Latest / Foul Territory / Ken Rosenthal on a small-market Fall Classic, Jeff Levering’s goosebump call for Uecker

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Ken Rosenthal on a small-market Fall Classic, Jeff Levering’s goosebump call for Uecker · Foul Territory

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Inside Scoop is presented by the Fox One app. And
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: there is our good buddy, Ken Rosenthal, as you see
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: him on your screen. I guess kind of depending on
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: if you're looking at the screen lower right. If you're not,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: it's lower left. But there he is right there. He's
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: the other guy without a hat on. Kenny, thanks for
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: hopping on here today. Let's start with... There are so
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: many sort of lines that are blurred in this upcoming
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: World Series with players that were either drafted by, traded for, left,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: succeeded with. And Freddy Peralta, of course, comes to mind.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: You could certainly make the argument he could start game
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: one just given what he's done in his last 10 starts.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: And obviously Rasmussen would start game one for any other
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: team as well. But kind of dive into the Peralta story.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: He was effusive in his praise of the guys that
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: have helped him once he got to Tampa Bay. What
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: do you make of the turnaround from what happened from
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Milwaukee to New York and now back here in Tampa Bay?
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Well, Carl, it's good to be with you. And it's
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: yet another example of how Tampa Bay, like Milwaukee, is
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: so effective with pitching. Now, there's been a lot written
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: about what exactly happened with Peralta.
• 1:16
  Speaker 3: They asked him to throw his change up more. They
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: asked him to speed up his delivery.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: They wanted him to pitch in a faster way, not
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: with the fastball necessarily, but just get down the mound quicker.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: They have a knack for identifying things that might be
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: wrong with the pitcher, or maybe that they can do better,
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: and then drawing that out. The Mets obviously didn't do it.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: It's an indictment on them that they didn't, and yet, again, it's...
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: Great example of what the Rays, with Kyle Snyder as
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: their pitching coach and their analytics department, their scouts, everybody
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: is able to do with pitching. And this has been
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: a repeated pattern over the years. But Peralta is, I
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: would say, a pretty extreme example.
• 1:58
  Speaker 4: So much has been made about trades. You just talked
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: about Freddie P's. There's a whole list of trades that
• 2:04
  Speaker 4: built this team. Is that a, not an indictment, but... oh,
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: how many of these, how many of these players were
• 2:11
  Speaker 4: actually built from within, or they're going to get those
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: players in trades. So is, are these organizations looking at
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: the inefficiencies of other teams and saying, we can take
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: advantage of that and not needing to develop their own players?
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: Or is it developing other players once they've gotten to
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: a certain point for both of these teams? It's all
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: of that.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: And, Those organizations will tell you not all of their
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: decisions have worked out great. And the Rays traded Joe
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Ryan for Nelson Cruz, Christopher Sanchez for Curtis Meade. Not
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: everything's been perfect. The Brewers, Josh Hader trade, it worked
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: out well because in the end it brought them Contreras
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: and Robert Gasser. But at the time, it helped wreck
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: a season. Then you look at their decision to give
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: Brandon Woodruff a qualifying offer last year. That didn't work out.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: No one's perfect in this sport. No one makes every
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: decision right. What these two teams do, and it's kind
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: of difficult to generalize because they are different and similar
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: at the same time, they have processes in place. They
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: have very robust baseball operations departments that goes to analytics
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: and scouting, and they have a continuity in their front
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: offices and in their overall operation, including coaching, that serves
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: them well. They've also got ownership that have supported them
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: in the best ways that they can. So, again, nothing
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: is perfect. No team, not even the Rays, not even
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: the Brewers proceeds flawlessly. But they seem to do things
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: in a better way than most clubs. That's for sure. Ken? Ken?
• 3:54
  Speaker 5: These two teams that are in the World Series, again,
• 3:56
  Speaker 5: the top two teams in each league, the one seed,
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: the 100 wins, I think it was 98 for the Rays,
• 4:00
  Speaker 5: whatever it was, the best two teams in baseball the
• 4:03
  Speaker 5: whole year, top to bottom. How closely do they mirror
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: each other in their organizations? I know we talked about
• 4:09
  Speaker 5: their heavy analytics department, but for so long the Rays
• 4:13
  Speaker 5: have been the example. Why aren't the Brewers an example
• 4:16
  Speaker 5: to other teams too? It's like everyone just, I want
• 4:18
  Speaker 5: to be the Rays, I want to be the Rays,
• 4:20
  Speaker 5: but the Brewers have been really good for a long
• 4:22
  Speaker 5: time also.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: AJ, I think the Rays have that reputation because they
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: are so innovative. This is a team that invented the
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: opener and now, oh, they're ahead of the curve again
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: because guess what? They're allowing their starters to pitch deeper
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: into games because they have that kind of starter that
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: can do that. They are bunting all of a sudden
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: this year, something they hadn't done before, something that in
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: the past most statistical analysts would tell you, no, it's
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: a bad idea. They see it as a good idea
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: in part because of the personnel that they have. I
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: don't know that the Brewers have been quite that innovative
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: in terms of what they do on the field, though
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: certainly their pitching program is outstanding. What the Brewers have
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: done well, in my opinion, is draft, obviously. That's one thing.
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: But internationally, they've been amazing. And it's not just Jackson Churrio.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: It's the prospects that they have coming, Luis Pena, Jesus Made.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: They have been a force internationally. And That is not
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: something that you would necessarily expect from the Milwaukee Brewers.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: So it's interesting because, as you know, this is a
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: what goes around comes around. As you said, bunting, speed.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: It reminds me of the Cardinal teams of the 80s
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: built for their AstroTurf field. And it's a copycat world, obviously.
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: It's a fascinating time for Major League Baseball. We're going
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: into an offseason where we have a labor issue coming up.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: We have two small market teams that don't have big
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: payrolls that are getting to play in the World Series.
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: Do you think this will lead to, in the offseason,
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: front offices, ownership groups, sort of employing their teams? If
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: those two can do it this way, I'm not suggesting
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: that we snap our fingers and become those two teams,
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: but will we try to become, and I'm not even sure, Ken,
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: what the proper terminology is, more well-rounded, old school?
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: I've heard a lot of different descriptions of what these
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: two teams do that maybe others don't do as frequently.
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: But will there be an effort, this loud roar, let's
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: do what they do for a variety of reasons, saves
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: us money, et cetera, and is competitive?
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: There certainly should be.
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: And you're right.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: It's a copycat league. And yet there are teams that,
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: that have asked themselves, I wrote about one with Trent
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: Rosecrans last month, the Reds. They've literally asked themselves, why
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: can't we be the Brewers? And in their case, the Reds,
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: the answer is ownership. Ownership has not been that patient.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: Ownership has not been willing to trade off big pieces
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: at times. And ownership has tried to compete every year
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: and ended up not really competing very well in most years.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: So sure, you will see teams do that, but it
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: also takes some courage, the courage of their convictions. because
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: we've seen both of these teams make difficult decisions, painful decisions.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: The Rays never wanted to trade Tyler Glass now. The
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: Brewers didn't want to trade Josh Hader, Freddy Peralta. These
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: are decisions that a lot of teams are unwilling to make.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: The Reds, for instance, they're going to face a decision
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: with Eli De La Cruz at some point. The Pirates
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: with Paul Skeens. Are they going to make the correct
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: call at the correct time? Now, In the next CBA,
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: depending on, Paul, what it looks like, maybe there will
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: be better chances for those teams to keep those kinds
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: of players long-term. In many examples, they do. The Pirates
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: have kept Connor Griffin. We've seen other examples of it
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: as well. But getting back to your question, yes, teams
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: should look at the Rays and the Brewers and say, well,
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: what are they doing that we're not? And you've got,
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: right now, five teams— Five heads of baseball operations rooted
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: in Tampa Bay. Now, one of them is Andrew Friedman
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: from the Dodgers, but Taylor Smith just hired by the A's,
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: rooted in Tampa Bay. You have Matt Arnold, of course,
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: Eric Neander, Haim Bloom in St.
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: Louis.
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: So this is something that obviously is trying to be emulated.
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: I forgot Peter Bendix in Miami. Teams want to be
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: like the Rays and the Brewers, but it's easier said
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: than done, and it takes a lot. of things that
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: go into it. It's about international scouting, pro scouting, amateur scouting, culture.
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: It's not simply about making good trades and being wise
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: on the margins at the major league level. It's all
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: of it. And those two teams, and this is not
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: something that just came out of nowhere. Those two teams
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: do it very well. Rays, playoffs, six of the last
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: eight years. Brewers, eight of the last nine. Second trip
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: to the World Series for the Rays in seven years. Brewers,
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: this was their third trip to the NLCS in the
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: last nine years. These teams have been there. They've been
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: really good for a while now.
• 9:14
  Speaker 5: Cratch, it's that time of year where all the sports
• 9:16
  Speaker 5: are pretty much going right now from the baseball playoffs,
• 9:19
  Speaker 5: which obviously on foul territory, we love. NCAA football, there's
• 9:23
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• 9:28
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• 9:31
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• 9:32
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• 9:34
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• 9:36
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• 9:37
  Speaker 4: go to the World Series. Maybe I got to go
• 9:40
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• 9:44
  Speaker 4: figure out where the best place to watch the game is.
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: SeatGeek's got me. That's right.
• 9:49
  Speaker 5: Red dot, bad deal, they think. Green dot, great deal.
• 9:52
  Speaker 5: But you get to choose. That's the one great thing
• 9:54
  Speaker 5: about SeatGeek.
• 9:55
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• 9:56
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• 9:58
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• 10:02
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• 10:13
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• 10:15
  Speaker 4: A lot's been talked about with the Dodgers not making
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: it for the third straight World Series. They did win
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: 100 games. So I want to just say no to
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: the age part because I don't think players can age
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: out of the game that quick. But another thing that
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: you even brought up in your article was tired. Is
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: it fair that the Dodgers have to go to Seoul
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: one year and they opened in Tokyo the next year, correct?
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: Is that fair? And is that because it's a team
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: that is supremely focused on winning the World Series? Is
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: there a fair scheduling? Because we even talked about when
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: it used to be Sunday night baseball that the Yankees
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: and Red Sox may have to always play that night
• 10:54
  Speaker 4: game when other teams are flying. Is there a fair
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: aspect to it?
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: I would say, Eric, that those teams that you just mentioned,
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: including the Dodgers, have enough advantages where Well, if you're
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: going to be a marquee team, there are going to
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: be some disadvantages too. And it might not be entirely
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: fair in the proper sense of the term, but too bad.
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: You're the Dodgers, man.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: You signed Otani, you're going to Tokyo. I don't really
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: have much sympathy for that. I would say that is
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: it possible that had an effect those two long seasons back-to-back? Absolutely.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: That's what Max Muncy talked about in the story I wrote.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: I also would say, Eric, that I do believe age
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: is an issue with this team. I actually thought it
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: was an issue last year. They won the World Series.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: It didn't become an issue, but they have an older group,
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: and it's not going to get better for those players
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: in most cases, right? Once you get to a certain age,
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: you're going to go that way. So it's going to
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: be really interesting to see how they try to freshen
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: up their team. Kyle Tucker was that kind of idea.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: He's a little bit younger than some of their marquee players,
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: but they need to do more, and they've got some
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: young outfielders who are really close, ready to go, but
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: it's going to take some rejiggling of the roster.
• 12:10
  Speaker 5: Hey, Ken, on this, I just laugh when we're talking
• 12:15
  Speaker 5: about trips in March.
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: No, it's not.
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: Well, and also playing through the end of the season.
• 12:23
  Speaker 5: To me, it's more of the playing the long season, right?
• 12:27
  Speaker 5: WBC this year, extra spring training. two years in a row,
• 12:31
  Speaker 5: making a run, game seven, long post seasons. That's what
• 12:34
  Speaker 5: wears you down. To bring up a trip to Seoul,
• 12:37
  Speaker 5: Korea in March, I think they recovered from that or
• 12:40
  Speaker 5: a trip to Tokyo, Japan for those five days. I
• 12:43
  Speaker 5: hope they recover from that in October. And by the way,
• 12:47
  Speaker 5: they didn't lose because they were old. They lost to
• 12:49
  Speaker 5: a team that was just darn better than they were
• 12:51
  Speaker 5: and was more athletic, had better pitching, honestly, than what
• 12:55
  Speaker 5: the Dodgers had. And we thought that was going to
• 12:57
  Speaker 5: be their strength. So we can try to make all
• 12:59
  Speaker 5: these excuses we want, but how about we just say this?
• 13:02
  Speaker 5: The Brewers were just better. And they were better from
• 13:04
  Speaker 5: day one to day 197, whatever it was at the
• 13:08
  Speaker 5: end of the year. They were just the better team.
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: No question.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: And AJ, also, I thought it was telling when I
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: interviewed Dave Roberts after the game for Fox, and he
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: said they were not just hungry, the Brewers, they were starving.
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: And there is a difference when you're the back-to-back World
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: Series champs versus a team that has not been to
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: the World Series in 44 years, that has never won
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: the World Series, that was humiliated by the same team
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: it was playing in the NLCS this year a year ago.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: All of that, in my mind, figures in.
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: But you're right.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: In the end, We can talk about age. We can
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: talk about lengths of season. We can talk about all
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: kinds of things. The Brewers, yes, were the better team
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: and better in every way. Going into that series, I
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: just felt with Scooble and Yamamoto, it's going to be
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: awfully tough to beat the Dodgers. And yet the Brewers
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: did that. And they did that really with only two
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: starters of their own. I'll give them gas or make
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: that three. But it was an incredible triumph, in my opinion,
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: in every way. And coming back in all of those games,
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: not being cowed, by the Dodgers. It was one of
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: the more impressive things we've seen in recent years.
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: Both the Orioles and the Athletics both put new positions
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: into their front office. They have new people in their
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: front office. Which of those two positions, with the player
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: of baseball operations being one and the general manager for
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: the Orioles being the new one, makes a bigger impact
• 14:34
  Speaker 4: on that specific organization?
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: There's no question it would be the A's because Taylor
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: Smith is coming in to be the president of baseball operations.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: Jared Banner with the Orioles is going to be the
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: number two to Mike Elias, who remains president of baseball operations.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: So while Banner's input will be welcomed and they had
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: sought an outside voice, a different voice, they need that.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: At the same time, he's not going to be putting
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: his stamp on the organization the way Taylor Smith will.
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: And the A's are going to be quite fascinating in
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: the coming years here because they're getting closer to moving
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: to Vegas. One more year in Sacramento, at least one,
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: I guess we think it's one. And by the time
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: they get to Vegas, they thought they would be contenders.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: They've got to get their pitching in order.
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: For that to happen.
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: I'm not sure they will do that. I'm not sure
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: it's possible to do that when you're playing in that
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: band box in Sacramento. But that's the challenge. And Taylor Smith,
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: a relative unknown. I would say to the average fan,
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: he's a guy that is coming from Boston, coming from
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: Tampa Bay, and he's going to get his chance now
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: to take that team to the next level.
• 15:50
  Speaker 4: For sure. What is the next step for the Guardians?
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: Just fresh off, I mean, they're not even probably back
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: in Cleveland yet, but what's the next step for them
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: to take the next step? Because they've been on the
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: cusp these last few years.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: I'm not sure. And let's give them their due. Two
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: ALCS appearances in the last three years, three since 2016.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: They've been in the playoffs quite a bit of late,
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: of course, last 10 years or so. They have one
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: of the best records, like the Brewers and the Rays,
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: in baseball since around 2005, even before that. So they
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: do a great job. And I thought what they did
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: this year at the deadline in adding Adele and Lowe
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: and Foster Griffin was a masterstroke. They saw an opportunity
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: because their division was weak, because their league was weak,
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: and they just about got there. They do a great
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: job with pitching. Their pitching is going to be intact
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: for the most part going into next season. That's an
• 16:48
  Speaker 2: obvious area of strength. They're forever in search of more offense,
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: but they have a number of young players that are
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: still getting better and still developing and still some to come.
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: We saw some of this in this series and this season.
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: Bazana and Martinez now is coming on. They've got guys.
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: And I'm not sure what the next step is. You
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: might say, well, spend money. I don't know that they're
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: going to spend money. That's not what they do. It
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: doesn't matter what the system is going to be. But
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: they're there every year. And I do believe this, guys,
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: that for all the talk about how we haven't had
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: a small market World Series champion since 2015, You give
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: these teams enough opportunities, it's like a struggling hitter in
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: the postseason, like Bonds and Judge when they were going
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: through it. Keep banging on the door, and eventually you'll
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: get there. And we're seeing that now with Tampa Bay
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: and Milwaukee. Maybe Cleveland's next.
• 17:44
  Speaker 4: Wait, the Yankees are always in the playoffs? Let them
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: bang on the door for a long time, right? No,
• 17:49
  Speaker 4: I get it, Ken. I get it. You're in the playoffs.
• 17:51
  Speaker 4: It's a good thing. So they're bringing Aaron Boone back,
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: which I agree with. Was there ever really a question
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: if he was going to come back, or was this
• 18:02
  Speaker 4: just something that, okay, we just have to say it?
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: There was no question internally. They were pretty consistent all
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: along that they wanted Aaron Boone back. The question comes
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: from the outside, from the fans of the Yankees who
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: are quite frustrated that they haven't won a World Series
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: since 2009, that they have consistently failed to beat teams
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: at their level or superior to them in the playoffs.
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: Hasn't happened under Boone. And there's a lot of reasons
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: for that, of course. But I can understand the frustration
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: of fans there. And I can understand the argument, even
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: though it didn't take hold here, the argument that change
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: it up. Do something different. Get a new voice in there.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: That was why Boone got the job in the first
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: place instead of Joe Girardi. They were tired of Girardi's voice,
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: needed Boone's. Now, Boone is much more well-liked in the
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: clubhouse than Girardi was at the end. And Girardi... I
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: guess he had worn it out, worn out his welcome,
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: however you want to put it. But at the same time,
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: you're doing the same thing over and over and over again,
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: and it's not working in the way that you intended to.
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: They've certainly been successful under Boone, but their whole mantra
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: is win the World Series. We have to win the
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: World Series.
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: Haven't done that.
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: Haven't gotten really all that close except in 24. So
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: I understand it. I like Aaron Boone. I think he
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: does a good job. But at the same time, I
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: certainly can understand the other side of this argument, which is, hey,
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: what are we doing here? Why are we doing the
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: same thing yet again?
• 19:35
  Speaker 5: Hey, Ken, when you come to Tampa, are you going
• 19:37
  Speaker 5: to buy me dinner? That's all I really want to know.
• 19:41
  Speaker 2: No.
• 19:42
  Speaker 6: Nice.
• 19:43
  Speaker 4: All right.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: That's fine.
• 19:46
  Speaker 5: That's not cool, Ken. Not cool.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: Not cool.
• 19:49
  Speaker 4: That's your state. That's your state. He's on your turf.
• 19:52
  Speaker 4: He's in Orlando.
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: He's coming down to Tampa just so I can buy
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: him dinner.
• 19:56
  Speaker 4: No, he should buy you dinner.
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: Nah, he doesn't have to buy me anything.
• 20:01
  Speaker 5: But you can expense it, Ken. I can't.
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: Carl, do you have to listen to this?
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: Carl's a professional. He's gone.
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: He's one of the greats in our industry, and he
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: has to listen to AJ's moanings about dinner.
• 20:13
  Speaker 5: He's gone. He's not here. That's why I can ask
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: those questions.
• 20:17
  Speaker 4: Where'd he go?
• 20:18
  Speaker 5: He hates you, Ken. That's what happened. Your first answer
• 20:21
  Speaker 5: made him leave. It only took five seconds. As soon
• 20:24
  Speaker 5: as you started talking, he had to go. So I
• 20:26
  Speaker 5: get it. Yeah, I don't know, Ken. That's not very nice.
• 20:31
  Speaker 5: Let me ask you a different way. Are you going
• 20:33
  Speaker 5: to acknowledge my presence when I come to game three
• 20:36
  Speaker 5: and possibly game four. Are you even going to acknowledge me?
• 20:39
  Speaker 5: Are you just going to blow me off?
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: AJ, give me a break. Of course, I'm going to
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: acknowledge you. Probably give you a big hug.
• 20:46
  Speaker 5: Acknowledge me, Ken.
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: Wrap my arms around your waist.
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: Cause that's all I go up to your waist, right?
• 20:51
  Speaker 4: Oh, whoa, Ken.
• 20:51
  Speaker 5: That's, that's not very, that's not very nice thing to
• 20:54
  Speaker 5: say about yourself. Um, okay, great. Ken, that's it. I
• 20:57
  Speaker 5: can't wait to see this world series.
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: That's, that's kind of my, actually I can't either.
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: I'm really excited for it.
• 21:01
  Speaker 5: Atmospheres are going to be electric and, uh, Yeah, so
• 21:05
  Speaker 5: I can't wait. So, Ken, thanks for joining us.
• 21:08
  Speaker 4: It's going to be a great World Series, AJ.
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: Wait, Ken, are you waiting? In Milwaukee, will you have
• 21:12
  Speaker 5: your own steak? You've been to Milwaukee so much now.
• 21:14
  Speaker 5: Will you have your own steak night?
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: No.
• 21:19
  Speaker 5: Because you don't go to dinner. That's why, see? You
• 21:22
  Speaker 5: don't go to team dinners, Ken.
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: Why am I not going to dinner, AJ? Tell them
• 21:25
  Speaker 2: why I'm not going to dinner.
• 21:26
  Speaker 5: Because you don't like to eat?
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: No, that's not why.
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: All right, I'll see you guys later.
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: It's been a pleasure, AJ.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me.
• 21:36
  Speaker 5: Thanks, Ken. Appreciate it. Watch him on Fair Territory and
• 21:41
  Speaker 5: his work on The Athletic. MLB on Fox is streaming
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: on Fox One. The postseason is here, and we have
• 21:46
  Speaker 5: your front row seats of the wildest walk-offs. Lights out
• 21:48
  Speaker 5: pitching and clutch plays. All playoffs long. Stream each 2026
• 21:53
  Speaker 5: World Series game live on Fox One. At home or
• 21:55
  Speaker 5: on the go, live or on demand, never miss a moment.
• 21:58
  Speaker 5: Stream now. Start your Fox One. Three-day free trial today
• 22:01
  Speaker 5: at Fox1. com.
• 22:03
  Speaker 7: AJ, in this postseason, there is a chance for a
• 22:07
  Speaker 7: fan base to get very excited to witness either their
• 22:10
  Speaker 7: first ever World Series title or a World Series title
• 22:13
  Speaker 7: that hasn't been in a long time, right? So if
• 22:16
  Speaker 7: you're a fan out there and you're going, man, some
• 22:19
  Speaker 7: things never change. No, in baseball, it can turn around.
• 22:22
  Speaker 7: But here's what really doesn't change. Mint Mobile, 15 bucks
• 22:26
  Speaker 7: a month on your wireless bill. It's been there. since
• 22:30
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• 22:33
  Speaker 5: It's still there, and like you said, Scott, it's never
• 22:36
  Speaker 5: going to change. The coverage is great. It's unlimited plans
• 22:39
  Speaker 5: for $ 15 a month. People complaining about how stuff is expensive.
• 22:43
  Speaker 5: Mint Mobile, still the same. $ 15, great coverage for a
• 22:46
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• 22:47
  Speaker 7: Go to mintmobile.com slash territory. That's mintmobile.com slash territory for
• 22:53
  Speaker 7: $ 15 a month. $ 45 upfront payment required, equivalent to $ 15
• 22:56
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• 23:00
  Speaker 7: and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: The 0-2 pitch.
• 23:06
  Speaker 5: Lined into the gap and left center.
• 23:08
  Speaker 6: Churrio back.
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: He makes the catch!
• 23:11
  Speaker 5: The Brewers win the pennant!
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: Oh my God, the Brewers win the pennant!
• 23:18
  Speaker 5: The World Series will go through Wisconsin!
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: Well, the only thing better would have been if the
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: actual Guardian slash Indians had been the team that was
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: playing the Brewers, because, of course, as Jeff Lovering joins
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: us now, the voice of the Milwaukee Brewers, then we
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: could have had, oh, my God, the Indians have won
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: the pennant. But in fact, we turned it into the Brewers.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: Thanks very much for being here on Foul Territory with
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: AJ and Kratzy and me. So how long as a
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: play by play guy, I'm always fascinated. Like, how long
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: did you prepare to share the former players? bob euchre
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: you know call from the movie when did you start
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: to think about that as your final call if they won.
• 23:57
  Speaker 6: I thought about it when the catch was made i
• 24:00
  Speaker 6: i honestly didn't put anything into it beforehand i i
• 24:03
  Speaker 6: i was very conscious when i got the play-by-play in
• 24:07
  Speaker 6: the eighth inning um with the brewers leading by one
• 24:10
  Speaker 6: at that time and knowing that they had a chance
• 24:13
  Speaker 6: to potentially win the.
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: Pennant I remember very vividly looking at the.
• 24:17
  Speaker 6: Top of the visiting radio booth at Dodger Stadium, looking
• 24:20
  Speaker 6: up and just taking a huge deep breath and saying,
• 24:23
  Speaker 6: time to lock in.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: Because the last 12 outs, I needed to be on it.
• 24:28
  Speaker 6: And the only thing that I wanted to convey was
• 24:31
  Speaker 6: the fact that the World Series was going to go
• 24:33
  Speaker 6: through Wisconsin. That was my second line. I had no
• 24:37
  Speaker 6: idea how I was going to get there. And as
• 24:39
  Speaker 6: soon as Churio made the catch and as a play-by-play guy,
• 24:42
  Speaker 6: you know, you make sure you get the play right. So,
• 24:46
  Speaker 6: and to be honest with you, I didn't know that
• 24:48
  Speaker 6: Churio was going to make that catch from our vantage
• 24:51
  Speaker 6: point to the left of home plate, the angle that
• 24:55
  Speaker 6: we had.
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: The led boards.
• 24:57
  Speaker 5: On that, on the wall that are there.
• 24:59
  Speaker 6: He reaches up, he makes the catch. So I had
• 25:01
  Speaker 6: to make sure he made the catch first. And then
• 25:03
  Speaker 6: I just kind of blacked out and I went Russ Hodges,
• 25:08
  Speaker 6: Harry Doyle, and kind of morphed the two and made
• 25:11
  Speaker 6: it into my own.
• 25:12
  Speaker 4: And then I.
• 25:13
  Speaker 6: Took a breath and it was the road to the
• 25:17
  Speaker 6: world series goes through Wisconsin.
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: And that was the main point that I wanted to
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: get across.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: Well, very well done. Very, very well done. And now
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: that you're, you know, going to the World Series, the
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: Brewers organization, that city. We've seen Pat oftentimes read quotes
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: from Uke that have come up and he's held. And
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: can you share with the people how significant an impact,
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: a role that somebody who has left us is still
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: playing for this organization?
• 25:45
  Speaker 6: You can't talk about the Brewers organization and not think
• 25:49
  Speaker 6: about Uke, right? I think Pratsy can speak to that, too.
• 25:52
  Speaker 6: And AJ would say the same thing. You walk in
• 25:55
  Speaker 6: the radio booth and it's a mausoleum to Uke's life.
• 25:59
  Speaker 6: And his home run calls all over the place. He's
• 26:01
  Speaker 6: got two different statues at the ballpark. His gravesite overlooks
• 26:06
  Speaker 6: the ballpark. His impact on the city of Milwaukee, being
• 26:10
  Speaker 6: from Milwaukee, and what he meant to this organization, to
• 26:16
  Speaker 6: the entertainment business, to the broadcasting profession, is immense.
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: And there are still a handful of players that.
• 26:24
  Speaker 6: Are on that roster that they got to know Bob
• 26:26
  Speaker 6: in a very personal way, Christian Yelich and Brandon Woodruff
• 26:29
  Speaker 6: to name.
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: Just a couple. So it is very impactful. It is very,
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: he is, he is with all of us at all times.
• 26:36
  Speaker 4: I mean, even in our.
• 26:38
  Speaker 6: Radio booth now there's, it's a big booth and there's
• 26:41
  Speaker 6: a seat with Uke's name on it. That is between
• 26:43
  Speaker 6: myself and Lane Grindle. When we work on the, on
• 26:45
  Speaker 6: the radio together, Josh Maurer, who's been doing some games
• 26:48
  Speaker 6: during the post season too, who does 100 games during
• 26:51
  Speaker 6: the regular season when I'm on the TV side. So
• 26:54
  Speaker 6: his presence is everywhere, and his impact is felt everywhere.
• 26:59
  Speaker 4: All right, you've been back a few days in the city.
• 27:03
  Speaker 4: What's the pulse of the city? Before we get to
• 27:05
  Speaker 4: the game, what's the pulse of the city as you
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: walk around in just your daily life and interacting with
• 27:12
  Speaker 4: people outside of the team and how they're talking about
• 27:17
  Speaker 4: this team?
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a lot, Pratsy.
• 27:20
  Speaker 6: And when I first got here in 2015, I've been
• 27:24
  Speaker 6: with the organization for 12 seasons now. When the colors
• 27:28
  Speaker 6: start to change, it becomes a Packers state. And we
• 27:32
  Speaker 6: would be playing games in September on Sundays, and people
• 27:35
  Speaker 6: would be watching the Packers scores instead of watching the
• 27:38
  Speaker 6: game that they were attending in the ballpark. And now
• 27:42
  Speaker 6: it's the other way around, where the Packers played a
• 27:44
  Speaker 6: Sunday night game.
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: Against the Dallas Cowboys yesterday.
• 27:47
  Speaker 6: And let's go Brewers chants were prevalent at Lambeau field.
• 27:52
  Speaker 6: And Matt LaFleur is wearing a Brewers hat and press conferences.
• 27:56
  Speaker 6: This is a Brewers town right now. It is a
• 27:59
  Speaker 6: Brewers state right now. And it is really, really cool.
• 28:04
  Speaker 6: And to have people, you know, reach out the way
• 28:07
  Speaker 6: that they've reached out to me about talking about that
• 28:10
  Speaker 6: last call and what it meant to them and having
• 28:12
  Speaker 6: heard you for as many years as they did and,
• 28:15
  Speaker 6: it's incredible the support that this team is getting right
• 28:19
  Speaker 6: now from the state. And there's a reason why ticket
• 28:21
  Speaker 6: prices are the way that they are for games here
• 28:24
  Speaker 6: in Milwaukee, because they are the hottest ticket in town.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: The dreaded dynamic pricing rears its head again. Jeff Levering
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: joins us here, the Brewers broadcaster. So how do you
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: break this series down now with the race?
• 28:39
  Speaker 6: It's going to be an amazing series. I think these
• 28:41
  Speaker 6: two teams do so much good together. on both sides
• 28:45
  Speaker 6: of the baseball, right? They score runs in a number
• 28:47
  Speaker 6: of different ways. Other than coming narrow, you don't have
• 28:50
  Speaker 6: a ton of home run hitters. The brewers have a
• 28:52
  Speaker 6: couple of guys that had over 20 homers. I think
• 28:56
  Speaker 6: that pitch exceptionally well, they play amazing defense.
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: They don't walk guys.
• 29:02
  Speaker 6: The brewers like walking, but the, the razor extremely stingy
• 29:07
  Speaker 6: in walking guys. I think the, the pitching staff, the
• 29:10
  Speaker 6: brewers are outstanding and striking out guys.
• 29:12
  Speaker 3: And the Rays don't strike out.
• 29:13
  Speaker 6: So, I mean, you look at all these different things
• 29:16
  Speaker 6: and you are looking at the best of both leagues.
• 29:19
  Speaker 6: This is what baseball, you might not have the biggest
• 29:21
  Speaker 6: markets in the world, but you have the two best
• 29:23
  Speaker 6: baseball teams playing in the World Series.
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: And if this series doesn't go seven games, I would
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: be shocked.
• 29:29
  Speaker 6: I just, there's no way this thing doesn't go seven.
• 29:34
  Speaker 4: I think the Brewers are too good for it to
• 29:35
  Speaker 4: go seven. But here's my question. We're going to get
• 29:38
  Speaker 4: to the players now. Who would the Brewers rather have
• 29:42
  Speaker 4: back or say, I can't believe we traded them, Freddie
• 29:46
  Speaker 4: P or Drew Rasmussen, the one and two starters for
• 29:50
  Speaker 4: the race?
• 29:52
  Speaker 3: It's amazing those two guys were in Brewers uniforms.
• 29:55
  Speaker 6: I think that if you had your druthers– Right now,
• 29:58
  Speaker 6: time and place, they would probably say Drew Rasmussen, just
• 30:01
  Speaker 6: the way that he's throwing the ball.
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: And Freddie's been amazing.
• 30:04
  Speaker 6: Of course, he wins the MVP of the CS, and
• 30:07
  Speaker 6: he has been unbelievable since the last seven starts that
• 30:12
  Speaker 6: he had with Tampa Bay. But the resume that Rasmussen
• 30:16
  Speaker 6: has put together over the last couple of years, if
• 30:19
  Speaker 6: you were to have one of those back, I would
• 30:21
  Speaker 6: say that you'd rather have Drew Rasmussen back. But then
• 30:24
  Speaker 6: you don't have the years of Willie Adamas that you
• 30:27
  Speaker 6: had if you're the Brewers. So I think that the
• 30:31
  Speaker 6: Brewers got what they needed in that trade with Drew
• 30:34
  Speaker 6: Rasmussen at the time.
• 30:36
  Speaker 4: Absolutely.
• 30:37
  Speaker 3: At the time you make that deal.
• 30:39
  Speaker 6: But right now pitching, would you like to have him
• 30:42
  Speaker 6: in a game two behind Miz or game three behind
• 30:46
  Speaker 6: Logan Henderson?
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: The top two in each are phenomenal. I guess the
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: familiarity that that both have with the mound in Milwaukee
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: as opposed to ever sort of raising this concern? Like,
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: I've never pitched on that mound. Like, those two guys
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: in Tampa uniforms certainly understand the mounds there and the
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: atmosphere and the ballpark. That will only help. What about
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: Brandon Woodruff? Like, this sort of mystery meat that's out there.
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: Is there a real chance? And I guess short of
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: everybody getting excited about the possibility that he comes back,
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: If he comes back, what.
• 31:21
  Speaker 4: Would he be used for?
• 31:24
  Speaker 5: How would he be used? What would he be capable of?
• 31:27
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a great question.
• 31:28
  Speaker 6: And listening to his answers after the championship series, he
• 31:33
  Speaker 6: is doing everything he can to come back. And I
• 31:36
  Speaker 6: would find it hard to believe that he would be
• 31:38
  Speaker 6: good for more than one inning stints, maybe two inning
• 31:41
  Speaker 6: stints at the most. But he hasn't thrown a pitch
• 31:44
  Speaker 6: since July. I mean, he's thrown some bullpens, he's thrown
• 31:47
  Speaker 6: some lives this week, but what are you going to
• 31:51
  Speaker 6: sacrifice for his spot on the roster and in the
• 31:55
  Speaker 6: playoffs when you don't have the automatic runner at second
• 31:59
  Speaker 6: base and extra innings you have to have somebody on
• 32:01
  Speaker 6: that roster who can go multiple innings for you that's
• 32:04
  Speaker 6: what Kyle Harrison has been that's what Shane Rowan can
• 32:07
  Speaker 6: be that's what Chad Patrick can be so do you
• 32:10
  Speaker 6: sacrifice one of those three guys for Brandon Woodruff I
• 32:15
  Speaker 6: don't know I don't I'm not sure But if you're
• 32:17
  Speaker 6: going to get Brandon Woodruff back, you better make sure
• 32:20
  Speaker 6: that he is at the best possible way that he
• 32:24
  Speaker 6: can be. And if he is that, he hasn't thrown
• 32:27
  Speaker 6: a pitch in the postseason since 2021. If he can
• 32:30
  Speaker 6: give you what he was for little stretches, then yeah,
• 32:33
  Speaker 6: I'm all for him being on the roster. But it's
• 32:35
  Speaker 6: got to make sense. It absolutely has to make sense.
• 32:38
  Speaker 6: The fan in me, if I see him taking the mound,
• 32:40
  Speaker 6: like my spidey senses start tingling big time.
• 32:43
  Speaker 3: But he's got to be right. He's got to be right.
• 32:46
  Speaker 4: This is the World Series. So you're saying they have
• 32:50
  Speaker 4: to make it not emotional and more actually see what
• 32:53
  Speaker 4: they've seen? Do you know what they've seen? Do you
• 32:56
  Speaker 4: know what they've seen in those lives? Like, is the
• 32:58
  Speaker 4: velocity where they need it to be? Is the recovery?
• 33:02
  Speaker 4: What physically are they seeing that can make that decision?
• 33:05
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, they're going to continue to work through
• 33:08
  Speaker 6: those things, right? I think he's recovering fine, Pratsy. But
• 33:11
  Speaker 6: the velocity, even when he was healthy, wasn't what it was.
• 33:16
  Speaker 6: pre-shoulder surgery. I mean, he was touching some fives. He would,
• 33:20
  Speaker 6: he had one six, maybe a seven at one point,
• 33:23
  Speaker 6: but he's operating at 89 to 91 miles an hour
• 33:26
  Speaker 6: with a great changeup. That's what he was doing as
• 33:28
  Speaker 6: a starter. So to expect him coming in when you
• 33:33
  Speaker 6: have all these horses with so much stuff in the
• 33:36
  Speaker 6: Brewers bullpen, you know, what are you going to get
• 33:40
  Speaker 6: if he's at 92, 93 for an inning? At the
• 33:45
  Speaker 6: end of the day, you still have to make that decision.
• 33:48
  Speaker 6: I don't know what his radar gun readings have been
• 33:51
  Speaker 6: of late, but I can't imagine they're at sevens and eights.
• 33:56
  Speaker 4: How good is this bullpen? Because we just watched an
• 33:58
  Speaker 4: entire series about the Guardians, one of the best bullpens
• 34:02
  Speaker 4: historically in the last three years, and they got gassed.
• 34:05
  Speaker 4: In the Dodgers series, it looked like the bullpen was like, yeah,
• 34:08
  Speaker 4: you know what? I know the Miz didn't go very far,
• 34:11
  Speaker 4: but We picked them up. It almost looked easy. How
• 34:14
  Speaker 4: good is this bullpen? And have they stepped it up
• 34:18
  Speaker 4: another level in the playoffs?
• 34:20
  Speaker 6: They certainly have. And they have every win in the postseason, too.
• 34:23
  Speaker 6: The Brewers were 7-1 in the postseason. They all come
• 34:25
  Speaker 6: from the bullpen. I think they've had one outing from
• 34:28
  Speaker 6: the start of each kind of five innings. Maybe two,
• 34:30
  Speaker 6: because Gasser went five against the Dodgers in his last appearance.
• 34:34
  Speaker 6: Logan Henderson went five against the Padres.
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: So.
• 34:37
  Speaker 3: I think that this.
• 34:38
  Speaker 6: Bullpen has been remarkable with DL hall and Aaron Ashby
• 34:41
  Speaker 6: have done from the left side. Ashby hasn't given up
• 34:44
  Speaker 6: a run. I mean, he took last year's experience and
• 34:48
  Speaker 6: took it to another level this year. I mean, he
• 34:49
  Speaker 6: was starting games. He was closing games. He was coming
• 34:51
  Speaker 6: into the middle of games last year. Ashby wasn't post-season.
• 34:54
  Speaker 6: Now he's just like, give me the ball.
• 34:56
  Speaker 4: I don't care.
• 34:56
  Speaker 6: And I'm going to run with it and I'm going
• 34:58
  Speaker 6: to make people look dumb. The only question mark at
• 35:01
  Speaker 6: the end of the bullpen is, I think would be
• 35:03
  Speaker 6: Abner Uribe, who has looked a little leaky at times.
• 35:07
  Speaker 6: He did walk the three and then gave up the
• 35:10
  Speaker 6: two-run double to Will Smith in game three, didn't pitch
• 35:13
  Speaker 6: in game four. I mean, they had Trevor McGill ready
• 35:15
  Speaker 6: to go in the ninth inning and didn't even go
• 35:17
  Speaker 6: to him because they were just like, we're just going
• 35:18
  Speaker 6: to ride Ashby.
• 35:20
  Speaker 3: And they did for three innings.
• 35:22
  Speaker 6: They have so much versatility at the back end of
• 35:24
  Speaker 6: that bullpen. They don't need their starters to go five
• 35:28
  Speaker 6: or six innings. Would it be great if they did?
• 35:31
  Speaker 6: a thousand percent. I think that they're starving to get
• 35:34
  Speaker 6: Jacob Mizorowski through.
• 35:35
  Speaker 3: The fourth, through the fifth inning in some of these,
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: in some of these.
• 35:39
  Speaker 6: Starts, they would love to, though, because of the off days,
• 35:42
  Speaker 6: they've been afforded the opportunity to run their bullpen the
• 35:45
  Speaker 6: way that they have.
• 35:48
  Speaker 5: Hey, Jeff, is anyone worried about Miz? I mean, he
• 35:51
  Speaker 5: hasn't been great. So is anyone worried about, is anyone
• 35:54
  Speaker 5: worried about Miz at all? Because he hasn't He's been okay, right?
• 35:59
  Speaker 5: Teams have had different game plans against him, a lot
• 36:01
  Speaker 5: of foul balls. So is anyone really worried about him,
• 36:03
  Speaker 5: that he's not as great as he was in the
• 36:06
  Speaker 5: regular season? It's hard to carry that over. So was
• 36:09
  Speaker 5: he not– are they worried?
• 36:11
  Speaker 4: Are they not worried?
• 36:12
  Speaker 5: Where's he at?
• 36:14
  Speaker 3: I'm sure that the ears are perked up, right? And, AJ,
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: you saw it against the Padres in that series.
• 36:18
  Speaker 6: The amount of foul balls, it was the 31 foul
• 36:20
  Speaker 6: balls of his 88 pitches. Now, as a hitter, you
• 36:23
  Speaker 6: can't just sit there and go, I'm going to foul
• 36:25
  Speaker 6: balls off.
• 36:26
  Speaker 3: You can't do that.
• 36:27
  Speaker 6: But you can battle and try and stay within an at-bat,
• 36:30
  Speaker 6: but you can't go up there planning to foul balls off.
• 36:33
  Speaker 6: The thing with Miz that I have seen is that
• 36:36
  Speaker 6: his stuff just doesn't have the finish that it had
• 36:40
  Speaker 6: during the regular season. And he's in uncharted territory with
• 36:42
  Speaker 6: his innings and his workload and his pitches, and I
• 36:45
  Speaker 6: get that.
• 36:45
  Speaker 3: But it's one inning where things just kind of don't
• 36:50
  Speaker 3: sync up.
• 36:51
  Speaker 6: Um so if he can limit that i mean he
• 36:54
  Speaker 6: was a batter away against the dodgers from getting lifted
• 36:57
  Speaker 6: in the second inning if he doesn't get that double
• 36:59
  Speaker 6: play in the second inning he is he is out
• 37:01
  Speaker 6: of that game so i i think for the brewers
• 37:05
  Speaker 6: there are not red flags but maybe some some yellows
• 37:10
  Speaker 6: that are okay well let's just take a look and
• 37:12
  Speaker 6: see where we.
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: Are um.
• 37:14
  Speaker 6: But I think that they trust Miz. He's going to
• 37:17
  Speaker 6: get the ball in game number one, and I expect
• 37:20
  Speaker 6: him to be amazing against the Rays in game one.
• 37:24
  Speaker 6: I'm fascinated to see these two offenses go toe-to-toe.
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and to your point, the idea that you believe
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: it's going to go seven speaks to the quality of
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: the at-bats that the Rays put on everybody, and they
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: force the defense, and they don't swing and miss a ton,
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: especially when you exclude a guy like Caminero. Last one
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: for me. Look, the last time they were in the
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: World Series was 1982. I don't even know how old
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: you were then, but you get a chance to go
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: call a World Series. How excited are you to be
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: in the position that broadcasters dream about and the opportunity
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: of a lifetime has presented itself for you?
• 38:00
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Ravi, I was minus one in 1982. So I'm 40,
• 38:02
  Speaker 3: I'm 43 years old.
• 38:04
  Speaker 6: And and all I hear about here in Milwaukee until
• 38:10
  Speaker 6: this year was the 82 team and how they didn't
• 38:14
  Speaker 6: win the world series, but they're treated like they did.
• 38:18
  Speaker 6: And there's a great documentary that's out called just a
• 38:20
  Speaker 6: bit outside the documents at 82 season, which is remarkable.
• 38:23
  Speaker 6: I recommend it to everybody. Even if you're not a
• 38:25
  Speaker 6: Brewers fan, go watch it because it's amazing. It's a
• 38:28
  Speaker 6: great story of the city and it's a great story.
• 38:30
  Speaker 4: Of that 82 team.
• 38:31
  Speaker 6: Um, For me personally, calling a World Series is something
• 38:37
  Speaker 6: I never thought I would ever have the opportunity to do.
• 38:40
  Speaker 6: I was happy first getting a big league job. I
• 38:43
  Speaker 6: was happy getting into the minor leagues, to be honest
• 38:45
  Speaker 6: with you. I was very lucky to get into the
• 38:47
  Speaker 6: minor leagues when I started 20 years ago. And to
• 38:49
  Speaker 6: see where my career has gone, eight years in the minors,
• 38:53
  Speaker 6: now just finished my 12th year of regular season, Milwaukee
• 38:56
  Speaker 6: Brewers baseball, and now doing the postseason. I never thought
• 39:00
  Speaker 6: that I would get to a point like this and
• 39:01
  Speaker 6: I pinched myself every single day and it does not get.
• 39:04
  Speaker 4: Lost on me.
• 39:05
  Speaker 6: The responsibility that I have for this fan base to
• 39:09
  Speaker 6: be part of the soundtrack of, of history, right. And
• 39:13
  Speaker 6: to not mess it up, but also being present with
• 39:16
  Speaker 6: where I am in this moment. And, and for me,
• 39:20
  Speaker 6: it's a huge responsibility and I I'm excited to go
• 39:25
  Speaker 6: at the end of, at the end of the day,
• 39:26
  Speaker 6: we're just calling baseball games and it's fun. but I
• 39:29
  Speaker 6: know that impact that this series has on this city
• 39:33
  Speaker 6: and on this state, and I certainly don't take that lightly.
• 39:36
  Speaker 5: Well, you've done it great so far.
• 39:37
  Speaker 4: Enjoy it.
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: That's the most important thing.
• 39:39
  Speaker 5: Make sure you enjoy it. That's like when you found
• 39:40
  Speaker 5: out you were working with me the first time, Jeff.
• 39:43
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it was, and it was fun.
• 39:44
  Speaker 5: Same reaction when you worked with me the first time.
• 39:47
  Speaker 3: I also was curious what food is going to be
• 39:50
  Speaker 3: brought into the booth too, AJ.
• 39:51
  Speaker 6: I wasn't sure if it was going to be a
• 39:53
  Speaker 6: tomahawk or some fried thing, so I appreciate that.
• 39:56
  Speaker 3: Thank you.
• 39:57
  Speaker 4: You're welcome.
• 39:57
  Speaker 5: Anytime.
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: For the love of Andy North, we're all rooting for
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: the Brewers out in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin.
• 40:06
  Speaker 5: We're not all rooting for the Brewers, okay, Carl?
• 40:09
  Speaker 4: For Andy North, we are.
• 40:11
  Speaker 5: Some of us are from Florida. We actually root for
• 40:14
  Speaker 5: teams from Florida.
• 40:15
  Speaker 4: Sorry, Jeff.
• 40:15
  Speaker 6: I got a great Andy North story that I'll share
• 40:17
  Speaker 6: with you guys another time.
• 40:19
  Speaker 3: So good.
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much.
• 40:20
  Speaker 5: I love that.
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 40:21
  Speaker 5: I love that.
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: WTMJ 620 AM 103.3 FM during the World Series.
• 40:28
  Speaker 4: Jeff Levering. We'll be right back.