Latest / Foul Territory / Ken Rosenthal's Inside Scoop on Guardians playoff push & Chandler Rome talks Astros pedigree

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Ken Rosenthal's Inside Scoop on Guardians playoff push & Chandler Rome talks Astros pedigree · Foul Territory

0:02
Speaker 1: And there he is.
0:02
Speaker 2: Chandler Rome joining us here on Foul Territory, of course,
0:05
Speaker 2: is the Astros beat writer does a tremendous job writing
0:08
Speaker 2: for The Athletic. You can also see him on Crushed
0:10
Speaker 2: Towards Territory right here on the Foul Territory network covering
0:14
Speaker 2: the Astros. I tell you what, what a time to
0:17
Speaker 2: be alive, Chandler Hi, I mean, every day it's like
0:19
Speaker 2: they're in first place. They're not in first place. They're
0:21
Speaker 2: in first place, they're not in first place. They're making
0:22
Speaker 2: the postseason. They're not going to make it. What's it
0:24
Speaker 2: been like for you the last couple of weeks.
0:27
Speaker 3: It's been different because in this Golden era, everything's basically
0:33
Speaker 3: been sewn up by now. This is usually the time
0:35
Speaker 3: when the Astros are taking their foot off the gas.
0:38
Speaker 3: There they can line up their rotation how they want
0:41
Speaker 3: to for either you know, the Alds or the wild card,
0:44
Speaker 3: and it's just not the case this year it's been.
0:47
Speaker 3: It's been more difficult. They're learning how the other half live,
0:50
Speaker 3: if you will, because you know, the thing I've said
0:53
Speaker 3: this whole run that they've been on is they've kind
0:56
Speaker 3: of just made it look easy. They've kind of just
0:58
Speaker 3: they've rolled the balls out and have won ninety five
1:00
Speaker 3: to one hundred games every year, and they've made it
1:02
Speaker 3: look pretty simple. Baseball is not near as easy as
1:05
Speaker 3: they've made it look for the last eight years in Houston.
1:08
Speaker 3: So they've battled a ton of injuries. They're battling even
1:12
Speaker 3: more right now with Jordan Alvarez spraining his ankle a
1:15
Speaker 3: couple of days ago. But you have to give them
1:18
Speaker 3: a ton of credit for their resiliency, for their ability
1:21
Speaker 3: to overcome all of this same any they had as
1:24
Speaker 3: many as eighteen players on the injured list earlier this season.
1:28
Speaker 3: The ability to overcome that, the ability to just kind
1:31
Speaker 3: of keep persevering through it, it's a credit to Joe
1:33
Speaker 3: Aspada and his coaching staff, and it's a credit to
1:36
Speaker 3: the culture inside the clubhouse that they've been willing to
1:38
Speaker 3: that they've been able to kind of absorb all these
1:42
Speaker 3: body blows and come out on top.
1:44
Speaker 1: Should they have to have been absorbing all these should
1:48
Speaker 1: they have brought Alex Weregman back, Because if you have,
1:50
Speaker 1: if you still have Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker, you're
1:53
Speaker 1: not not saying that they wouldn't get injured. Gregman and
1:57
Speaker 1: Tucker have both been on the ile. Tucker's on the
1:59
Speaker 1: isle right now. But this ownership, are they choosing to
2:04
Speaker 1: not spend the money that they've made over this what
2:07
Speaker 1: did you say, the golden era or the golden time
2:09
Speaker 1: period since twenty fifteen? Or is this how they have
2:13
Speaker 1: to live because for some reason they don't have any
2:17
Speaker 1: money From all of these postseason runs and sold out,
2:21
Speaker 1: sold out dik In.
2:22
Speaker 3: Parks, they got plenty of money. If Jim Crane would
2:28
Speaker 3: allow me to see the books, I'd love to see him.
2:29
Speaker 3: But in absence of seeing the books, I can't really
2:33
Speaker 3: comment on whether they're allowed to spend it anything like that.
2:36
Speaker 3: The one thing I will push back on a little bit,
2:38
Speaker 3: and this is a common thing that I think gets
2:40
Speaker 3: misconstrued a little bit. The notion that the Astros don't
2:44
Speaker 3: spend money is misguided. They're over the luxury tax this
2:48
Speaker 3: season for a second consecutive year. The last two years
2:52
Speaker 3: they have run the two highest payrolls in franchise history,
2:55
Speaker 3: top five or six payrolls in the sport. They do
2:58
Speaker 3: spend money. Whether they're spending it wisely is another story.
3:02
Speaker 3: You know, they still have Jose abray you on the
3:04
Speaker 3: books this season. They've got a little bit of Rafael
3:07
Speaker 3: Montero's contracts still on the books this season. They've had
3:10
Speaker 3: some other contract extensions that have not aged very well.
3:14
Speaker 3: And the one thing that Jim Crane has been steadfasted
3:18
Speaker 3: in his ownership tenure is that he just he does
3:21
Speaker 3: not believe in the long term deals. The longest contract
3:26
Speaker 3: he's ever given a free agent is five years. The
3:30
Speaker 3: most he's ever guaranteed a free agent is ninety five
3:32
Speaker 3: million dollars to Josh Hater. The largest contract he's given
3:36
Speaker 3: in his ownership tenure is a six year, one hundred
3:38
Speaker 3: and fifty one million dollar extension to Jose Altuve. So
3:43
Speaker 3: can't you can't look at it and say it hasn't worked.
3:46
Speaker 3: I mean, obviously they're doing something right in the way
3:48
Speaker 3: that they've they've they've manufactured this run that they're on,
3:52
Speaker 3: But it is a valid question to think, like how
3:54
Speaker 3: much longer can they keep that mindset?
3:57
Speaker 1: You know?
3:58
Speaker 3: It was it was interesting to hear and a Brown
4:00
Speaker 3: talk about when they reacquired Carlos Korea at the deadline.
4:04
Speaker 3: One of the reasons they did it is because they
4:06
Speaker 3: thought they had a leadership void in the clubhouse. They
4:08
Speaker 3: thought that they had that voice that was kind of missing.
4:11
Speaker 3: Alex Bregman was that guy last year, and they made
4:16
Speaker 3: what they considered to be a competitive offer to get
4:19
Speaker 3: him back, and then when it came down to it,
4:22
Speaker 3: the Tigers had a longer and more lucrative offer, and
4:25
Speaker 3: then the Red Sox had a higher aav offer. So
4:27
Speaker 3: at the end of the day, the Ashers had the
4:29
Speaker 3: third best offer into him. Should they have brought them back.
4:33
Speaker 3: I mean, you know, they didn't need to trade Kyle Tucker.
4:36
Speaker 3: They just understood that they weren't going to pay him
4:39
Speaker 3: and they just wanted to see what the prospects they
4:40
Speaker 3: could get in return. Now that trade has worked out
4:43
Speaker 3: very well. Cam Smith obviously has kind of fallen off
4:46
Speaker 3: a little bit lately, but has been excellent for them.
4:49
Speaker 3: Looks like the right fielder of the future East sac Paratus,
4:52
Speaker 3: who they could get back pretty soon, was arguably their
4:56
Speaker 3: best hitter and most valuable player before he trained as
5:00
Speaker 3: Hamstring and then Hayden was Nesci will provide rotation depth
5:03
Speaker 3: for them going forward. So you know, it's pretty clear
5:07
Speaker 3: that they were missing something in the clubhouse that Bregman had,
5:10
Speaker 3: and it's part of why they went and got Korea.
5:13
Speaker 3: But when you look at their moves as a whole,
5:15
Speaker 3: like it really kind of did work out for them
5:18
Speaker 3: the way they wanted to, just in a vacuum for
5:20
Speaker 3: this season.
5:21
Speaker 2: It's crazy, though, Chandler, because whatever they're doing, it seems
5:25
Speaker 2: like they don't miss a beat. They don't have Bregman,
5:28
Speaker 2: that's fine. They just put Korea at third. I mean,
5:30
Speaker 2: when Karrea left, they you know, Jeremy Penyaz stepped up
5:33
Speaker 2: in that spot. Altuve is always going to be Altuve,
5:36
Speaker 2: whether he's at second base or in the outfield, and
5:38
Speaker 2: he's kind of glue that keeps that team together. You're right,
5:40
Speaker 2: Jim Crane doesn't spend a ton of money in terms
5:42
Speaker 2: of like really long term deals, but this is a
5:45
Speaker 2: team that's always in the conversation. I mean, do we
5:49
Speaker 2: take for granted the longevity of success that this particular
5:53
Speaker 2: club has had. We talked about it earlier on in
5:55
Speaker 2: the show here with Aj and Eric that I think
5:58
Speaker 2: people took for granted that unbelievable run that the Atlanta
6:02
Speaker 2: Braves had. Should fans understand what they're witnessing over the
6:05
Speaker 2: course of this last decade with the ASTROSA.
6:11
Speaker 3: Like, I think the word spoiled comes to mind a
6:14
Speaker 3: little bit just in terms of how fans maybe in
6:18
Speaker 3: Houston view the team. You know, it was hilarious in
6:21
Speaker 3: like June or July, they're like three games up in
6:24
Speaker 3: the division and everyone's like, you got to trade Fromberveldees
6:27
Speaker 3: to the deadline, you got to get prospects because we
6:29
Speaker 3: don't think this team can win a World Series. And
6:31
Speaker 3: I'm like, guys, like, there's many different ways to do this.
6:35
Speaker 3: Like the way that the Astros have done it for
6:37
Speaker 3: so long was like I just mentioned, win one hundred games,
6:40
Speaker 3: get the first round by get the Alds, and then
6:43
Speaker 3: just kind of coast until the Alcs or the World Series.
6:46
Speaker 3: Like that's not normal, and you've got to give yourself
6:50
Speaker 3: a shot every year to get in. And that's how
6:54
Speaker 3: most modern front offices think. Right, if you get into
6:57
Speaker 3: the playoffs, anything can happen. And I know that the
7:00
Speaker 3: Astros will will take their core of guys, especially with
7:03
Speaker 3: Correa back in the fold. They will take this Cora
7:06
Speaker 3: guys in a playoff situation because there isn't going to
7:10
Speaker 3: be anyone in this postseason field that has more clutch
7:14
Speaker 3: moments and more postseason experience than Jose Al Tuve than
7:18
Speaker 3: Carlos Korea. Jeremy Pania was the World Series MVP in
7:21
Speaker 3: twenty twenty two. You know, Christian Xavier, who pitched last night,
7:25
Speaker 3: has pitched in some huge games, including a no hitter
7:28
Speaker 3: in the World Series. Like, if they get in, and
7:31
Speaker 3: it seems very very likely that they are after this
7:34
Speaker 3: sweep of the Rangers, Like they're the team that you
7:36
Speaker 3: kind of look at it and I'm not sure anyone
7:38
Speaker 3: wants to face them because you can't ignore the pedigree
7:42
Speaker 3: that they have in the postseason. You can't ignore their
7:45
Speaker 3: ability to rise up and clutch moments. It just seems
7:48
Speaker 3: like it's inevitable. The Astros have for a while seem
7:51
Speaker 3: like they are inevitable. Are they the same super team
7:54
Speaker 3: that they were in twenty eighteen and twenty nineteen, No,
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Speaker 3: they're not. Like the talent drain is pretty apparent, and
8:02
Speaker 3: you know, age and father time comes for everyone, so
8:06
Speaker 3: you know, this is not the team that's gonna win
8:09
Speaker 3: one hundred and five games. You know, basically going through
8:11
Speaker 3: the motions, they've had to fight, scrap and claw for everything.
8:15
Speaker 3: Nothing has come easy. For them this year. And it's
8:19
Speaker 3: a real credit to the culture that they have built
8:21
Speaker 3: in that clubhouse that they've been able to withstand it all.
8:24
Speaker 3: And you know, now find themselves as of talking now,
8:28
Speaker 3: half a game up in the American League West.
8:30
Speaker 1: All right, two part question, and you can't get mad
8:33
Speaker 1: at me like Joe a. Spota got mad when he
8:36
Speaker 1: was asked about Jordan's health. But is Jordan going to
8:40
Speaker 1: be done for the season? And you had mentioned it
8:43
Speaker 1: before ESAP parades coming back. You can't have two DH's
8:48
Speaker 1: the last time I checked, and both of them in
8:51
Speaker 1: the lineup mandates that one of them has to play
8:55
Speaker 1: the field, if you're if you answer the first question
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Speaker 1: as yes, he will be at.
9:01
Speaker 3: You know, I find it difficult to believe that Jordan
9:06
Speaker 3: and Alvarez will play again in this regular season, just
9:09
Speaker 3: given the calendar. Right, they have nine games left, They
9:12
Speaker 3: have twelve days of the regular season left. Last we
9:15
Speaker 3: heard and checked, he was still in a walking boot.
9:18
Speaker 3: They were talking about the swelling still needed to go
9:20
Speaker 3: down for them to really get their hands around what
9:23
Speaker 3: they have here. Joe a Spotta, like you said, didn't
9:27
Speaker 3: want to give many specifics as to what's going on,
9:29
Speaker 3: but he's going to be out for a while.
9:31
Speaker 1: That was Joe A.
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Speaker 3: Spotta's direct quote. I will say this, the fact that
9:34
Speaker 3: they have not put him on the injured list yet,
9:38
Speaker 3: maybe that's just some gamesmanship. Maybe they just want to
9:41
Speaker 3: keep you know, the Mariners in the a'es and the
9:43
Speaker 3: Angels who they played the last three series of the year.
9:46
Speaker 3: Maybe they just want to keep them guessing that maybe
9:48
Speaker 3: he could contribute. But the fact that he's not on
9:51
Speaker 3: the injured list would at least at least leaves open
9:55
Speaker 3: the logical possibility that he could be that he could
9:59
Speaker 3: return to the lineup. Do I I think that happens.
10:01
Speaker 4: I do not.
10:02
Speaker 3: I mean, you guys saw the replay. You guys saw
10:04
Speaker 3: the pictures. It looked nasty, it looked really really bad.
10:09
Speaker 3: And Jordon has not been made available to talk to us,
10:12
Speaker 3: so we don't really know from his point of view,
10:14
Speaker 3: like how his pain tolerance is, whether he thinks he
10:17
Speaker 3: can come back. So we're just kind of going blind here.
10:19
Speaker 3: We're going by kind of what we've seen, and to me,
10:22
Speaker 3: it would suggest that I find it hard to believe
10:25
Speaker 3: he'd be back for the regular season. However, I do
10:28
Speaker 3: think Esak Paradis will be back in short order.
10:32
Speaker 1: Joe A.
10:32
Speaker 3: Spotty yesterday said on yesterday on Wednesday said that they
10:36
Speaker 3: were going to use the next day or two to
10:39
Speaker 3: determine whether Paradus is ready to be activated, perhaps as
10:42
Speaker 3: early as this weekend against the Mariners. I think he
10:46
Speaker 3: will play again this regular season, and I think he
10:48
Speaker 3: will be available to them. I don't know if it
10:50
Speaker 3: will be this weekend. I think that has been their
10:53
Speaker 3: target all along. Whether that happens, I'm unsure, But like
10:56
Speaker 3: you said, Eric, he's going to have to come back,
10:58
Speaker 3: and he's going to have to dage because Joe A.
11:00
Speaker 3: Spota even said yesterday, if and when Paradis does return,
11:05
Speaker 3: I am telling him, don't run one hundred percent on
11:07
Speaker 3: the base path, Like have a governor on yourself, Like
11:11
Speaker 3: make sure you're smart and you're prudent here. I don't
11:14
Speaker 3: think he's in a position yet where he could realistically
11:17
Speaker 3: play defense at any position. They need his bat in
11:20
Speaker 3: the lineup, they need his ability to see pitches, to
11:23
Speaker 3: work deep at bats, to you know, provide some patience
11:27
Speaker 3: in a lineup that has been way, way aggressive all season.
11:31
Speaker 3: It'll be fascinating to see how they how they maneuver
11:34
Speaker 3: it around, but for now they have an open DH
11:39
Speaker 3: spot because Jordan Alvarez is unavailable to play. It would
11:42
Speaker 3: seem very logical to just slide Estock Paradus into that
11:45
Speaker 3: DH spot and then you know, Joe can manufacture late
11:50
Speaker 3: in the game if he gets on with a single
11:51
Speaker 3: and he represents the tying run or the go ahead run,
11:54
Speaker 3: he can always pinch run for him. But I would
11:57
Speaker 3: expect Estock Paradis to to certainly be somewhat of a
12:00
Speaker 3: factor in these in the final nine games of this season.
12:04
Speaker 2: Death Taxes and the Houston Astros. In the postseason conversation,
12:08
Speaker 2: Chandler Rome, we appreciate your insight. Thanks very much.
12:11
Speaker 3: Have a good day, all right, Thanks guys, it is.
12:20
Speaker 2: Signed now for the inside scoop. We are jam packed
12:23
Speaker 2: with guests today. Welcoming in the birthday boy, Ken Rosenthal.
12:27
Speaker 2: Happy birthday to our friend and to our colleague with you.
12:32
Speaker 2: Thanks for being with us on your birthday. Nobody works
12:35
Speaker 2: harder in the game than Ken Rosenthal. Kenny, does Cleveland
12:38
Speaker 2: really have a shot at the American League Wildcard?
12:43
Speaker 5: It's an uphill fight, obviously, there's precious few games remaining,
12:47
Speaker 5: but that's why we play them. We play it out
12:49
Speaker 5: and see what happens, and stranger things have happened. I'm
12:53
Speaker 5: just so impressed by what they've done overall. They've had
12:55
Speaker 5: a roller coaster season beyond even what most teams, the
13:00
Speaker 5: most contenders.
13:00
Speaker 4: Have experienced, and here they are.
13:02
Speaker 5: They're hot again and sweeping the Tigers put them in
13:06
Speaker 5: this positions, so I don't rule out anything, but you
13:10
Speaker 5: look at the standings there, it's one and a half games.
13:12
Speaker 5: The Red Sox are not exactly tearing it up and
13:15
Speaker 5: more important from the Guardian's perspective, obviously the playoffs is
13:18
Speaker 5: the most important, but to me, ten games over five hundred,
13:22
Speaker 5: that's impressive for this team. This is not an offensive
13:25
Speaker 5: juggernaut by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, one
13:29
Speaker 5: of the people close to the Guardians told me this week,
13:31
Speaker 5: I've never seen a worse offensive team for a contender,
13:34
Speaker 5: So good for them hanging in there. Their starting pitching
13:37
Speaker 5: has been tremendous in September, and do I see it happening.
13:41
Speaker 5: Not necessarily, but one and a half games is not
13:44
Speaker 5: insurmountable either.
13:46
Speaker 1: At this time of year, we usually should be talking
13:49
Speaker 1: about the fact that well what if they expand the playoffs?
13:52
Speaker 1: The Guardians are easily in. Should the Guardians be in?
13:56
Speaker 1: You said about how in at their offense is when
13:58
Speaker 1: you watch them on a day to day basis. Should
14:02
Speaker 1: Major League Baseball have a team like the Guardians in
14:04
Speaker 1: the playoffs?
14:06
Speaker 5: I would say Eric that they're more qualified than the
14:08
Speaker 5: three National League pursuers of the Mets, the Diamondbacks, the Reds,
14:12
Speaker 5: and the Giants. Those teams are all around five hundred.
14:15
Speaker 5: And the fact that they're still in it. I wrote
14:17
Speaker 5: about that this week that to me is much more
14:20
Speaker 5: offensive than the Guardians. They're gonna get to eighty four
14:22
Speaker 5: eighty five wins, I would think at minimum eighty four
14:25
Speaker 5: has been the lowest in the three years of this system.
14:27
Speaker 4: That's the lowest for a qualifier.
14:29
Speaker 5: Twenty twenty three, Diamondbacks and Marlins both had eighty four.
14:34
Speaker 5: I'm not offended by an eighty four win playoff team.
14:37
Speaker 4: I'd be offended by.
14:38
Speaker 5: One that was lower than that, and it could happen
14:41
Speaker 5: in the National League. You see the numbers right there.
14:43
Speaker 5: The Mets are just five over with a three hundred
14:46
Speaker 5: and forty million dollars payroll, and then the Diamondbacks Reds
14:49
Speaker 5: and Giants are all within one game of five.
14:51
Speaker 4: Hundred or one over. I mean that to me.
14:55
Speaker 5: Is much more embarrassing than the Guardians, who, for all
14:58
Speaker 5: their offensive shortcomings, are still a team that is winning
15:03
Speaker 5: games without Luis Ortiz, without Emmanuel Classe, both of them
15:07
Speaker 5: under investigation for gambling. So while they might not look
15:12
Speaker 5: like a playoff team, if they steal it from the
15:14
Speaker 5: Red Sox, good for them, and then they would have deserved.
15:17
Speaker 2: It, and without Shane Bieber who was traded obviously, ken
15:21
Speaker 2: is Steven Vote doing a better job perhaps this year
15:23
Speaker 2: with the changes and what he's dealing with than the
15:26
Speaker 2: year in which he won Manager of the Year.
15:30
Speaker 5: Tart to compare Alanta. Every season is so different, but
15:33
Speaker 5: this is a really good job. And to expand the
15:36
Speaker 5: conversation a little bit, American League Manager of the Year
15:38
Speaker 5: is fascinating to me.
15:40
Speaker 4: Joe A.
15:40
Speaker 5: Spottis should be the front runner for all that the
15:43
Speaker 5: Astros have dealt with this season. But you can make
15:45
Speaker 5: a case for John Schneider, You can make a case
15:47
Speaker 5: for Alex Korra if.
15:48
Speaker 4: They get there.
15:49
Speaker 5: You certainly can make a case for Steven Vote as well.
15:52
Speaker 5: Maybe even Dan Wilson in Seattle. So Vote obviously has
15:57
Speaker 5: done a tremendous job just keeping that team float when
16:01
Speaker 5: at one point it looked like they were just cooked.
16:03
Speaker 4: They were thirteen and a half out in July, right, So.
16:07
Speaker 5: Props to him, Props to the entire organization because they
16:10
Speaker 5: do this year after year, and we see this with Milwaukee,
16:13
Speaker 5: we see it to an extent with Tampa Bay.
16:15
Speaker 4: And I will say it again, yes.
16:17
Speaker 5: Low revenue teams like those three that I just named
16:20
Speaker 5: operate at a distinct disadvantage. However, it does not preclude
16:25
Speaker 5: them from fielding competitive teams, and that's what these franchises
16:29
Speaker 5: seem to do year after year.
16:33
Speaker 6: He gave a little Joe Spota shout out there. So
16:36
Speaker 6: let's talk a little bit about the Astros and Es
16:38
Speaker 6: sac Pretta is coming back today in Europe. I mean,
16:41
Speaker 6: you probably know a little bit more about this. Is
16:44
Speaker 6: this a he's one hundred percent and we're ready to
16:46
Speaker 6: bring him back situation? Or is this a eighty percent
16:49
Speaker 6: of Es sac Predas is better than the replacement and
16:52
Speaker 6: we're in a race here kind of situation and.
16:55
Speaker 5: Use ladder without knowing for sure, I can't imagine he's
16:59
Speaker 5: fully when he had the injury. If you call they
17:03
Speaker 5: said he might be back, he might not. It's not
17:07
Speaker 5: looking great and I am sure he can't run at
17:10
Speaker 5: full strength. That's never been in the strength of his
17:12
Speaker 5: game anyway. But he is much needed right now because
17:17
Speaker 5: of the Jordone Alvarez situation, and he likely is out
17:20
Speaker 5: it for at least the regular season with the ankle
17:22
Speaker 5: injury that he has, so Paraders can dh he steps
17:25
Speaker 5: in nicely in that role. He actually has no other
17:27
Speaker 5: position on the team since the trade for Carlos Korea,
17:31
Speaker 5: so I'm not sure where he is physically. I'd be
17:34
Speaker 5: shocked if he was totally there. I'm sure he would
17:37
Speaker 5: need more time in a perfect world. It's not a
17:39
Speaker 5: perfect world right now.
17:42
Speaker 1: Can you talk about the teams that are looking for
17:44
Speaker 1: gms and how that searches and how that really how
17:48
Speaker 1: does it really impact the teams currently now when they're
17:52
Speaker 1: trying to find a new GM and in the future,
17:55
Speaker 1: how much a current day GM impacts teams.
17:59
Speaker 4: Eric, you've played for teams.
18:01
Speaker 5: I'm sure, as has Trevor, that it made a change
18:04
Speaker 5: at GM, even a change a manager. And I don't
18:07
Speaker 5: know that players are necessarily impacted in the moment or
18:11
Speaker 5: in that particular season.
18:12
Speaker 4: They just keep doing their thing.
18:13
Speaker 5: And obviously a change of manager can have an effect
18:16
Speaker 5: on a clubhouse. We do know that a change in
18:19
Speaker 5: a GM, I'm not so sure that really has a
18:21
Speaker 5: tremendous reach into the clubhouse. I don't think it does. Now,
18:26
Speaker 5: how impactful can a GM be? Well, there's a reason
18:29
Speaker 5: why Andrew Friedman gets paid the money he does, and
18:32
Speaker 5: other gms get big dollars as well, because they have
18:36
Speaker 5: a huge impact and they can change an entire organization
18:40
Speaker 5: one way or the other. So, yes, that impact is
18:43
Speaker 5: great and we've seen that time and again. We'll see
18:47
Speaker 5: in this next hiring cycle who gets hired and how
18:50
Speaker 5: this all shakes out. But the Washington situation is certainly interesting.
18:54
Speaker 5: They could hire a president of Baseball Operations and a GM.
18:58
Speaker 5: I'm not sure that's the way they're going to go.
18:59
Speaker 5: It's under consideration. The Red Sox and Orioles are looking
19:03
Speaker 5: for gms under presidents of Baseball operations. And then you
19:07
Speaker 5: have teams like the Pirates and the Rockies that also
19:09
Speaker 5: could make changes. And I wouldn't be surprised if there
19:12
Speaker 5: are other teams as well.
19:14
Speaker 4: Where we hear things that might happen.
19:16
Speaker 5: We know the Cardinals are going to have a change,
19:18
Speaker 5: but that's already been predetermined. Heim Bloom taking over for
19:21
Speaker 5: John miss aylock.
19:25
Speaker 2: Ken, I want to ask you this really quick. Obviously
19:30
Speaker 2: a lot of news going on with Clayton Kershaw announcing
19:32
Speaker 2: his retirement. We've had several guests on the show today
19:35
Speaker 2: discussing it. I understand you have a good curse story.
19:38
Speaker 2: I'm sure you know, like many of us who have
19:41
Speaker 2: covered him his entire career, there's a lot to choose from.
19:45
Speaker 5: I have two, and it relates to covering him, not
19:48
Speaker 5: from watching him pitch or anything like that. And the
19:51
Speaker 5: first it's twenty thirteen when he was negotiating the big
19:55
Speaker 5: extension he signed with the Dodgers. It turned out to
19:57
Speaker 5: be seven years, two hundred and fifteen million. That was
20:01
Speaker 5: signed in January of twenty fourteen. But I found out
20:04
Speaker 5: that they were talking and I found out that it
20:05
Speaker 5: was about two hundred and ten million. It was in
20:08
Speaker 5: August of that season.
20:09
Speaker 4: I believe.
20:10
Speaker 5: And I remember Clayton Kerstar at that time was a
20:13
Speaker 5: young man. He was twenty five years old. He wasn't
20:15
Speaker 5: this presence that he is now. And I saw him
20:18
Speaker 5: in the clubhouse and I said, hey, can we go
20:20
Speaker 5: out to the dugout and you need to ask you something.
20:23
Speaker 5: And I asked him if it was accurate that they
20:24
Speaker 5: were talking about this kind of deal, and he said,
20:28
Speaker 5: your sources are sick man.
20:30
Speaker 4: Well that was confirmation and I went with it. So
20:34
Speaker 4: I didn't name him as a source. But like when
20:36
Speaker 4: he said that, of course I was good.
20:38
Speaker 5: And then twenty seventeen NLCS against the Cubs. I don't
20:42
Speaker 5: remember what was going on with him physically at the time,
20:45
Speaker 5: but there was something going on with him, and I
20:47
Speaker 5: wanted to talk to him because maybe he was pitching
20:51
Speaker 5: the next day and he was running off the field
20:53
Speaker 5: and I said Clayton, and he blew right past me,
20:56
Speaker 5: and I was like, okay, he doesn't want to talk today.
20:58
Speaker 5: I don't ever take a fence at that I didn't
21:00
Speaker 5: know what was out and then he pitched. I believe,
21:04
Speaker 5: I don't want to say anything wrong. He pitched the
21:05
Speaker 5: next night. I think he pitched well, or two nights,
21:08
Speaker 5: whatever it was, and I saw him after the game
21:11
Speaker 5: or maybe the next day, and he said, you know why,
21:13
Speaker 5: I blew you off right, And.
21:15
Speaker 4: I was not even aware that he knew he had
21:17
Speaker 4: blown me off.
21:18
Speaker 5: He was just kind of walking in and he definitely
21:20
Speaker 5: saw me and heard me, and he said, I didn't
21:23
Speaker 5: want to talk about what was going on because he
21:25
Speaker 5: was dealing with the physical things that.
21:27
Speaker 4: He had dealt with throughout throughout his career.
21:30
Speaker 5: Just in turn, it alluded to this in the previous segment.
21:33
Speaker 5: This guy pitched in circumstances, pitched with things physically that
21:37
Speaker 5: a lot of us didn't know about, and a lot
21:39
Speaker 5: of it was unfair, the playoff stuff. He was asked
21:42
Speaker 5: to do too much, and the numbers reflect that, and
21:45
Speaker 5: the performance reflects that. It's not excusing anything, and he
21:48
Speaker 5: wouldn't excuse anything, but they asked too much of him,
21:51
Speaker 5: often the short rest and all kinds of other things
21:54
Speaker 5: as well.
21:56
Speaker 1: I can this is your birthday, but you have to
21:58
Speaker 1: give us a gift before we give you a gift. Okay,
22:02
Speaker 1: can you put the Mount Chavez ravine of play of
22:08
Speaker 1: Dodger players. I can't say Mount Rushmore because it's tired.
22:12
Speaker 1: Mount Chavez Ravine of Dodgers players. And where on that
22:17
Speaker 1: list is Clayton kershaw.
22:20
Speaker 4: Well Jackie's on there? Of course?
22:23
Speaker 5: I would say Roy Campanella is on there, Kershaw, I
22:29
Speaker 5: would think, is on there?
22:30
Speaker 4: I have to look at this. Eric. You put me
22:31
Speaker 4: on the spot, which is fine.
22:33
Speaker 5: I don't have a full picture in my head right
22:37
Speaker 5: all time.
22:38
Speaker 4: Todger, Greats, what's that?
22:39
Speaker 2: Alana, Sandy Cofax?
22:42
Speaker 4: Sandy?
22:42
Speaker 5: Of course I was thinking Carl Iriskin too, but yeah, Sandy, Kershaw,
22:49
Speaker 5: Jackie and Campanella. I'm sure I'm missing someone. You can
22:53
Speaker 5: maybe say Steve Garvey, you can maybe say some others
22:56
Speaker 5: as well, and Dodger fans can start screaming at me
22:58
Speaker 5: right now, but that's when me that comes to mind.
23:03
Speaker 2: All right now, it is time for us to give
23:05
Speaker 2: you a gift, Ken Rosenthal, somebody wanted to say happy
23:08
Speaker 2: birthday to you. I mean, and really, I mean this
23:10
Speaker 2: is special because growing up we have birthday party at McDonald's.
23:14
Speaker 2: You would have grimace at your birthday party, right, I mean,
23:16
Speaker 2: that's exactly what you want. But in all seriousness, some
23:19
Speaker 2: of our fans wanted to say stuff as well. At
23:21
Speaker 2: referee five eighty three with the super chat. Ken is
23:24
Speaker 2: the gold standard in baseball media, decades of class, credibility
23:28
Speaker 2: and respect. Nothing but support here, Happy birthday at FT.
23:34
Speaker 2: Let him know absolutely Ken, you are the gold standard
23:37
Speaker 2: of this great game that we cover. We appreciate you
23:41
Speaker 2: very much. Happy birthday, no other way. I'm sure than
23:44
Speaker 2: you would like to spend it than working. It's what
23:46
Speaker 2: you do best.
23:47
Speaker 5: No, I wouldn't say that a lot, but it will
23:49
Speaker 5: be a happy birthday.
23:50
Speaker 4: Thanks a lot, and thanks to that person for saying that.
23:53
Speaker 4: That was really nice.
23:55
Speaker 2: Yeah that was at referee five eighty three. All right, Ken,
23:58
Speaker 2: thanks so much for the insights. Scoop will see you soon.
24:01
Speaker 4: Thanks guys,