Latest / Foul Territory / Fair Territory: AL Central up for grabs, NL Playoffs all set?

Transcript

Fair Territory: AL Central up for grabs, NL Playoffs all set? · Foul Territory

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Welcome, everyone, to the Monday edition of Fair Territory. Two
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: weeks to go, and we've got action. Not only do
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: we have action, we have unexpected action. Who would have thought,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: I don't know, a couple of weeks ago, the Padres
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: might slip into the second wildcard spot in the National League?
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: And who would have thought that after a season of
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: surprising performance from the Chicago White Sox, they would be
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: in danger? of missing the postseason. All of this is happening.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: And we're going to go through it all. We're going
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: to also go through the awards races in our next segment.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: But first, I want to go through all of the races,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: where things stand. Now, in the National League, the division
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: champions are pretty much decided. Braves in the East, Brewers
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: in the Central, Dodgers in the West. What is not
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: decided is the seeding, and where we are with the
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: wildcard race because right now we have the Phillies and
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Cubs tied for the top wildcard spot and we have
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: the Padres just a game and a half behind both
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: of those clubs. The Padres have won seven straight. They've
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: got an easier schedule the rest of the way than
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: the Phillies and Cubs do and they're playing really well.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: They've also opened up some distance between themselves and the
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Arizona Diamondbacks, who lost two of three over the weekend
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: at home to the Texas Rangers. The Padres, I don't
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: want to call it a commanding lead, but when you're
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: up two and a half with 12 to play, you're
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: in a pretty good spot. So can they catch one
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: of those teams? That remains to be seen, and that's
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: what's going to be interesting. If the playoffs open today,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: what we would have is, well, not exactly clear because
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: the Phillies and Cubs are tied, but The Braves would
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: play the Padres, the Braves as the three seed, the
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: Padres as the six. And then the Phillies Cubs winner
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: would play, let's see, I don't even know. They would
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: play the Brewers, I guess. No, no wild card race.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: It would be different. The Phillies and Cubs would play
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: each other. The only question would be what is decided.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Kenny's going to get it all straight for you. Don't worry.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: But that is where the NL stands. The AL stands.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: is a bit more of a mishmash. And I say
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: that because, well, yes, Tampa Bay is set in the
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: AL East, or almost set, I should say. They have
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: not clinched yet, but they're in good position. In the Central,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: we don't know who's going to win the division. In
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: the West, we don't know who is going to win
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: the division. So let us start with the Central, because
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: there's a huge series starting tonight in Cleveland. Chicago White
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: Sox visiting the Guardians with only a half-game lead in
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: that AL Central race. And the White Sox are reeling
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: right now. They've lost 10 of 14. They've lost five
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: of their last six to Pittsburgh and St. Louis, not
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: the strongest of opponents. And in this series, the Guardians
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: have seemingly a pitching advantage, as they do in many series.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: They're going to start in this series, Gavin Williams against
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: Sean Newcomb. Sean Newcomb likely serving as an opener tonight.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: Then it's Foster Griffin, who has struggled in his last couple,
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: versus Davis Martin. And then Parker Messick, Rookie of the
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: Year candidate, Cy Young candidate, versus Eric Fetty in the finale.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: The Guardians are at home. The Guardians are doing what
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: they do late in the season, though it hasn't been
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: exactly the smoothest of pushes here. Remember they had that
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: seven-game winning streak at the end of August, and since
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: then they've been a 500 team. So this is obviously
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: a huge series. It's going to determine a lot. And
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: the remaining schedules, well, for the Guardians, after the White Sox,
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: they've got the Athletics, the Red Sox, and the A's.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: And then for the White Sox, after the Guardians, they've
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: got the Tigers, Royals, and Rockies. A little bit of
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: an easier road for them than the Guardians have, simply
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: because the Guardians have to play the Red Sox. At
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: this point, the Red Sox might not be playing for
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: all that much, or at least by the time they meet. So,
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: very interesting scenario in the AL Central. Now, the AL
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: West is another fascinating occurrence, and it's not necessarily an
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: appealing one. I don't like the Central. These teams aren't
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: exactly crushing it down the stretch. The Astros. Let's talk
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: about the Astros. Just got swept by Tampa Bay in
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Tampa Bay. Jordan missed the first two games, so you
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: can understand that he didn't play that much yesterday. The
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: Astros were outscored 20-7 in this series. Their lead over
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: the Rangers, not exactly the hottest of clubs themselves, though
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: they did win two of three against Arizona. Their lead
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: over the Rangers is down to one game. Rangers also
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: factoring in the wildcard race. Here are the Astros leading
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: the division. They're only. 500. Their run differential is minus 53.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: Not exactly an imposing group here. And yet they're just
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: one and a half games out in the race for
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: a bye. That's where the AL is. It's kind of, again,
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: not the most imposing of leagues this particular season. So
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: the Rangers had had eight straight series losses before taking
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: that one in Arizona over the weekend. They've got nine
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: of their last 12 at home. So they've got a
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: chance here to... Get into this thing. Josh Young is back.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: Nathan Ivaldi came back Saturday in relief. I don't particularly
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: like the Rangers. I don't particularly like the Astros. I
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: don't particularly love any of the central contenders. But some
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: of these teams are actually going to make the postseason.
• 5:50
  Speaker 2: Eric Kratz, you're smart. You were a catcher in Major
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: League Baseball for a long time. You need to be
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: smart to be a catcher. And you also need to
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: be smart to get the best possible wireless plan possible.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: that you can get. Don't fall for the gimmicks or
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: certain types of signup bonuses. Just give me the cheap
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: rate and the premium wireless.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: That's what Mint Mobile gives us. And you don't pay
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: a lot and you get a lot. Hmm. Seems like
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: a no brainer, even for what you said, a smart guy. Yep,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: be smart.
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: Get your new wireless plan for just $ 15 a month.
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: Go to mintmobile.com slash territory. Cut your wireless bill to
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: $ 15 a month at mintmobile.com slash territory. Upfront payment of
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: $ 45 for three months, $ 90 for six months, or $ 180
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: for 12 months plan required. $ 15 per month equivalent. Taxes
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 50
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: gigabytes may slow when network is busy. Includes up to
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: 20 gigabyte hotspot. Capable device required. Availability, speed, and coverage varies.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: See mintmobile.com.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Don't forget the Blue Jays either in the wildcard race
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: because this is also shaping up to be really interesting.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: Blue Jays take two of three from the Orioles over
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: the weekend, kind of put the Orioles to bed. Enough
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: of the Orioles already. They've teased, they've teased, they have
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: not fired. Now, the Blue Jays finally got a home
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: run at home on Sunday from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. One
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: of the most incredible stats of the season was that
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Vlad did not have a home run in his home park.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: They got that. They've got the possibility of Dre Yusavage
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: coming back the last week of the season. That would
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: be something that would really give them a boost if
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: they can get in, especially because their pitching staff, their rotation,
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: all season long has been in tatters. And they're essentially
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: down now to a few guys. Dylan Cease, the Cy
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: Young contender, being chief among them. Max Scherzer as well.
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: But the Blue Jays, they are a team that If
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: they get in, and if they can finally get hot offensively,
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: maybe then they are a factor. I don't know. But
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: here we are as we go into the final two weeks.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: All of these things that I just mentioned are in play.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: And if you ask me, who do I think is
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: going to get in in the American League? I would
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: say I like Cleveland a lot. I've said that really
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: since the deadline. I don't love them, but their pitching,
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: starting pitching, is probably the best of the contenders in
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: the wildcard race. the race of the turtles, and their
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: bullpen is really good as well. Adele and Lowe have
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: given them good offensive help. Bazan has had a pretty
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: good month to end the season for him, his rookie year.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: They are a team with some talent. They are a
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: team that I have liked from the beginning. Elsewhere, I
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: would bet on the Astros just because of their pedigree
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: and Jordan Alvarez. Jordan Alvarez figuring in, of course, to
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: the MVP race, presuming he is healthy. That will be
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: a really interesting thing to see if he can get
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: the triple crown. We'll get more into that. The last
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: thing about the Astros that I want to mention is
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: that story I wrote Saturday. Carlos Correa, they're hoping, will
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: come back this week. And if Correa comes back on
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: certain days, if they can put Alvarez in the outfield,
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: they're going to play Correa potentially at second base. Altuve,
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: not a good defender at second this year. He's been
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: declining at that spot. Isaac Paredes, they don't want to
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: play him at second. It's not his natural spot. So
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: if you have a situation where Correa is healthy, where
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Alvarez can play the outfield, Alvarez in left, Paredes at third,
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: Peña at short, Correa at second, Christian Walker at first. Now,
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: on days, and then in that case, Altuve would be
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: the DH. Then on days where Alvarez is the DH,
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: Altuve at second, Peña at short, Correa at third, with
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Paredes probably moving over to first, maybe Christian Walker losing
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: some playing time. Correa would give them an emotional boost,
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: and he would be a really intriguing late-season last final
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: week addition for the Astros. So with that, that's it
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: for the races. We've got the awards races coming up.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: I'll talk to you about that in a sec. All right,
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: time now for the inside dish, the part of the
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: show where I go inside a story I've written, trend
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: in the game, something else entirely. This week, it'll be
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: something else entirely. We're going to break down the awards races.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: We'll give some more attention than others because some seemingly
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: are decided where others are not. Let's not even talk
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: about NL MVP. That is Pete Crow Armstrong. He is
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: going to be the National League MVP. The American League
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: MVP is... is a lot more interesting. Now, I mentioned
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: Jordan Alvarez in the first segment. Jordan Alvarez is two
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: home runs and four RBIs off the triple crown right now.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: If he was a guy with two more homers and
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: four RBIs, he'd be leading in all three categories or
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: at least tied for the lead. He does lead in
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: batting average. He also leads in all three triple slash categories,
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Junior Caminero has
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: had a magnificent season for a first-place team, the Tampa
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: Bay Rays. And there was some noise coming out of
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: New York yesterday about Cam Schlittler as an MVP candidate.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: And Aaron Boone raised that. And it's an intriguing thought,
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: but I'm not buying it. I'm with Aaron Judge on
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: this one. Aaron Judge said they've got their own award pitchers.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: That award is the Cy Young. Now, there are certain instances,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: certain years, where... a starting pitcher as MVP, or a
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: reliever for that matter, is a viable argument. And you
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: can make the case that Schlittler as the first potential
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: pitching MVP since Clayton Kershaw in 2014 could be that guy.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: You see the ERA there, 1.95, tied with the Miz
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: for the best in the majors. And yet, to me,
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: with an MVP, while you can say a pitcher saves
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: his bullpen when he goes deep into games every fifth
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: day and Schlittler certainly has pitched a lot of innings
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: this year by today's standards, 184 and two-thirds. And certainly
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: you can also argue that Schlittler has saved the Yankees
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: in a season in which they've been without Garrett Cole,
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: Max Fried, and Carlos Rodon for extended stretches. All of
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: that is true, and all of that is certainly why
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: Schlittler has had a magnificent year and belongs somewhere on
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: that AL MVP ballot, maybe even in the top five.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: You can say the same for Dylan Cease. But To me,
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: for a pitcher to win, it has to be a
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: year in which he has accomplished extraordinary things. You could
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: make that case for Schlittler. I don't believe you can
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: make the case that there is not a viable candidate
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: or a really strong candidate from the position player's side.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: I know Alvarez is a DH mostly. He has played
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: 23 games in the outfield this year, so he's not
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: entirely a DH. But he, to me, just seems to
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: be The obvious choice because what he has accomplished offensively.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: And don't throw war at me. Schlittler's war versus Alvarez's war.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: Pitching war and offensive war. Apples and oranges. I'm not
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: going to go down that road. At least for me,
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: that is not a sound part of this argument. So
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: for AL MVP, I've still got Alvarez up there. Bobby
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: Witt Jr., Kevin McGonigal. They're going to be on the
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: bout pretty high up as they should be. Now, AL Cy,
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: that's also interesting. Because Schlittler, his lead overseas in ERA
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: is nearly a half run per nine innings. That is significant.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: But you look at the expected stats, you look at FIP,
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: you look at some other things, this is a lot
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: closer than it would appear. And why I lean towards Schlittler,
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: a couple things. 18 and a third more innings, lower
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: K rate, okay, but also a lower walk rate. And
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: 21 times this season, he has allowed one run or none.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: 21 times. It's incredible. And Cease has done that a lot, too.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: 16 times. It just seems to me Schlittler has been
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: slightly better. Not a lot better. And again, statistically, you
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: can make the case maybe he hasn't been that much better.
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: But I'm going for, in this particular case, Schlittler. Sonny
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: Gray of the Red Sox, certainly deserving of mention. NL Cy,
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: that's the Miz. And here's a stat that jumped out
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: at me. Chris Sales had a great year, right? And
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: you would say Chris Sales, certainly a viable contender for
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: the National League Cy Young Award. The Miz's opponent's OPS,
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: what opponents are doing against him, is 476. That's microscopic.
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: That's his opponent's OPS. It's almost 100 points better than
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: Chris Sales. That's incredible. And it just shows the gap
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: as well as the strikeouts and all of that. But
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: the Miz has had a magnificent season He will be
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: the NL side. NL rookie. Now, I wrote about this
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago. This one is interesting because
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: at the time I wrote it, it seemed like Sal
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: Stewart was, if not a lock, getting to be a
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: near lock. And in my mind, he was a lock
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: because he had reached 30 and 100. He was leading
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: the major leagues in RBIs. Well, he's had an interesting month.
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: The highest batting average he's had of any month has
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: been in September, but also the lowest OPS. He doesn't
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: have an extra base hit in September. He's hitting over 300,
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: but he doesn't have an extra base hit. So you
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: can't say it's been a bad month, but it hasn't
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: been as productive, and he now no longer has the
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: lead for RBIs. Alec Burleson has passed him. So is
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: this a situation where Carson Benj or J.J. Weatherholt or
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: even Nolan McClain can come steal this? I don't know
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: about McClain as a pitcher, and he had a rough
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: start against the Yankees last week. Okay. Benj is interesting.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: He's had an OPS of nearly 800 since May 1st.
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: He's the better all-around player than Sal Stewart, who is
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: mostly a corner infielder. Benj is a brilliant outfielder with
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: an amazing arm. And then there's Weatherholt, who's been on
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: the IL since August 31st. He was the war darling
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: before he got hurt, and the frontrunner. And he is
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: hoping to come back before the end of the season.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: If he does and gets hot, maybe, and maybe Benj,
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: But I still see Stewart as the guy, what he's
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: done this year has been really incredible for a poor team.
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: And as Joey Votto pointed out, if he had one
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: position he was playing, maybe he'd have even better numbers
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: and maybe he'd have a better war because he'd be
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: playing one spot and playing it at a higher level.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: He's played first, he's played second, he's played third. Actually,
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: it just shows you how impressive his offensive season has
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: been because he's handled everything. That, the defensive versatility while
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: continuing to hit. So I'm going to go with Mr.
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: Stewart for NL Rookie of the Year.
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: Back in the day, Kratzy and I were looking for tickets.
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: It was so hard to find a seat or anything available.
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: You'd have to go online and there was nothing there.
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: But now with SeatGeek, they make it so much easier
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: for you. They have the green light special. What does
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: that mean? It means when the green light is on,
• 17:26
  Speaker 3: you can get some of the best seats available. Go
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: to SeatGeek. Kratzy understands how easy it is. Yeah, I
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: know you used to scalp your tickets, but look, it's way,
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: way better now because you get to just go right
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: on SeatGeek and find your postseason tickets.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: I'm not even going to fast forward to the postseason.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: I'm going to say the run to October because some
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: teams aren't in yet, so right now is the time
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: to get it, and those seats are available.
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: And it's playoff time, the best time for baseball. And,
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: of course, I have a code for you all. You
• 17:54
  Speaker 3: can use code TERRITORY10 for 10% off your next set
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: of MLB tickets at SeatGeek. That's 10% off MLB tickets
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: with promo code TERRITORY10. Make sure you click the link
• 18:05
  Speaker 3: in the description to download the app and have the
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: code automatically added to your account so you can use
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: it later.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: AL Rookie of the Year. It's not that obvious, though
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: Kevin McGonigal has had an amazing season. Well, so has
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: his division rival, Parker Messick. We mentioned Messick in the
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: first segment. You want to look at war? McGonigal is
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: tied for third in war among Americans. American League players,
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: Messick is fourth among American League pitchers. It's pretty good
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: for both. They're really both viable MVP and side candidates.
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: So I lean toward the position player only slightly. McGonigal
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: has played second base and shortstop and third as well. Actually, second,
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, short and third for the Tigers and filled
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: in a shortstop in a big way and in a
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: proficient way. So I'll lean toward him. But it's really close.
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: And maybe Messick, if he has a big finish to
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: his season, which is certainly possible, and helps elevate the
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: Guardians to a playoff spot, maybe then he's the guy.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: It's going to be a close one, and it should
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: be a close one. Both of those guys have had
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: tremendous seasons. All right, finally, the Managers of the Year.
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: This is always the most difficult award to choose, and
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: I'll never forget John Mazaloc, now president, actually executive, interim
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: general manager of the Los Angeles Angels, telling me one spring,
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: manager of the year, it's just what you guys decide
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: is the biggest impressive leap for a team because it's
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: based on you guys making your predictions at the start
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: of the season. And then the person who exceeds your
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: predictions by the most, he's the manager of the year.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: John Bozelek was not wrong when he said that. And
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: this award can get a little twisted there. But let's
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: talk about it. Let's break it down. National League. I've
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: written about Pat Murphy possibly becoming the first manager to
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: win this award three straight years. That would be an
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: incredible accomplishment. And if the Brewers get to 98 wins,
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: which it looks like they will, That will be a
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: franchise record. No one expected them to do much. But
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: at the same time, Walt Weiss in Atlanta, he has
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: had a tremendous year as well. Tyler Kepner of The
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: Athletic wrote on Friday that he should be the guy.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: I can't argue that. But to me, the Brewers, by
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: exceeding expectations by a lot yet again, after losing or
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: trading Freddy Peralta, then losing Brandon Woodruff and Quinn Priester,
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: from their rotation. They haven't contributed much, if at all,
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: this season. I don't know, man. It's tough to go
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: against Murphy. And Weiss has had an interesting challenge in
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: that they've had to use 13 starting pitchers. They've had
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: a revolving door in their rotation. And they've held off
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: the Phillies. They've done a tremendous job. It just seems
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: to me Murphy has done more with less. So I
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: would still go with him. American League, I would say
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: until about two weeks ago, this looked like Will Venables
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: to lose And now I'm starting to wonder, because if
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: the White Sox don't get there, or even if they
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: get to the playoffs but kind of have sputtered or
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: the way they have at the end, maybe we should
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: be looking harder at Kevin Cash. The Tampa Bay Rays
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: were predicted to finish last in the American League East.
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: They are not going to finish last. They're probably most
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: likely going to finish first. And they've had just a
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: tremendously incredible year. with what they've done. They returned to
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: the trop, have been a dominant team at home. And
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: while obviously the White Sox have exceeded expectations by perhaps
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: more than any team in baseball, they certainly, in my mind,
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: if they don't get there, it's certainly not as impressive
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: a run as we would have looked at otherwise. So Cash,
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: certainly in Tampa Bay, a worthy guy for this award. Venable,
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: also worthy. I'm not dismissing his candidacy. And I'm not
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: saying they have to make the playoffs. He still might
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: win the award because, granted, they were looked at as
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: a team that was going to win 67 to 69
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: games at the start of the year. They've won more
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: than that. But I don't know that they've done better
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: than the Rays as far as exceeding expectations, if that
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: is indeed the standard. So great races, or at least
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: some great races down the stretch, and who would have
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: thought that the National League MVP would be this decided
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: by this point? Shohei Otani, of course, did not pitch
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: really in the second half, got hurt, and now Pete
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: Crow Armstrong has had a season for the ages. So
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: that is it for the awards races, or at least
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: for the moment. Time now for Grill and Ken, the
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: part of the show where I answer your questions. Let's go.
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: First question comes from ChrisMeeks5272, says, Junior Caminero for AL
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: MVP has to be. He hits his 40th home run
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: to send the Rays to the postseason. That was a
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: great moment, one of the best moments of the season,
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: but I don't know that I put Junior Caminero over
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: Jordana Alvarez. Sorry about that. Junior's had a great year,
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: and if you're going to say we're willing to do
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: and give it to a DH, which, of course, Alvarez
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: mostly is, then maybe Junior Caminero, who is not a
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: great defender at third. Maybe he should be more of
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: a candidate, but if you ask me who has had
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: the better offensive season, I would still go with Alvarez.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: All right, next question. This one comes from Jim Jim Huerta,
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: who asks, which stadium are you looking forward to being
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: at for a postseason game this October? Well, actually, Jim Jim,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: All stadiums are great in October. Fox has the National
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: League this year. We come in for the Division Series.
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: So we have the Division Series, LCS, and World Series. Obviously,
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: some of the National League teams that are in it
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: have great ballpark atmospheres. The Phillies, the Cubs, the Brewers,
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: the Padres, the Dodgers, of course. I can't think of
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: one that isn't amazing. Atlanta as well. So really, whatever happens,
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: I'm expecting great crowds. I will say this. One thing
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: that would be interesting is if Tampa Bay makes it
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: to the World Series to see the Trop come alive
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: the way it did the last time they were in. Actually, well,
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: they were in 2020, but there were no fans. 2008,
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: that was an incredible atmosphere. But we'll see if the
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: Rays can get there. And the American League, too. Yankee
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: Stadium is always cool. But if I had to pick
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: one atmosphere out of all of them, actually, I'll pick two.
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: Philly and San Diego. They're amazing. All right, with that,
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: I want to thank everyone for watching, for listening. Foul
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: Territory is coming up at 1 p.m. Eastern. Hosts A.J. Pruszynski,
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: Eric Kratz, and Scott Braun. The guests include Jim Bowden.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: Fair Territory, this show, will return Thursday at 12.30 Eastern.
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: It'll be myself and Alana Rizzo. We will talk to
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: you then. Have a great week, everyone. We'll see you soon.
• 25:12
  Speaker 4: Looking to take your MLB action to the next level
• 25:15
  Speaker 4: this season? Boosted odds are here to crank up every pitch, swing,
• 25:19
  Speaker 4: and home run. BetMGM is hooking you up with your
• 25:22
  Speaker 4: very own MLB odds boost token to get things started
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: all season long. Just add any MLB bet to your
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: bet slip, activate your odds boost token, and lock it in.
• 25:33
  Speaker 4: If your bet hits, you're cashing out with an even
• 25:36
  Speaker 4: bigger payout. Gambling problem?
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: Thank you.