Latest / Foul Territory / Fair Territory: Max Scherzer signs back with Blue Jays, Randal Grichuk to Yankees, Konnor Griffin BUZZ

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Fair Territory: Max Scherzer signs back with Blue Jays, Randal Grichuk to Yankees, Konnor Griffin BUZZ · Foul Territory

0:09
Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to the Thursday edition of Fair Territory. I'm
0:12
Speaker 1: Ken Rosenthal, as you can see here with my friend
0:14
Speaker 1: Alana Rizzo, we are coming to you today. I am
0:17
Speaker 1: at least from Tampa. I was at the Yankees this morning.
0:20
Speaker 1: I was at the Phillies yesterday, the Pirates, the day
0:22
Speaker 1: before that the Blue Jays. Maybe it wasn't quite that order,
0:25
Speaker 1: but you get the idea. It's spring training. And actually, Alana,
0:29
Speaker 1: last night we had some news.
0:32
Speaker 2: We did have some news, and you're all over Florida
0:34
Speaker 2: putting in the miles. You know how that goes. Matt
0:37
Speaker 2: schurzer Ken Going back to the Blue Jays, what do
0:40
Speaker 2: you make of it?
0:42
Speaker 1: It's very interesting move for a team that already has
0:44
Speaker 1: added two starting pitchers this offseason, and actually three if
0:48
Speaker 1: you want to include Shane Bieber who opted in to
0:51
Speaker 1: his deal. They added, of course in free agency, Dylan
0:54
Speaker 1: Ceese and Cody Ponce, and yet the Blue Jays are
0:57
Speaker 1: still trying to add depth. You see the deal there,
1:00
Speaker 1: one year, three million, with ten million dollars in incentives
1:03
Speaker 1: that start at sixty five innings. It's like a million
1:06
Speaker 1: dollars each for ten different levels up to tw one
1:08
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty five innings, So if Max Schurzer pitches,
1:12
Speaker 1: he can earn all of that. But we'll see how
1:15
Speaker 1: that all goes. Schurzer is in a situation where he
1:19
Speaker 1: has been throwing bullpens. He should be ready by opening day,
1:23
Speaker 1: and the question will be which other Blue Jays pitchers
1:26
Speaker 1: are in the mix opening day as well. They're going
1:29
Speaker 1: to have a selection to choose from. You see right
1:31
Speaker 1: here there are eight possible starters. Now, Bieber will not
1:34
Speaker 1: be ready to start the season, but Seies Gossman, You Savage, Burrios,
1:39
Speaker 1: Cody Ponce, Scherzer, Bieber, and Eric Lauer, who has talked
1:43
Speaker 1: about possibly getting traded, or at least that would be
1:45
Speaker 1: his desire. If the Blue Jays cannot create a spot
1:49
Speaker 1: for him in the rotation, perhaps a trade of Laer
1:52
Speaker 1: is coming. Now. Max Scherzer obviously had his choice of teams,
1:57
Speaker 1: and you can say, well, my team could have beat
1:59
Speaker 1: three million dollars, come on, But Scherzer was only going
2:03
Speaker 1: to go to certain teams. He had a great experience
2:05
Speaker 1: in Toronto, of course, as all of their players did
2:08
Speaker 1: last season, so the Blue Jays were where he wanted
2:11
Speaker 1: to go. And now we'll see how they put together
2:14
Speaker 1: their rotation, not just for opening day but the rest
2:17
Speaker 1: of the season. You need more than five, they've got
2:20
Speaker 1: more than five.
2:21
Speaker 2: And a couple of questions for you on this. They
2:23
Speaker 2: need more than five, they have more than five. But
2:25
Speaker 2: what's interesting to me about this is the no trade protection.
2:29
Speaker 2: That's great for sures Er, it's great for his family.
2:31
Speaker 2: Why was that so important? Why do the Blue Jays
2:33
Speaker 2: allow it? And furthermore, could there be a situation in
2:37
Speaker 2: which Max Schuzer could be needed or come out of
2:39
Speaker 2: the bullpen?
2:42
Speaker 1: Alan I wouldn't think he would come out of the
2:44
Speaker 1: bullpen at this age. He's not really done that. Obviously,
2:49
Speaker 1: he could do it. He did in the playoffs for
2:51
Speaker 1: the Dodgers. But he's coming to be a starter. That
2:53
Speaker 1: is who he is, that is what he wants to be.
2:56
Speaker 1: As for the no trade protection, it's a full no
2:58
Speaker 1: trade clause. And my assumption here and I have not
3:02
Speaker 1: spoken to Max about this yet. It's still pending on
3:04
Speaker 1: physical this deal, but my assumption is, Hey, he's signing
3:08
Speaker 1: with Toronto. He doesn't want to go anywhere else. He
3:11
Speaker 1: is at a stage in his career where he doesn't
3:13
Speaker 1: want to be traded at mid season, be a hired
3:15
Speaker 1: gun if he would even be that. Remember, last regular
3:18
Speaker 1: season wasn't great for Max, he was great in the
3:20
Speaker 1: postseason once he was on the roster. Wasn't even on
3:23
Speaker 1: the roster for the division series, so he wants to
3:26
Speaker 1: be there they I'm sure I had no problem giving
3:29
Speaker 1: him that. And obviously, if things fell apart there, which
3:32
Speaker 1: no one expects, and he was pitching well and some
3:37
Speaker 1: team wanted him in the J's for some reason wanted
3:39
Speaker 1: to trade him, would he entertain that. Could he waive
3:42
Speaker 1: the no trade? Yes, but I do not expect it
3:44
Speaker 1: to come to that.
3:46
Speaker 2: Ken, what is the likelihood in your opinion that Eric
3:49
Speaker 2: Lower does actually get traded, especially since he seems to
3:52
Speaker 2: want to be.
3:55
Speaker 1: Good? Question a lot. I don't know. And if I'm
3:58
Speaker 1: the Blue Jays, I I've got the hammer here, I
4:01
Speaker 1: don't have to trade him. I don't have to do anything.
4:03
Speaker 1: I might want him to start out as a longman,
4:06
Speaker 1: a role he served last year and quite well for them.
4:08
Speaker 1: Of course, he saved their rotation too at times with
4:11
Speaker 1: all the injuries that they had. But I want all
4:14
Speaker 1: the depth that I can assemble, all the pitchers that
4:17
Speaker 1: I can have. And this is in contrast to, for instance,
4:21
Speaker 1: the Atlanta Braves, where I wrote about earlier this week.
4:24
Speaker 1: They're looking at a situation where the depth is in
4:26
Speaker 1: a perilous spot. The Jays with their money, and remember
4:30
Speaker 1: they're over the highest luxury tax threshold. So Scherzer it's
4:34
Speaker 1: three million, but he's costing them one hundred and ten
4:36
Speaker 1: percent of that over six million. They seem to have
4:39
Speaker 1: no financial limit this season, So for them, I don't
4:43
Speaker 1: see any particular motivation to trade lower. But if they
4:46
Speaker 1: could get something in return for him, that may be interesting,
4:49
Speaker 1: maybe they would do it.
4:52
Speaker 2: Toronto Blue Jays spending more than the other twenty nine
4:55
Speaker 2: teams in free agency. Good on them, Ken, What more
4:58
Speaker 2: can you tell us about Randall gridschipt the New York Yankees.
5:00
Speaker 2: You were at Yankees camp earlier.
5:03
Speaker 1: This is a minor league deal and the Yankees have
5:05
Speaker 1: been talking all off season about getting a right handed
5:09
Speaker 1: hitting outfielder. They wanted one that perhaps could enter the
5:13
Speaker 1: lineup on days they want to rest Trent Grisham against lefties,
5:16
Speaker 1: so you would have Cody Bellinger in center. He is
5:19
Speaker 1: one of the best left un left hitters in the game. Judge,
5:22
Speaker 1: of course, would be in right Gritchick and left. Now.
5:24
Speaker 1: Gritschick is not coming off a terribly good season, and
5:27
Speaker 1: perhaps that is why he only received a minor league deal.
5:31
Speaker 1: He has been a guy who in his career has
5:33
Speaker 1: hit lefties well, but didn't really do much of anything
5:36
Speaker 1: last season for Arizona and then Kansas City. He was
5:39
Speaker 1: league average in Arizona, not good at all in Kansas City.
5:43
Speaker 1: So it's a bit of a flyer for the Yankees.
5:46
Speaker 1: At the same time, it's only a minor league deal.
5:49
Speaker 1: If they don't like what they see in spring training,
5:50
Speaker 1: they can just carry Jason Dominguez or do something else
5:54
Speaker 1: to start the season with. This could mean, which was
5:58
Speaker 1: looking like it was going on, happened anyway, Jason Tamingez
6:01
Speaker 1: back in Triple A along with Spencer Jones. The one
6:05
Speaker 1: impressive thing about the Yankees right now, forget their outfield situation,
6:09
Speaker 1: forget what's going on with their young players there. They
6:11
Speaker 1: have depth. Obviously, the depth of their pitching is what
6:15
Speaker 1: is really intriguing. And not just Garrett Cole and Carlos
6:20
Speaker 1: Rudin and hopefully Clarkschmid coming back at some point, but
6:23
Speaker 1: some of their younger arms showing in camp. Legn Hay
6:26
Speaker 1: and Elma Rodriguez I believe is his name. These guys
6:30
Speaker 1: are looking like they can be part of the future
6:33
Speaker 1: for the Yankees, and it's going to be really interesting
6:36
Speaker 1: to see how they soar through it all.
6:38
Speaker 2: Ken, they're turning some heads, but they're not the only one.
6:40
Speaker 2: Connor Griffin, this kid is a sight to behold. I
6:43
Speaker 2: know you just wrote a piece about him, but he's
6:47
Speaker 2: definitely turning heads. What more can you tell us about him?
6:51
Speaker 1: He's the best prospect in baseball, consensus number one prospect,
6:54
Speaker 1: and around the Pirates there is a lot of talk
6:57
Speaker 1: about him, a lot of excitement about him. They believe
7:01
Speaker 1: potentially he could be a unicorn along the lines of
7:06
Speaker 1: Paul Skeins, the hitting version of Paul Skeens. Now that's
7:09
Speaker 1: a lot to ask, obviously, but conn of Griffin is
7:12
Speaker 1: nineteen years old. He is put together physically, he looks
7:17
Speaker 1: like physically a young Cal Ripken. And beyond that, what
7:20
Speaker 1: you hear from the players and even the opponents, as
7:23
Speaker 1: I detail in the story, you hear that this is
7:27
Speaker 1: a kid who has a good head on his shoulders,
7:31
Speaker 1: who is very mature. He's savvy about the game, he
7:34
Speaker 1: knows what he's doing on the field. It looks like
7:37
Speaker 1: he is trending toward being their opening day shortstop. It's
7:39
Speaker 1: a bit of a stretch, but the young superstars that
7:42
Speaker 1: we've seen over the years, from a rad to Albert
7:46
Speaker 1: Poohols to a bunch of guys Ken Griffy Junior, Mike Trout,
7:51
Speaker 1: these are the guys that can come to the big
7:53
Speaker 1: leagues and succeed almost right away. Trout had to go
7:56
Speaker 1: back to the miners, of course, but we have seen
7:59
Speaker 1: Wan Soto other one young players who stand out in
8:02
Speaker 1: this sense that really can make an impact right away,
8:06
Speaker 1: and it looks like looks like Connor Griffin could be
8:09
Speaker 1: the next one.
8:10
Speaker 2: A surprise boost of confidence and something to watch for
8:14
Speaker 2: the Pittsburgh Pirates. We don't get to talk about them
8:16
Speaker 2: in a positive light very often, so Connor Griffin is
8:20
Speaker 2: perhaps that spark that they need. Merrill Kelly Ken back
8:23
Speaker 2: to the Diamondbacks, but potentially not ready for opening day,
8:27
Speaker 2: dealing with some soreness if you will, in his back.
8:30
Speaker 2: What more can you tell us.
8:34
Speaker 1: Here is the Diamondbacks have been one of the more
8:36
Speaker 1: aggressive teams over the years under Ken Kendrick, their owner
8:40
Speaker 1: in signing free agents, in maybe out punching their market
8:44
Speaker 1: size right or at least what we perceive in baseball
8:47
Speaker 1: to be their market size. Phoenix is a huge market,
8:49
Speaker 1: but it's not a huge baseball market in terms of revenue,
8:53
Speaker 1: and yet they've had horrible luck signing these free agents.
8:57
Speaker 1: I want to show you a list here of pictures
8:59
Speaker 1: that they've signed that at least in some cases have
9:03
Speaker 1: not yet worked out for the Madison Bumgarner not good.
9:06
Speaker 1: It was kind of a disaster. Actually Edwalter Rodriguez. He's
9:09
Speaker 1: pitched okay at times, but he's been hurt. Jordan Montgomery
9:12
Speaker 1: of course was hurt, Corbyn Burns, Tommy John surgery, and
9:15
Speaker 1: now perhaps Merrill Kelly injured as well. They've also signed
9:19
Speaker 1: Zach Gallen for this season. I did not include Zach
9:22
Speaker 1: Grenky on this list. He was a huge free agent
9:25
Speaker 1: signing at the time, biggest contract for a pitcher at
9:28
Speaker 1: the time. He did pitch well for the Diamondbacks, but
9:31
Speaker 1: ultimately they traded him to the Houston Astros. So the
9:34
Speaker 1: Diamondbacks keep trying and it almost seems like they keep
9:38
Speaker 1: getting burned.
9:39
Speaker 2: Okay, well, it's time now to tell our folks watching
9:42
Speaker 2: about seat geek. Guys, let's shout out seat Geek. I
9:45
Speaker 2: am buried under the snow here in the Northeast, so
9:48
Speaker 2: my mind, clearly, Ken is wandering about just where I
9:51
Speaker 2: should go. Should it be Arizona, Should it be Florida
9:54
Speaker 2: Cactus League, grape Fruit League. I'd love to get tickets
9:57
Speaker 2: to Port and Saint Lucy tomorrow to watch Freddy peralta
10:00
Speaker 2: first outing as a met Remember he's no longer with
10:02
Speaker 2: the Brewers. If you're able, seat gek can make it happen, Ken,
10:05
Speaker 2: what is the game you are particularly excited about for Friday?
10:09
Speaker 1: It's at Oriols, right, not Oriels at Pirates. Not sure
10:12
Speaker 1: exactly either.
10:13
Speaker 2: Well else, I don't know Pirates.
10:14
Speaker 1: I want to see Condig Griffin play. Conda Griffin hit
10:17
Speaker 1: two home runs the other day against the Boston Red Sox.
10:20
Speaker 1: Both homers left Jet Blue Park. The first was off
10:24
Speaker 1: the Red Sox one hundred and thirty million dollar man
10:26
Speaker 1: range of Suarez. Now, I know it's spring training, but
10:29
Speaker 1: if I'm a fan, I want to see this kid
10:31
Speaker 1: in action.
10:32
Speaker 2: No doubt you just wrote about him. Let's see him
10:34
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Speaker 2: automatically added to your account so you can use it later. Guys,
11:13
Speaker 2: get your questions in. It is time now for Grill
11:16
Speaker 2: and Ken. All right, time out to ask Ken Rosenthal
11:28
Speaker 2: some questions. What's on your mind? What are you thinking about? Ken?
11:32
Speaker 2: We're going to start with a Cubs question. This one
11:36
Speaker 2: comes from Mike G fifteen. Connor Griffin will deservedly get
11:41
Speaker 2: most mL Rookie of the Year predictions, but who is
11:44
Speaker 2: your dark horse for that award? He is saying that
11:47
Speaker 2: his is Moises by Estetos, but he is also admitting
11:51
Speaker 2: to you Ken that he's a biased Cubs fan.
11:55
Speaker 1: Like G fifteen. How about Owen Casey from Miami Marlins,
11:58
Speaker 1: traded to Miami from the Chicago Cubs in the EDWARDO.
12:04
Speaker 1: Cabrera deal Edward Cabrera deal. I should say that is
12:08
Speaker 1: an interesting one for me because Owen Casey was and
12:11
Speaker 1: is a great prospect and has a chance to do
12:14
Speaker 1: some special things this year. He's the one that for
12:17
Speaker 1: me immediately jumped to mind.
12:19
Speaker 2: Okay, next one is in regards to the Minnesota Twins.
12:22
Speaker 2: Vermond is amazing and wants to know Ken. With David
12:26
Speaker 2: Festa likely to begin this season on the injured list,
12:29
Speaker 2: will the Twins finally make a move for the rotation,
12:32
Speaker 2: signing Lucas Giolito or Zach Lttel or trade perhaps for
12:36
Speaker 2: Eric Lauer, who we were just talking about with the
12:38
Speaker 2: bou Jays.
12:40
Speaker 1: We've gotten a lot of questions about the Twins lately,
12:42
Speaker 1: but not this kind of question. The questions have been hey,
12:46
Speaker 1: with Pablo Lopez out for the season, why not trade
12:48
Speaker 1: Joe Ryan? And it seems that their new control person,
12:53
Speaker 1: Tom Polad is talking about being competitive, trying to put
12:56
Speaker 1: a good team on the field this year. Well, okay,
12:59
Speaker 1: as arm, there's amazing points out there. Put up a
13:02
Speaker 1: shut up, Go get Gilido or Lttel, or go trade
13:06
Speaker 1: for Law or anybody else who might be available that
13:09
Speaker 1: you can pry for what you might deem a reasonable price.
13:13
Speaker 1: The twins have talked, They've talked the talk. They need
13:16
Speaker 1: to walk the walk when it comes to improving their team,
13:19
Speaker 1: and really, for the most part, they haven't done that.
13:22
Speaker 2: This is an interesting question, not necessarily raised in the
13:27
Speaker 2: form of a question, but see Carera nine to five
13:29
Speaker 2: to one. Just put up there, how much tenure is
13:31
Speaker 2: Max trying to get?
13:32
Speaker 1: Why do you?
13:32
Speaker 2: I mean, you know Max right? He has nothing else
13:34
Speaker 2: to prove ken So if you were to kind of
13:37
Speaker 2: dive into the head of Max Scherzer, is it because
13:41
Speaker 2: there's an opportunity truly to win with the Blue Jays?
13:44
Speaker 2: Does he just love it that much? What keeps a
13:46
Speaker 2: guy like Shurser going?
13:49
Speaker 1: All right, I'll put it as simply as I can
13:52
Speaker 1: and in a way that I would expect most fans
13:55
Speaker 1: can relate. If you get to play baseball at the
13:58
Speaker 1: highest level, Major League, why would you ever want to
14:02
Speaker 1: stop until they tell you have to stop? Most players
14:06
Speaker 1: try to max out their careers, and so to speak
14:10
Speaker 1: with Max, that's exactly what he's trying to do. And
14:12
Speaker 1: a lot of you're right, he wants to win, that's
14:15
Speaker 1: part of it, but he loves to compete. A lot
14:18
Speaker 1: of the ace pitchers in particular are competition addicts, actually
14:22
Speaker 1: most players are, and he just doesn't want to stop
14:25
Speaker 1: as long as he feels he can continue to perform
14:28
Speaker 1: at a high level. And we saw last year in
14:31
Speaker 1: the ALCS, we saw him start Game seven of the
14:34
Speaker 1: World Series. He can still perform at a high level.
14:37
Speaker 1: And that's what drives him. It's not, in his case
14:40
Speaker 1: a particular number as it might be with Verland or
14:42
Speaker 1: the three hundred wins. But even with Verlander, I think
14:45
Speaker 1: he knows that three hundred wins is probably unrealistic for him,
14:48
Speaker 1: but he wants to keep going. He wants to just
14:51
Speaker 1: keep pitching and keep competing. It's what these guys do,
14:55
Speaker 1: and when they stop doing it, they miss it badly.
14:58
Speaker 1: So I think any of us can understand that, and
15:01
Speaker 1: certainly I feel the same way honestly about my own career.
15:04
Speaker 1: I want to keep going as long as I can,
15:06
Speaker 1: and obviously not a major League player. But that's generally
15:10
Speaker 1: the feeling that these guys have.
15:12
Speaker 2: Yeah, why wouldn't you. I mean, you're going to spend
15:14
Speaker 2: more time out of the game than you are in
15:16
Speaker 2: the game. If he's healthy, if he's still productive, if
15:18
Speaker 2: there's a team that still wants him, why not. Plus
15:21
Speaker 2: Emily can handle the kiddos by herself. It's like when
15:24
Speaker 2: these guys come back after the season, it's like re
15:27
Speaker 2: entering the Earth's atmosphere and the wives are like, wow, wow, Wow,
15:29
Speaker 2: we had this all taken care of dad, all right?
15:31
Speaker 2: Another question for you and Kennon from Doc, who's your
15:35
Speaker 2: surprise pick for a breakout player of the year.
15:40
Speaker 1: That is a great one. And these questions come at
15:44
Speaker 1: me live, so I'm not thinking about them in advance,
15:46
Speaker 1: so I'd have to have maybe some time to think
15:49
Speaker 1: about this. But I'll give you one. And this one
15:53
Speaker 1: is a little bit off the radar right now. Christian Campbell,
15:56
Speaker 1: Boston Red Sox. There doesn't appear to be a spot
15:59
Speaker 1: for him right now. But Jen McCaffrey The Athletic wrote
16:02
Speaker 1: a really interesting story about how he trained differently this
16:06
Speaker 1: offseason with his swing, did some different concepts, adopted some
16:11
Speaker 1: different concepts, and I just see him as ultimately a
16:15
Speaker 1: quality major league hitter. If you remember it this time
16:18
Speaker 1: last year, Christian Campbell wasn't getting as hyped up as
16:21
Speaker 1: Connor Griffin is now, but he was considered one of
16:24
Speaker 1: the big guys for the Red Sox. The big prospects
16:27
Speaker 1: started at second base gets the extension. I'm not giving
16:30
Speaker 1: up on him yet, so I don't see a spot
16:32
Speaker 1: right now. Obviously, what things happen during the course of
16:35
Speaker 1: the season. So off the top of my head, there's one,
16:39
Speaker 1: all right.
16:39
Speaker 2: I hate to put you on the spot like that,
16:41
Speaker 2: but you know what, Connor Griffin's always a good answer too.
16:43
Speaker 2: We'll see what happens with that if he does make
16:45
Speaker 2: the big league club with the Pirates. Last question for
16:48
Speaker 2: you before we get into dude and dork, any word
16:52
Speaker 2: can on Lucas Giolito. I don't think he's the only
16:54
Speaker 2: person that has this question. Is he going to get
16:56
Speaker 2: a team this year?
16:58
Speaker 1: He'll get a team and he'll sign eventually. It might
17:01
Speaker 1: take until after opening Day, who knows. But it's only
17:04
Speaker 1: February twenty sixth. Exhibition games are starting in Arizona and Florida,
17:09
Speaker 1: and as much as we all hate to see it
17:12
Speaker 1: and hate to talk about it. Injuries are going to happen,
17:15
Speaker 1: They're already happening. Teams will get more desperate than they
17:18
Speaker 1: are right now. Teams will also look at their players
17:22
Speaker 1: and their pitchers and say, WHOA, maybe we're not as
17:26
Speaker 1: good as we thought. And that is what would drive
17:28
Speaker 1: the signing of a Lucas Giolito or a Zach Lttel.
17:32
Speaker 1: Clearly he's not getting the offers he wants right now.
17:35
Speaker 1: Clearly he is a quality major league pitcher, as is Lttel.
17:38
Speaker 1: These guys are not fringe major leaguers. They're major league
17:43
Speaker 1: caliber pitchers, and it's just a question of when and where.
17:47
Speaker 2: All Right, Lucas Gioledo did a lot of good for
17:49
Speaker 2: the Red Spot last season. We'll see where he ends up. Right.
17:52
Speaker 2: We're going to be back right after this with Dude
17:55
Speaker 2: and Dork of the Week. A few messages from our
17:57
Speaker 2: friends at foul Territory.
17:58
Speaker 3: First, we're going to get into all of the nitty
18:01
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19:17
Speaker 1: Dude, dude, dude.
19:25
Speaker 2: All right, I will kick things off here on our
19:27
Speaker 2: due to the week, and mine is actually a dudet.
19:29
Speaker 2: My dudet is Sarah Langs, of course, a wonderful, wonderful
19:33
Speaker 2: baseball writer and fan. Nobody loves baseball more than Sarah
19:37
Speaker 2: lang She's making her way around the Cactus League circuit.
19:40
Speaker 2: She went to Mariners camp, she went to the Reds,
19:42
Speaker 2: she went to the Diamondbacks, she went to the A's.
19:45
Speaker 2: Everybody loves to see Sarah Langs in camp because she
19:49
Speaker 2: just makes the game and the day better. Of course,
19:51
Speaker 2: she is valiantly and heroically battling with als, with a smile,
19:57
Speaker 2: with poise, with grace and class. And I love seeing
20:00
Speaker 2: Sarah out at camp. So keep on keeping on, Sarah.
20:04
Speaker 2: We're proud of what we love to see it. I
20:06
Speaker 2: just I love her and the energy that she brings
20:08
Speaker 2: to every club. All right, Ken, who is your dude
20:10
Speaker 2: of the week.
20:12
Speaker 1: Actually, we could go with Sarah every week and we'd
20:14
Speaker 1: be perfectly justified in doing so. She is just a
20:19
Speaker 1: bright light in our sport. My dude of the week, though,
20:21
Speaker 1: actually it's a couple of dudes, and it's a couple
20:24
Speaker 1: of people, actually four, who covered the Winter Olympics for
20:28
Speaker 1: the Washington Post at a time when, of course the
20:30
Speaker 1: Washington Post is abandoning it's sports section, ditching it's sports section.
20:35
Speaker 1: Two of the writers, Barris for Luga and Les Carpenter,
20:38
Speaker 1: were already laid off, and yet they still went and
20:42
Speaker 1: did their jobs. Why because they felt they had an
20:44
Speaker 1: obligation to their readers, and also they wanted to do
20:48
Speaker 1: what they do. This is their job, it's their livelihood,
20:52
Speaker 1: and you take it away from us, we still want
20:54
Speaker 1: to do it. And it was great today to see
20:57
Speaker 1: the announcement from the Athletic my Public that we're hiring
21:01
Speaker 1: six people from the Washington Post, including Barry's for Luga,
21:05
Speaker 1: that Spencer Nutsbaum he's going to cover the Nationals for US,
21:08
Speaker 1: Candice Buckner, columnist Ava Wallace, Adam Kilbour brilliant writer, and
21:12
Speaker 1: Jason Murray. They're bringing their expertise to the Athletic, as
21:15
Speaker 1: that tweet says, and we are thrilled to have them.
21:19
Speaker 1: And there have been a lot of things that have
21:22
Speaker 1: happened in our business over the years that just make
21:24
Speaker 1: us go, man, that's not right. This was the all
21:27
Speaker 1: timer and I'm glad to see a lot of these
21:29
Speaker 1: people from the Washington Post Sports department getting jobs.
21:33
Speaker 2: Ken, I'm going to ask you this because one of
21:34
Speaker 2: the things that I think I'm really bad at is writing.
21:38
Speaker 2: It's not a strength of mind. It's not something that
21:40
Speaker 2: I'm good at. In fact, it scares me. You've done
21:42
Speaker 2: it brilliantly for so many years, and all of those colleagues,
21:45
Speaker 2: now your colleagues that you listed have also done it
21:48
Speaker 2: for a very long time. In your opinion. Let's say
21:50
Speaker 2: there's a young journalist out there listening. What makes a
21:53
Speaker 2: good writer? What are the tips that you need to
21:56
Speaker 2: have to be successful at that craft?
22:02
Speaker 1: Well, I wish I knew, because it's different for everyone,
22:06
Speaker 1: and sometimes I wish I was a better writer myself.
22:09
Speaker 1: To me, what it all starts with is information, And
22:12
Speaker 1: I'm not talking about scoops and transactions and that kind
22:14
Speaker 1: of thing. I'm talking about details that will make a
22:17
Speaker 1: good story. And then, of course there's the skill in
22:19
Speaker 1: putting those sentences together and all of that. There are
22:22
Speaker 1: people who are a lot better at that than I am,
22:24
Speaker 1: and there are people who are a lot better at
22:26
Speaker 1: gathering than I am. But hard work really is a
22:29
Speaker 1: key in all of these things in journalism, and it's
22:33
Speaker 1: kind of the backbone of the writing part of it too.
22:36
Speaker 2: Well, I disagree with you. I think you are a
22:38
Speaker 2: brilliant writer and you do an amazing job. All right,
22:41
Speaker 2: let's go to our dork of the week. All right,
22:52
Speaker 2: and I'll let you lead this category off.
22:55
Speaker 1: Well, I'm gonna go with a person that's pretty obvious
22:58
Speaker 1: choice this week. It's already the says Moreno, owner of
23:02
Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Angels. You might have seen the news
23:05
Speaker 1: about Artie Moreno conducting a survey or the Angels conducting
23:08
Speaker 1: a survey in which fans said, according to Moreno and Angels,
23:13
Speaker 1: that winning was not in their top five priorities. Really,
23:18
Speaker 1: I'd like to see who those fans are. I'd like
23:20
Speaker 1: to see the survey. I'd like to get a little
23:23
Speaker 1: bit more detail about this. Frankly, I think it's a
23:25
Speaker 1: bunch of bunk. And I'll tell you this if I'm
23:29
Speaker 1: Rob Manfred, the Commissioner of Baseball, and I see an
23:31
Speaker 1: owner saying this on the eve of collective bargaining negotiations,
23:35
Speaker 1: when trying and winning is going to be a key
23:38
Speaker 1: element of this whole deal. That's what the union wants
23:41
Speaker 1: to see more of from more teams. Artie Moreno is
23:45
Speaker 1: embarrassing major League Baseball with this kind of stuff, and
23:47
Speaker 1: if I'm Manfred, I am not happy about it.
23:51
Speaker 2: Ken does Rob Manfred have that conversation? Do you think
23:54
Speaker 2: the commissioner of the sport picks up the phone and says, Artie,
23:57
Speaker 2: what are you doing? Like, I'm here to support the owners.
24:00
Speaker 2: I'm here to support you guys, but you're making my
24:02
Speaker 2: job very difficult.
24:04
Speaker 1: Rob Manfred is someone that, of course at times I
24:07
Speaker 1: criticize and others criticize, but he does have a very
24:10
Speaker 1: difficult job. He's employed by the thirty owners, so it's
24:15
Speaker 1: a difficult political position that he is constantly in. It's
24:19
Speaker 1: especially difficult in a time of collective bargaining negotiations. But again,
24:24
Speaker 1: I can't imagine he was too happy with Artie Moreno's
24:28
Speaker 1: great survey.
24:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, I still would love to see that survey. I
24:31
Speaker 2: know I'm not the only one wondering where that survey is. Okay,
24:34
Speaker 2: my dork of the week, and this is not probably
24:36
Speaker 2: going to come as any shock to anybody. It is
24:38
Speaker 2: a PCA Pete Crow ar'mstrong with the Chicago Cubs who
24:42
Speaker 2: had this to say, I love Chicago more and more.
24:44
Speaker 2: I love Chicago as well. By the way, the people
24:46
Speaker 2: are great. They give a big They aren't just baseball
24:49
Speaker 2: fans who go to the game like Dodgers fans to
24:51
Speaker 2: take pictures and whatever. They're paying attention. They care. Okay, listen,
24:54
Speaker 2: PCA is great for the game. I love the way
24:56
Speaker 2: the kid plays. But to say that Dodgers fans just
24:59
Speaker 2: go to take pictures and whatever is a little unfair.
25:02
Speaker 2: I would I would garner to bet that all thirty
25:05
Speaker 2: clubs have interesting sections of their stadium where there are
25:09
Speaker 2: fans that don't care as much about the game. In fact,
25:12
Speaker 2: at Wrigley Stack, in the you know, the plastic cups
25:15
Speaker 2: of beer all the way to the moon, those types
25:17
Speaker 2: of things. Everybody has certain parts of their fan base
25:22
Speaker 2: that are a little suspect. But to say that the
25:24
Speaker 2: Dodgers fans just go to take pictures and whatever is
25:27
Speaker 2: not fair. It's a massive stadium. I've covered it for
25:31
Speaker 2: seven seasons. Their fans are very passionate and rabid, and
25:36
Speaker 2: every fan base thinks that there's is the best and
25:39
Speaker 2: every fan base is right. Okay, So PCA, I love you.
25:42
Speaker 2: You're great for the sport. But come on, man, come
25:45
Speaker 2: on all right. If you're watching on TV, thank you
25:49
Speaker 2: were going to see you next time. We'll have a
25:50
Speaker 2: couple more minutes on the YouTube side right after this.
25:55
Speaker 2: All right, ken, if you were still with us, you're
25:57
Speaker 2: watching on YouTube, We're happy that you are here. Let's
25:59
Speaker 2: talk talk a little bit about the Braves rotation. You
26:02
Speaker 2: had mentioned it earlier in the show. Whereas the Toronto
26:05
Speaker 2: Blue Jays have a palletha of arms, the Braves are
26:08
Speaker 2: on the opposite end of that spectrum perhaps, But they
26:11
Speaker 2: did just extend Chrissale to I believe, a one year
26:15
Speaker 2: extension with an opt out after that. What do you
26:18
Speaker 2: make of the Braves rotation moving forward?
26:20
Speaker 1: Well, and I wrote about this this week, and basically
26:23
Speaker 1: what I wrote was that the Braves President Base Operations,
26:26
Speaker 1: Alex Anthopolis, as good as he has been, and he
26:29
Speaker 1: has been really good at his job. He's playing with
26:31
Speaker 1: fire here, and he's playing with fire because they've already
26:34
Speaker 1: lost Spencer Schwellenbach and Hirston Waldrip just this spring training.
26:39
Speaker 1: Those two guys have gone down, both had elbow cleanups.
26:42
Speaker 1: They'll be out, most likely at least for several months.
26:45
Speaker 1: So what are the Braves looking at right now? Chris
26:48
Speaker 1: Sale is going to be thirty seven this season, Rinaldo
26:50
Speaker 1: Lopez coming off a season in which he pitched once
26:54
Speaker 1: due to shoulder inflammation, Grant Holmes who has a tear
26:57
Speaker 1: in his elbow but is pitching with it, and Bryce
27:00
Speaker 1: Elder is going to be competing for the fifth spot,
27:03
Speaker 1: and I'm missing someone. I'm sorry about that, but essentially
27:06
Speaker 1: this is a group. Oh, Spencer Strider, Spencer Strider, this
27:09
Speaker 1: will be his second year off. Tommy John even if
27:12
Speaker 1: he is back, and they do believe he is, it's
27:15
Speaker 1: going to be difficult for him to carry a heavy workload.
27:18
Speaker 1: So with Bryce Elder and Joey Wentz both out of options,
27:21
Speaker 1: competing for the fifth spot, it just seems to me
27:24
Speaker 1: that they're perilously thin, and they're one injury away from
27:29
Speaker 1: a really dangerous situation, a situation in which at that
27:32
Speaker 1: point they'd be desperate to sign a Giolito or a
27:36
Speaker 1: Zach Lettel or do something with a trade. It just
27:40
Speaker 1: seems to me this team, a team with Ronald Acuna
27:44
Speaker 1: Junior in his prime coming back from the knee problems,
27:47
Speaker 1: a team that really should be a World Series contender
27:50
Speaker 1: this year. They're playing again, as I said, with fire here.
27:53
Speaker 1: It's a little bit of a dangerous spot for them,
27:56
Speaker 1: and one that I think they could have avoided if
27:59
Speaker 1: they had fulfilled their off season mission of acquiring a
28:02
Speaker 1: playoff starter. That's what they said they wanted to do
28:04
Speaker 1: at the start of the off season. Never got it done.
28:07
Speaker 2: Ken, this is not related to the Braves, but I
28:09
Speaker 2: guess it could be. And maybe I'm a little surprised
28:12
Speaker 2: that he's on a minor league deal right now. Do
28:15
Speaker 2: you see Walker Buehler getting on with a big league club.
28:19
Speaker 2: It seems like kind of a fall from grace considering
28:22
Speaker 2: how good he was for a short period of time.
28:24
Speaker 2: I realize he's dealt with injuries, But where do you
28:26
Speaker 2: think Warker Buehler ultimately ends up?
28:29
Speaker 1: San Diego is where he's ending up, or at least
28:32
Speaker 1: where he's in camp with now. Does he make the team?
28:35
Speaker 1: We'll see. And Walker Buehler, you're right along. He's had
28:38
Speaker 1: an interesting fall from grace here and a stunning fall honestly.
28:43
Speaker 1: But the Padres have done a good job in kind
28:47
Speaker 1: of collecting some arms that who knows, may have a
28:51
Speaker 1: chance to surface in a big way for them. Harman
28:53
Speaker 1: Marquez is another one. So their rotation took a hit
28:57
Speaker 1: obviously when they lost Dylan Cees than when Darvish had
29:00
Speaker 1: the injury that he will not pitch again this season.
29:03
Speaker 1: But they have some possibilities there. Bueller is one of them.
29:07
Speaker 2: All right, Can we appreciate the insight As always, we
29:09
Speaker 2: pay you guys for being a part of the show today.
29:11
Speaker 2: Don't forget that. Foul Territory followed us. Jason Picknus is
29:16
Speaker 2: at DBAX camp and he's going to host with Old
29:19
Speaker 2: Kerzinski and Scott Braun. Pen Is back with there on Monday.
29:23
Speaker 2: Talk to me then NEX time