Latest / The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon / Matt Snyder talks MLB, Joe O'Donnell talks Wild hockey & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports

Transcript

Matt Snyder talks MLB, Joe O'Donnell talks Wild hockey & Trent's Picks presented by Circa Sports · The Lunch Rush with Trent Condon

0:08
Mallory Condon, welcome back. It's hour number two.
0:10
Iowa Sports Radio Network still to come.
0:14
Matt Snyder momentarily covers baseball for CBSSports.com.
0:18
Joe Donald is the radio voice of the Minnesota Wild.
0:21
He will join us while down 1, nothing in the best of seven
0:24
series against the Colorado Avalanche.
0:27
Let's talk some baseball. And it just popped up on my
0:29
Twitter feed. Has nothing to do with the
0:32
conversation. But I just got to bring this up
0:34
with you, Matt. It's not a good to talk to you.
0:36
Do you remember Javi Baez, the game against the Pirates where
0:40
he was? We ground out the third, he goes
0:45
running home and and guy who's on 3rd, he breaks for home and
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the guy was trying to chase Javi down, throws the ball to the
0:53
catcher. Javi has time to call him safe
0:56
and then run to. First base and then still made
0:58
the 1st. Yes, yeah.
0:59
And then actually ultimately made it to 2nd as there was an
1:02
overthrow. But anyways, that just that play
1:04
makes me laugh. A lot of ground to cover with.
1:06
You that was one where just really fast.
1:08
I wanted to say that was one where Javi always doing Javi
1:12
type thing got him the nickname El Mago that got in the heads of
1:17
defenders and that's why the dude didn't even think.
1:19
They just step on first base like wait what?
1:21
Javi's going to screw me up here.
1:22
And then he did. It was like a self fulfilling
1:24
prophecy. It really was, but just having
1:27
the wherewithal to actually, you know, mimic the umpire, called
1:30
the play at the plate safe and then realized there's no big art
1:33
in first base. I'm going to take off.
1:34
That was that was awesome. I want to get to the Cardinals
1:36
in a second because they're one of the stories that's got my
1:39
attention. But I want to start with John
1:40
Sterling, the legendary voice of the New York Yankees radio voice
1:44
passed away today. What an unbelievable career.
1:47
Whether you're a Yankees fan or not, you you heard his calls.
1:51
If you're a baseball fan, they popped up over the years,
1:54
especially now with our the social media era.
1:57
They still live on. John Sterling.
1:58
What a what A Craftsman. He was on the radio calling
2:02
Yankee games. I always the one thing I really,
2:06
really enjoyed the most, which he was great.
2:08
Obviously I didn't. I don't really listen to games
2:11
on the radio as much. I'm more visual person, so I
2:14
like to see it. But you, like you said, you
2:17
always heard his calls because he was so famous and got really
2:20
well known. But the thing I really, really
2:22
liked was the personalized home run calls for every single guy.
2:26
Like Bernie Williams was Burn baby burn a rod.
2:29
Remember, in a bomb from a rod, Mark Teixeira was like a text
2:33
message from Teixeira or something like that.
2:35
Like it was. And anytime they acquired like a
2:38
new big name, it was always like, oh man, what's Sterling?
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Someone called for him going to be like.
2:43
I remember Giancarlo Stand, everybody wondering what it
2:45
would be. So yeah, to have the kind of
2:48
legacy that he built for himself is something that everyone
2:51
should strive for. Are those characters of the game
2:55
in the broadcast booth? Are they gone?
2:58
Even guys that have fun personalities, Keith Hernandez
3:02
and that great booth with the Mets, it feels like everybody's
3:05
been polished up a whole lot more, that we're never going to
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have another person like a John Sterling, like a Harry Carey,
3:10
Like, is that a bygone era that is never coming back?
3:15
Maybe, maybe, yeah. You still think you get a lot of
3:17
good color guys, but you're right, a lot of the play by play
3:20
is kind of by the book. John Miller, maybe in San
3:24
Francisco. To be clear, I still think there
3:26
are so many good ones. Yeah, in terms of ATV booth like
3:31
the Padres or Solo is amazing and he still has a great
3:35
personality along with Mudkat Grant.
3:37
That's a such. That's such a good booth.
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The Giants have a really good one too.
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But yeah, like even in when you think about, for example, who's
3:45
great, Pat Hughes is amazing on the radio.
3:48
But you're right, it's not one of the, it's not a Harry Carey
3:51
type, larger than life personality with Hughes.
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He's just a straight play by play guy who's outstanding at
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it. Yeah, no doubt about it.
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Bygone era when baseball in the radio used to move the needle
4:03
like it did. I want to go to the Cardinals
4:04
with you. Obviously offensively, this team
4:08
has certainly opened up some I pitching, as Trent pointed out
4:11
earlier in the show, that might be the downfall of this team.
4:14
I heard in an interview, I think it was Rosenthal and Mcgravy on
4:17
Saturday night in in the dugout after he'd come out of the game.
4:20
I put a little personality, I'm I'm not going to watch this kid.
4:23
I was impressed by that. But what about this Cardinals
4:25
team? It was a rebuild.
4:27
This team wasn't going to. They didn't want to call it that
4:29
because they still needed the people to show up at Busch
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Stadium and support this team. They're exceeding expectations.
4:36
Where do you think this? Where do you think ultimately
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this goes? Is it sustainable in your mind?
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I yeah, I still just think that the pitching is just not even
4:47
remotely going to to stay quality over the course of the
4:51
season and they're going to end up in the last place.
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But like it's to this point they're proving me wrong and the
4:56
offense is so good. Part of that is Jordan Walker
5:00
becoming the guy that I think 3 years ago the Cardinals thought
5:03
they had on their hands. He's only 24 years old this
5:06
year, so it's not like he got old or anything.
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They just it took a little bit longer in development than a lot
5:10
of people thought it might. JJ Weatherholt having a quality
5:13
rookie year. But you look at like that what
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they're getting from Herrera, from Burleson top to bottom,
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it's a really good batting order.
5:21
And I don't know how much change is there.
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And it's not like everybody's overachieving because like,
5:25
Nolan Gorman still should hit for more average.
5:28
Victor Scott hasn't done anything at all offensively.
5:30
He's capable of being better. So I think that they're going to
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be a lot better than then I then I had them coming into the
5:38
season. Still feels like Reds are
5:41
probably better, Pirates are probably better, the Brewers are
5:44
better, the counts are definitely better.
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So then maybe they're taking it for last place, but this
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division is stacked at this point.
5:51
Really is we see the Pirates sweep the Reds over the weekend,
5:54
including was the seven straight walks that we saw in the
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Saturday game. I talked to Ken about that one
5:59
earlier today. Who's more sustainable for this
6:02
year, 2026? The Reds are the Pirates.
6:04
He had to take a bet on one of the two to be a playoff team
6:07
this year. Who you betting on?
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I'll go with the Reds. The Pirates.
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I still offensively, I know they're better, but I just I
6:15
don't know how well it's going to hold up over the course of
6:18
the season and to keep them above water here.
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I'm going to go with the Reds. One of their big problems last
6:23
season, the Reds and they were the last wild card, but they
6:25
were kind of a mediocre wild card is they just didn't have
6:28
any power. Well, they've got 10 home runs
6:30
from Ellie De La Cruz right now. They've got sell Stewart.
6:32
They they brought a Henio Suarez back.
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I know he only has three home runs and he's hurt right now,
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but he's a power presence and we know Hunter Green and Nicola
6:41
Dolo are going to rejoin the rotation at some point this
6:43
summer. So along with Chase Burns there
6:46
at the top of the rotation, you did have a nice three headed
6:48
monster there. We'll see if Andrew Abbott can
6:51
get things back on track to give him a good force on at the top.
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And I like Don Kelly has been fine so far for the Pirates, but
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I like Terry Francona, the dugout a lot better than pretty
7:01
much anybody. So I'll go with the Reds there,
7:03
but it's close. Are you surprised Carlos Mendoza
7:06
is still managing the Mets? Yes, I don't, I don't understand
7:10
what's going on, especially with the Red Sox fire their manager,
7:15
the Phillies fire their manager and then go 5 and 1 immediately
7:18
after they fire their manager. And I, I just why is David
7:23
Stearns anchoring himself to the manager?
7:25
Like at some point wouldn't it get so bad that ownership goes
7:28
to Stearns? Does we're going to get let let
7:31
you go because you won't fire the manager.
7:33
And this isn't just this year. And we've talked about this like
7:36
4 weeks in a row. It goes back to the collapse
7:39
last season. And it's not like he's dumb
7:42
great tactician, like a Terry Francona type or or somebody
7:46
that you know, when the clubhouse is so good with the
7:49
players like Dusty Baker and Bruce Boat, you were known for
7:52
years. It's not like he has that kind
7:53
of pedigree. And you're saying it's just
7:55
definitely the players fault. And now the manager like this is
7:58
the guy who routinely makes mistakes that are high profile
8:01
and he hasn't even doing it that long.
8:02
It's it's bizarre to me. Is Steve Cohen the the owner?
8:06
Is he the richest owner in sports?
8:08
And where did he are in baseball and where did he make his?
8:11
Is he a hedge fund guy? Do you know?
8:13
Yes, yeah, it's hedge fund. And as far as I know, yes, in
8:17
baseball, I think maybe the Dodgers ownership group is more,
8:21
but there's multiple people involved there.
8:23
If you're looking at just someone in ownership as an
8:26
individual, I believe yes he is. Let's go to the top of the
8:30
division. The Cubs.
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Your Cubs. Ken's Cubs and I think it's
8:34
going to be my Cubs this summer too because I'm not going to be
8:36
watching a whole lot absolutely do and managu over the weekend
8:40
outstanding terrific Ian Hap how how many Cubs fans throughout
8:43
the last eight years and I'm ready to move on and he just
8:46
year after year after year continues and now here comes
8:49
potentially plenty of on his way back off the IL on and on I'm
8:54
going this direction. I mean how how high can this
8:57
team go? How good can they be?
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Is this a team that get healthy, certainly in the rotation can
9:03
push towards a hundred wins? Are they that good?
9:07
Yeah, maybe more 95 is than 100. But if you talk about big
9:11
picture, they could win the World Series.
9:13
Absolutely. I, I technically any team that
9:16
makes the playoffs could win the World Series.
9:18
And I do believe that they're going to be a playoff team if
9:21
you look at the way the team is constructed right now.
9:24
They need the bullpen to get healthier.
9:26
But man, Council's been masterful with the pieces that
9:29
he's had so far. He's been great.
9:32
And Ben Brown looks like he's emerging as a major, major
9:34
weapon back there. You get Steel Bar and Valencia
9:36
back with Brown and Milner. It looks like a really good
9:39
bullpen. If you look ahead toward a
9:41
possible playoff rotation, maybe Justin Steele's back, maybe not.
9:46
But right now, Imanaga looks great.
9:48
Edward Cabrera looks great, Matthew Boyd maybe he gets
9:51
things together and then Jameson and Tyone's fine for a #4 for
9:54
the playoffs. And then defensively, it's one
9:56
of the best defensive teams in baseball, especially up the
9:59
middle with Nico and Dansby and PCA.
10:01
Offensively, it's a really well-rounded lineup.
10:04
They can hurt you from the 789 spots just as much as the 123
10:07
spots. And you know, just like I
10:09
mentioned with one of the teams I was talking about earlier,
10:13
Cardinals, it's not like anybody's going absolutely
10:17
bonkers offensively to where you say, OK, this is ridiculous, he
10:20
said. Maybe Carson Kelly, but other
10:23
than that, like Bush had been bad for a while now.
10:25
He just got hot. PCA had been bad for a while.
10:28
He started to heat up last week. Bregman hasn't really been that
10:32
great. We know he's probably going to
10:34
get better like there. There's a lot of reason to
10:36
believe that this thing could get even better.
10:39
And they've got a trade chip in Kevin Alcantara, who is leading
10:42
minor League Baseball in home runs.
10:45
I think he's blocked. I mean, maybe, I guess right
10:48
field would be, you know, somewhere you could you could
10:50
park them. But if they do need to go out at
10:52
the deadline and grab a starting pitcher, that's not a bad place
10:56
to start with having Alcantara, right?
10:59
Yeah, we need to. And Speaking of that same last
11:01
name, Danielle Contra trade rumor again.
11:06
Yeah, Al Contra is interesting because yes, he could be a trade
11:11
chip. On the other hand, both Ian
11:14
Hapen says Suzuki are free agents after the year.
11:16
Would this be a situation where such as they did with moist SPY
11:20
stereos in the DH spot, they let one of the two guys walk and
11:23
then say we're going to put on counter and let's say they,
11:25
let's say Suzuki walk and resigning in half and we're
11:28
going to put on counter in right field and see how it goes?
11:30
I don't know. It depends on how much they
11:32
believe in him. I know his strikeout rate is
11:34
still way too high for AAA. So if that is something they
11:38
want to move on from, maybe it would be similar to dealing O
11:41
and Casey for Edward Cabrera. So maybe they can match up with
11:44
the Marlins again. We'll see.
11:46
Let's go from the best top to bottom division in baseball and
11:50
the National League Central to the worst.
11:53
You got the Tigers and the Guardians, 1/2 game over, 500,
11:56
everybody else under. I guess you could say the White
11:58
Sox a bit of a surprise. They're, yeah, hanging around
12:02
and just our 500 Royals trying to dig themselves out of the
12:06
hole that they have created. We know the Twins.
12:08
Joe Ryan gets hurt yesterday and he's.
12:10
Done for the years. Nothing has been.
12:13
It's one of those injuries that you definitely get concerned
12:15
about. This division, though, overall,
12:18
I got something that I've seen throughout the years.
12:20
Everybody makes fun of the America League Central, and
12:23
because the team that I root for is in there, you get a little
12:25
defensive from time to time. Is it time to restructure this
12:29
thing? You do not have big money
12:31
markets. You do not.
12:33
The White Sox are in Chicago, yes, but they're the White Sox.
12:35
They're the second team. They don't operate as a large
12:37
market. Absolutely.
12:38
They are like a small market team.
12:40
That's the way that they operate whatever or if there is any kind
12:44
of change, is it time to revisit the way in the structure of
12:47
these divisions because year after year after year after year
12:50
after year, this division, it's just a bunch of sad sack teams
12:54
all together. I don't, I don't think it's
12:57
extreme enough yet to to go there.
13:01
I do think once Manafort's talked about for years, once the
13:05
Tampa Bay and Oakland Stadium situation, Oakland, Las Vegas,
13:09
sorry, stadium situations are finally squared away, then
13:13
they'll talk about expansion. I think when you expand and add
13:17
probably two more teams so you can have an even number, then
13:19
you can have 16 teams in each league.
13:21
That's when you will will restructure the divisions and
13:25
realign. They're not going to have two
13:28
divisions with six teams and four divisions with five teams.
13:31
They'll realign and they'll probably make 4 divisions
13:33
before. So I don't think it's extreme
13:35
enough that we need to do that knowing that by let's say 2035,
13:39
there will be 32 teams and there will be 8 AS.
13:42
Before SO. We can cross that bridge when
13:44
it's time to realign the entire thing.
13:46
And yeah, I mean, like the Guardians have been a really
13:49
good franchise for a while. The Tigers should be the the
13:52
big, the large market team, that division.
13:54
The White Sox could be operated as a large market team.
13:57
We've seen the Royals win the World Series recently, 2015.
14:01
The Twins won a plus series not too long ago.
14:03
It's not as awful as overall as it looks right now, but it yeah,
14:08
it looks awful right now. When you pull out, you're
14:11
bringing up the expansion and going to 32.
14:13
We see in the NFL, we've seen in the past 7 to 9 teams that have
14:16
made the playoffs. Now 8-9 teams that make the
14:18
playoffs. You put four teams together in a
14:21
four team division. Heck, there might be a year
14:23
where a team that goes as 78 and 84 and wins a division and gets
14:27
a playoff bid and maybe even hosting in that playoff round.
14:31
I'm with you. I would like to see bigger.
14:33
I I would like to see something bigger.
14:35
Yeah, you get wild card cards out of that.
14:36
That's me personally. But you think that's the
14:38
structure eventually is going to be 32 teams just like the NFL, 4
14:42
divisions of four in each. Probably.
14:44
Probably. But you're right if there was a
14:46
way to. I mean, the only other way would
14:49
be to have 4 divisions of eight if you're at 32, and that just
14:53
seems like a gigantic division nowadays.
14:55
A division title would actually mean something again.
14:59
It would it would mean a lot and you're right.
15:02
Then you could take the wild card and you need pretty much
15:05
guaranteed to not have a really, really bad team winning a
15:08
division. Where do they?
15:10
Go who's getting those teams? Who's going to go to the Who's
15:14
going to Where are they going to come from, Charlotte?
15:18
And I feel like Charlotte is Charlotte feels like a strong
15:22
contender there. I know.
15:23
I believe it's like half brave country kind of Cardinals might
15:27
sleep a little bit over there, but I think there's enough of an
15:29
opening there that Charlotte could work.
15:32
I know that Portland has been working on teams for years, and
15:36
that would be cool to have somebody else even remotely
15:39
close to Seattle because Seattle is all the way up there alone in
15:43
the Pacific Northwest. Portland would feel pretty cool.
15:47
I'm sure Oakland and Montreal would like to throw their hats
15:50
back in the feel. Like I kind of feel like when
15:53
you failed recently enough, you probably don't deserve another
15:57
go. We'll see.
15:59
It'll be San Antonio, I feel like is one of the biggest
16:02
cities that doesn't have another major pro sports team after the
16:05
Spurs. But I don't know what their
16:06
appetite would be for baseball there.
16:08
So those are a few of the big ones that come to.
16:11
I know Nashville gets brought up all the time but like that's
16:14
pretty hardcore. Cardinals country I believe.
16:17
Yeah, Memphis. Yeah, the Memphis Redbird.
16:19
I. Think about, yeah, I think
16:21
about, for example, like I'm in Indianapolis, in the
16:24
Indianapolis area. And while I would love A-Team
16:27
here, so many people are diehard Cubs fans.
16:29
I just don't know how an expansion team would work here.
16:32
So I feel like maybe Nashville has a similar issue.
16:34
In Salt Lake City, we've seen obviously, the money that's been
16:37
implemented. They just got an NHL team to go
16:39
along with the Jazz. Here's what a little bit off the
16:41
wall. I remember reading something a
16:42
while back in Austin, TX. Obviously the university is
16:46
there, but it is a huge and growing city that does not have
16:50
any kind of professional sports at the highest level.
16:53
Maybe that could be 1 like an hour and a half away, you know,
16:56
from a couple of big cities also.
16:59
It feels like the the Rangers fan base is mostly the doubt.
17:02
The DFW area feels like the Astros fan base is mostly
17:05
Houston and Corpus Christi. I wonder that that could be that
17:09
would be a very interesting 1. You get a nice little like
17:12
three-way in state rivalry going there.
17:14
Yeah, that could be. That could be cool.
17:16
Good stuff. What else is going on?
17:19
Is there is there a a pending MLB story you're working on this
17:23
week for CBSSports.com? No, not necessarily.
17:28
I've, I've, you know, got my eyes in a few smaller things,
17:32
obviously, but nothing really big is brewing.
17:35
I will say though, Ken, we didn't even talk about your
17:37
blue. Jays, I don't want to.
17:38
Starting to kind of win some series.
17:41
They're lying in the weeds here, but.
17:43
Yeah, the Yankees are. The Yankees have just got the
17:46
jump on that division seemingly right.
17:49
Yeah, seven games. But hey, last year the the Jays
17:53
were under 500. That's true.
17:54
And they ended up in game seven of the World Series.
17:56
So keep the faith, man. No, I, I, I hear you.
18:00
They're starting to get some production.
18:02
The the third baseman. What's OO Okamoto?
18:06
Yeah, he said. Bombs.
18:07
Sorry. But he's too bad he can't play
18:09
the Twins every day. That would help.
18:11
Yeah, that would help everybody. Hey, Speaking of the Yankees, I
18:14
saw Volpe got sent down. I understand.
18:19
And we he. Was on a rehab, He was on a
18:21
rehab assignment and they didn't even bring him up.
18:23
They just optioned him straight to AAA.
18:26
So like, yeah, he was on a rehab assignment from injury and his
18:29
rehab assignment expired so they had to bring him up, but instead
18:32
of bringing him up they optioned him.
18:33
Met we, they're Yankee prospects.
18:36
They're overrated almost every single time they're over because
18:39
they're Yankee prospects and we get to know them and we we hear
18:41
their name more than most other prospects outside of the Uber
18:44
prospects out there. Was Volpe just a miss?
18:47
Was it just is a Yankee? He was a nice prospect, but he
18:50
was a Yankees prospect and that's why we knew him so early.
18:53
Maybe. Maybe he's how old is he now,
18:57
25, a little early to write him off totally.
19:00
And then he's shown spurts of looking like a a pretty good
19:04
player or, you know, not for a full season or anything.
19:08
But yeah, it doesn't seem very good right now.
19:11
There's still time. Maybe he'll work things out.
19:13
I mean, he'll get another shot this season.
19:15
He'll come up at some point. But the the way that things are
19:18
going for them right now, they're getting stuff from like
19:22
Caballero, they're getting stuff from Rosario, like they're
19:26
they're getting enough production from those guys.
19:28
I think they were like, hey, you know what?
19:30
We're not going to try to gamble PN here right now.
19:33
McMahon's already enough of a black hole and 3rd page.
19:36
You don't need another offensive pole.
19:37
And they're going well right now.
19:39
They're they're easily the best team in the American League and
19:42
one of the top four teams in baseball right now.
19:44
So not messing with it. Well, since our last thing,
19:48
since we've began our conversation, Turk Stubble
19:50
Scubble rather has been scratched for tonight's
19:52
starting. So that's something that bears
19:54
watching for the Tigers is their.
19:57
There's the only thing I wondered about is if there's bad
20:01
weather and we've already seen how much school and his age and
20:04
are being sticklers like with the WBC, how he didn't want to
20:07
go to if. Is he like saying if the
20:11
weather's too bad, I'm not risking injury or something like
20:13
that with free agency pending? I wondered about that.
20:16
Hopefully it's not hurt. Good stuff.
20:18
I'll talk to you next week. Matt Snyder, love this
20:20
conversation with you, CBSSports.com.
20:22
Thank you, Matt. Take care.
20:24
Good to talk to you, Matt Snyder.
20:26
We talk baseball every Monday at 1:00 with our national guy, Matt
20:29
Snyder, CBSSports.com. You know, you said, is it crazy
20:34
for the Cubs to win 100 games? And the first instinct was,
20:37
yeah, it's probably a little high.
20:38
Come on, look at it. I mean, they're 10 games over
20:40
500 today and. Had an awful stretch.
20:43
Had a terrible start, bullpen wasn't good.
20:45
Everybody's hurt and pitching staff, I don't know when
20:48
Steele's coming back, but they've they're going to go out,
20:51
I would assume. And we'll talk, well, you'll
20:52
talk to Cappy Wednesday because I'm off the next two That that,
20:56
that, that they're willing to make some kind of move, right, I
20:59
would think. They're on pace right now for
21:01
105 went. There's your answer 105.
21:05
They're playing well, Trent, they're playing really well and,
21:07
and you said it, they got off to a slow start.
21:11
What's wrong with the Cubs? You're killing them.
21:13
Not me, I never overreact. Never, never in baseball. 125
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21:35
Joe O'Donnell, the voice of the Minnesota Wild.
21:39
He is scheduled to join us on the other side.
21:42
In fact, I just got a text. He's good to go.
21:44
Joe O'Donnell, Wild down 1, nothing to the ABS.
21:47
That's next. Miller and Condon, Iowa Sports
21:49
Radio Network. Hi, I'm Millie Conlon, welcome
21:59
back, Iowa Sports Radio Network, Transplays of the day still to
22:03
come. Circus sports sponsor those
22:05
those coming up in about 20 minutes or so.
22:07
Let's head to Denver, shall we? Joe O'Donnell, the voice radio
22:11
voice of the Minnesota Wild. He joins us.
22:13
Recap. Just a crazy game #1 Joe, I'm
22:17
guessing you didn't see that fifteen goals in the first game
22:20
of the AVS Wild series coming, did you?
22:22
That was crazy. I did not Kenny, if I could have
22:27
the floor for a quick minute. Just going through some notes on
22:31
the NHL on last night's game so it doesn't go Minnesota's way.
22:34
96 loss. Hopefully you just shake it off
22:37
to get ready for tomorrow's game too.
22:39
However, there were five combined goals in the game in
22:42
less than a 5 minute span in the first period.
22:45
It was the 10th playoff game all time in NHL history is 15 or
22:49
more total goals just the 10th all time.
22:53
The Avalanche became the fifth team ever in a single playoff
22:55
game to get double digit points from their defenseman, and there
22:59
are 14 different goal scorers in the game, tied for second most
23:03
ever in an NHL playoff game. Unbelievable.
23:07
Really, truly was. And that's, that's just like the
23:10
tip of the iceberg as far as like, you know, the most goals,
23:14
the avalanche of ever scoring the game, the most wild have
23:16
given up the playoff game. I mean, I, I could spend the
23:18
next 20 minutes just going through sort of the the
23:22
superlatives from this game. And but unfortunately, Minnesota
23:25
ends up on the wrong end of it. Well, when I when I went 3
23:27
nothing in 2 minutes and the Oh my God, yeah, this, this isn't
23:31
going well. But then Big Bang, boom, I got
23:33
to tell you, maybe my favorite goal of the entire night, Quinn
23:36
Hughes setting up Hartman in front.
23:38
What a heady play. That just shows you just how
23:40
good he is, right? How he saw the ice and knew what
23:43
to do with this on the heels of, you know, purposely sending one
23:46
off a defenceman skate in the in the previous round against
23:49
Dallas. Hughes is unbelievable.
23:51
What? What a setup that was.
23:54
It's he's on like a it's like he's playing a different game
23:59
than everybody else. At times he has to be such a a
24:02
frustrating player to play against because he's always on
24:06
the ice. It feels like plays half the
24:08
game. He's got the puck on his stick
24:10
over a minute more than anybody else.
24:12
Most games Like that's that's something the league tracks like
24:15
who carries the puck the most. And most games he's like over a
24:19
minute more than everybody else on the planet.
24:23
And he just, it seems like, I don't know how many times I've
24:26
used the phrase Hughes spins or Hughes cuts back like every
24:30
single time. Doesn't matter where he is next
24:33
to his net at the offense, blue line where coaches usually lose
24:36
their hair over moves like that. And it's guys that have played
24:40
against them for years, guys that have watched tape on them
24:43
for years, world class players, fourth line guys, doesn't
24:46
matter. He just puts them in a blender
24:48
constantly with his ability to just his edge work and his
24:53
confidence and puck handling. And you know, one thing John
24:56
Heinz has talked about for a while now, Ken, is that when,
24:59
when the Wild first got Quinn Hughes, there's an adjustment
25:01
period for everybody else. Like, how do you play with them?
25:05
So he'll take a play in the neutral zone, he'll spin back.
25:09
And John Heinz just told the broadcasting, you know, the
25:12
national side myself, you know those fortunate to get those
25:15
kind of one-on-one sessions with them.
25:16
Like if you're a wild player in the ice of Quinn Hughes, if he
25:20
spins back, you can't now DVA, you can't go for a light.
25:24
You have to be ready because he's making that play then when
25:28
nobody expects it and it's on your stick because he passed the
25:31
puck hard. So a lot of times guys will spin
25:34
back and they buy some. He's spinning back because he's
25:36
seeing another play already where he's trying to be
25:39
deceptive to the opposing team. And so that was an adjustment
25:43
period for a lot of the Wild players, I think to realize, OK,
25:45
stick on the ice at all times, but this guy doesn't come to you
25:47
right now. It might come to you in a split
25:49
second after he's made one more move.
25:52
And a lot of guys don't have that ability.
25:54
The Wall of Saint Paul. I didn't know that nickname
25:57
until Ken told me at the beginning of the show.
25:58
Today certainly was not a wall yet.
26:02
The Wilders in such a difficult spot because throughout the
26:04
course of the year they've used two and two pretty effectively
26:07
throughout, so it's got to be a huge conversation piece.
26:09
What do you anticipate there as we lead into Game 2?
26:13
I don't see a change. I will say it was rather telling
26:16
to me that they didn't pull Falstead at all.
26:18
Again, not that any of it was really on him.
26:21
I would have liked to have seen one more big save in that third
26:24
period. Like to me, the cadre shot off
26:27
the Roger, you know, that's one that you like to have back that
26:32
at the time, you know, gave Colorado the two goal lead in
26:37
the third, made it 7:00 to 5:00. That's one that if he makes that
26:40
save, you know, Zucarello scored a few minutes after that make
26:43
it, then it would have been, you know, then you're just, you
26:46
know, then it's a tie game. So, yeah.
26:49
So it's just that was one that was frustrating for me.
26:54
I'm curious to see how he responds.
26:55
Trent, you know, this is a big moment for him and a very young
26:58
career still. I've talked to you guys about
27:01
his mental stability, about his confidence himself, how hard he
27:05
works. So that'll be something I'm
27:08
looking for in Game 2 is how does Yesper Volstead response a
27:11
way different style between Dallas and Colorado.
27:14
While coaches told us that they want the players to get attached
27:16
to the series, make the adjustments because you're
27:19
playing a different team now coming off of a pretty tough
27:22
series against Dallas didn't have a lot of turn around time.
27:25
And I it didn't really dawn on me that'd be different for the
27:27
goal center. But in talking with Alex Stalock
27:30
and Kevin Gordon today, both two former goalies and I was on the
27:33
wild on 7th podcast this morning, Stalock and said like
27:37
it's it's hard for a goalie to get, you know, six games,
27:40
getting used to how Dallas operates, power play, even
27:42
strength. And then all of a sudden it's a
27:44
track me different style East West, all the speed in the world
27:49
that the ABS possessed. So maybe Wally was just a little
27:51
out of sorts early. Now having another game under
27:54
his belt against the ABS did play them well in the regular
27:56
season. So I expect them to bounce back.
27:59
But it'll certainly be something I'm looking at Tomorrow is a big
28:01
question mark. Not saying you can't do it, but
28:04
just how will he respond? Yeah, the speed of Colorado just
28:06
jumps off the television screen. It sure does for you when you're
28:09
in the arena as well. What about Kale Makar?
28:12
He, he got him with me. Fellino got him pretty good
28:15
behind the net. Wasn't a dirty play by any
28:18
means. Makar goes off.
28:20
They showed him they he came on the ice during ATV time out,
28:24
then went back in and didn't play anymore in the first
28:26
period. But then there he was for
28:28
periods 2 and three and obviously had a massive impact
28:31
on the game. Any idea what was going on
28:33
there, Joe? Yeah, I don't.
28:35
I mean, a couple times he came out for the one time I saw him
28:38
come out during that break in the action and did a little
28:41
twirl there like a, you know, a little public skating session to
28:44
test off his test, his edges test.
28:46
So his feeling can't seem to be shaking his right leg a little
28:48
bit. But again, he's a world class
28:51
player. You wouldn't know it by how he
28:53
finished the game, obviously getting the two goal game and
28:58
and finishing the night with three points and a + 2.
29:00
And he actually played the least amount of ice time in a playoff
29:05
game since his very first Stanley Cup Playoff appearance.
29:08
So that tells you again, in part because he missed some time in
29:11
the first period due to injury. But it'll be something to keep
29:14
an eye on. You know, we hope this is a long
29:16
series. You know, if a guy's dealing
29:18
with something in game one, it doesn't always mean that, you
29:21
know, the next day wakes up and it's feeling good.
29:23
I mean, we saw that with Matt Ducarello, first game against
29:26
Dallas, ready to get the elbowed high in that in the head area.
29:30
The first game, he finished the game and then missed the next
29:33
three games. So sometimes you wake up the
29:35
next day, you don't feel as good as you did with that.
29:37
Adrenaline wears off. Erickson EC being out for games
29:41
one and two and of course it's hockey, so it is a lower body
29:44
injury. That's how we know things a the
29:47
likelihood that we will see him back in game three and just how
29:50
much that change what they did, line changes, those kind of
29:53
things, not having one of their their center guys out there.
29:56
It's a huge loss. Hard to, you know, verbalize it,
30:01
to be honest. Like he just does so many things
30:03
well for this hockey team. He's a pain in the you know what
30:06
to play against. Number one for the opposition.
30:09
He's the first guy over the boards in every situation.
30:12
If it's a goalie poll, you know either way you want them on the
30:16
ice. If it's a penalty kill, he's the
30:17
first guy over. If it's the power plays on your
30:19
top unit, he's centering your second line, but arguably your
30:22
most consistent and best line throughout the course of the
30:24
regular season. Face off guy, blocked shots,
30:29
net, front scrums. I mean literally every part of
30:32
the game. The Wild now are one and seven
30:34
in playoff games without Joel Erickson.
30:35
I can the lineup since he came into the league.
30:38
Small Cavi out there. One game they did win against
30:42
Dallas where he only played 19 seconds, he refractured his leg.
30:45
He was coming back like 3 weeks after a broken leg from a game
30:49
late that season. The regular season comes back
30:51
for game three. Crowd was going crazy, was at
30:54
home while went on to win that game.
30:56
On the 1st shift of the game he rebroke it.
31:00
So you know that there's a second win really there where
31:02
they didn't have the playoffs but the record is what the
31:04
record is like. They're below 500 by a pretty
31:07
large margin when he doesn't play.
31:10
My hope is with the extreme layoff games two and three.
31:16
I checked with the NHL. It hasn't happened in a playoff
31:19
series since the 2020 bubble where there's been three days
31:23
off between games. I don't know why that was, but
31:26
it works out for the Wild in a huge way.
31:28
In my opinion. If there's any chance of getting
31:30
Ericsson back in the series, you need as many games and days as
31:33
possible. He's a warrior.
31:35
He'll play through a lot. As I just mentioned, a few years
31:38
back, you know, with about three weeks after breaking his leg, he
31:41
was trying to get back out there.
31:42
So I don't know what the injury is.
31:44
He went hard into the boards in game six.
31:46
He came back and finished the game.
31:48
I'm guessing the medical staff had a lot to do with that.
31:50
If you're picking up what I'm putting down, you know, one of
31:53
those freeze it, whatever you can do, get me back out there.
31:56
He's that type of guy. So I'm hoping at some point he
31:59
returns. Haven't got much clarity from
32:01
the team for obvious reasons, but that break between games two
32:04
and three, to me that gives some hope that he could return at
32:07
some point. Yeah, I can't stand him, and
32:08
that's a compliment. He's a terrific player and he
32:11
just kills you. Was that game that he did that
32:13
he did come back? Was that against Winnipeg?
32:15
I seem to recall, I don't. In the playoffs.
32:19
Yeah. Well, so that was Dallas.
32:22
So. So he blocked it of getting
32:23
Malkin shot like maybe a week left in the regular season in
32:26
Pittsburgh left, I'm pretty sure in a walking boot and I don't
32:31
know, it might have been 17 days later, 20 days.
32:34
It was about 3 weeks later. He was back for game three
32:37
against Dallas while went on, like I said, to win that game.
32:40
But the he started the game. The crowd was going bananas.
32:43
But first shift, I mean he just turned like he didn't.
32:46
It wasn't a hit. He didn't block another shot
32:48
like whatever it was wasn't was good enough for him to get out
32:51
there. And unfortunately, karma,
32:53
whatever, just bad luck re broke it fractured or whatever the
32:56
term would be. And then obviously the Wild lost
32:59
series and his season was over. So the reason for the long delay
33:02
is the women's, the professional Hockey League that has a team up
33:06
there, they've got the building on Friday and Saturday.
33:09
Is that right? So I know that there's I think
33:13
it's well, the game is Saturday for the Wild Sunday.
33:15
I believe it's like Disney on Ice is in there and maybe the
33:18
Minnesota Frost have a playoff game in there as well.
33:22
So that would probably make some sense here where Saturday was
33:24
the only day. But again, after not getting
33:27
much time, you know, you beat the Stars on Thursday, that's
33:30
physical. Saturday you're traveling,
33:32
Sunday you're playing. You know, this team is wild team
33:36
when they rest and recover, like most teams, they feel good, but
33:39
they get practice time. They seem to always respond to
33:41
it. And I'm talking like a real
33:44
practice, not a morning skate. We're out there trying to like,
33:46
you know, get the blood going and touch a few pucks.
33:49
I'm talking about a good practice and heading into
33:52
Dallas, they were able to practice specifically things on
33:56
what the stars did well, right? Like do some drills at work on
33:59
your four check that you want to implement in the series, do some
34:02
things defensively, whatever. They didn't get that opportunity
34:05
preparing for Colorado. John Hines didn't seem concerned
34:08
about it, told me that he thought through video, Hey,
34:10
here's how Dallas is different from Colorado.
34:12
Here's the thing that's going to pay attention with Colorado.
34:14
They play them well in the regular season.
34:15
So it's not like, you know, they hadn't seen this team before and
34:19
they played them twice, you know, after the Olympic break.
34:21
So they had seen that somewhat recently.
34:24
I just think their their attention to detail defensively
34:26
wasn't there in game one. I expected to be cleaned up for
34:29
Game 2. And if all Stead bounces back, I
34:31
think the wild proof they can score in this series and and,
34:35
you know, show some great resiliency in game one.
34:37
I think there's certainly some positive take from it.
34:39
Joe, I'm sure you're going to have your eyes glued tonight
34:41
over with the Vegas Golden Knights in Anaheim.
34:44
Now my partner, he's told me I don't know a lot of times during
34:47
the last eight years that Vegas is good this year and then they
34:50
make a run. What do you expect that we're
34:51
going to see in this series, and if the Wild can advance, is
34:55
there a better match up between the two for the Wild?
34:58
Well, they've historically owned the Anaheim Ducks out of the
35:01
Wild. I think they've won like 22 of
35:03
the last 23 all time meetings. But Anaheim's obviously coming
35:09
off a pretty good series win over the, you know, back-to-back
35:13
Western Conference champions in Edmonton that I didn't see
35:16
coming. I don't care how banged up
35:17
McDavid was. We saw Anaheim the last Wild
35:20
game of the regular season and I'm at a ton to play for still
35:23
trying to win their division. The Wild had literally nothing
35:26
to play for and Minnesota won the hockey game with a bunch of,
35:29
you know, call UPS in the line up.
35:31
So I left that game at the end of the Wilds regular season.
35:34
I think the Ducks had one more to play saying this Anaheim
35:36
team, they've got no shot when the lights get turned on here.
35:39
They just they bleed chances. They give up too many goals and
35:42
boy do they go into Edmonton and kind of prove me wrong.
35:45
So I think Vegas will ultimately win the series.
35:49
I do give a slight edge in that to Anaheim, though.
35:52
Carter Hart's been kind of iffy with Vegas.
35:54
Aiden Hills, not even their number one anymore.
35:56
He's got a Stanley Cup on his resume, so I really like Lukash.
35:59
Still stalling that for the Ducks.
36:01
If they can find a way to defend hard and get some timely goals,
36:04
Anaheim can certainly make it a series.
36:07
But whatever John Tortorello has done to this Vegas Golden
36:09
Knights team in a very short amount of time, remember they
36:11
hired him with just a few games left in the regular season.
36:15
It was shocking at the time, but he's got him playing a good
36:19
brand of hockey right now. And they had a tough series
36:21
against Utah and Utah and Anaheim are very similar teams
36:24
in my opinion, from a speed and youth and skill standpoint.
36:28
And so it'll be interesting to see like, I don't think Vegas
36:30
will have to change much. It's going to take that Utah
36:32
game plan that allows them to get out of that first round with
36:35
a, with a series win, same style play against Anaheim.
36:39
And I think Vegas will ultimately prevail.
36:41
Can't wait to watch it unfold and I'll stick with what I've
36:44
been saying since before the playoffs.
36:45
Whoever comes out of the Central Division is going to win the
36:47
Stanley Cup. We shall see where it goes.
36:50
Joe, we're going to impose on you again prior to game #3 in
36:54
all likelihood. So thanks for jumping on Joe
36:57
O'Donnell. Appreciate it.
36:58
Thanks what you do for us. Have a good call tomorrow night.
37:00
Thanks, Joe. You got to see you guys.
37:02
Good to talk to Joe O'Donnell, formerly the voice of the Iowa
37:05
Wild, now the voice of the Minnesota Wild.
37:08
Phenomenal series. Game one goes to Colorado, 9 to
37:11
6. Trent's plays of the day.
37:13
They're coming up next. Circus Sparks sponsor those.
37:17
So just to kind of refresh before we start anew, yes,
37:22
losing week last week. We went 500 Monday, Tuesday,
37:25
Wednesday and Thursday. Yep.
37:27
And got clubbed on Friday night. Clobbered.
37:29
Yeah, 2:00 and 5:00 I think. Lost a little bit on Saturday O
37:34
and five yesterday. O and five.
37:36
Yeah, so we're. Ice cold.
37:37
What did you play yesterday that you went over?
37:39
Garbage, apparently, Yeah. Terrible bets.
37:43
Let me see. Let me pull it up here.
37:44
What was it on yesterday? Well, I was not on the under in
37:47
the wild lands. Yeah.
37:50
Can you imagine? No, I really got a great angle
37:52
on this one. Yeah, I think the.
37:54
A lot of goals here. Yesterday we had, well, I had
37:57
your Blue Jays that. Didn't go well.
37:59
Well, you always bet against a Twin Zone.
38:01
I I was on the wild though yesterday plus 180 when when
38:06
they got it back even and they took.
38:07
The lead, they took the lead 54. Yeah.
38:10
And then? It went Evan Morberly over 60
38:12
and 1/2. He had 13.
38:14
Had the Magic in the points clobbered.
38:16
They got walloped. Team total Diamondbacks over 5
38:19
1/2 dead. Nope.
38:21
When they get to 4, they hit a home run in the ninth to make it
38:23
a four run, I think. Yeah, I think they had to put
38:26
up. They finished with four, right?
38:27
What was 9/4? By the way, Tarek Scubble
38:31
undergoing surgery, loose bodies in his left elbow, that's his
38:36
pitching elbow. He's going to miss two to three
38:38
months. That's typically the time frame
38:41
for that surgery. So the American League's eye
38:43
young winner on the shelf for, well, certainly sounds like till
38:46
after the All Star break at best, right?
38:48
Yes, at best. At best.
38:50
I don't think they're getting them back.
38:51
Before just wonder. And he's all because he's a free
38:55
agent. Yeah.
38:58
Oh, I hope he puts the team first.
39:00
Well, we'll see Miller and Condon dress plays of the day,
39:03
our next Iowa Sports Radio Network.
39:05
Hi, Miller and Condon, welcome back off the bench.
39:07
Coming up top of the hour, they'll take you until 5:00
39:10
overtime, Iowa 5 until 6. And of course, mornings start on
39:15
the Iowa Sports Radio Network with the first quarter.
39:18
Heather Burnside, Alec Bussey from six until 9 O clock
39:23
transplays today they are sponsored by Circa Sports.
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40:46
kind of way of betting lots of different things, they're edge
40:48
farter Finder. They also have something that's
40:51
really cool sharp Intel. This is finding out the biggest
40:55
betters what they are betting on that is also available.
40:59
Again, unjuice dot bet as where you can go for all the
41:01
information on that. My picks for tonight, hopefully
41:05
an easy one. It's a huge price.
41:06
We just got to get a win. Let's make a victory with the
41:08
Yankees -214 tonight as they take on Baltimore in baseball.
41:12
So going to go Cabrera over 5 1/2 KS for the Cubs this evening
41:17
to the NBA. Knicks going to lay up by this 7
41:20
1/2 tonight against Philly. Edgecomb over 1 1/2 steals.
41:24
That's plus 176 like that plus value there.
41:27
And I'm going to listen to you. You tell me Vegas is cooked.
41:31
I'll believe you. Give me the Ducks tonight.
41:33
Quack Quack plus 148 at Circa. By far the best price in the
41:39
market. Imagine that good stuff.
41:42
I'm, I'm on their sites. I'm just gonna, I'm gonna take a
41:45
spin around absolutely unduced dot bet.
41:47
All right, coming up next off the bench, they'll take you
41:49
until 5:00, where Miller and Condon, Trent and I talk sports
41:52
with you Monday through Friday from noon until 2 on the Iowa
41:56
Sports Radio Network.