ton of
32:03
buzz and and who are some other guys out there kind of in
32:06
Mason's ilk if you will, that that maybe 1 to watch this year?
32:12
Yeah, Jordan Mason is a good one.
32:14
I mean, just because she's been successful as a super sub to
32:18
fish McCaffrey when called upon. So everyone's looking at his
32:21
upside here. And I do like the rookies I
32:23
mentioned. Caleb Johnson, I think he's in a
32:24
good situation replacing Nadja Harris.
32:26
I like him. Marianne Hampton, I like RJ
32:29
Harvey if he can get opportunities to head of JK
32:32
Dobbins, who is side late by the way.
32:34
So some really good options behind Ashton Genti, who we know
32:38
I think will be pretty reliable and succeed here.
32:41
I want to see what happens with Quintron Judkins, who some of
32:44
the off the field stuff going to creep in.
32:46
And Henderson I also like in New England potentially taking that
32:49
job from Andre Stevenson. So those younger players, the
32:53
rookie backs, they're a little bit better this year than you've
32:57
seen in the recent classes. Overall reminds me a lot of what
33:00
we had. It was a couple years ago in the
33:03
Gibbs and Robinson class, and then you look elsewhere.
33:07
I think a guy that we're going to keep our eye on, another Big
33:09
10 dude is Chase Brown. I mean, he had a very good year
33:12
at the Bengals. I think he's going to build on
33:14
that a lot this evening. One fantasy question for me and
33:17
that's at the quarterback position.
33:18
I mentioned earlier, I like to wait at quarterback.
33:20
You know, those young guys may be taking a flyer even to be the
33:23
starter on your team if you're waiting at quarterback.
33:26
Caleb Williams, A Drake, May CJ Stroud?
33:30
Even Cam? Michael Pennix?
33:31
Is there any of those young quarterbacks that you like and
33:34
think Bo Nicks that could make a fantasy impact here this season?
33:39
Well, I'll give you a guy that you didn't mention.
33:41
I did. I didn't mention him earlier in
33:42
the show, JJ McCarthy, because this system is just so good.
33:46
And again, when you inherit Justin Jefferson and Jordan
33:50
Aniston, Eddie McConnell, I mean, we saw that.
33:55
I mean, Sam Donald didn't have a career year because Sam Ronald
33:58
only transformed into a much better quarterback.
34:01
He had a career year because he was in an ideal system, which is
34:04
OK, Every quarterback to assistant quarterback, you need
34:07
somebody who's going to lift and take the talents of those
34:11
players to the right level. And look, there's just a lot to
34:13
be had on that table for McCarthy.
34:15
The only thing we're not sure about is, you know, we haven't
34:18
seen him play all that much. He's still fighting to get on
34:21
the field, but he's a little bit different, honestly, than Kirk
34:25
Cousins and Sam Darnold because he's younger.
34:28
He's unproven still, but the system seems to lift a lot of
34:31
people up. And O'Connell, I think he's that
34:33
good at coach. So McCarthy is the guy that
34:35
you're going to be a very late right now drafts.
34:37
Did you watch the quarterback series on Netflix?
34:40
Vinny if saw your thoughts. Well, I'll use the line that I
34:44
used in the interview yesterday. Like, I don't know why they
34:47
would make it around her cousins again.
34:51
Again. Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's OK.
34:54
I just, it's, there's enough three guys that I find as
34:59
interesting as I would like to, but I think that's part of it as
35:03
well. Like, I think there have been a
35:05
few, like a bit, I don't know, Like I feel like Jared Goff and
35:10
Kirk Cousins come off as boring to me.
35:13
I don't know if I can handle another season of Cousins.
35:15
I mean, Goff just doesn't move the needle.
35:18
So we'll see. I mean, I'll probably check it
35:20
out at some point, but quarterback 1 is just so good.
35:24
Like I don't want to ruin it with quarterback 2.
35:26
I got you, Vinny Ireford. Go ahead.
35:29
No, that's it. Good stuff, Vinny.
35:30
Thanks for doing this. Appreciate it.
35:32
We'll talk to you down the road. Thanks for giving us some time,
35:35
Vinny. Yep, good to.
35:37
Talk to Vinny Iyer, Sporting News and Locked ON Network,
35:40
where he covers fantasy football.
35:43
It's 1:45. We'll take our final time out.
35:46
Trent's plays of the day. Circus sports sponsor those.
35:49
No sports tonight. There really isn't, is there?
35:54
I can find something. NBA Summer League.
35:58
There you go. Kale's 12 two and one.
36:01
Why isn't he sending me SP? He loves it, yeah.
36:04
Come on. Kale 12 two and one boy Miller
36:08
and Condon Iowa Sports Radio Network Miller and Condon
36:11
welcome back final couple of minutes here on a Thursday off
36:14
the bench coming up next. As you just heard say so trends,
36:18
plays of the day, every day sponsored by our friends at
36:21
Circus sports. I'm on wagertalk.com, which is
36:24
where we go to get live odds. It's free.
36:27
It's free service liawagertalk.com.
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You can see the the point spreads update not instantly,
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but every couple of minutes at recycles.
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Here's what they're offering today.
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They've got a Canadian Football League game, CFL.
36:40
I like Toronto. You like Toronto on the points,
36:43
there's 8 summer league games and then it really, they really
36:46
get desperate. Mexican baseball, Australian
36:49
football, Japanese baseball, Taiwan baseball, South Korean
36:54
baseball. That's what you've got tonight,
36:57
Trent. The floor is yours.
37:00
I'm playing one summer league game.
37:03
I'm going to grab the Heat and the Six.
37:07
With a great deal of conviction. 1/2 unit.
37:10
Is it just I have to have something could actually
37:14
obligated to do it? So there we go.
37:17
Why didn't you take? The 10 with the Argonauts over
37:19
over Montreal. Now let's throw two way there.
37:21
Why not? What have you did on each of
37:23
them? Give it a whirl.
37:24
The. Argonauts plus the 10.
37:26
Opened at 8 1/2. It's gone up significantly.
37:29
Get getting value there on the Argonauts there you.
37:33
Go Maybe. I wonder if CBS Sports will have
37:35
that game tonight. Don't CBS Sports Network.
37:38
Yes, 2/21/21 Yes, I hope so. I do too.
37:41
Something to flip on. Yeah, I can't get into the
37:43
summer league. I just can't.
37:45
No, I, I put. It on last night.
37:46
Same. Just I just couldn't.
37:50
So I handicapped Delmar's races tomorrow night.
37:53
So you're good to go. No, I'm not going to go.
37:55
I'm going to. Watch No good to go as it Oh.
37:56
Yeah, good to go. Yeah, I think so.
37:58
Yeah. I hope so.
37:59
I'll let you know, right? We'll talk to you tomorrow.
38:03
I would appreciate you being with us.
38:06
We'll have cyclone. We'll have a hot cake.
38:10
It'll be here. My palm will be here.
38:12
Chicken coop, baseball's back. We'll do that this week.
38:15
Up next off the bench, Sean and Lucas where Miller and Condon,
38:19
Trent and I talk sports with you Monday through Friday, noon to
38:22
two in the Iowa Sports Radio Network.