Latest / Foul Territory / NL Wild Card CHAOS, Yordan ignites Astros, AJ's scoop on Verlander's final outing, Rays clinch AL East

Transcript

NL Wild Card CHAOS, Yordan ignites Astros, AJ's scoop on Verlander's final outing, Rays clinch AL East · Foul Territory

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: What's up? Happy Wednesday. Clinching is happening. AJ, they did it.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: And it never got close at the end. I know
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: it got close at other times. The Rays. The Rays
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: win the American League East in the Bronx.
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 0:19
  Speaker 3: Who doesn't love a good party in New York City?
• 0:20
  Speaker 3: I wonder if they went to sleep after that double
• 0:23
  Speaker 3: dip they had to play yesterday. You know what really
• 0:25
  Speaker 3: would have sucked for them? Is if they would have
• 0:27
  Speaker 3: won the first game. See, they planned it perfectly where
• 0:30
  Speaker 3: they won the second game to clinch, not the first game.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: Because you win the first game What do you do?
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: You say, hey, guys, we got another game to play?
• 0:35
  Speaker 3: Because it's not like back in the day where you
• 0:37
  Speaker 3: had 40 dudes you could run out there. They had
• 0:39
  Speaker 3: to play your regular players. And they did it in
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: their new uniforms. Good job by Kevin Cash to plan
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: it perfectly.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: I mean, or Carlos Rodon just dealt against them. But
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: that would have sucked. Like, hey, guys, we're going to
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: have champagne. Like, hey, guys who already played in this game,
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: please don't get into the champagne. Hey, guys, like. That
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: would have been the worst because celebrating is the best,
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: so good for them.
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: Actually, good question.
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: I feel like I've seen this before. Don't they sometimes
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: wait until after the second one to celebrate? Wouldn't it
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: be a little bit strange? Besides maybe just like a
• 1:15
  Speaker 4: classic toast. Yeah, it's just weird, right?
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah. It would have been anticlimactic. Even if they win
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: that game, it's not like they're on the– it just–
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: The whole process of like winning, whether you run out
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: to the mound, everybody runs off the field, whatever it is,
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: because everyone's clinching game is different. The whole going through
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: the line, going down the steps, taking your cleats off
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: right there, getting your shirt, getting your goggles. It's a
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: whole process that you get into the locker room. It's
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: all plastic off and you're just like, everyone's just like,
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: it's the beginning of the club and they start and
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: you celebrate.
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: Over under five and a half people drinking during game
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: two if they had clinched during game one, AJ.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: I mean, if you started, like if you're a starting pitcher.
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: Pitchers, coaches, traveling people, clubhouse guys.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: I mean, there's everybody. Trust me. No, the traveling guys
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: are always like, oh, okay, okay, we're in now. And
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: then it's like it's the first time they've ever looked
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: at the standings. And it's like. You know where we're
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: flying to, but they're like, oh, I got to get
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: the families here. What about this? Yeah, they're flying to
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: Tampa Bay.
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: They have to go all the way to Tampa Bay.
• 2:35
  Speaker 5: Right.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Anyway, whatever.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Well, props to the Rays.
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: I don't know if you know Westy or not. I
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: don't know if you know Westy in Tampa.
• 2:44
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: He might get back to you. Westy, if you're listening,
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: he might get back to you. He might not get
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: back to you, or he might hear from six months
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: later and say, oh, yeah, that thing you asked about
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: six months ago, I got you. And you're like, Westy,
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: that was six months ago, dude.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: I don't need that anymore. Westy's great. I love you, Westy.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: When did you play where he was working? I never did,
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: but he just likes me. We're just pals.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: AJ goes to many clubhouses these days.
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: I just sucked up to him.
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: We have a mutual thing for this team that's in
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: college that we've been to many games before together and
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: know a lot of the same people.
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: It's called Florida. Seattle Seahawks.
• 3:20
  Speaker 7: Nice.
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: I don't think he's a Seahawks fan. I think he's
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: a Champa Bay fan. Buccaneers fan. Baker Mayfield for life, baby.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: Can we show the shirts?
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: I think the Rays one is really popping. These are
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: division champ shirts. Officially licensed, so the players are on there.
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: A number of the key stars for the Brewers, the Braves,
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: the Dodgers, the Rays. At some point, we'll have one
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: for the American League Central and the AL West if
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: anyone wants it. But FoulTerritoryShop.com. And lastly, before we get
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: to charge, AJ, the.
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: Rays are going to be a force. I mean, they
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: had a great year. They have a good pitching staff.
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: You could make a case for a little bit of
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: a top-heavy lineup in terms of slug, but some of
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: the other guys deeper down in the lineup are annoying.
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: They're pests. They had a good trade deadline.
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: This team is going to be a problem, and they
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: have a bye watching the Red Sox and Yankees beat
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: up on each other.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: True.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: By the way, I've never looked better.
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: I don't know what happened to my camera, but it
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: completely went out, Scott. So I can hear you and
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: I think you can hear me, but I think my
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: camera just completely quit.
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: So I'm going to have to reload. So I'll be
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: right back.
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: You get out of here and you come back. In
• 4:34
  Speaker 4: the meantime, Kratz, we can run through what the National
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: League is going to look like. Well, sort this one
• 4:45
  Speaker 4: out for us. The National League wildcard as of today.
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: Today is Wednesday, September 23rd. This is the last Wednesday
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: of the regular season. The same records hold for the Padres,
• 4:59
  Speaker 4: the Phillies and the Cubs.
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: And it matters. It matters for who gets home field.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: It matters for seating.
• 5:05
  Speaker 7: What do you think?
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: Do I think it matters? Yeah, it definitely matters.
• 5:10
  Speaker 7: No, I know it matters.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: I'm saying, what do you think about what's going to
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: happen and what it means? Do I think it matters?
• 5:16
  Speaker 7: Of course it matters.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: That's what I think is going to happen is what
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: it means. It means that you're either going to have
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: to play a team in your division if you're the Phillies.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: You're going to either have to play a game at
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: home if you're the Padres. The Padres' only chance is
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: to beat out both teams because they lose a tiebreak
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: to the Cubs and... the Phillies. And I think all
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: three of these teams, while this isn't just the most
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: obvious chalk answer, just based on how these teams have
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: played at home, I think the home field advantage is
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: so massive in all these places. I wouldn't say that
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: in necessarily every stadium. I think for the Cubs, it's massive.
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: You've seen incredible streaks for the Cubs. The Padres, everybody
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: knows what kind of environment the Padres put out there
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: when they sell out They break their sellout record almost
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: every single night, which I still don't understand. And then Philly,
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: I mean, people write books about what it's like to
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: come and play in Philly. So, yes, this is massive.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: These are going to be teams that I'm wondering if
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: they're going to really kind of kill themselves down the
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: stretch to get that home field advantage. Nobody's saying, obviously,
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: Craig Stammen came out the other day or yesterday and
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: said Michael King won't pitch the last day because they
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: want him to get ready. unless it means it's a
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: possible chance to be the home.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL> <HAL>.
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: Is that incorrect?
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: Yes. Let's show the tweet.
• 6:46
  Speaker 4: You were getting there, and then you started to lose
• 6:49
  Speaker 4: me by the end there. Michael King will not pitch, basically, period,
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: at this point, because they're about to clinch a playoff spot.
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: So we have the tweet from AJ Cassaville.
• 6:57
  Speaker 4: Craig Stammen says, Michael King would only start the regular
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: season finale this If it's decisive for making the.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: Playoffs, they're going to make the playoffs.
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: King wouldn't start that game if the Padres have clinched,
• 7:08
  Speaker 4: but still have a shot at home field advantage. He'd
• 7:11
  Speaker 4: be pushed to start wild card series game one. So AJ,
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: we were talking about not only home field and how
• 7:17
  Speaker 4: that's going to be affected over the next several days
• 7:20
  Speaker 4: with these three teams, but then also, are you going
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: to play the Dodgers or the Brewers?
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Who do you want to play?
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: The Dodgers and Brewers are only separated by one game,
• 7:28
  Speaker 4: but really two because the Brewers hold the tiebreakers. Point is,
• 7:31
  Speaker 4: I think some people definitely would rather face the Brewers
• 7:34
  Speaker 4: than the Dodgers, and maybe some would rather face the
• 7:36
  Speaker 4: Dodgers than the Brewers.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: What do you think?
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: I think a lot of people would rather– other than
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: the Padres. I think the Padres would rather play the
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: Dodgers just because they get up for the Dodgers, they've
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: beaten the Dodgers, they know how to handle the Dodgers.
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: I think, honestly, most teams– and this is– I don't
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: want to say bulletin board material, but most teams would
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: rather play the Brewers.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: They just would.
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: They don't have the playoff pedigree that the Dodgers have.
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: And I mean, I think if you're the Phillies, you're saying, okay,
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: our starting pitching matches up with them, we can hit
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: with them. We can handle them. If you're the Cubs,
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: you're like, we know them well, revenge from last year,
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: we'll take them. And if you're the Padres, you say,
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: we'd love to beat the, we'd love to beat our
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: brother up just North of us in LA. So, but
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: we'll take the Brewers if we have to. So I
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: think two of the three would rather play the Brewers
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: and the Padres probably would rather.
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: Play the Dodgers. AJ, think about this. Answer this. What
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: was tougher? Facing– when you're playing, oh, no, we're facing
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: a good team or, oh, we're facing our division opponent.
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: To me, that's how they would look at it because
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: every team thinks that they're really good. Like nobody– I
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: never was in a postseason series and like, we got
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: no shot, bro. Like I don't even care if the
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: Reds last year playing the Dodgers, who everybody thought had
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: no shot. The team doesn't think you don't have a shot.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: Of course. But like the division opponent, doesn't that– Are
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: you saying you would rather face a division opponent because
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: you know them or because you feel like they match
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: up well against them?
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: I mean, the question was, who would you rather face
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: if you're these teams? And I think the teams that
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: are looking at it saying the Dodgers are the two-time
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: defending champion and.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: They have all the playoff pedigree in the world.
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: The Brewers haven't made a World Series since 1982. They
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: keep getting to the postseason and not making it. So
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: if you're the Phillies or Cubs, I think you look
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: at it and say, man, we'd rather play the Brewers.
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: And if you're the Padres, you say, we played the
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: Dodgers 13 times. We're not afraid of them. And we've
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: beaten them recently in the post season. We should have
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: beat them. Was it two years ago when they had
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: them on the ropes and they should have beat them
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: and they didn't score a run for two games. So
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: they're looking at it like, okay, we can beat the Dodgers.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: We know we can beat the Dodgers. So I think
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: that's kind of where we're at now.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: Does that matter?
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: No, it doesn't matter because anything can happen. But I
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: think if you have a shot, I also think a
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: short series helps you if you're the Phillies or the Cubs,
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: because you only have to win three games, right.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: To beat the Brewers.
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: And, not a seven-game series where it's drawn out. Because
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: over the long haul is where the Dodgers win. In
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: a short series, anything can happen.
• 10:09
  Speaker 4: All right, so a lot to be decided. And for
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: tiebreaker purposes, if the Padres are tied with either of
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: those teams– they don't hold the tiebreaker. So they need
• 10:20
  Speaker 4: to finish above the Cubs and or the Phillies for
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: seating purposes. Also the Cubs need to play games. They
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: have the weather looking scarier and scarier over the weekend.
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: Some people are like, should they play three games on,
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: I don't know, Friday morning, afternoon and night or something
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: like that.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: I don't even know if.
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: They, those games in Tampa, that'd be awesome. They should.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: I mean, they should. Are the brewers home flight of Milwaukee?
• 10:49
  Speaker 7: I don't know.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: I'd have to look that up. It would take a little.
• 10:53
  Speaker 7: Bit of time.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: But here's the thing.
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: Sometimes if you're MLB, you're like, all right, well, let's
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: just hope they're meaningless games. They're looking more and more
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: like they're going to be meaningful for seating purposes.
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: You can't throw them away. You're going to have to
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: play them.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: Think about the difference in the travel that they have
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: to do. You lose those games.
• 11:18
  Speaker 2: You have a chance of needing to fly all the
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: way out to San Diego to play if you're the Cubs. Like,
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: there's so many variables here that come into it. And obviously,
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: we're kind of glazing over the fact that, yes, the
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: Brewers have a slight edge over the Dodgers. But this
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: could all get flipped if the Dodgers keep winning. And
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: that means if the Dodgers keep winning and the Brewers lose,
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: the Phillies are winning because they're playing each other right now.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: There's a lot going on here.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: And this is why they leave Monday open. If they
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: need to play games.
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: They don't want to play on that Monday.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: They do not.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: I'm saying, but if they need to, they will. If
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: it's just.
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: Can you imagine if they play a doubleheader on Monday?
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: The Cubs, you're like, oh my gosh.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: It's happened before.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: Two years ago. Not like this.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: Two years ago, right? With the Mets and the Braves.
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: Braves and. I mean, that was, that was to decide
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: if they were getting in or not.
• 12:16
  Speaker 7: Yeah.
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: That was two years.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: Braves and Mets played and they both won one game,
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: which is usually what happens. And they both get in
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: and what the Diamondbacks were out. Yeah. So that was
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: the one where they celebrated.
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: One won the other. Yeah.
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: That was the one where they won at the beginning,
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: the first game, and they couldn't celebrate because they had
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: to play the second game. And then they both were
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: celebrating at the same time. Thank you, everyone. Uh, thrilled.
• 12:42
  Speaker 5: Um, to announce that Andy Green will be our manager
• 12:46
  Speaker 5: going forward and that we've signed him to a three-year
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: contract extension. Simply put, I think Andy's the perfect person
• 12:54
  Speaker 5: for this job. His experience both throughout his career in
• 13:01
  Speaker 5: the game, his experience in our organization over the last
• 13:07
  Speaker 5: three years, our relationship that we've developed, and his ability
• 13:13
  Speaker 5: to lead our clubhouse makes him the right choice. I'm
• 13:17
  Speaker 5: thrilled that Andy has gotten to the point where this
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: is the right choice for him and his family as well,
• 13:25
  Speaker 5: and I think we're in very good hands in our
• 13:28
  Speaker 5: dugout going forward. I think Andy brings to us an
• 13:33
  Speaker 5: ability to connect the organization in ways that very few
• 13:38
  Speaker 5: people could.
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: That's David Stearns announcing Andy Green is going to be
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: the manager, signing for three years with the Mets. They
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: also added Derek Falvey in the last couple hours to
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: their front office. But, hey, AJ, I thought Andy Green
• 13:51
  Speaker 4: didn't want to be manager and he wanted to be
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: in the front office.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: He wanted to spend time with his family.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: Three years, nine mil maybe? Does that change you?
• 14:00
  Speaker 7: I'm guessing.
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: I don't know what the number is, but it could be.
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: It changes me. I don't know about Andy Green. I
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: don't know what it does for Andy Green, but that
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: definitely would be something.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: Like, hmm.
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: Nine million I wouldn't have made otherwise. I think I
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: will put that in my back pocket. And even if
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: I get fired, I still get that money. Let's go Mets.
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: Yes, let's go Mets. When I texted Andy Green yesterday,
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: when it came out yesterday, he said, didn't expect this.
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: Didn't expect this from when I started because I had
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: texted him back when he got the job. And he's
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: very much a family guy. I got to know him
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: a little bit through my time when I was in
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: spring training with him. But like interacting with him, talking
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: with him. He wants to be engaged with people. He
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: wants to really talk to people. And maybe that's where
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: the front office really feels like he's going to continue
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: to be able to invest in this team. And he
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: got over the hurdle of his family. Like that's a
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: big thing. If your family wants you home and you're like, yeah, okay,
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: I'll be home. And then your family hears that you
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: get a three-year contract. Maybe they can all move to
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: New York City together.
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: Hey, we're talking SeatGeek. Where do you want to be
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: with days left in the season? Many clinching scenarios. Eric Kratz,
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: you raised your hand in the front of the classroom.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: Where would you like to be?
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: I'm going on SeatGeek for Saturday. Do you know what
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: game is Saturday? That is epic. Ole Miss at Florida.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: Ole Miss at Florida. This is going to top any
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: of your college shenanigans that I know Scott is not watching.
• 15:37
  Speaker 7: Okay. Detroit.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: Justin Verlander making his last start of his illustrious first
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: ballot Hall of Fame career. By the way, yes, I agree.
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: By the way. I don't know.
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: Were we going to talk about this today? I thought
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: we were talking about Verlander. Are we not talking about
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: it today?
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we can double talk about it.
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: I'll save my story for later. I talked to him
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: on Saturday. I'll save it for, I mean, I talked
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: to him Sunday for a long time.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: We'll do it in slap.
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: We'll give you a minute or two in slap so
• 16:08
  Speaker 4: we can do it there. But that's a good one
• 16:10
  Speaker 4: to call out. That's a ticket that you should look
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: at now. My guess is that as it gets closer
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: and more people realize what's going on in the next
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: few days, the price of that ticket probably goes up too.
• 16:22
  Speaker 2: So you got to go. I'm a history guy. If
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: Tiger Woods comes through Philly to play in a PGA
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: championship or something or a top tennis player, you got
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: to see the players who were the best. Even though
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: you might not see them at their peak right now,
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: you get a chance to see Verlander at his last start.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: To me, I think it's a no-brainer. You really got
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: to go on there and check it out.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: They did it big for Miggy when that happened.
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: They're having a whole weekend for him. They're having a
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: whole weekend for him. So they're doing a big thing
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: Friday night for him. Saturday he's pitching. Sunday he won't
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: be able to wipe his butt. So, yeah, it's his weekend.
• 17:00
  Speaker 7: It's cool.
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: It's so true.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: He's got a long recovery.
• 17:04
  Speaker 4: He can rest in rehab for life.
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: He does not need to pitch again.
• 17:10
  Speaker 7: This is it.
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: And he had a long run too. Again, we'll talk
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: more about him. But other scenarios coming up over the
• 17:15
  Speaker 4: next couple days. I mean, A.J., The Central is still
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: to be decided, but the Guardians and White Sox should
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: both be clinching in the next couple days.
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: So there's some celebrating there. Postseason berths.
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: There's a little bit of that. And, I mean, same
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: with the National League wild cards. All of them should
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: be clinching quite soon.
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: Yeah, as far as the divisions, you can try and
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: time that out on SeatGeek, but good luck because it's
• 17:41
  Speaker 4: close right now. If you're a fan of those teams
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: and you can go, it's playoff vibes. Territory 10% off.
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: That's for MLB tickets on SeatGeek. Again, 10% off. SeatGeek,
• 17:52
  Speaker 4: green dot, means they like that seat. Red dot, they
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: don't love that seat for value.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: Here we go. AL West. Who wants it? Anyone, anyone.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: Who wants it?
• 18:03
  Speaker 4: Chandler Rome joining us right now from The Athletic covering
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: the Astros and, of course, within our fam. for Crush
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: City Territory. And Chandler, what I want to do differently
• 18:11
  Speaker 4: here is not just talk Astros, but we're going to
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: do a total Astros and Rangers conversation here since they're
• 18:17
  Speaker 4: so linked together. So let's just start with laying it
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: all out. Where are we at as of this moment
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: in terms of what the next five days could look
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: like for these teams? And that includes both of them
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: getting pretty banged up as we speak, like Texas too,
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: losing some guys yesterday.
• 18:34
  Speaker 7: Pretty simple.
• 18:35
  Speaker 6: The Astros own the tiebreaker, so all they have to
• 18:38
  Speaker 6: do is finish with at least the same record.
• 18:40
  Speaker 7: As the Rangers, and they will win the American League West.
• 18:43
  Speaker 6: The two teams currently have the same record at 78
• 18:46
  Speaker 6: and 79 after last night, which means the Astros are
• 18:49
  Speaker 6: technically in first place because they hold the tiebreaker. I
• 18:53
  Speaker 6: would say the Astros have a little bit easier of
• 18:57
  Speaker 6: a schedule. They play the A's for four games this
• 19:00
  Speaker 6: weekend in Sacramento. after finishing their series against the Mariners
• 19:04
  Speaker 6: tonight at T-Mobile Park. As you know, the Rangers have
• 19:08
  Speaker 6: the Mets for two more games than they played the
• 19:11
  Speaker 6: Twins after that. Again, it's not like the Twins or
• 19:14
  Speaker 6: the Mets are playing for anything, but I think when
• 19:16
  Speaker 6: you just look at maybe total talent level on those
• 19:19
  Speaker 6: two teams compared to the A's, or this version of
• 19:21
  Speaker 6: the A's, I should say, you would think the Astros
• 19:24
  Speaker 6: have the advantage. You would think they have the advantage
• 19:26
  Speaker 6: going into Sutter Health Park where– The Astros have hit
• 19:31
  Speaker 6: the second most home runs of any team in the
• 19:32
  Speaker 6: American League. You go into an offensive-friendly ballpark against a
• 19:37
  Speaker 6: very bad A's pitching staff. You would think that that
• 19:39
  Speaker 6: is a chance for the Astros to flex their might.
• 19:42
  Speaker 6: But as we've seen with the Astros this year, they
• 19:45
  Speaker 6: don't like anything easy.
• 19:47
  Speaker 7: Everything is coming kind of difficult to them. Everything's been
• 19:49
  Speaker 7: hard for them. them.
• 19:50
  Speaker 6: And they just seem to kind of relish that. They
• 19:52
  Speaker 6: relish maybe having their backs against the wall a little bit.
• 19:55
  Speaker 6: They relish, you know, coming on this road trip, knowing
• 19:57
  Speaker 6: that they probably had to go four and two or
• 19:59
  Speaker 6: five and one on this road trip to really feel
• 20:02
  Speaker 6: good about their chances. And they got off to a
• 20:03
  Speaker 6: great start last night. Here in Seattle, you know, really
• 20:07
  Speaker 6: with one of their more complete games in a long time,
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: a 7-0 win over the Mariners. But it didn't come,
• 20:13
  Speaker 6: like you mentioned there, Scott, without a lot of valid
• 20:16
  Speaker 6: injury concerns coming out of that game.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: What are they?
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: What are the valid injuries concerns? Tell us, Chandler.
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: You're on site.
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: Tell us about these injuries.
• 20:26
  Speaker 7: Long time no see, AJ. Long time no see.
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I know. Last time I saw Chandler, this was
• 20:30
  Speaker 3: Chandler in the booth or the press box in Houston.
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: Because he has to watch the West every day. Hey, Chandler.
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: How's it going? Oh, we've got about nine more games.
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: I don't know what's going to happen.
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: I'm just going to type up my little story here.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: And it could change, but I don't know. Oh, what
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: did Joe Espada say? Oh, he was great. He was great, Chandler.
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: Oh, really? He's been kind of boring to us lately.
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: No, Chandler. Maybe he's just tired of you.
• 20:56
  Speaker 7: I don't know.
• 20:58
  Speaker 6: I mean, I'd be tired of Me Too by this point.
• 21:01
  Speaker 6: I'm getting late into September.
• 21:03
  Speaker 7: I'd be tired of that.
• 21:04
  Speaker 6: I'd be tired of listening to Me Too. But as
• 21:06
  Speaker 6: far as last night, let's start with the good news first.
• 21:09
  Speaker 6: Jeremy Pena got hit with a 97-mile-an-hour fastball in his
• 21:13
  Speaker 6: right wrist forearm area. They took x-rays. Those x-rays were negative.
• 21:18
  Speaker 6: Pena's been hit nine times this season. He's kind of
• 21:20
  Speaker 6: used to getting hit and then coming back the next day.
• 21:21
  Speaker 6: So I'd imagine he'll be good to go tonight. Bryce Matthews,
• 21:25
  Speaker 6: the team's backup center fielder who was starting because Dalton
• 21:28
  Speaker 6: Varshow was hurt. Bryce Matthews re-aggravated his left knee while
• 21:33
  Speaker 6: making a sliding catch in the second inning. Joe Espada,
• 21:36
  Speaker 6: after the game, pretty much ruled him out for today's game,
• 21:40
  Speaker 6: which magnifies a little bit the Dalton Varshow issue. Dalton
• 21:43
  Speaker 6: Varshow was unavailable last night due to a left wrist ailment.
• 21:47
  Speaker 6: He has not played in three days for the Astros.
• 21:51
  Speaker 6: Bear in mind, he was their only deadline acquisition and
• 21:53
  Speaker 6: someone that they really kind of count on to hit
• 21:56
  Speaker 6: middle-ish of their lineup, even though he really hasn't done much.
• 22:00
  Speaker 6: So now the Astros are looking at, you know, they
• 22:02
  Speaker 6: don't have either of their center fielders at full strength.
• 22:05
  Speaker 6: And then on top of that, starter Christian Javier exited
• 22:07
  Speaker 6: the game after two innings with right groin tightness. Credit
• 22:12
  Speaker 6: to the Astros' bullpen who came in behind him. I
• 22:14
  Speaker 6: think five relievers followed him.
• 22:16
  Speaker 7: And finished a shutout.
• 22:17
  Speaker 6: Miguel Ulloa, a rookie, got his first big league win
• 22:20
  Speaker 6: coming into a really tough spot, throwing two clean innings.
• 22:25
  Speaker 6: Bennett Souza comes back, throws a career-high 40 pitches across
• 22:30
  Speaker 6: two innings to help them.
• 22:31
  Speaker 7: And then they were able to.
• 22:33
  Speaker 6: They were able to avoid using some of their leverage
• 22:35
  Speaker 6: guys as the game separated late. But look, even if
• 22:40
  Speaker 6: some of these injuries sound maybe a little bit minor
• 22:42
  Speaker 6: in nature, there's five games left in the season.
• 22:45
  Speaker 7: Everything is magnified.
• 22:46
  Speaker 6: They don't have an off day until the end of
• 22:48
  Speaker 6: the year. They play five straight to end the year.
• 22:51
  Speaker 6: Their bullpen is now taxed. They obviously avoided using Brian
• 22:56
  Speaker 6: Abreu and Josh Hader last night, but everyone else got
• 22:58
  Speaker 6: pushed basically to their brink because they have to.
• 23:01
  Speaker 7: They have to win these games.
• 23:03
  Speaker 6: So There was a meeting going on late last night
• 23:06
  Speaker 6: when we left the clubhouse between Joe Espada, Omar Lopez,
• 23:09
  Speaker 6: and Astros assistant general manager Gavin Dickey, one of the
• 23:12
  Speaker 6: four guys overseeing the baseball operations department since Dana Brown
• 23:16
  Speaker 6: got fired. So I imagine we may see a new
• 23:20
  Speaker 6: player or two in Seattle tonight.
• 23:23
  Speaker 7: The Astros have a taxi squad.
• 23:26
  Speaker 6: That's working out in Constellation Field in Sugar Land where
• 23:28
  Speaker 6: their AAA team plays. So maybe we see an outfielder
• 23:32
  Speaker 6: come from there. Maybe they add a fresh arm. But
• 23:35
  Speaker 6: their roster is being pushed to the limit because, look,
• 23:38
  Speaker 6: this is a roster that is very top-heavy, that does
• 23:40
  Speaker 6: not have a ton of depth, and they need every
• 23:44
  Speaker 6: member of this roster to make it work. And they
• 23:46
  Speaker 6: can't kind of survive if they've got multiple players unavailable
• 23:50
  Speaker 6: on this roster.
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: So, Chandler, you can guarantee me probably– Two innings for Hayter,
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: two innings for Brehu tonight, and hope the starter gives
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: them five, and then they'll worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow, as
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: we were saying, so, you know, I don't know what
• 24:03
  Speaker 3: the strikeouts are for those two guys, but they're probably
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: going to see two innings each.
• 24:11
  Speaker 6: Well, you've got to remember, you have Tetsuya Imai in
• 24:14
  Speaker 6: the bullpen. You have Ronaldo Blanco.
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: They don't want to put him on the mound at all,
• 24:17
  Speaker 3: it seems like.
• 24:19
  Speaker 6: And you have Ronell Blanco in the bullpen, who's basically
• 24:22
  Speaker 6: in the same category there.
• 24:23
  Speaker 7: And I will say he might've been better.
• 24:25
  Speaker 6: He might've had a couple of nice outings out of
• 24:27
  Speaker 6: the bullpen, but they have been in the lowest of
• 24:29
  Speaker 6: low leverage spots.
• 24:31
  Speaker 7: There's not going to be an inning.
• 24:33
  Speaker 6: They play the next five days that you can really
• 24:36
  Speaker 6: say is super low leverage. I mean, all these games
• 24:39
  Speaker 6: have the intensity of a playoff game. And I don't
• 24:42
  Speaker 6: think right now they would trust him or Ronell Blanco to,
• 24:44
  Speaker 6: to get on the mound in a playoff type game, but,
• 24:47
  Speaker 6: They may have to because their bullpen is pushed to
• 24:50
  Speaker 6: the limit. So the good thing about this, AJ, Josh
• 24:53
  Speaker 6: Hader has not pitched since Thursday. He is on six
• 24:57
  Speaker 6: days of rest. So if they wanted to unleash him
• 25:01
  Speaker 6: for multiple outs, if they wanted to unleash him for
• 25:03
  Speaker 6: maybe a multi-inning stint, he is certainly in a position
• 25:06
  Speaker 6: to do that. But they also do have to think
• 25:08
  Speaker 6: about the fact that they may need to use him
• 25:11
  Speaker 6: multiple days in this five-day stretch. So I don't know
• 25:13
  Speaker 6: that they want to, you know, Empty all his chamber
• 25:16
  Speaker 6: on one night. So they do have Hayter rested, which
• 25:19
  Speaker 6: is a good thing. And Abreu is relatively rested as well.
• 25:22
  Speaker 6: So their two best relievers are in a good spot.
• 25:27
  Speaker 6: They're starting rookie Ethan Pecco tonight. Maybe he gets them
• 25:31
  Speaker 6: two times through. You figure out the fifth and the
• 25:34
  Speaker 6: sixth inning. And then from the seventh inning on, it's
• 25:37
  Speaker 6: Abreu and Hayter. Or the Astros can do what they
• 25:39
  Speaker 6: did last night, score seven runs, separate the game a
• 25:42
  Speaker 6: little bit, and not make every pitch possible.
• 25:44
  Speaker 7: So kind of dramatic.
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: I'm going to go to the offense, but first make
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: sure you get it right. It's not taxi squad. It's
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: called stay hot camp. Okay. There's a bunch of guys.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: There's a bunch of guys down in Sugarland who are
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: being told you have a shot of going to the
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: big leagues. And then when they see all those injuries,
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: they're like sitting by their phone, like waiting to see,
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: did they, did they call me? So it's stay hot camp. Okay.
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: Cause it's the just in case guys. So they're staying.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: Believe me, they got to stay hot because, I mean.
• 26:15
  Speaker 7: They're going to need them.
• 26:16
  Speaker 6: I mean, this is they're going to need at least
• 26:18
  Speaker 6: two or three guys in that. I don't know if
• 26:20
  Speaker 6: it'll be tonight, but it'll be in the next four
• 26:22
  Speaker 6: or five days. You will maybe see, you know, two
• 26:24
  Speaker 6: or three guys from there come up and try to
• 26:26
  Speaker 6: help this thing.
• 26:27
  Speaker 2: That's good news for the boys in Sugar Land. So
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: they're they're popping champagne also. But my question is something
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: you said the last time you were on. And it
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: was kind of doom and gloom, like Jordan Alvarez just
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: does not look very good. Jordan Alvarez's home run or
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: two iron, whatever it was that he hit yesterday. Is
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: that the reality of this? I know we just talked
• 26:50
  Speaker 2: about the pitching and Hayter and Abreu have to throw
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: every night for them to win out here. If Jordan
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: does Jordan things, which he looks like he's kind of
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: turned around in the last five to six days, is
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: this team automatic to be in? Or are these teams
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: who are out of it, going to start pitching around
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: Jordan to make it like, hey, you know what? We're
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: trying to do our best here for every game.
• 27:13
  Speaker 6: Eric, they're going to pitch around Jordan no matter what.
• 27:19
  Speaker 6: I don't think he'll see much to hit when the
• 27:21
  Speaker 6: game is really in the balance. He obviously hit that
• 27:23
  Speaker 6: homer last night in the eighth inning. The Mariners were
• 27:25
  Speaker 6: down five runs.
• 27:27
  Speaker 7: But, I mean, it's a homer.
• 27:28
  Speaker 6: It was a big homer, too, because Joe Espada had
• 27:31
  Speaker 6: Brian Abreu warming in the bullpen to pitch the bottom
• 27:33
  Speaker 6: of that eighth inning when– Alvarez hit that out. He
• 27:36
  Speaker 6: sat Abreu down and got Logan Van Wye up. So
• 27:39
  Speaker 6: he was able to, you know, save one of his
• 27:40
  Speaker 6: leverage arms with that. But look, I mean, this team
• 27:43
  Speaker 6: goes as Jordan Alvarez goes and.
• 27:47
  Speaker 7: On the field. Yes.
• 27:48
  Speaker 6: But then we saw a step off the field when
• 27:50
  Speaker 6: on Sunday he did something that's not really in his character.
• 27:53
  Speaker 6: He called a team meeting. He addressed the team, called
• 27:57
  Speaker 6: the sweep against the Braves, three slaps in the face
• 28:00
  Speaker 6: and You know, from talking to people that were in it,
• 28:02
  Speaker 6: this was not a rah-rah holler, like throwing the spread,
• 28:06
  Speaker 6: throwing things across the clubhouse type of speech. It was
• 28:09
  Speaker 6: just kind of more of a reassuring kind of, let's
• 28:12
  Speaker 6: lock in. Let's get our minds right. Let's go on
• 28:14
  Speaker 6: the road and finish this. And for Jordan to do that,
• 28:17
  Speaker 6: I think shows a lot of strides he's made in
• 28:19
  Speaker 6: terms of leadership. This is a guy that's always really
• 28:22
  Speaker 6: been a leader in there, but he's led by example.
• 28:25
  Speaker 6: He's not a guy that loves the spotlight. He's not
• 28:27
  Speaker 6: a guy that loves to talk a lot. But to
• 28:30
  Speaker 6: do that and to stand in front of the team,
• 28:34
  Speaker 6: I thought it was very meaningful. And I thought, you know, AJ, Eric,
• 28:38
  Speaker 6: you guys can maybe talk to the value of team
• 28:40
  Speaker 6: meetings more than I can. I kind of sometimes think
• 28:44
  Speaker 6: of them as eyewash. But you look at what they
• 28:46
  Speaker 6: did last night. They came out and from pitch one,
• 28:50
  Speaker 6: I stress that from pitch one, they looked like an
• 28:53
  Speaker 6: aggressive team. kind of determined, urgent team. Jeremy Pena stole
• 28:57
  Speaker 6: second base. The first pitch Jordan Alvarez saw in the first.
• 29:00
  Speaker 7: Inning, Jeremy Pena was off and running. They were going
• 29:02
  Speaker 7: first to third.
• 29:03
  Speaker 6: They were really pushing the envelope, laying some bunts down.
• 29:07
  Speaker 6: It looked like a team that really, really took Jordan's
• 29:11
  Speaker 6: message to heart and was locked in.
• 29:14
  Speaker 3: Did Jordan mention anything about Pete Alonzo? How much do
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: the Astros fans not like Pete Alonzo at this point?
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: Because he's probably going to win the batting title. He's
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: Tied now with the home runs, but he can't catch
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: that pesky Pete Alonso in the RBIs.
• 29:29
  Speaker 6: I think they may have their ire, and I use
• 29:32
  Speaker 6: this very lovingly, the word ire, but I think Junior
• 29:35
  Speaker 6: Caminero is the guy that they're looking at now.
• 29:37
  Speaker 7: Cause they, they barely are not.
• 29:39
  Speaker 6: They see junior Caminero probably as Jordan Alvarez, his biggest
• 29:42
  Speaker 6: MVP threat. And you know, Jordan's Homer last night, he
• 29:46
  Speaker 6: pulled into a tie with junior Caminero atop the AL leaderboard.
• 29:49
  Speaker 6: Like you said, Jordan sells the highest batting average in
• 29:52
  Speaker 6: the American league, but yeah, it's going to be tough
• 29:53
  Speaker 6: to catch Pete Alonzo who went crazy. last weekend for
• 29:57
  Speaker 6: the Orioles. And look, if Jordan Alvarez goes crazy these
• 30:00
  Speaker 6: next four or five games, do what he did last night.
• 30:03
  Speaker 6: You know, drove in three runs last night, homer, single.
• 30:06
  Speaker 6: If he does that these next five days, four of
• 30:08
  Speaker 6: which will be in, again, a minor league ballpark where
• 30:12
  Speaker 6: the ball flies. If he goes crazy, I think the
• 30:16
  Speaker 6: MVP conversation is close to ending. But if he has
• 30:20
  Speaker 6: a nice little four or five games to end the
• 30:21
  Speaker 6: season here, I think you can really end the conversation
• 30:24
  Speaker 6: and say that Jordan Alvarez is has this award locked up?
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: All right. There's the other side, the Rangers. How is this?
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: And obviously I think we're talking about just a lower
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: class of teams based on how they've played this year
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: in the American League West. They just have not played
• 30:42
  Speaker 2: as well as the rest of the league or even
• 30:45
  Speaker 2: the National League in general. The Rangers, are the Astros,
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: if the Astros get in, is it because the Astros
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: started playing better or is it because the Rangers just,
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: fell on their face with injuries. They just lost Jock
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: last night.
• 31:02
  Speaker 7: Yes. Both.
• 31:05
  Speaker 6: I think neither outcome would surprise me because both these
• 31:08
  Speaker 6: teams have done that this year. The Rangers have had
• 31:10
  Speaker 6: stretches where they've just played terrible baseball, but so have
• 31:14
  Speaker 6: the Astros. The Astros had a stretch where they won
• 31:16
  Speaker 6: 10 of 11, and they looked like a pretty legitimate club.
• 31:20
  Speaker 6: And then they've had stretches where they get swept against
• 31:23
  Speaker 6: the Braves, they get swept against the Rays, and you're like, man,
• 31:26
  Speaker 6: this team is so far away from an actual contender.
• 31:29
  Speaker 6: But then it's all about location. You're in the American
• 31:33
  Speaker 6: League West. You can only play the schedule in front
• 31:35
  Speaker 6: of you, and you can only contend with the teams
• 31:37
  Speaker 6: that are in your division. And the Astros are taking
• 31:39
  Speaker 6: advantage of that. Look, the Astros... The Astros have the
• 31:43
  Speaker 6: best player in the league on their team. Right now,
• 31:46
  Speaker 6: Jordan Alvarez is the best player, the best hitter, I
• 31:49
  Speaker 6: should say, in Major League Baseball. They have him on
• 31:51
  Speaker 6: their team. That is an advantage that the Rangers don't have.
• 31:55
  Speaker 6: That's an advantage that no one else in this division has.
• 31:58
  Speaker 6: You start there and you feel good. you could say
• 32:01
  Speaker 6: the Astros have the best close one of, if not
• 32:03
  Speaker 6: the best closers in the American league on their, on
• 32:05
  Speaker 6: their team and Josh Hader.
• 32:07
  Speaker 7: That's a, that's a feather in their cap. We've always
• 32:09
  Speaker 7: said this, right?
• 32:09
  Speaker 6: The Astros top head, the Astros top talent, the top
• 32:13
  Speaker 6: end of their roster is as good or better than
• 32:17
  Speaker 6: just about any contender in the AL. It's just everything else,
• 32:21
  Speaker 6: the depth around them, everything else on their roster is,
• 32:26
  Speaker 6: is insufficient. And, It's what made those injuries last night.
• 32:30
  Speaker 6: It's what magnified them a little bit. So this is
• 32:32
  Speaker 6: an Astros team that is only going to go as
• 32:35
  Speaker 6: its top-end talent takes it. And, I mean, Jordan put
• 32:39
  Speaker 6: them on their back last night. Isak Paredes, who is
• 32:42
  Speaker 6: having a very quiet four-win season, according to Baseball Reference.
• 32:45
  Speaker 6: He saw Paratus at another homer last night. His OPS
• 32:48
  Speaker 6: is creeping up toward 800. Christian Walker bopped a home
• 32:52
  Speaker 6: run last night. Man, do they need to get Christian
• 32:54
  Speaker 6: Walker going. Getting Christian Walker going would really change the
• 32:58
  Speaker 6: dynamic of this entire lineup. I think people forget, you know,
• 33:00
  Speaker 6: he's got 26 home runs. This is not a guy
• 33:03
  Speaker 6: that's just been awful for five months and provided nothing.
• 33:07
  Speaker 6: This is a guy that when he runs in no ball,
• 33:08
  Speaker 6: he can get a ball out of the ballpark. He
• 33:11
  Speaker 6: would really help to lengthen this lineup out a bit.
• 33:13
  Speaker 6: But make no mistake, and I think the Rangers would
• 33:15
  Speaker 6: even say this too, like the Rangers are only going
• 33:18
  Speaker 6: to go as Corey Seager goes, as Nate Evaldi goes
• 33:22
  Speaker 6: coming out of the bullpen, as Jacob DeGrom goes, as
• 33:24
  Speaker 6: their top-end talent goes. That's what's going to carry the Rangers,
• 33:28
  Speaker 6: and I'll take the Astros' top-end talent basically all the
• 33:32
  Speaker 6: time over the Rangers.
• 33:34
  Speaker 2: Okay. But you have to choose. Which team do you think–
• 33:38
  Speaker 2: has a shot of going farther in the playoffs. If
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: the Astros and Rangers have to represent the American League West,
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: which team is built to go farther in the playoffs?
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: Is it the two-pitcher team in the Astros or the
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: one-pitcher team in the Rangers and a one-pitcher team in
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: the Astros?
• 34:05
  Speaker 7: Man, I don't know.
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: I probably would.
• 34:08
  Speaker 7: just say push there.
• 34:09
  Speaker 6: I think, I don't think either of them is, I
• 34:11
  Speaker 6: don't think either of them are built for a long run, obviously,
• 34:14
  Speaker 6: but I think we may have been saying about the
• 34:17
  Speaker 6: diamond back. We've may have been saying the same thing
• 34:19
  Speaker 6: about the diamond backs in 2023. That's the beauty of
• 34:22
  Speaker 6: this format. And that's the beauty of this playoff system.
• 34:24
  Speaker 6: Like you just got to get hot at the right time.
• 34:27
  Speaker 6: And if they have Jordan, if the Asher's have Jordan
• 34:29
  Speaker 6: Alvarez hot, he can win them a playoff series in
• 34:32
  Speaker 6: a similar vein, as we saw in 2023 and, If
• 34:35
  Speaker 6: the Rangers have Corey Seager hot, Corey Seager can win
• 34:38
  Speaker 6: them a playoff series. So I think it's just a
• 34:41
  Speaker 6: matter of who is going to be playing the best
• 34:43
  Speaker 6: at that time.
• 34:45
  Speaker 7: If you made me choose. I like the Rangers rotation.
• 34:50
  Speaker 6: When you look at DeGrom, when you look at what
• 34:52
  Speaker 6: Evaldi can do coming out of the bullpen, Kumar Rocker's
• 34:55
  Speaker 6: been good for them.
• 34:56
  Speaker 7: I may give them a little bit of an edge there.
• 34:59
  Speaker 6: I think I like maybe the length of their lineup
• 35:01
  Speaker 6: a little bit better than the Astros. But again, I
• 35:05
  Speaker 6: don't think I can ignore that the Astros have maybe
• 35:08
  Speaker 6: some better top-end talent than the Rangers do.
• 35:10
  Speaker 7: So I think it's a push. I don't think.
• 35:12
  Speaker 6: Either team is really built for a long extended playoff run,
• 35:17
  Speaker 6: but that's why they play the games. And that's what
• 35:20
  Speaker 6: makes the baseball playoffs so great is you never know
• 35:22
  Speaker 6: what can happen once you get in the dance.
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: Great point.
• 35:25
  Speaker 3: Plus they're probably going to have to play the White Sox.
• 35:27
  Speaker 3: And we all know how when the Astros play the
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: White Sox, except for 2021, but we're not, we forgot
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: about that. The magic wand erased that from my memory. Chandler,
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: what do you think about people saying in Buckshot Walters,
• 35:40
  Speaker 3: one of them is on our show, that teams that
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: finish under. 500 shouldn't make the postseason. There's a chance
• 35:45
  Speaker 3: that one of these teams finishes under. 500 and wins
• 35:48
  Speaker 3: the division. Is there any thoughts on that from the
• 35:51
  Speaker 3: Astros side?
• 35:53
  Speaker 7: I don't think the Astros are going to care very much.
• 35:56
  Speaker 6: If they get in, they get in. They don't care
• 35:58
  Speaker 6: how it happened. I say it on Crush City territory
• 36:00
  Speaker 6: a lot, so a lot of people laugh at this.
• 36:02
  Speaker 6: I mean, they don't ask how, they just ask how many.
• 36:05
  Speaker 6: And in this exercise, they don't ask how you got there,
• 36:10
  Speaker 6: they just care that you got there. And the Astros,
• 36:13
  Speaker 6: if they get there with an under 500 record, you know,
• 36:15
  Speaker 6: I think it's, I don't think it's an indictment on them.
• 36:18
  Speaker 6: I think it's an indictment on the entire division. Like
• 36:20
  Speaker 6: this is, this is not a great Astros team. This
• 36:24
  Speaker 6: is not a great Rangers team either, but. And the
• 36:27
  Speaker 6: Mariners just came off, you know, almost going to the
• 36:29
  Speaker 6: World Series, and the Mariners just fell flat on their face.
• 36:32
  Speaker 6: I think it's more of an indictment on them, quite frankly.
• 36:34
  Speaker 6: I think it's an indictment on the entire division that
• 36:38
  Speaker 6: none of them could mount a serious rally or a
• 36:41
  Speaker 6: serious threat to two pretty mediocre teams in the Rangers
• 36:45
  Speaker 6: and the Astros. So I think, you know, I do think,
• 36:50
  Speaker 6: I will say this. I think the thought of receding
• 36:53
  Speaker 6: the bracket once the teams get into the playoffs, I'm
• 36:57
  Speaker 6: more in line with that line of thinking than I
• 37:00
  Speaker 6: am don't let a sub-500 team get into the playoffs.
• 37:05
  Speaker 6: I do think it's a little bit odd that the
• 37:07
  Speaker 6: AL East is going to be bunched up on that
• 37:09
  Speaker 6: side of the bracket. And quite frankly, whoever wins the
• 37:12
  Speaker 6: American League West– has a pretty– there's no easy paths,
• 37:17
  Speaker 6: but certainly a manageable path to getting an ALCS matchup
• 37:22
  Speaker 6: against whoever comes out of that AL East side of
• 37:24
  Speaker 6: the bracket.
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: But they love pretty brackets. They love them.
• 37:30
  Speaker 6: By the way– You can still have a pretty bracket,
• 37:34
  Speaker 6: just recede it.
• 37:36
  Speaker 2: Yeah, recede it after the first round, Chandler. After the
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: first round, recede it. And by the way, if they.
• 37:42
  Speaker 3: Do– If they do win the West, is Joe Espada
• 37:47
  Speaker 3: really in trouble?
• 37:50
  Speaker 6: I mean, look, he doesn't have a contract. He has
• 37:52
  Speaker 6: no contract for next year. Inherently, he is in trouble. And,
• 37:55
  Speaker 6: you know, I think the thing that's not being talked
• 37:57
  Speaker 6: about a ton when we talk about Joe Espada's future,
• 38:00
  Speaker 6: and I will say this, owner Jim Crane was at
• 38:02
  Speaker 6: T-Mobile Park yesterday with his son, Jared, who works and
• 38:06
  Speaker 6: who was high up in the Astros organization. You know,
• 38:08
  Speaker 6: Jim and Joe were having what looked like to be
• 38:10
  Speaker 6: a pretty lighthearted conversation behind the batting cages during batting practice.
• 38:14
  Speaker 7: So Jim's on, I.
• 38:16
  Speaker 6: Don't know if he's on the whole road trip, but
• 38:17
  Speaker 6: he's here, you know, at least for the beginning of it.
• 38:20
  Speaker 6: The one thing that we're really not talking about with
• 38:22
  Speaker 6: Joe Espada's future, obviously the Astros don't have a general
• 38:24
  Speaker 6: manager right now. I think Jim Crane, I think for
• 38:29
  Speaker 6: the best interest of everything going forward, Jim Crane has
• 38:32
  Speaker 6: to decide pretty quickly after the season if Joe Espada
• 38:36
  Speaker 6: is the guy that he wants to to manage this
• 38:39
  Speaker 6: team going forward? If that answer is yes, I think
• 38:43
  Speaker 6: it would behoove Jim and it would behoove the entire
• 38:46
  Speaker 6: front office to let Joe at least sit in on
• 38:50
  Speaker 6: these GM interviews. Not saying he has any decision-making authority,
• 38:54
  Speaker 6: not saying he's going to make the hire, but I
• 38:57
  Speaker 6: think you're setting yourself up for things to go wrong
• 39:00
  Speaker 6: if Jim Crane keeps Joe Espada and then keeps him
• 39:04
  Speaker 6: out of the loop in terms of hiring a GM.
• 39:06
  Speaker 6: Because then you're forcing, you're going to force a GM
• 39:08
  Speaker 6: to come in and work with a manager that he
• 39:11
  Speaker 6: or she did not hire. You're going to force Joe
• 39:13
  Speaker 6: Espada to work with someone that they maybe don't know
• 39:17
  Speaker 6: much about, they maybe haven't heard from. And that's not
• 39:20
  Speaker 6: setting up for a good recipe for functionality and cohesion
• 39:24
  Speaker 6: and alignment. You saw it when they underwent the overhaul
• 39:28
  Speaker 6: after the sign-stealing scandal. Jim Crane hired Dusty Baker before
• 39:32
  Speaker 6: he hired James Click. And that partnership, look, I think
• 39:36
  Speaker 6: those two guys personally didn't have an issue with each other,
• 39:39
  Speaker 6: but philosophically, they did not see eye to eye, Dusty
• 39:42
  Speaker 6: Baker and James Click. And that led to a lot
• 39:44
  Speaker 6: of friction. That led to a lot of stuff going
• 39:47
  Speaker 6: on off the field. The same sort of thing happened
• 39:50
  Speaker 6: with Dana Brown. You know, Jim Crane kept Dusty Baker
• 39:53
  Speaker 6: in place, brought Dana Brown in, and there were some
• 39:55
  Speaker 6: things that Dana and Dusty just philosophically were not aligned on. Now,
• 39:59
  Speaker 6: I'm not saying if Joe Espada sits in on these
• 40:02
  Speaker 6: GM interviews, if he's the manager, he'll all of a
• 40:05
  Speaker 6: sudden be perfectly aligned with any candidate they bring in.
• 40:08
  Speaker 7: You're supposed to have a difference of opinion.
• 40:10
  Speaker 6: That's the beauty of working together is hearing all opinions
• 40:14
  Speaker 6: and having a different opinion. But I do think for
• 40:17
  Speaker 6: just the long-term health of the org, If Joe Espada
• 40:20
  Speaker 6: is Jim Crane's choice to manage his team going forward,
• 40:23
  Speaker 6: I think he has to have at least an ear
• 40:26
  Speaker 6: and some involvement. I'm not saying all the involvement, but
• 40:29
  Speaker 6: at least a little bit of involvement in who's going
• 40:31
  Speaker 6: to be this team's next general manager.
• 40:33
  Speaker 7: Yep, good call.
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: We'll see what happens. Got to win the West. If
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: you don't, I feel like that's Jim Crane for you.
• 40:40
  Speaker 7: That's the only way they're getting in.
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 40:43
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: They don't make the playoffs.
• 40:44
  Speaker 6: Yeah, they're basically out of it. the wildcard talk now.
• 40:49
  Speaker 6: So it's when the division or get in. And Scott,
• 40:51
  Speaker 6: you mentioned it when after firing Dana Brown, Jim crane said,
• 40:56
  Speaker 6: my expectation is that we're in the playoffs every year.
• 40:58
  Speaker 6: He said, we don't have to win it every year.
• 41:00
  Speaker 6: It's hard to win it every year, but my expectation
• 41:02
  Speaker 6: is we're there every year. And so that is the
• 41:05
  Speaker 6: baseline here. Like if Joe, if they, if this team
• 41:07
  Speaker 6: doesn't make the playoffs, I think Joe was spot as
• 41:09
  Speaker 6: fate is.
• 41:10
  Speaker 7: Pretty much sealed.
• 41:11
  Speaker 6: Certainly not saying if they make the playoffs, he's guaranteed
• 41:15
  Speaker 6: to come back, but it certainly gives them a stronger
• 41:17
  Speaker 6: leg to stand on after the season than it would
• 41:20
  Speaker 6: not make in the playoffs.
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: I'm with you. All right.
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: Well, sign some of the extensions. Just, I mean, wait, sorry.
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: No, can't do that.
• 41:28
  Speaker 4: They're going to have a lot to do in the
• 41:29
  Speaker 4: off season, but a week to go less Chandler, good stuff.
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: And then for everyone to note, so.
• 41:34
  Speaker 4: There was the episode of crush city territory with the
• 41:37
  Speaker 4: Jordan Alvarez chat with the team. And then there's a
• 41:40
  Speaker 4: fresh one coming out later today. So Chandler, appreciate you, man.
• 41:44
  Speaker 7: Yep. We're recording in 20 minutes.
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: Boom.
• 41:46
  Speaker 7: Tyler's singing voice is ready.
• 41:49
  Speaker 4: By the time most people see or hear this, there
• 41:52
  Speaker 4: will be a new episode. And this is what the
• 41:54
  Speaker 4: logo looks like. Not one, but two spaceships. Crest City Territory.
• 41:58
  Speaker 4: Chandler and Tyler bringing it.
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: Thanks, Chandler.
• 42:03
  Speaker 4: Hey, so a couple of surgery updates. Jackson Holiday left
• 42:06
  Speaker 4: for a surgery next week. AJ, we haven't talked about
• 42:09
  Speaker 4: him a lot this year.
• 42:10
  Speaker 7: I didn't even.
• 42:11
  Speaker 2: Know he was hurt. He's played through. Yeah, he's... He
• 42:17
  Speaker 2: had a rough year.
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: Well, this at least gives you a little bit of
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: an excuse. It should.
• 42:23
  Speaker 3: Yeah, but I mean, he had a rough year from
• 42:25
  Speaker 3: the ham eight in spring training to now he's having
• 42:27
  Speaker 3: surgery on his other wrist and he didn't have a
• 42:29
  Speaker 3: great year either.
• 42:30
  Speaker 2: You know, so.
• 42:32
  Speaker 3: maybe this is why hopefully it gets better. And he's,
• 42:34
  Speaker 3: he's back to the, you know, the prospect that we
• 42:36
  Speaker 3: all thought he was going to be in the player.
• 42:37
  Speaker 3: We all thought he was going to be at one time.
• 42:40
  Speaker 4: Great kid, great baseball family, highly tatted prospect, get well
• 42:43
  Speaker 4: soon to Jackson on the giant side.
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: Did you guys see this? I mean, it's almost all.
• 42:47
  Speaker 4: Of their top young pitching prospects or young arms. I
• 42:50
  Speaker 4: don't know if one or two of them graduated away
• 42:52
  Speaker 4: from prospect at this point, but surgery has been recommended
• 42:56
  Speaker 4: for Blake Tidwell. So he's going to be out for
• 42:57
  Speaker 4: all of 2027. Same goes here with surgeries for Hayden Birdsong,
• 43:02
  Speaker 4: Trevor McDonald, Carson Wisenhunt. I mean, whoa, sometimes it just
• 43:06
  Speaker 4: hits you all at once, but that's a bad sign.
• 43:08
  Speaker 4: These are guys that could have been nice contributors for
• 43:11
  Speaker 4: next year, AJ, and they will not be.
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: No, they will not be. Wow, that's a lot.
• 43:15
  Speaker 7: That's an.
• 43:17
  Speaker 2: Organizational thing, is it not? I mean, if you have
• 43:19
  Speaker 2: that many of your top prospects going down? Why do
• 43:24
  Speaker 2: teams not want to answer that question? If we come
• 43:28
  Speaker 2: on here and say it is, there's trainers that are like, oh,
• 43:31
  Speaker 2: it's not our fault. Nobody ever. The first organization that
• 43:34
  Speaker 2: can figure out this type of thing will be the
• 43:38
  Speaker 2: organization that takes the next huge leaps and bounds. I
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: know it's an easy thing to say, but I feel
• 43:44
  Speaker 2: like nobody ever takes blame for injuries. People are just like,
• 43:50
  Speaker 2: it happens. So unlucky. But when it happens in like
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: a grouping, a bunching like this with Blade Tidwell possibly missing, Birdsong,
• 44:00
  Speaker 2: some of the stuff that he did last year, I
• 44:01
  Speaker 2: was like, whoa, this kid could be a big thing.
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: And you just go, eh. But nobody ever– I don't know.
• 44:09
  Speaker 2: I don't know that nobody– Do you really want to
• 44:11
  Speaker 2: know why?
• 44:12
  Speaker 3: Because if they say that, then what they're doing will
• 44:14
  Speaker 3: be proven that whatever they're doing is wrong.
• 44:17
  Speaker 2: So they don't want to– nobody will ever come out
• 44:18
  Speaker 2: and be like, my bad, guys.
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: My bad.
• 44:21
  Speaker 2: My bad.
• 44:22
  Speaker 3: We didn't have the correct arm program for our guys.
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: We got the wrong medicine balls.
• 44:27
  Speaker 3: That's like your lifeline. Oh, man, I got a better
• 44:30
  Speaker 3: arm program than the trainer in L.A. Look how many
• 44:32
  Speaker 3: guys we don't get hurt. I mean, come on.
• 44:34
  Speaker 2: That's why.
• 44:35
  Speaker 4: All right, kind of a crazy trivia question. Yesterday we
• 44:39
  Speaker 4: posed this one. So the Reds have five of the
• 44:42
  Speaker 4: nine worst hitters in all of baseball. Then we were
• 44:43
  Speaker 4: trying to guess. We didn't have it ready, but now
• 44:45
  Speaker 4: we do. Someone actually posted about it after the fact.
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: And here it is.
• 44:50
  Speaker 4: From i think it was juice world or baseball world
• 44:54
  Speaker 4: posted it worst hitters in the national league this year
• 44:57
  Speaker 4: minimum of 150 plate appearances this is weighted runs created
• 45:00
  Speaker 4: plus for you ops plus fans those numbers are very
• 45:04
  Speaker 4: similar key brian hayes is at 17 in 235 plate
• 45:08
  Speaker 4: appearances jordan beck who is not a member of the
• 45:11
  Speaker 4: reds but then the list just racks reds after that
• 45:14
  Speaker 4: tj friedel Edwin Arroyo, Jose Trevino, Noel V.
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: Marte.
• 45:18
  Speaker 4: Now, a lot of these guys are– I mean, all
• 45:20
  Speaker 4: of these guys, AJ, are sub-300 plate appearances.
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: That's part of this. But still, it's not 50 plate appearances.
• 45:28
  Speaker 3: And remember when they traded for Cabrian Hayes, we all
• 45:31
  Speaker 3: were like, why? And he still did it, and he
• 45:35
  Speaker 3: proved that he was for defense. Remember they said defense,
• 45:38
  Speaker 3: but you can only defend so much. At some point,
• 45:40
  Speaker 3: you've got to hit a little bit. I mean, a
• 45:42
  Speaker 3: little bit. And, you know, I don't know why it,
• 45:45
  Speaker 3: but I mean, I don't know what they're going to
• 45:47
  Speaker 3: do with them. They got to keep running them out
• 45:48
  Speaker 3: there because of what he's making. And like, listen, Jose
• 45:50
  Speaker 3: Trevino has never been known for his bat.
• 45:52
  Speaker 2: He's a backup catcher. It's tough.
• 45:53
  Speaker 3: Crats can tell you it's really tough. So having that
• 45:56
  Speaker 3: one on there is not fair.
• 45:56
  Speaker 2: Noel V.
• 45:57
  Speaker 3: Marte, we all know what his struggle has been. It
• 46:00
  Speaker 3: hasn't been at the plate. It's been off the field
• 46:02
  Speaker 3: where he's had some questionable decisions. So, I mean, you know,
• 46:07
  Speaker 3: TJ Friedel, when we talked to C. Trent the other day,
• 46:09
  Speaker 3: he just had an awful year. And Edwin Arroyo, I mean, Yeah,
• 46:12
  Speaker 3: he had another bad year. So it's pretty crazy that
• 46:15
  Speaker 3: there's five of the top six are reds.
• 46:18
  Speaker 2: Those aren't– when we had the stat, we were talking
• 46:22
  Speaker 2: about it a little bit yesterday. Like, Key Brian Hayes, starter. T.J. Friedel,
• 46:26
  Speaker 2: beginning of the year. All these guys were going to
• 46:28
  Speaker 2: be starters. Jose Trevino, they didn't know how much they
• 46:31
  Speaker 2: were going to get from Tyler Stevenson. Obviously, Tyler Stevenson's
• 46:33
  Speaker 2: been a positive bat for this team. Noel Wimarte kind
• 46:37
  Speaker 2: of solidified the right field role last year. So, like,
• 46:40
  Speaker 2: to have these guys– have the seasons that they've had.
• 46:43
  Speaker 7: It's tough.
• 46:45
  Speaker 2: And I don't feel like it's like bad luck. It's just,
• 46:48
  Speaker 2: you know, maybe a model poorly read by the Reds.
• 46:53
  Speaker 2: You know, you don't know what they're thinking, but to
• 46:56
  Speaker 2: have that many guys is tough.
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: All right, we're back.
• 47:00
  Speaker 4: Two more minutes until the TV crowd comes back from.
• 47:03
  Speaker 2: Need it. Need that Doc Mennonite to come down and
• 47:05
  Speaker 2: play the first academy. We need it. Need it.
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: We know all about it.
• 47:08
  Speaker 2: We need that. We need that. We need that smoke.
• 47:12
  Speaker 4: Uh, the guys, the, um, most valuable philanthropist award in
• 47:19
  Speaker 4: September from the players trust Carlos Rodon just wanted to
• 47:21
  Speaker 4: shout him out since he was just on the show.
• 47:23
  Speaker 4: And for people that don't know, I mean, players like
• 47:28
  Speaker 4: Carlos will try to go out of their way to
• 47:31
  Speaker 4: appear on a show like ours to of course, talk ball.
• 47:34
  Speaker 4: but also to publicize what they're trying to do to
• 47:37
  Speaker 4: help out the community. So obviously it's cool for us
• 47:40
  Speaker 4: to get the access. It's cool for fans to hear
• 47:42
  Speaker 4: from Carlos. And then he gets the recognition here. That's
• 47:45
  Speaker 4: not what he's doing it for, but it's cool to
• 47:46
  Speaker 4: get the recognition. So congrats to Carlos and his fam, right?
• 47:51
  Speaker 4: Carlos and the Rodon family, his wife, Ashley, they are
• 47:55
  Speaker 4: doing a lot out there.
• 47:59
  Speaker 1: There it is.
• 47:59
  Speaker 7: 100%.
• 48:00
  Speaker 2: Anytime you get an award, I think it's cool when
• 48:02
  Speaker 2: you are recognized by your fellow players. And maybe AJ
• 48:06
  Speaker 2: doesn't agree with me, but you're recognized by your fellow players.
• 48:10
  Speaker 2: To me, it means a lot more because the boys
• 48:14
  Speaker 2: know what you go through, even if you're not a teammate.
• 48:16
  Speaker 2: So any award from the Players Association, players voting, that
• 48:22
  Speaker 2: type of thing, means a little more.
• 48:27
  Speaker 3: Especially for philanthropy. philanthropy a hundred percent for, for what
• 48:31
  Speaker 3: he's done and how much time and how, you know,
• 48:34
  Speaker 3: how special he said it was for him and his
• 48:36
  Speaker 3: family when he came on. I mean that, yes, this
• 48:39
  Speaker 3: one means, this one means a lot to Carlos.
• 48:41
  Speaker 7: I promise.
• 48:53
  Speaker 4: Another tip of the cap to Justin Verlander, who is
• 48:56
  Speaker 4: going to make one final start on Saturday and, Do
• 48:59
  Speaker 4: you have a story for us, AJ?
• 49:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so people that don't know Justin Verlander and I had,
• 49:04
  Speaker 3: I think he's the guy I faced the most in
• 49:06
  Speaker 3: my career. Most career I played appearances against was Justin Verlander.
• 49:10
  Speaker 3: So we've had a lot of battles. We're members of
• 49:12
  Speaker 3: the same golf club. We played golf a bunch together.
• 49:14
  Speaker 3: So we've kind of become friends over the years, acquaintances,
• 49:17
  Speaker 3: whatever you want to call it. So when I heard this,
• 49:19
  Speaker 3: I was in Chicago. on Sunday, and they were playing
• 49:21
  Speaker 3: the Tigers. And I walk into the clubhouse, and I
• 49:24
  Speaker 3: talk to the coaches, and I talk to some of
• 49:25
  Speaker 3: the players. And Justin's sitting there, and I was like, hey, Justin,
• 49:29
  Speaker 3: I talked to Ben Charrington, and they're going to activate
• 49:32
  Speaker 3: me on Saturday because they play the Pirates for one game.
• 49:34
  Speaker 3: I need a couple more hits in my career. I
• 49:36
  Speaker 3: saw you were pitching, so I couldn't wait to run
• 49:38
  Speaker 3: out there. And he just busted out laughing. He goes,
• 49:40
  Speaker 3: I need a couple easy outs. Can they hit you
• 49:42
  Speaker 3: lead off for him? So I was like, okay. And
• 49:45
  Speaker 3: then I was like, hey, how long are you going
• 49:46
  Speaker 3: to go? And he goes, literally until my arm falls off.
• 49:49
  Speaker 3: He goes, because I'm never going to do this again.
• 49:51
  Speaker 3: He's like, if I go, you're going to throw 100?
• 49:53
  Speaker 3: He's like, if I can make it 100 pitches, I'm
• 49:55
  Speaker 3: going to throw 100 pitches. He's like, I literally have
• 49:58
  Speaker 3: nothing to lose, and I don't care what happens. He goes,
• 50:01
  Speaker 3: I made one start at the beginning of the year.
• 50:02
  Speaker 3: I made one start at the end of the year.
• 50:04
  Speaker 3: I'm going to go as long as I can, and
• 50:05
  Speaker 3: we'll just see what happens.
• 50:06
  Speaker 2: That's awesome.
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: That's cool. So we might get a fully loaded Justin Verlander.
• 50:13
  Speaker 3: Because I threw two simulated innings the other day.
• 50:17
  Speaker 2: I go, how'd it go? He goes, I didn't feel awful.
• 50:19
  Speaker 2: So we'll see how it goes.
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: That's good insight.
• 50:23
  Speaker 7: Okay.
• 50:23
  Speaker 4: Well, even more reason to lock in on Saturday and
• 50:26
  Speaker 4: watch that one. There will be all the pomp and circumstance.
• 50:29
  Speaker 4: The Tigers know how to do that right. ceremonial wise.
• 50:32
  Speaker 1: So good stuff. And Kratz hats on the way out.
• 50:35
  Speaker 4: Also I'll mention as you're doing that, who's joining us on, uh,
• 50:40
  Speaker 4: on 30 Thursday, Martin Perez, which is tomorrow.
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 50:44
  Speaker 2: Race got to wear the race hat. They clinched the
• 50:46
  Speaker 2: American league East last night. Gee, I guess playing in
• 50:49
  Speaker 2: a minor league park really doesn't did matter.
• 50:55
  Speaker 4: Exactly.
• 50:57
  Speaker 2: Race fans.
• 50:58
  Speaker 1: It's going to be a fun post season for you.
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: I think, uh, We'll chat on Thursday.
• 51:05
  Speaker 4: If you have a Parlay Boost token available, you might
• 51:08
  Speaker 4: as well use it within the BetMGM app. If you've
• 51:11
  Speaker 4: got a pick that's coming your way, it obviously needs
• 51:12
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• 51:14
  Speaker 4: conditions to see what that Parlay needs to look like.
• 51:17
  Speaker 4: But you build it up. And if you win, you
• 51:19
  Speaker 4: get a bigger payout if the Parlay hits. Gambling problem
• 51:22
  Speaker 4: or concern, call 1-800-GAMBLER.