Latest / Ross and Rizzo Unfiltered / Alex Bregman’s INJURY, White Sox PLAYOFF PUSH, Anthony Rizzo’s WILD Cubs playoff idea | Ross & Rizzo

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Alex Bregman’s INJURY, White Sox PLAYOFF PUSH, Anthony Rizzo’s WILD Cubs playoff idea | Ross & Rizzo · Ross and Rizzo Unfiltered

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• 1:54
  Speaker 2: Welcome back to another episode of Ross and Rizzo Unfiltered.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: We are coming at you twice this week. We are
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: in the last week of the season, Rossi, the last
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: week of 162 games. Coming down to the wire in
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: the American League and the NL wildcard in the American
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: League Central. Rossi, let's start with our Cubbies. Tough news.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: over the weekend with Alex Bregman in his face, man.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: Just a tough scene there in Cincinnati. Man, that hurts.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, man, that's a huge loss. It took me right back.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: I got to play with Juan Encarnacion coming up with
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: the Dodgers, and he got traded to St. Louis, and
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: the same thing happened. He had a foul ball in
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: the on-deck circle, messed him all up, ended his career.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: And so immediately my head went to a dark place,
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: text Breggy, uh, see if it checking in on him,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: see if he's okay. Um, you know, him, he, he's
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: probably most, one of the most resilient guys, uh, you've
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: ever been around and watching that happen in the middle
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: of this playoff push and the excitement around Wrigley field
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: and what's going to happen in October. This is a
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: huge loss. This guy's been one of the best players
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: in baseball. The second half he's been as good, if
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: not better than PCA in the second half. I mean,
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: he is, you're talking about the numbers that he's been
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: able to put up have been electric and why they
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: have one of the best offenses in the game. And
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: so this is a really big loss for Chicago. I
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: don't know how long he's going to be out, but
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: it sounds like post season at the earliest. So, you know,
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: sending up love and prayers for, for Breggy and his
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: eye and, Hopefully this is just a, he's out for
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: a little while and is able to come back and produce.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: If I know Alex Bregman, he's in the cage hitting
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: with one eye today. He's taking his axe, trying to
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: figure it out.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he's taking his axe with one eye, thinking, oh no,
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: this is good for, good drill, a good drill to do.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: He's very mechanical, loves working on his hitting craft and
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: defense too, but multiple facial fractures. The fact that I
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: love that he showed, you know, on social media the
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: eye to see how bad it was. Like, that thing
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: is swollen shut, bro. And hopefully it's a few days,
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: you know. Probably one of those things that looks worse
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: than it is, although there are multiple facial fractures. But
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: hearing that, hopefully he can be back in the postseason,
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: which would be amazing. I can't wait to see the
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: makeshift mask or guard that he wears, right?
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: He's going to look like a prize fighter getting back
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: in the box. Pivoting, putting on our manager teammate hat,
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: who's going to be able to step up in his
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: absence if he is out? You've got Ramirez who's played
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: a lot of second base and played pretty extensively when
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: Dansby Swanson was out with Nico moving over. Maybe he
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: moves a third. Maybe Matt Shaw. I think they've got
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: some guys that can replace him or fill his shoes
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: to some extent. I really like Ramirez's game. It's really contact-oriented,
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: high baseball IQ, good defense. Are you going to be
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: able to replace Alex Bregman?
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: No.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: But do they have the guys in place to fill
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: his shoes? I believe so. I think Ramirez has got
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: that type of game and what really fits in well
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: to that deep lineup for Chicago.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean... The NL wildcard race, right? The Phillies
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: and Cubs are tied. The Padres or the Phillies, I'm sorry,
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: the Cubs and Padres are tied. Phillies are a game back.
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: So here's kind of my, I'm going to take off.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: I was ever a player. I'm just going to go
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: straight fan observation, Rossi. I think, and this is an
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: impossible scenario, But I do think that the Cubs should
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: tank and be the last wild card seed and play
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: the Braves in the playoffs instead of hosting the home
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: field advantage.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: Ooh, that's a bold move, Cotton.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: I know it's easier said than done. But hear me out, Rossi.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: Hear me out. Cubs have had a lot of good
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: success off the Braves this year. The Cubs last year
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Same thing. It's lining up to be the same exact
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: thing as last year. Home field versus the Padres. If
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: they move on, they have the Dragon and the Brewers
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: in Milwaukee. If they can go into Atlanta three games
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: and build real momentum and figure out a way to
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: win that series against a really, really, really good Atlanta
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: Braves team, then their confidence is even higher. Then their
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: road dogs... It's a whole new identity. It's a whole
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: new persona. Then they have home games at Wrigley playing
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: the Dodgers, where the Dodgers may be a little bit
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: more beat up, right, instead of having to play the Brewers. Look, again,
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: this is completely off my rocker. I never played baseball.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: I don't know what I'm talking about. But I think
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: that's the Cubs' best way through. And obviously, Rossi, as
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: a player, you're like, all right, whoever we play, we play.
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: but I'm just looking at the whole landscape and I
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: think that would be their best way through and making
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: a real world series run.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: Well, it's funny. I, you've got that take and, um,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: you know, that is a, a bold take. I always
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: say a hot take. Um, but I, I feel like, wait,
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: am I wrong?
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: Am I wrong? Am I wrong?
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: I would, I would say you're wrong. And that's, that's
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: just because my opinion is different. And, and you know
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: how it is when you, the one thing we both,
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: do know is like, it doesn't matter who you play
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: in the post season. You've got to, you've got to
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: beat everybody, right? If you want to win the, win
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: the whole thing, which is the goal, you're going to
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: have to be really good teams in hostile environments and
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: overcome adversity. But I do feel like of the three
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: wildcard teams, the Padres, the Phillies and the Cubs, I
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: feel like the home field advantage is most important for Chicago.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: You know, You don't want to travel. If you're a
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: Cubs fan, you don't want to travel to San Diego
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: or Philly. We know what kind of hostile environment Philly is.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: And it feels like the fans at Wrigley can get
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: them over the hump in some moments, especially some of
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: the adversity of if the wind's blowing in that other
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: teams aren't used to handling, you know, mashing balls and
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: them not going out can be really deflating. We saw
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: the offense of the Padres just hit a lull last
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: year in the postseason at Wrigley Field. So my vote,
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: if I was a Cubs fan, would be, Padres at
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: Wrigley would give them the best the best chance that's
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: that's just my take.
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: The best the best chance to win a series are
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: we trying to just are we going participation trophy here
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: are we trying to win the world series.
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: Well listen listen you know as well as I know
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: as a player you gotta get there you gotta get
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: there bro you gotta as a player the momentum that
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: well maybe maybe like you get to the second round
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: you get Alex Bregman back like you know, like there's
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: some dots down the road and trying to get to
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: a five-game series where you may match up a little
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: bit better and get to a bullpen a little bit
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: more with that offense they've got. But I think, you know,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: talking Cubbies, their pitching's got to step up in these
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: moments because they're going to be facing some really good guys.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: It's going to be going head-to-head this postseason. It's going
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: to be really, really exciting. But I like your off-the-rocker take.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: I've got to be honest. I didn't see that one coming.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: No, I mean, look, Obviously, as a player, you don't
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: give a shit who you're playing. It's whoever we're playing,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: we're going to beat. But now, looking back and being
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: in front of a camera with a microphone and an opinion...
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: I just think that they can form an underdog identity
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: where they're expected to beat the Brewers. The Chicago Cubs,
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: we as an organization, are expected to beat the Milwaukee Brewers.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: The Milwaukee Brewers are the best team in baseball, hands down.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: They do everything right. They do the little things right.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: They do everything. They have the pitching. They're a really
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: good baseball team. So if I'm just looking at where
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: the Cubs can go and beat another really good team,
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: as in the Braves, which go on the road. I
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: feel like when you're on the road in the playoffs,
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: you just get closer. You form an identity, and then
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: you just, I don't know. That's my take. I like that.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: I like that.
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: I hope I'm wrong. I hope I'm wrong. They get
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: home field and they win the world series and just
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: run it.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: But well, they do have the easier schedule. Cub Cub's
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: got Marlins and Red Sox, right? Padres got Dodgers and
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: Diamondbacks who, you know, the Diamondbacks are almost out of it,
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: but they're pretty far back and playing pretty good baseball.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: And we know the Dodgers are going to be locking
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: it in. The Phillies got the toughest, in my opinion,
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: with Brewers and Rays, and they're going to want to,
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: They're going to want to be locking things in here
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: leading up, getting some momentum going into the postseason. Especially
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: the Brewers with the off days they're going to get
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: and the Rays, I guess, the off days they're going
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: to get trying to really lock in and get all
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: their pitchers work and they're good pitchers and making sure
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: those guys are sharp.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: What I absolutely love for the Cubs is that their
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: last three are in Boston as of right now. I
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: love that because when you play in Boston, it's different, right?
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: It's that different intensity. It's that different energy. And you
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: almost get a little bit of that playoff atmosphere there
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: going into the playoffs. So, but do you see the,
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: I don't know if you saw this, Rozzy, there's a
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: big Nor'easter that's going to supposed to hit the Northeast
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: this weekend that can absolutely be a logistical nightmare for
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: major league baseball. So if, if, If the Cubs and
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Red Sox have to play games on Monday to decide
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: the wild card, that fucks both the Red Sox and
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: the Cubs going into Tuesday. That would be a mess.
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: It could be bad. It could be bad. If it's
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: what they're saying and the weather's going to be that bad,
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: I could potentially see the league having the games at
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: Wrigley or something. Because that could be. Imagine that. I mean,
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: we'll talk more about that on Friday, I'm sure.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: We love a little drama, especially down towards the end.
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: But speaking of Boston, I'm on my way up there tonight.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: I've got Guardians and Red Sox tomorrow, with the Red
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: Sox just clinching a couple days ago. The AL Central
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: race is pretty interesting as well, and the AL in general.
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: I'm going up there.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: AL West. The Guardians are one game up on the
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: White Sox. They're going back and forth. We got the
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: Rangers in the mix. We got the Astros. It's going
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: to be absolutely crazy. The Guardians still play the Sox
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: and the Royals, and the White Sox play the Royals
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: and the Rockies. So the White Sox got a little
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: bit easier schedule, but Cleveland right now is my pick
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: to win. They're 1-5 in a row. Same thing, hitting
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: on all cylinders. Ramirez showing some power after that hand injury.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: Travis Bazzana is absolutely on fire in the month of
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: September going into Boston. Their pitching's really good in the
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: back end of their bullpen with Cam Smith is absolutely
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: locked down. So the Guardians are hitting on all cylinders,
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: but it should be a nice tight race.
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: Go ahead. It seems like every year, the last few years,
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: this is what the Guardians do, right? September, they surge,
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: and whoever last year was the Tigers they caught, this
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: year it's the White Sox. So, I mean... The good
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: news with the White Sox is it still looks like
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: they'll get that last wild card spot. But... Man, it's...
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: That race, man. It's coming down to the wires. And
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: the AOS, too, bro. It's like... The Rangers are in
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: first place. They're 500.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: The Central, you get a buy. So whoever wins that,
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: you could have... I mean, Cleveland's got... uh, 81 wins
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: night right now. So let's say an 84 with 85
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: when team is going to get a buy in the
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: post season, uh, which is insane to me, uh, with,
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: with all the teams that you have in the East
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: that are so darn good, but you're right. That AL
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: West race with the Rangers and the Astros, I mean,
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: they're neck and neck for the division. Um, you know,
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: Seattle's kind of fallen out. They've been kind of a
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: disappointing team this year, but, um, That West race, dude.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: I think the Rangers win it. They play the Mets
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: and the Twins. Astros play the Mariners and the A's.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: The Astros are at 500. That's crazy. Houston's got 77 wins.
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: Imagine if they get in and they make a run.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: What that would do to these front offices. If one
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: of these teams with a near 500 record makes a
• 15:25
  Speaker 2: deep run. We, we could be looking at, you know,
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: these front offices just licking their lips saying, Oh, well,
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: why can't we do this? Why can't we, we could
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: be this team. We don't need to be that good.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: We could just be a 500 team and make a
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: world series run.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: Well, they they've all kind of gotten in the mode
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: of just get in and anything can happen. I remember
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: a front office guy telling me that like, everybody has
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: a 12% chance to win once you get in. Like,
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: I don't know if my brain works like that, but
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: I definitely think, like, we're going to get some teams in.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: I mean, I think I was talking to Buster Olde
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: last week when we were doing the Mets game, and
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: he's praying that somebody under 500 gets in the postseason
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: somehow just to mess everything up. It's never happened in
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: the history of baseball, so not in a full season.
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: So Buster was rooting for just some more craziness going
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: into the playoffs. We knew something like this might happen
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: when they expanded the playoffs a couple years ago. And
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: now we're getting a little bit more like the NBA.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: We've got so many teams that get into the postseason.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: I think it's good for baseball. I'm fine with it.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: But we may need to start having the conversation about
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: reseeding depending on record. You know what I mean? Go ahead.
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: No, no. I agree with Buster. Look, I'm a Cubs
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: and Yankees fan. Ideally, I would love Cubs-Yankees World Series. But, man,
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: going into this CBA, how great would it be if
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: a very small market team won the World Series this year, right?
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: And dethroned the Dodgers. But, yeah, with the playoff structure.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: You said it last week, raise Brewers, right? I mean,
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: that's not... Right?
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: Imagine that. That's a nightmare. It's a Major League Baseball
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: nightmare if it's Cubs-Brewers. Or, I'm sorry, Brewers-Rays. But, I
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: like the structure of it, Rossi, but look, Walt Weiss,
• 17:28
  Speaker 2: when the Braves clinched, said something that I haven't heard
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: anyone say, and he said that someone had told him
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: this years ago. Winning the division is the hardest accolade
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: of all of them to win, right? Winning the World
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: Series is as hard as it can get, But what
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: he meant by that was it takes 162 games to
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: win your division. That's a very hard. It takes everyone.
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: It takes probably 50 to 60 players. It takes an army, health, luck, momentum, right,
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: to win your division. And then in the playoffs, you
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: could get hot. Usually the best team always prevails, but
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: you could get hot and win where the division is hard.
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: So the playoff structure to get in, I like the expanded,
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: but I want to see it somehow where it's either
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: the five or seven game series. Because look, the Chicago
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: Cubs and New York Yankees, they're built for seven games.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: The Cleveland Guardians are built for a three game series.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: They have three lights out bullpen guys. They have a
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: couple starters, but they don't have a seven game series
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: in them, in my opinion. So you can get these
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: teams sneaking on, which I guess is good for the game,
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: but the teams that are built to last, that built
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: for the seven-game grind, those teams, I think, are the
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: ones that get penalized in this playoff format.
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I would agree with you. I mean, stacking up
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: wins through the regular season has to carry a ton
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: of weight because of how hard it is, and especially,
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: like you said, winning your division. I just would like
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: to see the best teams in baseball rewarded, right? I've
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: And that's the consistency. It's really hard to be consistent
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: over the 162, to your point. And, you know, would
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: we be having this conversation if the Rockies were the
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: best team in baseball and the Yankees were the ones
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: that were at 500? We'd be like, just let the
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Yankees get in and play whoever, right? It has a
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: lot to do with the markets. You know, I think
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: we've got some big market biases, but I don't know.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: To the end of the day, you know, when you're
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: starting to think about you're managing your team and you
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: want them, every win matters and playing to the finish
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: line is really, really important and not, you know, some
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: of these teams taking three days off, like we're in,
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: we're going to get in, let me rest my guys.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: You know, when you get there, you get that luxury,
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: but there should be some incentive to play to the
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: finish line. And a lot of these teams do have
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: with home field advantage and stuff, but there's no way
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: that Cleveland shouldn't have to earn their stripes for kind
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: of being an 84 or type win team. That's my
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: only thing.
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: I like the reseeding. You got the Yankees, the Red
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: Sox are clearly record-wise better than the Guardians and the
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: White Sox. Whoever wins at AL Central has a first-round buy.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: That's insane. Now you're a 90-plus win team having to
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: go win two of three. Anyone can win two of three.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: That's baseball. That's baseball, Susan. That's the way it goes.
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: Who do you think.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: Okay, let me ask you this. Out of the AL
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: West and Central, who do you think has a chance
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: to make a World Series run?
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: You know what? I'm going to go with the White Sox.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: Because no one in their right minds are going to
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: respect them, in my opinion. Like, fully... giving them their
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: full respect that they deserve. I mean, look, it's 162
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: game season. It's hard to fool people throughout the course
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: of the year, right? Maybe you get hot for a
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: few weeks, but this team has been resilient all year.
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: Will Venable has done an amazing job of leading those men,
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: those young men. And it seems like their vibe is
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: if we get in, like, let's just go shock the world.
• 21:36
  Speaker 2: And that's a scary– bro, we've been there. I've been
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: there on a team, you know, in 2015 where obviously
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: we're a bigger market, but let's just go and play
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: with house money. And that's what that team can do.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: And I think that's a perfect segue to our Corona
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: Playa of the Week, Miguel Vargas. You know, he's been
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: the AL Player of the Week, three home runs, nine RBIs,
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: and two stolen bases last week. He's been a staple
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: for this team this year, Rossi. A staple. He's possibly
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: leading them to a division title, which we don't think
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: he's going to. Joins Maglio Ordonez. Maglio Ordonez. Holy shit. Ordonez.
• 22:18
  Speaker 2: Maglio Ordonez. And Luis Robert has the only White Sox
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: to ever hit 30 home runs in 20 bags in
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: a season. He has 33 home runs, 88 RBIs, 20 bags,
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: 850 OPS. 26 years old, Rossi. I mean, this guy
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: has led this team. He's been an unsung hero of
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: this team. Maybe someone everyone hasn't heard of throughout the year,
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: but he's a stud.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: Well, huge pickup for the White Sox with the Kopech
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: and Tommy Edmond three-way deal with the Dodgers that get
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: him back from the Dodgers. And he's always had, looking
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: at some of his stats, he's always controlled the strike
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: zone and been dominant there. But he's over doubled his
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: previous high and home runs this year. He is, he's
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: having a career year and bit, like you said, been
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: a staple for this team. And, and along with these
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: young guys that they have, uh, has been a real,
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: real big spark for, uh, the white socks and, and
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: kind of carrying them all-star, uh, Cuban born. Like dad
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: was a absolute stud in Cuba, just doing some background.
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: It's like, uh, this guy's got baseball in his blood
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: and he's an exciting player. So congratulations to Miguel Vargas
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: for our Corona playa. Of the week. Playoff.
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: I remember. I remember.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: It was.
• 23:37
  Speaker 2: I feel like it was like yesterday. Him sitting on
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: the dugout. Like looking all sad. He just got traded
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: from the Dodgers to the White Sox. It was almost
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: like a new Jordan meme. Where he's just sitting there like. Right.
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: And now he's put together an amazing year. Hopefully he
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: has continued success.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: I mean.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: This is the upside that everyone thought he was going
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: to have. Right.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: And.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: He's a huge reason why the White Sox are where
• 24:02
  Speaker 2: they're at this year for sure.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he was a big prospect coming out of their
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: minor league system. He had all the accolades getting into
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: the big leagues. I've got a question for you. We're
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: going to go off script a little bit, and we
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: can bring this up next week, but manager of the
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: year in the AL is insane to me. A lot
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: of people are saying Stephen Vogt, third-time manager of the year.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: He would win three in a row. Will Venable, you
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: brought him up. What an absolute stud and great job
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: he's done this year. Turning a 100-win team, lost team,
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: into the playoffs this year from last year. And then
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: my guy Chad Tracy in Boston. I played for his dad.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: I mean, how do you not give it to Chad?
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: I mean, he came in with just absolute turmoil there.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: And a mess and is taking this team to the playoffs.
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: So something to marinate on. We don't have to get
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: comments now.
• 25:00
  Speaker 2: What about Kevin Cash? What about Kevin Cash? The Rays
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: are the best team in the American League, bro. They are.
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: I like that you threw his hat in there. But
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: they've been there, done that. They're boring. The Rays are
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: always in it. So let's give it to the store. No.
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: Kevin Cash continues to just get the best out of
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: his players. But I hear you. It's going to be.
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: No doubt. It'll be a good one. You're such a manager. Hey,
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: David Stearns, if you're a fan of the program, I
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: can give my guy's number here. I'll give him your
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: number now. His number is 954. Yeah, just send it
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: out to the world. Send it out to the world.
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: The Rays were 77-85 last year. You've got a really
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: good point, Riz. They make great moves and get the
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: most out of their players. You're right. Cash, he's been
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: doing it for a long time. Tampa native, born and
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: raised in Tampa. And he just raves about his front
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: office when you're around him and how great it is
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: to go to work every day with those guys.
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I loved... When I was with the Yankees, I
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: loved playing against the Rays. I respected Kevin Cash tremendously
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: from the other side. And that's how I felt, too,
• 26:15
  Speaker 2: when I played against the Brewers. I respected Council and
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: Murphy over there.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: Just.
• 26:21
  Speaker 2: What they did with what their resources were, it feels
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: like every year they just overproduce. Where you're like, man,
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: if they had a big budget, these guys could be dangerous, right? Yeah.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: That's going to be going.
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: They've got a secret sauce. Those two organizations are developing
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: the minor leagues, getting the right players to fit their org.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: It's never like these flashy, shiny, big deals, but– they
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: do a great job of identifying what they like and,
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: and their, their group of guys are going to fit
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: in and, and make them produce. I mean, what they're
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: doing with Peralta getting him from the Mets at the
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: trade deadline. And he's, his stuff's ticked up and starting
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: to use his change up more. And, you know, he's been,
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: he's done a really good Kyle Schneider down there. Pitching
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: coaches does wonders with the pitching staff. Guys, we were
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: on the number one team in the world. So it
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• 28:05
  Speaker 2: We got our boy Kenny Chesney going on tour next summer, Rossi.
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: Perfect segment into the vibes tour on Kenny Chesney. On SeatGeek,
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: I am all over this tour. Get your tickets on SeatGeek.
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: Shout out SeatGeek. Of course, I have a code for
• 28:23
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• 28:27
  Speaker 2: of your next set of SeatGeek tickets. That's 10% off
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• 28:35
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• 28:37
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• 28:40
  Speaker 2: you can use it later. Thank you, SeatGeek. I know
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: I will be all over your app. Looking for these
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: Kenny Chesney vibe room tour. That's going to be a
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: good one. That's a big one for me, Rossi.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: We've been in the vibe room. We've been in the
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: vibe room. That's a spot. That's a spot. And with
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: Church and Sheryl Crow, like, I mean, what a tour
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: it's going to be. It's always good. He always ends
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: in Boston at Foxboro. He always starts in Tampa. I've
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: been to that one. Maybe we'll have to have a
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: meeting in Chicago, maybe a podcast from Chicago.
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: Ooh, with Kenny on it?
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: On 626. With Kenny on it? 626. That'd be nice.
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: Hey, again, Ross and Rizzo, 10 for 10% off your
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: next set of tickets at SeatGeek. Ross and Rizzo, 10. SeatGeek. Well, Rossi,
• 29:28
  Speaker 2: let's wrap this up with our favorite segment of the show,
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: the Tim Buss Ball Bag Questions of the Week. This
• 29:35
  Speaker 2: is our weekly mailbag where we both take questions. You
• 29:39
  Speaker 2: can leave your questions or submit your questions to rossandrizzo
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: at gmail.com. Leave a comment on our YouTube channel. We
• 29:46
  Speaker 2: love hearing from our fans. We love hearing what's on
• 29:50
  Speaker 2: your mind. We love debating. We love talking the game.
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: As you could tell earlier in this episode, I went
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: off the walls with my Cubs should be the last
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: seed to on the road, which is crazy, but not
• 30:01
  Speaker 2: that crazy, honestly. First question is from Dylan Poche. With
• 30:08
  Speaker 2: the playoffs fast approaching, I'm curious whether you think the
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: current playoff format slash length should be modified at all.
• 30:15
  Speaker 2: My argument being, if you play 162 games, are you
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: good enough to make the playoffs? Should at least be
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: guaranteed a home game, whether that be making the wild
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: card at best of five or giving lower seeds a
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: home game in the best of three. This will give
• 30:29
  Speaker 2: us playoff atmospheres that we haven't seen in a long time,
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: like the 2023 Marlins and 2025 Reds. Curious to hear
• 30:37
  Speaker 2: your thoughts. Do teams deserve home games if they get in? Yeah, no.
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: I would say the teams, and the reason why the format,
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: I think we've touched on it a little bit with
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: the receding, but part of the you know, lure of
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: winning the most games or winning your division in the
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: postseason or in the regular season is to get home
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: field advantage in the postseason. I think they've got that right.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: Like you win the most games. Like you said, it
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: is really, really hard. I know everybody wants home games.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: There's nothing better than playing in a playoff atmosphere in
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: your home park. But, you know, some of these teams
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: that maybe get hot in the second half like we did, um, and,
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: and four and a 15, sorry, and had to go
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: on the road. Like it creates a little bit of, um,
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: resiliency in your, in your group and also makes it
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: really hard when you overcome adversity, especially in that first
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: round on the road, it feels like you gain some momentum,
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: especially when you get to go back home and, and
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: kind of play games in front of your home fan
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: and the second rip fans in the second round, uh,
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: and feel that energy kind of kind of get in
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: your back pocket and kind of carry you, hopefully, that
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: momentum you got from being on the road. Kind of
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: to your point, the Cubs going to Atlanta.
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, see? Yeah, you kind of like it. Kind of
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: like it. Yeah, I like the reseeding. I think the
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: reseeding is the obvious fix. If there is going to
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: be a fix, I do think every round you should
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: just reseed the best team. Look, if you're going to
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: play 162 games, you need to be rewarded for being
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: one of the best teams in baseball and the way
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: you reward them a division title okay that's that's great
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: right like we can try to make it as glamorous
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: as we want but if you're the if you're one
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: of the best at 162 and you move on you
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: should be playing the worst teams so the best of
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: the best can prevail and if you're one of the
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: lower teams that sneak in you're gonna have to prove
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: to yourself that you can beat the big boys right
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: you I don't think you should have two of the
• 32:43
  Speaker 2: giants going at it. You shouldn't have, in the second round,
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: the two best American League teams playing each other. You're
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: going to either have the Yankees or the Red Sox
• 32:54
  Speaker 2: playing the Rays in the second round, which is crazy.
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: But I do, my first initial thought is about if
• 33:03
  Speaker 2: everyone deserves a home game, I agree with you, Ross, no.
• 33:06
  Speaker 2: Because what came to my mind is Travis Kelsey, when
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: they win the Super Bowls, you got to fight For
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: your right. Little BC boys.
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: Little BC boys.
• 33:21
  Speaker 2: If you want that home field advantage, I mean, they
• 33:23
  Speaker 2: don't get it in football. You know what I mean?
• 33:25
  Speaker 2: You got to earn it. Yep. Yep.
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: Next one from Jeremy Wheel. I have a question regarding
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: PCA's performance. What is he doing differently this year compared
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: to last year? We hear a lot about him swinging less,
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: but he also seems to be leveraging his athleticism much more,
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: which is leading to greater consistency.
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: Riz? You know, from what I've seen is last year,
• 33:50
  Speaker 2: he got off to an amazing start, right? And from
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: my time in baseball, when you're not fully established yet,
• 34:01
  Speaker 2: I've seen guys, it's easy when they get off to
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: these good starts and they can carry that the entire year, right?
• 34:08
  Speaker 2: And they only have one or two good years where...
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: I always admired the guys that got off to slow starts,
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: maybe because I got off to a lot of slow
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: starts in my career, that at the end of the year,
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: their numbers were going to be their numbers, right? And
• 34:22
  Speaker 2: they did it every single year. So I think last year,
• 34:26
  Speaker 2: him struggling in the second half, going into the offseason,
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: having that playoff taste, he was able to really dissect
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: his season in two halves and learn from that. And
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: then bringing that experience another year under his belt, another
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: year facing the league, these pitchers being more comfortable, getting
• 34:48
  Speaker 2: the big contract, having the financial security to just go
• 34:51
  Speaker 2: out and play, not have to think about that is
• 34:54
  Speaker 2: all factors into him being able to make these massive adjustments,
• 34:58
  Speaker 2: taking more pitches, not having to do too much and
• 35:01
  Speaker 2: just trying to win. And that's what it seems like
• 35:03
  Speaker 2: he's doing this year. He's just trying to win every
• 35:05
  Speaker 2: single day, every single at bat.
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah. I, I, and I've, I would agree with you.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: I think a little bit of the mechanical changes, like
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: he's standing up a little bit taller, a little bit narrow,
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: leg kicks a little bit bigger, but watching him get
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: ready to hit, his kind of pre-pitch routine feels like
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: it's a lot calmer, which when you're seeing the ball
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: a little bit longer, there's not so much movement in
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: your swing. The strike zone recognition comes along with it,
• 35:33
  Speaker 1: and then you swing a little bit less, and then
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: all of a sudden, you gain confidence in that. Like
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: you said, when you get off to a good start,
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: you have a good month with a kind of a
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: new approach or just some small minor changes and your
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: mentality can change a little bit. You build confidence and then,
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: then off you go. We look at Kyle Raleigh last
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: year with this kind of outlier of a season that
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: he had to your point of like getting off to
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: a good start and that being able to carry you confidence.
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: We don't talk about that much, the mental side of
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: the game, but it's very, very important when you're talking
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: about hitting and being in the box over six months
• 36:06
  Speaker 1: of a season, but I think it's a lot of
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: some small mechanical changes that have helped him see the
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: ball a little bit longer and make better decisions because
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: the numbers speak for themselves. The guy is controlling the
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: strike zone as good as anybody in the league, and
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: that was not his strength coming into this season.
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, and kudos to him and the whole
• 36:30
  Speaker 2: Cubs staff, his team, his support system because he's He's
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: already turned an amazing player into now an MVP player.
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: So it's been.
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: Shout out, Maley.
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Rossi, this is a question for you, and I'm
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: going to add to this question. This is from Ray.
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: How was your experience at the WBC? How did you
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: become a part of the team? And with Paul Skeen's
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: recent comments about maybe his velo being down due to
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: the WBC, can you see why he kind of said
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: some of the things he said?
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, first off, being a part of the WBC
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: is probably top five things I've done in baseball.
• 37:10
  Speaker 2: It was amazing.
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: Shout out Paul Seiler, the director of USA Baseball, who
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: was an old friend. I got to play on a
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: couple of junior Olympic teams. And Mark DeRosa, who invited
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: me to be on the staff, was talking to him
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: a little bit. And he kind of I threw it
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: out there just like, hey, I'm around. You need a
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: water boy. I'll get the ice bags for the trainers
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: to be on that team. I'd give my left nut
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: to be on that team. To be around Judge and
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: Bregman and Harper and Schwarber and Skeens. The list goes
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: on and on about great players. Matthew Boyd was on there.
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: There was just great players everywhere. Being in the bullpen
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: with Mason Miller and those guys down there, to be
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: a part of that was a lot of fun and
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: The bullpen coach has a lot less responsibilities than the manager,
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: so I was actually able to enjoy the ride a
• 38:04
  Speaker 1: lot more just being a part of that. But, you know,
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: the WBC does bring its challenges. I think you're getting
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: ready a little bit earlier in the offseason so you
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: can be ready to compete. Everybody that's talked about it,
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: I can now second the thought of its playoff atmosphere
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: and at the highest level immediately coming into the season.
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: and guys being ready for that, and all these guys
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: are some of the best competitors in the world, I
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: think that intensity comes out really early. So you empty
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: the tank probably earlier than you normally do in spring
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: training for sure, and also going into the season where
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: it's a buildup. So it does put some stress on
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: these guys and probably may affect some guys at the
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: back end, but there's also guys who are part of
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: the WBC having great years. I think it's a mixed bag,
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: and there's no telling– You know, I think about Garrett
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: Crochet with the Red Sox, and he was almost going
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: to be a part of the team and realized he
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: had thrown a career high in innings the year before
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: and probably didn't think it was, you know, the best
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: idea to compound that. And then he goes out and
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: gets hurt anyway. If he would have been a part
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: of the WBC, everybody would be blaming the WBC. I
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: don't think it's that per se. It's just like, you know,
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: a lot of these guys are, there's a lot of
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: miles getting put on those arms. over the years of
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: their career. And I think WBC definitely adds to that.
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: But I think it's great for baseball. I think it's
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: great for baseball.
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: No, I do too. I think that's one of those
• 39:33
  Speaker 2: things too that I think there's a couple easy solutions
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: to it. You start the WBC before the season. Maybe
• 39:41
  Speaker 2: you start spring the same, and then when that regular
• 39:45
  Speaker 2: season starts, you do a two-week WBC, and then you
• 39:47
  Speaker 2: make that up with either double headers or somehow you
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: try to make that up, right? You start, you start
• 39:54
  Speaker 2: spring training, February one, you do the WBC at the
• 39:57
  Speaker 2: end of mid to end of March where everyone's fully
• 40:00
  Speaker 2: built up because like you said, Rossi, it's, I played
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: in the WBC in 2013 when I was going into
• 40:08
  Speaker 2: my first full season and I hated it. Like, I
• 40:15
  Speaker 2: could not get ready. I wasn't an established big leaguer yet.
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: I wasn't fully confident in my brand yet. So I
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: had to ramp up really fast, felt like I was
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: in game action. Then I play for team Italy. We
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: ended up advancing the energy, the atmosphere, the competitiveness. And
• 40:35
  Speaker 2: then you go back to spring training for 10 days
• 40:39
  Speaker 2: to go to the big, it's just, I didn't love it.
• 40:43
  Speaker 2: I didn't love it. And, and, my advice for young guys,
• 40:47
  Speaker 2: I know it's really cool. You think you get out
• 40:48
  Speaker 2: of spring training, but those days in spring training, man, like,
• 40:51
  Speaker 2: especially as, as a big leaguer, you, you, you said
• 40:55
  Speaker 2: it Ross, you empty the tank, right? Well, as a
• 40:59
  Speaker 2: big leaguer, every single year, I shut up to spring training. No,
• 41:05
  Speaker 2: that's shaping my life, yada, yada, yada. But every single
• 41:07
  Speaker 2: year I would look at a young, like minor league
• 41:10
  Speaker 2: guy or a non-roster invite hitting absolute nukes. in batting practice, right?
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: And I would look at them and every single year
• 41:19
  Speaker 2: I'd be like, damn it, did I not work hard
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: enough this off season? Because as an established big leaguer,
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: you come into spring training in really good shape, but
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: your baseball tank is on empty and you're filling your
• 41:33
  Speaker 2: tank through spring training to then empty it fully during
• 41:36
  Speaker 2: the year. So guys are coming in now, not full
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: with a full tank of gas already. And then they're
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: expected to be throwing 100, right? Paul Skeens, that first game,
• 41:47
  Speaker 2: was throwing 100. He was electric. Your body's not used
• 41:51
  Speaker 2: to that.
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: We should have a whole segment. We should have a
• 41:56
  Speaker 1: whole segment on Skeens maybe next week.
• 41:59
  Speaker 2: We might have a lot to talk about after this offseason.
• 42:02
  Speaker 2: We might have an extended period off. That's nice. We
• 42:07
  Speaker 2: could solve the world's problems in baseball. Me and you.
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: Let's go.
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: Well, let's close it out. Thank you, everyone, again. Let's
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: say goodbye to our folks. Yeah, thank you, everyone, again,
• 42:19
  Speaker 2: for tuning in. We will see you on Friday for
• 42:24
  Speaker 2: our last regular season episode, and then next week we
• 42:28
  Speaker 2: will preview the playoffs, and then we will be going
• 42:31
  Speaker 2: always on for the playoffs. Our reactions, our thoughts, amazing plays.
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: bonehead manager moves, amazing manager moves. We'll talk about it all.
• 42:43
  Speaker 2: We'll break it all down. So keep the love coming.
• 42:46
  Speaker 2: We appreciate it. Subscribe, like our YouTube channel, Ross and
• 42:50
  Speaker 2: Rizzo Unfiltered. Send us emails for questions. We appreciate it.
• 42:54
  Speaker 2: We'll see you guys Friday.