Latest / Foul Territory / Ken Rosenthal on D’backs pen issues, Nationals rebuild slog, Twins sale update, PCA deal + Shannon Drayer on surging M’s bats

Transcript

Ken Rosenthal on D’backs pen issues, Nationals rebuild slog, Twins sale update, PCA deal + Shannon Drayer on surging M’s bats · Foul Territory

0:00
Speaker 1: If I'm PCA, I'm not signing anything right now.
0:02
Speaker 2: When you're talking about the Mariners. If the pitching comes
0:05
Speaker 2: back to you need an offense ave scores four or
0:07
Speaker 2: five runs a game.
0:13
Speaker 3: Let's hit the inside scoop with FT senior insider Ken Rosenthal. Ken,
0:17
Speaker 3: good to see you. I know you touched on this
0:19
Speaker 3: on fair Territory, but I'm want to dive deeper your
0:21
Speaker 3: article about the Washington Nationals. I'm going to start here.
0:25
Speaker 3: Would a lot of this likely be solved if they
0:27
Speaker 3: were more like the version of the Nets for a
0:30
Speaker 3: ten year span not long ago. Hate to be that guy,
0:33
Speaker 3: but when they were a top ten payroll team, even
0:35
Speaker 3: a top fifteen payroll team. You wrote about how they're
0:38
Speaker 3: now a bottom ten payroll team for years. When I
0:40
Speaker 3: watch this team, I see some good pieces, but I
0:43
Speaker 3: also say, man, if they played in free agency for
0:46
Speaker 3: a starter or two and a big position player like
0:48
Speaker 3: a Pete, a Lonzo or an Alex Bregman, they might be
0:51
Speaker 3: a little sneaky wildcard contender. What are your thoughts, Scott.
0:54
Speaker 1: That's definitely part of it, the lack of spending, but
0:57
Speaker 1: it's not all of it, And that's what the article
0:59
Speaker 1: really is is about how, yes, they haven't spent like
1:03
Speaker 1: they did in the twenty tens, and that has hurt them,
1:05
Speaker 1: but they also until perhaps maybe the last draft or two,
1:10
Speaker 1: they have not drafted well at all. And I kind
1:13
Speaker 1: of go into detail about how since twenty thirteen they've
1:17
Speaker 1: only drafted and developed three players who have career b
1:21
Speaker 1: wars above five. Now, five be war is basically what
1:27
Speaker 1: Darren Ashley, Dalton Varshow had in an entire season. Last year,
1:31
Speaker 1: Zach netto that they were around five be war for
1:33
Speaker 1: the entire season. The Nats have only drafted to developed
1:36
Speaker 1: three guys to get the five to their careers, and
1:38
Speaker 1: none of them played for the Nationals right now. They
1:40
Speaker 1: all did it elsewhere. I'm talking about Lozardo and Fetti,
1:44
Speaker 1: and there's one more escaping me.
1:47
Speaker 3: Right now, but there's only three.
1:48
Speaker 1: So when you have that, Pavet is the other one,
1:52
Speaker 1: by the way, When you have that kind of lack
1:54
Speaker 1: of success in drafting and developing and in international sin
1:58
Speaker 1: Soto in twenty fifteen, which of course was like hitting
2:01
Speaker 1: the jackpot, you're unable to supplement your team in ways
2:05
Speaker 1: that you should, especially when you're not spending what are
2:08
Speaker 1: the best teams do, they both spend and they develop,
2:12
Speaker 1: and even some of the low revenue teams that can spend,
2:16
Speaker 1: they developed like crazy and they become the Tampa Bay
2:19
Speaker 1: Rayers or the Cleveland Guardians or Milwaukee Brewers generally contending
2:24
Speaker 1: year after year with some dips, of course. But the
2:27
Speaker 1: Nationals have not done that to the same level of
2:30
Speaker 1: success that they did way back when they were drafting
2:33
Speaker 1: Strasbourg and Harper at the top of the draft. So
2:36
Speaker 1: that's the problem as much as not spending, And that
2:40
Speaker 1: kind of is what the story is about.
2:43
Speaker 4: Have they been a team that has tried to be innovative,
2:47
Speaker 4: because really their success was not even in the draft
2:49
Speaker 4: it was Strausburg, Duh Harper, duh Rendon. He was the
2:54
Speaker 4: best available, so it almost was like it was almost
2:57
Speaker 4: like the fantasy football guy who's just like, yeah, a
3:00
Speaker 4: pick whoever is the next best available, and they kind
3:02
Speaker 4: of ran into it. Has there been changes in the
3:05
Speaker 4: minor league system in the sense of, like, you know what,
3:08
Speaker 4: we've really not developed too much through this system besides
3:12
Speaker 4: our one ones.
3:14
Speaker 1: Well, you can't fault them for hitting on one ones.
3:16
Speaker 1: First of all, Eric, there are teams that miss with
3:18
Speaker 1: one ones. Pittsburgh's missed for the couple. That is not
3:22
Speaker 1: an automatic. So when you hit on a one one,
3:25
Speaker 1: even as obvious as it might be right now to
3:27
Speaker 1: look back at Harper and Strasburg, in that sense, you
3:31
Speaker 1: still do it and you still deserve credit for that. Now,
3:34
Speaker 1: after the twenty twenty three season, Mike Rizzo, the President
3:37
Speaker 1: Baseball Operations, made sweeping changes in their operation. New farm director,
3:42
Speaker 1: new scouting director, new international director. They've since replaced that
3:45
Speaker 1: international director with another one. So yes, they are mindful
3:49
Speaker 1: obviously of what has happened and that they have not
3:53
Speaker 1: been as successful otherwise you're not making those changes right.
3:57
Speaker 1: So while clearly in the estimation of some the two
4:01
Speaker 1: thousand draft, twenty twenty four draft, I'm sorry, it was
4:04
Speaker 1: much better than some of the previous ones. Okay, they've
4:07
Speaker 1: got a ways to go still, and maybe they're on
4:09
Speaker 1: the right track now. But the other issue that I
4:11
Speaker 1: raised in the article is they've got to get going
4:15
Speaker 1: quickly because Mackenzie gore after this year, just two years
4:19
Speaker 1: remaining before free agency. C J Abrams after this year,
4:22
Speaker 1: just three years remaining, and it sounds like a long time,
4:25
Speaker 1: but these are periods in which teams make decisions on
4:28
Speaker 1: players and whether they want to keep them long term.
4:31
Speaker 1: If you remember, the Nationals traded Juan Soto when he
4:35
Speaker 1: had two plus years of control remaining. Mackenzie Gore is
4:38
Speaker 1: in that exact spot right now. Now. I'm not suggesting
4:42
Speaker 1: they're going to trade Mackenzie Gore or that they should
4:44
Speaker 1: trade Mackenzie Gore when they're still trying to build here,
4:46
Speaker 1: but that is where they are, and we'll see how
4:51
Speaker 1: it all progresses. Because the problem is when say, some
4:55
Speaker 1: of your twenty twenty four draft class, and when Dylan
4:57
Speaker 1: Cruz the twenty twenty three pick, some of these guys
5:00
Speaker 1: come into their own and James Wood by then as
5:02
Speaker 1: a star, well, then you're facing the losses of Gore
5:05
Speaker 1: and Abrams and you're just not lined up the way
5:08
Speaker 1: you ideally would like to be. It's not always perfect,
5:11
Speaker 1: we all know that, but that is what they're facing
5:14
Speaker 1: right now. Because this rebuild has been going on. This
5:17
Speaker 1: is year six. Essentially they started playing poorly. It's six
5:21
Speaker 1: straight losing seasons. This will be the sixth straight in
5:24
Speaker 1: twenty twenty since the twenty nineteen World Series. This is
5:28
Speaker 1: worth noting since the twenty nineteen World Series. They have
5:32
Speaker 1: the third worst record in the majors, third most losses
5:36
Speaker 1: in the majors. Only the Pirates and Rockies have fewer,
5:39
Speaker 1: and actually the Pirates win last night. They're tied with
5:42
Speaker 1: the Nationals, So actually the Nationals are tied for the
5:44
Speaker 1: second most losses.
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Speaker 5: Not good, Ken, Just real quick, is this how much
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Speaker 5: this is on Mike Rizzo? I know that you mentioned
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Speaker 5: that he changed this and now, but it wasn't that
5:53
Speaker 5: his background was development drafting. He's a scout right drafting development.
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Speaker 5: So how much of this falls on him? I mean,
6:00
Speaker 5: I know it's an organizational failure, but to me it
6:02
Speaker 5: seems like, dang, this is.
6:03
Speaker 6: What Mi Krizzo was supposed to be great at.
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Speaker 1: Certainly, when you're the president base Operations and you have
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Speaker 1: a scouting background and your drafts have not been good,
6:12
Speaker 1: there is a measure of responsibility that falls on Rizzo.
6:15
Speaker 1: And yes, ownership is part of this too, a big
6:18
Speaker 1: part of it, because the resources for other things have
6:21
Speaker 1: not necessarily been there, and maybe the resources even for
6:24
Speaker 1: the amateur side and the international side haven't been there
6:28
Speaker 1: as well. I'm not entirely sure of that, but absolutely
6:32
Speaker 1: Rizzo has a measure of responsibility. He also said this
6:36
Speaker 1: was in twenty twenty two, that this was going to
6:38
Speaker 1: be a shorter reboot. Now it's twenty twenty five and
6:41
Speaker 1: we're still going. So sure, he's the president Base Operations.
6:45
Speaker 1: He is someone who is responsible, but it's never just
6:49
Speaker 1: one person in any of these situations.
6:52
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7:52
Speaker 4: All right, let's go to the nl WES for a
7:54
Speaker 4: little bit. Ken, Are they going to be just eating
7:57
Speaker 4: each other alive? In the sense that they're just going
7:59
Speaker 4: to beat each other up at the top of the order,
8:02
Speaker 4: at the top of that division and ultimately kick one
8:06
Speaker 4: of them out of the playoffs, Because besides the Rockies,
8:10
Speaker 4: there's four teams out there that are just going to
8:15
Speaker 4: beat each other up night in and night out, playing
8:17
Speaker 4: the rest of the season out and essentially eliminating one,
8:21
Speaker 4: if not two of the teams from that division.
8:25
Speaker 1: Certainly possible. Eric, Now you do have the Rockies to
8:28
Speaker 1: balance that out. Of course those are theoretically easier wins.
8:32
Speaker 1: But yeah, and in the NLST you have the Dodgers,
8:36
Speaker 1: with all of their injuries, still leading the division. You
8:39
Speaker 1: have the Giants, who of late have not hit. You
8:42
Speaker 1: have the Padres who are somewhat thin, and with Michael
8:45
Speaker 1: King now questionable, you worry about them and just how
8:49
Speaker 1: long they can keep this going. They've kind of rallied
8:52
Speaker 1: back a little bit the last couple of days after
8:54
Speaker 1: a little bit of a swoon, because what are two
8:56
Speaker 1: injuries and they could be in trouble. And then there
8:59
Speaker 1: are the Diamondbacks, who have probably been the most disappointing
9:01
Speaker 1: team in the division. Blew a six nothing lead to
9:03
Speaker 1: the Pirates last night. They just have not yet clicked
9:07
Speaker 1: the way they want to click. Obviously, bullpen injuries have
9:11
Speaker 1: played a role in that, but when you look at
9:14
Speaker 1: the division as a whole, Okay, we're not even in
9:16
Speaker 1: junioret all kinds of things are going to happen, and yes,
9:20
Speaker 1: it's possible they'll beat each other up. The schedule is
9:23
Speaker 1: not as imbalanced as it once was. That helps, But
9:27
Speaker 1: there are very four There are four very strong teams,
9:30
Speaker 1: and that's going to be an issue going forward, no doubt.
9:35
Speaker 3: Hey, let me double click on the Diamondbacks for a moment.
9:39
Speaker 3: We were talking about them at the jump here, Ken,
9:42
Speaker 3: how do you solve a bullpen problem like this? If
9:44
Speaker 3: you're Arizona and you're missing guys that obviously are high leverage,
9:49
Speaker 3: you can't do much until closer to the trade deadline.
9:52
Speaker 3: And this is a similar problem to what they dealt
9:55
Speaker 3: with last year. We went over how you know these
9:58
Speaker 3: games like yesterday could make all the difference in their season.
10:01
Speaker 3: They were a good team last year. Their bullpen wasn't great.
10:04
Speaker 3: It burned them at times. During the regular season, they
10:07
Speaker 3: won eighty nine games, fell just short. The team that
10:10
Speaker 3: I watched some nights looks like they can beat anyone
10:13
Speaker 3: in a playoff series.
10:15
Speaker 1: Agreed, And certainly the deadline it's going to be a
10:18
Speaker 1: focus of attention. There's no doubt about that. Justin Martinez
10:21
Speaker 1: is back. He seemingly is a guy that, if he's right,
10:24
Speaker 1: can really be a stalwart in that bullpen, and he's
10:27
Speaker 1: shown it before. But yeah, they are depleted right now
10:31
Speaker 1: and it's hurting them, There's no question about that. It's
10:34
Speaker 1: tough because it is not yet even June, as I
10:37
Speaker 1: just mentioned, and we were two months away from the deadline,
10:39
Speaker 1: so you're not going to see a lot of urgency
10:42
Speaker 1: from teams, either on the buy or sell side to
10:44
Speaker 1: make moves. Teams perhaps would like to buy, like the Diamondbacks,
10:49
Speaker 1: but yet at the same time, if you're a team
10:51
Speaker 1: with a reliever and you're thinking about trading him, you're
10:54
Speaker 1: kind of a non contender. You're saying, hey, man, price
10:57
Speaker 1: is only going to rise, and if you want my
10:59
Speaker 1: guy now now, you're going to pay a premium. So
11:02
Speaker 1: that's why trades are so difficult until we get closer
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Speaker 1: to the deadline and the urgency increases for everyone involved
11:09
Speaker 1: on both sides. The Diamondbacks do have this issue. They're
11:13
Speaker 1: going to have to address this issue to a greater
11:15
Speaker 1: extent than they're doing right now. I don't know that
11:18
Speaker 1: they would argue that point, and it's something that could
11:21
Speaker 1: yes determine the outcome of their season.
11:24
Speaker 4: Talking about the Giants for a little bit, can a
11:27
Speaker 4: team that is solely based on pitching in defense, because
11:32
Speaker 4: with Jung ho Le having a you know, slowing down
11:35
Speaker 4: a little bit no longer MVP candidate, can a team
11:38
Speaker 4: with pitching in defense really run through a tough gauntlet
11:43
Speaker 4: because they all if they give up any runs, essentially
11:47
Speaker 4: the game is over because they don't manufacture runs. Bob
11:50
Speaker 4: Melvin's you know, inability to call the steal sign is
11:54
Speaker 4: evident in a game that's now stealing more bases.
11:58
Speaker 6: Do they have to reinvent how they're going to win games?
12:00
Speaker 4: Or is it just going to be three to one,
12:03
Speaker 4: two to nothing type of games the whole season.
12:05
Speaker 1: They need better performances out of four positions catcher, first base,
12:10
Speaker 1: second base, and shortstop, and that's where Willia Damas plays.
12:13
Speaker 1: They are well below average in each of those spots.
12:16
Speaker 1: So that's a huge problem. Right, doesn't matter about stealing
12:20
Speaker 1: bases when you are not getting offensive production at a
12:22
Speaker 1: ford of nine spots. Now, durar In Kanasion is on
12:26
Speaker 1: a rehab assignment. He could be an option in first base.
12:29
Speaker 1: Lamontway Junior, for whatever reason, has just really struggled. They
12:33
Speaker 1: are a team that, yes, I would imagine is active
12:36
Speaker 1: in pursuit of offense at the deadline. To answer your question, Eric,
12:40
Speaker 1: you can't simply win with pitching and defense.
12:42
Speaker 3: You have to score and they.
12:44
Speaker 1: Know that, and it's going to be something that is
12:48
Speaker 1: going to kind of linger over this team until they
12:50
Speaker 1: do address it. Maybe Incarnasion helps, Maybe Willia Damas comes
12:54
Speaker 1: around and finally starts playing like the player he can be,
12:58
Speaker 1: and then you worry less about those others because it's
13:01
Speaker 1: one or two spots then and then you're not dealing
13:04
Speaker 1: with four. Patrick Bailey, the catcher is another guy who
13:06
Speaker 1: can do more than he has, so clearly they need
13:11
Speaker 1: to hit better and more. But right now it's yes,
13:15
Speaker 1: the huge problem with the team, I should clarify.
13:17
Speaker 3: Also, just going back to the diamonbacks for a moment,
13:19
Speaker 3: Justin Martinez is back. You just didn't pitch in yesterday's game.
13:22
Speaker 3: I mean they could have used him in yesterday's game.
13:24
Speaker 3: They're easing him back in, so I think he had
13:26
Speaker 3: pitched what the night before the night before that. Anyway,
13:29
Speaker 3: they're making sure that they ease him back into the
13:32
Speaker 3: closer role. So we should see him in spots like
13:34
Speaker 3: that again coming up obviously when it happens again. All right,
13:38
Speaker 3: let's move to the last two things I wanted to
13:41
Speaker 3: cover here, Ken a couple articles and reports put out
13:43
Speaker 3: by your colleagues at the Athletics, so I'll let you
13:45
Speaker 3: go dealer's choice. Here, we've got Patrick Mooney reporting on
13:51
Speaker 3: the fact that the Cubs could have a little combo
13:53
Speaker 3: with Pete crow Armstrong for extension talks. And then on
13:56
Speaker 3: the business side of things, Dan Hayes covering essentially how
14:00
Speaker 3: the twins are still for sale. It's been almost nine months,
14:03
Speaker 3: so they could have had a baby during that time,
14:05
Speaker 3: and they're holding firm on their one point seven billion
14:07
Speaker 3: dollars for their asking price, and that's why they're holding
14:10
Speaker 3: the team hostage and not allowing fans to experience trades
14:13
Speaker 3: and signings. So what are your thoughts on these two?
14:16
Speaker 1: I'll have both, and the PCA conversation is ongoing and
14:20
Speaker 1: it's interesting. But if I'm PCA, I'm not signing anything
14:24
Speaker 1: right now. I'm establishing myself as an elite player. And
14:28
Speaker 1: it's different with position players with extensions than it is
14:31
Speaker 1: with pitchers. Position players have less risk of injury and
14:36
Speaker 1: suffering a catastrophic kind of thing. Yes, it's happened to
14:39
Speaker 1: Acuona twice, he's also come back twice and he is
14:43
Speaker 1: going to be okay. He have course had a contract
14:45
Speaker 1: that entire time. But my point is PCA is on
14:49
Speaker 1: the upswing, And if you're PCA, I am quite sure
14:53
Speaker 1: you believe in yourself and you don't believe this is
14:55
Speaker 1: a fluke, and you believe that your price will only
14:58
Speaker 1: increase over time. So maybe at some point you signed
15:01
Speaker 1: an extension, But I can't imagine right now the cub's
15:06
Speaker 1: putting forth an offer that would be tempting enough for
15:08
Speaker 1: him to say you know what. Okay, I'll give up
15:11
Speaker 1: a couple of years a free agency. I'll take my
15:13
Speaker 1: security now. No, he is becoming a star. He is
15:17
Speaker 1: becoming potentially a huge star. And if i'm him, I
15:22
Speaker 1: wait now. As for the twins, you got it right, Scott.
15:26
Speaker 1: They are holding firm, according to the report from Dan
15:28
Speaker 1: Hayes this morning, on their one point seven billion dollar
15:32
Speaker 1: asking price, and that is their right entirely. They at
15:36
Speaker 1: least according to the source Dan talk to, are making
15:39
Speaker 1: some progress here. They've got people interested, they've got some
15:42
Speaker 1: groups ready to go, and it's just a matter now
15:45
Speaker 1: of getting to the right price. It is up to
15:48
Speaker 1: them to make this determination, and whether they can get
15:52
Speaker 1: one point seven billion remains to be seen. If they
15:55
Speaker 1: do well, that's their goal and that will be a
15:58
Speaker 1: success by the poll out families definition. If they don't, well,
16:02
Speaker 1: we'll see what happens. And it's always interesting to me
16:05
Speaker 1: to hear this kind of thing where a team says
16:08
Speaker 1: we're holding out for this, we want this. Maybe you
16:11
Speaker 1: get it and maybe you don't, and the question becomes
16:14
Speaker 1: what if you don't. And one thing that Dan raises
16:17
Speaker 1: in the article, and this is a concern for all
16:19
Speaker 1: teams that might be entertaining sale possibilities. Is the threat
16:22
Speaker 1: of a lockout after the twenty twenty sixth season. There
16:25
Speaker 1: is uncertainty right now with what your revenues are going
16:28
Speaker 1: to be. Even beyond the cord cutting situation with cable
16:33
Speaker 1: and all of the things going on with the local
16:35
Speaker 1: TV streaming rights and all of that. You have a
16:39
Speaker 1: worry if you're a potential owner about where this sport
16:41
Speaker 1: is going. And that is one of the things here
16:44
Speaker 1: that with this labor uncertainty, with the endless war between
16:49
Speaker 1: the players Union and MLB, the sport has to deal
16:52
Speaker 1: with and ownerships.
16:53
Speaker 3: Have to deal with.
16:54
Speaker 1: It's on them as well, because of course they're part
16:56
Speaker 1: of this. But that's something that it's going to be
17:00
Speaker 1: really interesting to see how it plays out, Scott, because
17:03
Speaker 1: there is that uncertainty and there is that concern among
17:07
Speaker 1: prospective buyers. I am sure about where this sport is
17:11
Speaker 1: headed from a labor relations standpoint.
17:14
Speaker 3: Todfather and I are from Jersey, so we're used to, oh,
17:17
Speaker 3: I got a guy, but sometimes that just means when
17:22
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17:25
Speaker 7: Yeah, And I think, honestly, the best part about this communication,
17:28
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17:30
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18:14
Speaker 5: Ken, I'm watching the Mets are not playing right now,
18:16
Speaker 5: the White Sox. We were supposed to interview Pete Alonzo
18:18
Speaker 5: while we got you instead because they switched their game time.
18:20
Speaker 6: First of all, how good is Brett Bady.
18:23
Speaker 1: A little bit disappointment?
18:24
Speaker 5: AJ, I'm sorry, man, he ain't kid he ain't kidding, Ken,
18:27
Speaker 5: But Bret Batty is up right now. How good has
18:31
Speaker 5: he been because we just saw him on Saturday, and
18:33
Speaker 5: then I have a follow up once you finish.
18:36
Speaker 3: He's been really good.
18:37
Speaker 1: And it's cool to see a guy who gets sent down,
18:42
Speaker 1: whose future in the organization is in question, who seemingly
18:45
Speaker 1: loses his third base job to Mark Fiento's and has
18:49
Speaker 1: no opening at second base with McNeil and Luis Anelacuna
18:54
Speaker 1: there and yet here he is forcing his way back
18:56
Speaker 1: into the equation. And as I said on the broadcast Saturday,
19:00
Speaker 1: he told me his confidence is coming from his pregame work,
19:04
Speaker 1: that he feels so good about what he's doing off
19:07
Speaker 1: a multi speed machine or a multi pitch machine, pitch
19:10
Speaker 1: machine that throws curveballs, sinkers for seemers, whatever you got,
19:14
Speaker 1: and then his work with the infield coach Mike Sarbaugh
19:17
Speaker 1: at third and also second that it's carrying into the games.
19:21
Speaker 1: So I always love in our sport, and you see
19:24
Speaker 1: it a lot when guys get knocked down and they
19:27
Speaker 1: get back up, and he is a classic example of that.
19:29
Speaker 1: He's playing with a ton of confidence right now and
19:32
Speaker 1: it shows in every aspect of his game.
19:35
Speaker 5: Agreed, Agreed, so congratulations to yous are in order seven
19:39
Speaker 5: hundred and fifty games as a silent reporter.
19:41
Speaker 6: How old are you? Ken?
19:44
Speaker 1: Aj? I will reveal to you and the rest of
19:47
Speaker 1: the world that I am sixty two.
19:50
Speaker 5: Okay, so you've been doing these games since what the
19:53
Speaker 5: polo grounds were active.
19:54
Speaker 1: Two thousand and six, so almost I will say this.
20:00
Speaker 1: So my understanding is that when this was on the
20:03
Speaker 1: broadcast Saturday, it was your doing. You were the guy
20:06
Speaker 1: that told the producer Peter b. Jessca, we had to
20:08
Speaker 1: have this on, and not that it ruined the broadcast
20:12
Speaker 1: for me, because actually it was really nice what you
20:13
Speaker 1: said and what Joe said, And I didn't even know
20:16
Speaker 1: about this, so it was really cool to hear it.
20:18
Speaker 1: But the whole night, I'm sitting there outside, it's windy,
20:23
Speaker 1: it's chili, and all I wanted to say for the broadcast,
20:27
Speaker 1: the only thing I wanted to say was man, it's
20:31
Speaker 1: colder than AJ's heart out here. But yet after you
20:34
Speaker 1: did that, Aj, I couldn't say anything bad.
20:36
Speaker 5: Listen, Ken, I even invited Buster only who's second on
20:40
Speaker 5: that list, to come to the game and celebrate with you.
20:42
Speaker 6: So I don't know what else you want from me.
20:44
Speaker 5: I mean, I hadn't wanted to on the list in
20:47
Speaker 5: the stadium at the same time, so.
20:49
Speaker 6: You guys got to celebrate together.
20:51
Speaker 1: So it's a cool I cannot ask for anything more.
20:55
Speaker 1: You reached out. You were a true friend, and you've
20:57
Speaker 1: prevented me from saying anything negative about you during the game.
21:01
Speaker 1: And we know from time to time on the broadcast
21:04
Speaker 1: we'll get into a back and forth. But no, seriously, thanks, thanks.
21:08
Speaker 6: Man, You're welcome.
21:08
Speaker 1: It was.
21:09
Speaker 5: It's well deserved, and it's cool that that's you. And
21:11
Speaker 5: I mean, I think if you add up all the
21:13
Speaker 5: rest of them, you're almost more than all of them.
21:15
Speaker 5: So it's an honor well deserved. Now you're not Joe
21:18
Speaker 5: Davis with his play by play Emmy. I don't know
21:20
Speaker 5: if they have to have sideline reporter Emmy's because you
21:22
Speaker 5: should probably have.
21:23
Speaker 6: Won one by now.
21:25
Speaker 1: I won two, but not for what.
21:30
Speaker 6: I don't see him, because I don't see him behind you.
21:32
Speaker 5: Most people like Scott when he has one, you know,
21:34
Speaker 5: he has the regional local Somerset, New Jersey cable Emmy.
21:39
Speaker 6: But the years behind you, AJ.
21:42
Speaker 1: They're in back of me. But I'm not going to
21:44
Speaker 1: adjust the screen, so you can see him. I don't
21:47
Speaker 1: like to. I don't know.
21:48
Speaker 3: It's to me, it's like bragging.
21:49
Speaker 1: Almost have that in the shot. We're good.
21:51
Speaker 6: I agree.
21:52
Speaker 3: Agreed, Agreed, says Aj, who has his YouTube trophy nearby.
21:57
Speaker 5: No, I'm my intern trophy right here because I was
22:02
Speaker 5: told I have to have it.
22:03
Speaker 3: So see boom there you go. Yeah, we don't want
22:06
Speaker 3: to brag. Yeah it is. It is nice.
22:08
Speaker 1: So what next?
22:09
Speaker 3: One's million? But that one is nice? Well, well Ken
22:12
Speaker 3: from all of us obviously, congratulations. When I saw that number,
22:16
Speaker 3: I was like, seven fifty. I mean, you're you're cal
22:20
Speaker 3: ripken right now. I know, I know you haven't been on.
22:22
Speaker 3: I'm sure you've missed one here and there for some
22:24
Speaker 3: family related thing or whatever, but seven fifty is a
22:28
Speaker 3: big number. You have a large, large lead in the category.
22:30
Speaker 3: So a lot of respect to what you're doing.
22:32
Speaker 1: That. God, I know this is my twentieth year doing
22:36
Speaker 1: games that I know my head, of course, I know
22:38
Speaker 1: when I started, I've never counted the games. So when
22:41
Speaker 1: that came out and I didn't see that until we
22:44
Speaker 1: put it on the broadcast, I said on the broadcast,
22:47
Speaker 1: that's a big number, and it is a big number.
22:49
Speaker 1: And I'm very lucky to have been working for Fox
22:53
Speaker 1: this long and lucky that they've had me.
22:55
Speaker 7: Yeah.
22:56
Speaker 3: Absolutely no, Hey, they were counting everything from what I
22:59
Speaker 3: saw in there. I mean our old friend Sam Ryan
23:01
Speaker 3: was on that list, you know when she's doing MLB
23:04
Speaker 3: Network game stuff like that. So there it is, one
23:06
Speaker 3: more time, Ken at the top, an Olnie, Berducci, Morosi,
23:10
Speaker 3: Aaron Andrews, Sam Ryan. That's your top six there, Ken,
23:13
Speaker 3: Thank you appreciated, congrats again. We'll catch you on Thursday
23:17
Speaker 3: on Fair. Thanks guys, Ken Rosenthal, Fair Territory host on
23:22
Speaker 3: Mondays and Thursdays. Check out yesterday's show. Everything still applies,
23:27
Speaker 3: including more on that national story that we talked about
23:30
Speaker 3: at the top, and then Alana's back on Thursday to
23:32
Speaker 3: take your questions. I saw some of them here and
23:35
Speaker 3: if you'd like to bring them to Thursday show live,
23:37
Speaker 3: go for it. If you'd like to add a little
23:38
Speaker 3: super chat, that's cool too.
23:40
Speaker 4: Shannon Dreer from the Mariners Insider from Seattle Sports seven
23:46
Speaker 4: to ten AM.
23:46
Speaker 6: Did I get that right?
23:47
Speaker 2: Shannon? You got it? It's a mouthful. I'm sorry, Oh
23:50
Speaker 2: it's in the back there.
23:52
Speaker 6: So yeah, you gave me a cheat sheet. So what
23:54
Speaker 6: do we what do we got going on?
23:56
Speaker 4: I mean, the the Al West, is the Astro, the
24:00
Speaker 4: ait No, No, the Mariners.
24:04
Speaker 2: Surprise. Yeah, I think that has been a surprise for everybody.
24:09
Speaker 2: I think that the Mariners got off to a start
24:12
Speaker 2: that with a change of manager, even though Dan Wilson
24:15
Speaker 2: was there a year ago, there were new pieces, there
24:17
Speaker 2: were new systems, and I think they thought that it
24:21
Speaker 2: might take a little bit to get into the season.
24:23
Speaker 2: It did not. On It did not get into the
24:25
Speaker 2: season the way they expected to. They expected to lead
24:28
Speaker 2: with pitching, and pitching went down and for the first
24:30
Speaker 2: time in a long time, the offense stepped up. So
24:33
Speaker 2: we're looking at something very different right now.
24:36
Speaker 4: But is it sustainable in the sense that this is
24:40
Speaker 4: the same team that it's been. So where's the change?
24:44
Speaker 4: Because you don't just make a change, you don't just say,
24:47
Speaker 4: you know what, we're career this on base percentage, we're
24:50
Speaker 4: career strikeouts. I know the strikeouts are kind of starting
24:53
Speaker 4: to creep up as a team again a little bit.
24:56
Speaker 4: But where is the distinct change in that offense?
25:02
Speaker 2: Well, we saw Horee Polanco was the distinct change for
25:04
Speaker 2: the first month. Now he has fallen off terribly, and
25:07
Speaker 2: I think that you've seen it in the results that
25:10
Speaker 2: you've seen the last three weeks in particular. The good
25:12
Speaker 2: news is the pitching is coming around. But on the
25:15
Speaker 2: hitting side, we do know that when Dan Wilson took over,
25:18
Speaker 2: Edgar Martinez came with him, and he's still the chief
25:20
Speaker 2: hitting strategist and he's still there for every home game.
25:23
Speaker 2: He's been there on some of the road trips as well.
25:25
Speaker 2: Wanted to break things down and to simplify it, and
25:28
Speaker 2: I do think that we saw results. Then we saw
25:30
Speaker 2: results in the first month of the season. Kevin Seitzer
25:33
Speaker 2: comes on board. It's a different voice, the same tune
25:36
Speaker 2: that Edgar Martinez is singing, and you just seem to
25:39
Speaker 2: get the feeling that everybody is on the same page.
25:42
Speaker 2: And the word that you keep hearing is simplifying. And
25:45
Speaker 2: when you get them to break that down a little
25:47
Speaker 2: bit more and you take into account the conversations and
25:49
Speaker 2: the language that you've heard the last few years, you
25:52
Speaker 2: realize it is that. And you know, my kind of
25:55
Speaker 2: evaluation of it was they just gave him too much
25:57
Speaker 2: over the last couple of years. They thought that they
26:00
Speaker 2: had players that could embrace the technology. It worked on
26:03
Speaker 2: the pitching side, Let's try it on the hitting side.
26:05
Speaker 2: Let's give them more, Let's give them every access to
26:08
Speaker 2: everything that's available to them. And when you stripped it down,
26:12
Speaker 2: I think that found them in a better place. And
26:15
Speaker 2: they made that change pretty quickly. I think they saw
26:17
Speaker 2: the results right away. So would that come some confidence?
26:20
Speaker 2: Can they take it the rest of the way. They're
26:22
Speaker 2: going to need some help at some point. I think
26:24
Speaker 2: the Mariners will be in better shape than most to
26:26
Speaker 2: make a deal at the deadline if deals are there
26:28
Speaker 2: to be made. So I think really now the key
26:31
Speaker 2: is is to kind of try and get that offense
26:33
Speaker 2: going a little bit more as the pitching comes back.
26:36
Speaker 2: Their strength was for about the whole month of April,
26:40
Speaker 2: they were hitting one through nine as an order. Now
26:42
Speaker 2: you're starting to see the bottom third fall off. You've
26:44
Speaker 2: seen Polanco fall off, So they've got to work their
26:47
Speaker 2: way through that, be a little bit more of a
26:48
Speaker 2: threat as a team, and then hopefully you're able to
26:52
Speaker 2: add something.
26:53
Speaker 4: Well, like Shannon you said, they'll have more opportunities or
26:57
Speaker 4: leeway than most to make addition. A team that made
27:02
Speaker 4: pretty much zero editions in the offseason and talked more
27:05
Speaker 4: about needing to subtract. Where's this leeway going to come from?
27:09
Speaker 4: Are they going to have to decimate their farm system
27:13
Speaker 4: or is there going to be cash available.
27:17
Speaker 2: You'd like to see the cash available. I think in
27:20
Speaker 2: the right situation it will be. But I don't think
27:22
Speaker 2: you have to decimate the farm system. When you're looking
27:24
Speaker 2: at a farm system that has a las Montest, that
27:27
Speaker 2: has a Felonine Celliston, that hasn't Colt Emerson. You know,
27:32
Speaker 2: you look at those guys and you say, I wouldn't
27:35
Speaker 2: want to trade any of them. I'd want hands off.
27:37
Speaker 2: If you've got three guys that your hands off on,
27:40
Speaker 2: you probably should be trading one. Harry Ford has probably
27:43
Speaker 2: got some decent value as well. I think we're going
27:45
Speaker 2: to see Cole Young at some point, So I don't
27:47
Speaker 2: think you're decimating anything. And you look at the farm
27:50
Speaker 2: system right now, and you thought that perhaps the starting
27:53
Speaker 2: pitching would be the weakness because they did go and
27:56
Speaker 2: concentrate on the offense. And the next thing you know,
28:00
Speaker 2: looking out there and you see an eight inning performance
28:03
Speaker 2: last night from a guy that you really hadn't been
28:06
Speaker 2: counting on to come in and do that. So for me,
28:09
Speaker 2: I think they're stronger in the farm system than many believe.
28:13
Speaker 2: And I think we're finally going to see the opportunity
28:15
Speaker 2: to see the offensive players at this level. That's something
28:18
Speaker 2: we've seen the pitchers, we haven't seen the offensive players.
28:20
Speaker 2: So in terms of capital, when it comes to what
28:23
Speaker 2: they have in prospects, they can afford to give up prospects,
28:26
Speaker 2: and then the question is is how much would they
28:28
Speaker 2: be willing to take on in salary? And of course
28:31
Speaker 2: the biggest question what's going to be available?
28:35
Speaker 4: Art your boots on the ground there in Seattle, you
28:37
Speaker 4: hear you. I'm sure you get callers in the morning.
28:40
Speaker 4: I'm sure you're structured or whatever your show is on
28:42
Speaker 4: where callers are calling in. Are they pissed at ownership
28:46
Speaker 4: for hosting the All Star Game and signing Julio Rodriguez
28:51
Speaker 4: and then no other spending really for this team that
28:56
Speaker 4: had a historic pitching staff last year and just in
28:59
Speaker 4: my opinion, failed the fan base as an ownership.
29:05
Speaker 2: Oh, we hear quite a bit about that. You know,
29:07
Speaker 2: it's a tough situation in that I think the assumption
29:12
Speaker 2: was going to be they would they would get to
29:13
Speaker 2: a point where they were going to spend and you
29:16
Speaker 2: were thinking three years ago, are you going to see it?
29:18
Speaker 2: Are you going to see it two years ago? Are
29:19
Speaker 2: you going to see it this year? And you haven't.
29:21
Speaker 2: So yes. At the same time, they have seen the
29:24
Speaker 2: organization come back with the contract for cal Raley and
29:27
Speaker 2: a lot of people didn't believe they would see that.
29:29
Speaker 2: So you see that going in the right direction. You
29:32
Speaker 2: see cal Rawley signing with the team in that situation,
29:35
Speaker 2: and you hope it's going in the right direction. You
29:38
Speaker 2: know that they are draft and developed first. They're not
29:41
Speaker 2: going to go out there and make that tremendous splash
29:44
Speaker 2: that you know, go out and get the top free
29:46
Speaker 2: agent on the market. You know that's at boards of
29:48
Speaker 2: six hundred and seven hundred eight hundred million dollars. I
29:51
Speaker 2: don't think we're going to see that. I think that
29:54
Speaker 2: with what they have built, you don't need to make
29:57
Speaker 2: the spectacular splash, but you need to make good decisions
30:00
Speaker 2: and obviously dollars are always going to help. And I
30:04
Speaker 2: think that they do look at this team right now,
30:06
Speaker 2: they do see the window and where it is, and
30:10
Speaker 2: you know, if there was ever a time that you
30:11
Speaker 2: were going to spend it is now, and I think
30:14
Speaker 2: it's fair to expect them to spend some.
30:18
Speaker 6: Shannon.
30:18
Speaker 5: First of all, I've seen you for years and I
30:20
Speaker 5: never knew your name. So I'm glad now that I
30:22
Speaker 5: will not forget your name because I've seen you in
30:23
Speaker 5: Seattle for like twenty five years plus and I never
30:27
Speaker 5: knew your name. I always saw you there and I
30:28
Speaker 5: always did a great job. So hello, and nice to
30:32
Speaker 5: now know your name. So now I know your name.
30:34
Speaker 5: I just had never gotten it because normally you ask
30:36
Speaker 5: a question and you don't. It's not like football where
30:38
Speaker 5: you say, hey, Shannon from the seven to ten Seattle
30:41
Speaker 5: Sports Hey, just ask a question and you move on.
30:43
Speaker 5: So that and you weren't. I was never played in Seattle,
30:45
Speaker 5: so I never got to know your name. So Hello,
30:48
Speaker 5: nice to meet you.
30:49
Speaker 2: Kind nice to meet you.
30:50
Speaker 6: But the bats, the bats are the thing to me,
30:53
Speaker 6: starting with cal Rawley.
30:54
Speaker 5: Cal Rawley, I say, is the best catcher in baseball
30:56
Speaker 5: defensively and offensively. Can these bats stay as hot as
30:59
Speaker 5: they have and can they carry him to nail West
31:02
Speaker 5: Crown even as the Astros look like they're starting to
31:04
Speaker 5: get hotter?
31:06
Speaker 2: Well, I think it's going to depend on where horror,
31:08
Speaker 2: Hey Polanco is You're going to get Luc Railey back
31:10
Speaker 2: at some point, and he was part of kind of
31:12
Speaker 2: the offensive explosion they have last year, if you want
31:15
Speaker 2: to call it that. And I think that they're going
31:17
Speaker 2: to need help towards the bottom of the order. You know,
31:20
Speaker 2: when you're talking about the Mariners, if the pitching comes back,
31:23
Speaker 2: you don't need an explosive offense. You need an offense
31:26
Speaker 2: that scores four or five runs a game. They've been
31:28
Speaker 2: doing that right now. They're on a little bit of
31:30
Speaker 2: a slide right now because one of their biggest hitters
31:32
Speaker 2: has fallen off, and at the same time, we still
31:35
Speaker 2: haven't seen Julio kind of turn into second half Julio yet.
31:38
Speaker 2: So I think that there is some more there. Can
31:40
Speaker 2: they do it on their own? I'd like to see
31:42
Speaker 2: them add some to it. I do think we're going
31:45
Speaker 2: to see a player, a young player, probably a cool
31:47
Speaker 2: young at some point. Let's see what kind of impact
31:49
Speaker 2: that has. But yeah, I think they're going to need help.
31:52
Speaker 2: But I think there are also going to be of
31:54
Speaker 2: impact on the arm side, when you get Logan Gilbert back,
31:57
Speaker 2: and when George Kirby gets more into his season and
32:00
Speaker 2: when you get Bryce Miller and you're hoping Kirby and
32:02
Speaker 2: Bryce Miller are both right, and I'm sorry, you're hoping
32:05
Speaker 2: Bryce Miller and Logan are both right, and you're not
32:07
Speaker 2: going to know that until for sure, until you see
32:09
Speaker 2: them up on the hill and you see them get
32:11
Speaker 2: into and back into their season a little bit, and
32:13
Speaker 2: then you know it's again going to be about the
32:15
Speaker 2: run suppression. Let's go get another arm for that bullpen.
32:18
Speaker 2: I don't think you need an absolute back of the
32:19
Speaker 2: bullpen thing, but you need another leverage type arm, and
32:22
Speaker 2: then I think you can feel pretty good about it.
32:24
Speaker 2: But as far as the offense goes, I think they
32:26
Speaker 2: have a plan that they understand, that they have bought
32:29
Speaker 2: into and that they have a lot of confidence in.
32:31
Speaker 2: I think it goes a long way that they were
32:33
Speaker 2: able to do what they were able to do in
32:35
Speaker 2: the month of April without Logan Gilbert and without George Kirby.
32:39
Speaker 2: That gives us offense a ton of confidence, so you
32:42
Speaker 2: don't see a lot of panicing going on when things
32:44
Speaker 2: don't go their way. So I feel good that they
32:47
Speaker 2: have shown that they can do what they need to do.
32:49
Speaker 2: Got to keep them healthy and then a little bit
32:52
Speaker 2: of help. I think we go a long way.
32:54
Speaker 4: You talked about the bottom of the order kind of
32:57
Speaker 4: falling off as of late, and you go through ebs
32:59
Speaker 4: and flows of the sea, and has Dylan Moore done
33:03
Speaker 4: enough that he won't ever see the bottom of the
33:05
Speaker 4: order again or is it kind of a well, we're
33:08
Speaker 4: just waiting till the player of the week falls back
33:11
Speaker 4: to earth.
33:13
Speaker 2: He's done that a little bit, but you know what,
33:15
Speaker 2: that's kind of been his career and part of that
33:17
Speaker 2: is probably he doesn't play every single day, so he
33:20
Speaker 2: is going to have I think a little you know,
33:21
Speaker 2: more ebbs and flows. You can only do so much
33:24
Speaker 2: in that role, and I think he's done a fantastic
33:25
Speaker 2: job in staying ready for everything. And if you can
33:28
Speaker 2: catch him on a hot streak, he's as good as
33:30
Speaker 2: anybody against left handed pitching. I mean, he'll go up
33:32
Speaker 2: there and he'll have those you know, two home run games,
33:35
Speaker 2: he'll have three home runs and four games, things like that,
33:38
Speaker 2: and then he'll cool off a little bit and you know,
33:41
Speaker 2: everything that he has to do, I think that is
33:43
Speaker 2: expected to happen. So where he is in the order,
33:47
Speaker 2: I think it really depends on where everybody else is,
33:50
Speaker 2: and it does help that if you need to put
33:52
Speaker 2: him at the top of the order, you can put
33:53
Speaker 2: him at the top of the order. If you need
33:55
Speaker 2: to bat him fifth or six, you can bat him
33:57
Speaker 2: fifth or six. But you know what, when this line
34:00
Speaker 2: is going good, he's going to be lower in that order,
34:02
Speaker 2: and that's not necessarily a bad thing. He can do
34:05
Speaker 2: a lot of things there as well. If he gets
34:06
Speaker 2: on base, one of the better based Steelers in the
34:08
Speaker 2: game throughout his career, he can help out in that situation.
34:12
Speaker 2: So I don't worry about Dylan Moore too much. He's
34:15
Speaker 2: doing good things out there, and if he kind of
34:16
Speaker 2: falls off a little bit, usually you'll see him again later.
34:20
Speaker 5: Chann And thank you for your time. We really appreciate it.
34:23
Speaker 5: And stay warm and dry out there in Seattle. Even
34:25
Speaker 5: though it's a lot sunnier than people think. It's a
34:28
Speaker 5: well hidden myth that Seattle range every day because I've
34:32
Speaker 5: seen a lot.
34:33
Speaker 6: Of really sunny days.
34:34
Speaker 5: So enjoy the weather out there in Seattle, enjoy the
34:36
Speaker 5: hot Mariners start and we'll talk to you soon.
34:39
Speaker 2: Eighty degrees today, but I'm also bringing the puffer coat
34:42
Speaker 2: for later.
34:43
Speaker 6: Exactly exactly