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Predictions for the Pirates 2026 Season · Bucco Territory: A Pittsburgh Pirates Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: What's up, everybody.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Welcome back to another episode of Bucco Territory, presented to
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: you by the Fuel Territory Network. I'm Noah Hyles, joining
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: me as always all right, my autoin co hosts Josh
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Harrison and Platinum Key aka Mark. We're coming to you
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: live on Wednesday, March twenty fifth, opening day for the
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty six Major League Baseball season.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Fellas, we got a loaded show.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: We have our pirate season predictions in the first segment,
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: our Major League Baseball season predictions in the second segment,
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: and then some bold predictions to round off the show.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: We're gonna get into all of that. But first, happy,
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Happy Opening Day boys. I want to hear from both
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: of you. Your favorite Opening Day memory.
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: Starts off Josh, you're the one that's played with them.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: I was gonna say Josh's Opening Day memories are a
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: little different than yours in nine March, Yeah.
• 1:00
  Speaker 4: A little bit. You hear that that's opening Day knocking
• 1:04
  Speaker 4: on the door. Honestly, I got some great opening Day memories,
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: but two that kind of come to mind are I
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: think they happened in the same season. Twenty fifteen, we
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: opened up in Cincinnati, against the Reds. After opening Day
• 1:20
  Speaker 4: it was announced that I signed my extension contract extension
• 1:23
  Speaker 4: with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and then opening Day at p
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: and C that season because we opened up against the Reds.
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: First picture, at the bottom of the first I let
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: off with a home run against annabals Sanchez, who would
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: have been a you know, teammate of mine down the road.
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: But that opening day home run at p and C
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: on the first pitch at the bottom of the first,
• 1:45
  Speaker 4: I'll be honest, it was. It was kind of bone chilling.
• 1:49
  Speaker 4: So that's one of my favorite opening day memories.
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I also hit a home run nine opening Day one.
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: It's my favorite memory. Yeah, no, that's never even been
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: to opening Day or a home opener or anything like that.
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: It's on the bucket list. Definitely gonna happen sometime soon.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: But yeah, So my favorite memory is just from Afar
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: just seeing all of the excitement, especially like on Twitter,
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: you see a lot more Pirates fans and that early
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: part of the season in the years past, so it's
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: always fun seeing all like the new people getting into
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: baseball again and checking out the Pirates for the first time,
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: and also celebrating with all the people that are Diehard's
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: off season long so can't wait? What about you?
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: Noah, Yeah, I mean Opening Day is my favorite day
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: of the year. I like it more than my birthday.
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: I'd put it, I.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: Guess up there with Christmas Day for me, and to
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: me it's.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: It's more special for Christmas is special to me because
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: it's special to everyone. But Opening Day is special because
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: it's always meant something to me personally. My dad and
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: I have been to every Pirates home opener since two
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: thousand and five, so that was when.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: I was ten years old.
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: Homer.
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was there for your Homer.
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: I actually funny enough, Josh, I have I'm ninety nine
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: percent sure I have a video reaction of.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Me and my dad in the stands to your home run.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to dig it up after the show.
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: I'd love to see that.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but I was there for your home run. I
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: was there for Neil Walker's home run on Opening Day.
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: I believe what that fourteen against the Cubs, the walk off.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: And extra innings.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: I covered Opening Day in Cleveland in twenty twenty when
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: there were no fans in the stands and social distancing,
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: and there was the BLM protests before the game. All
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: of that stuff was very surreal to cover. So my
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: dad wasn't with me for that one. And then the
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: only Pirates home opener that you could attend that we
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: weren't able to attend together was in twenty twenty one.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: I had COVID. I had a blood clot in my.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: Love and I was hospitalized for a whow yeah, And
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: they let him come up in the hospital and sit
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: with me and watch that game, which was.
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: A really special moment for us.
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: But my favorite Opening Day moment ever was in twowo
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: thousand and eight, I caught Actually, do I have the
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: baseball up here?
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: I do not, It's somewhere over here. I'll find it later.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: But Carrie would threw me a baseball, and if you're
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: if you're a kid who grew up in the two thousands,
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: Carrie would was an absolute dog for the Chicago Cubs.
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: And then the other ball was thrown to me by
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: Evan Meek so uh two at the time, and so
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: I got my first my day, my first time ever
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: catching a ball at a game. I caught two of
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: them at the home opener in two thousand and eight
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: was against the Cubs and then that day, that game
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: I believe went like fifteen innings. It was an awesome game.
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: And then halfway through the game, I remember I was
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: in line for a hot dog and standing right behind
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: me was my middle school principal and he caught me
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: red handed skipping school. But I caught him too, so
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: we kept it a secret between us. Uh. He actually
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: paid for my concessions, which was really cool that that
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: was just an overall awesome day. But funny, yeah, Opening Day,
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Like I'm thirty one now, so this would be the
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: twenty first home opener, twenty first opening day or home opener,
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: whatever you want to call it. That I've either attended
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: or covered a knife, skipped school, little league games, had
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: college exams, taken a week early, or maybe just didn't
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: take it at all.
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: To go.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: This is like a very special day for me, and
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: it's a special day for all of baseball. So happy
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: Opening Day to all who celebrate.
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: And so where we get started. Don't feel bad about
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: missing twenty one opening Day because I was with the
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: Nationals and I miss Opening Day too. I was one
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: of many guys that was considered a close positive where
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: our first three games got pushed back, but I was
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: one of the few guys that actually had it. I
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: wasn't in the hospital like you, Noah, but I had
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: COVID at the same time, and I was not a
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: part of Opening Day twenty one, just like you.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: I remember I was. I was gambling on all the
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: games because I could do nothing else. I'd sit in
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: my bed and I won like fourteen bets in a row,
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: and I was convinced I was dying.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: I was like, yep, there's no way, I'm said through this.
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: There's yeah, there's no way, this is this is God
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: give me one little last.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: Ounce of joy before I make my way out of here.
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I was. I was upstairs watching the game on TV.
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: My kids and my wife were downstairs in a totally
• 6:28
  Speaker 4: separate area, and like, well, happy spring break, happy, but
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: alright here we are.
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: Let's hope Opening Day twenty twenty six goes better for
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: all involved. Big season obviously ahead for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: They opened their season on Thursday at one fifteen pm
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: Eastern Time at Cityfield against the New York Mets.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Paul Sken's on the bump.
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: I'll be there to cover it. We'll have a reaction
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: show for you. On Friday morning the following morning. But
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: we're talking about the whole season here, so we're.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: Gonna run through it right now. Are predictions for the Pirates.
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: We're gonna predict best hitter, best pitcher, biggest surprise, biggest disappointment,
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: home run leader, all Stars, the record, and the playoffs.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: So we're gonna handle these. I think two at a time.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: I'll start off by saying my best hitter, I'll go
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: with Brandon Law.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: I think you could go with a lot of different
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: guys for this.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: I mean, I think there are like three or four
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: worthy candidates, but I think Law is probably gonna be
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: the most consistent. I think he has the highest ops
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: at the end of the year. And best pitcher. I
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: think we're all gonna go with schemes, so let's scratch
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: that and say best pitcher not named Paul Skins. I'm
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: gonna throw out the name Braxton Ashcraft. He is the
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: saber metrics darling on this team. All the stat heads
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: really love his stuff. I love his stuff too. I'm
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: not entirely sure if he's gonna be a starter all
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: the way through this season, just because of the innings restrictions,
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: but I think this guy is a three war pitcher
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: and I think he's gonna be a big time playmaker
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: out of the rotation this year.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: So that's my best hitter and best pitcher. Mark, let's
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: go to you. What do you say?
• 8:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, best hitter for me is going to be O'Neal
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: Cruz this year. I really love what I've seen from
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: him this spring training. He really seemed to develop this offseason.
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: Seems to be hitting better against lefties, making better contact
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: in the zone, not whiffing as much. So all great
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: improvements from O'Neal Cruz, and I think that culminates in
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: the thirty thirty season where he's not only the best
• 8:33
  Speaker 3: hitter on this team, but just the best overall bat,
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: best position player. So yeah, I foresee some big things
• 8:41
  Speaker 3: from O'Neal Cruz this year. And then the best pitcher
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: besides Paul Skins, I'm gonna go with Bubba Chandler. Just
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: electric stuff. This kid's a freak athlete. I love the
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: mentality on the mound. I just there's so much to
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: like about Bubba Chandler with his fastball and everything like that.
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: If he can really get comfortable this year, starting the
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: year on the roster opening day, not having to bounce
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: around the miners like that, just focus on pitching.
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: Well.
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: I think there's big things coming from Baba Chandler. I'm
• 9:12
  Speaker 3: maybe even a Rookie of the Year. Who knows, what
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: about you, Josh.
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: So best hitter. I went with Ryan O'Hearn. I like
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: what I saw from him to spring. You know, some
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: really good at bats and you know, I think two
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: guys that you both mentioned only makes his case a
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: little better because not all the pressure will be on him.
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: So there's some you know, Brian Rims is also thrown
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: in there. So there's some guys in here that will
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: allow him to you know, I don't want to say
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: fly under the radar, but you know, they know he's
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: a worthy, you know bat. But I think there's some
• 9:48
  Speaker 4: pieces around him that will allow him just to be,
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: you know, that much better and then start or best
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: picture besides pall schemes, I'm gonna go Mitch Keller just
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: from one. We know he's gonna take the ball every
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: five days and you know what you're getting with Mitch,
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: but also being able to put all the noise behind
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: him with you know, trade rumors and you know, is
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: he gonna be here, and then you know, to mention
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: of you know, Bubba Chandler, some you know, Jared Jones
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: coming back, I think your starting picture is gonna be
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: a lot stronger. And Mitch is a guy that's already
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: been proven to be a great starter that you know
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: for this rotation, and I think a lot of the
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: pressure that he had before this season will be taken
• 10:28
  Speaker 4: off of him. And I think we see a really
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: good version of Mitch.
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: Well, all right, biggest surprise, biggest disappointment, Josh, I'll let
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: you start us off with both.
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: All right, So biggest surprise I guess wouldn't necessarily be
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: a surprise, but I guess it would answer a lot
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: of questions. I'm gonna go O'Neil Cruz we cover because
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: you know, a lot of it is what O'Neill cruise.
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: Are we gonna get mark him been? You know you
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: answered him being the best hitter. If if you get that,
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: I think that's the surprise of Okay, all the questions
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: we had, oh is I think O'Neill is ready to answer.
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: I'm ready to be a team player. And I think
• 11:06
  Speaker 4: that not only makes the team better, I think it
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: makes him better, so that that would be my biggest
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: surprise is you know O'Neill, you know, becoming a ball player.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: That is expected. And then biggest disappointment I wouldn't put
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: one necessarily, you know, one player, because I'm looking at
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: the team. I'm going team defense. A few guys out
• 11:24
  Speaker 4: of position, more than more than normal. So my biggest
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: disappointment is, you know, I don't want to put that
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: on one guy because you know, guys are going to
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: be trying their best to you know, make plays. But
• 11:34
  Speaker 4: you know, when you got a group of guys that
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: are out of position, I think your defense is going
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: to take a hit.
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: And not just guys out of position, you know, just
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: guys that are you know, not even great defenders when
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: they're into their position and strength in.
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: The right position. Run.
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: Yeah. And also just one nine o'nial Cruz. He finally
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: has protection in this lineup, So I think that's just
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: gonna unlock a lot of potential for him and excited
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: to see that. But uh, my biggest surprise is I
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: think there's gonna be a second Pirates pitcher who gets
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: cy Young votes besides Paul Skins. And I don't know
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: if it's gonna be Bubba Chandler Brax and Ashcraft. I
• 12:11
  Speaker 3: think those two guys each have a great case if
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: they if they reach their full potential, those guys are
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: going to get cy Young votes at some point in
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: their career. Maybe not this year, but that would be
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: My biggest surprise is that the Pirates have a little
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: bit more than just Paul Skins in that starting rotation.
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: And then my biggest disappointment would be Marcelo Zuna. If
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: you're looking at what he did in like twenty twenty three,
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: twenty twenty four, you're like, Oh, this guy has a
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: lot of power in his bat, but we saw a
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: little bit of that fall off in twenty twenty five.
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: Noah's mentioned on this podcast previously there's a dip in
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: his bat speed. That's pretty concerning because with his age,
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: that's not gonna improve. So if it goes down, it's
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: gonna it's gonna stay where it's at or keep going down.
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: Probably.
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: I think pairing that kind of regression in his career
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: with the fact that he's on this team instead of
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: Andrew mccutching might make fans react a little bit more
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: when he struggles. If he does struggle, and come across
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: as just a disappointing signing where we expected more power
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: and that's why we have him instead of Cutch And
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: if he doesn't achieve that, that would be pretty disappointing.
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: So that would be my prediction for biggest disappointment.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I had Ozuna written down for biggest disappointment, which
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: I'll start with, but I'm gonna I'm gonna pivot just
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: for the sake of the show.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna throw in Joey Bart.
• 13:38
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: I just didn't think he had a very good spring
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: at all. They need Joey Bart to hit at least
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: against left handed pitching, and I don't know if that's
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: gonna happen. Yeah, So I'll just keep it there, and
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: then biggest surprise, I'll throw Jake.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: Mangum out there.
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: I think Mangum is going to be a guy that
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: forces his way into the everyday lineup, and I don't
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: think it's gonna take very long. I think this is
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: a kid that's gonna bring a lot to the Pirates
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: in a lot of different areas. I think he's gonna
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: help address the things that Josh mentioned with team defense.
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: I think by having him out in left field, you
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: can move other guys around and have a better defensive lineup,
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: which you know, this team is built to win through
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: its pitching, so defense actually does matter a lot, yeah
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: for this franchise. And then I also think that it
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: him playing every day might also play into Mark's prediction
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: where Ozuna might not be an everyday player if he
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: if he switched, I wouldn't be surprised if that happened
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: as far as so that's my biggest it's my biggest
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: surprise and my biggest disappointment.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: Real quick, guys, home run leader for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: We'll go.
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: I'll start us off. I have O'Neil Cruz leading the
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: team with twenty eight bombs. What says you, Josh Harrison.
• 15:00
  Speaker 4: Brandon Law and I went thirty four? Okay, left hander
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: can use that right handed porch. And I'm also looking
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: at the division. Some good hitter Sparks so and he's
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: done it before. A healthy brand allow is gonna bring
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: you some pop. And I'm gonna go thirty four.
• 15:18
  Speaker 3: I love it, and I'm gonna echo Noah hear and
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: go O'Neal cruise again. I really think that thirty thirty
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: season is in the cards for a cruise, and we've
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: seen the power if if he can just make better contact,
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: hit left, he's stay in the lineup. He can hit
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: thirty home runs easy. So I'm gonna go cruise.
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: All right?
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: For all Stars, we'll just start here. Raise your hand
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: if you think Paul skin is gonna be an All Star?
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: All right, everyone's hands raised.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: Raise your hand.
• 15:50
  Speaker 2: If you think O'Neal Cruise is going to be an
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: All Star, Yep, his hand is not raised.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: Raise you all right?
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: So Mark and I both have those two, Mark, do
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: you have any anyone else making?
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: The one other one I have is Ryan O'Hearn. I
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: just feel like he fits into this lineup so well,
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: gonna get this team off to a hot start, have
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: a really good stat line going into spring. I just
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: think he fits in so well, and I think he's
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: just gonna hit the ground running. And he's four.
• 16:22
  Speaker 4: You're agreeing with that, Yeah, I could see o'hearan as
• 16:25
  Speaker 4: a possibility. But my second, honestly, was actually gonna be
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: in a bullpen. Then the Santana. I got the Pirates pitching,
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: you know, holding up and you know, getting off to
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: a good start and using that bullpen, and I see
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: Santana being able to come in close his fair share
• 16:40
  Speaker 4: amount of games early on into the season. And that's
• 16:44
  Speaker 4: kind of my my my pick. As you know, I
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: got a starter in or you know, a closing pitcher,
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: and I said, I don't think it's far fetched for
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: either O'Neill or Ryan O'Hearn. But as you've already mentioned,
• 16:57
  Speaker 4: pitching is a strength of this team, and if they
• 16:59
  Speaker 4: got a little bit of the lead, I think it
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: allows for Dennis Santwna to you know, possibly be somebody
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: that's in that back in that's gonna get some votes.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: All right, My All Star predictions are just schemes and crews,
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: although I like Santana getting consideration as well.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: I had records to be said here, let's let's save
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: that for the end of the show. Yeah, all right,
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: So we're gonna take a quick break. When we get back,
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: we're going to do our.
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: Major League Baseball League preview where we announce award winners
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: and playoff teams.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Before that ord from our sponsors.
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  Speaker 6: This is it Kratz Opening weekend of the season. And
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  Speaker 1: All right.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: Major League Baseball season starts today Wednesday, the twenty fifth.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: Yankees and Giants face off on Netflix on the call.
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah a lot. Bert Kreischer involved too. Yeah yeah, got
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: a little bit of everything.
• 18:55
  Speaker 4: Look different, but hey yeah.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: Hey, why not? Right?
• 18:59
  Speaker 7: All right?
• 19:00
  Speaker 4: Right?
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: MLB predictions real quick, let's go through the awards. First, MVP,
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: AL and NL all start us off. I have Otawani
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: winning another NL MVP, just because, I mean, until someone
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: says they're better.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: He deserves it every year. And then the AL MVP.
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: I have Bobby Wood Junior. I just think this is
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: his year to get one. So those are my picks. Mark,
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: what about you?
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: I think we see another repeat with Judge and Otani.
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: Both those guys are just studs. Bobby woit is a
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: clear I think third best player in MLB right now.
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: He could absolutely have a fantastic season, and especially if
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: he leads the Royals to like the playoffs or something.
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: I like that pick. But yeah, I think it's Judge
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: and Otani's award to lose until further notice.
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: I went as you said, Otani some I mean it's
• 19:59
  Speaker 4: gonna be hard at the top. What he's doing until
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: you know, somebody proves otherwise, it's gonna be really hard
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: to top what he's doing. But it's not to say
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: that anybody can't. But if he continues what he's doing,
• 20:14
  Speaker 4: it's gonna be hard to dethrone him. And on the
• 20:17
  Speaker 4: American League side, I also went Bobby with not that
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: judge is you know, I think judges are close second.
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: But I just think, as you said, though, I agree
• 20:28
  Speaker 4: this could be Bobby's year, and I think something that
• 20:30
  Speaker 4: might plan his favorite the Kansas City move their fences in. Yes,
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: yes they did so. So that's another thing where I
• 20:37
  Speaker 4: think will help him. Me from that much more.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: You know that that award in a lot of ways
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: just becomes who has the highest war and Bobby can
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: be a ten war player? Yeah right, like he can't
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: he can be that? Like what was he worth last year?
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: Like eight or nine? Like he's down there.
• 20:56
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: I really don't think we've seen the best from him yet.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: Cy Young's is it safe to say we all have
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: Skins winning in the NL? Young?
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: Is it safe to say we all have scooball winning
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: the Ale?
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: Young?
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: I don't I know?
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: There you go, Yeah, I pulled the rug out from
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: underneath the guys.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: So do you guys have Scooba?
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah, oh yeah, I mean yeah, yeah. I mean it's
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: gonna be hard to top what he's doing. But I
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: mean there are some other guys if names mentioned that,
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: I mean, very on the brink. Who did you have
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: in mind?
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: I have another Royal. I've got Royals fever this year.
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: Cole Reagan's is my pick. I will win the al
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: Cy Young. I think the thing that could hurt him
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: is his innings because he's had some arm issues.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: But he's nasty man.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: And and I, like I said, I think the Royals
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: are gonna have a really good year, and clearly because
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: I'm picking their shortstop to win MVP and their ace
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: to win Cy Young. But yeah, I'm gonna go with
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: something different. I'm gonna go coll Reagan's. I think Terrek
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: Scoogle has a great year, but I'm gonna be different,
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: go with Reagans Rookie of the year.
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: Maybe school gets traded, you know, maybe a National League team.
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe he goes to the Dodgers.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: Yes, yeah, right, oh joy, Yeah, Rookie of the Year
• 22:21
  Speaker 2: is let's go with our American League rookie of the Year.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: First, I'm gonna.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: Go Sam Bassio, Yeah, from the Baltimore Orioles. I think
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: he's got twenty five thirty home runs in that bat. Yeah,
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: that should be enough. Although the AL rookie class is
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: pretty loaded. So Josh your thoughts.
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: Uh yeah, y'all go have to help me with the
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: name third baseman with the White Sox that just signed Commy. Yeah, yeah,
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: more Commy Chicago Good Hitters Park, a team that has
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: not played the greatest. So any little bit of a
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: buzz or highlight to that team that he can bring
• 23:02
  Speaker 4: in the hitters Park, I think could could help him
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: because I mean, given what that park and hold, I
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: think he can hit twenty five there. And I mean
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: on the team that's not winning, you do your part.
• 23:16
  Speaker 4: It'll put a lot of eyes on him.
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: If he can make contact look out.
• 23:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah, how about you Mark.
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: I'm gonna go Kevin McGonagall. Uh, the Tigers shortstop that
• 23:26
  Speaker 3: they just promoted. Uh, we're gonna make the opening day roster,
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: probably gonna beat lead off for them. Just got a
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: great hit tool and so yeah, I think McGonagall is
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: he's got he's got pre high ceiling. I went put
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: him a counter Griffin level ceiling. There's a reason counters
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: won mcgonagall's two in MLB's rankings. But yeah, I think
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: he's just gonna light the world on fire in Detroit
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: and there's gonna be a lot of eyes on that
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: team with winning and scooball and everything, and yeah, it
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: makes sense for me.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: All right, NL Rookie of the Year, What are you thinking.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: Mark Connor? Yeah, I mean, shout out to Baba Chandler.
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: He's gonna be the runner up. But yeah, Connor Griffin's
• 24:10
  Speaker 3: gonna win this award.
• 24:13
  Speaker 4: I'm gonna go ahead and double down with Mark. Kind
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: of makes it up seim been being able to make
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: a big enough impact with you. Notice that's already there.
• 24:24
  Speaker 4: I'm gonna go with Connor. And I can't think of
• 24:26
  Speaker 4: really any other rookies that I would know that look
• 24:33
  Speaker 4: like it's gonna be different.
• 24:35
  Speaker 2: It was, you know what, And I think Connor Griffin
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: is going to have a wonderful career. But I have
• 24:43
  Speaker 2: another pick right now in mind, and I'll and I'll
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: back up why I think this kid will win it.
• 24:49
  Speaker 2: JJ Weatherholt, Western Pennsylvania kid covered him in high school
• 24:53
  Speaker 2: Mars High School product alma mater of obviously David Bednar
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: as well.
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: He will debut with the Cardinals.
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: He's really all the Cardinals got going for them right now.
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: I think this could.
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think this kid could contend for a batting title.
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: And I think if you do that as a rookie,
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: you'll you'll be in the thick of it.
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: But yeah, I mean he's got his work cut out.
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: I mean, you look at this rookie class. This is
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: probably the best rookie class we've seen in quite some time.
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: With Connor Griffin, with Bubba Chandler, with I mean, yeah,
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: JJ Weatherhole, the two Japanese players Okamoto and uh More
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: Kami coming over, Trey Savage McGonagall. I mean, Max Clark
• 25:38
  Speaker 2: could be a big leaguer at some point this year.
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: Like there there are and there there are more guys
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: that I haven't even mentioned. There are a ton of
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: studs coming up, a whole new wave of Major League
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: Baseball talent. It's gonna be a very exciting storyline this season.
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: Uh Before we wrap up this part of the segment,
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: let's go through our division winners real quick. In the NL,
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: I have the Cubs, Phillies and Dodgers winning their respective divisions.
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: And then in the AL, I have Tigers, Yankees, and Mariners.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: Josh, what about you?
• 26:17
  Speaker 4: I got Cubs, Mets, and Dodgers, and then I got
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: it was Yankees, Tigers and the Maris had a thing.
• 26:26
  Speaker 4: I flip over to the AL.
• 26:27
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and then for me for my NL teams, Cubs,
• 26:31
  Speaker 3: Dodgers as well. But I'm gonna switch it up and
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: go with Atlanta. I think the Braves just have so
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: much talent. They had an off year last year. I
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: think they recapture a lot of that magic. There's there's
• 26:43
  Speaker 3: so much talent on that roster. If there if they're
• 26:45
  Speaker 3: starting pitchers can stay healthy. That it's been oblique injury
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: after oblique injury. But I love what Atlanta has if again,
• 26:53
  Speaker 3: if they can stay healthy. And then for the ALE,
• 26:55
  Speaker 3: I went Tigers as well. I think the Blue Jays,
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: with the offseason they had, they're just to be so
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: tough to be in the AL East. Yankees are good,
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: but I mean that Blue Jay's team. The fact that
• 27:06
  Speaker 3: they added more to that World Series team is it's scary.
• 27:10
  Speaker 3: And then finishing it off Mariners. I don't think anyone
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: else in that division's really going to compete too much
• 27:16
  Speaker 3: with them, So.
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: Braves is interesting.
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: I'll be playing close attention to them this year. I
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: think they got a lot going on. So we purposely
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: left out the wildcard picks though, because we are going
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: to all reveal if we have pirates making the postseason
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: when we get back from this commercial break, AJ.
• 27:35
  Speaker 6: This episode is brought to you by our friends at
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  Speaker 6: Pierzinski and I get this email every week now AJ
• 27:44
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• 28:20
  Speaker 4: Now.
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: All right, so before we get into this, right here
• 28:25
  Speaker 2: beneath my feet, I was digging into it during our
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: commercial break. These are all the baseballs I caught attending
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: games as a kid.
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: That's awesome.
• 28:34
  Speaker 2: Everything in here, from the Frontier League games with the
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: Washington wild Things to major league games, got a whole
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: bunch of them. Most of them are batting practice balls.
• 28:44
  Speaker 2: And when I was a kid, I'm so glad I
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: had to wear with all to do this.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: When I was little.
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: I one day I sat down and I typed out
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: how I got each ball on a piece of paper.
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: Yes, and I t it to the ball. So I
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: just found this.
• 28:59
  Speaker 2: This ball, says Pirates Cubs Opening Day Part two, ball
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: number two. This ball was thrown to me by Cub
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: superstar pitcher Carry Would. I asked him for a ball
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: and he threw it right in my mid forty yards away.
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: The Cubs would go on to win this game and extras,
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: So Carry would thank you for this baseball? Yeah, yes,
• 29:20
  Speaker 2: right journalism.
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: Yes, look at this. Here's the other one, signed by
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Evan Meek right here you can't see it. Yeah, four,
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: I love yeah, oh pictures. Matt Capps and Evan Meek
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: signed this ball. Matt cap with on the Road Travels.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: So that's really cool. That another reason why Opening Day rules.
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, guys, let me put my baseball collection
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: away here and we'll get into the nitty gritty bold predictions.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: But before we get into let's do the bold predictions first.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: Then we'll do our records.
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: Okay, let's give a bold Pirates prediction and then a
• 30:05
  Speaker 2: bold MLB prediction.
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: Mark. I'll let you start, all right.
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: So my bold Pirates prediction is, I think the Pirates
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: are gonna win a playoff series this year. I think
• 30:15
  Speaker 3: they're gonna make it to the wildcard and I think
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: they actually win the wildcard series. So that's gonna be
• 30:22
  Speaker 3: my bold prediction. Pretty bold considering this was a seventy
• 30:26
  Speaker 3: one win team last year, but I really think they
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: can crack into the wildcard round, maybe not win the division,
• 30:34
  Speaker 3: you know, but make the playoffs, take a big step
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: forward that way, and I think they actually win. With
• 30:40
  Speaker 3: how front loaded, I mean, you have Paul Skins for
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: one start, that's one win already, so I think this
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: team could be built to actually win some playoff games
• 30:49
  Speaker 3: if they make it big if, but if they do,
• 30:53
  Speaker 3: I think they can win one series. So that's my
• 30:55
  Speaker 3: bold prediction for the Pirates. And my MLB bold prediction
• 30:59
  Speaker 3: is I think that we're gonna see some superstars traded.
• 31:05
  Speaker 3: May have talked a little pre show, we might have
• 31:07
  Speaker 3: some similarities here. But my player that I think is
• 31:10
  Speaker 3: going to be traded is Fernando Tatists Junior. And I
• 31:14
  Speaker 3: could see the Padres, you know, conceding that the Dodgers
• 31:17
  Speaker 3: have just dominated the n West right now and try
• 31:20
  Speaker 3: and rebuild, and so maybe Tatists gets on the move here,
• 31:25
  Speaker 3: and my prediction would be to the Yankees. What about
• 31:27
  Speaker 3: you guys?
• 31:32
  Speaker 4: Start with the Pirates prediction. I'll say, when Connor Griffin
• 31:37
  Speaker 4: makes his debut, he's going to hit a homer and
• 31:38
  Speaker 4: the Pirates win. Pancy Park, I think you've had this
• 31:43
  Speaker 4: conversation home opener, So that's gonna be my my my
• 31:48
  Speaker 4: boat Pirate prediction. Mark already has the Playoffs cover, so
• 31:53
  Speaker 4: I don't think it gets any bolder than that the Pirates,
• 31:56
  Speaker 4: And then my my boat prediction league wide is the
• 32:01
  Speaker 4: Yankees will dethrown the Dodgers and the World Series behind uh.
• 32:07
  Speaker 4: Two trades, one real trade, though, but the other second
• 32:12
  Speaker 4: hypothetical trade is the addition of my boy Garrett Cole.
• 32:16
  Speaker 4: They missed him last year. So you know they always
• 32:18
  Speaker 4: say getting somebody back from the injury list is like,
• 32:21
  Speaker 4: you know, having a trade and then hey, the other
• 32:24
  Speaker 4: one is Schoop being traded to to the Yes, you know,
• 32:29
  Speaker 4: Yankees going for it, and I mean you got a
• 32:32
  Speaker 4: healthy Garrett co coming back. And then you know what
• 32:36
  Speaker 4: they say, freed Cole in school with the top three,
• 32:39
  Speaker 4: that's gonna be. That's gonna be a tough three to
• 32:41
  Speaker 4: to beat. So that's my bold prediction Yankees going forward
• 32:44
  Speaker 4: and getting school all right.
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: My bold pirates prediction, I predicted one NL central rookie
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: to win the batting title. I will keep it going
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: and saying another central rookie will win a Gold Glove,
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: Connor Griffin and Old Glood let's go at shortstop and
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: it will be one of the best rookie of the
• 33:05
  Speaker 2: year races we've seen, well since twenty twenty four when
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: Pall Skeins and Jackson Merrilyn go down to the wire.
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: But that one might actually be better, but who knows.
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: Uh.
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: As far as my league wide bold prediction, I will
• 33:20
  Speaker 2: keep on with the trade activity. Like I said, the
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: Atlanta Braves, very interesting team, a team that uh, you know.
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: I have a lot of thoughts on right now.
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna say the season doesn't go well for the Braves,
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: and if it doesn't go well, maybe they hit the
• 33:38
  Speaker 2: rebuild button and trade won Ronald Acuna Junior to the
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: New York Yankees. I think he would be great. I mean,
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: no offense that Trent Grisham. Yeah, I think the Yankees
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: acquiring the right field yeah yeah, well yeah, I think
• 33:56
  Speaker 2: you would have to move Judge back to center.
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: But I think I think Captain America.
• 34:01
  Speaker 4: Would be somebody. Somebody's moving, some's moving, but either way
• 34:06
  Speaker 4: they would like the addition.
• 34:07
  Speaker 3: Yes, so you can find room in the lineup for
• 34:10
  Speaker 3: those bats.
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I think you could think.
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: All right, so guys will round out the show with
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: this Pirates record prediction and do they make the playoffs?
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: Mark?
• 34:20
  Speaker 2: Obviously we'll start with you because you said you have
• 34:22
  Speaker 2: them winning a playoff series.
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: You also said they're not winning their division.
• 34:27
  Speaker 7: Yeap.
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: What's the Pirates record? You give your World series pick too?
• 34:31
  Speaker 3: Okay, Yeah, so I have the Pirates going eighty six
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: and seventy six, significant improvement from last year. Fangrafts right
• 34:40
  Speaker 3: now is projecting them to be around eighty four wins,
• 34:44
  Speaker 3: So I'm a little bit higher on them than Fangrafts. Shocker,
• 34:48
  Speaker 3: I know. And so I think eighty six wins is
• 34:51
  Speaker 3: enough to sneak right into the wild Card and uh yeah,
• 34:54
  Speaker 3: and then for my World Series pick, I mean, the
• 34:57
  Speaker 3: Dodgers are a force. Think they're going to be there
• 35:01
  Speaker 3: again unfortunately, but this year I think they're going to
• 35:04
  Speaker 3: be playing the Mariners. I love that Mariners team has
• 35:09
  Speaker 3: so much going for it, great pitching, they got an
• 35:13
  Speaker 3: MVP runner up in cal Rawley, they have uh they
• 35:16
  Speaker 3: just added added but Julio Rodriguez in the outfield. So
• 35:22
  Speaker 3: I would love to see the Mariners take them on
• 35:24
  Speaker 3: the Dodgers. I don't know how well that would go.
• 35:27
  Speaker 3: But if I'm not going to pick the Dodgers, I
• 35:29
  Speaker 3: can't bring myself to it. So give me the Mariners
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: over the Dodgers in the twenty twenty six World Series.
• 35:36
  Speaker 4: Josh, all right, two questions. One is the World Series? Right, yep?
• 35:41
  Speaker 4: I think already covered that, right, yeah Yankees, Yes, I said,
• 35:46
  Speaker 4: thrown in the Dodgers right with the addition. And the
• 35:50
  Speaker 4: other question is trush me, oh pirates record, I had
• 35:56
  Speaker 4: them pretty much becoming the rats of twenty twenty five
• 36:00
  Speaker 4: and being the third and you know, in that division
• 36:02
  Speaker 4: and possibly sneaking in the playoffs based off of what
• 36:06
  Speaker 4: other divisions do we know the Reds snuck in there
• 36:09
  Speaker 4: last year based off of help with other divisions. But
• 36:11
  Speaker 4: I had them right around at eighty three and seventy
• 36:14
  Speaker 4: nine range where the red snuck in last year. I
• 36:16
  Speaker 4: have the Reds and the Pirates kind of flip flopping,
• 36:19
  Speaker 4: just trading places.
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: All right, I guess I'll end us on a low note.
• 36:26
  Speaker 5: Three times in a row, right, yes, right, I will
• 36:31
  Speaker 5: say the Pirates finish eighty and eighty two, third place
• 36:35
  Speaker 5: in the NL Central.
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: I like a lot about this team. I think the
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: future is bright. But I believe I told this to
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: Josh before we started recording. This team reminds me a
• 36:45
  Speaker 2: lot of the twenty twelve team, where they're going to
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: see what they're truly capable of. They just need another
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: year to really learn how to win together. They've got
• 36:54
  Speaker 2: too much youth on the mound. I think to withstand
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: this unless they keep adding or maybe you know what,
• 37:00
  Speaker 2: they proved me wrong in the offseason, let's see him
• 37:03
  Speaker 2: do it again. I think they're gonna be right on,
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: they're gonna be right in the mix. But and Josh
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: knows this firsthand, September baseball is different when you're in
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: the mix. The only September baseball these guys have played
• 37:16
  Speaker 2: is you know, when everyone's just trying to get their
• 37:18
  Speaker 2: big league debut under their belt, and guys are looking for,
• 37:22
  Speaker 2: you know, Miles Stones or to get their incentives. It's
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: a lot different when every time, every yet bad, every
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: inning you pitch really really means something, and very very
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: rarely when you have a team this young, does it
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: all work out the first time in that instance. And
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: I guess you could argue twenty twenty four was a
• 37:41
  Speaker 2: rough September, but they were kind of already out of
• 37:43
  Speaker 2: it by that.
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: So I think they're gonna be in it.
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: I just don't know if they have the durability to
• 37:51
  Speaker 2: get it. We'll see. And then, to make it even gloomier,
• 37:55
  Speaker 2: note I have the Dodgers winning the World Series again.
• 37:57
  Speaker 2: They're gonna sweep the Detroit Times and we'll go into
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: a lockout and never watch major League baseball again.
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: So, on that note, if you love all that positive,
• 38:11
  Speaker 2: hit that subscribe button. If you haven't already, We're on
• 38:14
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• 38:17
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• 38:20
  Speaker 2: the Bucco Territory team store. We've got a lot of
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: good stuff there for you to buy. I'll start us
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: off on our final note real quick again. I just
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: want to wish everyone a happy opening Day. Like I said,
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: this is my favorite day of the year. It's been
• 38:35
  Speaker 2: like that. Behind me normally you can see my memorabilia shelf,
• 38:41
  Speaker 2: and on my memorabilia shelf is a hat that says
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: Opening Day, two thousand and five. It's Pirates hat and
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: it was what my dad bought me at my first
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: home opener, and it's one of my most prized possessions
• 38:53
  Speaker 2: because it marked the start of twenty one years of
• 38:56
  Speaker 2: memories at the ballpark with my best friends, with my dad,
• 38:59
  Speaker 2: with uncles and grandparents and you know, just everyone that
• 39:04
  Speaker 2: I cherish, and even co workers now, and meeting Josh
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: Harrison at the twenty eighteen home opener in the clubhouse,
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: the first game I ever covered with a Major League
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: Baseball credential. So a lot of great memories for me
• 39:17
  Speaker 2: on a day like this, and it's hard not to
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: get romantic about baseball, right, So, happy Opening Day to
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: all who celebrate fellas. Any final thoughts before we head
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: out here.
• 39:29
  Speaker 4: Just a happy opening day and ready to see you know,
• 39:34
  Speaker 4: Skins take the mound with the boys behind his back
• 39:37
  Speaker 4: and see if he let in to a one to
• 39:39
  Speaker 4: ozero victory, you know, not score being one nothing, but
• 39:43
  Speaker 4: you know, the first game of the season. So excited
• 39:45
  Speaker 4: for that.
• 39:47
  Speaker 3: And I'll just finish off by saying, I'm so excited
• 39:50
  Speaker 3: to see the culmination of this entire offseason. Best Pirates
• 39:55
  Speaker 3: offseason in a long time, best Pirates team in a
• 39:58
  Speaker 3: long time, and the most expensive Pirates team ever. So
• 40:03
  Speaker 3: I am beyond ready for the season to start. Hit
• 40:06
  Speaker 3: the ground running strong, get start off one to zero
• 40:10
  Speaker 3: against the Mets, pick it right back up on Saturday
• 40:13
  Speaker 3: because they have an off day on Friday, and go
• 40:16
  Speaker 3: from there. So uh yeah, that's where I'm at, all right.
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: Well, he's Mark ak platinum Key, He's Josh Harrison on
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: the Ohio signing off saying we'll see you next time. Here,
• 40:28
  Speaker 2: I'm Bucko Territory, presented to you by the Foul Territory Network.