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TABLE TALK: The MLB Offseason! · The Philadelphia Sports Table | Philly Sports News & Views

• 0:28
  Speaker 1: All right, welcome to Table Talk here at the Philadelphia
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Sports Table podcast show, the longest running weekly Philly sports
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: podcast show in the world. That's right over twelve and
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: a half years strong. I'm back on camera, folks, if
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: you are watching on YouTube, it seems pretty obvious these
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: black guys are healing up. If you remember last week
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I mentioned it.
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Hopefully I don't look too too ridiculous.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: That being said, there is a lot going on this
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Major League Baseball's off season, tons of storylines to dive into,
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: and we are bringing back. It has been some time
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: he has been on this podcast platform. We had him
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: on when he was doing good stuff for the Redding
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Fight and phills for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. He's
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: now over at Service Electric Service Electric Network as a
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: sports reporter and play by play commentator. Got our good
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: friend back into the fold here, Mike Ventola, Buddy, how
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: are you, my friend?
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: I'm doing well, Jeff, And you know, look, I know
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: your last name doesn't end with a vow, but if
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: I may say, if you were a tied, I would
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: just quote Nicky from Rocky when he goes to Rocky,
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: You're a greasy two hundred pounds Italian tank. Now go
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: get him, because take those black guys with a badge
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: of honor. My man, Yes, looking good as ever.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Thank glad to be you. I appreciate you, my friend,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: I really do. Thank you. That was hilarious right there.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: It really was great.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: But man, it's so good to see you. You are
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: so tuned into the world of baseball, and honestly, you know,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: I mean, we reconnected over Instagram recently and it was
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: just great to have some back and forth with you there.
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: But thinking about our old.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: Conversations about baseball, and I really wanted to bring it
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: back on the show here just to get your thoughts
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: on where we're at in this Major League Baseball offseason
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: right now. There's so many storylines, so we should just
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: get started because at this point of us recording this,
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: the Major League Baseball Winter Meetings they have started down
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: in Orlando, and it's that time of year where we're
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: keeping our eyes on some big names in terms of
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: free agency, where certain players might go. There's going to
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: be a lot of team hopping from here and here.
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: So to get us started here, Mike, I'm wondering which
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: Major League Baseball player and free agent do you think
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: maybe the most significant for what that player is going
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: to be able to provide their new team in twenty
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: twenty six. What are your thoughts here?
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: I think you kind of have to keep it close
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: to home, and that means keep it close to the
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: confines of ciszens Bank Park. In the Philadelphia Phillies. I
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: think Kyle Schwarber's gonna be the guy to set the market,
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: not so much even with years or even the magnitude
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: of dollars, because I think Kyle Tucker could end up
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: being the biggest free agent signing no where, no matter
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: where he ends up. I mean, I think he's actually
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: gonna probably end to be in a Los Angeles Dodgers
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: just because I think the Dodgers are buying everybody you
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: could attest to that. But I think for Kyle Schwarber,
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: because it's multifaceted here, right, because he's thirty three, coming
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: off the fifty six home run season and without question
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: the best offensive player in the Phillies lineup, Philly fans,
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: baseball people feeling their hard hearts, Schwarber is gonna stay
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: with the Phillies, and I think, ultimately, I do think
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: Philadelphia finds a way to get it done. But I'm
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: in the extreme minority feels that I actually think it's
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: in the Phillies' best interest to walk away from Schwarber.
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: That's the conversiation for another day. But just getting back
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: to what Schwarbur is because of his age, his magnitude
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: of how good he can hit, not only just fifty
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: six home runs, the way he dive over the year
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: hitting left handed hitters as a hit left handed hitter
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: or pitchers as a left handed hitter himself. He can
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: lead off, he get back third, he get back fourth,
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: to get bat, fifth, to get bat sixth, You could
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: put him anywhere in the lineup. Essentially, he's gonna be
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: a mass producer for you. But I think where the
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: negativity comes along with And this is why I kind
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: of safe on the Phillies. Yes, you applaud and you're
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: excited if you bring him back, but if he leaves,
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: I'm not crying a whole lot because I think short
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: term he's gonna be a wonderful signing for whoever gets him. Yeah,
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: long term, it's gonna it's gonna backfire at some point
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: because I think with the way long term contracts work
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: out with major League Baseball signings. Is they eventually run
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: out of luck. You know, they run their time, you
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: know what I mean? But I think that's the standard.
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: But also too, I think what Schwarber is, I mean,
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: he's just he's a DH and that's hard, Like you
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: have to sit there. Do you quantify him in a
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: sense as you did David Ortiz, right, Edgar Martinez? And
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: if you do as an organ I'm not saying I
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: do one way or don't do not. If you, Matt,
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: if you quantify that as an organization, then yes, because
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: Edgar Martinez and David Ortiz are two of the greatest
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: dhs the game has probably ever seen, you know what
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: I mean. But I think Schwarber helped set the market
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: because there are so many teams. I think it's been
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: reported up to like seven or eight teams interested in him.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Absolutely absolutely, I think.
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: And I think it's just a good way to start
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: our conversation today. But I also think for baseball fans,
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: whether you're a fan of the Phillies or not, keep
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: an eye what Kyle Schwarber ultimately does.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: It's a good segue into this next topic too with
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: regard to Schwarber, because you know, every year, we see,
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: you know, certain teams that are more active during the
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: winter meetings and during the offseason than other teams.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: And one team that really.
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: Is not very active on a year to year basis
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: is the Pittsburgh Pirates. But reports are actually saying that
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: the Pirates are one of those like seven teams that
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: you're talking about that maybe trying to go after Kyle Schwarber.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: The rumor and what's been reported is that they may
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: be wanted to offer Schwarber one hundred million dollars to
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: join their club.
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: So we still don't know.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Again, like you mentioned, if Kyle Schwarber is going to
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: be coming back to Philadelphia, what that means to the
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: overall free agent market as well. But I'm wondering, do
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: you think that this report that's coming out of Pittsburgh
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: means that this organization is willing to really turn the
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: corner and actually spend some money in the future, because
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: we know that they're not one of those organizations I'd
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: like to spend a lot of money. What are your
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: thoughts here, Mike.
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: I want to believe it because as much as I
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: know you're a big Philly fan, and I know you're
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: a lot of your listeners, probably most of your listeners
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: are Phillies fans, but are also ultimately more importantly to
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: baseball fans. You know. Now, I'm thirty seven years old.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: I was born in nineteen eighty eight, but I knew
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: how prominent the seventies Pirates were to the game of baseball. Right.
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: Pittsburgh is a great sports town. And not only just
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: with the legacy of what the Steelers and the Penguins
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: have done, you know, in the histories of their sports.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: But you know, even the Pirates was the help they
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: had the honor of having Roberto Clemente, one of the
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: game's best, you know, when you have the history that
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: so many Pirate players and teams have been like in
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: the old you know, thirty forty fifty years ago. I
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: want it to be true because I feel like if
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: Pittsburgh gets back into the realm of being more than
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: just competitive, but being you know, division type winners, maybe
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: getting back into the playoffs more consistently, I think it's
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: great for baseball because then also too, keeping things more secular, Jeff,
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: you want to keep Paul Skeins happy. I'm sorry, you
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: gotta keep it happy. I mean, yeah, I mean look,
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: I get it. You know, he right now is the
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: most exciting pitcher in baseball. He's the best pitcher in
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: baseball right now. And obviously that guy brings he's the
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: complete package. Not only is he the best pitcher in baseball,
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: but all the reports are he's a complete delight off
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: the field. Obviously, you and Libby's Donner becoming a humongous
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: power couple, which is huge, So you get the brand
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: of that as well, tied to your organization, you know,
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: because obviously look at like what Travis Kelcey and now
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: Taylor Swift have meant, you know, to the Kansas City Chiefs,
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: obviously with Pat Mahomes and all the Super Bowl wins.
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: But kind of equating things a little bit here that
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: if you know, for the Pirates to offer, you know,
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: at least a minimum four years or one hundred million,
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: I think I actually tend to believe that's true. I
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: would have a hard time thing. And that gets put
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: out there, and that's not entirely true because the Pirates,
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: it's not like they don't have money, right, Ownership has
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: just been unwilling to spend money. And I think now
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: that if ownership is sitting or saying, man, we like
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: this Poul Skiens guy. Right, we got to keep him happy.
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: Signing a guy like Kyle Schwarber is step number one
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: and keeping him happy. So now do I think the
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: Pirates are gonna sign Sharber. No, he does not leave
• 8:45
  Speaker 3: Philadelphia to go to Pittsburgh. I think if Schwarber is
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: leaving Philadelphia, in my opinion, one maybe two teams. The
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: one team will be based on a loyal team. I
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: think every Philly fan would accept it. Is if you
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: went home to Cincinnati. I think if the Reds came in,
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: I think Philly fans would be like, Okay, you lost
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: them to the hometown team. I grew up a New
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: Jersey Devil fan. When Zach Parisi was a free agent,
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: you know it was either between New Jersey or Minnesota,
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: right tild Minnesota because he went close to home. The
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: other team, and I know you want to get into
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: these guys soon just because if he left Philadelphia would
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: because this team would offer him a magnanimous amount of money. Yeah,
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: and that's Steve Conan, the New York Mets. And I
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: know that would drive Daggers into every Philly fans heart.
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: But that's why I think even though there's and and
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: people will say, what about the Dodgers. Yeah, I don't
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: know if he's going. I don't think there's space for
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: Schwarbur with the Dodgs, you know. But I think for
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: the Pirates though, I think when you look at the Pirates,
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: who look at the Tampa Bay Rays, you look at
• 9:43
  Speaker 3: some of these lower tier organizations, I think they're looking
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: to spend some money now because next offseason is the
• 9:52
  Speaker 3: big bugaboo and whether the CBA and whether baseball is
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: going to be locked out or going to sort of strike.
• 9:57
  Speaker 3: So I do think you're to see teams like the Pirates,
• 10:00
  Speaker 3: maybe like the Tampa Bay Rays, even the Miami Marlins
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: that maybe look to spend a little money now, get
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: some guys locked in so then they don't have to
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: worry about, well, what happens when baseball reservices middle or
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: end of twenty seven or twenty eight, you know. And
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: I don't want that to happen, obviously, But I think
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: that's why, just answering your question, it's why I think
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: the Pirates wouldn't be surprised that they did truly offer
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: that type of deal for Schwarber.
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: Gonna be interesting It's gonna be interesting following this storyline
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: and just what happens with Kyle Schwarber, because he's such
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: an amazing baseball player in that DH role. Whatever team
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: that he ends up signing with, I mean, at the
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: end of the day, a very special player. US Phillies
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: fans absolutely know that for sure. But moving along here, Mike,
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: I wanted to go through some of the signings that
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: we've recently seen thus far here during this offseason. You
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: mentioned the New York Mets. Here, let's get into this team.
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: They signed Devin Williams a three year, fifty one million
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: dollar deal. They I'll be see him as a key
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: cog in a late inning and a late inning pedigree
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: from the mound. So I'm wondering what are your thoughts
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: about this signing and what it may or may not
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: do for the Mets in twenty twenty six. Again, is
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: a team that's been spending a lot of money, haven't
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: really been able to get over that hump that they've
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: been wanting to get over. So what do you think
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: the signing means for them?
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: I think for the Mets right now, they have a
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: multifaceted issue. Guess they have the paycheck, all the paychecks
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: and the money in the world. Steve Coin is going
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: to be a great owner for Met fans just because
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: he's going to spend, spend, spence, spence spend.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: Yep.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: Awesome, right, But when I looked at the Devin Williams signing,
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: and this may be a little little little crude in
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: a sense, I think it only makes sense if they
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: resigned Edwin Diz because I honestly think that Devin Williams
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: out looked. I think he could still close. Absolutely, I
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: don't think he was you know, I think how he
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: was able to close with Milwaukee just that's why the
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: Yankees ultimately brought him in to try to be the closer. Yep,
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: he's got to see the bright lights of New York
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: City were a little too bright and ended up becoming
• 12:05
  Speaker 3: a really good eighth inning guy. I actually think the
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: best route of success for the Mets is if they
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: re signed d as a DS be your closer and
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: let Williams set up. But now, baseball, you know, people
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: that listen to you, that listen to your pockets were like, oh, Mike,
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: what are you talking about. The guy was a closer,
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: But you're gonna give that type of money to an
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: eighth inning guy. Two things. One it ain't year money,
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: and two Steve Cohen's Steve Cohen and the ownership of
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: the Dodgers and only two owners that can literally just
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: write money and not care about the actor effect. Right.
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: I think I liked Devin Williams as an eighth inning
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: guy for the Yankees. That served them well because David
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: Bennor was a tremendous closer for the Yankees. And I
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: just think for Williams. Uh, people say, well, the American
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: League to the National League and the old days, you know,
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: and I see the old days when you and I
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: were coming up, the American League was more dominant for
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: a long time. Now the National League now is the
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: dominant league. And if you're a fan of the American League,
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: you know, like myself, I grew up a Yankee fan,
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: It's like, sorry, the National League is a better league.
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: So you're telling me Devin Williams, who struggled as a
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: closer with the Yankees, is just now going to fit
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: in nicely with the Mets. Knowing how good the Phillies are,
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: knowing how good the Braves are, you know, the Marlins
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: could be spunky from time to time we look at
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: the central I mean, I don't want to see your
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: name team after team, but you get where I'm going here.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: So I think that signing only makes sense if he
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: ends up being the eighth inning guy. Now, look, I
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: could be wrong. He'd be like thirty eight for thirty
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: nine and save opportunities this year. Good for him, right,
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: But I think for the Mets, they have a lot
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: more work to do than just signing Devinly.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, absolutely, Again, folks, we're talking to Mike vent vent
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: Mus excuse me, Mike Ventola from Service Electric Network sports
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: reporter and play by play commentator. Over there, Mike, why
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: don't you let folks know where they can find you
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: on the socials if you want to.
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: Get that out there for everybody.
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: Yes, I'm still on X though I don't normally tweet
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: as much as I used to back in the day,
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: but I'm you can find me on X at Venting
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: Daily or I'm on Instagram as well at Mike Ventola.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: And you know, for those of you who love you know,
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: obviously you listen to Jeff and if you don't listen
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: to Jeff consistently, shame on you. But if you want to,
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: if you're from the Lehigh Valley and never want to
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: know a little bit more about what I do you know,
• 14:29
  Speaker 3: follow us at at SC Network TV on X Service Electric.
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: Of course we are we are the tops in the
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: valley in providing high school coverage for all the high
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: schools in the Lei Valley. So but of course we
• 14:42
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• 14:45
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  Speaker 3: Valley Phantoms, the Philadelphia Flyers h L affiliate. So we
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: dabble into professional scene as well. So that's how you
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: can find me, and of course find us at SCN Awesome.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Awesome, And if you're watching on YouTube, like and subscribe
• 15:01
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  Speaker 1: of our podcast. So that being said, folks, we're gonna
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: take a break. When we get back, we've got more
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: Major League Baseball off season storyline. Stick with us, all right,
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: We are back with our good friend Mike ben Tola
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: from Service Electric Network sports reporter and play by play
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: commentator over at s N and Mike, I wanted to
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: now dive into the Tampa Bay Rays here. They are
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: an interesting organization in Major League Baseball because of how
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: they like to run things basically from year to year.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: I mean, Cedric Mullins, as we know, is heading to
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: the Rays on.
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: A one year deal.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: Now the Raiser a team that they like to pick
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: up low cost, low risk players, hoping that some of
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: these players are going to have a bounce back season.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: There's bounce back potential, higher type of upside here, and
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: that these players may pay off long term. I mean,
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: that's basically been the mo of the Tampa Bay Rays.
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: For some time. Now.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this type of
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: team building strategy because I'm not necessarily I'm not necessarily
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: sure that that works in terms of really becoming a
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: contender in Major League Baseball.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: I don't know what are your thoughts here on this?
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: Now I agree with you in a sense of that,
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: you know, for the raise, I think, you know, whatever,
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: I think of the Tampa Bay Rays. I always kind
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: of think of Brad Pitt in moneyball. You know, we
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: got the Yankee we got this team a pile of
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: you know what, and then there's us. And there's a
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: lot of truth that I have because you know, the
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: rais there. Look, they developed talent so well, their farm
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: system is and that's why, like, yes, so they're they're thinking,
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: is we're gonna develop our talent because we coach as good,
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: if not better than anybody, which is a fact. Think
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: about how many, uh how many very strong baseball players
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: have come out of the Tampa Bay Ray system. But
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: then even while they're up in the big leagues, or
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: even if they signed guys like Cedric Moles to low risk,
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: high reward type contracts, they're thinking, is, but we can't
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: compete with the Yankees. We can't compete with the Phillies,
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: the Red Sox, the Dodgers, you know, these big markets.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: So but you're kind of hoping as the Rays, we're
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: able to do for you know, a number of years,
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: get in a wild card, getting the playoffs, be division
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: they you know, for short amount of time, being able
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: to challenge for the American League. Geese. They got to
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: the World Series the one year against the Phillies. The
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: Phillies made them. They've made them pay for it. But
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: even then they had some some free agent signings you know,
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: that were that were kind of plugged in. They're almost
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: trying to kind of follow the Marlins blueprint of ninety
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: seven and two thousand and three, right, and what the
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: Marlins did in ninety seven in two thousand and three,
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: we're like like once every thirty years, but yeah, the
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: Marlins defied logic. We're doing it from ninety seven to
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: oh and we're.
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: In twenty twenty five heading into twenty twenty six.
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: For god's sake.
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, like like we're you know how you and I
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: were talking about, like the Pirates, they're going to pony
• 18:44
  Speaker 3: up some money a little bit.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: The Rays don't have that much compared to a Pittsburgh
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: you know, ownership, just to finally designing in Pittsburgh, right,
• 18:51
  Speaker 3: let's maybe you know dust off the cob webs here
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: and spend some money a little bit. The Rays sadly,
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: don't you know they you know, I mean Saint Pete Burg,
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: great town. I know you've been. It's a beautiful town
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: and it's you know, it's a great spot obviously, you
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: know with Tampa and Clearwater, great uh spring training sites.
• 19:09
  Speaker 3: But South you know, Southwest Florida is not you know,
• 19:14
  Speaker 3: a high baseball town compared to Philadelphia, New York or
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: LA or wherever. So they don't get the revenue unless
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: the Yankees are in town, the Red Sox are in town,
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: the Dodgers, the Phillies. That's how you know, they get
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: fans to the ballpark essentially, so but ultimately, yeah, I
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: don't think it's gonna it's a long term sustaining of success.
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: But one thing I will give the Raised credits. They
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: have one of the best managers in the game, Kevin Cash.
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: Like I'll be honest with you, if whether it be Topper,
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: Aaron Boone or some of these managers, I'd go I'd
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: want Kevin Cash on my team at RP. And the
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: guy can straight up manage and they have good coaching,
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: and I think that's what the Rays pride themselves on
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: and that's why always teams are dipping into their will
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: to pluck from them and they raised like, okay, next
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: farm system guy up, Yeah, all right, we got a
• 20:03
  Speaker 3: guy like Cedric Mullins, what's real him in or maybe
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: every now and then they're able to cash in on,
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: you know, a middle to upper level type free agent,
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: but you never see them in the competition for a
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: Kyle Tusker or a Cody Bellinger this year or Kyle Schwarber.
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: Just not sustainable, Yeah, not sustainable.
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: If you want to have a successful major League baseball team,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: they got to do something in the future. But there's
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: one particular team that's been doing a lot mike this
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: particular offseason, and that is the Blue Jays. My gosh,
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: the Toronto Blue Jays really making some waves of offseason.
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: They've signed a pitcher, uh Dylan Dylan Cees to a
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: multi multi year contract, Cody Ponce, who is a strikeout
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: machine they recently signed as well. What are your thoughts
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: on the direction of the Toronto Blue Jays where they're
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: heading this offseason. They're not I don't think they're screwing
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: around here. They're not melting around.
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: No, not at all. I think the Blue Jays are
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: here to stay. Yeah, they're good, and I think you
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: look at them. Signing George Springer last year was huge
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: for them. You get a proven guy that had done
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: it with the Houston Astros, that was clutching Vladimir Guerrero
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: out of this world. Obviously, I don't think they're gonna
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: I don't know if they're gonna be able to resign
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: Bob bashett I almost wonder if they're gonna look to,
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: you know, obviously with him in his recent injury history,
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: and that stinks because that's another farm system guy. I'm
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: watching the double a with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: When I was with the Reading Phillies, was him, it
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: was Craig Bizio's son, Calvin Bigio, and then obviously had
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: Vladimir Gerrero Junior and all three of them playing coming
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: up to the system together and it was out of
• 21:40
  Speaker 3: this world watching them play. I think two, you look
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: at some of the other position players they got. Alejandro
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: kirk Uh as a catcher has been a really stable
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: guy for them, and I think you kind of look
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: at the rest of their even their starting pitching rotation,
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: it's pretty good. They have some guys, you know, I
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: think Scherzer was clutched for them throughout the regular season
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: and obviously what he was able to do in the postseason.
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: My only thing with Dylan ceases. He's gonna be great
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: in the regular season and win a lot of games. Yeah,
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: take a look at his postseason numbers. They're not very good.
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: He has not done a good job in the postseason.
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: But as you know, but I think they're sitting there saying,
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: at some point the law of averages have to come
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: into play, where at some point we're gonna throw him
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: out there for a postseason start. He's going to pitch well,
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: you know. But obviously you know, they have Kevin Gossman
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: trying to think, you know, Jeff Poffin. It's amazing watching
• 22:33
  Speaker 3: him close games. I'm sure Philly fans are like thinking, man,
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: this poor guy. He struggled with the Phillies. But yet
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: looking at me shutting you know, he's shutting the door
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: on the Yankees in big moments, you know, getting getting
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: the Game seven with the you know, against the Dodgers.
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: But I do think the Blue Jays are here to stay.
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: Plus they're very well managed. Very well coached. So I
• 22:52
  Speaker 3: will eve intrigue to see what Donnie Baseball not being
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: around now if you wonder how much of that effects
• 22:59
  Speaker 3: things a little bit more so on the minor side,
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: think of it. A veteran voiceing game is certainly impactful.
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: But I do think the Blue Jays are going to be,
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: without question, the favorites in the American League East, and
• 23:10
  Speaker 3: they're the American League favorites until the Yankees or the
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: Red Sox or you know, the Tigers, or you know,
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: look out West. I know, you know some of the
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: teams out West are exciting to watch, but I don't
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: think the Blue Jays are going away.
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think they're going away anytime soon. Great points,
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: you made their mic.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: And before I let you go, buddy, real quick here,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: it's a two part question, just getting into a couple
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: teams in each league who if they have a solid
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: off season, they may be able to compete in twenty
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: twenty six. So let's take a look at the American
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: League here, which couple teams to you, if they had
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: a real solid offseason, do you think they're gonna be
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: able to compete in twenty twenty six?
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: I think Seattle needs to retool a little bit. I
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: loved what the Mariners were doing. Obviously they got to
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: the playoffs. And the reason why I say they have
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: to retool a little bit is you loved what cal
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: Raley did this year. You know, I mean to me,
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: Aaron Judge was the clear cut MVP. But with cal Rally,
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: is he gonna duplicate hitting being hitting sixty plus home
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: runs next year? Probably not right, but still good defender,
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: still a good hitter. So if some of that offensive
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: production goes down a little bit, how is some of
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: that offensive production going to get replaced? Is that within
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: some of the guys in this lineup? You know, with
• 24:27
  Speaker 3: Randy ornzerin or or Hey Polanco, we're obviously our good
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: old buddy JP Crawford. You know, do they need to
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: go out and maybe try to sign another bat to
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: help replenish some of that off offense? I think pitching
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: as well too. They're pretty strong pitching, but I think
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: they're about maybe another bat or so from getting themselves
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: over the hump. I like Seattle, And the only reason
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: I'm saying Detroit is the other team in the Central
• 24:51
  Speaker 3: is what are they gonna do with Schoogle. There's all
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: these reports, right, and to me, once they figure out
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: whether they're gonna keep Schoogle or trade him, because if
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: they keep them, they don't need to do much. Maybe
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: get them another arm or to you know, try to
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: see if you can add another arm in rotation. Their
• 25:07
  Speaker 3: bullpen was okay, fizzle there against Cleveland in certain moments,
• 25:13
  Speaker 3: but also too offensively. I think, you know, they got
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: really good They got some good production in certain moments offensively,
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: especially with my goodness, you know, whether it be with
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: Spencer Torkl sink Labor, Torres had a really nice year.
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: Hoavier Bias in the outfield. Yeah, Parker Meadows, I like
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: parkto Parker Medows. I think he's a good player. So
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: I think that those are the two teams in the
• 25:37
  Speaker 3: American League, even though they're playoff teams already. I think
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: if they just retool, refined, they can definitely be two
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: teams that can really challenge Toronto in the Americans.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: All right, cool, Well what about the National League here?
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: What what maybe couple teams in the National League do
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: you think are going to need to have that a
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: very solid offseason to compete in twenty twenty six?
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: I think the Mets. I mean, I think the Mets
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: really need to you know, they certainly have a lot
• 26:03
  Speaker 3: of young arms that are gonna be there for a
• 26:05
  Speaker 3: long time. I think they still get it. Like I said,
• 26:08
  Speaker 3: I know, I harped on the bullpen. I think they're
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: lineup a little bit. They got to figure out first base.
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: I think they should resign Pete Alonzo. I think I
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: think if they let him go. Now, let's he signed
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: somewhere for an exorbitant amount of money where it's almost
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: like someone seems gonna give him five, six, seven years
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: and a crap ton of money. Yep, Okay, let him go.
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: But like, I think the Mets need to really get
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: this offseason right because everyone was saying, oh, Juan Soto,
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: Juan Soto Wansta played very very well, but the Mets
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: didn't make you know, they didn't make the playoffs. So
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: it's just that I think them and I think you
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: look out west. What is San Diego gonna do to
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: finally get over the hump with Los Angeles?
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Ah?
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: Yes, and the Padres. I love the Padres. I think
• 26:50
  Speaker 3: they are They're always so fun to watch. They pitch well,
• 26:56
  Speaker 3: I think more so there for Manny Machano. What are
• 26:59
  Speaker 3: they doing for an and of Taptist because Tatis has
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: been lingering out there and potential being an option of
• 27:05
  Speaker 3: being traded and they do trade him, then how are
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: you going to replace one of the one of the
• 27:10
  Speaker 3: better players in the game. So, but yeah, I think
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: San Diego and I think the Mets, because their teams,
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: they're gonna look the challenge. Philadelphia look to challenge Los Angeles,
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: you know, because I look at the Central I still
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: think it's the Cubs journey in Milwaukee's journey. I think
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: in Milwaukee, I think, you know, the Brewers are you know,
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: I think the Brewers there. I think for them, they
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: need to learn how to win in the postseason. I
• 27:37
  Speaker 3: think that's what's keeping them. They seems like they get
• 27:39
  Speaker 3: to the postseason so frequently and they just can't get
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: over the hump. I think it's just them, all right,
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: We're gonna try this year, and I think eventually they'll
• 27:47
  Speaker 3: find a way to win a series when it matters.
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: Most gonna be an interesting offseason as we continue to
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: follow it here at the Philadelphia Sports Table podcast show,
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: and if your local here in the Lehigh Valley where
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: we are located. Head on over to so Servis Electric
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: Service Electric Network. You're gonna find Mike over there, his colleagues,
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: great sports coverage local and even when they're talking national stories. Again,
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: Mike Ventola from Service Electric Network, my friend, thank you
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: so much for taking the time to come on. It
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: was great reconnecting with you, man, seriously great talking baseball
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: with you. Come back, come back down the road, man,
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: let's talk more baseball.
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: I'd love it.
• 28:24
  Speaker 3: I'm down obviously. I know you always have a good
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: list of candidates, but whenever there's a spot, feel fee
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: to reach out. I'd love to reconnected with you. Jeff.
• 28:31
  Speaker 3: It's always a pleasure. You your podcast do great work.
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: And in folks, once again, if you're not listening to
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: Jeff consistently, shame on you, because Jeff does it. This
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: is I remember all my times in reading and Lei Valley,
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: whenever I had to go talk Phillies minor leagues, Jeff
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: was the guy. Jeff was the guy when he wanted
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: to know who's gonna be the next guy to replace
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: Ryan Howard, who's gonna be the next guy to look
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: like Utley? You know, And those conversations were great. But
• 28:57
  Speaker 3: now Jeff, thank you so much for having me on.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: That's going to do it for us here on table
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: Talk this week. Please share our podcast with your friends
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: and family members who are Philly sports fans or sports
• 29:07
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• 29:11
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• 29:15
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• 29:19
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• 29:22
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• 29:27
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• 29:31
  Speaker 1: Take care and we'll catch you next time.