Latest / Foul Territory / Fair Territory: The Ohtani-Caminero trade that never happened, Skubal's speedy rehab, Rollin' Brewers

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Fair Territory: The Ohtani-Caminero trade that never happened, Skubal's speedy rehab, Rollin' Brewers · Foul Territory

0:06
Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to the Thursday edition of Fair Territory. I'm
0:09
Speaker 1: Ken Rosenthal here with my friend Alana Rizzo in Alana.
0:13
Speaker 1: Just this morning we had a major development regarding one
0:17
Speaker 1: of the best pitchers in the game. Let's get into it.
0:20
Speaker 2: Wow, it's good to be with you, Ken, as always.
0:22
Speaker 2: Trek Scooble just had surgery Ken on May third, and
0:25
Speaker 2: there is already major news as far as his rehab
0:28
Speaker 2: process is concerned. What is it.
0:30
Speaker 1: Well, he threw off a bullpen this morning for the
0:32
Speaker 1: third time through thirty seven pitches. Was pleased with how
0:36
Speaker 1: it went. You can see him right there, and as
0:39
Speaker 1: Cody Stavenhagen, who has been all over this story reports,
0:43
Speaker 1: he did two ups and was quite pleased at the end. Now,
0:46
Speaker 1: as you said, Alana, May third was the surgery. This
0:50
Speaker 1: was the news surgery, the nano needle surgery, and what
0:54
Speaker 1: it is is basically a smaller scope than was used
0:58
Speaker 1: previously to remove loose bodies the arthroscope. The normal scope
1:03
Speaker 1: is still available and when the smaller one with a
1:08
Speaker 1: less invasive one, maybe that can't get a loose body
1:11
Speaker 1: out in a certain case, Well, then you could just
1:12
Speaker 1: go right in with the arthroscopic normal procedure, and really
1:17
Speaker 1: that is why there's not much risk with this, and
1:19
Speaker 1: the feeling is because it's a smaller scope, Because it's
1:22
Speaker 1: less invasive, pitchers can come back quicker. Scooble is the
1:26
Speaker 1: first test case. Blake Snell has already had this surgery
1:30
Speaker 1: as well, and there is a question just how quickly
1:33
Speaker 1: is Schooble going to come back again? Third bullpen session
1:37
Speaker 1: this morning, he's up to thirty seven pitches and as
1:41
Speaker 1: you can see from Cody's tweet here, he was fired
1:43
Speaker 1: up because he hit the velocity goal he had in mind.
1:46
Speaker 1: Didn't share the number, but described it as one hundred percent.
1:50
Speaker 1: For a bullpen, you've got to prove to your body
1:53
Speaker 1: that it's okay to throw hard again, especially being fifteen
1:56
Speaker 1: days from surgery. Actually it's eighteen, but we'll forgive sc
2:00
Speaker 1: the math. So what's going on here? How quickly can
2:04
Speaker 1: he come back? Well? Injury territories. Will Carroll wrote in
2:08
Speaker 1: his Substack column just a couple of days ago that
2:11
Speaker 1: he is hearing that Schooba will not even need a
2:14
Speaker 1: rehab assignment that can come. He can come right back
2:18
Speaker 1: to play now. Aj Hinch said that was untrue and ridiculous.
2:23
Speaker 1: We shall see, And obviously you would think he would
2:26
Speaker 1: need a rehab assignment just to get kind of back
2:29
Speaker 1: in the rhythm of a game. But you can see
2:31
Speaker 1: AJ's comments right there from Chris Pokowski relaying them. It's
2:36
Speaker 1: a really interesting thing what's going on here. And obviously
2:39
Speaker 1: it's not something the surgery that will correct a torn ligament.
2:44
Speaker 1: We know that what it is is for loose bodies.
2:46
Speaker 1: And again, if you can use a smaller soap and
2:49
Speaker 1: a less invasive procedure, this could revolutionize what we are
2:54
Speaker 1: seeing in these particular types of surgeries. Now. Blake Still
2:59
Speaker 1: he reached underwent it as well, and Blake Snell had
3:03
Speaker 1: loose bodies removed in twenty nineteen. At that time he missed.
3:07
Speaker 1: I believe a little bit more than two months. Generally
3:10
Speaker 1: that surgery is two to three months the normal orthroscopic
3:14
Speaker 1: surgery for loose bodies. It sure seems like school is
3:18
Speaker 1: going to be back a whole lot.
3:20
Speaker 2: Quickerrolana, I tell you what, that nano needle surgery seems
3:23
Speaker 2: like it's all the rage can but pump the brakes.
3:26
Speaker 2: Aj Hinch said there will be a rehab assignment, but
3:29
Speaker 2: good news for Tarek scoobl one of the best in
3:32
Speaker 2: the game. Right now, the Tigers are two and thirteen
3:34
Speaker 2: without him, eight and a half games behind the Guardians,
3:37
Speaker 2: four and a half back in the wild card race.
3:39
Speaker 2: All right, the Milwaukee Brewers, they're on top of the division.
3:43
Speaker 2: Can the Brewers continue to prove the doubters wrong? They
3:45
Speaker 2: have the fourth best record in baseball? How are they
3:48
Speaker 2: doing it?
3:49
Speaker 1: They're amazing. And every year we say, at least every
3:52
Speaker 1: year I say, I can't put this on everyone else.
3:55
Speaker 1: But every year I say, sometimes publicly in print and
3:58
Speaker 1: sometimes privately to myself, well there's no way they can
4:01
Speaker 1: do it again. And here they are. They're doing it again.
4:05
Speaker 1: They just swept the Cubs. They've won sixteen of twenty one.
4:09
Speaker 1: They held the Cubs to five runs in that three
4:12
Speaker 1: game sweep. And what we're seeing again, what is consistent
4:16
Speaker 1: about what they do Actually a couple of things. One
4:18
Speaker 1: the way they play the game, the aggressive offensive style,
4:22
Speaker 1: and the other thing. And this is where their pitching coach,
4:26
Speaker 1: Chris Hook doesn't get nearly enough credit. They pitch And
4:29
Speaker 1: here's Kyle Harrison. Kyle Harrison last night pitches seven shutout
4:33
Speaker 1: innings against the Cubs eleven strikeouts. Here's a guy who
4:37
Speaker 1: was traded from San Francisco to Boston in the Ralph
4:40
Speaker 1: Field Devers trade, then Boston to Milwaukee in the Caleb
4:44
Speaker 1: Durban trade. That trade is looking like an absolute steal
4:47
Speaker 1: for the Brewers. Not only did they get Harrison, but
4:50
Speaker 1: they get Shane Johan who has made an impact for them,
4:54
Speaker 1: and David Hamilton, who hit the little league homer last night.
4:58
Speaker 1: Harrison is a guy who really hadn't found not with
5:01
Speaker 1: San Francisco, not with Boston, but we can't get much
5:04
Speaker 1: time in Boston, and with Milwaukee, suddenly he looks like
5:08
Speaker 1: a star. They do amazing things with their pitching program.
5:11
Speaker 1: They have a great culture, and it sustains itself. It
5:15
Speaker 1: sustains itself through Craig Council leaving, through the losses of
5:20
Speaker 1: Corbyn Burns and Josh Hater and Freddie Peralta, on and
5:24
Speaker 1: on and on injuries this season, Andrew Vaughan Jackson curio,
5:29
Speaker 1: Christian Yelich for a time, Brandon Woodruf, Quinn Priester and
5:32
Speaker 1: here they are again. And I know the Cubs have
5:35
Speaker 1: injuries after I mentioned on an athletic video the other
5:39
Speaker 1: day that the Brewers are doing it again. Cubs fans
5:42
Speaker 1: had to meltdown saying they have injuries. To guess what, guys,
5:45
Speaker 1: The Brewers are inside the Cubs heads. They have been
5:49
Speaker 1: living red free in the Cubs heads for quite some
5:51
Speaker 1: time now, and until the Cubs take a stand against them,
5:56
Speaker 1: and it could happen at any moment. Of course, we're
5:59
Speaker 1: gonna still be talking about how Milwaukee controls this division.
6:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, they held Cubs to five runs in a three
6:05
Speaker 2: game sweep. Can winners of sixteen of twenty one. Milwaukee
6:09
Speaker 2: continues to do it year in and year out. A
6:12
Speaker 2: very impressive job by them. Perhaps Matt Arnold is underrated.
6:16
Speaker 2: We'll get into him in a little bit, all right.
6:18
Speaker 2: This part of the lead is powered by game Changer.
6:20
Speaker 2: More on it shortly. But Ken, you just had an
6:23
Speaker 2: article about the trade that wasn't to tell us more.
6:28
Speaker 1: Well, this is something that happened three years ago, and
6:31
Speaker 1: you might ask, well, Ken, why are you just finding
6:32
Speaker 1: this out now? Sometimes it takes a couple of years
6:35
Speaker 1: to find out these things. And I heard about this
6:37
Speaker 1: the other day, a trade that was proposed during the
6:41
Speaker 1: shoe Otani's last year with the Angels, and he had
6:45
Speaker 1: at that point two months left in the regular season
6:48
Speaker 1: and he was going to be a rental. This was
6:50
Speaker 1: not a case like the year before when there was
6:52
Speaker 1: that big package with San Diego that was discussed never
6:55
Speaker 1: came to fruition. Angels owner Artie Moreno didn't want to
6:59
Speaker 1: trade Oti then, and he didn't want to trade Otani
7:02
Speaker 1: to the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline in twenty
7:06
Speaker 1: three either, even though in that deal where two guys
7:10
Speaker 1: who became top prospects actually were top prospects at that time,
7:14
Speaker 1: and one of them, Junior Camanero, became one of the
7:17
Speaker 1: great young sluggers in the game. The other was Carson Williams.
7:21
Speaker 1: Those were the two that were discussed. As I reported,
7:24
Speaker 1: the Rays probably would have added lesser pieces to the
7:27
Speaker 1: deal to close the thing, but again, it never got
7:30
Speaker 1: to the point where it was It was a serious discussion,
7:34
Speaker 1: but it never got to the point where it was close.
7:35
Speaker 1: That's how I should put it. Now. What is so
7:38
Speaker 1: interesting about this as we approached the deadline yet again,
7:42
Speaker 1: is that these things happen in baseball, and sometimes the
7:45
Speaker 1: trades that aren't made work out the best for the
7:48
Speaker 1: teams involved. Didn't work out best for the Angels. They
7:52
Speaker 1: should have gotten something for Otani. Remember they were buyers
7:56
Speaker 1: that year, even though their wildcard chances were relatively slim,
8:00
Speaker 1: and it didn't work out or wouldn't have worked out
8:03
Speaker 1: most likely for the Rays as well. And here's why.
8:07
Speaker 1: So the Rays were having a great year in twenty
8:10
Speaker 1: twenty three. They would win ninety nine games and ultimately
8:13
Speaker 1: get bounced in the playoffs by the Rangers, who win
8:16
Speaker 1: the World Series. But the Rays, if they had traded
8:19
Speaker 1: for Otani, obviously they would not have had Kamenera, who
8:22
Speaker 1: is established and Carson Williams who is trying to get
8:25
Speaker 1: established and still might become a really good player in
8:28
Speaker 1: this league. So they wouldn't have had those two guys.
8:30
Speaker 1: And then the day after the deadline, Shane McClanahan went
8:35
Speaker 1: down ultimately required Tommy John surgery. Wander Franco goes on
8:39
Speaker 1: the restricted list August fourteenth, so shortly after the deadline,
8:43
Speaker 1: in his situation an inappropriate alleged sexual relationship with a minor.
8:49
Speaker 1: He still has not played since then. And of course
8:52
Speaker 1: Otani got hurt that year. Otani ultimately tore his UCL
8:58
Speaker 1: that was around late August. Then they remained a hitter
9:01
Speaker 1: for a time any strained obleaque I believe, and then
9:05
Speaker 1: ultimately had some kind of major elbow surgery. We still
9:09
Speaker 1: don't know exactly what it was, but it was a
9:10
Speaker 1: major elbow surgery. So for the Raise, it would have
9:13
Speaker 1: been crushing to lose two top young players and then
9:17
Speaker 1: not have Otti, and then of course all the other
9:20
Speaker 1: things that happened that kind of conspired against them. So
9:23
Speaker 1: these things, to me are always fascinating to look at
9:27
Speaker 1: and to look back at, and all the ways that
9:30
Speaker 1: the dominoes could have fallen. Now, this is not the
9:33
Speaker 1: only proposed trade that didn't come to fruition. There are
9:36
Speaker 1: literally dozens of them every year, maybe even hundreds of them,
9:40
Speaker 1: but this one was particularly interesting to me. And again,
9:44
Speaker 1: as we approached the deadline, we're going to see things
9:47
Speaker 1: happen and not happen that will affect teams quite dramatically.
9:52
Speaker 1: So that's why I wrote it. I thought it was
9:55
Speaker 1: quite interesting and quite fun to look back on, and
9:58
Speaker 1: I hope people read it.
10:00
Speaker 2: Ken It's funny too, because you had just mentioned there's
10:02
Speaker 2: so many times that trades don't happen, and we don't
10:05
Speaker 2: necessarily think too much more about it. But it's a
10:08
Speaker 2: different thing entirely when it's the face of the game
10:12
Speaker 2: that could have gone to a different place. Sho hey
10:14
Speaker 2: Otani is the face of major League Baseball. Obviously, he's
10:17
Speaker 2: an international icon. People care about what shohe Otani is doing.
10:21
Speaker 2: Imagine had this gone down, I mean, especially to a
10:24
Speaker 2: team like the Rays. I understand he would have been
10:26
Speaker 2: a rental. How do you think that would have changed
10:28
Speaker 2: perhaps the trajectory of what the Rays did moving forward.
10:31
Speaker 2: Would they have tried to sign him to a long
10:33
Speaker 2: term deal? What would they have done with show Hey?
10:36
Speaker 1: They would never have signed them. They knew that. But
10:39
Speaker 1: their original thought was, Okay, let's get him to be
10:43
Speaker 1: a pitcher and a hitter to a team that is rolling.
10:45
Speaker 1: Before all those bad things happened this team. That was
10:48
Speaker 1: the year they started thirteen and oh twenty seven and six.
10:51
Speaker 1: The Rays had slowed down at that point, but they
10:53
Speaker 1: were still really good. As I said, they won ninety
10:56
Speaker 1: nine games. So their idea was he'd elevate us further,
11:01
Speaker 1: and not only that, maybe he'd electrify what has been
11:06
Speaker 1: largely a dormant market. Right, So they had the big
11:09
Speaker 1: picture in mind. Now it's interesting too looking back here
11:14
Speaker 1: the year before that San Diego trade that I mentioned, Remember,
11:18
Speaker 1: the Padres acquired Juan Soto at that deadline, and they
11:22
Speaker 1: were trying to get Otani too. It was going to
11:24
Speaker 1: be one or the other. And even though Otani had
11:28
Speaker 1: one less year of control, ultimately the Angels could have
11:31
Speaker 1: gotten a package from the Padres similar to the one
11:33
Speaker 1: they gave up for Soto that included James Wood and CJ.
11:37
Speaker 1: Abrams and Mackenzie Gore. Jackson Merrill, as I've reported, also
11:41
Speaker 1: was in those conversations, perhaps going back to the Angels
11:44
Speaker 1: in some different combination. So both times Artie Moreno chose
11:49
Speaker 1: not to trade Otani. He wanted to try to win
11:52
Speaker 1: with Otani. Okay, understandable, But then they didn't sign Otani
11:57
Speaker 1: the Angels, And that's why this is so so devastating
12:01
Speaker 1: in retrospect. Not only did they get the players they
12:04
Speaker 1: could have in either of these trades, and probably a
12:06
Speaker 1: few more, they didn't keep the guy that ultimately turned
12:10
Speaker 1: into and was even at that time, the best player
12:13
Speaker 1: in the game.
12:14
Speaker 2: And hard to believe that they had Otani and tro
12:16
Speaker 2: out for some time together and still didn't do much
12:18
Speaker 2: with that, not to mention the massive void at third
12:20
Speaker 2: base that Anthony Rendon never filled well. The lead is
12:24
Speaker 2: powered by Game Changer, the number one youth sportsapp that
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Speaker 2: helps you coach smarter, connect, live and replay the action.
12:30
Speaker 2: Learn more at GC dot com. Get those questions in, everybody.
12:33
Speaker 2: We'll be back with Grill and Ken right after this.
12:36
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13:42
Speaker 2: All Right, time out to ask Ken Rosenthalsome questions. Our
13:45
Speaker 2: first question is from Wicked Better fifty four. Always appreciate
13:48
Speaker 2: the information from him and the insight in the questions.
13:51
Speaker 2: Ryan Waldschmidt got called up about three weeks ago. Ken
13:54
Speaker 2: has been great for the DBAs. Do you see them
13:56
Speaker 2: calling up another top prospect, perhaps perhaps Tommy anytime soon?
14:02
Speaker 1: Good question. I don't know where they are with Tommy Troy,
14:05
Speaker 1: but Walschmidt was a guy that from the start of
14:08
Speaker 1: the season he was on their radar and he's played
14:11
Speaker 1: a terrific outfield. He's done some good things offensively, and
14:14
Speaker 1: most importantly for the Diamondbacks. Right now, their stars are
14:18
Speaker 1: starting to hit, in particular ktel Marte just swept the Giants.
14:21
Speaker 1: They won five of six. I don't know if Tommy
14:24
Speaker 1: Troy would necessarily fit into that equation, but they are
14:28
Speaker 1: starting to play better. And remember with the Diamondbacks. They've
14:31
Speaker 1: got some interesting players coming back pitchers. Talking about AJ Puck,
14:35
Speaker 1: he'll be first, Corbyn Burns, Justin Martinez. They could be
14:40
Speaker 1: a factor later in the season if these pitchers return
14:43
Speaker 1: effective and healthy.
14:45
Speaker 2: All right, Wick and Better fifty four thanks for that,
14:47
Speaker 2: Sicilian eighty seven is next up on Grill and Ken.
14:50
Speaker 2: How about that pitch and duel yesterday between Ya Savage
14:54
Speaker 2: and schlitter I mean, not necessarily a question, but certainly
14:57
Speaker 2: a pitching duel that as a fan you'd have to
14:59
Speaker 2: love to watch two young stars in this game.
15:02
Speaker 1: It was a lot of fun to watch, and I
15:05
Speaker 1: love watching Schlitler in particular, he just in my view,
15:09
Speaker 1: has it. But here's the Savage who should be theoretically
15:13
Speaker 1: struggling in his second season, right, he really doesn't still
15:16
Speaker 1: have much professional experience, and yet in his five starts
15:20
Speaker 1: so far this season, remember he started on the IL
15:23
Speaker 1: one point zero seven era, he was brilliant last night,
15:26
Speaker 1: six shutout innings. Schlittler was also brilliant. And when he
15:30
Speaker 1: gave up the two runs in the six, there were
15:32
Speaker 1: a couple of walks. There was an infield single, there
15:34
Speaker 1: was a bunt single that wasn't the worst ending I've
15:37
Speaker 1: ever seen, so knock on wood. Both these guys will
15:40
Speaker 1: stay healthy and be pitching for a long time because
15:44
Speaker 1: they are both a ton of fun to watch.
15:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, Young Al East Aces, Cam Schlitler, Trey Y Savage,
15:50
Speaker 2: Ya Savage six scoreless last night. Schlitler two runs in six,
15:54
Speaker 2: an infield single, a bunt single, two walks in the
15:56
Speaker 2: sixth Y Savage one oh seven, era in five star.
16:00
Speaker 2: All Right, the next question here for Gorill and Ken.
16:03
Speaker 2: This one comes from Bubbs two ninety eight. Love the
16:06
Speaker 2: name as a fan of baseball as a game in general.
16:08
Speaker 2: What are your favorite teams to watch so far the season?
16:10
Speaker 2: What makes them entertaining in particular?
16:12
Speaker 1: Good question? Milwaukee, Milwaukee's always one. I love watching Milwaukee
16:16
Speaker 1: play Saint Louis this season and just the way they've
16:20
Speaker 1: scrapped and put it together and produced an unexpected surprise. Obviously,
16:28
Speaker 1: all surprises are unexpected. An unexpected outcome this early in
16:31
Speaker 1: the season. Tampa Bay always fun to watch. Chandler Simpson
16:34
Speaker 1: one of my favorite players to watch in the entire sport.
16:38
Speaker 1: Those I would start with, and obviously all teams playing
16:42
Speaker 1: well are good to watch, but those three stand out
16:44
Speaker 1: to me, all right.
16:45
Speaker 2: The next one is in regards to the San Francisco Giants.
16:49
Speaker 2: This is our friend armand he's in your typically talking
16:51
Speaker 2: about the Mets, but he wants to know if you
16:53
Speaker 2: see the Giants trading one of these guys a Domis, Chapman,
16:56
Speaker 2: Devers or Web at the deadline since they are just awful.
17:00
Speaker 2: His commentary.
17:01
Speaker 1: No, I would agree, armand they are awful, and I
17:04
Speaker 1: don't see them trading any of those guys. The reason
17:08
Speaker 1: why they will not trade Devers, A, Dominis or Chapman
17:12
Speaker 1: is simply their contracts, and I don't see a team,
17:15
Speaker 1: based on their performances this year, being willing to take
17:18
Speaker 1: on those deals. Now. Web would obviously bring a lot
17:22
Speaker 1: if he gets healthy again and is effective. He wasn't
17:26
Speaker 1: so effective early in the season. But the Giants he
17:30
Speaker 1: is kind of their guy and they want to win
17:32
Speaker 1: at some point in the near future. So I don't
17:34
Speaker 1: see that happening either. I don't know what they're going
17:37
Speaker 1: to do and how they're going to come out of this.
17:39
Speaker 1: I wrote a column about them, I don't know about
17:41
Speaker 1: ten days ago or so, and it's a bit of
17:44
Speaker 1: a mess here, and part of The problem is it's
17:47
Speaker 1: hard to see exactly where they go. They've got a
17:51
Speaker 1: decent farm system, now it's coming a little bit, but
17:55
Speaker 1: they're locked into these guys. And if these guys are
17:57
Speaker 1: devers A Dominis Chapman, are not going to perform at
18:01
Speaker 1: their previous levels. And of course you're going to anticipate
18:03
Speaker 1: some of the client as they age, but if they're
18:05
Speaker 1: going to fall off a cliff, then the Giants have
18:08
Speaker 1: a real problem. Yeah.
18:09
Speaker 2: I thought the Giants were going to be better this year,
18:11
Speaker 2: certainly more competitive in the NL West. Another question, This
18:14
Speaker 2: one's kind of funny. KOG three eighty six. Will this
18:17
Speaker 2: season set the record for Little League home runs? Obviously,
18:20
Speaker 2: the latest being the Milwaukee Brewers against a very interesting
18:23
Speaker 2: play by PCA in the Cubs outfield.
18:26
Speaker 1: I don't know. We've had a few this week, so
18:28
Speaker 1: maybe this is the year for Little League home runs.
18:31
Speaker 1: What's interesting is if you read Mike Petriello over at
18:34
Speaker 1: MLB dot com, he is the stackcast master and he's
18:36
Speaker 1: a great writer. He has pointed out repeatedly on occasion,
18:40
Speaker 1: and he did a story about Chandler Simpson today. Defense
18:44
Speaker 1: around the game is exquisite right now. It is improved.
18:49
Speaker 1: It is amazing how few balls get through. It's actually
18:52
Speaker 1: a problem for the sport a little bit because they're
18:55
Speaker 1: always looking for more offense and the defense keeps getting better,
18:58
Speaker 1: the pitching keeps getting better, et cetera. So that is
19:02
Speaker 1: why to see a Little League home run now, which
19:04
Speaker 1: generally results from a misplay by an outfielder, it's so surprising.
19:09
Speaker 1: But we've seen a few, so maybe we will set
19:11
Speaker 1: the record. I don't know that anyone keeps that stat
19:13
Speaker 1: but maybe we should.
19:15
Speaker 2: Oh, I'm sure somebody does. Probably somebody in Vegas has
19:17
Speaker 2: a prop bet on it. I wanted to follow up, though,
19:19
Speaker 2: on what you were saying about the defense across the
19:22
Speaker 2: league and why do you think the defensive progress is
19:24
Speaker 2: so much better this season. I mean, was it an
19:26
Speaker 2: emphasis coming into the year or is it just coincidental
19:29
Speaker 2: that it seems that way.
19:31
Speaker 1: It's been building to this, and certainly the data plays
19:34
Speaker 1: a role positioning and knowing where balls are generally hit
19:38
Speaker 1: that helps fielders. There is a greater emphasis on speed
19:42
Speaker 1: in the last couple of years with the new stolen
19:44
Speaker 1: base rules that have come into play. That perhaps is
19:47
Speaker 1: a factor as well. And the biggest thing In my opinion,
19:51
Speaker 1: Alana is the team's value defense more than they did
19:55
Speaker 1: in the past. Remember those days when they would carry
19:58
Speaker 1: a slugger or in the outf they couldn't necessarily feel,
20:01
Speaker 1: but he was gonna hit thirty and they were good
20:03
Speaker 1: with that. No more teams want all around players, and
20:07
Speaker 1: we're seeing more of them all the time.
20:10
Speaker 2: Question from that with that, will the Pirates ever get
20:15
Speaker 2: out of last place? Can ever?
20:20
Speaker 1: Ever? Is a long time they're gonna get out of
20:22
Speaker 1: last place. They may even get out of last place
20:24
Speaker 1: this season. I know they've had a rocky period of
20:27
Speaker 1: late and their bullpen is a bit unsettled right now.
20:31
Speaker 1: But I'm pretty encouraged by what I'm seeing in a
20:34
Speaker 1: lot of ways from them, and I'm especially encouraged by
20:36
Speaker 1: Connor Griffin four hits last night. Sky is going to
20:40
Speaker 1: be a superstar. They have the starting pitching to be
20:43
Speaker 1: really good. Still, they probably will need bullpen help at
20:47
Speaker 1: the deadline, more offense to the deadline to maybe become
20:50
Speaker 1: the team that they want to be this year, a
20:53
Speaker 1: playoff contender. But I don't know if they go out
20:56
Speaker 1: of last place this year, but they're getting out of
20:58
Speaker 1: it eventually.
21:00
Speaker 2: Now there are five games back in the division, three
21:03
Speaker 2: and a half games out of a wild card. Not
21:05
Speaker 2: that crazy. What's interesting, Ken, is they have a plus
21:07
Speaker 2: twenty two run differential. The Saint Louis Cardinals, just a
21:10
Speaker 2: game and a half out of the division, have a
21:12
Speaker 2: minus one differential. So the Pirates, you know they're scoring
21:15
Speaker 2: some runs there. Well, thanks guys for your questions. We
21:18
Speaker 2: appreciate it. I'm Grill and Ken. We will be back
21:20
Speaker 2: with Dude and Dork of the Week right after this.
21:22
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Speaker 1: I'm the dude, so that's what you call me.
23:00
Speaker 2: It's a great front end there. Who is your dude
23:03
Speaker 2: of the week this week?
23:05
Speaker 1: Matt Arnold, general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, and we
23:08
Speaker 1: talked earlier about the Brewers and all the good things
23:11
Speaker 1: they've done and Pat Murphy, of course, back to back
23:14
Speaker 1: National League Manager of the Year. I mentioned Chris Hook,
23:16
Speaker 1: the pitching coach, But this is an organization that seems
23:21
Speaker 1: to just keep clicking and keep going no matter what happens.
23:25
Speaker 1: And we didn't mention this earlier, but they might turn
23:28
Speaker 1: over the entire left side of their infield shortly. They've
23:31
Speaker 1: got Cooper Pratt shortstop. They've got Jet Williams maybe ready
23:35
Speaker 1: at third, and they would be coming from the system.
23:38
Speaker 1: Jet Williams from a trade, Cooper Pratt, the kid they
23:40
Speaker 1: signed to an extension homegrown. They've got those two coming.
23:44
Speaker 1: Then they've got behind them two of the top prospects
23:48
Speaker 1: top twenty prospects in the game, Jzeus Monday, currently the
23:52
Speaker 1: number one prospect in the game according to mlbpipeline dot com,
23:55
Speaker 1: and then Louis Payana, another infielder. These guys have just
24:00
Speaker 1: figured out how to make the system work for them,
24:03
Speaker 1: even though they operate with such limited funds. So Matt
24:07
Speaker 1: Arnold due to the week.
24:09
Speaker 2: All right, that makes a lot of sense. Always doing
24:11
Speaker 2: a lot for a small market team, big market team.
24:14
Speaker 2: Not that hard to choose who I love voting for,
24:17
Speaker 2: But this honestly I don't think we're talking about him enough,
24:19
Speaker 2: and I don't even know if that's possible, Show Hey Otani.
24:21
Speaker 2: Ken HiT's the first pitch of the game in the
24:24
Speaker 2: in the game yesterday over the fence, first pitch to
24:27
Speaker 2: d Sees. Not only that he lowered his RA two
24:30
Speaker 2: point seventy three in return to hitting while he's pitching.
24:36
Speaker 2: It's the sixth best through eight starts in the live
24:39
Speaker 2: ball era. I mean, I know that we talk a
24:41
Speaker 2: lot about show hey Otani, but my goodness, what he
24:44
Speaker 2: has been able to do. I mean, you've got to
24:45
Speaker 2: think Ken that he is absolutely in the conversation for
24:48
Speaker 2: the National League SA Young Award. That's something that he
24:51
Speaker 2: certainly aspires to and something that he certainly should be considered.
24:56
Speaker 1: It's gonna be a question of innings and how many
24:58
Speaker 1: he throws versus Skiens and the miz and all the
25:02
Speaker 1: other contenders that will have and let's not forget Christopher
25:05
Speaker 1: Sanchez in that conversation. But yes, it seems to be
25:08
Speaker 1: a goal of his and yes, he will be in
25:10
Speaker 1: the conversation.
25:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, Shoheo Tani has a checklist of things that he wants.
25:14
Speaker 2: I certainly believe he will achieve all of those things. Okay,
25:17
Speaker 2: time now for our dork of the week. Okay, Ken,
25:27
Speaker 2: go ahead, who's yours.
25:29
Speaker 1: Baltimore Orioles twenty one and twenty nine, thirteen games out
25:33
Speaker 1: of first place, and their former pitcher and now broadcaster
25:37
Speaker 1: Ben MacDonald had some interesting things to say about them yesterday,
25:41
Speaker 1: just the way they're going about it and the supposed
25:44
Speaker 1: poor luck that they're having. Here's what Ben said. I'll
25:47
Speaker 1: read this. We can talk about analytics and what could
25:49
Speaker 1: happen and what should happen if you hit the ball hard.
25:52
Speaker 1: But I don't care if you hit the ball hard
25:54
Speaker 1: like I don't care if you hit it hard and
25:56
Speaker 1: you hit it to somebody, you're out. I don't care
25:58
Speaker 1: how hard you throw ball four. I don't care what
26:00
Speaker 1: your spin rate was on your breaking ball. If you
26:02
Speaker 1: bounce it three feet in front of home plate, I
26:05
Speaker 1: don't care. All this nonsense is eyewash to me about
26:09
Speaker 1: all this analytical stuff. He either do or you don't,
26:12
Speaker 1: and right now the Orioles don't. They're not doing it,
26:15
Speaker 1: and they're not playing well right now. That's the bottom line. Okay,
26:19
Speaker 1: let's unwrap this a little bit. Ben has a point,
26:23
Speaker 1: but at the same time they are hitting the ball hard.
26:26
Speaker 1: That is happening. They're doing some good things offensively in
26:29
Speaker 1: the underlying metrics. But while I will say that that
26:33
Speaker 1: needs to be pointed out, he has a point in
26:36
Speaker 1: the fact that this team just does not seem to
26:40
Speaker 1: know how to win. And that of course encompasses any
26:44
Speaker 1: number of things. But we've all heard about their great prospects,
26:48
Speaker 1: and we've all heard about the ones they would in trade,
26:51
Speaker 1: and here they are a couple of years after making
26:54
Speaker 1: the playoffs back to back seasons, and they have gone backwards.
26:58
Speaker 1: They're the dorks of the week. And of course you
27:00
Speaker 1: can pin it on the president based barberations Michaelias. It
27:04
Speaker 1: starts with him, but it's really a whole organizational thing
27:08
Speaker 1: right now, and they need to get out of their
27:10
Speaker 1: own way once and for all.
27:12
Speaker 2: I agree with that. My dork of the week is
27:14
Speaker 2: a guy that needs to get out of his own way.
27:16
Speaker 2: Pete Crow Armstrong, you should be known for your play,
27:19
Speaker 2: not your antics. The plays in the outfield inexcusable, bottom
27:22
Speaker 2: of the second. Can the ball gets by him, the
27:24
Speaker 2: brewer score a little league home run? You can't do that.
27:27
Speaker 2: You can talk all the smack you want, but you
27:29
Speaker 2: have to have the play to back it up, and
27:31
Speaker 2: he has not had that play. All right, that's going
27:33
Speaker 2: to do it for us. Foul Territory is coming up next.
27:36
Speaker 2: Bob Nightingale, Patrick Mooney, and Mickey Moniac joined Aj Pruzinski,
27:40
Speaker 2: who's actually hosting Today alongside Eric Kratz and Kevin Klar.
27:44
Speaker 2: Fair Territory with Keen is back on Tuesday. Ken is
27:47
Speaker 2: off on Monday to observe Memorial Day. Talk to you
27:50
Speaker 2: then bye bye,