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Jim Bowden: Trade market update, Mets replace Pete, Phillies outfield · Foul Territory

• 0:10
  Speaker 1: It was so long overdue, and I got to see
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: the great my buddy Jim Bowden, our resident GM here
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: on FT And now we're back in our normal spots.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: But the winter meetings are over, and you should definitely
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: check out the takeaways from JB in the Athletic. But Jim,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: good to see you, and I want to start with
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: a bang here. Where do you think we're at in
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: terms of the trade market? I know you did many,
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: you know, little updates within your notes column about the
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: winter meetings, But where do you think we're at? Like
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: where are a few names that you think could actually
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: like this really could happen in the few names that
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: you're seeing circulating where you're like, don't count on yes.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: So I think the interesting thing is like all the
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: GM's were telling me that there was more trade talks
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: at this Winter meetings than any Winter meetings they could remember.
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: Like that's how involved these guys were, like all thirty teams.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: So yeah, there's a lot of talk going on between
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: these gms. I mean I think that you know, I
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: said I thought i'd get done during the winter meetings.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: Brendan Donovan of the Cardinals, the number one trade asset
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: the high end Bloom has. Katie Wu reported, who has
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: been on this show, does a great job. She's now
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: the beat writer for the Athletic for the Dodgers, but
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: she wrote that the Mariners and the Giants right now
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: are the front runners for Donovan. There are a lot
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: of teams in on Brendan Donovan. Obviously, this is a
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: gold glove infielder, can play second, third, left, he gets
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: on base at a thirty five percent clip.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: And there's a really good fit with Seattle.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: The Mariners have the farm system, they have the pieces
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: that him Bloom needs. So I kind of am viewing
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: that as maybe the next shoe to drop. But look,
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: there are so many discussions out there about so many players,
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: and it's all real, like it's all been confirmed, I mean.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: And the thing that I really found interesting more than
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: anything else is teams literally are listening on everybody. Like
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: it's not like the olden days where they would just
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: you know, say yeah, we'll take or whatever. They're really
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: listening on star players. Like very few teams had any
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: quote unquote untouchables at this point. So, yeah, it's been
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: a lot of fun now, you know, obviously it's intermingled
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: with the free agent class. So sometimes some of the
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: free agents have to sign or some of the players
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: have to be traded for the other moves to make.
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: But I think we're gonna have a busy week before
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: the Christmas holiday.
• 2:23
  Speaker 4: Okay, what are they waiting on?
• 2:24
  Speaker 5: Jim?
• 2:25
  Speaker 4: Like, they were all in the same room. They were
• 2:27
  Speaker 4: all in the same hote well kind of sort of
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: in the same hotel. Some of them had to walk
• 2:31
  Speaker 4: down a long hallway to get you know, and they
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: had to pass our show and say hi to Scott
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: and I. But they're all in the same room, in
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: the same area. What are what are they waiting for
• 2:40
  Speaker 4: to make these trades? To see if someone comes along
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: that they hadn't talked to, maybe a thirty first or
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: a thirty second team, and say, hey, we got a
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: better offer for you. What what are they waiting for?
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: Let's let's have these deals happen now.
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think you just want to make
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: sure you get the best deal you can. You know,
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: it's just like you know, sometimes talk about the free
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: agent market for a minute. Dylan see gets the seven years,
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: two hundred and ten million, and now farmber Valdez and
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: Ranger Suarez find out they're not getting that deal. So
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: then they look at the market and they see what
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: they're being offered, and then you know, they kind of
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: got to decide, am I willing to take the best
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: offer that's on the market, or should I consider doing
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: a shorter term deal with an opt out and go
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: back in the market next year or the year after.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: What are my options? And then a lot of cases,
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: it's the dominoes, right. It's like, you know, once Michael
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: King picks between the Red Sox, Oriols and Yankees, then
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: you know, if he picks the Oriols, then they're probably
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: out on Valdez and Suarez. And so a lot of
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: these players end up being connected. And whether it be
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: trades or free agents, everybody has that whiteboard in their.
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: Office where they've got their order of.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: What they want to do one to twelve, and a
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: lot of times, I'm not going to go to number
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: two unless I know I can't get number one. So
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: a lot of times they're just connected. So you know,
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: it takes patience, and all of a sudden, someone's gonna
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: wake up and they're going to want to pull the trigger.
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: And whether that be a GM or a manager that
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: gives you that extra year, or whether that's the team
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: that's willing to throw in that last prospect to get
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: a deal done. You know a lot of times it
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: just takes that last minute movement. And I think you'll
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: find that later in.
• 4:17
  Speaker 5: The weeks as this new CBA is coming up. Do
• 4:20
  Speaker 5: the players need to make sure there's some kind of
• 4:25
  Speaker 5: trade deadline for the offseason so you're not hurting free
• 4:29
  Speaker 5: agent players' values because you spend six years become a
• 4:33
  Speaker 5: free agent, and now teams are looking at the whiteboard
• 4:36
  Speaker 5: and they're going, well, I can't get Dylan See, so
• 4:38
  Speaker 5: I want Trek Scooble, I want Sandy al Contra, I
• 4:42
  Speaker 5: want Eduar Cabrera, and then I want Zach Allen and
• 4:46
  Speaker 5: then I want so is that something that the players
• 4:48
  Speaker 5: should do to increase free agent's values.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: I mean, look, I don't think there's any doubt, And
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: I got a big kickout of agents at the Winter
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: meetings that we're throwing the idea of, hey, we should
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: have it the summer tenth trade devil.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: Sure, if I'm an agent or a player, I want
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: a trade deadline because if I can, if I can
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: freeze the trade market from December tenth to March tenth.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: Then only way teams can improve is to get out
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: their checkbooks and bid on free agents. You want to
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: get better, You had your chance to make trades, you
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: didn't do it. Now you have to bid for us,
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: and the bidding would go up. So of course you're
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: gonna want that. From the club side is a former GM.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: I don't want that trade deadline. And if we're gonna
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: have a deadline, it's got to be a free agent
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: and a trade deadline at the same time. You gotta
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: put the players in that same class. And obviously that's.
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: Not gonna fly.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: And now, since I'm wearing the broadcast hat with UAJ
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: and Eric and Scott, since we are wearing that hat,
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: there's nothing wrong with this dragging on through January.
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: January would be really boring if.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: We got all the trades and free agents done in
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: December and our jobs. So I'm okay, let it keep
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: going in our jobs. I'm fine with it. Let's have
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: two or three a week.
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• 7:01
  Speaker 4: All right, Jim, enough of the trades because they just
• 7:05
  Speaker 4: always seem to take forever. There was a free agent
• 7:07
  Speaker 4: sign that happened this past weekend and we've discussed for
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: a long time. Or hey, Polonko to the Mets. Why
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: do the Mets make this move? And where is he
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: going to play? And what's his role going to be?
• 7:17
  Speaker 4: Because they seem like they have a third basement, they
• 7:19
  Speaker 4: seem like they have a short stop, they seem like
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: they have a second baseman. Vento's is a player who
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: they want to have dh R first base. So where
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: does Polanco fit in on this team? I just don't
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: understand what this move does to help them just and
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: other than just muddy the waters for Carlos.
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: Mendoza makes no sense to me.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: And I know what they said was primarily first base
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: in dh he has played exactly one inning of one
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: game at first base in his major league career. That's right,
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: one inning of one game. And then I heard David
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: Stearns made a comment saying, well, you can easily go
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: over there and play first Really, have you asked that
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: the Bryce Harper or to William Contreras or anybody else?
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: Do you not understand the defensive value at first base
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: on how they save the third baseman, the shortstop, and
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: the second basement. But to make matters worse, why did
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: you not make an offer to Pee Alonzo? Supposedly because
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: you weren't sure, how he's gonna age and you don't
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: like him defensively at first base?
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: Wait?
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: What, but you like Polanco at first base? Who's played
• 8:19
  Speaker 2: one inning of one game over there? And by the way,
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: Peter Alonzo is elite at scooping and picks, he's elite
• 8:26
  Speaker 2: at it.
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: How how many errors.
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: Does he saved the third basement, shortstop and second baseman
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: over the years in New York? Sure he lets runs in.
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: Sure he has a lack of range, I get it.
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: He also drives in one hundred and twenty five, So
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: if he lets in fifteen or twenty, he more than
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: makes up for it. So now you're worried about agent decline.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: Did they realize that Polanco's gonna be thirty three this
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: summer at the All Star Game? Do they realize he's
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: going to be thirty four the next year? Peter Alonzo's
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: thirty one. So you don't want to pay Alonzo thirty
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: one to thirty five, But you're willing to pay Polanco
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: thirty three to thirty four.
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: At twenty million per year? Are you kidding me? It
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: makes zero?
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: Saen saying, look, I like Planco. Don't get me wrong,
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: He's a good player. His knees are healthy. I get it,
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: but let's be realistic. You got rid of a forty
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: home run bat for a twenty home run bat. You
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: got rid of one hundred and twenty RBIs for seventy RBIs.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: That's what you did. Your off that's just downgraded. And
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: now with one Soto, why pitch to one Soto? You're
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: paying him seven hundred and sixty five millions so opposing
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: teams can walk them one hundred and fifty times. This year,
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: you got rid of the lineup protector for one Sodo
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: because now you have Horri Blanco.
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: As your dh ugh head scratcher.
• 9:41
  Speaker 5: What did they do to this clubhouse? You've talked about production.
• 9:45
  Speaker 5: What have they done to this clubhouse?
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: Eric, you nailed it. You know it.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: I went to Mets KP last year and I came
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: back and on my MLB Network radio show, I said,
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: the Mets clubhouse is a lead. I don't know if
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: they have enough starting pitching to win, but the clubhouse
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: is elite.
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: And I mentioned five players. Five players.
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: I mentioned Brandon, Emo, Pete, Alonzo, Diaz, Lindner, and Sodo.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: Those five guys stood out when I thought about good
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: culture in the Mets clubhouse.
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: It was those five.
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: Now Nemo, Alonzo, Diaz are gone and everything we're learning
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: and I do not have first in information, is that there
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: was some kind of rift between Sodo and Lindner. I'm
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: not confirming it. All I'm saying is what baseball people
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: have told me. Right or wrong, I don't know. But
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: what in the world have you done to that culture?
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: Now?
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: Granted bringing in Brandon Simeon, he's a good makeup guy too,
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: but he's thirty five years old.
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: In decline, so you know, I'm just not sure I
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: get what they're doing.
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: They're getting older, and they're replacing an elite closer in
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: Diaz with Devin Williams, who struggled the first half of
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: the year last year. We're replacing Alonzo with Polonco. Like
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: I just don't What we're doing is we're trying to
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: win like we want in Milwaukee, and winning in Milwaukee
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: works in a small market. This is a different job
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: in New York. There's different pressures on players in New York.
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: You guys both.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: Played You totally understand what I'm talking about. And you're
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: gonna sit there and try to build a Milwaukee team
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: in New York. I promise you not gonna work.
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: Okay, Jim, you answer my question. Is this David Sterns
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: trying to be too cute? Is this David Sterns reaction
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: the Polancos signing? We lost the Loons, that we lost years,
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: Let's make the Mets fans happy by signing somebody they've
• 11:30
  Speaker 4: heard of because of the postseason. And he was pretty
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: good and had a nice year. Right, So is this
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: David Sterns just trying Well, you just said he's trying
• 11:38
  Speaker 4: to do it the way Milwaukee the way instead of
• 11:41
  Speaker 4: just having the money and going out and getting the
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: best players.
• 11:44
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: And I've said this before. Being a GM in Milwaukee
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: is different than being a gym in New York. Look,
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: I got to work for the Yankees, I got to
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: work for the Reds. I understand the difference. In the markets,
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: It's a totally different job. The job that Brian Cash
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: and David Sterens and Andrew Freeman have now is completely
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: different than running a smaller mid market team. It only
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: took Andrew Freeman, though, a year to figure that out.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: I don't think David Stearns has figured that out yet.
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: He will, But you know why, New York teams have superstars.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: You know why they pay the big money for superstars
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: because superstars give you production predictability at a high rate.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: You want to go all young. You could pull it
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: off on a small market. I did. You can do it.
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: It can work.
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: You want to try to do that in New York,
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: No thanks. And look, I believe in Nolan MacLean. I
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: think he's the best starting pitcher they have. And I
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: believe in Carson Benge. I think he's the answer in
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: center field. I even think je Williams can be a
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: good player. But if you think you're gonna win in
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: New York with young players alone, it's not gonna happen.
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: It's just not.
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: And I'm sorry, so I don't get what they're doing.
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: And look, they have time to pivot. David Stearns can
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: shut me up tomorrow, go to a podium and announce
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: you've signed Kyle Tucker, Boba Schett and Michael King, and
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: I will absolutely put my tail between the legs and
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: tell everyone what a star I think he is, like
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: I did when.
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: He ran the Milwaukee Brewers. But it's hard to like what.
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: He's doing right now in Queens. It's hard to like
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: it or understand.
• 13:15
  Speaker 5: It because they're a big market. And you mentioned the
• 13:19
  Speaker 5: fact that the Dodgers have outclassed the big markets, not
• 13:22
  Speaker 5: even just the league, they've outspent the market. A team
• 13:26
  Speaker 5: that's in the NL East with the Mets. Is the
• 13:28
  Speaker 5: Phillies a big market, A team that's not afraid to spend.
• 13:32
  Speaker 5: With their recent Adolis Garcia signing, obviously, nic Castianos could
• 13:37
  Speaker 5: be most likely on the way out. Do you see
• 13:40
  Speaker 5: him move like obviously any catching, but do you see
• 13:43
  Speaker 5: the move like the Phillies that could move them back
• 13:46
  Speaker 5: into the Dodger conversation in the sense that we're pushing
• 13:51
  Speaker 5: all in, say like an Alex Bregman, who was rumored
• 13:54
  Speaker 5: to have visited Philadelphia.
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: I mean, I think Bregman's a difference maker out look
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: in terms of the Dodgers. They're not in a large market.
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: They're in a massive market, right. The Los Angeles Dodgers
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: CBT tax this past year was more money than sixteen
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: teams major league payrolls just the tax alone. They're in
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: a whole different planet. They've got a better farm system
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: than anybody else. They spend more money in analytics, technology
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: and scouting than anyone else. And they have one of
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: the smartest executives running them, and Andrew Friedman, who knows
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: what he's doing, and believe it or not, doesn't overspend
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: for talent. He really doesn't. He just has great resources
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: can do what he wants. And by the way, o
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: Tani's seven hundred millions already paid for. They're just printing
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: money at a ridiculous level. So the Dodgers really are
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: at a spot where I don't want to compare them
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: to anybody else. And by the way, you know, the
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: Brewers won more games in the regular season than they did,
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: so they can still be beat. But I think in
• 14:52
  Speaker 2: terms of the Phillies, do I think a Bregman or
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: a Baschett signing to play third base is a difference
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: maker for them?
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, sure I do.
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: If they can go get a left fielder, if they
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: can go get Bellinger and Bregman, sure. I mean, look,
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: they've got the starting pitching, they've got the reliever, they've
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: got the manager, they've got the player leadership in Schwarber
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: and Harper, you know, and you.
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: Mentioned Adolis Garcia.
• 15:13
  Speaker 2: Look he's been in decline, but he's thirty two years old, right,
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: He's been in Texas a long time. He's still a
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: good defender, he still has a good arm, he still
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: has power. Now, the question that I have is he's
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: got Kevin Long now. Can Kevin Long get him back
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: on track? Can Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper help him
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: get back on track? He's only thirty two, He's a
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: relatively smart guy, and he finally has an elite hitting coach.
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: He finally has elite teammates that know how to help guys.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: You know, could he be a comeback player for ten
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: million dollars next year?
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: Maybe?
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: I mean it didn't look like it. It looks like
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: he's in decline. But I kind of like the fit.
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: I like the chance. And to your point, yeah, Dick
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: Costianos needs to be released. They need to move on
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: for him. And yes, they'll be spending thirty million between
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: Garcia and Costianos this coming season.
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: All right, I gotta go back to the Dodgers and
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: what you said about the Dodgers. How much did you
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: say they spent more money in the luxury tax and
• 16:07
  Speaker 4: some team's payroll.
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: Or sixteen teams payroll? Theirs cbtwo tacks this year is
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: more money than sixteen teams major league payrolls.
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: Yes, Okay, do you think the owners care? Because you
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: know what they have, Jim. They have back to back
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: World Series Championship rings and they have the money. So
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: I always say that if you win a World Series,
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: and god forbid you win too in a row, all
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: that money goes out the window because you're making so
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: much money off Showway, so much money off Yamamodo, so
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: much money on Mookie Bet, so much money off Freddie
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: Freeman that they don't care. That's the thing that I
• 16:41
  Speaker 4: don't know that owners understand is that if you actually win,
• 16:45
  Speaker 4: and you actually win a World Series, it makes it
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: all worth it. I don't care what you have to spend. Now,
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: it's easier said than done to win that World Series.
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: But that money, I know. That's an amazing stat we
• 16:55
  Speaker 4: just threw out there. Dodgers fans, Dodgers' owners, nobody who
• 16:59
  Speaker 4: associated with the Rodgers gives two craps about how much
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: money they spend because they have two rings.
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well they have the revenue to do it though, too.
• 17:06
  Speaker 2: They're making money, they're printing it.
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: They got to know they're not They're not as making
• 17:10
  Speaker 4: Jim didn't you hear hal Stein run the other day.
• 17:13
  Speaker 4: They're not making as much as you think they're making. Okay,
• 17:16
  Speaker 4: it's all.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: The Mets aren't, but the Dodgers are. They absolutely are
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: printing way more money than anybody else. The New York
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: teams aren't even in the same ballpark. And they're being
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: run by guys that really know what they're doing, and
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: they care about humans and character and makeup, and they
• 17:33
  Speaker 2: only bring in good people, that's what they do, and talent.
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: And yes, yes they'll spend to the highest paid players,
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: but when they spend, they don't spend more than what the.
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: Market is for these guys. Even the manager Dave Roberts, yes.
• 17:45
  Speaker 2: He's being paid a little more than Craig Council, not
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: much more enough to make him the highest paid, which
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: he should be on his way to the Hall of Fame.
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: But you know, I say this because I know pirate fans,
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: for example, they'll get upset and go it's not fair.
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: I mean, you know, the bottom fifteen markets have not
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: won a World Series in a decade. Yeah, I get it,
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: But I tell people, as fans, you don't have to
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: be a pirate fan.
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: You can retire as a Pirate.
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: Fan, or trade yourself to the Dodgers if you want
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: to see your team win. Right now, the Dodgers got
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: the best chance to win a World Series again this year.
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: So if you want to win as a fan, you
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: can go to any team you want.
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: You don't have to roof for the team that's your
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: home city, and you can see the Dodgers come play
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: in your home city. They'll come into Pittsburgh and beat you.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: So look, if it bothers you that much, just become
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: a Dodger fan.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: It's fine.
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: Hey, JB.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: I want to go on the opposite end of the
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: spectrum here with the conversation. So I've been going back
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: and forth with some fans online, which is, you know,
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: always a good move about the Pirates. Okay, we spoke
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: about them during the winter meetings and how it was
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: cute that they sent out an offer that was actually
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: below what most did, and there's fans online like, hey,
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: give them credit. You know, they made an offer, might
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: have related to ownership or front off of something like that.
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: Even Ken on our show was like, hey, you know
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: that was real. That was something for them to show
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: the market that they have some cash to spend. I
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: think you're on the other side of this. I'm on
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: the other side of this, so I'll let you cook.
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: But then also get me to the finish line of
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: what they're actually going to do and not just whisper
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: in a free agent's ear and say, hey, we're twenty
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: million under, but we're gonna report that we sent this out.
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: Okay, yeah, I mean, look, Scott, their offers to both
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: Josh Naylor and Kyle Schwarberg were under what they signed for. Now,
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: keep in mind, if you're a small market team and
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: you're trying to get a free agent, you are never
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: gonna get a free agent at the same price the
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: contending team's gonna get them for. If you're a player
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: and you had a choice between signing back with the
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: Phillies or signing with Pittsburgh, what is Kyle Schwarber gonna do? Right,
• 19:51
  Speaker 2: I mean it's pretty easy what he's gonna do. I'm
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: gonna go back to Philadelphia. I'm comfortable there, I've won there.
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: We're a contending team.
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: You're not.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: So how do you in a small mark get a
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: player you offer more years and more money and buy
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: a lot. How did the Nationals get Jason Worth? They
• 20:07
  Speaker 2: overpaid him more years, more money to the ridiculous number.
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: Jason Worth left Philadelphia go to Washington. Right, how in
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: the world did the Tigers end up getting Magleiardonius and
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: pad Rodriguez. They overpaid for them back then, and by
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: the way, both of those teams ended up going to.
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: The World Series. You have to have players.
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: But in a small market, if you want Josh Naylor,
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: you can't offer what Seattle's offering.
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: You have to offer more.
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: You want Kyle Schwarber, you should have offered seven years,
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: two hundred and ten million in overpay. Would it have
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: ended well, no, But that's how you get on the map.
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: And once you get one, once you get two, now
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: all of a sudden, you start to win and people
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: will follow. The funny part about the Pirates is they
• 20:48
  Speaker 2: have a starting rotation that can get them to be
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: competitive in that division. They actually could be a contender
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: if they can get offense. But if you want to
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: do it, you've got to make offers bigger than what
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: the market is and not even close. All right, now,
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: what can they do because that's much more constructive. Ryan
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: O'Hearn you Hennio Suarez two examples, two bats add some offense,
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: fifty home runs to the lineup, try to win, you know,
• 21:16
  Speaker 2: with your pitching and defense. Let Connor Griffin make this
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: team an opening day, Let him be in the run
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: for Rookie of the Year and let him light everything up.
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: But yeah, look, if you're not going to get the
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: big boys, which it's tough to do, right It's tough
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: to get the top free agents to go to Pittsburgh
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: right now, you're not good enough.
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: You're just not.
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: But that being said, that next tier or the tier
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: after that, you could certainly improve the offense of this team.
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: We know they can pitch, so let's get some bats.
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: I think o'hearnan Suarez are two realistic guys they could
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: get in free agency right now, which would improve their
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: chances of contending.
• 21:53
  Speaker 4: Okay, before I let you go, I have your remiss
• 21:54
  Speaker 4: since I'm not going to see you before the college
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: football playoffs start. Okay, you mentioned team peep fans switching teams.
• 22:02
  Speaker 4: First of all, your son is the GM for USC.
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: The one win you Notre Dame had this year was
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: against USC. So as a USC fan and as a
• 22:10
  Speaker 4: non Notre Dame fan, you should be on this show
• 22:13
  Speaker 4: right now. Telling all these poor whiney baby Notre Dame
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: fans that I know, ohoo, that they could switch their
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: allegiance from Notre Dame to another school and most people
• 22:24
  Speaker 4: would be happy for them, because then I wouldn't have
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: to listen to all these Notre Dame people bitch and
• 22:28
  Speaker 4: moan about how they got screwed out of the playoffs
• 22:31
  Speaker 4: when the two teams they played all year that were
• 22:34
  Speaker 4: in the playoffs they lost to, and USC is the
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: one team they claim to beat. So here's your chance
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: to tell all those Notre Dame fans to come on
• 22:41
  Speaker 4: over to USC.
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, every Notre Dame fan, you should come to USC.
• 22:46
  Speaker 2: I'm a big Marcus Freeman fan. I love him. I
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: think Notre Dame should align themselves with a conference. I
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: think being independent hurts them. I understand the tradition, but
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: I think you got to get in one of these conferences.
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: Is I do think you guys got screwed, but I
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: think you all should become USC fans.
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: I think AJ is absolutely right.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I'll add on here, JB. They've been independent
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: for years. The difference is they don't have a boden.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: They don't have a voting right now you know they're
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: missing a boating. That's that's part of the yep.
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: JB.
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Good to see you. We will talk to you.
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: Yes, you too.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: Happy holidays, We will talk to you soon.
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: Good