Latest / Foul Territory / Fair Territory: Bruce Meyer to lead MLBPA, Braves pitching injuries, Jordan Westburg's injury status

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Fair Territory: Bruce Meyer to lead MLBPA, Braves pitching injuries, Jordan Westburg's injury status · Foul Territory

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to the Thursday edition of Fair Territory. I'm
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Ken Rosenthal here with Alana Rizzo and Alana. I must
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: say it has been a rather eventful week in the
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: baseball world, a week that was highly unanticipated. I'm talking,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: of course, about the sudden and shocking resignation of Tony Clark,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: the reasons he resigned, the inappropriate relationship with his sister
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: in law. Of course, the federal investigation that continues into
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: his handling of the union's finances. That investigation has been ongoing,
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: but people were saying the whole time that they never
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: expected to lead to much. We'll see about that. But
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: the way this went down and how he resigned and
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: why he resigned, Alana, I get surprised every so often,
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: not too often, by things that happened in baseball. This
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: one surprised me.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: Well, Kin, I don't think you're alone in that.
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: I think it kind of sented surprising shock waves through
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: the world of baseball. And obviously the timing is interesting
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: as well, because we had thought, even before this announcement
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: of the resignation, that there was likely going to be
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: a work stoppage, a lockout, and that seems to be
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: a guarantee.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: Now the union moves forward with Bruce Meyer.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: Right that idea that there is going to be a lockout,
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: that's not changing. There is going to be a lockout.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: And actually a lot of fans and people I know
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: who are not necessarily in the media asked me in
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: the wake of what happened here, what does this mean?
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Does this help things along? Because Tony Clark is not out, No,
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: not at all. Tony Clark was, yes, the head of
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: the union, but Bruce Meyer is the lead negotiator and
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: will continue as the lead negotiator. And Bruce Meyer was
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: hired not to be Major League Baseball's friend. He was
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: hired to fight for player rights and he's going to
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: do that in the same way he did that in
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: the last CBA during the twenty twenty COVID negotiations and
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: beyond that, the players seem almost galvanized by what has
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: happened here. Now it's early and we will see how
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: they hold together. We will see how the owners hold together.
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: It's real easy to talk tough right now when we're
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: nine months away or so from the expiration of the CBA.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: But Bruce Meyer is someone who will be no doubt
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: some experienced in this role and a guy who has
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: been around now for sometime seven and a half years.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: I believe he understands the issues. He understands what is
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: at stake here. He understands all of that. And Chris
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Bassett in talking to me last night after this vote
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: went down, when bruce Meyer was elected unanimously by the players,
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: Bassett made the point that the union is going to
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: be more transparent within now to the players from the leadership,
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: and he believes that will help. So we'll see how
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: this all transpires, but it's in terms of the union strategy.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: In terms of the union's approach, I expect nothing to change,
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: if anything, from what they are saying about how they
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: will now operate internally. Perhaps they will be stronger.
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: Ken how important was it in your opinion to make
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: sure that they went with somebody within the organization. Bruce
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: Meyer obviously joined the Major League Baseball Players Association in
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: twenty eighteen. It was the second in command under Tony Clark,
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: so he knows the ways of the world in terms
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: of what's been going on with the union for many
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: years now. And I think the timing of this being
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: nine months away from a potential stoppage. It's important to
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: have somebody internally that has already been within the fabric
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: of the union, so that's not a distraction all.
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: And I totally agree, and in many ways, there was
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: no other choice. There certainly was no way, in my opinion,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: that they could have gone outside and hired someone from
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: beyond the baseball world to go be the head of
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: the Baseball Union. And the reason I say that is
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: the baseball history of labor negotiations, the Baseball particular labor negotiations.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: It's a world done to its own. It is not
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: something you can bring in or not a situation where
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: you can bring in someone from the outside and expect
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: that person to understand right away and grasp the issues
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: and the history and all of the acrimony that has
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: taken place over what five plus decades now. So from
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: that perspective alone, Bruce Meyer was clearly the right choice.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: Now he is the interim executive director, and depending upon
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: how this CBA negotiation turns out, they will then determine
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: if he is the permanent director or if they then
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: want to go outside. If you do it at that point,
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: after a CBA is in place and you've got four
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: or five years, Okay, someone can pick it up. Bruce
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: Meyer had to learn all of these things when he
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: came over from the NHL. I believe so yeah, that
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: all is a factor here and certainly was a reason
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: why the players elected Meyer. And I thought also what
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: Bassett said kind of vaguely, but I thought I understood
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: he was saying about bruce Meyer and Matt Nussbaum, the
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: union's general counsel who was appointed to interim deputy executive director.
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: He said, those guys have had the players backs during
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: this FBI investigation. They have done things the right way.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: Evidently a lot of players felt Tony Clark wasn't doing
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: things the right way, both within the way he was
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: operating the union, whether he's guilty of a crime or not,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: and of course whether he was or the way he
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: was leading the union. So from that perspective, the players
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: seem pretty comfortable with this as a whole. You're going
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: to always have people who are not happy, and as
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: I wrote, some people don't like bruce Meyer, even within
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: the player population and even within the union, but they
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: go forward. Now. The timing was unfortunate, but we're still
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: a long ways away from this really getting interesting.
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: Ken bruce Meyer, of course, is known as a labor negotiator,
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  Speaker 3: a labor lawyer knows that type of law inside and out.
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  Speaker 3: How important is it at this point in where the
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: union is to have somebody that is a labor negotiator
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: versus somebody that was a former player like Tony Clark was.
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  Speaker 3: Obviously bruce Meyer is the interim executive director, Mike Nesbaum
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: the interim deputy executive director. How important is it to
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: have labor negotiation at the top of the union. And moreover,
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: do the players need to kind does bruce Meyer kind
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: of need to win these players over that wanted him
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: ousted about two years ago?
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: It's important to have a labor negotiator at the top.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: Tony Clark was the first former player to lead the union,
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: after Marvin Miller, Donald Fear and Michael Wiener, all attorneys
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: preceded him. And yes, it seems to me that that
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: person should be an attorney, a labor lawyer, someone who
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: understands the ins and outs of that part of it. Now.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: Tony Clark had his own skills as a leader of
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: the union, mostly in the way he related to players
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: as he could as a former player. Himself. What I
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: wrote today is that Bruce Meyer, he has led, to
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: a certain degrees, led his staff. He has led labor
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: negotiations with baseball, but he hasn't had to lead in
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: this manner. He has to lead now in a grander manner.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: And yes, a lot of you're right. There was an
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: attempted coup two years ago. It wasn't all the players,
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: but it was a significant number, at least a significant
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: number for this to become an issue. And even in
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: the last few days there have been people who have said,
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: I'm not so sure this is the way we should go.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: I know the vote was unanimous, but there have been
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: some dissenters. So he's going to have to grow into
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: that part of the role. He certainly can negotiate, that's
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: what he does, but there is a distinction between being
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: the lead negotiator and the leader of the entire union.
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: Definitely some interesting times within the Major League Baseball Players Association.
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: Can I appreciate the insight. Let's move on to some baseball,
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: shall we brave? Spencer Schwellenbach underwent elbow cleanup on Wednesday,
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: and Hurston Waldrop will undergo similar a similar procedure on Monday.
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: Of course, we're talking about the Braves here. What does
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: this mean for this club?
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: It's not good news and the Braves. If you remember,
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: at the start of the offseason, what alex Anthopolis, that
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: president Baseball Operations, has talked about is finding a pitcher
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: who could be a playoff starter, someone to start a
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: playoff game. They have not acquired that person, and that
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: was when they were healthy, when they were still looking
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: for that type of pitcher. Now, Spencer Schellenback Schwellenback, I'm sorry,
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: was arguably their number two starter, while Stryder comes off
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: the surgery and is still kind of finding himself. That's
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: a huge loss. Hurston Waldrop a little less of a loss.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: Not that he didn't show great things last season. He did,
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: but he had options left. Bryce Elder does not have
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: options left. Joey Wentz does not have options left. Hurston
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: Waldrip had an uphill fight to make the team. Just
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: from that perspective alone, forget talent ability and even performance.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: We all know how it works when a player has
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: options left versus players who don't, that player has an
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: uphill battle. So obviously you don't want to see any
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: pitcher go down, but Schwellenbach is perhaps the bigger blow. Now,
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: where are they with this, Let's take a look at
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: their starting rotation options, because it's still an interesting group,
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: but it's not necessarily a group that you thought was
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: as good as before Sale Strider and Lopez, Good, grand
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: Holds Good. Bryce Elder now he is the interesting guy.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: His velo jumped about two miles in September. He was
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: better in September. He's not a hard thrower, but they
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: feel perhaps that he can hold this down and hold
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: it down in a way that at least buys them
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: some time. And if they have the offensive year that
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: they anticipated last year and didn't get with out a
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: Kunya and without Profar to start the season, then maybe
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: they'll get back to a team that is indeed a threat,
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: even with these injuries that they're facing. Now. The question
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: fans might have, question I have, frankly, is why don't
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: the Braves just go sign Lucas Giolito for Zach Littel
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: or even Max Scherzer. And obviously that still can happen,
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: and maybe that is something they will look at. But
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: with the exception of Schurzer, at least in his past,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: those are not top of the rotation starters, and the
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: Braves might argue for a certain price that they're not
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: worth even more than Bryce Elder would be kind of
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: at a minimum salary. So I'm not so sure they're
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: going to go in that direction. But those pitchers still
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: are out there, and one more injury, I will say this,
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: the Braves are gonna have no choice.
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: The Brave's not the only ones Ken dealing with some injuries.
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: Let's focus on the Baltimore Orioles in the American League. Now,
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: Jordan Westburg is not participating in any sort of baseball
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: activities for the O's the Baltimore Banners, Andy Coska saying
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: Westburg went for imaging on his elbow. That's the last
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: thing that this club needs, Ken, it is.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: He's a huge part of what they do, and of
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: course he missed a lot of time last year and
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: that hurt them, no question about it. Now, first off,
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: with Westburg, we need to find out what exactly is wrong.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: Is it the oblique is it the elbow as Andy
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: Coska is perhaps suggesting here, And if it's the elbow,
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: well then what are we looking at? How long is
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: he going to be out? Now? The Orioles are in
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: somewhat of a protected position in that they have Kobe Mayo,
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: and Kobe Mayo was a guy that was a top prospect,
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: top twenty prospect in the game as of a year ago.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: Didn't have a great year at least in Baltimore in
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: the major leagues, but is a guy that certainly would
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: benefit from a chance, And if Westburg is out for
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: any length of time, he's going to get that chance.
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: So they have options here if Westburg is out. But again,
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: Westburg was part of their young fabric, part of the
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: reason why a lot of us believe this team was
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: going to be set up well for the present and
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: the future. They need him, and Kobe Mayo may turn
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: out to be even better than Westburg, but we don't
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: know that right now. He's still a prospect.
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: Ken. Do you think that the Orioles are gonna end
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: up having a right handed hitting logjam when perhaps Westburg
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: is healthy, when Jackson Holliday who's dealing with the hamlet
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: bone injury and the surgery there when he comes back,
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: is that something to look at now or is that
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: a down the road type of problem.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Alanna, It's certainly a possibility, But these guys are not
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: healthy right now. Jack'son holiday, not healthy, George Westburg not healthy.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: So that logjam and I actually wrote about this, I
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: believe last week. The logjam was poss because of Mayo's
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: presence and because Ryan Mountcastle is still on this team
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: first basement behind Pete Alonzo. It seems like there's no
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: place for him, but as a DH first base type, Yeah,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: maybe there is with these injuries. So obviously you're right
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: alon It if everybody ever gets healthy. Yeah, they've got
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: a log jam. And they've even explored trades for Mayo
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: and Mountcastle, but with Westbrook possibly out now, they've got
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: to probably hold Yeah.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: I adapt very seriously that there's ever a time, Ken Rosenthal,
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: when all twenty six guys on the twenty six man
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: roster are healthy and ready to go, that would be
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: quite the problem to have. All Right, coming up here
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: on Fair Territory with Ken Rosenthal, it's your opportunity to
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: ask Ken some questions.
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: We'll be back with Grill and Ken right after this.
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: All right, welcome back to Fair Territory with Ken Rosenthal.
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: Time now to get some questions in for Ken and
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: the first one Ken that we're going to start with
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: is regarding Patrick Orbin or John Gray in free agency?
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: Is there any news about either of those guys, And
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: of course this gentleman or person says that he's wishing
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: them best of luck.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: Both former Texas Rangers, and to be perfectly honest, I
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: have not heard anything about either of them so far
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: this offseason and into spring training. Do I expect they'll
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: be in camp. I'm not sure about Gray's health for starters,
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: and Corbin, sure, I would think that some team would
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: at least sign him to a minor league contract, But
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: at the same time, he's still out there.
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: What about Lucas Giolito, that's a question just coming from me.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: Ken.
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: Are you surprised that he's still out there looking for
• 14:40
  Speaker 3: a job?
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: I am. He was hurt at the end of last season,
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: so I don't know what his medicals look like, and
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: perhaps that's a factor. Perhaps he is asking more than
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: teams are willing to pay him. That probably is what's
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: going on here. It's what always is going on when
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: a player lingers into free agency. But I would expect
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: he is going to sign, and probably sign fairly soon.
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: All right, National League West News A question about Tony Vittello.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: The new manager, of course, of the San Francisco Giants,
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: who's already kind of making some waves ken, if you will,
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: in terms of media and.
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: Those types of questions.
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: All right, So, Tony Vittello, what first, before we get
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: to the question itself, what has been your impression of
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: him so far in the first couple of weeks, if
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: you will, being the Giants manager.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: Well, I was around the Giants two days, the first
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: day they had pitchers and catchers working out, and then
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: a couple of days later to interview Tony Vitello for Fox,
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: And we'll have that interview later at some point during
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: the season. He is obviously a guy who is new
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: to the major league experience. He is not new to
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: baseball and competitive baseball, and he did it at a
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: high level at Tennessee. We all know that the comments
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: that he made in the press conference the other day.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: He started his press conference is daily news briefing with
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: reporters by talking about the fact that it got out
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: that he was going to be perhaps the Giants manager
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: before maybe he wanted it to get out. Now. I
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: was one of the people who wrote that story with
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: Brick Gioli and Andrew Baggerley and what we wrote at
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: the time was that the Giants were closing in on
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: the hiring of Vtello. We didn't write that he had
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: an offer. We just wrote that he was the target.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: He was the guy. Now. I haven't spoken specifically to
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: Tony Bytello about this. He didn't bring it up to me,
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: but if he does, I will tell him. Listen, this
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: is what we were hearing. And I know the timing
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: probably didn't work out too well for him. Maybe he
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: had informed players and coaches at Tennessee and even family
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: members people he was close with about how this was
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: going where it was going, but we were hearing it,
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: and we were hearing it from credible enough sources to
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: of course publish. Of course he gets named the Giants
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: manager as well, so obviously we were on the right track.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: He might not have liked the timing, but our obligation
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: is to our readers, and that is what we did there.
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: Okay, let's get to the actual question in terms of
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: Grill and Ken here regarding Tony Vittello. If we could
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: put that up momentarily, I'd appreciate that very much. All right,
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: So Sarah Harmon wants to know, Ken, what did you
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: think of the comments by Tony Vittel earlier this week
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: and the timing of the offer.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: So it's along the same lines.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: Of what that's what I'm talking about. A. Yeah, that's
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: what I'm referring to. That was his complaint, right that
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: the report about the offer, or it wasn't even a
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: report about an offer, it was a report about the
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: Giants closing in was in his mind premature, and okay,
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: he can feel that way, but again, we had what
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: we had and we felt compelled to publish, and that
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: is why we published.
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: Okay, very good. Next question here on Grill and Ken.
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: Spring training can also be extension season, but should we
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: expect less than usual over the next few weeks due
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: to the incoming labor dispute?
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: Fair question?
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: Are there any players teams we should keep an eye on?
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: This is from Mike G fifteen.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: Mike G fifteen, To be perfectly honest, I have not
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: been focused on extensions. I am sure we will see some,
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: even with the looming dispute in twenty seven and the
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: possibility of games being canceled. We've seen free agents signed
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: contracts beyond and including twenty seven, of course, so I
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: don't know that it would be any different in the
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: extension market, perhaps a little bit different. But every spring,
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: toward the end of spring, we do hear of extensions,
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: and I'm sure that will be the case again this spring.
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I was surprised to hear of the Max Munsey
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: extension when that happened. Obviously, this is a guy that
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: even said, you know, he left some money on the table,
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: but Los Angeles is the place that he wants to be.
• 18:39
  Speaker 3: All right, coming up after the break, we're going to
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: be talking about our dudes and dorks.
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: Of the week.
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: We'll be right back, bet, I'm jam account holders today.
• 18:47
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• 18:50
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• 18:53
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• 18:56
  Speaker 4: Gambling problem or concerned, there's help called one eight hundred gambler.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: Dude, Dude, dude, this.
• 19:08
  Speaker 3: Is always a fun time. I love that we can
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: point the fingers. Although we have named ourselves dude and
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: dorks of the way, well, definitely dorks of the week
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: at a certain point, okay, we will start with dude
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: and Ken you have the honors.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: Who is your Dude of the.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: Week Bobby Wick Junior, and I wrote about him earlier
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: this week. The story came out the same day that
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: all hell broke loose with the Union, so I don't
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: know that a lot of people read it, but the
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: story was about how three years ago Bobby Wick Junior
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: was the kid on Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: It was the youngest member of the team. He had
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: only one full season in the major leagues. He was
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: kind of the little brother, and yet even at that time,
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: the other players on the team could see how talented
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: he was. They loved him because he was mature, he
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: was humble, and all of that. Well, now twenty twenty
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: six WBC, Bobby Wick Junior will be at the center
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: of it all as Team USA starting shortstop. It's just
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: kind of a cool evolution. We see it all the
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: time in our sport, and it's his moment now.
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: No question, one of the best shortstops in the game
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: and one of the best people as an ambassador of
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: urgury a game. My Dude of the Week is Ozzy
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: Alby's He loves fish ken I love dogs.
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: Ozzie Albi's loves fish. Well.
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: He had some time in this offseason, he went to
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: a local elementary school and taught these young kids how
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: to properly take care of some fish in a tank.
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: So took time out of his day. He set up
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: the tank, he set up all the fish. He talked
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: to them about the care of not only taking care
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: of the fish itself, but the proper cleaning of the tank.
• 20:40
  Speaker 3: And they get to keep it, you know, those fishes
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: kind of their class pets. So kind of a nice
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: entree into how to take some responsibility for animals. And
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: I thought that was really sweet of Ozzy Alby's to
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: take one of his passions and spread it in the
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: Atlanta community.
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: All right, time now for Dork of the.
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: Week's funny can We have unfortunately a lot to choose
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: from this week, And it's an interesting thing if you
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: take a look at this text thread that you and
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: I had with our producer and director Jeremy Meyer early
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: on in this week, you had said that you were
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: claiming Sam Kennedy and Tom Werner as dorks of the
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: week right now. You said, I'm taking them right now,
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: And of course I laughed because I understand why because
• 21:26
  Speaker 3: of the comments that they made about Raphael Devers and
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: then our producer Jeremy says, hi bar to clear for
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: the rest of the week.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: Well he cleared it. Who's your due to the.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: Week dork of the Week Tony Clark, And yes he
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: did clear the bar. And what was so surprising to
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: me about what happened here was that I always thought
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: and I always heard that Tony Clark, for whatever his
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: faults might be as the head of the union, was
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: a man of integrity. And there have been a lot
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: of questions raised about his integrity even before the news
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: of his resignation, Questions about the way he was handling
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: the union's finances. A whistleblower kind of came out and
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: accused him of a number of things a few years ago,
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: and then the FBI investigation commenced. Now on top of that,
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: we have the reported inappropriate relationship with his sister in law,
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: confirmed by The Athletic, first reported by ESPN that led
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: to his resignation. All of these things combined, Yes, he
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: tops Sam Kennedy and Tom Werner. Yes he is, and
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: I say this sadly the dork of the Week.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I understand completely.
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: It was a shock to all of us that know
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: Tony Clark and you know obviously care about this this
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: great game. My dork of the week once again is
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: the Angels, not for what they're doing on the field, Ken,
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: but what they're doing to their our colleagues there are
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: they're television partners. They are not televising a single spring
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: training game on television. Ratt BOLLINGERD tweeting the Angels will
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: not televise any of their Cactus League games, the club announced,
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: but they will be on Angels Radio, so you can
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: still if you're not here in Tempe to get the
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: Angels game in person, you can hear it on the radio.
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: But what does this say to you, Ken? That not,
• 23:10
  Speaker 3: as I understand, they don't have to televise all thirty
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: or thirty two or whatever it is, but to not
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: televise a single spring training game, it just seems another
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: lazy approach by the Angels.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: I don't know all the details here, Alana, but you're
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: keeping your product away from your fans. And if the
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: idea of spring training and televising spring training games is
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: to get people excited for the regular season, well the
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: Angels are failing in that regard. Now their team isn't
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: all that exciting to begin with so okay, But that's
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: the point. The televising of spring training games is largely promotional.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: It gives fans an appetite, gets them ready for the season,
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: gets people interested in some of the new players that
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: you might have. So from that perspective, I don't understand
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: what the Angels are doing. Again, I don't know all
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: the particulars, the ins and outs of the television arrangement,
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: but not to have any spring training games televised not good.
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: And it also, as you mentioned, takes the product away
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: from the fan base. But it also, you know, if
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: the broadcasters are not here, it takes away their opportunity
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: to interact with the players and start thinking of some
• 24:15
  Speaker 3: storylines and you know, establish those relationships, perhaps with new players.
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: It's just unfortunate all the way around. I'm assuming it's
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: a cost cutting measure, but I'm not certain about that, Ken.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: I am.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: The reason I look like I'm in jail is because
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: I'm not at home. I'm actually at Campbell Back Ranch.
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: I'm at the Dodgers camp today, and we're also doing
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: a foul Territory from the Dodgers camp tomorrow. So a
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: couple of things that I'm noticing here Tao ta Oscar
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: Hernandez kind of the best shape of his life. And
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: also I wanted to get your thoughts on Mookie Bets
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: perhaps in the three hole, Dave Roberts saying that he
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: could possibly be there, Kyle Tucker in the two hole
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: of quotes show Hay leading off formidable lineup, but your
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: thoughts about Mooky in the three hole?
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: First off, ta Oscar Alana, Yes, it's the best shape
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: of his life. Whatever, But he did lose twelve pounds,
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: I believe, and he knew that last year his play
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: in right field was not up to par. He's moving
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: to left with Kyle Tucker coming in to play right,
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: And to me, it's encouraging a guy like Ti Oscar,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: who is a veteran who has a contract, who could
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: conceivably rest on whatever laurels he has acquired. He could
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: do that, and he's not doing that. He obviously is
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: driven to be better and that is a very good
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: sign for the Dodgers. This is a talented dude and
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: a huge part of what they do now. As for
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: the liup, Mookie Bets hitting third. This is a fascinating
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: decision that Dave Roberts faced, and it's a fascinating outcome
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: as well. Rookie Betts, of course, is coming off one
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: of his worst offensive years, maybe his worst, and of
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: course what happened was he got sick early, never seemed
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: to catch up. We all know that. But Dave Roberts
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: is essentially saying, here, Lookie is still our guy. He
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: is still a huge part of what we do. He
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: was always going to bat in the top four, we
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: knew that. But the three spot, that's a spot of
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: great responsibility. And it just seems that Roberts is showing
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: a lot of confidence in Bets, and probably well placed
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: confidence because of who Mookie Bets is and how driven
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: he is to succeed. You see the lineup right there now,
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: it was always going to be a case where you
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: had two left handed hitters back to back among the
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: top four. With those four guys, you couldn't avoid it.
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: But Shohy and Tucker back to back. Tucker can handle
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: lefties just fine. And then Mookie Freeman, Will Smith, Max Munsey, Texts,
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: Oscar hernandez Andy pae Has and Tommy Edmund went healthy.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: He's not going to be healthy to start the season.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: It's a formidable group, and if ta Oscar is back
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: to being what he has been, if Mooki returns to
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: something close to the old Mookie Bets, then with the
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: addition of Kyle Tucker, you're looking at perhaps and I
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: say perhaps, which you do not know how this is
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: going to turn out, perhaps even more dynamic offense than
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: we've seen from the Dodgers in their back to back
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: World Series championship years.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: Which is hard to believe.
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: Quickly before we say goodbye, Ken, Tommy Edmund not ready
• 27:10
  Speaker 3: for opening day, Who do you see getting the majority
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: of playing time at second base for la.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: Unclear to me a lotta what do you think on
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: that one?
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: I can see a lot of Hessan Kim honestly.
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: There.
• 27:21
  Speaker 3: They want to get him some more at bats. They
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: want to see what he can do opportunity. Obviously, if
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: Tommy Edmund's not back for opening day, Alex call getting
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: some more opportunities in the outfield to spell some of
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: the guys in the outfield as far as Taoskar and
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: Tucker and Pa Haz. But I think Hessan Kim gets
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: the majority of time at second.
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: Base, and Rojas will get some time too, I'm sure.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: So they're as always in decent shape.
• 27:44
  Speaker 3: Yeah, they are in decent shape, and so are you.
• 27:47
  Speaker 3: Ken Rosenal, have a great time. I believe you're heading
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: to what Red Sox tomorrow? Is that what you're saying.
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: Yes, I'm flying to Florida today and will be at
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Red Sox camp tomorrow. Ten days in Florida coming up.
• 27:57
  Speaker 3: Okay, and I will be back at Dodgers' camp tomorrow borrow,
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: and then of course, Ken, we'll be back on Fair
• 28:02
  Speaker 3: Territory on Monday. Have a great weekend, everybody. Thanks for
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: being with us.
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: Take care,