Latest / District Territory / What the Nationals can learn from the best teams in baseball

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What the Nationals can learn from the best teams in baseball · 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, Kevin Franzen
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: from the Washington Nationals and Spencer Nussbaum of The Athletic.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: It is the final weekend and the National League Division
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: winners are all set. And so in today's episode, we
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: are going to be taking a look at each one,
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  Speaker 1: seeing what the Nationals can learn from these teams and
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: what ways they're similar and different. and how they can
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: maybe replicate their success in 2027. So let's begin with
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: the National League East. The Braves, once again, are the
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: champions of the NL East in 2026. They currently sit
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: at 93-66 with a three-game set to finish off their
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: season in Miami. Choptober, as they call it down there
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: in Atlanta. The Nationals are not far off, in my opinion,
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  Speaker 1: from where the Braves are. But Spencer, you first. what
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: ways could the Nationals be a little bit off?
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: What are we doing?
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: I think it's just a couple of years, a couple
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: of years. And to me, it is the core that
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: they have there down in Atlanta. That's the biggest thing
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: that I think the Nationals could take away from them
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: is locking up a young core in the future seasons.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, that is the 30,000 foot view. And I think
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: I would take the perspective as well that it's so
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: much of this has to be about the development, the scouting,
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: and getting the young players up. So I think that's
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: the right place to start. Part of where I'm fascinated
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: or where I see maybe a really big distinction or
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: difference between the teams is that the Braves have done
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: a really good job in international scouting in a way
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: that the Nationals haven't really been able to replicate since
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: the mid-2010s. And so if they were able to beef
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: that side of the operation up, that takes a while,
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: but I think it could have a really big impact
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: on the Nats.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: See, I think They're very far away. I don't think
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: in watching it all the time from the lens of
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: a player side, from the broadcaster side, I think they're
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: way off building a bullpen. I mean, the ability for
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: them to have draft developed a lot of their guys
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: have come now from as starters. Now we're starting to
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: see some guys that have starters in the in the Nats,
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: you know, farm system now come up as far as
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: bullpen guys are. now, but I mean, like more importantly,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: like you think about Dylan Dawes, Dylan Lee's right. Like
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: these guys have, have come from within you get the rice,
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: sell the glaciers. I mean, that's huge. But you also
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: got to think about other things, which is, you know,
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: sustained success defensively. They're a very good defensive team all
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: the time that really year over year and the Nats
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: have not been, and yes, there are, There are signs
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: that have shown that they've gotten better, and it's a
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: year off from not seeing where, you know, if CJ's
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: at second base, how different are the metrics there? And
• 2:57
  Speaker 2: we already know they're better when you switch over to
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: the second base side. So I think there could be
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: conversation on it for like a blurb, like of a year,
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: you know, like a one-off to beat them and go
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: out there. But for sustained success, they have a ways
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: to go. And it's one of those things where, you know, they,
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: they're a publicly traded team. So all their books are
• 3:26
  Speaker 2: out there. They make a lot of money and they
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: spend a lot of money. They spend a lot of
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: money on the team. And I think that's a huge
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: part of this, right? Like the Nats are a bigger
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: market than Atlanta and they're doing it at minimal costs
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: and you got to figure out and find ways to
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: do it. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: And part of what makes this really fascinating too, is like,
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  Speaker 3: this is maybe my own, biases are like maybe looking
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: towards the either the really big market teams or the
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: really small market teams is like examples of success right
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: where it's like oh the dodgers that's obvious or oh
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  Speaker 3: the brewers that's obvious right well i think we'll get
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  Speaker 3: to those teams and that's important the braves really are
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  Speaker 3: kind of in that middle ground right where they're not
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  Speaker 3: you don't spend more than anyone else they aren't like
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  Speaker 3: look to as the beacon of development but they do
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  Speaker 3: everything at least strong if they are not the best
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  Speaker 3: in baseball at it they are not worse than 10th
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  Speaker 3: at it. And that, that might be a place where
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: the nationals get to, right? Because they are trying to
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: be really broad in how they approach this thing. And
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  Speaker 3: I think that's a really compelling way to go about it.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I think that's a similar, a similarity of the nationals
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  Speaker 1: and Braves can hopefully have one day because the nationals
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  Speaker 1: just seem to be trying to address so many different
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  Speaker 1: things at the same time in the analytical department and revamp.
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  Speaker 2: And they've done a hell of a job, right? That's
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  Speaker 2: step one. That's, that's the part.
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  Speaker 1: And supposedly looking to expand on it more in the
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: offseason too and hire even more guys. Yeah, right.
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  Speaker 3: And this is what some of my recent reporting has
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: been on, right? They've hired a new international scouting director.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: I don't think the paperwork has been finalized per se,
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: but that's effectively set in stone. They're increasing their R &
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  Speaker 3: D department. I don't know if that will be by
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  Speaker 3: five people or 20, but I think that that is
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: a range that We at least have to think about.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: They're at 19 right now. They have spent all of
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: year one getting on the same page, getting aligned.
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  Speaker 2: And Spencer, for those that don't know, what are averages,
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  Speaker 2: would you say? And what are, you know, like the
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  Speaker 2: Brewers and the Rays, teams in Guardians, teams like that,
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: what do their R & D departments look like?
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  Speaker 3: That's a great question. So the Nationals are honestly about
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  Speaker 3: average right now. And that's not to say it's all
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  Speaker 3: about the size of the brand or how you use
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: it per se. But I think, you know, who's to say?
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  Speaker 3: But yeah, I mean, you think about the Rays, the Brewers,
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  Speaker 3: the Guardians, even the Red Sox and Phillies, which are
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: where the Nationals have pulled some people from. They're up
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: in the high 30s, low 40s. And so it's not
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  Speaker 3: unrealistic to be allocating funds there on top of also
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: spending on big league payroll and things of that nature.
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  Speaker 3: I think that we're maybe like one full year away
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  Speaker 3: from seeing what this thing really looked like. And that's
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: because there are still like a couple areas to address.
• 6:21
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Well, maybe it'll be a few years, but I'm optimistic
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: that they'll get there in due diligence. How about the
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: National League Central, the Brewers? They are division champions yet again.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: Four consecutive years for them, and they set a franchise record.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: 100 wins for the first time in franchise history. They
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: currently sit at 159 with a three-game home set against
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend. The Brewers do a
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: lot of things exceptionally well. I think the biggest thing
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: that stands out to me is how well they can
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: field the ball. I don't think that's something that is
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: necessarily corrected overnight. but it's something that the Nationals have
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: been working on a lot this season. In what ways
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: can guys, I guess, take the next step in the
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: offseason to really craft and hone in on their craft?
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: Well, I think there's a lot that they could do.
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: They have to be serious about it, right? Like, number one,
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  Speaker 2: when you look at defensive metrics and range and all
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: that stuff, they've gotten better. We know that. But as
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: a whole, like, I think, you know, the overall talented player,
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: as far as the defensive side of it, isn't on
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: the Nats side, right? Like you don't see, you know,
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: seven guys that are, are defensive like geniuses, right?
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I look at the, you know, the Chicago Cubs and
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: I'm like, those guys were born like that, right? Like
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  Speaker 2: that's a part of it, right? Like there's a certain thing,
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  Speaker 2: there's a certain aspect where you could teach it. And
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  Speaker 2: then there's a certain aspect where, It's like it's God-given,
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  Speaker 2: and that to me is a part of what the
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: Cubs have, and truly it's kind of fun to watch.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: But you can maximize guys, and I think they still
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: are trying to find that way with them. Defensively, on
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  Speaker 2: the infield, I think consistency with whoever's playing shortstop and
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: second base, I think more or less when I think
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: about the physical traits of it, I think more the
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  Speaker 2: mental side of it. Like, I just think there's a
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: lot more that these guys can do mentally to prepare
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: themselves for every situation and where to be and what
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: to do and always in it. Because I feel like
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  Speaker 2: there's been a lot of in-between plays this year that
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: are not a, like, you're crushing them. But the more
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: experience you have, the less, I think, question you have
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  Speaker 2: on what to do, where to go, and you're in
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  Speaker 2: the wrong place at the wrong time instead of being
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: at the right place, right time.
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  Speaker 4: Right.
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  Speaker 3: And that's why it's important to talk about priorities, right?
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  Speaker 3: I'm not going to act like I know Eli Willett's
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: entire journey, right? I'm not going to say like, oh,
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  Speaker 3: I know how hard he's worked on defense. But there
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: is a sense kind of in the organization that that
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  Speaker 3: is something that he has prided on his entire life.
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: And so like, sure, he's 18. So experience, talk about
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  Speaker 3: it however you want. But it is an intentional decision
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  Speaker 3: by him to work on defense as hard as he
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: can every single day. during the season, during the offseason,
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: and then you reap the rewards where you look like
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  Speaker 3: a big league shortstop defensively at 18 years old, right?
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  Speaker 3: Or at least look like you're going to project into that.
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  Speaker 3: So yeah, I think that so much of this has
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: to be about intentionality this offseason. Obviously with the lockout looming,
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: I'm not sure to what degree, you know, the Nationals
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: won't necessarily be able to like oversee what these guys
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: are doing from December 1st on, but making sure that
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: there is a foundation of I'm going to work on
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: this X amount of time. I'm going to work with
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: this coach I'm going to focus on this. I think
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: it could have huge strides because we've seen that massive
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: leap offensively, but we haven't seen it in the field yet.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: No doubt. If we bring up the Brewers, they're the,
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: I would say, one of the top three defensive teams
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: in the game. by eyes, by metrics, by, you know,
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: just fielding percentage type wise. They got guys that play
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: all over the place. They got Cooper Pratt, who is
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: a young stud shortstop that moved off Joey Ortiz and
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: Joey Ortiz has taken off with David Hamilton over a third.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: I mean, like there, there's certain things that they, Bryce
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: Turing is year over year, like one of the best,
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: if not the best second baseman defensively. And you can
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: look at that with Chicago and say, that's the same
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: type thing, right? Like you, you look at them every
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: single spot, It's almost to the point of like the
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: Braves are not bad at anything. You know, like they
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: are really good in so many ways. Well, the birds
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: are really good in so many ways. Their depth that
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: they have is really good at their spots that they play. Right.
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: Like you look at, you know, like Jackson Turio, you know,
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: is he a great outfielder when they put him in
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: his spots to be in left field? He's one of
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: the best left fielders in the game. Centerfield, not so much. Right.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: But like Garrett Mitchell's out there in center field and
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: you got all these guys that they mix and match
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: and they do such a good job. But that's culture.
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: That's a demand that that that Pat Murphy has shown
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: that he's willing to sacrifice, you know, the individuality of
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: it to to focus on the team aspect of it,
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: of playing hard for your team, for playing smart, playing
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: within the game. Game is going to write itself in
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: this whole thing. So they can look at that and
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: look at an example of of not cut corners. I mean,
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: that's the biggest thing. If I look at the Brewers,
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: I always think about a team that never cuts corners, ever.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: And it's pretty cool to watch.
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, there was a really good story in baseball perspectives
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: the other day with all of the 30 front offices ranked.
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: I think the Brewers are number one in there. And
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: the nugget that stuck out to me, right, is they're
• 12:02
  Speaker 3: not ever over-indexing on one type of player, one type
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: of development, right? They're not just getting guys who can
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: hold the ball in the air. They actually do it
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: almost less than anyone else in baseball. They don't necessarily
• 12:13
  Speaker 3: go out and say, we are going to be the
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: best defensive baseball team, um, just because of who we acquire,
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: but they, they try to get at least a, you know,
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: rangy players. And, um, ultimately so much of this comes
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: down to putting guys in the right spots. Um, and
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: so for the nationals, it's, you know, to a certain degree,
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: they've had to pigeonhole players into positions or roles, um,
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: because they think it's what best serves the team. I
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: think acquisitions over time could help them get better on
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: that front. Um, But that is kind of a fine
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: line the Nationals will have to walk between knowing exactly
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: what they're about and also being able to help every
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: single type of player. And I think that shows up
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: in the field maybe more than anywhere else.
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: I get curious just watching other teams how guys will
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: switch around in the middle of batting practice to different positions,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: to work positions. And it seems to me when the
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: Nationals are out there, the guys are kind of focused
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: on just one position for that day. is that of
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: any area of concern to you guys?
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: No, being a utility guy or being someone that plays
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: a lot of positions, if you're starting at a spot,
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: you stick to that spot that day. Days that they're
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: not playing, they move around. They move around. Like, Andres
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: Chaparro does a lot of stuff over at third base,
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: get his feet going. Tana does a lot of stuff
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: at short, and he hasn't played anything at short, but
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: he does a lot there. They continuously get, you know,
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: those things. Again, it's how serious do you take them mentally? Like,
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: we could talk about what it looks like, but are
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: they intentionally going at it as hard as they can?
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: And the intentionality of everything has to be the intent,
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: the act of doing something at 100% there, as game-like
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: as you can. I think that is important for them. And,
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: you know, not just going through the catching the ball,
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: throwing the ball, like doing it with always a clock.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: We saw that earlier in the year with the clock.
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: They got better with it.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: So Jay, do you ever find yourself crashing in the afternoon,
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: needing a boost, but not wanting to have caffeine that
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: you know is going to ruin your sleep?
• 14:18
  Speaker 4: Oh, yeah, definitely. I found myself on the golf course
• 14:21
  Speaker 4: a lot lately. And sometimes, you know, it can be
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: long days out there. So I reach in my golf bag.
• 14:26
  Speaker 4: I keep the Ultra Focus Pouch right here with me,
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: keep it in my golf bag. And it's part of
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: my golf bag, as I said.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah. And so what are some of your favorite effects
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: of the Ultra Pouches?
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: Definitely gives me a little bit of focus, that little
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: bit of energy that I'm looking for, and obviously not
• 14:44
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• 14:47
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• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about the final division winners for 2026, the
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: Los Angeles Dodgers. And really quickly, I do just kind
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: of have to go in on their graphic here. I mean,
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: I know that they are back-to-back World Series champions, but geez,
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: got to get a little more excited, I would think,
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: for clinching a division. They have been dominant for many
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: years now. They set a record in 97 and 62
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: with a three-game set against the Giants this weekend to
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: close out their season well. Other than throwing a bunch
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: of money at players, what ways could the Nationals be
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: more like the Dodgers?
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: Smart. That's a smart team.
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: I was going to say, from my impression, talking to
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: either guys who have played there, reading stories from people
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: who cover the team, one of the things the Dodgers
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: do do better than anyone else in baseball is provide
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: their players as much information as possible in the most compact, concise,
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: translatable way as possible. I could talk about a million
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: things that the Dodgers do right that the Nationals need
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: to catch up to. That is one where I think, honestly,
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: the Nationals are much closer than I thought they would
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: be at this time this year. But that is to
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: say that the Dodgers don't skimp on anything, right? Like
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: they have more minor league coaches, I would have to
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: imagine than the Nationals. They have a bigger R &
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: D group. They have more pro scouts. They do basically
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: everything on the back end to help players out. They
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: are great with the players' families. They are unbelievably personable.
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: They check every box, which is why they have won
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: the National League West 13 of the last 14 years
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: or whatever it is, right? It's why they've won back-to-back
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: World Series. They They spend money on players and candidly,
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: like some of their investments recently have not worked. So
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: they are able to take on risk that other teams cannot.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: But man, you talk to the guys who've played there,
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: the guys who have teammates, you know, former teammates there.
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: The stuff that they handle on the back end is
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: the first class like undercuts it. Like it's unbelievable what
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: they're able to do on that front. And I think
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: when the Nationals think about who they want to be
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: as an operation, a lot of what they think about
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: is that.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: A hundred percent. Yeah. I mean, look, they're, they're the
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: best in the, in the business in every facet, every facet,
• 17:36
  Speaker 2: you know, from pitch designing to replicating, you know, certain
• 17:42
  Speaker 2: environments down in, into minor leagues to, to get these
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: guys feeling like they're comfortable. I mean, we're, we're seeing
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: the alignment part, the alignment part that we have seen
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: for the nationals is very intentional from, you know, very
• 17:53
  Speaker 2: Dodger side, like of it or a Dodger style, I
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: should say. Um, I, Aaron Bates, who's the hitting coach,
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: one of my best friends from, you know, college, high school,
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: all this stuff. He's, he's their, their guy. And he's
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: been there. He's gone from, you know, minor league. It
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: was like a Rover between big leagues all the way
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: down to the minor leagues, going back and forth, working
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: with guys and, and, and keeping the, the, the language, the,
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: the stuff they're teaching at the big league level, you know,
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: the same there. And I think that's huge. And we're
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: seeing the, the, that intent with the nationals. I think
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: that's a huge part of it. Um, they do take
• 18:27
  Speaker 2: more risk because they do have the money to do it.
• 18:29
  Speaker 2: And I think that's a part of it. I think
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: at some point you got to take risks too, you know, and,
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: and the end of the day, the Nats are in
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: a market that you're, you're a big market team, you know, and,
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: and at some point they're going to have to flip
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: it and get it back to that. Because I think
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: if you want it to sustain, it's not about just
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: spending the money. You have to have built the foundation right,
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: correctly in that. And they're starting, they have done that.
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: hell of a job in Rochester's, you know, like a
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: little glimpse of what they could do, right? Because they
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: won the International League Championship yesterday. You go to what
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: the lower minor leagues have done, and nothing has gotten
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: better more than the Nats. No one, right?
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: And do you know who Rochester is about to play
• 19:16
  Speaker 3: in the AAA final?
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: Oklahoma City, Dodgers, or what are they, the Comets now?
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: The Comets.
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: Whatever it is, it's the Dodgers-Triple-A team. So it's like, yeah.
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: they are, to a certain extent, where they want to be.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: As you said, I wrote about this a little bit
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: when the team was in L.A. There's a famous Andrew
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: Friedman quote, I think from like a decade ago at
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: this point, where he said, if you are smart on
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent.
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: I think so much of this operation this year has
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: been about being smart, and that is to the team's benefit.
• 19:49
  Speaker 3: But they are going to go into next year with
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: a very, very small payroll if they do nothing. Even
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: if they do a good deal, or I should say
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: do a lot, they could still go into next season
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: with a really small payroll. And so, yeah, they're in
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: a position to take some of these risks now, given
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: the foundation, given what the farm system is. Do they
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: want to hamstring themselves for next 12 years? No, obviously not.
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: Are they in a position where they can take some
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: risks and maybe do some quote unquote bad deals or
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: deals that, you know, their internal models say, why are
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: we doing this? Yeah, I think they can. I think
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: they're in a position to start making some of those moves.
• 20:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: Hey, you guys mentioned the Red Wings there really quickly.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: I think that's how you have to finish up today.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: We do have to give them some love, the International
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: League champions for 2026 and in thrilling fashion too. The
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: highlights from last night, they were trailing 2-1 in the
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: eighth inning and then rallied back, took a 3-2 lead,
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: and the rest is history.
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: What was crazy was that Sam Peterson got hurt mid-about.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: I was watching the whole game, and 0-1 took a
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: swing and hurt his back or oblique or whatever and
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: had to get taken out for Cortland Lawson comes in.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: One pitch, see ya. And his spot comes around in
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: a big, big spot right after Andrew Pinckney had tied
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: up the game. Eddie, he lied to base it up
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: the middle, and you're like, damn, man, good for this guy.
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: He had a monster series, and then Eric Mejia was
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: three up, three down, punched all three out. I mean,
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: he was special yesterday. Clayton Beater, first two batters, just absolutely,
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: it was like, wham, wham, wham, and you're like, dang,
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: what happened? He ends up getting the win, which is
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: crazy to think, but Eddie Jeans, what a job by him.
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: I think it was like a five or six pitch
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: ninth to get the save.
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: I mean, it was, it was tremendous. They use, I
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: think it combined 14 pitchers between the two teams. It
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: was something crazy like that. It might've been more, but
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: the hell of a year for Matt Lee Corey and,
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: and the entire staff. And again, I think it's intentional that,
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: that it was one this year because not, not about
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: seeking out the wins, but you saw how much they
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: invested into, Rochester, as far as all the minor league coaches,
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: all the staff, the training staff, the strength staff. And
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: then they have a performance center that is, is, you know,
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: top notch that they continue to develop these guys. And
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: you see what happens. You reap the benefits. Yeah.
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: 14 combined pitchers in that game last night, eight coming
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: from the Red Wings. Just ridiculous and a ridiculous series too.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: They win game one, four to three. It's a nail biter.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: and then get blown out in game two. It was 15-0.
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: They come back, make it 15-4, final score. And then
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: just the cherry on top last night, 3-2. Hopefully they
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: can get the job done against OKC.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Vegas!
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: Let's go. Three more games here against the Mets, guys.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: Andrew Alvarez, Jake Irvin, and DJ Herr is expected to
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: make his second start of the season in the finale
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: on Sunday. We will be back next week to recap
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: the Mets series. Is there anything else you guys want
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: to toss in today?
• 23:11
  Speaker 3: I got nothing. Just happy for Lee Croy, someone who
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: I think some people in the organization wanted to see
• 23:17
  Speaker 3: get that interim job managing last year. For him to
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: be brought back, do what he's done. Players love him.
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: Coaches love him. Org loves him. Seems like Franny loves him. Yeah,
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: really happy for him.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that guy has been in the organization for a
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: long time and super excited for him as well. He's
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: the best. Deserves it. I'll also remind everyone really quickly
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: to subscribe if you enjoyed today's show. Follow us along
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. You do
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: not want to miss the Eli Willits signed baseball card
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: giveaway we'll be having later on in the offseason. But boys,
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: enjoy the game later today. We will see you next week.