Latest / District Territory / The return of DJ Herz and the state of the Nats rotation

Transcript

The return of DJ Herz and the state of the Nats rotation · District Territory

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to the District Territory podcast. I'm Eric Shellhouse
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: from Bat Boys Baseball and joining me today, Spencer Nussbaum
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: of The Athletic. For those of you that are Nationals
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: fans and also Commanders fans, it was a rough weekend,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: but we're going to focus on the Nats half of
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: it right now. They did not pull away the sweep
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: in Cincinnati, St.
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: Louis.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: As the Cardinals came back to win five to three,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: the national suffered yet another blown save. But before we
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: get into that, let's talk about the outing that Jake
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Irvin had in the last episode. We talked about how
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: this was going to be fairly big outing for him.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: At least that was my outlook on it. And he
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: showed up Spencer in a big way. The fastball was
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: on a different level the other day. Were you as
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: pleased as I was with Jake's performance and what stuck out?
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he was quite impressive, right? He, We talked to
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: him after the game. I think he was a little
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: reluctant to talk about his own performance, as he, I
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: would say, often is, and was honestly more interested in
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: talking about the team, right, because of what they had
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: been through, suffering another blown save. So I will lean
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: more on my own thoughts than Jake's, which is to say, yeah,
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: the fastball looked good. Jake did say it looked good
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: throughout the game, which I thought was notable. and probably
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: spoke to his ability to, again, carry it through multiple
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: times through the order, which I think is really important
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: when we think about his future. Beyond that, yeah, I mean,
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: eight strikeouts, I think no walks. It was kind of
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: the 2024 Jake Irvin, or honestly, the post-injury situation. uh,
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: Jake Irvin where I know he hasn't been perfect since
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: coming off the aisle, but he's been better, um, than
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: he was before he went on the aisle. And, um, yeah,
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: still not sure, uh, exactly, you know, how to sum
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: up his season. That's maybe something we can talk about
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: in the off season. But, um, if this was the
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: penultimate start, it was a pretty good one to have. Yeah.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: Uh, it'll be interesting to see, you know, what the
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: spring training, what the starting rotation competition looks like come
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: next spring training. But, uh, Certainly a nice outing for
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Jake if that is the final statement that he has
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: on this season. The Nationals did lead at one point
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: in this game, but the blown save did not feel
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: quite like some of the other blown saves of the past.
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: It was very abrupt. But really quickly, C.J. Abrams, he
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: seems to be finding his groove again. He hit another
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: home run yesterday. It was a challenging August for him,
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: but what has sort of been clicking for him lately
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: in making new strides?
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I want to say that it's getting pitches in
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: the heart of the zone. But if you look at
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: what the results have been, I think that's not 100%
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: of it, although that's often what CJ attributes to his success,
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: which makes sense. To me, he's getting the ball off
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: the ground a bit more and he's hitting the ball
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: harder more often. So much of his pulling the ball
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: in the air does come down to pitch selection, so
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: that's why I don't want to discount it per se.
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: But you think about a guy like CJ who I
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: should stress is strong and has power, but almost all
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: of his home runs have come to the pole side.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: And I think that's been probably the biggest thing he's
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: unlocked this year when we talk about his offensive growth.
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: And so, yeah, to me, that's something that is sustainable.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: That is something that is crucial. And yeah, you think
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: about a lot of the best home run hitters in
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: baseball and They either have a boatload of power, a
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: boatload of strength and bat speed, or like CJ, they
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: have pretty good bat speed and can pull the ball
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: in the air really well. And that's what he does.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: And again, if that is the last home run of
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: 2026 for him, just to put a bow on things again,
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: it was kind of the quintessential 10 rows deep right field,
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: little bit of a showboating, which I enjoy quite a bit.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: it was the quintessential CJ Homer and it put them ahead.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: So I think that was the other thing that made it,
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: you know, a typical CJ Homer this year. Right.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: But it was very clutch, but also the show voting
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: is very much warranted when it comes in a moment
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: like that, as you mentioned, putting the team back ahead.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: What is the latest, I guess, with him in the
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: positioning conversation and his reps at second base? That was
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: something we followed for so long. And now I feel
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: like it is kind of died off a little bit.
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Is it still something the Nationals are really honing in
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: on here down the stretch that they want him getting
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: reps at second base and moving that way towards next season?
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think everything is still kind of TBD on
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: that front. He is still playing there, I would say occasionally.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: I don't actually know if it's been like a 50-50 split,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: but I think we might end the month of September
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: with something close to that. probably a leaning a little
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: more towards shortstop or to hazard a guess. As for
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: this off season, I mean, CJ has made it clear
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: that he will work as a shortstop over the winter,
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: which again, I think is notable worth discussing and yeah,
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: something we can definitely talk about this winter, but yeah,
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: I don't, I don't think that anyone's plans are clarified,
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: whether it is where CJ will play in the fields,
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: what team he will play on, what his, you know,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: contract situation might be, whether it's, you know, arbitration, um,
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: all these things are, are sort of up in the
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: air and, um, it'll be really interesting to follow that.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: Let's take a quick break. When we come back, talk
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: about the second half of the game, the nationals with
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: their 42nd record setting blown safe. This is the home stretch, everybody.
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: It is your last chance to catch the Nationals at
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: home in 2026. It's fan appreciation weekend. And if you're
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: looking for tickets over to the ballpark, SeatGeek has got
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: to be the way to go. I'm turning them every
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: time I need tickets over the ballpark. I want to
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: give a shout out to the sponsor of today's video, SeatGeek.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: With over 35 million downloads, there's no question as to
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: why SeatGeek is the number one rated ticketing app. SeatGeek
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: is MLB's official ticket marketplace, so your tickets are fully
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: guaranteed and instantly fulfilled in your account after purchase. Plus,
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: SeatGeek has your back. Each ticket is rated on a
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: scale of 1 to 10, so you know you're getting
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: a good deal. So look for the green dots. Green
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: means good and red means bad. And every ticket is
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: backed by their buyer guarantee. And of course, I have
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: a code for you guys. You can use code TERRITORY10
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: for 10% off your next set of MLB tickets at SeatGeek.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: That's 10% off any MLB tickets with promo code TERRITORY10.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Make sure you click the link in the description to
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: download the app and have the code automatically added to
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: your account so you can use it later. Don't forget
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: to subscribe to the District Territory podcast on YouTube, wherever
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: you get your podcast. If you're listening on Apple or Spotify,
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: we are going to be giving away this Eli Willits
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: signed Bowman first. Later on in the offseason, I don't
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: know if we're going to go to 1,000 subscribers. I'm
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: kind of just ready to par with that thing. Give
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: it to a Nats fan. Let's talk about another blown save, Spencer.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: This one was not like a lot over the course
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: of the season. It wasn't like a slow trickle. It
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: was very abrupt. A tank in the eighth to tie it,
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: and then another tank. to put them back on top.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: Did the emotions feel any different in the clubhouse afterwards? Uh,
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: I guess like, how did this one feel different to
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: the guys?
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, I will again, kind of echo your statement.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: It felt abrupt and, um, more than that, it was
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: two guys who had stepped up and the team had been, um,
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: even if they had been blowing saves recently, um, they
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: had been coming back late or regaining the lead. And
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: so that was also what made it feel different. Um, Yeah,
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: I think this one did feel different in the clubhouse,
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: which is not what I was expecting at all. If anything,
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: I thought it might be lighter or easier to stomach. Yeah,
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: it was quiet in there. Blake, who wears losses really,
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: really hard, this was probably in the 75th percentile of
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: wearing them hard, even for him, which is saying a lot.
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: I honestly don't really know what it was. I don't
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: think we got a clear... statement on what it was postgame.
• 8:30
  Speaker 2: No one maybe solidified that, but I think every single
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: one for the rest of the season, because they know
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: they're shattering the record, or maybe it's because they've been
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: playing so well recently, momentum, whatever it is, I think
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: that one stung more than most. And yeah, it's honestly
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: probably a good question to ask Blake today if he
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: felt that that one was particularly unique in terms of
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: how it hurt them, because... all of them hurt, but
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: that one felt, uh, to a certain extent distinct.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: That's really interesting to me because, you know, yeah, it
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: felt like the nationals were, uh, it could still feel
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: good about where they came away from this series, but, um,
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: it all just happened so quickly. You know, I, I,
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: in the, in the blink of an eye and that
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: is not how it's felt this season. So I can
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: see how it might be like a different pain in
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: their side. But, um, that is, that is curious to me.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Did the, Eric Tolman had a bit of a difficult
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: series there. What were, I guess, his emotions and feelings, uh,
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: walking away after yesterday's loss?
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, he, he was wearing it, but, um,
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: he is someone who I, I talk about this a lot, um,
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: off air about guys who, um, have perspective, so to speak. Um, I,
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: a lot of the guys in there, everyone in there
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: has some sort of perspective, right? Um, Eric's is unique
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: because of his journey and what he's been through. He
• 9:54
  Speaker 2: has been, you know, just to recap listeners, two elbow
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: surgeries followed almost immediately by almost having his foot amputated,
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: which took two years to come back from 14th round pick,
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: I believe. And so, yeah, he, he wore it and
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: it stings and he is very new to the big
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: leagues and in spots that guys who are very new
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: to the big leagues are not often put in. Um,
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: and so, yeah, he was, he was upset, but, um,
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: had the perspective of, you know, I've been through something
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: before I can go through something. Now I will go
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: through something again. Um, and he's always come out the
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: other side better for it. Right. Um, and better from it.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: So he wore it and I, that's understandable. Um, he
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: took accountability. He didn't like his basketball location right up
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: in the middle. Um, although I would argue that's better than,
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: you know, walking a guy and then giving up a Homer. Um,
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: But yeah, it'll be tough for him to swallow, but
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: I think he had the right mindset on it. Yeah.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: I've seen some people on social media saying, oh, this
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: guy has been a really nice story, but I don't
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: know if I see a future with him here in Washington.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: And to me, he is the most intriguing name coming
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: into next season, really, just because of what he's been through.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: I really think he is going to be one of
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: the most exciting guys to follow and someone that I've
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: trusted in high leverage spots down here. down the stretch
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: and I would continue to do so here in the
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: Detroit series or, or back home.
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I would, I would totally echo that. I don't
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: know where that fan sentiment comes from. And this isn't
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: even like from the perspective, like defending a guy who's
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: well-liked in the clubhouse or has been through a lot.
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: Like if we are just putting like what he's done
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: in the big leagues this year, his stuff, like throw
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: out the story for a second and the story shouldn't
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: be thrown out. He throws 99 from the left side.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: His other two pitches are even better than that. Like
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: he has the makeup for the moment. And then you
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: throw in the perspective, like he is, as you said,
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: probably the most compelling arm going into next year, him
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: and Robalta look like eighth inning guys. I still think
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: the nationals should go after a closer, a ninth inning
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: guy or a little more stability this winter. But yeah,
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: Eric absolutely deserves a spot. um or at least a
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: chance to earn a spot in high leverage next year.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah and despite these last two rough outings the season
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: numbers still are sharp 12 games with a 3-6-5 and
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: 12 strikeouts like i'm i'm taking these numbers from the
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: bullpen performances we've had this season and and yeah i
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: think he'll be exciting to follow next season this next
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: player i want to talk about is uh seems to
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: be a little polarizing online for Nats fans, Jorbert Bibas.
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: But take a look at the game log. He has
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: been an on-base machine as of late. We've talked about
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: him on the show before and how he really personifies
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: the money ball approach. But I guess this is, if
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: I'm not mistaken, similar to around the time when he
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: was benched or maybe it was right before that he
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: has kind of gotten on this groove. Do you think
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: that has played any role in it? Or what have
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: you seen from him lately?
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: It's a good question. Candidly, probably something I, again, should
• 13:08
  Speaker 2: ask him because I can't speak to that necessarily. I'd
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: say it's roughly the timing. More than that, at least
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: what he's attributed this to, is the chance to play
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: every day. And he was playing a good deal before,
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: so I wouldn't overlook that. But he is in a rhythm.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: The coaching staff, again, has preached their confidence in him,
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: which I think is another big element that happens behind
• 13:33
  Speaker 2: the scenes that maybe folks aren't as wary of because
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: you're not around the team every day, for those of
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: you who are listening. But yeah, again, they believe in
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: the swing decisions. He, I would imagine, is someone who
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: could add some bat speed this offseason, even if he'll
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: never be James Wood. I think what has held him
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: back this season is the power, and that is something
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: the Nationals have been known to teach this season, as
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: we know. I would still say Has it been an
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: underwhelming season? I mean, if he finishes strong, I don't know.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: Definitely an underwhelming first half for him, especially in some
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: clutch situations. But he has turned it around recently. It
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: is possible that kick in the butt from Blake helped.
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: It is possible that the confidence they've given him behind
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: the scenes has helped. There are a number of different
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: avenues you could go, but they believe in swing decisions
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: and they believe in end zone contact. a thing I
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: will probably say on this podcast for many years to come.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: Hopefully we're doing this for many years to come. And yeah,
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: so I think that they will keep betting on these
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: sorts of profiles if they're able to figure them out.
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: So yeah, good on VVOS for figuring it out.
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: Let's take another quick break when we return DJ Herz,
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: making his return to Major League Baseball for the first
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: time in quite some time.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: So Jay, do you ever find yourself crashing in the afternoon,
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: needing a boost, but not wanting to have caffeine that
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: you know is going to ruin your sleep?
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, definitely. I found myself on the golf course
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: a lot lately. And sometimes, you know, it can be
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: long days out there. So I reach in my golf bag.
• 15:11
  Speaker 3: I keep the ultra focus pouch right here with me,
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: keep it in my golf bag. And it's part of
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: my golf bag, as I said.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: And so what are some of your favorite effects of
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: the ultra pouches? Definitely gives me a little bit of focus,
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: that little bit of energy that I'm looking for, and
• 15:29
  Speaker 3: obviously not having any caffeine in it is always a
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: plus for me, so I enjoy those things. Ultra is
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: the ultimate guilt-free pouch, delivering instant focus and mental clarity
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: without nicotine or caffeine. New customers can use code BASEBALL
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: to get 15% off at TakeUltra.com. That's TakeUltra.com for 15%
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: off with code BASEBALL. After you purchase, they will ask
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: you where you heard about them. Please support our show
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: and tell them our show sent you.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: So as I mentioned right before the break there and
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: probably should have mentioned to lead off today's show, DJ
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: Herz is making his 2026 regular season debut. He has
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: pitched at several minors, several levels across the minors this
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: season and had a very promising emergence in 2024 before
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: Tommy John struck and he was sidelined for a while.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: what are we going to be paying attention to later today?
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: Will pitch count be playing a factor to some degree?
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: I imagine so. But exciting to see him on a
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: big league mound again.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, I don't know what the leaf will be,
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: but you, you hit the nail on the head, right?
• 16:33
  Speaker 2: Like this is someone who I honestly think a lot
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: of fans, at least from what I've seen on social media,
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: forget just how dominant 2024 was. This is one of
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: those guys, I think in a, a small class for
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: me where, um, maybe not like the most prospect pedigree, um,
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: but him, Dalen Lyle and Abby Malik Ortiz, like since the, um,
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: kind of early rumblings I heard about them and, um,
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: what they showed in the upper minors in particular, um,
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: and for, for DJ, what he did in his rookie season, um,
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: unbelievably impressive. It was, it was a ton of strikeouts
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: without a ton of velocity, which I think is something that, uh,
• 17:12
  Speaker 2: organization values because they believe that they can add velocity.
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: It's not saying DJ will per se. Um, but he
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: is someone who I think should factor into the, um,
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: rotation heading into next season, right. Where, um, you can
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: see behind Cade Cavalli, Connolly early, probably Andrew Alvarez as well,
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: given how well he's pitched. Um, I think we have
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: to acknowledge that. And probably I haven't done a great
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: job of doing that recently. Um, I think that, that
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: DJ is, is right there. Right. Um, I won't want
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: to read too much into one start, but I will
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: read into the fact that he made it up before
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: the end of the big league season this year. The
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: stuff is just with the deceptiveness. To pull a lot
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: of words that Franny used, he's just good. I think
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: that it's going to be fun to watch him finally
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: be back on the mound, have that swagger that we're
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: used to. I'm really looking forward to his return. Yeah.
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: Be really exciting to see how he does later today.
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: And as you mentioned, Andrew Alvarez, I feel like I
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: don't give him enough love in my group chat with
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: my friends. He reminds me of like Jacob deGrom lately,
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: just not being able to buy a win despite how
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: well he has been pitching. He is a really compelling
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: name to follow looking forward into 2027. The dude has
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: just been nails the last few months. I don't have
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: the stats in front of me, but we'll give him
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: his due in next episode. Is there anything you want
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: to toss in as we wrap up today?
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: No. I think I have a couple stories coming out
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: in The Athletic this week, so I guess I recommend
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: people reading those. Yeah, but that's my perpetual ask. Beyond that, yeah,
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: just hope you keep listening.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: Stay tuned for more episodes later this week. Take care
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: of yourselves, everyone. We'll see you later.