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Mac & Bone Show - Gregg Caserta Interview · Mac & Bone Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Our friend Greg Caserta now joining us on the line
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: MLB network beginning. He does it all there on the network. Greg,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: what's up, man, how are you?
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: I'm good brother. That is so on me. I accidentally
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: had my phone on do not Disturb, so I was
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: just looking at it for the last five minutes. I'm like, yeah,
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: they should be calling, and then I realized, oh my god,
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: I have two missed calls. I didn't recognize the area code,
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: and here we are. So my apologies for being a
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: little late.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: It happens to me all the time when I do
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: spots in random cities, Like I missed the first part
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: of every interview now because they go to spam a
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: lot now as well, so I can't you have to
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: literally wick out your phone and try to get it
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: right when an answer. So, no, no problem at all.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: We are just talking about the NL East. And what's
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: more surprising to you right now the fact that the
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Braves have allowed teams into the race, or the fact
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: that the Marlins are one of those teams that's chasing
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: down the Braves.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Right now, man, you just beat me to the I
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: was going to say, I know, we talk a lot
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: about the Atlanta Braves. But I was going to just
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: counter and say it's the Miami Marlins. They've been one
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: of my favorite stories and one of my favorite teams
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: to watch because of how they've built their team. It's
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: really been a fun lineup to watch for the sake
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: of our show on Biginning. You look at them, and
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: they are a very deep lineup. They probably need a
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: little more power in there, which is something that they
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: can address at the deadline if they have the need
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: to and if they feel that they can put a
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: package together to go and get a bat. But you
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: look at their rotation with Yuri Perez taking a perfect
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: game into the seventh inning over the weekend, You've got
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: Sandy al Contra with ten wins, looking like the guy
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: that won the Cy Young a few years ago. He's
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: at least back in that discussion as one of the
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: better pitchers in the National League. And a guy that's
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: been even better than him is Max Meyer. So you
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: look at that right there, lineup, three deep starters, and
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  Speaker 2: now the one thing they probably do have to address
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: is their bullpen. I think that would probably be the
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: biggest issue for them. I am not concerned about the
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: Braves in any way. I think that the expectation that
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: we had about them coming into the season was with
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: their rotation and how they would fill those holes, and
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: eventually it caught up to them. If you get a
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: few guys back, I think the lineup will ultimately be okay.
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: And as we know, they have the best bullpen in
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: baseball right now from an era perspective. So yeah, it's
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  Speaker 2: obviously weird to be talking about the Braves being this
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: close to both the Phillies and Marlins. But I'm also
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  Speaker 2: not panicking.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: About Atlanta trade deadline end of the month. What do
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: you think the Braves may look to add there? You've
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: got laid the sunny gray in some reports, But what
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  Speaker 1: do you what do you think of position wise, the
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  Speaker 1: Braves need the most.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean that's that's really what it is. Bon
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  Speaker 2: It's the rotation. Because this lineup is still really, really good.
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  Speaker 2: It's as deep as any in the National League. I
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: think that they've done a really good job with their
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  Speaker 2: bullpen just because you have Ryce ol Iglesias and Robert
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: Suarez to cover the last two winnings. You've got God
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: and guys like that that have come in and been terrific.
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  Speaker 2: So I look at them and say, and what I
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: always say around the deadline is bullpen help is very
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  Speaker 2: easy to address. So if you've got to throw an
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: extra arm in there, that's not a problem. But they
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: need starters. The fact that they've got Ronaldo Lopez back
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: in the rotation, which is something that it feels like
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: we do all the time. He's in, he's out. They
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: went back and running Carlos Carrasco again, which is amazing
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  Speaker 2: to me that this guy still finds a way to
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: get a job because we know that his best baseball's
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: behind him. So you know, Diddy or Flentis is a
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  Speaker 2: guy that has been part of this mix. He's really young.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: So in the end, they need starting and Sonny Gray
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  Speaker 2: would be an ideal guy for them. He's a guy
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  Speaker 2: that should be an All Star this year. He's a snub.
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  Speaker 2: But also now his outlook has completely flipped because the
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  Speaker 2: Red Sox are right back in the equation in the
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: America like wild cards. So that's the thing I think
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  Speaker 2: I've said it to you and I've said it to others,
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  Speaker 2: is it would have been very easy to pinpoint Sonny
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  Speaker 2: Gray two or three weeks ago and say, yeah, that
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  Speaker 2: would be a guy that the Braves need. But now,
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  Speaker 2: because of one to two good weeks of really good baseball,
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  Speaker 2: the Red Sox go from being buyers or from being
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  Speaker 2: sellers to potentially being buyers now. And that's the difference
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  Speaker 2: with the expanded wildcard.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: We're talking to one of the real up and coming
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  Speaker 1: shining stars in Major League Baseball broadcasting, Greg Cacerta with
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  Speaker 1: us here on the Mack and Boat Joe MLB, Big
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  Speaker 1: Inning MLB Network. Greg, the AL is kind of wild
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  Speaker 1: right now because you know the records that are good.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, the Rays are doing what they do. The
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  Speaker 1: Yankees record is still pretty good in comparison to the
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  Speaker 1: other teams, but they have been struggling now like they
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: often do in June and July. When you look at
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: the landscape of the AL second half of the year,
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: outside of Yankees and Rays, we'll talk that on a second.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: Any other teams you look at and say, hey, their
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: position to have a big second half? Is it Boston
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  Speaker 1: a team in the West. Who else can be good
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: in the AL?
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  Speaker 2: Right now? The first one that comes to mind is Seattle.
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  Speaker 2: I still am not going to completely write them off.
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  Speaker 2: I know that it's been a disappointing year compared to
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: the expectations that were put in place. But if you
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  Speaker 2: look at their rotation, they have five guys, six guys
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: that they can throw at you at any given night.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: And I know that Brian wu has not had a
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: great year. There were people that felt he might actually
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: be a cy young candidate this year. So the fact
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: that they have that starting pitching depth and all of
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: those guys are now back and healthy bodes really well.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: Their lineup is underperformed. We know that cal Raley has
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: completely fallen off this year. The injury has not helped.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: But I also think that he's a guy that if
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: maybe he gets going, he can carry your offense for
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: a week at a time, two weeks at a time.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: So Seattle, to me is still very dangerous. So of
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: course you have to look at it a little differently
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: this year, right, it's been a very weak American League,
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: Like it's probably as weak as it's ever been, Which
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: is why I don't understand when I see different people
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: talking about the Yankees, and I've listened, I've seen it
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  Speaker 2: with some of my own coworkers that think that the
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  Speaker 2: Yankees are the best team in the AL and I
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  Speaker 2: just don't see it. I see the exact same team
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: that we have seen for the last decade. The fact
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: that they have completely fallen off without Aaron Judge tells
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: you that the roster was constructed very poorly. So I
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: look at that. I look at the Tampa Bay Rays
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: as a team right now that needs needs needs to
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: go and make a big move and add a bat
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: at the deadline, because their rotation has been terrific with
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: Ras Mussin and McClanahan back in top form. Their bullpen
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: has always been one of the major strengths. Now you
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: look at their offense right and it's Yondi Diaz, Junior
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: Kamonero and Jonathan Ronda. You've got a big three. Now
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  Speaker 2: you need more. If they can go and add one
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  Speaker 2: or two big bats at the deadline, the Tampa Bay
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  Speaker 2: Rays are going to be very dangerous.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: It's amazing what Tampa Bay and Milwaukee now can do
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  Speaker 1: in the regular season. That doesn't matter who you take
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  Speaker 1: off those teams, doesn't matter who they trade away and
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: losing free agency. Milwaukee's doing that too right in the end.
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  Speaker 1: Now they lose guys and look at their record. It's ridiculous.
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  Speaker 1: What Murphy in that club is.
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  Speaker 2: Doing yeah, and the commonality they're bone is that they
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  Speaker 2: are unbelievable at developing. They draft well, they develop even better.
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  Speaker 2: So if you look, the Brewers came into the year
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: with the number one ranked farm system according to MLB Pipeline.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: The Rays are routinely a top five to top ten farm system.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: And even when guys have been poached from their front office,
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  Speaker 2: they've lost all of their top executives. Andrew Friedman went
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: to the Dodgers, Peter Bendix is running guess who the
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: Miami Marlins, and one more is high and Bloom Who's
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  Speaker 2: now in charge of the Cardinals. So they've had an
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  Speaker 2: unbelievable pipeline of guys in their front office in Tampa Bay,
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  Speaker 2: and so they are able to identify talent and use
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  Speaker 2: it to the best of their advantage before those guys
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  Speaker 2: end up leaving for bigger paydays. The Tyler Glassnows of
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  Speaker 2: the world, the Black Smells of the world, and then
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: the Milwaukee Brewers are just They're just an incredible organization.
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  Speaker 2: I know that last year was disappointing because they go
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: into the Dodgers series and they get completely waxed. But
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: now this year they're on pace for even more wins.
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  Speaker 2: I think last year they won a franchise record ninety
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  Speaker 2: seven games. They're on pace for more than one hundred
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  Speaker 2: wins this year. And Murph is one of the best
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  Speaker 2: characters in baseball. And the thing that I heard the
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  Speaker 2: other night, which I really loved, is that with Luis
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  Speaker 2: Laura now making his debut, he's the number four prospect,
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  Speaker 2: one of those guys that they gave an early extension
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  Speaker 2: to before he ever played a major league game. He
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: is the seventh rookie to debut for them this year.
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  Speaker 2: Oh wow, you know that is that is not something
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  Speaker 2: that you do by force. You do that out of necessity.
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  Speaker 2: You do that because you need to. And a lot
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  Speaker 2: of those guys have made an unbelievable impact. So when
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  Speaker 2: other teams have to use seven rookies, chances are it's
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  Speaker 2: it's probably a bad situation. The Brewers are doing it
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  Speaker 2: and they have a comfortable lead in first place, which
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  Speaker 2: is a testament to them and their entire organization.
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  Speaker 1: That is the voice of Greg Cacerta at Greg Cacerta
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: MLB on Twitter. That's Greg with two g's Cacerta cas
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: er Ta, Greg what's the what's the big inning schedule?
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: Like this week? And for those that have not seen it,
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: if you're a fan of red Zone for football, you
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: guys are doing something very similar to that. Where can
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: we see it this weekend?
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: Ah, you're the man. I appreciate that, Bud. It's tonight.
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: I think we're eight to eleven or eight thirty to
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: eleven thirty Saturday. I'm actually off because I'm going to
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: be my nephew's godfather that I'm so I'm very excited
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: about that. Tomorrow I spend some time with the family.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: Sundays are two to five, and one thing I always
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: remind people is we are growing and it's become a
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: really big part of MLB Network, which is nice because
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: they are simulcasting the show more on the main channel.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: But the big thing is we are commercial free every
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: day of the regular season on MLB dot Tv. So
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: it's been a great ride. Hard to believe. We're already
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: into July. And you know, I always love coming on
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: with you and really appreciate the con words.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: Awesome, man, We'll talk to you soon. Okay.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: Thanks, you know our brothers. Thanks Touch