Latest / Foul Territory / Fair Territory: Luis Ortiz placed on leave, Clayton Kershaw 3K, Max Muncy injured, Braves crumbling

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Fair Territory: Luis Ortiz placed on leave, Clayton Kershaw 3K, Max Muncy injured, Braves crumbling · Foul Territory

0:00
Speaker 1: I would think that if indeed he is out for
0:03
Speaker 1: the season, they might look to do something. They've got
0:06
Speaker 1: all kinds of options that they can turn to. That's
0:09
Speaker 1: the beauty of the Dodgers. They're versatile. Welcome everyone to
0:12
Speaker 1: the Thursday edition of Fair Territory, the live edition, and
0:15
Speaker 1: we are joined, as you can see, by a very
0:18
Speaker 1: special co host. Today, we're going to talk about Clayton Kershaw.
0:21
Speaker 1: We're going to talk about the Atlanta Braves. But Scott,
0:23
Speaker 1: we have some breaking news this morning. Let's get into
0:26
Speaker 1: that first.
0:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, let's do it. Ken, good to see you. Not
0:30
Speaker 2: fun news, but we'll see what happens investigation wise. So
0:33
Speaker 2: I'm just going to read the statement from the Cleveland Guardians.
0:35
Speaker 2: They've been notified by Major League Baseball that their pitcher
0:38
Speaker 2: they acquired this offseason and has put in almost ninety
0:41
Speaker 2: innings of work, Luis Ortiz, has been placed on leave
0:44
Speaker 2: per an agreement with the players Association due to an
0:46
Speaker 2: ongoing league investigation. The Guardians are not permitted to comment
0:50
Speaker 2: further at this time. But Ken, what else can you
0:52
Speaker 2: tell us?
0:53
Speaker 1: This is non disciplinary paid leave, that's what technically this is.
0:57
Speaker 1: So he hasn't been disciplined. He is getting paid while
1:00
Speaker 1: this investigation takes place, and I reported shortly a time
1:04
Speaker 1: ago that this is related to gambling. I reported this
1:07
Speaker 1: with Zach Misel of the Athletic It is a gambling
1:10
Speaker 1: related investigation. Beyond that, I don't know details. I don't
1:14
Speaker 1: know what specifically occurred here, but we do know that
1:18
Speaker 1: in recent years the league has taken a harsh stance
1:21
Speaker 1: on gambling, while of course embracing gambling companies as media
1:25
Speaker 1: companies have done, as really the entire sports world has done.
1:28
Speaker 1: Twenty twenty four, San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano was
1:33
Speaker 1: banned for life for betting on his own team. League
1:36
Speaker 1: also suspended four other players for a year for betting
1:39
Speaker 1: on baseball. And remember the issue with MLB umpire Pat Hoberg.
1:44
Speaker 1: He was also fired earlier this year after it was
1:47
Speaker 1: learned that he shared sports betting accounts with a friend
1:50
Speaker 1: who bet on baseball games. Again, we do not know
1:53
Speaker 1: the nature of what Ortiz is alleged to have done,
1:57
Speaker 1: if anything, This is merely an investigation at this point,
2:00
Speaker 1: but we do know that in recent history sports, recent history,
2:04
Speaker 1: these things have taken place.
2:07
Speaker 2: And we can talk about the impact on the Cleveland
2:09
Speaker 2: Guardians right now, Ken, because this is a team that's
2:12
Speaker 2: in a little bit of trouble right now. They're forty
2:14
Speaker 2: and forty four, they're tied for second place in the division.
2:17
Speaker 2: I would say forget about the division. The Tigers look
2:19
Speaker 2: like a juggernaut this year. They're twelve and a half
2:21
Speaker 2: games out of first. The Guardians won the division last year,
2:23
Speaker 2: made it to the ALCS, and they're in danger of
2:27
Speaker 2: not making the playoffs and perhaps being a seller if
2:29
Speaker 2: they keep this up.
2:30
Speaker 1: They are, they've lost six straight or teas. By the way,
2:32
Speaker 1: we're supposed to start tonight, and if you remember Scott,
2:35
Speaker 1: he was the centerpiece of the return they got in
2:38
Speaker 1: the Spencer Horowicz trade, the three team trade with Toronto
2:41
Speaker 1: and Pittsburgh. He was a guy that they relied on,
2:44
Speaker 1: or we're going to rely on quite a bit now.
2:47
Speaker 1: He was scheduled to start tonight. He is on this
2:51
Speaker 1: non disciplinary paid leave through at least the end of
2:53
Speaker 1: the All Star break, so it's conceivable he could be
2:56
Speaker 1: back quickly, or it's conceivable, of course, this could be
2:59
Speaker 1: a bension type situation. Certainly not a good thing for
3:03
Speaker 1: the Guardians. Their strength is their starting pitching. It's kind
3:06
Speaker 1: of taking a step forward in the last two months
3:08
Speaker 1: or so. It's young, but it's been good. Offense has
3:11
Speaker 1: been their problem, and if he is lost or teased
3:14
Speaker 1: for any length of time, it's certainly going to be
3:17
Speaker 1: difficult for them even to compete for a wildcard spot.
3:21
Speaker 2: And remember last year this team made it to the
3:23
Speaker 2: ALCS with an historically amazing bullpen. It is hard to
3:27
Speaker 2: get that kind of production in back to back years,
3:30
Speaker 2: even if it's the same guys. Right the bullpen volatility
3:32
Speaker 2: is definitely a thing for Cleveland.
3:34
Speaker 3: So we'll see what happens with this team.
3:36
Speaker 2: But right now they're within a few games of a
3:38
Speaker 2: wildcard spot.
3:39
Speaker 3: Things could change in the next few weeks.
3:41
Speaker 2: I don't know what the buyer seller situation looks like
3:44
Speaker 2: for this team in terms of what they'd have to offer,
3:46
Speaker 2: but I don't think they're going to give up too easily.
3:48
Speaker 2: If anything, don't you think they'd be a seller right
3:51
Speaker 2: around the trade deadline if they feel like at that
3:53
Speaker 2: point they're more than say, three games away from a
3:56
Speaker 2: wildcard spot.
3:57
Speaker 1: I do. And the question then would be what do
3:59
Speaker 1: they sell? Do they simply sell players on expiring contracts,
4:03
Speaker 1: Carlos Santana the most prominent among them, or do they
4:06
Speaker 1: maybe move Immanuel class A as well, their closer, who
4:09
Speaker 1: has not been as good this year as he was
4:11
Speaker 1: last year, but certainly would have value in a trade
4:15
Speaker 1: type scenario. So we're not there yet with them. This
4:19
Speaker 1: news this morning certainly throws a wrench into their plans,
4:23
Speaker 1: but well, no more, I would assume in the weeks ahead.
4:27
Speaker 2: Ken, Let's get to some celebratory news now. Clayton Kershaw
4:31
Speaker 2: getting to three thousand career strikeouts last night, and it
4:35
Speaker 2: looks like the Dodgers really did it well. It was
4:38
Speaker 2: on his one hundredth pitch of the evening and then
4:40
Speaker 2: he's removed from the game, so the timing worked out
4:43
Speaker 2: perfectly with him they pull off a victory. But what
4:46
Speaker 2: do you think about Clayton Kershaw's career and the fact that,
4:48
Speaker 2: despite quite a few injuries in the last several seasons,
4:51
Speaker 2: at thirty seven years old, he's an effective big league
4:54
Speaker 2: startner and able to pull off an accomplishment that has
4:57
Speaker 2: not just a lot to do with swing and miss,
4:59
Speaker 2: but with longevity.
5:01
Speaker 1: Absolutely, he is the twentieth pittuer to reach three thousand
5:03
Speaker 1: strikeouts and only the fourth left hander. That's the key
5:07
Speaker 1: thing here for me. Of course, in our sport, like
5:09
Speaker 1: in life, right handers are dominant, so left handed pitchers
5:13
Speaker 1: race more right handed hitters than left handed and it
5:15
Speaker 1: makes it that much more difficult. We've got Sabathia, we've
5:18
Speaker 1: got Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, and now Clayton Kershaw. It
5:22
Speaker 1: was a beautiful moment last night, the kind only baseball
5:25
Speaker 1: can give us. The College strike three was kind of amazing.
5:28
Speaker 1: But of course they had these situation too with Max
5:31
Speaker 1: Munsey who had just gotten hurt his knee a couple
5:35
Speaker 1: of plays before, and that kind of, at least in
5:38
Speaker 1: my mind, sort of cast a pall on it. We're
5:40
Speaker 1: going to learn more about Munsey today. He is going
5:43
Speaker 1: for an MRI. It did not look good. Obviously, he's
5:46
Speaker 1: a huge player for the Dodgers. He's had a huge resurgence.
5:49
Speaker 1: But the story was Kershaw and just to see him
5:53
Speaker 1: persevere through as you said, major surgeries, all kinds of difficulties,
5:57
Speaker 1: and to reach this point and to see him a
6:00
Speaker 1: push this at home, it was indeed special. And of
6:02
Speaker 1: course Scott, it raises the question is this guy, the
6:07
Speaker 1: last pitcher to reach three thousand? Will he be the
6:09
Speaker 1: last one? And Andy McCollum, my colleague at The Athletic,
6:12
Speaker 1: wrote a book titled The Last of His Kind about Kershaw,
6:16
Speaker 1: and it might prove to be absolutely the case that
6:19
Speaker 1: he is the last of his kind. I want to
6:21
Speaker 1: show you the list of active strikeout leaders beyond Kershaw.
6:26
Speaker 1: I'm not counting Verlander and Schurzer here. These are the
6:28
Speaker 1: guys who might have a chance to get to three thousand.
6:32
Speaker 1: Chris Sale, if healthy's certainly a shot two hundred and
6:34
Speaker 1: twenty five strikeouts just last year. Then Garrett Cole and
6:38
Speaker 1: Charlie Morton, you, Darvish and Kevin Gossman. I don't expect
6:41
Speaker 1: any of them to necessarily get there. Cole would have
6:44
Speaker 1: the best chance, Charlie's near the end of his career.
6:46
Speaker 1: You who knows when he'll even pitch again. He's supposedly
6:49
Speaker 1: on the comeback trail, and Gosmin's just a little bit away,
6:53
Speaker 1: or a lot of way, I should say. So, it's
6:55
Speaker 1: a unique accomplishment. It's something that will help define Kershaw
6:59
Speaker 1: going forward. As Fabian Ardaia wrote in The Athletic today,
7:02
Speaker 1: it's another sentence on his Hall of Fame plaque, and
7:05
Speaker 1: again to see the celebration last night and just the
7:08
Speaker 1: electricity in the crowd it was coming through your television.
7:12
Speaker 1: That was very cool.
7:14
Speaker 2: Yeah, when it comes to the names that you were
7:16
Speaker 2: just alluding to, it's hard to see anything past Chrisselle
7:21
Speaker 2: I mean, and that really depends on how long chrissell
7:23
Speaker 2: wants to go. He is still pitching in the prime
7:26
Speaker 2: of his career, you have to call it. He's just
7:28
Speaker 2: not able to stay on the field consistently for the
7:30
Speaker 2: last five six seasons, Ken, but he's got the stuff
7:34
Speaker 2: to be able to create enough swing and myths for
7:36
Speaker 2: what I think is at least another few years. It's
7:38
Speaker 2: just a matter of how much longer he wants to
7:40
Speaker 2: go and will his body hold up. Sale is out
7:43
Speaker 2: right now, which kind of glides us perfectly into our
7:46
Speaker 2: next topic. So the Atlanta Braves deal with yet another
7:50
Speaker 2: starting pitching injury, and this one really stinks. Spencer Schwellenbach
7:54
Speaker 2: is a fractured elbow and obviously he's going to miss
7:56
Speaker 2: significant time here. Sale is out until at least August.
8:00
Speaker 2: At this point, Rinaldo Lopez hasn't pitched for most of
8:02
Speaker 2: the season dealing with a shoulder injury. Can the list
8:05
Speaker 2: goes on and on for a team that has significantly
8:08
Speaker 2: underachieved as it.
8:10
Speaker 3: Is, Where are we at with the Braves?
8:13
Speaker 1: We're in a tough spot, no question. And you didn't
8:16
Speaker 1: even mention Scott the offensive regressions that have taken place
8:19
Speaker 1: with Michael Harris second and Alsie Albi's and others, and
8:23
Speaker 1: the whole team has just had kind of a general
8:26
Speaker 1: regression and a general malaise caused by the injuries, of course,
8:30
Speaker 1: and that's part of it. But where are we with them?
8:34
Speaker 1: We certainly can't look at them as heavy buyers, and
8:36
Speaker 1: I can say that fairly comfortably, even though we're four
8:39
Speaker 1: weeks out from the deadline. They're a team that may
8:42
Speaker 1: look to improve a little bit, but my goodness, there's
8:45
Speaker 1: so much working against them. I can't imagine they're going
8:48
Speaker 1: to be heavy buyers. Now the question then becomes would
8:51
Speaker 1: they be sellers? And yes, I would expect that if
8:55
Speaker 1: they are out of contention, players aren't expiring contracts like
8:58
Speaker 1: Marcel Azuna Rice a local see is, they would be
9:01
Speaker 1: guys that the Braves would certainly trade. At the same time,
9:04
Speaker 1: neither of those guys has really had a great season,
9:07
Speaker 1: as Zoon as dealing with a hip problem, so you're
9:09
Speaker 1: not gonna get a lot back for them. There has
9:11
Speaker 1: been speculation about a number of other Braves under club control.
9:16
Speaker 1: I don't expect them to do anything along those lines,
9:19
Speaker 1: at least not before the deadline. And I'll tell you why.
9:22
Speaker 1: With players under club control, you can take them into
9:25
Speaker 1: the offseason, and at that point you can expand the market.
9:29
Speaker 1: I'll use Sean Murphy as an example. If the Braves
9:31
Speaker 1: wanted to trade Sean Murphy right now, certainly they'd have takers. Now,
9:36
Speaker 1: they're a team that prefers to carry two quality catchers,
9:38
Speaker 1: so they're not even interested in trading Sean Murphy. But
9:41
Speaker 1: let's again play out the hypothetical. Take this into the
9:44
Speaker 1: off season, and then Sean Murphy you have him available,
9:47
Speaker 1: and you can include a great number more teams, a
9:52
Speaker 1: significantly greater number of teams. And that is the whole
9:55
Speaker 1: point when you're trading players under club control. If you
9:58
Speaker 1: go back to last year's deadline, Scot Gary Crochet, the
10:01
Speaker 1: Boston Red Sox weren't in. It was the Dodgers, the Phillies,
10:04
Speaker 1: the Braves, a little bit, but it wasn't the Red Sox.
10:07
Speaker 1: But in the offseason, the Red Sox certainly became a player.
10:11
Speaker 1: So you can expand your possibilities in the offseason. And
10:13
Speaker 1: I want to show you also how many players the
10:16
Speaker 1: Braves have under club control and the reason that they're
10:18
Speaker 1: not going to break up this team because they have
10:21
Speaker 1: so many guys who are going to be with them
10:23
Speaker 1: in the near future. I'm not gonna go through the
10:26
Speaker 1: entire list, but you can see from twenty twenty six
10:28
Speaker 1: to thirty three their core is under control in one
10:33
Speaker 1: form or another. I'm including club options here, assuming they
10:35
Speaker 1: would pick them up. So you've got your best players
10:39
Speaker 1: a Kunya through twenty eight, Olsen through thirty, Riley through
10:43
Speaker 1: thirty three. You're not gonna blow this up. You're gonna
10:46
Speaker 1: keep trying to win and build around these guys. And
10:50
Speaker 1: obviously this year it looks like it's going to be
10:52
Speaker 1: lost year.
10:53
Speaker 3: For the Atlanta Braves.
10:56
Speaker 2: And the thing is, you get to a point where
10:57
Speaker 2: I know alex Anthropolis is going to look and and
11:00
Speaker 2: try and say, hey, if we're within x amount of games,
11:03
Speaker 2: maybe five games, then let's give this a shot. I've
11:05
Speaker 2: done magic at the trade deadline before he has That's
11:09
Speaker 2: how they want a twenty twenty one World Series title.
11:11
Speaker 3: But they're six and a half games out.
11:13
Speaker 2: I mean, you're missing such a huge chunk of your
11:15
Speaker 2: rotation for probably a long period of time. They're in
11:19
Speaker 2: a pretty similar distance in terms of how far out
11:21
Speaker 2: they are to the Orioles in the American League, and
11:24
Speaker 2: we've been talking about them as a seller for a
11:26
Speaker 2: while now, so I guess the difference here is that
11:29
Speaker 2: the Orioles have a lot to sell, Like you mis mentioned,
11:32
Speaker 2: might be a pretty quiet trade deadline for the Braves
11:35
Speaker 2: on the buying and the selling front, which is obviously
11:37
Speaker 2: not fun for fans.
11:39
Speaker 3: All right, we're gonna step aside.
11:40
Speaker 2: If you have any more questions for us about anything
11:42
Speaker 2: we covered or anything else. Trade deadline obviously a few
11:45
Speaker 2: weeks away, All Star, etc. Grill and Ken on the
11:48
Speaker 2: table for you. Ask the questions either in the YouTube
11:51
Speaker 2: chat where you're watching us right now, or on chat PCC.
11:54
Speaker 2: Very easy to get on there, and we'll answer some
11:57
Speaker 2: questions from there as well. We'll be right back. Building
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13:06
Speaker 2: time we're back. It's fair Territory, Ken Rosenthal and Scottie
13:09
Speaker 2: Brawn and let's start with questions from chat PCC.
13:12
Speaker 3: It's a free chat app.
13:13
Speaker 2: You go to foul Territory dot Chat, foul Territory dot Chat,
13:16
Speaker 2: totally free, join the conversation. This is where we're picking
13:20
Speaker 2: up a lot of our questions, so we're not just
13:21
Speaker 2: getting questions live during the show. Could be before or after, etc.
13:24
Speaker 2: We've got some good ones, So let's start with Darius.
13:27
Speaker 2: We know Kershaw is the best picture of this generation,
13:31
Speaker 2: but where does he rank him on left handed all
13:34
Speaker 2: time pitchers after three thousand striker ads. I think he
13:36
Speaker 2: gave us two questions in there, Ken, if you want
13:38
Speaker 2: to answer them both.
13:40
Speaker 1: Well, I would say is arguably the best picture of
13:43
Speaker 1: this generation. He's right there with Verlander, insurs or you
13:46
Speaker 1: can slice it anyway you'd like. The best left hander
13:49
Speaker 1: of all time. Question is a really interesting one because,
13:52
Speaker 1: of course the sports spans generations, so guys like Lefty
13:56
Speaker 1: Grove and Sandy Kofax, Steve Carlton, they all pitched in
14:00
Speaker 1: different eras. This era has been one in which it's
14:03
Speaker 1: been difficult for pitchers to stay healthy and yet they've
14:06
Speaker 1: enhanced their abilities through outside sources and all kinds of ways,
14:11
Speaker 1: pitch design, all different things that have kind of given
14:14
Speaker 1: pictures an edge, and you have to look at it
14:17
Speaker 1: in that context as well. But I certainly would say
14:21
Speaker 1: that Kershaw ranks among the greatest left handers of all time.
14:24
Speaker 1: That is fair to say without any question. And I
14:27
Speaker 1: mentioned earlier the other three thousand strikeout left handers, Carlton
14:31
Speaker 1: and CC Sabathia, and of course Randy Johnson. It's a conversation,
14:36
Speaker 1: a debate that we can have, and you can look
14:38
Speaker 1: at ERA plus and break it down that way. But
14:41
Speaker 1: let's just say he's right in the.
14:42
Speaker 3: Conversation, no doubt.
14:44
Speaker 2: Hall of Fame Pitcher easy first ballot, and he's still
14:48
Speaker 2: going thirty seven years old. Let's get to some trade talk.
14:51
Speaker 2: So first one's a Yankee question for us, and it
14:53
Speaker 2: comes from Chris Well.
14:55
Speaker 3: The Yanks trade for eight real third.
14:57
Speaker 2: Basement so they could move Jazz back to second base,
14:59
Speaker 2: and of course by move with the Yankees DFA dj Lemayhew,
15:03
Speaker 2: I'm on board with this, Ken, I mean, I'm curious
15:05
Speaker 2: to get your thoughts on the details, but I do
15:07
Speaker 2: think the Yankees are much more effective on the defensive
15:11
Speaker 2: side in the infield. If Jazz is playing second base,
15:13
Speaker 2: can they find the third basement fit?
15:16
Speaker 1: I would agree with you, Scott, and that's a great
15:18
Speaker 1: question there. Clearly Jazz Chisholm Junior is capable of playing
15:23
Speaker 1: third base, but would he be better at second? We
15:26
Speaker 1: can all probably agree that the answer.
15:27
Speaker 3: There is yes.
15:29
Speaker 1: DJ lemayheu has come back, He's been okay, not much
15:32
Speaker 1: impact in the offensive side, and he's not the defender
15:35
Speaker 1: he once was at second base.
15:37
Speaker 3: So if they could get a third baseman.
15:39
Speaker 1: And let me throw out a name Aohano Suarez from
15:41
Speaker 1: the Diamondbacks, if they sell, that would enable them to
15:45
Speaker 1: move Jazz to second. Now, at that point, do you
15:47
Speaker 1: dfa DJ or do you make him a utility guy?
15:50
Speaker 1: I'm not sure. I believe he has one more year left.
15:54
Speaker 1: At fifteen million, it's a lot of money to eat.
15:56
Speaker 1: But at the same time, if you're trying to win
15:59
Speaker 1: the World Series, I don't know how DJ necessarily fits
16:01
Speaker 1: as a bench player, especially when you're making that kind
16:04
Speaker 1: of money. So it's a question that's going to persist
16:08
Speaker 1: through the deadline. What the Yankees do. They clearly need
16:12
Speaker 1: another infielder. Who that might be, we don't know yet.
16:16
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think DJ has one season left after this,
16:19
Speaker 2: and in my opinion when you looked back, I don't
16:21
Speaker 2: know if they said this publicly, they probably didn't.
16:23
Speaker 3: It was a six year contract for DJ.
16:26
Speaker 2: It was stretched out to help a team that often
16:28
Speaker 2: battles the collector or the luxury.
16:31
Speaker 3: Tax the line there.
16:33
Speaker 2: So, Ken, I mean, if they do cut him loose,
16:35
Speaker 2: you could look at the money that he got in
16:37
Speaker 2: those five years is what he really was worth.
16:40
Speaker 3: At the time.
16:41
Speaker 2: But they added a sixth year so they don't have
16:43
Speaker 2: to mess with the luxury tax line like they do
16:46
Speaker 2: or pay the tax overages as much. One quick follow
16:48
Speaker 2: up for you on this one, Ken, It's a name
16:50
Speaker 2: that's been linked to the Yankees for at least the
16:53
Speaker 2: last couple years, and I want to bring it up again.
16:55
Speaker 2: Do you think this is the time that the Rockies
16:58
Speaker 2: will finally give up Ryan McMahon in a trade. He
17:01
Speaker 2: was off to a super slow start. He's been a
17:03
Speaker 2: little bit better lately. I got to see where he's
17:05
Speaker 2: at as a bat, but I do think he could
17:07
Speaker 2: help this Team's kind of a solid all around player.
17:10
Speaker 2: Change of scenery would probably help him as well. It's
17:12
Speaker 2: more a matter of do we think the Rockies will
17:15
Speaker 2: part with a guy who they signed long term. They
17:17
Speaker 2: operate a little bit more or a lot more mom
17:19
Speaker 2: and pop shop and say, I like this guy, Let's
17:21
Speaker 2: keep him, even though he could make us better long
17:24
Speaker 2: term if we trade him.
17:27
Speaker 1: The question is the Rockies, as you said, Scott, will
17:29
Speaker 1: they move? I don't know. They are a team that
17:34
Speaker 1: is the only team in the Mountain time zone. They
17:36
Speaker 1: are a team that seems to operate in an insular way,
17:40
Speaker 1: kind of removed from the rest of the industry. It's weird, honestly,
17:44
Speaker 1: and they're a team that needs some change, no question
17:47
Speaker 1: about that. Will the current general manager, Bill Schmidt, under
17:50
Speaker 1: the current ownership be in position or prepared to make
17:54
Speaker 1: that change with a guy like McMahon institute a series
17:57
Speaker 1: of changes, trade some other people as well. I tend
18:00
Speaker 1: to doubt it based on their track record, but I
18:03
Speaker 1: am sure that Brian Cashman will at least be calling
18:05
Speaker 1: Bill Schmidt and saying, hey, what about McMahon.
18:09
Speaker 2: Yep, man, I mean, they got a lot of work
18:11
Speaker 2: to do, I hope. So all right, let's do one more.
18:13
Speaker 2: Let's take this one from the YouTube chat and it's
18:16
Speaker 2: an All Star question, Mike G what was your decision
18:19
Speaker 2: in putting Freddie Freeman ahead of Michael Bush. Oh, I
18:22
Speaker 2: saw this question yesterday from Mike on your NL All
18:24
Speaker 2: Star team, despite Bush having better overall numbers, and now
18:28
Speaker 2: I'm guessing he's going by ops plus and I know
18:31
Speaker 2: in Baseball Reference where he's got the edge now over Freddy.
18:34
Speaker 2: He said, I didn't see it specified in your article,
18:37
Speaker 2: so just curious.
18:39
Speaker 1: I didn't specify it my article, and I don't have
18:43
Speaker 1: the numbers in front of me, so I'm not going
18:45
Speaker 1: to get too deep into that. It's difficult to do
18:47
Speaker 1: live here, but it's Freddy Freeman. And I know Cubs
18:51
Speaker 1: fans were outraged. I didn't have Bush on there. I
18:53
Speaker 1: didn't have sa Zukie on there. I didn't have Boyd
18:55
Speaker 1: on there. Please, everybody's gonna get there eventually. We all
18:59
Speaker 1: know this. The guys who need to get there are
19:01
Speaker 1: going to get there. So Michael Bush certainly is having
19:04
Speaker 1: a really good year, and he's a really good player.
19:06
Speaker 1: Is he Freddie Freeman in terms of status yet in
19:09
Speaker 1: the game. No, And Freddie Freeman has had a really
19:12
Speaker 1: good year as well. Maybe not to his normal standards,
19:15
Speaker 1: but I believe his OPS is getting up around nine
19:16
Speaker 1: hundred again, or is around nine hundred, not like he's
19:19
Speaker 1: embarrassing himself. So I would just say I can't give
19:22
Speaker 1: a detailed answer here, but I had my reasons.
19:26
Speaker 3: One quick follow on this too. Ken.
19:28
Speaker 2: If the numbers are close enough right and it's not
19:31
Speaker 2: like you know, there's massive separation, do you factor in pedigree?
19:36
Speaker 3: Do you factor in last season?
19:39
Speaker 1: Right?
19:39
Speaker 2: Because you could be a second half superstar and really
19:41
Speaker 2: get dinged in All Star voting. It has a lot
19:44
Speaker 2: to do with how players perform in the first half,
19:47
Speaker 2: but also there's a popularity contest and a pedigree component
19:50
Speaker 2: to it.
19:50
Speaker 3: Did you fature that in Yeah, I just did a
19:53
Speaker 3: quick look.
19:53
Speaker 1: Bush is at fifty two percent above league average OPS
19:56
Speaker 1: plus Freddy's at forty seven percent. I mean that's really close,
20:01
Speaker 1: and it's so close where I would go with the
20:03
Speaker 1: bigger name. It's the All Star Game. It's an entertainment vehicle.
20:06
Speaker 1: No disrespect to Michael Bush. He'll half his day. He's
20:09
Speaker 1: a really good player, and maybe Freddie bows out for
20:12
Speaker 1: one reason or another and Michael Bush gets there anyway.
20:14
Speaker 1: So to me, when it's that close, and it is
20:17
Speaker 1: that close, I will go with the bigger name.
20:20
Speaker 3: Yeah.
20:20
Speaker 2: Bush has made strides on defense, but Freddy is definitely
20:23
Speaker 2: a better defender.
20:23
Speaker 3: Bush probably a better.
20:24
Speaker 1: Freddie had World Series MVP situation last year, one of
20:30
Speaker 1: the most dramatic home runs in World Series history, and
20:34
Speaker 1: the game is in Atlanta. Now, I didn't go into
20:36
Speaker 1: all this detail, but for all those reasons, I don't
20:39
Speaker 1: feel like I did Michael Bush a bad one here.
20:44
Speaker 2: Okay, I'm with you. I'm team Freddy on this one.
20:46
Speaker 2: You've got me convinced. Ken, good to see you. Happy
20:50
Speaker 2: Fourth of July to you and the long weekend, and
20:53
Speaker 2: I will see you next week on foul Territory.
20:56
Speaker 1: Sounds great, Scott, thank you, thanks for joining.
20:59
Speaker 3: Me right back?
21:00
Speaker 2: Yes, yes, thank you. We'll be right back. Ken still here,
21:02
Speaker 2: so don't leave. Dude and Dork of the week on
21:05
Speaker 2: the web. It's territory coming up, Kratz. I am actually
21:10
Speaker 2: in the market for a new car.
21:12
Speaker 5: Yes, wow, your car up north so I can drive
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Speaker 5: very far to todd father studio and to my house
21:21
Speaker 5: and to your house. You don't want to be confused, yes,
21:25
Speaker 5: because I'm parency this is big on our show and.
21:29
Speaker 6: Just fat to The confidence part is what I stick
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Speaker 6: with because it's like, did I I gotta check another site?
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Speaker 6: I gotta check this site or that site. It's all
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Speaker 6: in one place. I know I got the best deal
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Speaker 6: for what I'm getting. Take the guest work out.
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22:08
Speaker 1: Dude, Dude, dude. All right, time for the Dude and
22:18
Speaker 1: dork of the week, and both my selections this week
22:21
Speaker 1: are sort of fan related, one good and one bad.
22:25
Speaker 1: The good the Dude of the Week that goes to
22:28
Speaker 1: all of the fans who voted Jacob Wilson from the
22:31
Speaker 1: Athletics the starting shortstop for the American League in the
22:35
Speaker 1: All Star Game. Great choice. Jacob Wilson has had an
22:38
Speaker 1: amazing first half as a rookie an unusual player, a
22:42
Speaker 1: high contact guy, not a power guy. But he's been
22:45
Speaker 1: brilliant and he beat out Bobby Wood Jr. And Gunnar
22:49
Speaker 1: Henderson and even Jeremy Pania, who has had before getting
22:52
Speaker 1: hurt in MVP type season for the Houston Astros. So
22:56
Speaker 1: props to the fans for electing Jacob Wilson's on that
23:00
Speaker 1: plays for the Sacramento Athletics, the West Sacramento Athletics, the
23:04
Speaker 1: Vegas Oakland Sacramento Athletics. He doesn't play for one of
23:07
Speaker 1: the name teams in our sport. So Jacob Wilson, good
23:11
Speaker 1: for you for making the All Star team and all
23:13
Speaker 1: the fans who voted for them. I'm glad to see
23:16
Speaker 1: people are paying attention, and people have every reason to
23:19
Speaker 1: pay attention because in this day and age, we have
23:21
Speaker 1: so much information in front of us. We can watch
23:24
Speaker 1: pretty much every game through the MLB app So, hey,
23:28
Speaker 1: that was really cool to see West Coast team, not
23:31
Speaker 1: even a prominent team, and this guy gets elected over
23:33
Speaker 1: some really big names due to the week the fans
23:36
Speaker 1: for electing Jacob Wilson as well as Jacob himself. All right,
23:41
Speaker 1: now let's go to the next phase of this conversation.
23:53
Speaker 1: All right, dork of the week. Now, we always have
23:56
Speaker 1: a number of possibilities, and this guy I'm gonna name
24:00
Speaker 1: not the worst human being on earth, but he did
24:03
Speaker 1: something that got him banned from Chase Field for the
24:06
Speaker 1: rest of the season, and something that I think is
24:09
Speaker 1: an example to other fans out there who might have
24:12
Speaker 1: silly ideas about interfering with games and just conducting themselves
24:16
Speaker 1: in an untoward fashion. Overall. I'm talking about Dave mccaskell,
24:20
Speaker 1: Diamondback season ticket holder, who was banned for the rest
24:23
Speaker 1: of the season by the team because he interfered with
24:27
Speaker 1: a potential home run this week. It wasn't the first
24:29
Speaker 1: time he did it. He says he did it only
24:31
Speaker 1: two times. The Diamondbacks said it's been multiple times regardless, Dave,
24:36
Speaker 1: can we just be happy to watch the game. I
24:39
Speaker 1: know people like catching foul balls and home runs and
24:42
Speaker 1: that's cool. And Dave basically said he meant no harm
24:45
Speaker 1: to the Diamondbacks. He was quoted in The Athletic as
24:47
Speaker 1: saying this, he doesn't sound like a bad guy at all,
24:50
Speaker 1: but cool it just cool it. We don't need fans
24:54
Speaker 1: reaching over repeatedly if it happens once. Okay, it's an accident,
24:59
Speaker 1: you got excited. But when a guy does it repeatedly,
25:02
Speaker 1: his band to me is actually well deserved. So Dave McCaskill,
25:06
Speaker 1: dork of the Week. I don't mean to pick on you.
25:09
Speaker 1: You've been picked on enough. You've been banned for the
25:10
Speaker 1: rest of the season. But come on, man, keep your
25:13
Speaker 1: hands to yourself. Do you remember your parents saying that
25:17
Speaker 1: it's a good thing to follow, good advice to follow
25:19
Speaker 1: when you're in a major league park. So with that,
25:23
Speaker 1: for our friends watching on nesson Sports at Pittsburgh and
25:26
Speaker 1: Nesson Nation, we're gonna say goodbye for now, but stay
25:29
Speaker 1: with us. I'll be back with more right after this.
25:32
Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about one thing here that we
25:33
Speaker 1: didn't get to discuss in the other portion of the show,
25:36
Speaker 1: and it comes from my notes column today. Adulus Garcia
25:39
Speaker 1: of the Texas Rangers. I mentioned him. You can see
25:41
Speaker 1: the little teaser there, Adulas on the move question mark.
25:45
Speaker 1: And you wouldn't think that the Rangers would be trading
25:47
Speaker 1: the guy who is the MVP of the twenty twenty
25:50
Speaker 1: three ALCS, who's been an All Star a couple of times.
25:53
Speaker 1: But Garcia has struggled this season at times. Remember, they
25:56
Speaker 1: sat him down for a few days because he was
26:00
Speaker 1: going to work on some mechanical things. They wanted him
26:02
Speaker 1: to do that, and he did, and he was better
26:04
Speaker 1: in the month of June after returning to the lineup.
26:07
Speaker 1: So you say, well, why would the Rangers trade him.
26:10
Speaker 1: They're sort of teetering here. They've been a huge disappointment.
26:13
Speaker 1: Their offense has been a disappointment, and they've got some
26:16
Speaker 1: players on expiring contracts they can trade. If they sell
26:20
Speaker 1: Patrick Corbyn would be won a bunch of relievers as well,
26:23
Speaker 1: but Adolas Garcia, given the shortage of right handed hitters
26:27
Speaker 1: in the market, he probably would bring the most of
26:30
Speaker 1: any of those people. So there is a possibility that
26:33
Speaker 1: the Rangers would do this. And there's another factor here
26:36
Speaker 1: as well. Adolas Garcia this season earning ten point five
26:40
Speaker 1: million not a horrible amount for a player who performed
26:44
Speaker 1: like he did in twenty three. It's not so great
26:46
Speaker 1: for a guy who might be looking at two straight
26:48
Speaker 1: years of sub seven hundred opss. If that's the case,
26:52
Speaker 1: If that's how it ends up, Adolos Garcia conceivably, I
26:56
Speaker 1: don't know that this would happen, but conceivably could be
26:59
Speaker 1: a non tender. Care the Rangers might not want to
27:02
Speaker 1: pay him more than ten and a half million. He
27:03
Speaker 1: would get a raise in arbitration players generally do, and
27:07
Speaker 1: they might not want to go to twelve million for
27:09
Speaker 1: a guy, as I said, coming off to sub seven
27:12
Speaker 1: hundred ops's. Another team might see it differently. Another team
27:16
Speaker 1: might look at a resurgence by him and say, let's
27:19
Speaker 1: go give them a change of scenery. We're good, we
27:22
Speaker 1: want Adulas Garcia and all that he brings. So to me,
27:27
Speaker 1: it's a possibility.
27:28
Speaker 3: We're not there yet.
27:29
Speaker 1: The Rangers obviously have to get into a position where
27:32
Speaker 1: they feel like it's better to sell than to try
27:35
Speaker 1: to enhance their team. If you remember, last year, they
27:38
Speaker 1: did buy, but they were coming off a World Series title.
27:41
Speaker 1: They didn't feel like it would be proper to concede,
27:44
Speaker 1: and it ultimately proved to be a decision that's sort
27:46
Speaker 1: of backfired. So the Rangers are a really interesting spot
27:50
Speaker 1: here and it will be very interesting to see what
27:53
Speaker 1: they do with Adolis Garcia. All right, we're gonna take
27:56
Speaker 1: one more fan question before we sign off for today.
27:58
Speaker 1: Let's see what we got here, and we'll take it
28:01
Speaker 1: right about now. This one comes from Renato Yepez, who asked,
28:06
Speaker 1: do you see the Dodgers making a move if Munsey
28:08
Speaker 1: has lost for the rest of the season. Excellent timely question, Ronaldo.
28:12
Speaker 1: And certainly, if you watch that play last night, you
28:16
Speaker 1: had to be concerned. If you watched his reaction, the
28:18
Speaker 1: way he was helped off the field. The Dodgers broadcast
28:22
Speaker 1: would not even show the replay because they, in their
28:24
Speaker 1: minds felt it was not something that fans should see.
28:27
Speaker 3: It was that bad.
28:29
Speaker 1: So it's certainly fair to wonder how that MRI is
28:31
Speaker 1: going to turn out for Munsey today. And yes, I
28:34
Speaker 1: would think that if indeed he is out for the season,
28:38
Speaker 1: they might look to do something. Now, remember they've got
28:42
Speaker 1: Key Key Hernandez. They've got all kinds of options that
28:45
Speaker 1: they can turn to. That's the beauty of the Dodgers.
28:48
Speaker 1: They're versatile. Miguel Rojas is on the roster, and with
28:51
Speaker 1: Kim you can do some other things as well. But
28:54
Speaker 1: the Dodgers being the Dodgers, if Munsey is lost, that's
28:58
Speaker 1: a big power bat and I would think that they
29:00
Speaker 1: would try to maybe look at some other options for sure.
29:04
Speaker 1: All right, I want to thank you everyone for watching.
29:06
Speaker 1: A J. Prazinski and Eric Kratz joined Scott Braun hosting
29:09
Speaker 1: Foul Territory. Next, Dodgers Territory follows Foul Territory, and then
29:14
Speaker 1: Fair Territory returns on Monday. Thanks everyone for watching, for listening,
29:19
Speaker 1: Have a great Fourth of July weekend.