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Terminello's Take On What to Expect Post MLB All-Star Break - Honoring 60 Years of Shea 7-11-24 · OneLegUpAlex Media

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Here's your host, Alex Garren. All right, well it is another week,
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which means it's Terminello's take for this week, and lou Terminello, I'm
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on the train, not going to the city field, although I guess they
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have a day game today. Let's start in Queen's. Okay, we got
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this team named the Mets, and we got we got this team snubbed because
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you know, to my knowledge, Brandon Nemo and Lindora should be on the
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All Star roster, shouldn't they? Uh? Absolutely, Alex and Alex thank
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you for always having me. I appreciate it. Yes, Brandon Nemo,
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one of the most underrated players in baseball, has been part of this net
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resurgent, as has Lindor since they move Lindor from the middle of the line
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up to the leadoff spot. And he plays a brilliant short stop. I
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know he has Erschi, which for him is a lot, but from for
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most is not. He's a brilliant he is a brilliant fielder. Yeah,
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he should be should be on the team. So shouldn't Demo Alonzo should not.
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He has not had an All Star first half. I don't know if
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picking Alonso was to coincide with him being on the Home Run Derby roster.
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But again there's guys who've been in the Home Run Derby who haven't made the
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All Star team. So you know, whatever, But the Mets have done
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a very good job and surprise, as you know, I said, there
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was no buzz and there's no excitement that they were bad and boring. And
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I think there's a couple of factors that seen them go from eleven games on
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the five hundred about a month ago to one game over five hundred. I
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did not think they would ever come close to five hundred when they were twenty
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three and thirty four. A couple of things have turned them around. Obviously,
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moving Lindor as we just said, to the lead off spot has helped.
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But Francisco, I mean, he was seven weeks of the season and
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he has been part of this resurgence, not only offensively, but you hear
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Quintana and Sean Maniah talk about how he has how he's helped them behind the
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play. Then when you look at their splits between when Alvarez is behind the
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play catching them and not, it's it's startling. So he's been a big
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boone to them and Mark Fientos, who has been up and down three or
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four times in the last couple of years, Is this the time he's going
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to stick? Well, it looks like he has finally reached the maturity level
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and his talent is coming out. A month, six weeks doesn't make a
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career, but obviously the guy looks like a major leaguer. He did not
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look confident before as a major leader. He gives him the Mets another power
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back and his fielding's improved at third base. So I think those two,
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those two have helped the Mets resurgence, and the Mets that research have had
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this resurgence with a terrible bullpen. I mean, let's face it, losing
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uh Diaz coming off the petel at tendon injury UH, and he was Diaz
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was good the first five five weeks or so, and then he had a
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horrendous week and then he went on disabled list with the shoulder impingement. Then
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he came back and he got suspended for substance on his hand. I think
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ten days suspensions a little too much, and he can't replace him on the
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roster. I think the consequences of that it might be a little too harsh.
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But that's not for this this discussion. But you know mentioned the bats,
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and I gotta ask you this because obviously the ender says, come on
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in mo Jose Glaciers not only hitting but singing songs for this team. You
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know, it's great, it's fun to watch. But I've got a question
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for you. Marcello's ino has been tossed around a lot in the trade deadline
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rumors. I think jen he comes to here or the Bronx. I'm sorry,
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who was that. Marcelo's in any chance he gets moved to the Queens
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or the Bronx this trade deadline, no chance, no chance at all.
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I mean Atlanta's having trouble scoring runs. They're you know, they're even without
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que Jr. They should be. They shouldn't be at the bottom of the
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National League and in runs produced and runs scored, So that's not happening.
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I think the trade deadline is going to be very interesting from a from a
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point that you have all these teams bunched up, all looking for the same
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or looking for the same thing. Bullpen help the Cubs five games into five
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hundred. Everybody thought they'd be better, and you look at the standings today
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and you see like the Reds and the Pirates, teams that you normally would
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pick off one of their players. They're only three games out of a playoff
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spot. I don't know what's in their organization's heads, but are they going
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to uh, you know, are they going to be a seller? Are
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the Pirates going to sell somebody like Holderman, who used to be with the
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Mets, was trade for Volgebac has done a very good job for the Pirates.
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Are they gonna Are they gonna trade one of their bullpen pieces? They're
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only three games out. Why would they do that unless we're at the point
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now in Major League Baseball Okay, we're only three games out, we're only
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two and a half games out, but we know we're not going anywhere.
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I think that's unfair to the fan base of those teams like the Pirates,
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the Cubs, Cincinnati, which is also only three and a half games out
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of the less wild card. So this, this this pary deadline, is
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going to be very very interesting to watch to see how teams handle this.
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Yes, there's some teams that might make a big splash, but they're gonna
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have to give up something more so, probably than in the past. Years,
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because now we have six teams making the playoffs instead of what it used
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to be four and then five and now six. So uh so the trade
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deadline might be a bus It might be a bunch of minor trades. I
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don't think he might. I don't think you're gonna see a major, major
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movement. Yeah, you know, there's Lewis, Robert Lewis, Robert Junior
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from the White Stops. The White simp are just horrendous. Uh they might,
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they might trade him. But again, I don't know what his trade
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deadline's gonna look like, Alex, I really don't. I know the Mets
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are gonna look for bullpen help. The Mets also need a left handed stick.
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They do, I mean DJ Stewart, Let's face it, he's a
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bench player, Jeff O'Neill one of my favorite players. I think he's shot.
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I think he's lost his skill set. I hope I'm wrong, But
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I mean, we talked about this before he had won the batting title couple
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of years ago, and now it's like he's still trying to find himself and
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we're in July, right, Yeah, No, I I think I think
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he might be on the other side of the of the hill. I mean,
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here's a guy battery not only when the banks. I think he's battled
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over three hundred three times in major league career, and he really hasn't been
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the Jeff b'nil that we that we saw at the top of his game,
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so I could see him. Of course, I think of the other guy
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struggling, and that is DJ Lemayhew. Maybe he's passed his prime as well,
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obviously. I mean, it is tough to watch these two guys who
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dominated New York the Diamond for these teams struggling, isn't it for me?
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Lemayeu's decline and I always been injured has really been painful to watch, though
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it has been. I mean, I don't eve think I think he's still
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into the Mendoza line or just above two hundred. But obviously, uh,
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the Yankees signing to a five year deal, which I think he has three
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years left on that deal, and uh, obviously he's had a fine career
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and uh, but yeah, that hurts. I mean, if you want
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to just switch over to the Yankees again, I'm not a defender of Stanton
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of Gene Carlos Stan but they miss him. I mean, they miss him
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I know Yankee fans like to like to criticize him, And yes, he's
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hurt a lot, there's no question about it. I don't think he I
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don't think he wants to be hurt on purpose. I don't think any athlete
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wants to be hurt on purpose. But they missed that back. I mean
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once you know, if you can control Aaron Judge and Soto, I mean
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two guys batting batting back to back, which is just unbelievably ridiculously. Who
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has two guys like this? Yeah, I know the Dodgers have have Shane
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O'tanian, Betts and Freeman and Will Smith. Yeah, they probably have the
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best one to four for sure combination in the lineup. But again, the
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Dodgers are in the same boat that the Yankees in. Once you get to
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the bottom of the lineup, there's a lot of outs. There's a lot
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of outs, Alex and that that's a So the Yankees might be looking for
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a bat. Wait, they're gonna find it. The thing about this team,
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by the way, and it's fascinating they replaced him with just with Tresham
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And you know, I'm a big Frank Grisham fans just kidding Uh, I'm
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gonna keep pressure them they win more games for us. How about that?
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No, Trent Grisham has really been a the villain, and I'm asking myself,
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why not play j D. Davis. They've signed him up, why
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not get on more bats? Would you agree with that? Well, again,
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if you saw the game last night, Grissom drove in both runs and
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he made a great catch in right center field, which could of course the
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Yankees. The Yankees the game. I mean, Dad Javis cannot play the
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outfield, so that's that's one reason why. Uh, I guess Jadie Davis
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will get against some left handed pitching. But again, the Yankee lineup,
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which I thought was constructed better early in the year than then, it's turned
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out to be. Might be Casher might have might have missed, missed an
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opportunity or to to add in certain areas. Uh, it seems like it's
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the same lineup that we've seen in the past when the Yankees played good and
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the Yankees have not played well against the teams. Atlanta came into the Yankee
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stadium beat them two out of three. The Dodgers beat them two out of
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three. We know that they've had trouble with the Orioles in the two series
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that they play that they play, So the Yankees have not struggled. Yes,
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the Mets aren't a good team, but it's big games and the Mets,
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the Mets care twenty one runs against them in two games. So yeah,
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ah, it seems to be a Yankee groundhog day as we get further
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into the season that the same wartz keeps showing up with its team. Carlos
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rodon you know, I've never been a fan of I don't think he's very
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good. The Yankees game one hundred and sixty two million dollars. I said
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it when they signed him. I didn't understand it. I still don't understand
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it. Marcus Stroman is what he is, you know, a five or
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six inning pitcher, and sometimes he looks better than that. You know,
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Cortes, you know, is what he is. He's good. But again
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we're looking at guys and this is not this is this is Yankees Mets whoever.
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You know, you go six innings and then you're putting so much stress
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on that bullpen and these guys are overworked coming out of a bullpen. On
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the Met game the other night, Gary Cohen made a tremendous point two nights
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ago when they brought the Mets were up six to nothing and they brought the
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Regarret in and Garrett couldn't get that inning. And the Gary Coleman say,
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they talk about protecting these starting pitchers with pitch count, but he said that
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Rie Garrett had pitched seventy through seventy eight pitches in the last four days.
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And Gary was prophetic because yesterday the Mets had to put Ree Garrett, who
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had been one of their best relievers until they started overworking him, on the
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disabled It's because he had inflammation in his arm. They gotta stretch the starters
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out more. And I'm not saying this is Mets Yankees, this is a
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baseball thing. They got to stretch the starters out and more because you can't
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go to the bullpen two or three times a night and expect to get two
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or three relief pitchers to be at the top of their game and effective every
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time they come into the from the Bullpen's it's impossible. The Met pitching has
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been a lot stronger than the Yankee pitching. It's amazing to me because you're
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coming with Garrett cole gets he'd covered with Louisia was actually a nine win season.
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Struggled over the last month or so, but the Mets pitching staff,
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from starter to bullpen, has not allowed runs, you know, in a
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dramatic way in a while now, have they. No, the Mets starting
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pitching has been good. I mean, obviously, I think uh Mendoza and
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Jeremy happened. The pitching coach have done a good job of stitching a bullpen
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stints effectively. But the Mets are gonna have to strengthen the bullpen. I
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think of bringing up a Bhutto has helped. And but Alex, I mean,
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if you're not on top of this, guys are being up, us
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being sent up and down to the minor leagues every day. You know,
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Danny Young was on a team last week, he was sent to Syracuse.
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They brought him back up yesterday as an example. So, uh, it's
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it's very it's really a different type of Major league based then we knew growing
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up. And you know, it's a long season, and you know,
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obviously people were overreacting to the Yankee success early on, and we said it
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on his previous podcast, it's only June. Second, it's only May fifteenth.
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People are you know, people are overreacting. Everybody was pouring dirt on
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the Houston Astros. They were twelve games under five hundred. They've had they
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have major injuries to their starting pitching staff, but they went from twelve games
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in the five hundred and now they're forty eight and forty two and a half
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games out of of the playoff spot. I think they'll be in the playoffs.
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I think they're gonna win a division. I think they'll catch Seattle Bregman.
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That's caught fire pretty easily. I mean, they're only down in two
14:52
games, so that's would be interesting. And that The other thing is that
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some of these other teams don't have They've been through the wars before. They
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know how to win, they know how to win when the going gets tough,
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and you know, so I they would be a team to really look
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at. You know, they've won sixteen out of twenty. They're just they're
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just a bunch of professionals and they have the heart of a champion, as
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the old saying goes. But you know, if you want to just talk
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about the first half of the year, you know, the the good as
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far as some surprise American League teams. Boston. I never thought Boston was
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going to be threatening for a playoff spot. And they've gotten strong starting pitching.
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You know, we talked about Ralphie Eldevers. You know, he's a
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star. And Jarry Duran, I mean, a terrific outfielder. He's come
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out of nowhere. Kansas City. Kansas City was fifty six and one hundred
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and six last year. They've had good, good starting pitching. I think
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they've had more than half of their games this year with quality starts. And
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I'm not a big quality starts guy, but I'm just usually has a point
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of reference. I mean, Bobby Wood Jr. Is a superstar. If
16:12
he played for the Mets the Yankees, they'd be anointing him. You know,
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Shaanet, you gotta give Cleveland a lot of credit. You gotta give
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you know, they they lost Shane Bieber. They haven't missed a step.
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They have the second best record in the major leagues, I think, yes,
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the second Mets record in the major leagues, fifty seven and thirty three.
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They've done a great job. Stephen Kwan bat in three sixty five.
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He is a batmanipula. Hasn't he written off as some no hitter that he
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couldn't even hit. Now he's done this amazing year for the guardians that I
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love baseball when stories like that happen, when these guys are written off and
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all of a sudden, you know, Stephen Kwan, Ben Rice, it's
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five home runs, three in the three in the game, first rookie in
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Yankees baseball is magical like that? Is it? Well? It is?
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And you know you're talking about probably who I think is the best player in
17:07
Major League Baseball right now, Aaron Judge. You could talk to Yankee Yankee
17:12
announcers, Yankee scouts, and I know of one of my friends who did
17:17
speak to him. And this is when Aaron Judge had been up for a
17:21
couple of co off even back and forth, they sent him back down to
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Triple A, and he asked them, what about Aaron Judge as a prospect
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and this person I'm not gonna I hate to use anonymous sources, but I
17:37
don't want to get this young man in any trouble, this person any trouble.
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He said, Aaron Judge not a big time prospect, and now he's
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the best player, in my opinion, the Major League Baseball So what I'm
17:52
trying to say is you don't know, you don't know like you, Like
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you just said, Stephen Kwan is a tremendous outfielder, and obviously they have
18:03
they have a terrific young team. They've been able to I mean, they
18:06
traded Lindor and everybody thought that was the end and it wasn't the end.
18:11
So watch out for the Indian. The other thing about the American League is
18:18
the disappointment of the Texas Rangers. That thing, that team shocks me.
18:22
They don't look like defending champions right now. Well, you beat me to
18:26
it. I just talked about the surprising AL teams, the good, the
18:32
surprising AL teams, the bad. You mentioned the Texas Rangers. Yes,
18:37
you're one hundred percent correct. You know they're they're five games under five hundred.
18:44
They're six and six and a half games out of the first place.
18:48
I mean, obviously the closer in the wild card. But you know,
18:52
they they don't have the GRAM. They roll the dice with the GRAM and
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I guess you might be back in August and uh, you know, Sherza
19:03
just came back that they're not hitting like they did last year. I think
19:11
I think they'll they'll make some kind of run. But I agree with you,
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I don't know if I don't know if they'll get in the Toronto Blue
19:17
Jays, which I thought was were going to be a contender. I mean,
19:19
they're there are rumors that they're that at the trade deadline they're going to
19:22
empty the roster. And if that might be the team that that trades Bob
19:27
Bashett and and and uh, while you know Guerrero Junior, they that might
19:33
be the team that teams might try to take advantage of if they start dumping
19:38
guys. I mean, uh, Chris Bassett, who was very good for
19:41
them last year and you know it was a good pitcher. He might be
19:48
he might be on a trading block. That's a team to look at,
19:51
if you want to say, getting big time guys from their roster. But
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to me, they have been the biggest disappointment in uh in the American League,
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I mean in the NL, surprising teams on the good side, I
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don't know if there is any maybe the way the Cardinals have played a little
20:07
bit, but again they're only four games oh five hundred. They're only a
20:11
game ahead of in the third World card so they're not so good internationally,
20:17
I thought the Cups would did better. Like I said, I'm surprised that
20:21
Atlanta's had so many offensive struggles, even with the terrible knee injury to Ronald
20:27
Coney Junior. But Alex, there's a lot of bad teams in Major League
20:32
Baseball, I mean really, led by the Atrocis White Sox, the Marlins,
20:37
the Rockies, the Athletics. You know, they're just terrible teams.
20:44
So, which is pret an interesting point because time and simon, Yet we
20:48
hear about how they're revenue funneling from the bigger teams to the smaller markets.
20:53
And yet the smaller markets. I know, Chicago is a big city,
20:56
but the White Sox in comparison, it's sorry a smaller market team. Right,
21:00
So, how are these teams flailing and they're getting revenue funneled down to
21:04
them. It's kind of a head scratch, is it. Well, the
21:08
Marlins might. I'm going to give the Marlins a little bit of an excuse
21:12
here. They've had major injuries to their starting pitching staff. Last year at
21:17
this time they were fifty three and thirty nine on this day, and you
21:23
know, and right now they're thirty two and sixty, so they've had they've
21:27
had some injuries, major starting pitcher injuries. And they were built on starting
21:33
pitching. But it seems like the Marlins are always up and down. Every
21:37
time they have a good year, the next year they crap out. Now
21:41
usually it's by selling off players. This time it's mostly through through injury and
21:47
somebody's not having the years that they had last year. But and you,
21:51
like you said, the White Sox, I mean, let's face it,
21:55
Jerry Ryan is their owner. He's a big he's a big time owner.
21:59
He owns the bulls, and they should not be on pace worst record maybe
22:07
in franchise history. And they've been playing baseball as a Chicago White Sox since
22:11
nineteen oh one, so that's first of all, it's had to make this
22:17
joke. But they can't even throw games their way at this time, so
22:19
they cannot that's right, that's right. But second half decline, I think
22:29
I think the Padres. Got to watch the Padres. There's something about that
22:33
team that something's not clicking. I know they were. They won nine out
22:37
of ten. Now they've lost six out of eight. They just got swept
22:41
at home by by the Mariners. The Mariners who were in free fall beat
22:45
them twice in a row. So I think that's their national league team in
22:49
the second half to look at. As far as as far as declining in
22:55
the American League, I don't know if Kansas City could sustain what they've done
23:00
so far this year. They're great first half of this year, which has
23:03
been remarkable with basically the same team just getting a little bit more mature.
23:10
You know, they got fifty wins win already. Last year they had fifty
23:12
six for the whole season, all right, So some of those wins that
23:15
they came back from like eight to one or ten to one against the Mariners,
23:19
and those were some really encouraging wins. But Kenny get away with that
23:25
against a team like the Guardians in the second half, or a team like
23:29
the even the Yakames, I mean, you're not gonna get away with that
23:32
every day out, No, no, you're not. But again, this
23:36
is a growing year for Kansas City. Nobody expected this, So they're they're
23:42
a fun team to watch. Maybe Minnesota. Minnesota I've never had, you
23:48
know, they've never had a six postseason success in the last decade or so.
23:53
You know, they've had a very good year they're you know, five
23:57
games behind the Guardian in the division, and you know they're fifty three and
24:04
forty, which is excellent, but I don't know, I don't know if
24:07
they can maintain that pace. Carlos Krey is having a great year for them.
24:11
The other team, and this is going to be surprised that you might
24:14
see decline unless they make a trade for pitching at the deadline. Is are
24:21
the Orioles a tremendous young baseball team. They've never gone through this before,
24:26
but they were a tremendous young baseball team. They made the players last year,
24:30
but they they were eliminated quickly. They've lost the top, they have
24:36
major injuries to their pitching staff, and so well, you know, we'll
24:40
have to see what what they do. But Guth Henderson, I would say,
24:45
is right behind Aaron Judge for MVP at the halfway point. The kid
24:49
is tremendous. He got twenty seven home run sixty one RBIs is on base
24:55
percentage of over three eighty. So I think right now, leading MV candidates,
25:00
Judge has got to be number one. Donner Henderson, I say his
25:03
number two. Put Stephen Kwan up there and put solo up there also in
25:08
the second half. But there's some very alex some great young players in baseballs.
25:17
We talk about Henderson, You talked about Paul Schemes, who made the
25:21
All Star Team controversially because he just came up and made eight or nine starts
25:26
and he's on the All Star team. Elie Dela Cruz. So that's a
25:29
kid that they took out after six or seven innings of no hit ball,
25:33
and everybody was saying, I take him out, let him try for that,
25:37
I know, as a young kid, but let him throw. Well,
25:40
fifteen years ago that would have happened. But now with all this babying
25:45
of pitching and analytics and all this nonsense, you know, it's just a
25:53
different world. Joe Maddon said something the other day and he's and he's right.
25:57
The trouble with baseball is that you to be a generational sport. It
26:00
went from your father, your uncle, your mother, whoever followed these teams,
26:07
and uh, the kids would pick pick it up from their from their
26:14
parents, from their families. That doesn't happen. Baseball, I don't think
26:18
is a generation generational sport. I agree with with Joe Madden what he said
26:22
the other day. It's really become a niche sport, which is disappointing.
26:27
I think it's the best of all games. Yes, I don't like the
26:32
free runner. I think it's ridiculous. I do think they need a salary
26:36
cap. It's never gonna happen. Baseball Play Association is probably the most powerful
26:41
union in the world, or as powerful as any, but it's not the
26:47
same. It's not the same sport. It's generational. My father took me
26:51
to you know, it took me to baseball games and my brother and uh
26:57
and you know that every stadium possible, it felt like for a while,
27:02
right, So I know he went everywhere and we go to when I was
27:06
six months old, he took me out to Oakland and Kids City and by
27:10
the way back then at feeding tube when I was really little, so we
27:12
had to travel with all this medical stuff, but he did it to get
27:15
me out there. But my first real memory of baseball was NYU hit the
27:19
ball when I was three years old, and we invented crutch ball where I
27:23
would hit the ball with my crutches. So that's my story about generational this
27:27
game is. And that's why St. Anthony Resilt was so special because my
27:32
dad was a Cub fan and to tell Anthony thanks for winning the World Series
27:36
for my dad, it's a moment right there. Well, well again,
27:40
what what you just said is correct. One of my one of my friends,
27:45
who works in a business of sport, said when the Cubs won,
27:52
his uncle called him, and his uncle, who was like eighty years old
27:55
and lives in Chicago, started got very emotional, started weeping that he was
28:00
so happy. That comes with I get that, I get that connection.
28:04
And that's how connection with all sports could be the NFL, the NBA,
28:08
the NHL, college sports that we root for. But but baseball always had
28:14
that lifelong connection. And you know, they they they've they've lost it.
28:21
They've lost it. They got they got to get it back. I mean,
28:23
when I was growing up, Alex the game that's gonna be played Tuesday
28:26
night, the All Star Game, truly was the Midsummer Classic. It's not
28:32
anymore. I mean, I'm not setting my schedule on Tuesday night to watch
28:36
it. If I'm home, yeah, I'll have a couple of live look
28:40
ins. But that All Star Game, I mean, the pressure for that
28:45
one nine inning baseball game between the Nationally and American League was so intense.
28:52
When when I was younger, the if you made the All Star team as
28:56
a pitcher in the American League, the American League had a rule you couldn't
29:00
pitch on the Sunday before the All Star Game. You could not pitch.
29:04
Now, I see Ralphie el Devers is not hurt, but he's not even
29:08
he's not even going to the game. They don't have the pride. I
29:12
don't I'm not don't want to say that that a guy like that doesn't have
29:15
the pride. But something is missing. Something is missing. Joe Morgan who
29:21
scored the famous Pete Rose game when Pete Rose played all twelve innings and bowled
29:26
into Ray Fosse and tore his shoulder up in the bomb of ninth inning,
29:34
Joe Morgan scored on a sacrifice fly and tie the game and send them the
29:38
extra innings. Joe Morgan said, here's a guy who played in the nineteen
29:42
seventy World Series. He played in nineteen seventy two World Series. He played
29:48
in nineteen seventy three NLCS and they got upset by the Mets. They then
29:52
they won the World Series in seventy five and seventy six, he played in
29:56
all these big, big games. He said that Ronnie scored in the All
30:00
Star Game to tie the All Star Game was one of the most important runs
30:03
he scored in his major league career. Now you have guys who don't even
30:08
stay for the whole game, they even go home. That's where baseball has
30:15
lost its connection as the national pastime, and that that really frustrates me.
30:22
I love all sports. That's why I keep you on here because you give
30:29
us that sense of that national pastime and the history of baseball, and that
30:33
love of the purest, purest of the game, pure purest of the game.
30:38
Which versionally my next thought, ten announcers across the board not call post
30:45
All Star Game the second half. It's really the second part. We are
30:48
already into the second half of the season, and announcers is billed as the
30:52
second half. It's it's really not, And I don't know, as a
30:53
purest, I don't we just call it the second part. Alex, you're
30:57
right, you're one hundred percent incorrect. Uh, the halfway point of the
31:03
of the schedule happened as far as total major league games happened on June twenty
31:08
fourth, So you're right, it's not the it's not it's this the post
31:14
All Star break. That's what should be called of the season. So you're
31:21
one correct, there's a post All Star break. The games have Tampa and
31:27
they have the Mets, and you know it's Subway series right after the break.
31:32
But what are you looking for, uh in July the rest of the
31:36
month. I mean, are we gonna see in Alonzo list Mets in August?
31:40
That's the big question. I think, look out, I really would
31:44
doubt that. I mean, I cannot see that happening the Mets. Obviously.
31:48
It looks like unless they go into a ten game losing streak, UH,
31:52
they're going to be in it. I cannot see the Mets uh trading
31:56
Alonto when somebody picking them a rent. Even if the Mets would reach sign
32:00
him in the off season, I just can't see it. I mean,
32:04
I think the fans and then he hasn't been the best the best Met player
32:09
uh this year. First of all, who are going to replace him with?
32:14
I mean, what what what are you going to do? I mean,
32:15
maybe they won't re signed him at the end of the year. I
32:19
don't know, but I just can't see it. Maybe I'm wrong on that
32:23
one. That would maybe I'm looking at it through uh you know, through
32:31
rose colored glasses that they won't do this. But I cannot see them training
32:37
Alonso. I really can't. I mean, especially iause they are in now.
32:40
So there's that, and the fans are leaving for the ballpark. There's
32:47
a little play by play for you as they're filing the edges of the l
32:52
R and going up to see Thursday afternoon baseball. Remember those games used to
32:55
be at noon and I love that. Hey right, that was fun.
33:01
Now I work, So there you go. You know, it's like different
33:05
now. But question for you because on the mound today, Well we'll pause
33:09
a little later as the game's going on. But David Peterson, now that's
33:14
a guy. You are a nervous abb on the mound in a big situation,
33:16
and yet he's three and all, what's his change? Big? This
33:21
is my problem with not problem the situation, in my opinion is I watched
33:24
David Peterson pitch. He's got good stuff, and obviously you need effective left
33:30
handers in irrotation. He's just gonna get more consistent. I mean he might
33:35
pitch four or five good innings and then an inning six he'll blow up,
33:40
or he'll blow up an inning too, but five, but the rest of
33:45
the game, next five or six innings, he'll be okay. He just
33:49
has to get consistent. And now this is he should be an effective number
33:52
three starter. He's not gonna be. Nobody's gonna uh confuse him with Jerry
33:59
CU's man, but he should be. He should be bad than he is.
34:02
In my opinion, he's he's just got to get more consistent, and
34:07
hopefully that happens. And again again, I've been very critical in that saying
34:12
that they were bad and boring, and they've turned it around. I'm glad,
34:15
but they've done this. Not only not of this POILU. The Yankees
34:20
are a closed door meeting yesterday, So the closed door meetings where Alvarez came
34:24
back. Bientos has added spark Lindor to the uh to the top of the
34:30
line up, the and the the other thing. The Mets have done this
34:36
without their best picture. I mean, there's no question that uh Senga is
34:40
their best pitcher. And hopefully when he does return, hopefully in three after
34:46
three uh more rehap starts. You know, he could pick up where he
34:50
left off at the end of last year because last year he got better every
34:53
month and he finished second in the Rookie of the Year. So the metsmith
35:00
him. So you know, we'll see. But they got to fortified a
35:04
bullpen. Losing Brooks Rally was a death knell for them. He was their
35:07
only effective left hander. And I've never been I've been disappointed in Drew and
35:12
Drew Smith. I thought he was had the potential to be a closer.
35:15
Now he's he might eat Tommy John and so we won't see him for the
35:20
rest of the year. So those are injuries that hurt. So they've done
35:22
it. They've done a good job. I'm gonna give Hi I'm gonna cut
35:25
them. I'm gonna cut him a little slack right here as we approach rotation
35:30
in comparisons, though, you know, Cole's just coming back. Still,
35:35
Stroman's been in a rock solid picture for this team. Rodn you know,
35:40
he's struggled and it's it's like almost a lost cause every time I don't know
35:45
what's in his head, uh nestor on and off. Not always nasty,
35:51
although it was great. You got to tell him on my podcast, not
35:53
always nasty. And then you've got you've got heal and he's been better as
36:00
of Sunday night. If I look at the Mets, you know Quintana,
36:02
Manaya, and Peterson. Now Manaya struggles here and there. What is that
36:07
about. I've seen a couple of his start he's been struggling at times when
36:14
since Alvarez has come back and he's quite Manaya it's his his era is about
36:19
one seventy somewhere in there. I don't know the exact numbers, but when
36:22
it's not Manaiyah and another guy is catching him, his numbers around five fifty
36:28
five sixty, same thing with Quintana, you know. So again, there's
36:34
so many assets that a team needs to be to be effective in uh,
36:42
you know, in winning games. So in the remaining few minutes we have
36:49
here, I want to ask you this because not many people remember or a
36:52
thing about this in its sixty years in Chase Stadium and sixty years of the
36:58
World's Fair. Yeah, sixty four would have had to be an incredible year
37:01
in Queens. I mean, sixty nine was amazing. Obviously, with sixty
37:05
four it was like a lot of renewal, a lot of new spirit.
37:08
The new building is up Shasee Stadium, but I got to ask you,
37:13
baseball fan, Baseball law and Hissurian luter Manilo your favorite memory of Shaye I'll
37:20
tell you mine, okay, my memory of Chase Stadium. And I love
37:24
Shase Stadium. I did. I love going to Shaye Stadium. It was
37:28
easy to get to, whether before I learned how to drive or at drive
37:32
there. And I remember the World's Fair very well because the nuns at Saint
37:37
Peter and Paul Roman Catholic School in Hoboken, New Jersey, took us to
37:42
the World's Fair. So I remember that vividly. But my favorite Chase Stadium
37:45
moment, and there's been a couple, but one stands out and could never
37:50
be topped whether I live another fifty years. Game six of the nineteen eighty
37:58
six World Series. The Mets were heavily favored toWin that World Series. They
38:01
were down three games to two. Everybody knows the story. They were down
38:05
to their last out, two outs to nobody on I was sitting in loage
38:12
boxes behind him at Stugout. I could look into the Red Sox doug out.
38:15
I could still see oil canvoid waving the towel dancing. I could still
38:21
see that infamous for like two seconds on the left center field scoreboard on the
38:29
Diamond Vision, congratulations world champion boss in Red Sox. They brought it.
38:34
They came down instantly, but everybody saw it. Then the Mets got the
38:37
three hits, then the wild pitch as Mookie kept battling and battling and battling
38:45
to get on base. And then when Mookie hit the ground ball, I
38:49
said to him, to my friend who I was with, I said,
38:52
this is trouble now. I'm not gonna say I knew the ball was going
38:54
to go through Buckler's legs. I didn't, but I thought Mookie had a
38:58
great chance of beating that out uh to first base. Now, that would
39:04
not have won the game for the match of Mookie had bet, and that
39:06
would mean uh kors Night would have had to stop at third. But when
39:10
the ball went through Buckner's legs, for the next six or seven minutes,
39:15
UH say, stadium, I was gonna was going to fall apart. You
39:20
can you actually can feel the level of the sections like almost moving. It
39:25
was incredible. I'll never go be It was a Game seven also, so
39:30
there's that it was that Game seven, which was also a fantastic, a
39:36
fantastic event. At Shay they were down three nothing early. They couldn't hit
39:40
Hurst in the first two games. Bruce Hurst had had you know, had
39:47
stiming them. He beat them one nothing at Shaye in one of the coldest
39:51
baseball games I ever attended live on a sad game on a Saturday night.
39:55
He beat them in game. He beat them in Game four at or Game
40:01
five at at Fenway, the Metsican and him. They were down three nothing
40:08
and then they scored three runs off and Keith Rnandez got the hit that Tiger
40:15
game at three three, a two run, a two run single. After
40:19
that, I knew that I had a feeling in Mexican win. And then
40:21
Strawberry and then I hit the home run to put them headed up six to
40:24
three. The Red Sox came back to six' five and at the time
40:28
were on that second with nobody out for the Roscoe and got out of it.
40:32
M mcdollan. The Roscoe got out of it, and then Strawberry hit
40:36
a home run leading off the bottom of the the eighth inning and the Met's
40:39
scored a couple of other runs and then won eight five. But Game six
40:43
and Game seven yeah, I'll remember games as far as baseball memories, but
40:47
nothing will top, nothing will top be six, allys nothing. It was
40:51
incredible. That's a moment. And I wish I were to saw you on
40:55
those uh those documentaries that were made over and over again. You would have
41:00
in a great addition to that. But that's why we have a year,
41:01
because we get to hear your thoughts about being there for Game six. And
41:07
I mean, you know, I know they were the bash Boys or whatever.
41:09
They were, not the Bashboards, but I know they were. People
41:14
call them, you know, characters and miss the characters, they say.
41:20
The one kind that really kept them all line is Gary Carter, you know,
41:22
and I really miss him ever done in the honor room, and it
41:25
does choke up because he kept the team in line. He was their leader.
41:30
And what a great acquisition in nineteen eighty five and look what it led
41:34
to. Really, Oh, he was the final piece, there's no question
41:37
about it. And him and Hernandez, the intangibles of those guys, which
41:46
you know you don't see in statistics, meant so much. And Keith Hernandez
41:52
is as good as as the best first baseman I've ever seen from a fielding
41:57
and having control of the h of the diamond, no question about it.
42:08
On that note, I really appreciate our time today. On Terminolo's take,
42:12
I don't know if I heard your al MVP well, I heard a I
42:15
don't know if I heard your n L m VPP. Is Otani the guy
42:19
right now or what? Well, I'm sure he'll be up there, and
42:27
I would say that that he would be up there. Mookie Betts would be
42:30
up there, you know so far and uh, I know he missed some
42:36
action he was injured. But Bryce Harper has already won two m vps has
42:42
to be considered, especially if he has a big second half. To me,
42:45
Bryce Harper is the most underrated superstar, which I know is ridiculous because
42:50
he's won two m vps, one with two different teams. But I also
42:55
energize that Phillies team like I've not seen it before. I mean, he
42:59
liked up that whole lineup. He invigorates guy like uh, you know Trey
43:04
Turner with the Grand Slam, and he he gets into those guys faces.
43:07
So to speaking. The energize, I mean fires him up every night.
43:10
I could see it when I watch some of their games. I agree the
43:17
other guy that you have to look at if he continues like he's been uh
43:22
been doing and he is destroyed, that starts a drink for the Indians is
43:25
Stephen Kwan and uh or An Alvarez for the Astros. I mean, you
43:31
talk about an underrated power hitter and run producer. He's another one. But
43:36
I think he got hurt last night. I don't know to what extent he
43:40
got hurt. But again he's in the American League, so he's another one
43:44
that we didn't talk about. But yeah, I mean in the NL,
43:49
I would have to say right now, it's it's it's Bets and Altani.
43:52
And the one thing about the Dodgers, who haven't been so impressive this year,
43:55
I don't know if they just you know, I don't want to say
44:00
that they're going through the motions because when you go through the motions you get
44:04
bit at the end and then the blusing. But they haven't been challenged in
44:07
the in the NL West, they're seven and a half games up on the
44:13
Padres. I don't know if they're going to turn into high gear in second
44:16
half of the year, or are the Dodgers going to rest guys. I
44:21
mean, I mean they put a glass color glass now on the disabled list.
44:25
I don't know if it's just to rest him, if he has just
44:29
a little twinge. So I mean that's something that's something to look at.
44:34
But I mean, hopefully it's a very good second half of the year.
44:37
And I think the Yank's gonna be okay. I mean, yeah, right,
44:40
they're seven and seventeen. They last twenty four, but think they're not.
44:45
That's not gonna last. Lou there's been a great conversation. My thought
44:49
is, don't disrespect Nimo or you know, Lindor. I think Judge might
44:53
shide for sixty two, but we'll see what he does with that. And
44:57
I think Rice keeps cooking in the Bronx. Those are my thoughts heading into
45:00
the All Star break. What do you think about that? Hey, it
45:02
sounds good to me. And uh, I mean Ben Rice hitting those three
45:08
home runs after only watch seventeen at bats or pretty something, pretty impressive.
45:14
So kudos to the young kid. That's that's something out he'll never forget in
45:17
his life. So, like I, like I said, for a very
45:21
good second half of the year. Well, we'll find out more. With
45:23
lou Terminello on the Terminilo's take on the Alex Gare Podcast Network. Glue,
45:29
thanks is always for joining, and Alex, thank you always for having me.
45:32
Look forward to next week