Latest / Foul Territory / Is it panic time for the White Sox? + Rangers path to playoffs

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Is it panic time for the White Sox? + Rangers path to playoffs · Foul Territory

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 0:05
  Speaker 2: My favorite time.
• 0:07
  Speaker 3: Finally, we can talk a little White Sox baseball with
• 0:10
  Speaker 3: Josh Nelson, host of Sox Machine on the Foul Territory Network.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Josh, tell me not to panic.
• 0:17
  Speaker 3: Explain to me why I should not be panicking right
• 0:19
  Speaker 3: now after watching this team. And it seemed like they
• 0:22
  Speaker 3: were going to win this division. And now all of
• 0:24
  Speaker 3: a sudden it's basically a half game. Listen, I know
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: really all they have to do is win one game
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: in the next three games. and they still have a
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: great hold on the division. But holy crap, watching them
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: play awful. And the biggest thing to me, they can't hit.
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: Where'd the hitting go? Murakami hasn't been good. Colson Montgomery
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: strikes out every at bat, right? Even guys like Maidrock,
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: I know he hit some home runs, but it's like
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: their numbers are just slowly eroding away.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: Give me some positivity, please.
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: Well, if you're looking for optimism in this series against Cleveland,
• 0:56
  Speaker 4: it's that the White Sox are 6-4 against the Cleveland
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: Guardians this year. They won their two series at home
• 1:01
  Speaker 4: against the Guardians, and they split a four-game series a
• 1:05
  Speaker 4: few weeks ago in Cleveland when Cleveland jumped out to
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: 2-0 lead in that series, and the White Sox were
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: able to fight back. This White Sox team all season
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: long has exceeded expectations, and a big part of that
• 1:18
  Speaker 4: is that they are a very resilient group. Right now,
• 1:21
  Speaker 4: they are feeling the pressure, most definitely in the clubhouse.
• 1:24
  Speaker 4: But I think with their youth and their ability to
• 1:28
  Speaker 4: bounce back, they've never had a losing streak longer than
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: four games. This has been one of their worst weeks
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: of the regular season since we saw in April. We've
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: also seen them have a bad week and then flip
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: the switch, AJ, and then all of a sudden they
• 1:42
  Speaker 4: can score 10 runs on a team. So I think
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: that's what they're hoping for. But yeah, to your point,
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: Miguel Vargas is cold this month. He only has one
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: extra base hit. Munataka Murakami and Colson Montgomery are batting
• 1:55
  Speaker 4: below 120 in the month of September. If this White
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: Sox team is going to cross the finish line of
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: this season and reach the postseason and be above 500,
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: they really need these three hitters to pick up their game.
• 2:10
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: Is it a failure?
• 2:13
  Speaker 6: Is it a failure if they don't make the playoffs?
• 2:16
  Speaker 6: I pose this question to Ken Rosenthal. As somebody who's
• 2:21
  Speaker 6: watched every single one of these games, which I assume
• 2:23
  Speaker 6: you have, if they end up losing this playoff spot
• 2:27
  Speaker 6: and do not make the playoffs, is this season a failure?
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: I think they will take it as a failure, Kratzy,
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: because you've gone this far. I mean, this is a
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: team that started 7-14, and we thought, well, here's another
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: 90-plus loss season, maybe another 100 losses for the Chicago
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: White Sox. For them to fight back and have the
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: May that they had and that epic series at home
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: against the Chicago Cubs. and continue to produce winning baseball
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: months and a 500 month in the month of August
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: and not have me losing month to only come into
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: September and go through a four and 10 stretch. You're
• 3:02
  Speaker 4: hoping that doesn't sink your season and you're going to
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: be sitting around the off season happy with just how
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: the White Sox, again, exceeded expectations. But this could be
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: a really long off season, guys. And you know better
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: than I do as former professional baseball players. When you
• 3:18
  Speaker 4: don't make the postseason, it's all fun to go on
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: vacation and spend time with your friends and family. But
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: you're always keeping an eye on how everybody else is
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: doing in the playoffs and wondering, that could have been me.
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: And with the pending CBA negotiations and if the league
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: does enter a lockout, we don't know when the 2020-27
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: season is going to start. So with that being said,
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: I think every team and every player would rather be
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: in the postseason. So to come this far and not
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: accomplish that goal, that would be really bittersweet and disappointing
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: for this White Sox team.
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: Josh, I'll say it as a White Sox fan. It'd
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: be bad. It'd be bad. It'd be bad. It wouldn't
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: be a success. I'm sorry.
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, they didn't lose 100 games. Whoop-dee-doo. They should have
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: been better.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: But in as weak of a league, in a weak
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: of a division as the AL Central is, yeah, it
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: would be disappointing.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry.
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they'd be like, oh, look at all the strides
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: we made.
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: No, you know that's coming. Yeah.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Of course it's coming.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: But the division was basic. I don't want to say
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: hand it to you. But Tigers sucked, okay? Twins weren't
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: any good, right? The Royals, who were supposed to be decent, sucked, right?
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: The Guardians, who, again, were supposed to be decent, they've
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: been a 500 team all year. You have a 3-4
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: game lead late into the season.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: You go out.
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: The moves you've gone out and made, I'm sorry. The
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: Luis Castillo move has not worked, right? Obviously, Joey Bart
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: got hurt, right? Doyle has not worked as a center fielder.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: He hasn't hit, okay?
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: The moves they went out and make, which were supposed
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: to bolster it, haven't worked. Then you look at some
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: of the guys they have on the team, like Sean Burke,
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: Davis Martin, whoever you want to use, Anthony Kaye.
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: They faltered down the stretch. Right.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: So in that, listen, it's their first time being through this.
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: They're all away over their innings that they've ever pitched.
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: That's we can get into that. That's a development thing
• 5:09
  Speaker 3: for not only just the White Sox, every team.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: But yes, if they don't make it, this is an
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: organizational failure.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry.
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: As a fan, I still think they're going to make it.
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: And I still think they're going to win this division.
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: But if they don't make it, yes, it has to
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: be looked at as a failure because these playoff chances
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: don't come along every year.
• 5:27
  Speaker 4: And that's a really good point, AJ. And it does
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: harken back to the trade deadline, especially with the Luis
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: Castillo move, because he is owed a lot of money
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: next year. And AJ, you know better than I do
• 5:37
  Speaker 4: what it's like negotiating salaries with Jerry Reinstorf and how
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: much money that he's going to be willing to spend
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: in the upcoming offseason. This could have been the White
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: Sox big offseason move to address the starting rotation. And
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: Will Venable had to work around and give Luis Castillo
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: extra days off to work on mechanics. But they punted
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: his spot for this series. And we think it's going
• 6:02
  Speaker 4: to be Eric Fetty in a bulk role on Wednesday
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: for the White Sox. But you traded for Luis Castillo
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: for these types of games and these types of series.
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: And now you are avoiding that. Luis Castillo to pitch
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: in these games. So I agree with you, like the,
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: the faults of the trade deadline and who they acquired.
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: And now looking back in hindsight, really haven't helped this
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: white Sox team when they needed help at the deadline
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: to carry this young team across the finish line. And
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: it does seem like they're a little bit out of gas,
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: but again, at the same time, we've thought about this
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: aspect of the white Sox over the course of the season.
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: And then they flip a switch and they surprise you
• 6:42
  Speaker 4: and win a series in Tampa Bay. or they go
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: toe to toe with the New York Yankees. They've impressed
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: us with the resiliency. So again, if you're looking for
• 6:51
  Speaker 4: optimism and some positivity for these three games against Cleveland,
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: they have an uncanny ability to get off that plane,
• 6:58
  Speaker 4: check into the hotel, arrive at the stadium and start new.
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: And really that's what this White Sox team needs to do, AJ,
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: after a one in five week against the Pirates and Cardinals.
• 7:10
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• 7:17
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• 8:11
  Speaker 6: Josh, I thought Kevin Gaussman got traded to Chicago, but
• 8:15
  Speaker 6: I had looked it up.
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: Wrong team.
• 8:17
  Speaker 6: That stings. That stings just a little bit. But you
• 8:21
  Speaker 6: know what? Hey, maybe the White Sox will get in.
• 8:24
  Speaker 6: My question is about the pitching, and especially tonight's first game.
• 8:29
  Speaker 6: About three weeks ago, my question was, AJ was talking about,
• 8:33
  Speaker 6: just like everybody was talking about, Oh, the White Sox
• 8:36
  Speaker 6: are in. And I go, okay, who starts game one?
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: He goes, Sean Burke. Guess what? Sean Burke's not even
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: starting this game. They have an opener.
• 8:46
  Speaker 6: Do you feel like that is a desperate move and
• 8:49
  Speaker 6: it will address what his issues have been? Or is
• 8:53
  Speaker 6: he just going to come in after Sean Newcomb's done
• 8:56
  Speaker 6: and continue to walk guys?
• 8:59
  Speaker 7: That's a good question, Kratzy.
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: And Sean Burke in his last two outings has really
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: struggled in the first inning, throwing more than 30 pitches
• 9:07
  Speaker 4: in back-to-back starts in the first inning. So with him
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: coming out of the bullpen and, I guess, avoiding the
• 9:13
  Speaker 4: first inning jitters altogether, does that clear a mental hurdle
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: for Sean Burke? We're going to find out. Sean Newcomb
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: has been nails for the Chicago White Sox. And I
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: think Sean Newcomb is going to get paid this offseason
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: because he's going to be.
• 9:26
  Speaker 7: A free agent.
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: He's been pretty key for this White Sox bullpen as
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: an opener, a spot starter. He's one of the best
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: guys coming out of the bullpen for the White Sox
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: when there's runners on base. So I'm not thrilled that
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: it's Sean Newcomb opening this game for the White Sox.
• 9:43
  Speaker 4: I hope that will Venable allow Sean Newcomb to go
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: a little bit further than he allowed him to go
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: in St.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Louis.
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: I like to see Newcomb go two innings, and if
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: he looks good after two, have him go through three.
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: Try to eat up as many innings as possible and
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: try to keep as many bullets in the bullpen that
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: you have. especially with Grant Taylor and Hagan Smith Hagan
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: Smith has been outstanding guys he's been looking really strong
• 10:06
  Speaker 4: for the White Sox coming out of the bullpen and
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: that's the thing about this stretch for the White Sox
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: guys have stepped up Randall Gritchick had that amazing moment
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: on Saturday with the game winning home run in the
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: ninth inning and he's been raking in his last 15
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: games for the White Sox. Hagan Smith has stepped up.
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: Other members of the bullpen have stepped up. David Sandlin
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: was great on Sunday. Eric Fetty has been solid for
• 10:30
  Speaker 4: the Chicago White Sox. The key guys and the guys
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: on the margins have stepped up. The guys who need
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: to really step up is the heart of your order.
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: And Miguel Vargas Mutataka has Murakami and Colson Montgomery, all
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: the pressure is on them and the spotlight is getting brighter.
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: If they do not succeed with the opportunities that they
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: have been given, especially with runners in scoring position, that
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: is the White Sox biggest issue right now. They need
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: those three hitters to produce no matter how well or
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: how bad Sean Burke performs tonight.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: Josh, one word answer. Yes or no. Has Colson Montgomery
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: had a really good season?
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: No.
• 11:08
  Speaker 8: No.
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: In his last 83 games, Colson Montgomery has a 79
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: weighted runs credit plus. He is 21% below league average offensively.
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: His strikeout rate over that course is 38.7%. He is
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: striking out almost 40% of the time since the All-Star break.
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: Colson Montgomery is on pace to set a new single
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: season strikeout record for Major League Baseball. There's a lot
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: of questions going into this offseason for the White Sox
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: and what the long-term future is at shortstop. They used
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: the first overall pick on Rock Cholowski. Rock Cholowski is
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: dealing with a wrist injury that forced to end his season.
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: He only played nine games, and Cholowski committed five errors,
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: and I think he batted 167. It wasn't exactly a
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: very impressive first impression from Rock Cholowski, and I covered Cholowski.
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: all season long because I cover college baseball for us
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: at Sox Machine. Brock Cholowski did not even appear on
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: my Dick Hauser Award because he wasn't the same player
• 12:07
  Speaker 4: during conference play, and he hasn't been the same player
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: that he's hyped up to be since mid-March. So you
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: have these two issues within the Chicago White Sox organization
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: right now of what's happened to Colson because this is.
• 12:18
  Speaker 7: Not a bad month.
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: This is a bad second half of the season with
• 12:23
  Speaker 4: his swing really needing refinement and maybe just going back
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: to the drawing board. of how do you not strike
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: out 40% of the time, but even the long-term future.
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: Billy Carlson didn't hit for power this year. It sounds
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: like rock shallows. He can't even participate in the Arizona
• 12:38
  Speaker 4: fall league. So he's really starting a new in 2027.
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: So you may not have someone challenging Colson Montgomery for
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: his spot on the roster. to be the everyday shortstop
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: in 2027. So the best plan right now is let's
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: just help Colson because in April and May, Colson was awesome.
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: And if he can regain that form, guys, that's exactly
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: the type of impact player this Chicago White Sox team
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: needs right now. He has shown it in the second
• 13:07
  Speaker 4: half of last year and the first two months of
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: this season. But Kratzy, overall, some of these numbers are really,
• 13:13
  Speaker 4: really scary and they need to be addressed in the offseason.
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: Josh, you forgot Caleb Bonhamer, by the way. You just
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: forgot him.
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: But now he's an outfielder. He's an outfielder now. He's
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: an outfielder now, so it doesn't matter.
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: But, okay, that leads me to my last question. Well,
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: I have two more.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: The last one's still easy. I'll be quick.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: My first one is, then is this a development issue?
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: Because they've Remember Colson last year? They took him and
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: took him out of where he was, took him to
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: Arizona to work with Mike Gellinger. They thought they fixed him. Boom,
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: here it is again. The numbers don't get better when
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: you get to the big leagues, right? I mean, we
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: look at Antonacci came out, who I'm wearing his shirt, right?
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: Came up like a house on fire. He's kind of
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: come back to the pack, right? My draw has been
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: a steady player. He's actually one of the guys who's
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: gotten better. Teal can't stay healthy, right? Kiro's supposed to
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: be a stud. He can't hit a freaking lick. They
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: used Drew Romo. He's hitting 130, right? I mean, it's like, boom,
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: the Dodgers developed Miguel Vargas. Sorry, Japan developed Murakami, right?
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: The guys who the White Sox, Tristan Peters has been
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: a revelation, but he was developed by the Tampa Bay Rays, right?
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: So is this a development question on the White Sox
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: and how do they get better at this? No, that's
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: a good question.
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: A lot of the guys in the White Sox front
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: office are new. Ryan Fuller has been with the organization
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: for a couple of years. I don't know If the
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: people that they have in the organization to help on
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: the development front, AJ, have been around long enough that
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: we can see that impact. And they're piecing everything together.
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: Chris Ketz? Yes. He was in charge.
• 14:42
  Speaker 3: He's a boss.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: I know.
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: He's in the office, though.
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: Listen, I'm not getting on Chris Ketz, but it's a
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: legitimate question. Chris Ketz was the minor league director, and
• 14:51
  Speaker 3: he had these guys. Now, I know Mike Shirley, who
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: just was let go. drafted all these guys and they
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: were all supposed to be boom, boom, boom, boom. But
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: I mean, Kyle Teal, he was developed by the Red Sox.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: Let's be honest.
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: He was developed by the Red Sox, got to the
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: big leagues with the White Sox, right? So is it
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: a development issue of guys that are drafted and then
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: developed by the White Sox?
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: That's my question.
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: When we look at the numbers here in the second half, yes,
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: you can make the argument that it's a development issue,
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: but at the same time, AJ, they've had some development successes.
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: I mean, when Miguel Vargas joined the White Sox, he
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: looked toast, right? but he's worked really hard at his game.
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: And I do think that Ryan Fuller and Derek showman
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: have had a positive impact on Miguel Vargas to produce
• 15:32
  Speaker 4: the numbers.
• 15:33
  Speaker 7: That he's had.
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: They do need to work with Munitaka Murakami and make
• 15:37
  Speaker 4: an adjustment. The league didn't know how to face Murakami early.
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: Now they do.
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: And Murakami looks bad. So there's an adjustment that needs
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: to be made. Colson Montgomery has to go through another adjustment.
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: So while I can be dour on a couple of
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: players here on the hitting front, What Caleb Bonhamer has
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: done this year gives me hope that in the minor
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: leagues that the development is working on the hitting front
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: for the White Sox. And a lot of us didn't
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: know who Sam Antonacci was until he really impressed last
• 16:07
  Speaker 4: fall in the Arizona Fall League. So I think it's
• 16:10
  Speaker 4: been mixed results. Yeah, they could be better in some areas, AJ,
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: but I do think they have some developing potential. wins
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: on the position player front to be three games above
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: 500 in a season where many of the projection models
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: didn't think the White Sox are going to win 66 games.
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: It is though the next step in their maturation, in
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: their development and coaching. What happens when you go four
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: and 10 and the offense stops hitting? How good of
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: a coach are you to help your existing hitters in
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: the clubhouse to make those adjustments when the league adjusts
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: to you? That's been the issue for the white socks
• 16:45
  Speaker 4: the last couple of weeks. They've been slow to adjust.
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: That's fair. That's fair.
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: And by the way, you want, you want to fix
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: some of these problems, spend some money, sorry, have to
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: throw it out there, spend some money.
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: You're big. You're in a big market. I'm sorry.
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: Chicago is a big Jerry's number.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: Do you have his number?
• 16:59
  Speaker 7: I do.
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: I actually do. I do.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: I have both of them. So anyways.
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: All right. Last thing real quick. One word answer. White
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: Sox win the division. Yes or no?
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: I'm still going to say yes because Detroit looks bad and.
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: So does Colorado. One word. That's it. One word. Not
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: a 10 minute answer, Josh. One word. Okay. Thank you.
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: Check out Josh and Jim Margulis on Sox Machine. They
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: are on every day this week. So if you want
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: your White Sox fix, they are the guys to help.
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: And if you need therapy like I do, also tune
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: into Sox Machine. Hopefully they will give you therapy and
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: the White Sox win the next three games.
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: All right. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thanks, Josh.
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: Always good talking to you guys.
• 17:38
  Speaker 7: Eric Kratz, you're smart. You were a catcher in Major
• 17:41
  Speaker 7: League Baseball for a long time. You need to be
• 17:43
  Speaker 7: smart to be a catcher. And you also need to
• 17:45
  Speaker 7: be smart to get the best possible wireless plan that
• 17:50
  Speaker 7: you can get. Don't fall for the gimmicks or certain
• 17:53
  Speaker 7: types of sign-up bonuses. Just give me the cheap rate.
• 17:57
  Speaker 7: and the premium wireless.
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: That's what Mint Mobile gives us, and you don't pay
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: a lot, and you get a lot. Hmm. Seems like
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: a no-brainer, even for what you said, a smart guy. Yep.
• 18:09
  Speaker 7: Be smart. Get your new wireless plan for just $ 15
• 18:12
  Speaker 7: a month. Go to mintmobile.com slash territory. Cut your wireless
• 18:15
  Speaker 7: bill to $ 15 a month at mintmobile.com slash territory. Upfront
• 18:19
  Speaker 7: payment of $ 45 for three months, $ 90 for six months,
• 18:21
  Speaker 7: or $ 180 for 12 months plan required. $ 15 per month equivalent.
• 18:26
  Speaker 7: Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than
• 18:29
  Speaker 7: 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. Includes up
• 18:32
  Speaker 7: to 20 gigabyte hotspot. Capable device required. Availability, speed, and
• 18:36
  Speaker 7: coverage varies. See mintmobile.com.
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: Reporting live from his basement, we have Evan Grant of
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: the Dallas Morning News. He doesn't have food in his
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: goatee this morning, this afternoon. So, Evan, congratulations on actually
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: getting it all in your mouth this time. What's happening
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: in Rangerland? Are they going to actually sneak into the postseason?
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: Do you abuse any other guests the way you abuse me?
• 19:05
  Speaker 7: Everyone.
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: Everyone. You had Jim Bowden on today. You check.
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: You had Josh in the sock machine.
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: Check. I would say you're number two most abused. Who's one? Ken.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: Katie Wu. Katie Wu is just.
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: That's just not right.
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: But Katie and I have a lot of inside jokes
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: that nobody else gets except for Katie and I.
• 19:24
  Speaker 6: So I, you know, and I see it. You haven't made,
• 19:28
  Speaker 6: you haven't made Evan. You haven't made Evan blush one time.
• 19:31
  Speaker 6: You made Katie blush the last time she was embarrassed
• 19:35
  Speaker 6: by whatever it was that you said.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: I don't know if it's possible for me to blush.
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: That's true.
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: That's true.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: What do we got on the Rangers?
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: They got a.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: Dozen games left. What do you want to know?
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: Can they get in?
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: Are they going to sneak into this postseason? I mean,
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: that's basically what every fan wants to know.
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, listen, the one thing they have going
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: for them is they've got nine games at home coming
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: up starting tomorrow with Boston, Toronto, and the Mets. They've
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: played really well at home. They've got more home games
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: than any of the other teams that are in any
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: of these various races the rest of the way, and
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: that should be an advantage for the Rangers. But nothing
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: that should be predictable this year has been predictable. So
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: it's just impossible for me to say I feel really
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: good about this team at this point in time or
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: I feel really bad. Friday night, I buried them. I
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: wrote them off, AJ, after the 9-1 loss to Arizona. And...
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: I thought it was over with. It's not. They're a
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: game back in the AL West.
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: By the way, that's a tough schedule. I know they're
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: at home, but you get three against Boston, who's in
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: a playoff chase. You get three against Toronto, who is
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: neck and neck, and they have to try to win.
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: I can't believe I'm about to say this out loud.
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: The Mets are actually playing pretty decently. They're swinging the
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: crap out of the bats right now. So it's not
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: like the Mets. Maybe we'll get a DeGrom versus the Mets,
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: which will be kind of cool. Hopefully he lines up.
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: They lined him up for that.
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: Right. But that's not it.
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: I mean, yes, they have nine home games, but it ain't.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: Like those games are easy.
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: They're not against the Rockies, the A's, you know, the Angels,
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: some of the lesser teams are against teams that are
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: pretty good.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: That's true. But I think the Astros have three games
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: or six games against the Angels and the A's the
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: rest of the way. And what's their record against the
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: Angels and A's? They have not played well against those
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: two teams. So everything that applies or should predictably apply
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: just does not apply this year. It's great to be
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: an American League team because really nothing can kill you.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: Unless you're the Angels.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I guess.
• 21:46
  Speaker 6: But should we believe? I know what you said. Like, okay,
• 21:51
  Speaker 6: this is... But I forget, we talked about it with
• 21:54
  Speaker 6: Josh Nelson earlier about how just the American League is
• 21:57
  Speaker 6: what it is. Am I supposed to, oh, with Jim Bowden,
• 22:00
  Speaker 6: am I supposed to change my view of what the
• 22:01
  Speaker 6: Rangers are just because they have a shot, just because
• 22:05
  Speaker 6: the Astros just absolutely down their leg in Tampa and now, oh.
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: One game. The Rangers have never once shown me this year,
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: we're going to go and get it. This is what
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: we're going to do.
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: But none of those teams, Kratzy, have, right? You know,
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: Chicago did for a considerable amount of the season, and
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: they've kind of ebbed back. Cleveland has played well the
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: last 30 games. Toronto has played well the last 30 games.
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: But you're going to get a 500 team in the playoffs.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: You're going to get a team that's 81-81 or 82-80
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: in the playoffs. And so, yeah, there's nothing to really
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: believe that this is a quote-unquote playoff caliber team. But
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: there is every reason to believe that this team has
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: a chance to make the playoffs because of how bad
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: the American League is. I would point to one thing,
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: or two things really, that I think are big factors
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: in the Rangers' favor. They got Josh Young back over
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: the weekend in Arizona. He immediately went into the number
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: three spot in the lineup, which has been really a
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: vacuum for the Rangers for the last couple of weeks.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: Josh immediately went four for nine in two games, both wins,
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: had big hits in both of those games, and he
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: has been the Rangers' most consistent hitter when healthy all year.
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: I think that really allows them to lengthen the lineup
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: out a little bit, and if he can continue that
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: for two weeks the way he has for the majority
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: of the year, I think that adds a dynamic to
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: the Rangers' offense they've been lacking. The other thing is
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: Nathan Evaldi went back into the bullpen last over the
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: weekend after missing five weeks. And we all know what
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: kind of competitor Nathan is. Came right out, pitched two
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: plus innings on Friday or Saturday for the Rangers. And
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: I think he's going to continue to work out of
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: the bullpen the last couple of weeks. And the Rangers
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: have been really thin in the middle of the bullpen.
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: I think if you go back and look, I did
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: this for the last 30 days. They've got a 5-4-5
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: ERA in the bullpen, and it's clear they've been wearing
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: down out there. So getting Evaldi to help out in
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: the bullpen where he has pitched effectively in some playoffs
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: in the past and once in a regular season, and
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: getting Robert Garcia, who's had four really strong innings back
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: after missing the majority of the season, are big gets
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: for this Ranger bullpen. And so I think those are
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: things that give them the ability to maybe generate a
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: little bit of momentum here for 12 days, but that's
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: what it's going to take. It's going to be who
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: plays well for the final 10 days of the season.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: That's going to determine the last couple of playoff spots.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: That's it. It's not the course of the regular season
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: and no trends from the regular season. It's who can
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: put 10 good games together.
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: It seems easy.
• 24:55
  Speaker 6: Just play good for 12 games. It seems like it's,
• 24:58
  Speaker 6: Seems like it's easy, but I don't know if I've
• 25:00
  Speaker 6: ever done this. We're going to choose your own adventure
• 25:02
  Speaker 6: for the next question. What is most important in these
• 25:05
  Speaker 6: last 12 games? One word answer, hitting or pitching. And
• 25:10
  Speaker 6: then I will go in that direction.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: Hitting.
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: Okay. But they're playing at home. Have they solved the
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: issues of hitting at home?
• 25:19
  Speaker 6: If you're saying hitting is the most important thing, They
• 25:23
  Speaker 6: can't hit at home. I know it's been a little
• 25:25
  Speaker 6: bit better. It's trended a little bit better for a
• 25:28
  Speaker 6: little bit. But can they make that adjustment for these
• 25:33
  Speaker 6: last nine games at home?
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: Well, I think, again, you look at most of the summer,
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: and the numbers did tick up after the first two
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: months of the year. It was really bad the first
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: two months of the year. But Corey Seager has been
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: back and hitting like he has been capable of now
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: for a month. And so I think that whether it's
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: been home or away, Corey has produced. Secondly, when we
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: talk about the ability to hit in that ballpark, it
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: doesn't need to be guys who are just going to
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: try and pull home runs. You need to have gap hitters.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: You need to have guys who use the whole part
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: of the field. And in that regard, I think Josh
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: Young is a really significant tool for this club. You
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: look at all the hits he had at Arizona over
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: the weekend, and they were all to the middle and
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: the gaps in the field. And for lack of a
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: better term, I guess they've got to be more of
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: a double-seating club, and I think they've got a double-seating
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: type guy back in their lineup with Josh.
• 26:32
  Speaker 3: Evan, can Corey Seager carry this team? I mean, Jock
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: Peterson really has been the guy. Wyatt Lankford's gotten much
• 26:38
  Speaker 3: better since he's come back off the aisle the last
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: couple months.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: No, not so much.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: Well, he was good, and then.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: I know. I mean, nobody stayed hot together all year.
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: It's amazing.
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah. and why it's really struggled since the 1st of August.
• 26:53
  Speaker 3: The last time I saw you guys, he was on fire,
• 26:56
  Speaker 3: so I missed that.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: And then he's gone into the tank, and it's been
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: one pop-up after another or one lazy fly ball to
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: left field, and it's been frustrating for the Rangers to watch.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: They've dropped him to the number five spot in the order,
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: actually to number six on Sunday. Jock has been a
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: great candidate for Comeback Player of the Year recently, got
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: hit by a pitch on Saturday night, and we're still
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: not sure if there's a broken bone in his hand
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: or not, and won't know until, really won't get an
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: idea until tomorrow, so he's a question mark. I don't
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: know if Corey, Corey's an 850 OPS guy when he's healthy,
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: and he has done that. There was a point in
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: time in August when he was out hitting Jordan Alvarez
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: for about a month, but Jordan's cooled off, and I
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: don't have answers. I'm struggling for words here. I think
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: he's a really, really good hitter. I don't know if
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: he's going to put this team on his back for
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: 10 days. All of that said, Sunday happens. The Rangers
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: need to win a road series. Haven't won a road
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: series since the end of June. They come out, Justin
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: Foskey singles. Corey immediately crushes a fastball. 458 feet. Puts
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: the Rangers up 2-0. And really, they controlled that game
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: going forward.
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: So.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: If he does that a couple of times, I think
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: that that can give the Rangers, I mean, they've got
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: to go, what, let's say 8-4 the rest of the
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: way to really give themselves, I think, a shot that
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: gets them to 82-80. Can he do it for 10 days?
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: We know Corey Seager's done it in the past. He's
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: certainly done it in the past. Can he do it
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: for these next 10 days? I'd like to bet money.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: If I had money to bet, I would bet money
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: that Corey Seager's as capable as anybody of doing that
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: for a 10-day period.
• 28:47
  Speaker 5: Back in the day, Kratzy and I were looking for tickets.
• 28:49
  Speaker 5: It was so hard to find a seat or anything available.
• 28:53
  Speaker 5: You'd have to go online and there was nothing there.
• 28:55
  Speaker 5: But now with SeatGeek, they make it so much easier
• 28:58
  Speaker 5: for you. They have the green light special. What does
• 29:00
  Speaker 5: that mean? It means when the green light is on,
• 29:02
  Speaker 5: you can get some of the best seats available.
• 29:05
  Speaker 2: Go to SeatGeek.
• 29:06
  Speaker 5: Kratzy understands how.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: Easy it is.
• 29:08
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I know you used to scalp your tickets. But look,
• 29:10
  Speaker 8: it's way, way better now because you get to just
• 29:13
  Speaker 8: go right on SeatGeek. And find your postseason tickets. I'm
• 29:16
  Speaker 8: not even going to fast forward to the postseason. I'm
• 29:18
  Speaker 8: going to say the run to October. Because some teams
• 29:22
  Speaker 8: aren't in yet. So right now is the time to
• 29:24
  Speaker 8: get it. And those seats are available. And it's playoff time.
• 29:26
  Speaker 8: The best time for baseball. And of course, I have
• 29:29
  Speaker 8: a code for you all. You can use code TERRITORY10
• 29:32
  Speaker 8: for 10% off your next set of MLB tickets at SeatGeek.
• 29:36
  Speaker 8: That's 10% off MLB tickets with promo code TERRITORY10. Make
• 29:40
  Speaker 8: sure you click the link in the description to download
• 29:42
  Speaker 8: the app and have the code automatically added to your
• 29:45
  Speaker 8: account so you can use it later.
• 29:48
  Speaker 2: That's fair. That's fair. That's fair.
• 29:51
  Speaker 7: But.
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: Okay, you mentioned the bullpen.
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: I get where you and Kratzy are coming from, right?
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: Because there's nothing that is a– There's.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: Nobody at work that says they can do this.
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: I mean, they can do it, but when you look
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: at it, you're like, man, could they go 8-4?
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: Could they go 4-8? You just don't– Yes, 100%. I
• 30:10
  Speaker 2: don't know. I don't know where to go. 6-7, I
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: don't know.
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: But that's when you've got 500 teams, that's what you've got, right?
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: You've got unpredictability.
• 30:17
  Speaker 7: True.
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: You mentioned the bullpen. Is the bullpen just tired?
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: Is the bullpen just worn out from a lot of
• 30:22
  Speaker 3: short starts over the course of the season?
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: I think the bullpen is worn out largely because there
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: are a lot of guys in there who don't have
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: a lot of experience in leverage roles and are pitching
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: a lot more than they have in the past. Tyler
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: Alexander has pitched a lot more leverage innings than he
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: ever has in the past. Jacob Latz, who has been
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: phenomenal all season, has had a couple of rough outings
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: in the last month. He's never pitched this much out
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: of the bullpen. He's had innings to this level when
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: he was a starter, but never this many appearances. And
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: then you get some inexperienced guys who have been sprinkled
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: in along the way. That's why I think getting Garcia
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: back and getting Ivaldi in the bullpen as a multi-inning
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: guy gives the Rangers kind of a look that they
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: haven't had for a little bit of time here. Okay.
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: That's fair. That's fair.
• 31:15
  Speaker 3: I mean, listen, Evan, I don't even know what to
• 31:18
  Speaker 3: ask about the Rangers anymore because it's like, well, are
• 31:21
  Speaker 3: they really going to make the postseason with the year
• 31:23
  Speaker 3: that they've had?
• 31:24
  Speaker 7: Right.
• 31:24
  Speaker 3: But then you're like, well, the Astros are going to
• 31:25
  Speaker 3: make it with the year they've had. Everyone, everyone waited
• 31:28
  Speaker 3: for the Mariners to make that run. They never made
• 31:30
  Speaker 3: that run. The Mariners, by the way, you mentioned that the,
• 31:33
  Speaker 3: that the Astros have to play the angels in the,
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: in the athletics. Ask the Mariners how those games went
• 31:38
  Speaker 3: for them when they, they were like, Oh, their schedule
• 31:39
  Speaker 3: eases up.
• 31:40
  Speaker 2: And they went out and didn't play very well. Right.
• 31:43
  Speaker 3: So, I don't even, like, you're like, yeah, I'd love
• 31:46
  Speaker 3: to talk Rangers and pump them up and Rich Rice
• 31:48
  Speaker 3: and talk about how great the Rangers is and we
• 31:50
  Speaker 3: love Skip Schumacher and all that stuff. But it's like, okay,
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: are they really going to do this? It's kind of,
• 31:56
  Speaker 3: and I'm sure that's how you feel every day when
• 31:57
  Speaker 3: you go into the clubhouse.
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: And I do right now. It's, you know, on Friday night,
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: I felt like I wrote what was the season epitaph.
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: I said, it's over.
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: You tombstoned them?
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: I absolutely wrote them off. And clearly that inspired them
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: to back-to-back victories and push them right back into the
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: race with an Astros team that lost twice to Tampa Bay.
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: And the Astros still have to play the Braves for three.
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: And just like you said in the last segment, the
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: Braves need to win to secure that number two spot.
• 32:31
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 32:33
  Speaker 3: You know, when you think a certain team is going
• 32:36
  Speaker 3: to win, they lose. When you think a certain team
• 32:38
  Speaker 3: is starting to gain some ground, they lose. When they
• 32:41
  Speaker 3: think a team's out of it, they start winning. It's
• 32:43
  Speaker 3: been a crazier in the American League, except for the
• 32:44
  Speaker 3: AL East.
• 32:45
  Speaker 2: The AL East is the one consistent.
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: I'll just give you this example. We talked about Ivaldi
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: and Young coming back, and that was a big deal.
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: And the Rangers supposedly got healthy on Friday.
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: So Friday comes. By the end of the weekend, Peterson
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: is now hurt. So here's the period of health. Peterson
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: is now hurt. Cal Quandrell was dealing with their best
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: starter in the second half. had a stiff back, and
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: the Rangers are concerned about that. Jacob deGrom came out
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: at his last start, which was a near-perfect game for
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: six innings, with a groin injury, and he is still
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: trying to battle through that and get back. And it's
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: very clear that Josh Young is not 100% running on
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: the bases. He's really having to manage that. So the
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: period of good health lasted a couple of hours. There
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: is nothing that gives you a point in time in
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: the American League And in the American League West, in particular,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: where you say, okay, this is definitively where this is heading.
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: And that's what we've had for 150 games. And that's
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: what we're going to have for the final 12. And
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: the question I guess I have for you guys and
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: as players, you know how precious playoff spots are. And
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: it's incredibly... it hypes you up to be playing for
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: a playoff spot. But if you're playing for a playoff
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: spot and still trying to get to 500, do you
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: have to suspend your disbelief a little bit to know
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: we've still got a chance here, but this.
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: Is who we are?
• 34:12
  Speaker 3: No, you try to get the playoffs. The playoff spots
• 34:14
  Speaker 3: are too valuable. You don't even care what your record is.
• 34:16
  Speaker 3: You look at it and say, hey, we're one game back.
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: Let's just win, get in, and then anything. Ask the
• 34:22
  Speaker 3: Cardinals in 2006. They just had their 20th. your reunion
• 34:25
  Speaker 3: where they went 83 games. I remember we played them
• 34:27
  Speaker 3: and we beat them like 50 to one in three games.
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: And we're like, that's the worst team I've ever played.
• 34:31
  Speaker 3: And they went out and won the world series because
• 34:33
  Speaker 3: they got in and got hot. So listen, you have
• 34:35
  Speaker 3: to grow them of all the McKenzie Gore, figure it out.
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: You got a shot. Corey Seager has done in the
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: post season. You got a shot. So it doesn't.
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: Not figure it out. I mean, even when the Kenzie
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: words not figure it out, it's like have two good starts, dude,
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: you have two good starts that make all the difference.
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: And I will just say, That 2006 Cardinals team, you
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: know who was a young little utility guy on that team?
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: Skip Schumacher.
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: Skips.
• 35:00
  Speaker 6: All right.
• 35:01
  Speaker 3: Well, Evan, thank you for your time. It's going to
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: be a fun couple weeks. That's all you can ask for.
• 35:05
  Speaker 3: Meaningful games in the end of September. You can catch
• 35:08
  Speaker 3: Evan on Evan Eats Dallas and all of the state
• 35:10
  Speaker 3: of Texas anytime on his podcast, YouTube channel, whatever he has.
• 35:15
  Speaker 3: He might be bigger than that now. He also works
• 35:17
  Speaker 3: for the Dallas Morning News. Evan, always one of our favorites.
• 35:20
  Speaker 3: Thank you, and enjoy the last two weeks.
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: If you were in town this week, you could go
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: with me. We're eating fajitas for a morning news adventure,
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: so you could go have some fajitas with me.
• 35:30
  Speaker 3: Oh, I could, but then I'd have to pay. I
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: couldn't afford your bill, so I don't know. That's probably
• 35:34
  Speaker 3: better I'm not in town.
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: Oh, I would pick up the bill. It's a very
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: lucrative business, the print newspaper business these days.
• 35:42
  Speaker 2: True.
• 35:43
  Speaker 3: I am in Houston on Thursday, so maybe you could
• 35:46
  Speaker 3: send us on my way.
• 35:48
  Speaker 2: Houston's not that far.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: I'll save some for you. All right, boys. Y'all have
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: a good one, all right?
• 35:53
  Speaker 2: Thanks, Evan. Talk to you soon. Enjoy the last couple weeks.
• 35:55
  Speaker 2: We'll be right back.