Latest / Foul Territory / Fair Territory: Braves & Red Sox Rolling, Dodgers Slump, NL MVP Race

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Fair Territory: Braves & Red Sox Rolling, Dodgers Slump, NL MVP Race · Foul Territory

0:06
Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to the Thursday edition of Fair Territory. I'm
0:09
Speaker 1: Ken Rosenthal here with my friend and colleague Alana Rizzo.
0:12
Speaker 1: And Alana, we have an extremely hot team in this
0:15
Speaker 1: sport right now. That team is the Boston Red Sox.
0:19
Speaker 1: They've again won seventh straight. They're twenty five and three
0:22
Speaker 1: since July third, and we're going to talk about them
0:25
Speaker 1: a little bit, but we're really going to talk about
0:27
Speaker 1: a team that suddenly is struggling, team invincible, team that
0:31
Speaker 1: can't be ever beat Los Angeles Dodgers.
0:36
Speaker 2: Tim Aher Can I tell you what It's funny because
0:38
Speaker 2: I was thinking about this yesterday, how much of a
0:41
Speaker 2: change it's been over the course of a month in
0:43
Speaker 2: change for the Boston Red Sox. And everyone's freaking out
0:46
Speaker 2: about what's happening with the Los Angeles Dodgers. But they
0:48
Speaker 2: have a sizeable lead in the division. But let's talk
0:52
Speaker 2: about that for a second. Ken, we don't expect the Dodgers,
0:55
Speaker 2: back to back National League champions, back to back World
0:58
Speaker 2: Series champions, to have scuffed this mightily losing six straight.
1:01
Speaker 3: What's going on?
1:03
Speaker 1: Well, for one thing, they've played two hot teams. The
1:05
Speaker 1: Red Sox are one of them, and nobody can beat
1:08
Speaker 1: the Red Sox for the last five weeks, and the
1:10
Speaker 1: Cubs at Wrigley were really impressive those last three days,
1:14
Speaker 1: so that's part of this. Obviously. Keep in mind too,
1:18
Speaker 1: they lost seven straight last year and teams will go
1:21
Speaker 1: through this over one sixty two. Now during this streak,
1:24
Speaker 1: they've been outscored forty two to twenty two. They haven't
1:28
Speaker 1: played their best, they lost Schoobls first start. All these
1:31
Speaker 1: things have happened. They are going to be in an
1:34
Speaker 1: interesting spot going forward here because they have, of course,
1:37
Speaker 1: some really talented pitchers coming back, snow Glass now eventually Otani,
1:42
Speaker 1: so I'm not worried about them. But at the same time,
1:46
Speaker 1: the one aspect of this that is somewhat significant is
1:50
Speaker 1: that they no longer are in position to land a bye. Brewers'
1:54
Speaker 1: best record in the National League Braves right behind them.
1:57
Speaker 1: Dodgers have slipped into third now. They didn't have a
2:00
Speaker 1: bye last year. People forget this. They had to beat
2:03
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Reds in that first wildcard round, but it
2:07
Speaker 1: is better to have the buy to obviously skip that
2:11
Speaker 1: first round get a weaker opponent in the division series.
2:14
Speaker 1: I still expect the Dodgers will be there, but I
2:18
Speaker 1: wouldn't call this situation perilous. It's just a little bit disturbing.
2:22
Speaker 1: They don't want to be in this spot.
2:24
Speaker 2: They want to buy and it looks like that the
2:26
Speaker 2: offense is a little bit flat right now. You mentioned
2:29
Speaker 2: some pitching reinforcements coming back, but Katie Woo are colleague
2:33
Speaker 2: here obviously on foul territory, your colleague with the Athletic
2:36
Speaker 2: wrote about it a little bit but looking a little
2:38
Speaker 2: bit flat in terms of the offense and obviously losing
2:41
Speaker 2: Trek Scooble's debut. notWe Scooble pitched well enough, certainly to
2:45
Speaker 2: win that game, but just didn't have the support around him.
2:48
Speaker 1: And it's see Katie mentioned there for cities in ten
2:52
Speaker 1: days on the road, that's not easy, and fans and
2:56
Speaker 1: even media sometimes we think, Ah, these guys, they live
2:59
Speaker 1: in luxury, they don't have a problem. They can travel. No,
3:02
Speaker 1: it's not easy, and that could be part of this.
3:05
Speaker 1: Could be just August dog days, they're just not where
3:08
Speaker 1: they are. It could be a number of things. But again,
3:11
Speaker 1: the one thing that's troubling is the catching situation because
3:15
Speaker 1: Smith is still not back and rushing might be down
3:18
Speaker 1: for really as far as a catcher the season, Yeah,
3:21
Speaker 1: they had to go get two catchers the deadline, kind
3:23
Speaker 1: of journeyman guys they've had before, Froduccia and Rod Fitt.
3:27
Speaker 1: But at the same time, all of these things are
3:30
Speaker 1: just not all that important in August. If they don't
3:33
Speaker 1: get the buy, that's something that would be tough for them,
3:37
Speaker 1: just troubling for them. But again, I'm not especially worried
3:41
Speaker 1: about the Los Angeles Dodgers.
3:43
Speaker 3: The Philadelphia Phillies.
3:44
Speaker 2: They don't seem to be worried about anybody ken right now.
3:47
Speaker 2: Everyone's making a big deal about the lack of what
3:49
Speaker 2: they did at the trade deadline. In terms of activity,
3:52
Speaker 2: they were nine to nineteen entering the break, but they've
3:54
Speaker 2: been really good since fourteen and five. Is what's happening
3:58
Speaker 2: with the Philadelphia Phillies and your estimate?
4:00
Speaker 1: Well, they did get a rise at the deadline, and
4:03
Speaker 1: they did some other things too to supplement themselves, so
4:06
Speaker 1: I wouldn't say that they're stagnant in any way. If anything,
4:10
Speaker 1: what they did in having three players change positions to
4:13
Speaker 1: accommodate a rise was kind of amazing and kind of odd,
4:17
Speaker 1: if anything, because it raises this question of their defense
4:21
Speaker 1: and will their defense be good enough? But keep in
4:24
Speaker 1: mind they're chasing a team that right now is hot
4:27
Speaker 1: again and the Atlanta Braves so funny along it. They
4:30
Speaker 1: were nine to nineteen entering the break. A lot of
4:33
Speaker 1: us thought the Braves finally regressing. Here the Phillies might
4:37
Speaker 1: get them, and they still might. But since the break
4:40
Speaker 1: Braves are fourteen and five, they've won seven straight, and
4:43
Speaker 1: they are a team that looks like, obviously they're going
4:47
Speaker 1: to be a force to be reckoned with in October.
4:50
Speaker 2: They certainly look to be that way ken when it
4:52
Speaker 2: comes to the National League in the postseason. And again,
4:56
Speaker 2: I always worry about the Phillies. If you're a Dodger fan,
4:58
Speaker 2: you worry about the Phillies. Another team maybe we should
5:01
Speaker 2: be worried about, and perhaps a guy we should be
5:03
Speaker 2: worried about. If you're hoping that shohe Otani wins the
5:06
Speaker 2: nl MVP race is Pete crow Armstrong. I think any
5:10
Speaker 2: other time that you know showhy is not in the
5:13
Speaker 2: thing you're thinking, Okay, Pete crow Armstrong, And the fact
5:16
Speaker 2: that show Hay is in the National League. Maybe he
5:18
Speaker 2: doesn't get it, but he is making one heck of
5:20
Speaker 2: a case.
5:21
Speaker 1: Ken Kroh Armstrong is making a heck of a case.
5:24
Speaker 1: And a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago
5:26
Speaker 1: and I raised this to him, said, you know what,
5:28
Speaker 1: it might be a little closer this year, and he said, no,
5:30
Speaker 1: Otani is one hundred percent going to be the MVP.
5:33
Speaker 1: Maybe he still will be, but Pete crow Armstrong because
5:37
Speaker 1: of what he is doing offensively, and it's very comparable
5:40
Speaker 1: to Otani. If we put up the numbers here, I'll
5:43
Speaker 1: show you how offensively they're really close. Right now, just
5:47
Speaker 1: look at those numbers. Now. Defensively, kroh Armstrong does something
5:51
Speaker 1: that Otani doesn't do. He plays the field, and he
5:53
Speaker 1: plays the best center field in the major leagues. He
5:56
Speaker 1: is one of the top defenders in the Major leagues.
5:59
Speaker 1: Sho course is not pitching right now. Now. If he
6:04
Speaker 1: starts pitching again, then we're gonna have a different conversation.
6:07
Speaker 1: Perhaps he's also not having quite the offensive season he
6:10
Speaker 1: did last year. I want to show you show hey,
6:13
Speaker 1: twenty twenty five versus twenty twenty six, because this is telling.
6:18
Speaker 1: So you see in twenty six fewer homers. Obviously, the
6:20
Speaker 1: OPS is down about sixty points. He hasn't pitched lately,
6:25
Speaker 1: but he's still pitched almost twice as much as he
6:27
Speaker 1: did last year and at a higher level. So once
6:32
Speaker 1: this is all decided in September, if Shohy is back
6:35
Speaker 1: on the mound again, I would say he's still the
6:37
Speaker 1: front runner. But if PCA stays this hot, and if
6:40
Speaker 1: the Cubs, I don't know, catch the Brewers to win
6:43
Speaker 1: the division, even if they don't, it's going to be
6:46
Speaker 1: an interesting conversation. It's going to be the most interesting
6:49
Speaker 1: conversation we've had since Judge versus Otani a few years back.
6:54
Speaker 3: This is an interesting question.
6:55
Speaker 2: We'll get into more questions in grilling Ken coming up,
6:58
Speaker 2: but Mike G fifteen brings up a good one regarding PCA.
7:01
Speaker 2: That's why I want to address it now. He says,
7:03
Speaker 2: people will dissect every stat when comparing PCA and Otani.
7:06
Speaker 2: Here it is thanks for that, Clint in the MVP race,
7:09
Speaker 2: but shouldn't we also be placing way more importance on
7:12
Speaker 2: which team or which player rather is carrying a non
7:15
Speaker 2: super team. Clearly, Pete crow Armstrong interesting point there that
7:19
Speaker 2: he makes up that he.
7:21
Speaker 1: Is, but the Cubs are a really good team. That
7:23
Speaker 1: would be a better conversation if the Cubs were maybe
7:28
Speaker 1: out of the playoff picture, but they are a strong
7:30
Speaker 1: club offensively, defensively in particular, So that's always also a
7:35
Speaker 1: subjective analysis. What he means to his team. If you
7:40
Speaker 1: take him off his team, what happens. That's a hard
7:43
Speaker 1: thing to do, which is why most voters they look
7:46
Speaker 1: at these statistics and they judge based solely on those statistics.
7:50
Speaker 1: It is most valuable player, most valuable to his team
7:53
Speaker 1: and in the league. But it's a really hard thing
7:56
Speaker 1: to try to dissect. Well, if you pull that guy
7:58
Speaker 1: off his club, what happened. We've seen with Aaron Judge
8:02
Speaker 1: what happens when you pull a player like this off
8:05
Speaker 1: their club, and it can be ugly for sure. Now
8:08
Speaker 1: I wouldn't say ugly with the Yankees, but they're a
8:10
Speaker 1: different team without him.
8:12
Speaker 2: Ken, how do you think Pete crow Armstrong has taken
8:15
Speaker 2: his game to another level? We knew he was a
8:17
Speaker 2: dynamic player, but it seems like this year, in particular,
8:20
Speaker 2: he has really put it to a different gear all
8:23
Speaker 2: the way around, on both sides of the ball.
8:26
Speaker 1: Actually, Alana I asked him this in our postgame interview
8:29
Speaker 1: Saturday because he had a big game and he said, whoa,
8:32
Speaker 1: that's a lot to unpack. And certainly against left handers,
8:37
Speaker 1: he's moved up on the plate. He is clearly more
8:40
Speaker 1: disciplined than he's been in the past. Also, these two
8:43
Speaker 1: things have helped him. He is swinging less, but he's
8:46
Speaker 1: still an aggressive guy. He just is a player who
8:50
Speaker 1: is maturing in the game. And we see this all
8:53
Speaker 1: the time. We see guys go both ways. Actually, but
8:56
Speaker 1: he's credited to the Cubs assistant hitting coach John Mayley
9:00
Speaker 1: a lot with some of the adjustments he has made,
9:02
Speaker 1: and clearly it has helped. This guy's physical ability is
9:07
Speaker 1: right up there with anyone, and the way he plays
9:10
Speaker 1: center field, of course, it's breathtaking to say the least.
9:13
Speaker 1: So he is a viable MVP candidate. I'm not saying
9:16
Speaker 1: he would be the MVP now. I don't know it's
9:19
Speaker 1: August sixth, but come September twenty seventh, at the end
9:23
Speaker 1: of the season, it's going to be really interesting to
9:26
Speaker 1: see where this conversation is.
9:27
Speaker 2: Then, Ken, do you think it's even more magnified that
9:30
Speaker 2: he's doing this type of having this type of performance
9:33
Speaker 2: this season? The numbers are being so good when Alex
9:35
Speaker 2: Bregman is kind of regressing a little bit. I mean,
9:38
Speaker 2: think about where the Cubs could perhaps be without what
9:40
Speaker 2: PCA is doing. Considering Alex Bregman isn't having the best
9:44
Speaker 2: year statistically.
9:46
Speaker 1: You're right, and you never know what's going to happen
9:49
Speaker 1: in a season. We have all these projection systems, and
9:52
Speaker 1: the projection systems might have had PCA less and Alex
9:55
Speaker 1: Bregman more, and it hasn't worked out that way. Pregman
9:59
Speaker 1: has come on of late, looks like a much different
10:01
Speaker 1: player really since the break. But at the same time,
10:04
Speaker 1: you're right along it. Things never go exactly how you
10:07
Speaker 1: expect them to go, and PCA's emergence has actually masked
10:11
Speaker 1: a couple of things. Nico Horner has not been the
10:13
Speaker 1: same guy since Apel. Here they are yet the Cubs
10:17
Speaker 1: being a really formidable club, all right.
10:21
Speaker 2: You look at the standings as far as the NL
10:24
Speaker 2: Central is concerned, the Chicago Cubs five and a half
10:27
Speaker 2: games back behind the Milwaukee Brewers, but they do have
10:30
Speaker 2: a five game advantage in terms of that wild card race.
10:34
Speaker 2: So much more to come on fair territory with Ken Rosenthal.
10:37
Speaker 2: Make sure you guys, get your questions in. We are
10:40
Speaker 2: coming back after a few words from Foul with Grill
10:42
Speaker 2: and Ken after this.
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Speaker 2: welcome to the episode of Grilling Ken here on Fair
12:25
Speaker 2: Territory with Ken Rosenthough. This is when you have the
12:28
Speaker 2: opportunity to ask Ken any question, anything that your little
12:31
Speaker 2: heart desires.
12:32
Speaker 1: All Right.
12:32
Speaker 2: Their first one, Ken is in regards to the Baltimore Orioles,
12:37
Speaker 2: as far as that is concerned. Half game back in
12:39
Speaker 2: the wildcard Guardians and Rangers above them. What do you
12:43
Speaker 2: like about this team? What are you seeing from the
12:45
Speaker 2: Orioles right now? And this is after they traded Adlie Ruschman.
12:49
Speaker 1: I like that they're playing the Angels. That certainly helps.
12:51
Speaker 1: And not only did they trade Rushman, they traded of course,
12:55
Speaker 1: Taylor Ward and Tyler Wells, who has been a valuable
12:57
Speaker 1: reliever for them. And it's funny. I remember talking with
13:00
Speaker 1: some executive before the deadline and he said, you guys,
13:04
Speaker 1: reporters overrate the deadline. Every year we see a team
13:08
Speaker 1: sell and then take off. Maybe the Oriols are that team.
13:12
Speaker 1: I don't know that they'll do it against better competition,
13:14
Speaker 1: but they still have a very talented group. They have
13:17
Speaker 1: not played well this season, That's why they were in
13:20
Speaker 1: the position they were in and sold the players they did.
13:23
Speaker 1: But it speaks to the American League's weakness that they
13:26
Speaker 1: are so close in the wildcard race. You see it
13:28
Speaker 1: right there, just a half game back, and it speaks
13:31
Speaker 1: to the talent that they do have on their roster
13:34
Speaker 1: that has largely disappointed this season. But the one thing
13:38
Speaker 1: they have going forward here is a pretty solid rotation,
13:42
Speaker 1: and if that rotation can continue performing the way it has,
13:46
Speaker 1: maybe they've got a chance.
13:47
Speaker 2: For a wildcard can I did the game the Red
13:50
Speaker 2: Sox game on Tuesday, and that's the first time I
13:52
Speaker 2: saw Eric Miller come out of the bullpen for the Socks,
13:55
Speaker 2: and he was pretty nasty. He needs to work on
13:57
Speaker 2: his walks, but he is a pretty nasty pitcher wicked better.
14:01
Speaker 2: Fifty four has a question for you in regards to
14:03
Speaker 2: this trade, looking back at the Marcelo Meyer trade, from
14:06
Speaker 2: what you know, did the Giants specifically target Meyer or
14:09
Speaker 2: did they feel that this was the best return for
14:12
Speaker 2: Eric Miller, that strong lefty coming out of the pen.
14:15
Speaker 1: You know what, I actually don't know the answer to
14:17
Speaker 1: that question. And I don't know if it was a
14:20
Speaker 1: case of the Red Sox showing interest in Miller and
14:23
Speaker 1: then that coming about, or the Giants showing interest in Meyer.
14:27
Speaker 1: Now my guess is it's the Red Sox who made
14:30
Speaker 1: the initial request. And I only say that because I
14:35
Speaker 1: did not hear that the Red Sox were shopping Meyer.
14:38
Speaker 1: That's not something I heard. Now, it doesn't mean it
14:40
Speaker 1: wasn't happening. And clearly the Red Sox felt this was
14:43
Speaker 1: a move that to get a controllable reliever as good
14:46
Speaker 1: as Miller, it was definitely worth giving up the future
14:49
Speaker 1: of Marcella Meyer. This is one of those challenge trades
14:52
Speaker 1: they call them that we'll see how it turns out.
14:55
Speaker 1: It's a baseball for baseball, major leaguer for major leaguer
14:58
Speaker 1: and this is one to follow going forward.
15:02
Speaker 3: Eric Miller.
15:03
Speaker 2: Obviously, a strong lefty coming out of the pen gives
15:06
Speaker 2: the Red Sox some advantage in terms of leverage situations
15:10
Speaker 2: from a left hander kin because all they had is
15:12
Speaker 2: you know better than anybody was a role this Chapman,
15:15
Speaker 2: who is their closer. So this is more of the sixth, seventh,
15:17
Speaker 2: eighth type of inning. Next question here is in regards
15:20
Speaker 2: to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Daniel Hyphen doctor nineteen nineteen wants
15:25
Speaker 2: to know why are people giving Pirates flag for their
15:27
Speaker 2: trade deadline. I thought they did a good job and
15:29
Speaker 2: there were no great bats on the market.
15:32
Speaker 1: That's a good point. And the problem with the Pirates
15:35
Speaker 1: is since the All Star break they've struggled. I believe
15:38
Speaker 1: they're seven and twelve since the break might be wrong,
15:41
Speaker 1: don't hold me to it, but it hasn't been great.
15:43
Speaker 1: Their offense has struggled in particular, and yes, they were
15:47
Speaker 1: looking for a right handed bat, but they were in
15:50
Speaker 1: short supply. What I liked about what they did is
15:53
Speaker 1: they really tried to fix the bullpen and did it aggressively.
15:57
Speaker 1: Luke Weaver, Kirby Yates and from the Miami Marlins Balker.
16:01
Speaker 1: Those guys should help what has been the weakest area
16:04
Speaker 1: of the team by far. Now you also have some
16:07
Speaker 1: injured players coming back. They just lost Ryan O'Hearn. He'll
16:11
Speaker 1: come back eventually, Connor Griffin. I believe Spencer Horwitz is back,
16:15
Speaker 1: don't hold me to that, but that alone should help
16:18
Speaker 1: them too. O'Neil Cruz is still on the il, So
16:21
Speaker 1: as these players return, perhaps then their offense will return
16:25
Speaker 1: as well.
16:27
Speaker 2: Our favorite Met fan armand is Amazing is back in
16:30
Speaker 2: our chat here on Grill and Ken has a question
16:33
Speaker 2: about this. What grade would you give these three teams
16:36
Speaker 2: that sold on deadline Day?
16:38
Speaker 3: The Angels, His Mets, and the Giants.
16:41
Speaker 1: All Right, First of all, as I said on my
16:42
Speaker 1: show Tuesday, I don't love giving grades right away because
16:48
Speaker 1: you just don't know what's going to happen. All you
16:50
Speaker 1: can do is judge a team's aggressiveness and how you
16:54
Speaker 1: think they fared in the initial decisions to do what
16:59
Speaker 1: they did. The Angels I thought did really well, and
17:03
Speaker 1: the returns obviously matter, but it was more what they
17:06
Speaker 1: did and finally, acting as a seller. We've been waiting
17:10
Speaker 1: for years for them to do that. They did it.
17:12
Speaker 1: They did it rather effectively. I thought the Mets did
17:15
Speaker 1: what they had to do, and they made a good
17:17
Speaker 1: trade to get the Cubs prospect Jefferson Rojas in the
17:21
Speaker 1: Holmes Taylor trade Tyrone Taylor and Holmes going to the Cubs.
17:26
Speaker 1: Some of the other trades are not going to net
17:27
Speaker 1: them that much. They had expiring contracts. It wasn't going
17:30
Speaker 1: to be that big deal. Weaver also brought them a
17:34
Speaker 1: prospect because he had an extra year of control, a
17:36
Speaker 1: pretty good one from the Pirates. And what was the
17:38
Speaker 1: other team on that alta I'm missing one.
17:40
Speaker 3: We have the Angels, the Mets, and the Giants.
17:42
Speaker 1: The Giants. The Giants did well in my estimation, and
17:46
Speaker 1: they did well because they acquired two really good prospects
17:51
Speaker 1: for Robbie Ray from the San Diego Padres. I shouldn't
17:54
Speaker 1: say two really good. Two of the Padres better prospects.
17:57
Speaker 1: They don't have a great system, but they were guys
17:59
Speaker 1: that would want They got Meyer. They did some other
18:02
Speaker 1: things as well. And for a team that has really
18:05
Speaker 1: had a down season and for a front office that
18:07
Speaker 1: has been under a lot of scrutiny, and rightly so,
18:11
Speaker 1: they came out okay, maybe even better than Okay, okay.
18:15
Speaker 3: I like this next question.
18:16
Speaker 2: Why aren't players asked for their opinion or informed in
18:20
Speaker 2: advance when they are being traded enough some are, don't
18:22
Speaker 2: they consider that they have to abruptly relocate their families
18:25
Speaker 2: and lives. This is a good question because sometimes we
18:27
Speaker 2: forget ken that these guys are people before they're players.
18:31
Speaker 1: It's funny. My wife asked me this the other day, Alana.
18:33
Speaker 1: She said, do guys not like getting traded? It's kind
18:36
Speaker 1: of disruptive. Right, Yes, it is disruptive, there's no question
18:40
Speaker 1: about it. At the same time, players generally recognize that
18:44
Speaker 1: it's part of the business and it's something that can
18:47
Speaker 1: happen now. Tyler Stevenson, I don't know if you caught
18:50
Speaker 1: the salana the night before the deadline. He did something
18:53
Speaker 1: big in the Reds game. Was interviewed by Jim Day
18:57
Speaker 1: after the game and he was very emotional, want to go.
19:01
Speaker 1: He's been read his whole career. Trevor Rodgers another example,
19:04
Speaker 1: pitch really well for Baltimore. He thought after ward and
19:06
Speaker 1: Rushman were traded, he was going to go and was
19:09
Speaker 1: greatly relieved not to. In many cases, guys do not
19:14
Speaker 1: want their routines disrupted, and yet in some cases, example,
19:19
Speaker 1: if you're going from a non contender to the middle
19:21
Speaker 1: of a world series push Elliott Ramos for instance, Giants
19:25
Speaker 1: to the Yankees, it's pretty exciting and it can be
19:28
Speaker 1: a really good thing.
19:29
Speaker 2: I think it's more disruptive for the family than it
19:32
Speaker 2: is for the player because they have to manage the
19:34
Speaker 2: schooling and the housing and all of that stuff. But
19:37
Speaker 2: it is a business after all. All right, Ken, you
19:39
Speaker 2: are going to be doing a game this weekend. Of course,
19:43
Speaker 2: Dudent Dork is coming up, but let's preview you that
19:45
Speaker 2: Saturday game on Fox with Fox One streaming now. I
19:49
Speaker 2: would love to have your thought on this game coming up.
19:52
Speaker 2: It is the White Sox who have an opportunity to
19:55
Speaker 2: be swept I guess by the Red Sox.
19:57
Speaker 3: Today and the Cleveland Guardians. What are you looking forward to?
20:00
Speaker 1: Well, getting back to whatever that park is called, the
20:04
Speaker 1: South Side Park Tarranty Guarantee. The last time I was
20:09
Speaker 1: there was a few years ago. Dylan Cees almost threw
20:11
Speaker 1: a no hitter. We did that game, but before that
20:14
Speaker 1: it had been many years. We haven't had the White
20:16
Speaker 1: Sox on at least with my team very often, so
20:20
Speaker 1: Number one. I'm looking forward to seeing the first place
20:23
Speaker 1: team in the AL Central, a team that has had
20:24
Speaker 1: an incredibly surprising and fun year. And while they're pitching
20:29
Speaker 1: Anthony k I'm really looking forward to seeing who the
20:32
Speaker 1: Guardians are starting, and that is Gavin Williams, one of
20:35
Speaker 1: the best pitchers in the American League. And again to
20:38
Speaker 1: highlight the two top teams in the Central, to have
20:41
Speaker 1: them on our network this Saturday. I'm fired up about that.
20:45
Speaker 1: I'm also fired up because the White Sox are retiring
20:48
Speaker 1: Ozzie Gian's numbers number thirteen and one of the guest
20:52
Speaker 1: speakers our Winston A. J. Presents the giving. We'll be
20:58
Speaker 1: giving a speech and I'm really looking forward to hearing that. Wordsmith.
21:03
Speaker 2: It's funny because I was going to ask you if
21:05
Speaker 2: you were doing the game with Joe and John Smoltz
21:08
Speaker 2: and you, but then I was like, well, maybe AJ
21:10
Speaker 2: is on the call, but I guess he's he's a
21:12
Speaker 2: guest of honor, perhaps giving a speech for Auzzie. Gee, Yes, okay,
21:17
Speaker 2: he is on the call, so and me, yeah, okay,
21:21
Speaker 2: very good. So AJ is back on his home turf.
21:23
Speaker 2: I cannot wait to hear and see that MLB on
21:26
Speaker 2: Foxes streaming on Fox One. The Race to October starts now.
21:30
Speaker 2: We have your front row seat to the wildest walkoffs,
21:32
Speaker 2: lights out pitching, and clutch plays all season long. Follow
21:36
Speaker 2: every camp mismatchup as teams battle for a spot in
21:38
Speaker 2: the postseason, and stream the twenty twenty six World Series
21:42
Speaker 2: live on Fox One at home or on the go,
21:45
Speaker 2: live or on demand.
21:46
Speaker 3: Never miss a moment. Stream now.
21:47
Speaker 2: Start your Fox one three day free trial today at
21:50
Speaker 2: foxwe dot com.
21:52
Speaker 1: I'm the dude, so that's what you call me.
21:58
Speaker 2: It is time now for our Dude of the Week segment.
22:02
Speaker 2: Go ahead, Ken, who is your Dude of the week?
22:04
Speaker 1: All right? I was thinking strongly about The Guardian's rookie
22:07
Speaker 1: who made his debut last night on Hell Now. Four
22:11
Speaker 1: hits in his major league debut. That's amazing, But it's
22:14
Speaker 1: difficult for me not to give it to the entire
22:17
Speaker 1: Lombard family, George Junior, the Mom and Jacob. On Tuesday night,
22:24
Speaker 1: George Junior made his debut for the Yankees, hit a
22:27
Speaker 1: home run. Jacob made his professional debut for the Marlins,
22:30
Speaker 1: low a affiliate, hit a home run. And anyone who
22:34
Speaker 1: knows these people the Lombards really hit thinks, so finally
22:39
Speaker 1: and highly of them. These are some of the classiest
22:41
Speaker 1: folks in Major League Baseball. George Senior, I'm really talking
22:44
Speaker 1: about here. I don't know the kids as well. So
22:47
Speaker 1: it was a great moment for the family and a
22:49
Speaker 1: great moment overall for the game. So the Lombard family Dudes.
22:54
Speaker 3: Of the Week, Yeah, no doubt about it.
22:55
Speaker 2: Congratulations to Judy and George and Jacob and George a
23:00
Speaker 2: Lombard junior as well. All Right, my dude of the
23:02
Speaker 2: Week is actually a dude Oat of the Week and
23:04
Speaker 2: is a friend of mine. Her name is Amy Moore.
23:06
Speaker 2: She used to be a ballgirl for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
23:09
Speaker 2: She also was the catcher on the Great Britain softball team.
23:13
Speaker 2: Her dad was born in Great Britain, so she played
23:15
Speaker 2: for the Great Britain women's national softball team for thirteen years.
23:18
Speaker 2: But what she's doing now is she is coaching. She's
23:21
Speaker 2: been coaching for eleven years. She's been doing private lessons
23:24
Speaker 2: for about four years and she was given this letter,
23:27
Speaker 2: which I thought was really special because a woman that
23:30
Speaker 2: went to the park where Amy does the lessons just
23:33
Speaker 2: tape this or taped it to the tree and said,
23:35
Speaker 2: I just wanted to thank you for the love, time,
23:37
Speaker 2: and dedication you give the children every single day.
23:40
Speaker 3: The way you show up for them does not go unnoticed.
23:42
Speaker 2: My late husband and I used to drive by the
23:44
Speaker 2: park often and he would smile and comment on your
23:47
Speaker 2: incredible work ethic. Now every time I see you out
23:50
Speaker 2: there coaching, I think of him and that smile. What
23:52
Speaker 2: you do for these kids has become a beautiful reminder
23:55
Speaker 2: of someone I miss very much. Thank you for all
23:57
Speaker 2: that you would do, for your kindness and commitment means
24:00
Speaker 2: more than you know. With gratitude, Cheryl, So congratulations to
24:03
Speaker 2: Amy for just being a stand up person. She pours
24:06
Speaker 2: herself into those kids on a daily basis, not only
24:11
Speaker 2: just in coaching, but and just being a good role
24:14
Speaker 2: model for them. All right, So congrats to the Lombard family.
24:17
Speaker 2: Congrats to Amy. Let's get to our dorks of the week,
24:27
Speaker 2: all right, Ken, who do you have.
24:29
Speaker 1: The Cincinnati reds Now? I can't give it solely to
24:33
Speaker 1: President Baseball Operations Nick Crawl because I don't know what
24:36
Speaker 1: exactly their owner's role, Bob Castellini is in all this,
24:40
Speaker 1: but I'll say this the Reds play in a division
24:43
Speaker 1: in which there are several small market teams, notably the
24:46
Speaker 1: Milwaukee Brewers, but also the Pittsburgh Pirates and Saint Louis Cardinals,
24:49
Speaker 1: who are in essentially the same financial position and yet
24:53
Speaker 1: are performing much better. And then came the deadline. Now,
24:57
Speaker 1: the Reds didn't have a lot to move, but they
24:59
Speaker 1: had another of players on expiring contracts and all they
25:02
Speaker 1: did was trade Nathaniel Lowe and Caleb Ferguson. Now they expect,
25:07
Speaker 1: perhaps to give Brady Singer a qualifying offer the way
25:10
Speaker 1: they did with Nick Martinez a few years back. All good,
25:13
Speaker 1: but could have traded him, could have traded Aohey and
25:16
Speaker 1: you Suarez perhaps, And I know the thought process there was, well,
25:20
Speaker 1: we weren't getting much back. Save money at least do that,
25:25
Speaker 1: save money, get the money off your books, put it
25:27
Speaker 1: toward next year, do something. They just have been staggered
25:31
Speaker 1: in for too long and they're wasting the best years
25:33
Speaker 1: of Elie de la Cruz.
25:34
Speaker 2: Okay, my jorg of the week is kind of a
25:36
Speaker 2: dorky Dude of the week. This is Jeffrey Yawn, of course,
25:40
Speaker 2: who has just got called up with the New York Mets.
25:43
Speaker 2: He gets out of a bases loaded jam with the
25:44
Speaker 2: ground out, and fans were booing him in Cleveland because
25:47
Speaker 2: he does this crazy dance off the mound and every
25:51
Speaker 2: time he has a strikeout he does this, you know,
25:53
Speaker 2: this little this little move. His poor inner thighs Ken
25:56
Speaker 2: every time he does this. But I will say this,
25:58
Speaker 2: I want to give him a little litle bit of credit.
26:00
Speaker 2: And in his defense, it's been a heck of a
26:03
Speaker 2: time for him to get to this point. He started
26:05
Speaker 2: pro ball in twenty fourteen, blew out his elbow in
26:08
Speaker 2: nineteen didn't pitch in pro ball for five seasons. During
26:11
Speaker 2: that time, he worked as a roofer, He was a landscaper,
26:14
Speaker 2: a delivery driver. He was playing in a local Sunday
26:17
Speaker 2: league for a team Ken called the Expendables. Let the
26:20
Speaker 2: man celebrate, So he's kind of my dorky dude of
26:24
Speaker 2: the week.
26:27
Speaker 1: Let them play. I'm not this guy. We see all
26:30
Speaker 1: kinds of stuff every night.
26:32
Speaker 2: That's right, all the Shenanigans. Let the man play. Well,
26:35
Speaker 2: that's going to do it for us here on fair territory.
26:37
Speaker 2: Foul Territory is coming up next. A. J. Pierzinski, Eric
26:40
Speaker 2: Kratz and Scott Braun as a Gian on the show
26:43
Speaker 2: Jim Hayes. Noah hyles Can, of course, is back on Monday.
26:46
Speaker 2: You can watch him on the Game on Fox on Saturday.
26:49
Speaker 3: Take care,