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Fair Territory: Braves mess, AL East race, Dodgers-Padres, it's Roman Anthony time · Foul Territory

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And what can the Mariners do. I'm not exactly sure
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: because the strength of this team, the foundation was always
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: their rotation, and their rotation just has not been as
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: good this year. Welcome everyone to the Monday edition of
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Fair Territory. We are live on this Monday, that's right live,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: and we've got, as usual, a ton to talk about.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: We're going to get into the Braves. We're going to
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: get into a lot of different things, including what I
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: wrote about the Red Sox over the weekend. But let's
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: start with the Atlanta Braves, because what has happened to
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: them is unexpected and it is borderline shocking. Remember this
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: is a team seven straight playoff appearances, twenty twenty one
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: World Series champions. I picked them to be back in
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: the World Series this year. Again I thought they were
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: that good. They are not. This is a team that
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: has lost seven straight games, seven straight, fourteen of seventeen
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: and I wrote Friday after that shocking loss on Thursday
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: that if they didn't turn it around, it would be
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: fair question whether they lost too much fabric what they
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: lost too much leadership? With Freddie Freeman and Dansby Swanson
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: and Max Freed leaving over the last couple of years.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: I questioned at that time whether ultimately it would be
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: fair to question just the way Alex Anthopolis put this
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: team together. I said, there will be a lot of
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: questions if they don't turn it around. Well, so far
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: they are not turning it around. They had a bad
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: offseason when you look at it, and even going into
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: the season, we kind of knew that Jerkson Profar was
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: their biggest offensive edition. AJ Minter was gone, Joejimenez was hurt.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: They didn't really do much to fix their bullpen. So yet,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: even with all that, there was a ton of talent
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: there and for whatever reasons, even with a Kunya and
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: Stryder coming back, it has not clicked. Now there is
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: a lot of talk I see on X and elsewhere
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: about firing Brian Snicker. I don't see that happening. This
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: is his forty ninth year in the organization. He's the
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: guy who put them in the playoffs seven straight years,
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: or at least led them to that. He's the guy
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: who won the World Series in twenty twenty one. And
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: if you're Alexanthropolis president of Baseball Operations, you can't blame
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Brian Sticker. When a lot of this is on you,
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: and a lot of this, frankly, is on underperformance of
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: the players. I don't know that you can blame Snicker
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: for any of that. But let's look at where the
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: Braves stand right now, because it is, as I said
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: at the top of the show, rather shocking the NL
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: East standings the National League East, where the Braves were
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: supposed to contend with the Mets with the Phillies not happening,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: they are two and a half games behind the Nationals.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: They are just two and a half games ahead of
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: the Marlins, the lowly Miami Marlins, and I mentioned Akunya
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: and Strider and how they were supposed to be a
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: Lick Seirs solutions for the Braves. Well, since Acunya has
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: come back, they're three and twelve. Strider is zero to
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: five with a five to four ERA this season since
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: he's returned from his time me John surgery, and the
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: team overall just has not played the way any of
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: us thought they would. So in that column I run
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: on Friday, I cited the examples of the twenty twenty
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: one Braves in the twenty twenty four Mets and Astros
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: as teams that were in similar positions at this time
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: of year, at this date, and yet rallied back. Since then,
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: the Braves have lost three more games. They're nine and
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: nineteen in one run games. That's an amazing number, nine
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: and nineteen. Even if you were somewhat lucky, you'd be
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: winning more than that. But they have not been lucky
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: and they have not been good. So you wonder where
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: it all goes with the Braves. I'm wondering that. And
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: right now, I don't know that they're going to fire
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: the manager. I said that already. I don't believe that's
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: going to happen. Are they trending toward becoming a seller
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: and Marcel Azuna becoming available? Yeah, they're trending that way.
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: If they're buried, they might be a seller. All right,
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: we want to talk about some other teams as well,
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: some other divisions, and let let's go over to the
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: other Eastern division, the American League East. Just saw the
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: Yankees over the weekend lose two of three of the
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: Red Sox, and coming into this season, what did many
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: of us think that the Orioles and Red Sox would
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: be the two teams that would challenge the Yankees, two
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: teams contending for the Ale's title. Red Sox still might.
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: It's time left for them, and if they do some
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: things to straighten out, they could be okay. But what's
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: surprising about this division race are the two teams that
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: seem to have the best shot right now of anyone
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: of catching the Yankees, and that would be the Toronto
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays. Let's look at
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: the al standings and I'll show you what I'm talking
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: about with regard to this particular race. Yes, the Yankees
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: are in first place, but the Rays and the Jays
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: both four and a half back, both on similar runs here.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: Both of these teams were sixteen and twenty sixteen and
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: twenty one, and they've come back to see those records
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: right there, thirty five and thirty Now. The Yankees a flawless.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: We saw that over the weekend. Starting pitching a question. Still,
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: bullpen is a question. They need another infielder, as Chris
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: Kershner of The Athletic pointed out in his article Saturday.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: So they've got some holes. But the Jays, Yeah, they
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: have holes too, And I'm encouraged that they're playing better.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: I'm not totally convinced. And the reason I'm not totally
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: convinced is because of their rotation. They've got three guys
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: going pretty good Barrios, Bassett and Gospen. After that, Boden
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: Francis has not been the same as he was last year.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: They are waiting on Max Scherzer. This team, for all
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: of its quality in the rotation, is twenty six in
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: the league in rotation. The array largely because of the
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: fourth and fifth spots their offense. That's been encouraging, and
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: it's been great to see George Springer have this revival,
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: great to see Addison Barger come on the way he has.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: But they're still missing Santander, still missing Dalton Varger. I'm
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: Dalton varshow, I should say, and it's going to be
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: a challenge for them without better starting pitching to really
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: sustain what they're doing. I give them a ton of credit.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: They've played really well. They have been a team that
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: has come on now, but I don't see them quite
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: as good as the next team I'm going to talk about,
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays fourteen to four in
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: their last eighteen games, unbeaten in six straight series, and
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: when you look at their statistics, their profile, they're in
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: a better place than the Jays are. In my opinion,
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: it might be wrong about that, but the Rays here
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: are eleventh in rotation, the Array fourth, and Bullpenny Array
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: twelfth in runs per game. That's pretty good quality all
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: the way across. Now, if they get Hashan Kim back,
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: and they will soon, that should enhance their offense and
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: defense and also just should give them a little bit
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: more depth in their lineup. I'm still questioning their lineup.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: It's always something that's going to be a little bit
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: short compared to some of these other powerhouse clubs. But
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: the Rays have done quite well here and maybe they
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: get Shane McClanahan back to their rotation, and if that happens, wow,
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: it's an even better rotation. So I like what the
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Jays are doing. I like what the Ras you're doing.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: Do I see them challenging the Yankees? Maybe not, but
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: they're doing pretty well. Okay, NL West, similar kind of circumstance. Now,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: these teams that I'm going to talk about here are
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: worthy challengers so far to what we've seen to the
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: Los Angeles Dodgers, and in one case not a surprise
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: and in one case, yes, a definite surprise. The Padres
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: are not a surprise. They're one game back, as are
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: the Giants. Will show you these standings as well of
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Dodgers. Oh my gosh,
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: I've said this before, I'll say it again. They're not
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: running away, folks. It's not looking like we all thought
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: it was going to look. One hundred and twenty losses,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: wrecking the sport and all that. They might still win
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: the Division, they might still win the World Series, but
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: they have fourteen pitchers on the injured list. Still, they
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: seem to add one week as another comes back. And
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: I just kind of question with the Dodgers when it's
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: time to go. It's gonna be time to go at
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: some point to compete at a higher level. Are they
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: gonna be healthy enough at that point? Who knows what?
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: This team they break pictures like none other. We've seen
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: this over the years now, and while they still have
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: a wealth of talent, incredible depth, they are not a
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: team that is without vulnerability, let's put it that way.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: So the Padres, how good are they? It's interesting they
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: have lost Michael King. We don't know when he's coming back,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: you Darvish, We don't know what they're gonna get from him.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: And yet, as Dennis Lynn has told me, Dennis Lynn
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: from the athletic they seem to come up aj Preller
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: does with inexpensive rotation solutions, and I'm talking about guys
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: like Stephen Kolek and Ryan Berger. They get guys to
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: contribute and come in and they've been okay with their
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: rotation for the most part, even though they've had significant losses.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: The bullpen is one of the best in the game,
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: that is, and it's something that's going to be there
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: hopefully the whole season for them. Their offense has gone
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: backwards a little bit and Tatisa's had a bad month. Happens.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: Of course, Machado has come on, but right now they're
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: tied for twenty first in the league and runs per game.
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: That's not what we think of when we think of
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: the San Diego Padres. So for them to mount a
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: better challenge, they've mounted a good challenge so far. They're
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: going to have to start hitting again the way they
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: did earlier in the season. They were dynamic earlier in
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: the season, have not been since now. They're not the
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: surprise here. The surprise is the San Francisco Giants and
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: the San Francisco Giants are a team that is imbalanced
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: right now. One of the best pitching teams in the game,
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: second in the Majors in era to the New York Mets,
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: and only the New York Mets. They are second. The
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: rotations outstanding. Even with Verlander hurt, their bullpen has been
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: very good. The question with the Giants is still going
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: to be the offense. And they had a shuffle a
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: shakeup over the the last week or so. They jettisoned
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: Lamont Way Junior, They brought in Dominic Smith, promoted Daniel
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: Johnson from the Miners as well. These are guys that
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: are stop gaps for now. Maybe they get a surprise
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: out of one of them, but really they're gonna need
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: to add a first basement at the deadline, and maybe
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: a bat somewhere else as well, maybe someone in the outfield.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: Mike Yastreemsky good day yesterday, but he slowed down overall.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: So the Giants are a team that is interesting because
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: they pitched so well. Can they challenge the Dodgers. I'm
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: not totally convinced they can challenge the Dodgers, but at
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: the same time, what we've seen in the National League West,
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: and what we've seen in the AL East are two
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: defending World Series participants, the Yankees and the Dodgers, who
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: are rather good but are not running away and might
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: not run away. And if the Red Sox ever get
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: going well, the ale WE East could become a four
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: team race, and that's going to be really interesting. We're
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: gonna talk more about the Red Sox when we get back,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: but first well, we'll be back with the inside dish
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: after this.
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• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Right, time now for the inside dish, the part of
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: the show where I go inside a story. I've written
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: a trend in the game, something else entirely, but I
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: want to reflect and go a little bit deeper on
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: the column I wrote Sunday about the Red Sox, the
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: column on Twitter, which I said was kind of titled
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: Roman Anthony. Now, And in the column, I basically suggested
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: that the Red Sox send down Christian Campbell and then
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: bring up Roman Anthony. And I'll explain the possibilities that
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: they would exist there if they did that. You see
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: the column right there. And obviously Christian Campbell had a
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: really good game last night. Red Sox fans are having
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: some fun with me on X, as they should, but
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: this is more about defense, and it was always a
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: defense And the genesis of the column was a play
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: that occurred during the Fox broadcast on Saturday night when
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: Christian Campbell at second base inexplicably broke left on a
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: ground ball to his right, and that kind of to
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: me highlighted there's the play right there. What has been
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: a problem for the Red Sox all season and Christian
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: Campbell's problem as a rookie. He's a guy who is
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: extremely talented offensively but needs more reps defensively. He is
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: not solid at second base. His numbers at second are
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: among the worst at that position in the game. So
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: the thought I had, and it's a thought that I'm
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: sure some Red Sox fans had and I'm sure some
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: in their management have had, is hey, let's get better
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: defense at second base. Let's find a way to get
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: Roman Anthony up here. Roman Anthony that same night Saturday Night,
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: hit a four hundred and ninety seven foot grand slam
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: that went one hundred and fifteen point six miles per hour.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: He's a guy that is begging for a promotion and
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: they cannot find the spot for him. So The problem
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: with the Red Sox all season, and it goes back
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: to the Devers thing, of course, is that their pieces
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: don't fit. They've got guys out of position. They've got
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: guys who just aren't in the right spots, guys that
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: are compromising their defense because they are out of position,
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: and it's hurting their pitching, which is the single biggest
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: problem with this team. Pitching is the number one reason
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: why they are in this position, not offense pitching. So
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: how do you enhance your pitching? You improve your defense.
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: If you bring up Anthony, you play him in left field.
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: You moved around to center, where he's not as good
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: as Saddan Rafaela, but was a Gold Glove finalist at
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: that position last season. You've got to break you in right.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: You put Rafaela at second, you play David Hamilton there
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: as well, and your defense suddenly is better. Now. It's
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: interesting that Campbell, after a really tough month or so,
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: has kind of revived the last two days offensively, and
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: it reminds you of what he can be and what
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: he ultimately probably will be. This guy's a talented dude,
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: but defense has to be a priority right now, and
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: that is why I suggested what I suggested, What more
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: does Anthony need to do? That's a question Red Sox
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: fans have been asking for weeks. This guy is the
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: highest exit velocity in the minor leagues. He is a
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: strong defender at all three outfield positions. He is someone
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: who should be on this team. Now. I expounded further
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: upon this column today in today's edition of The wind
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: Up on the Athletic, which we'll be seeing soon. The
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: wind Up is our free daily newsletter. And I raised
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: a point there that was raised to me after the
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: column was published by someone on the player's side, and
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: he said, if Christian Campbell had not signed his extension,
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: would he be in the major leagues? And if Roman
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: Anthony had signed an extension, would he be in the
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: major leagues? And the question being raised by this person was, hey,
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: Campbell takes an extension eight year, sixty million that is
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: potentially below market, and the Red Sox say, good, you're good.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: You can start the season on the opening day roster. Now,
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: that whole premise, in my view, is difficult to prove.
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: The Red Sox were extremely high on Christian Campbell all spring.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: They clearly wanted him on the team. And sure agreeing
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: to the extension, taking arbitration out of the equation entirely.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: I'm sure it didn't hurt his chances, but it doesn't
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: seem to me that is why they made the decision
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: they did. But you do wonder, because this has happened
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: before in this wonderful sport. If Roman Anthony had signed
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: an extension, and I don't know what he was offered,
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: if anything, if it was even a serious conversation, would
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: he be in the major leagues? Would that have driven
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: or help drive the Red Sox decision? Again, I don't know.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: And when it comes to service time questions, the Super
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: two question, the cutoff date for Super two eligibility is
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: right around now. We think we don't know ever until
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: the end of the seas when that is when it
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: comes to that question depriving a guy of an extra
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: year of arbitration, I don't know that that's the Red
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: Sox motivation. Some fans have raised the issue of the
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year balloting and how if you finish
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: first or second now you can gain a full year
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: of service time and that alone will get you that
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: full year even if you don't play in the Major
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: leagues the whole season. I don't believe that's a driver
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: for the Red Sox or was a driver for the
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: Red Sox either. At this point it's probably irrelevant. Jacob
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: Wilson of the Athletics is the clear front runner for
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year. So the Red Sox are not
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh Pirates. They're not a team that has to
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: worry or does worry about service time when they make
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: these decisions. But these are the kinds of questions that
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: basically arise when you make decisions that ultimately, in hindsight,
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: look kind of curious. So it's going to be really
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: interesting to see how the Red Sox play this out
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: over the next I don't know a week or two.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: Defense second base is still an issue. I know Christian
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: Campbell's played well the last two days, but it's still
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: an issue. And as I wrote in the column, we've
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: got to show Campbell's some grace. He's a kid, he's
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: a guy that they put him at second just two
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: years out of the draft. Then they tried him at first, remember,
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: because they wanted Marcelo Meyer at second, and then they
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: needed Marcelo Meyer at third because Alex Bregman got hurt.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: Bregman's coming back. Eventually, you have all of these different
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: things in play. As Joe Davis said on the broadcast Saturday,
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: and this was a rather good word to describe the
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: Red Sox, they're disjointed. They're not in a cohesive state
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: right now, disjointed in the way the roster has been
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: put together. Now, as we just saw over the weekend,
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: they went two of three from the Yankees, the division leaders.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: They look pretty good the last two days. They are
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: a team with a lot of promise. They can be
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: really good if they pitch, and if they pitch well,
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: they're gonna need good defense behind them. And that was
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: my entire point. My entire point was you got to
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: put the best defense on the field, and to get
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: the best team on the field, you need to get
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: Anthony up and figure out second base. You got to
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: have strength up the middle. Right now, they are not
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: strong up the middle, or at least as strong as
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: they should be. Raphael a great story. It's not played
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: all that well defensively. Second base though, has been an issue.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: What I wrote the way I ended this column, it's
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: time to put the talent in the right places and
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: do that once and for all. I stand by that,
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: even if Christian Campbell keeps hitting the way he is
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: all right. Time now for another break. We're gonna be
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: back with Grill and Ken right after this.
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: Krat's life is too short for uncomfortable shorts or for
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  Speaker 3: It's worth it. But I'll tell you what you can't
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  Speaker 2: They're so comfy, so comfy, it's like you're naked. We're
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  Speaker 2: like it in Chubbies.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: All right, new wrinkle this week for grilling Ken. In
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: addition to taking questions from X and the YouTube chat,
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: we're also going to take them on chat BCC. That's
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: a free chat app. So go to foul Territory dot
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: chats totally free and joined the conversation. All right, let's
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: get to it. Wherever the questions come from, we'll take
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: him away, all right. This one comes from Brad Barber,
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: who asks has the cubs first two plus months earned
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: Jed Hoyer an extension? Jedheyer, president of baseball Operations for
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: the Cubs, is in the last year of his contract,
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: and I would say, Brad, yes, it has earned him
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: an extension. This is the kind of team that we've
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: been waiting to see from the Cubs for quite some time.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: Barring a collapse, Yes, he should be extended. Now the
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: question is above Jedheyer, what's going to happen with Kyle Tucker.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: Kyle Tucker has been transformative for this team. Patrick Muoney
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: wrote a good story about this in The Athletic over
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: the weekend. There's an aura to this guy. He is
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: one of the top players in the game, and without him,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: the Cubs weren't what they are now, even with PCA
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: in your imagination, playing the same way, but last year
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: without Kyle Tucker. Kyle Tucker has made a huge difference,
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: and that's going to be an ownership call whether they
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: resign him. So if they don't, Lawyer's going to have
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: to put this together again. And granted PCA Picrow Armstrong
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: has emerged as an MVP candidate. They're getting really good
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: work out of some of their other offensive players as well.
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: But the future of this team beyond this season depends upon,
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: in my opinion, whether they have Tucker or a player
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: like him. If they don't, they're sort of back to
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: square one, all right. Next question, This one comes from
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: Sean Michael, who asks who this is a good one?
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: Cal Raley is having the single greatest season for a
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: catcher in a history of baseball, But the Mariners can't win.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: What do they do? Hey, Sean, You're absolutely right. The
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: Mariners are kind of teetering around five hundred. Now, after
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: their strong start, the Astros have again taken control of
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: the American League West. And what can the Mariners do.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: I'm not exactly sure because the strength of this team
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: the foundation was always their rotation, and their rotation just
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: has not been as good this year, and part of
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: that's due to injuries, but the nineteenth in the league
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: in rotation. Ear Ray Kirby was really good yesterday fourteen
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: strikeouts and seven innings. Looks like he's back. Bryce Miller
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: has not been good really the entire season, and they're
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: still waiting on Logan Gilbert. Their offense is their offense
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: rally is half the offense. It seems like on most
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: nights it's not great, So you ask what they can do.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: I would suggest that they had one more bat and
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: hope that when Logan Gilbert comes back, their rotation becomes
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: something of what it was last year and the year before.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: That's the way they're going to win. Their bullpen's been good,
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: it's fine, but they need that rotation to get back
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: going again. And ultimately they've got all these prospects, really
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: interesting position player prospects. They may need to trade one
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: of them, either for another starter or another bat, perhaps both. Okay.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: Next question, this one comes from the fight in Phillies,
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: who asks is there a scenario where the Phillies could
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: sell guys like Boem Scott Suarez and get better? Talk
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: surrounding the Phillies says they should buy. What about selling
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: and bringing the young guys up building for the future.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: A culture shock could be the answer. This is an
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: interesting question fighting Phillies because what were the Phillies talking
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: about in the offseason, kind of changing the mix, maybe
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: trading Alec Bohm, just kind of doing some things a
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: little bit differently, adjusting the culture somewhat. Now where are they?
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: They've lost five straight, They've lost nine of ten, gone
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: one to nine for the first time since June twenty nineteen.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: Bryce Harper's on the injured list. They were swept by
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: the Pirates over the weekend. Now there's still nine games
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: over five hundred. There's still a playoff team in all appearances.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: I don't expect them to sell and take a step back.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: That is not John Middleton's style as owner, That is
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: not David Dombrowski's style as president of Baseball Operations. The
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: bigger question is going to be what can they do
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: to enhance this team. The bullpen's going to be one issue,
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: but offensively they're a little stagnant and I don't know
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: exactly what the move would be, but some kind of
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: shake up as it was the case in the offseason
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: might be in order. Hey, I want to thank everyone
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: for watching for listening. We'll be back Thursday our normal
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: live show with Alamorizzo and this will be on Thursday
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: at twelve thirty pm Eastern, nine to thirty Pacific. I
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: want to thank everyone for watching, for listening, and all
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: you evil commenters, I'll even thank you too.
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