transcript

Speaker 1:
[00:00] Amazon presents Laura vs. Fruit Flies. Swarming your fruit and terrorizing your kitchen, these little freaks multiply at a rate that would make a rabbit say, yo, chill. But Laura shopped on Amazon and saved on cleaning spray, countertop wipes, and fly traps. Hey, Fruit Flies, your baby boom ends here. Save the everyday with Amazon.

Speaker 2:
[00:31] Hello and welcome to Talkin Baseball. We're doing what we do best today, buying and selling, trading. A lot of ball talk people. It's the midweek. Let's do it. Oh, the Mets are still losing. Didier Fuentes. Hello and welcome to Talkin Baseball, presented by the Fanatics Markets, where fans trade on sports. Fanatics Markets, available now on the app stores. Checking in. I'm Jake Storiale, friend of Jimmy O'Brien, who's now Jomboy, this international sensation. Along our travels, we linked up with Twin Stalwart, Philly walk-off legend. It's Trevor Plouffe, people. Versatile by the end. Rob Chiracco's producing, Dalt's assembling the sheet. And we're cooking today, Coach. How are you doing?

Speaker 3:
[01:33] I'm doing good, Jakey. I kind of like the app today. A lot of, we're going to get to talk about our favorite division, some of our favorite young players, some teams that maybe need a pep talk or two. And that's what we kind of specialize in, is getting these people off the floor, soaring to new heights again. But really, we're just going to yuck ball and kind of get everyone caught up on what's going on now that we are 24 games into the season.

Speaker 2:
[02:03] What's that math come out to? Is that? 18%. 18% or so?

Speaker 3:
[02:08] I don't know, I threw that out there.

Speaker 2:
[02:09] That feels high. I would say 13%, 15%.

Speaker 3:
[02:13] Somebody get on the math.

Speaker 2:
[02:14] Delt's on it. We're running up to 15%. We're rounding up to 15, 14.8.

Speaker 3:
[02:20] Right in the middle.

Speaker 2:
[02:21] And some teams have played less or more.

Speaker 3:
[02:23] Why do you look like you're trying to be inconspicuous on the streets of New York right now? Trying to blend in?

Speaker 2:
[02:28] Oh, me? Officer. No, dude, it got cold again in New York, which is just tragic. Happens every year and people probably see the memes online and stuff. And New York City weather, fake spring, real summer, back to dead of winter. It's happened again. It's rainy and 40, which is just the worst conditions that was kind of going on at Fenway last night.

Speaker 3:
[02:56] Every game I was watching last night, people were cold.

Speaker 2:
[03:01] Yeah. I feel like everyone got a tease of the warm. And now we're back in it. It's April 22nd. So they busted out my signature trench. Is this a trench coat? Well, Pico Pico. Yeah. Pico de Gallo. We're going to talk baseball because we do a lot better at that than pretty much everything else, although we try everything else. We sure do. People did like our sagging slash pants convo from last episode. That was good.

Speaker 3:
[03:35] Oh, what are we talking about?

Speaker 2:
[03:38] I was talking about people that just like don't wear their pants.

Speaker 3:
[03:41] And I said that, you know, you got to have a butt to keep your pants up.

Speaker 2:
[03:45] You sure did.

Speaker 3:
[03:47] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[03:47] Sure did say that.

Speaker 3:
[03:49] You know what? That's a good rule for guys is, you know, don't just work out the upper body. Get some squats. You got to have a little shelf there. Chicks like that as well.

Speaker 2:
[04:00] You got to have a game plan back there. You don't want to be no butt in it. All right. We're doing buying and selling. We're going to go through. We've got some divisional topics, like Coach mentioned. You know, a little bit more of a topical episode. The whole idea around Wednesday's a different way to skin the cats of some of the big topics in baseball right now. And like you said, Trev, we're going to start off with our favorite division, America's division, the National League Central, that right now. I think we had hopes for a lot of these teams. But with baseball, you expect someone to sputter out of the gate. You expect something to go wrong right now. The last place Pittsburgh Pirates are 13 and 10, which if you had told Pirates fans, hey, you guys are going to be 13 and 10 to start the year. Everyone would, yes, thank Gord. Brewers 13 and 9, Cardinals and Cubs tied at 14 and 9. And the Cincinnati Reds are 16 and 8. They're on a little bit of a win streak, four straight games, dominant in every column. I do think the conversation starts with them that I guess, have the Reds change how you've thought about them? And the buy and sell part of this is, will four teams finish above 500 in the NL Central?

Speaker 3:
[05:34] It seems like a lot. I'm pretty disappointed in you doing the standings. You know that's a me thing.

Speaker 2:
[05:39] Yeah, that's my bad.

Speaker 3:
[05:40] Yeah. 13 and 6 for the Reds in April. That's a 684 winning percentage, Coach. That's pretty outrageous. Now, I guess, what question are you going for here? Are we buying the Reds start? Well, you should probably start there. The four teams over 500 in the NL Central seems unrealistic to me. Doesn't happen very often. I know Dalt has it on the sheet the last time it did. If you want to read that.

Speaker 2:
[06:07] Yeah, the last time. Nice, nice assist there.

Speaker 3:
[06:10] I see you looking at the sheet.

Speaker 2:
[06:11] Young Chris Paul over there. Last time an entire division finished 500 or better was the 2005 NLE. Nice, who could forget? There has never been a division where every team finished a season with more wins than losses. So, the NL Central has a little history with this. 2018 and 2008, four teams have done it. So, again, it's not, it's a once in a blue moon type situation and with this expanded wild card and more teams trying to hit that kind of 84 slot. Maybe we'll see more of this going forward. But right now, the NL Central and this whole crop of teams, kind of outside of the Cardinals, had real hopes for this year that, I don't know, everyone's got the good juice right now.

Speaker 3:
[07:07] Well, there are three playoff teams last year. Let's not forget about that.

Speaker 2:
[07:11] Nice, nice, Trev.

Speaker 3:
[07:12] Well, I'm just saying this isn't some division that's just out of nowhere. They had the most teams in the playoffs last year. One of them being our Reds. The Reds are an interesting case to me to start the year because I want to believe in them a ton, Coach. And what we said about the Reds during the off season and coming into the year was they needed a hit. Like if they could find some offense, that they were gonna do it. And they found a few guys, but by and large, this offense has been the same. It hasn't been very good. Like they are not scoring in bunches. They're just not, but they're finding ways to win games. The pitching has been incredible. The starters have given, you know, kept them in games. The bullpen has been great. They're winning close games. They're doing all those things, all while having just like, I mean, two consistent hitters in the lineup right now. One being a rookie in Sal Stewart who looks incredible. Like this is your Miami guy. You see him going yard here in Tampa. He also made a really nice catch in one of these games where he's kind of like, it was him, the second baseman in the right fielder, and he just took it over. He looks the part. Elias had a really nice start to the year. Nobody else has. I mean, nobody. Gino with the 700 OPS or sub 700 OPS. He, Brian Hayes, who I just love, has a 305 OPS right now. Matt McClain, who I circled, he's got to be better. He's got to be the guy. 586. They're not getting offense from everyone. They're just getting just barely enough. Whether it's timely clutch hitting a la the Guardians. They're getting the hits when they need to, but their offense really hasn't been there. It's been the pitching that's kept them in. I am a little sceptical about this pace, but they did the same thing last year and made the playoffs. I am buying the Reds. I think they do have a chance to continue to climb on the offensive front, and the pitching is good. We know that's going to be there all year, plus a little Hunter Green at the back end of the year possibly. I am buying the Reds if you're asking me.

Speaker 2:
[09:31] Yeah, I think the Reds are the trickiest team right now, because if I told you Hunter Green was going to be out till midseason, if I told you Andrew Abbott would have an ERA near 6, if I told you Brady Singer would be right behind him, you'd be... and I told you they were 30th in batting average. 30th in bullpen walks feels like a bad recipe. But a lot of that's Connor Phillips who has a 193 ERA. I feel like the bullpen has been amazing that they have a formula right now. Whether it's Phillips Ashcraft Mull, Brock Burke, Santillan, Saladin as Joe McFly calls him, Emilio in his pagan ways, it's like okay we've got a bullpen, Chase Burns and Rhett Lauder are leading the rotation. So what does that feel like? The red flags are kind of crazy but maybe it's the Cincinnati Red Flags. Like sure your bullpen shouldn't be walking guys but it's not hurting you. The offense, you want to see more someone's got to but yeah if you wanted to play devil's advocate this is the easiest team to do it on because it feels like another shoe should drop but maybe it doesn't.

Speaker 3:
[10:45] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[10:45] You know? Tito and Sal Stewart, what do they talk about?

Speaker 3:
[10:51] I don't know, he's with Napoli. Sal Stewart's with Napoli. He's just staying out all the time.

Speaker 2:
[10:55] Okay. You stay over here, buddy.

Speaker 3:
[10:58] Basically, you know, they just played the twins and it seemed like when I was watching, this is kind of like a microcosm of the season. They just keep the game close and like score off the bullpen. It's kind of like what they've done. You know, scoring over four runs for them has been very difficult. I looked it up, I think it's six times on the year they've done that. They've just kept games close and have gotten the clutch hits, man. Like it really does remind me of Guardians Baseball right now with the caveat that they do have. Well, I mean, what do the Guardians have? A couple of guys that can bang the ball around and then some clutch hitting. It really is the Guardians. So two Ohio teams doing it the same exactly. And Tito Connection. I'm in. I'm in on the Reds.

Speaker 2:
[11:46] Craft up the Ohio baseball shirt. This episode is sponsored by SeatGeek, the MLB season is here, not to mention NBA and NHL yofs. Even the World Cup is coming this summer. Hearing a lot about that. That you're going to want that SeatGeek promo code at the end of this. But first, let me tell you, they're the number one rated ticketing app. That's good. That's real good. Thirty five million downloads on SeatGeek and it's MLB's official ticket marketplace. So green means good, red means bad. You now know how to use the app. So download it and use code Talkin2026. That's 10% off your next set of tickets at SeatGeek. 10% off any tickets with promo code Talkin2026. Download the SeatGeek app, upload it, save that 10%, Talkin2026 with SeatGeek. The weird part of this exercise, like the Cubs and Brewers, which were viewed as two NL competitors this year, everything's kind of a tier below the Dodgers. In a way, they've checked their boxes to start the year. The Cubs are on a seven-game winner? Like, okay, they're happening. The Brewers had a six-game loser. They're still 13 and nine. So outside of their losing streak, 13 and three, quick math by me, they're like the two contenders of the Central. They've gotten off to a good start. And the Pirates, who I wasn't steering the ship, if you will, but a lot of people were like, I think this could be the year. And you could still say that for them, that I don't know, man. I think if it was buying or selling, and I remember doing a little bit of this in our TPPs, if you give me four out of five to be above 500, I'll buy. Like, I think this division has it.

Speaker 3:
[13:40] It's such a long season, man. But you know what these teams do have? Like, if you're talking about, I think the Cubs and the Brewers are going to be there. So now we need two of these other teams. And I just said I'm kind of buying into the Reds. And if you're talking about the Reds, the Pirates have a similar formula. Like, they're going to throw the baseball, and that's going to keep them in game. So Neil Cruz has found his stroke against lefties. It's a sight to behold. The guys they brought in, like B Lau is, is he the best off season acquisition so far this year? Like, every time I see him when I watch the Pirates game, he's getting the knock. He's doing it. He's the guy.

Speaker 2:
[14:24] He's raising the cone.

Speaker 3:
[14:26] Yeah, they love the cone. And I like the, I do like the welder's helmet. Like that's, I mean, Welder's helmet's sick. I like the welder's helmet.

Speaker 2:
[14:33] And the first time I saw it on O'Neil Cruz, I was like, wow, you're the last person in the world that doesn't want to fight right now. Dude, six, seven with a welder's helmet on? Like, I'm good on that.

Speaker 3:
[14:47] Yeah, that does seem like something out of a horror movie.

Speaker 2:
[14:49] Yes. Yes.

Speaker 3:
[14:51] No doubt.

Speaker 2:
[14:51] And it's been a horror movie for teams facing the pirates this year. Shut up, Chris Rose.

Speaker 3:
[14:57] Yeah, so the, again, like I guess I am buying the four teams over 500. Because I like, I like the Reds formula. And I guess the pirates form is not too dissimilar from that as well. Like we know our starting, our starting pitching is going to keep us. There it is. My God, that's the welders.

Speaker 2:
[15:14] That's right out of what's still freaky looking thing.

Speaker 3:
[15:20] It's because they're steelwork.

Speaker 2:
[15:22] I mean, look at this. Is this not baseball? We've got a six, seven. Is he is O'Neill Cruz, Dominican? Yeah, he was on Team DR, a six, seven Dominican man with a cone behind him wearing a welders mask. This is baseball.

Speaker 3:
[15:40] Be loud, 975 OPS, getting on base at a 375. He's hitting homers. He already has seven on the year. Like what? Like this guy just hits homers. That's what he does. He might be one of the most underrated players in the game. Hey, man, when he second base, a constant 30 homerun threat.

Speaker 2:
[16:01] When he plays, he hits. He's had a little bit of an injury history. And Ryan O'Hern, the another big ad for that team. He's been fantastic for them as well. But yeah, the Pirates, when you look at their team stats, you mentioned the pitching like, yes, that's there. And we kind of we hoped for that and thought it was possible. The offense has been a top 10 offense right now that statistically compared to a couple of the other. Like, if you just looked at the little team profile rankings on fan graphs and you did the Pirates next to the Reds, you'd say, well, the Pirates give me that all day. And currently, it's the difference between what, two and a half games. So it is one of those dramatic early season things. But if these teams continue, although I think I just saw a little Pirates, Pirates Cardinals end of April, four game set, buckle up people, playoff ball.

Speaker 3:
[16:57] It could be. Also Spencer Horowitz needs a little bit of love here.

Speaker 2:
[17:01] Oh, my guy.

Speaker 3:
[17:02] I feel like he's been coming up clutch for them. Yeah, so buying Pirates stock, already bought my Reds stock, and then Brewers and Cubs, I guess are the, you know, they're the teams that we expect to be there. By the way, Bryce Terang has just been.

Speaker 2:
[17:18] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[17:19] Nuts. I hate mentioning him because one of our, you know, employees.

Speaker 2:
[17:23] You've ruined it for the whole company.

Speaker 3:
[17:25] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[17:26] You've ruined it for the whole company.

Speaker 3:
[17:27] But he is going nuts. It's like he's in the MVP conversation right now.

Speaker 2:
[17:37] Yeah, Terang's been fantastic. He's been getting outshined by Horner. You got T Jacks at our company, Mattichew for referencing. Trang's looks. And I'll just say this on the way out. Don't let the Cardinals stay hot.

Speaker 3:
[17:55] Yeah, we got to talk. We got to talk.

Speaker 2:
[17:57] Walker's been you're talking about given to rang the MVP. Give it to Jordan Walker.

Speaker 3:
[18:03] That's they're just different players.

Speaker 2:
[18:05] They're a little different.

Speaker 3:
[18:07] A little bit different.

Speaker 2:
[18:08] A little different.

Speaker 3:
[18:10] It's fun to watch the Cardinals because it does look like they are out there just kind of having a good time. Much different look to them than last year on the field. A little bit more vibrancy when you watch the Cardinals play. I guess you can call it loose. I don't know if that's a great term for it. But they do look like they are out there trying to prove something. When you have a young roster like that, that's kind of what it is. You got young guys trying to establish themselves. And kind of right now, things are going their way. That's a fun type of baseball to watch. They've locked down late in games when they've had the lead, 11-0 after the eighth inning. The defense has been there. That's a big reason why they can do that. It's just, you're right about Jordan Walker. Some swing adjustments there. Weatherholtz held his own out there for them. And then they've got some starting pitching going. We've mentioned McGreevey a bunch on this show. He's looked great for them. What are you buying, I guess? That's kind of the segment here. I don't know if you're buying long-term.

Speaker 2:
[19:22] I could buy them being 500. I don't know if the Cardinals are gonna be a big factor in the season. But also, you kind of have to give a comma when you say that now. Because if you think a team is gonna be 500, that means they're going to be a part of this season. That means with a week of games left, if they go 6-1, you might make the dance. Riley O'Brien as their closer, one of the breakout players this year, 31 years old, has an argument for being the best closer in baseball so far this season. Yeah, I mean, I'm not all in, but Trev, what you were just saying, half of their lineups have all their starters are 27 and under. Like, they're letting the boys play. And right now, that recipe is working for them. And hey, we've been pretty snarky about some of the central divisions the past couple years. This one's a pretty good one. The adult was just pointing out the fan graphs playoff odds. The given day, it changes every day just with how close these divisions are. But if you like that, even I was looking at the baseball reference ones, too, they're all over the map because all of these teams currently have a path.

Speaker 3:
[20:37] So our initial question was buying or selling teams over 500 in the division.

Speaker 2:
[20:44] I'm buying. Sell it.

Speaker 3:
[20:50] I don't know, man.

Speaker 2:
[20:51] Pirates and Cardinals.

Speaker 3:
[20:52] I'm right on the fence of buying. I need a better price on it, I think.

Speaker 2:
[20:55] Yeah, you always do.

Speaker 3:
[20:56] I'm going to wait for the spring sale to come around. I'm going to say no.

Speaker 2:
[21:00] OK, I'm going to say no.

Speaker 3:
[21:02] I'm going to say some of the Cardinals. Right underneath pirates, right underneath. That's what I'm going to say.

Speaker 2:
[21:11] Man, and there's, again, some quick hitters on the way out, like the Cubbies with the best to strike approach in baseball this year by quality of bat metrics. Yeah, like when you look at their lineup, that's exactly what you'd think. The Brewers, top five in stolen bases and on base percentage. Yep, we saw some of that last year. Cardinals 11 and 0 when entering the 8th inning. Shout out Riley O'Brien and the Reds are just winning everything. Let's see where the NL Central leads us. Go East, young man. They've never really said that. It's pretty standard to say go west.

Speaker 3:
[21:50] We're already here.

Speaker 2:
[21:52] We landed here.

Speaker 3:
[21:53] Yeah, we couldn't go east. That was back to where we came from.

Speaker 2:
[21:58] Wild west, bro.

Speaker 3:
[22:00] Dude, wild west is...

Speaker 2:
[22:02] I could get into that. Someone comment below if you've got a book or something about the wild west.

Speaker 3:
[22:09] It's a gnarly thing to think about. They had no idea what was that way.

Speaker 2:
[22:14] They just kept going.

Speaker 3:
[22:15] And then imagine, imagine you're saying I'm going to go to... I'm going to go west. And first you hit the Appalachian Mountains.

Speaker 2:
[22:23] Right.

Speaker 3:
[22:23] Oldest mountain range in the world.

Speaker 2:
[22:26] Nice.

Speaker 3:
[22:27] And then you're just on the plains of the Midwest. And you're like, what is this? It's really dusty here. What the hell am I going to do?

Speaker 2:
[22:35] This is what we're doing? It's just plains?

Speaker 3:
[22:38] It's hot. It's really flat. And then all of a sudden, it's not flat anymore. And you got the Rockies. What are you supposed to do? You start eating each other. That's what happens when you go to the Rockies. And then finally you make your way to the most beautiful place in the world. Arizona.

Speaker 2:
[22:57] Oh, spin zone.

Speaker 3:
[23:00] Just kidding, California.

Speaker 2:
[23:02] Lake Tahoe.

Speaker 3:
[23:03] Let's stay out east.

Speaker 2:
[23:04] Through the mountains. Yeah. So now that you guys know the history of our country, today's episode is sponsored by Joy Mode, Endurance athletes don't talk about this, but heavy training can quietly impact sexual performance. Long cardio, high cortisol, and poor sleep all hit the same systems that control blood flow and hormones. When circulation drops, performance drops. Joy Mode was created because Big Pharma was pushing too many men to prescriptions they didn't need, and most guys didn't know there was a natural solution. Joy Mode supports nitric oxide production, which can naturally help improve circulation. No forcing, no overrides. 83% of men taking Joy Mode daily notice a boost in sexual performance, and 73% of men using the product notice a positive effect with no prior ED symptoms. Tear open a sachet, mix it in 6 to 8 ounces of water like an electrolyte packet, and you're good to go. If you want to support sexual performance the same way you support training and recovery naturally and intelligently, Joy Mode has a deal for our listeners. Go to tryjoymode.com/talkin or enter Talkin at checkout for 20% off Joy Mode, the pre-workout for your blood flow. Buying or selling, the Braves will win the NLE. So for our Mets fans, this is how we're going to cover your guys' stink for this conversation because you guys still need to be talked about. And I have a passionate Mets speech that they kind of blew again last night, so I can't. The other thing is, they keep covering up the Phillies who are 8 and 15.

Speaker 3:
[24:36] You have a positive spin on the Mets?

Speaker 2:
[24:38] Yeah, I have a whole speech. I gave it to Robbie Tesaro, who does our warehouse challenges, warehouse games videos. It was the end of the day at the office. Only a couple bodies left. You know, I was here and I was just like, let me paint a picture. It's June 1st. The Mets get back to 500. The vibes are up. The boys are boppin. It's the opposite of every Mets script ever. Like the Mets could finally be the dead man walking in a good way. They could be the zombie mariners from a few years. Like everyone's writing them off. It's April 22nd.

Speaker 3:
[25:21] It feels like a bad party, dude.

Speaker 2:
[25:24] But oh my God, does it feel bad? And after what they did last night, I can't give you that. I cannot give you that.

Speaker 3:
[25:32] It feels like maybe you hung out like with your friends too often and you're trying to do it again and you're all together. And nobody really feels like partying. Nobody really feels like doing anything, but you're all together. So like somebody's trying to, you know, kind of like get the group going. It might probably be you to be honest. You're that guy, but nobody's in the mood. Everyone just wants to go home. That's what it feels like, man. Like last night when Lindor hit set homer and they take the picture, like in an instruction outfit, which I'm not into this one. This doesn't feel legit. Marcus Simeon wanted no part of that. If you can get that highlight up, Rob, you're a stud. I know you can. Watch how fast he tries to get out of that picture.

Speaker 2:
[26:24] Oh, wow. Body language.

Speaker 3:
[26:25] It just seems like nobody is, like, stoked to be there. I'm sorry. That's the vibes I get. And Mets fans, I know right now, you're all agreeing with me.

Speaker 2:
[26:36] Well, Trev, what if I told you, the 7 and 16 Mets, that you compare to a group of people not wanting to be around together anymore, the fight in Phillies, I mean, look at that.

Speaker 3:
[26:50] He's already trying to get out of there.

Speaker 2:
[26:52] Dore, Carson Bench, he's not facing the right way in the picture, which is a bad start for us. And by the way, Marcus Simeon came from a Rangers Clubhouse that supposedly didn't have the best vibes. Do with that what you want.

Speaker 3:
[27:08] OK.

Speaker 2:
[27:08] Trev, let's get away from the Mets, because the Philadelphia Phillies are one game better. They're eight and 15. They have a seven game losing streak and the worst run differential in baseball. So this conversation is led in by the Braves look quacktastic. 16 and eight, their top five in offense, their top two in offense, their top two in pitching. And it feels like the young guy like Drake Baldwin has joined the party. Chris Rose is asking you crazy questions about him. Mauricio Duban and Dom Smith finding the fountain of youth in that Braves foundation. Along with the guys on the Braves that you expect to be brave like the Braves. I mean, their division lead is real. It's five games over the Marlins and the Nats, which we expected the other two teams to be involved with this. That is it a wrap could could this be that good of a start? And also such a bad start for the other two teams?

Speaker 3:
[28:14] So I believe in this brave start. I truly do. I mean, the roster is a very, very good roster. We've known that they dealt with injuries last year. And that's kind of why we didn't write them off early on. We felt like that was that stank was still on them early on preseason. A lot of people getting hurt, especially to the rotation. And you know, that's like my biggest thing. I need to see a good rotation out there. Well, the rotation has been fantastic. They've been fantastic. That's kind of answered like the only question we had about these Braves. And I guess like, can some of these guys like step it up in the lineup? But like that lineup is deep, it's strong. Drake Baldwin is showing that he is legit and is, and he's going to be considered one of the top hitting catchers in all the baseball. That's the cheat code people. You know, I always say that. Olsen's been great, Harris has been great. All these guys have really stepped up this year. But it's been the rotation, I think, that's surprised a lot of people. Bryce Elder continues to do his thing. There was an article early on by Mark Bowman talking about Elder and kind of like hanging out with Greg Maddux. I thought that was really cool. And it's another instance of like, well, this makes a ton of sense. Maddux was like, you need to throw a cutter. And Bryce Elder wanted the color pitches to kind of go away from each other. So now he's throwing the change up going this way, the cutter going that way. So he's got five pitches now. And it's just been, he's been great, man. So they've been able to withstand some of these injuries to the staff. I saw a freaking Peter Moylan report on Spencer Strider last night, who was dealing for the Gwinnett Braves. They might not be the Gwinnett Braves.

Speaker 2:
[30:10] Gwinnett Stripers, I believe.

Speaker 3:
[30:11] The Stripers, yeah. Velo, sitting at 96, touched 98. So like they're going to get Spencer Strider back. And like this team is legit. Like I'm buying that the 16 and 8 start is real. Like at this, we wrote them off too fast before the season.

Speaker 2:
[30:31] Yeah, I mean, I'd have to check, double check with Bobby and Dalt. I think I tried to buy myself some brave stock by the end of the year because well, A, I had Spencer Strider competing for the Cy Young, which it's looking like that might not happen. But he might be pitching meaningful innings. It would also like, I don't know, Sean Murphy's on the IL where at one point he was pretty high up on that catcher.

Speaker 3:
[30:57] Yeah, but I don't know what they're gonna do.

Speaker 2:
[31:00] Right, Ha Sung Kim. Remember, he was supposed to be there shortstop and he's gonna be out for a chunk of the season that these Braves have, like Ronald hasn't really gotten going yet. And I think he will that, yeah, it feels like a team that's been waiting to feel good emotions for two years is starting to feel them while the other teams are feeling the worst emotions.

Speaker 3:
[31:25] I bought stock last year at 0 and 7. Lost money on that. Unless I held it the entire time. Do I still get to hold it through this year?

Speaker 2:
[31:34] I think you lost that.

Speaker 3:
[31:35] I lost that, okay.

Speaker 2:
[31:36] Rob?

Speaker 3:
[31:37] Another reason I'm in is you have your guys, need them to step up. I just mentioned who they are. They've been doing great, but it's the length of your lineup, the bench, guys that are kind of quote unquote role players, man. Like Mauricio Dubon's been fantastic. You mentioned Dom Smith and kind of the legend that he's creating down there. Some massive swings. He's got a, I believe he lost his mother early on in the season and kind of playing for her. He's got, like, I hate saying that, but it seems like he's playing inspired baseball right now.

Speaker 2:
[32:17] Sure.

Speaker 3:
[32:18] And so you're going through this lineup and you're like, where does it stop? Cause you're right.

Speaker 2:
[32:22] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[32:23] Like Acuna really hasn't got it going. Even Austin Reilly is, you know, not playing up the standards. So those guys, which again, like the Abtrak records, it's, it becomes a very formidable lineup. The bullpen has been great. And starting pitching has answered all the questions plus reinforcements on the way. You got to be into the brace.

Speaker 2:
[32:42] Bob, during TPPs, Trev had the over at 88 and a half. Jake, you had the under, but you regret it. Oh, all right.

Speaker 3:
[32:54] That's such a cop out.

Speaker 2:
[32:56] Fantastic. That's in my notes.

Speaker 3:
[32:58] That's a cop out.

Speaker 2:
[32:59] Jake has the under and he regrets it. God damn it. Why did I ask to check?

Speaker 3:
[33:06] Yes, and Kyle Farmer.

Speaker 2:
[33:07] What about our playoff picks? Let me keep digging my own grave here. Cause I thought I was in on that. Thought I was brave like the Braves. Maybe I wasn't.

Speaker 3:
[33:17] Well, I must have had the Braves and if I had them over 88 wins.

Speaker 2:
[33:20] I don't know. We get.

Speaker 3:
[33:21] I don't think I did.

Speaker 2:
[33:22] We get a lot happens between over under season and us picking the playoffs. It's a grind. I guess Phillies, the Mets, we kind of talked about and it's been the storyline and hey, you know, get Soto back, win a game. And we'll start talking recipes. The Phillies, again, if the Mets were playing 500 ball right now, all of the Mets segments would be about the Phillies. They've been almost as bad.

Speaker 3:
[33:55] I think that we, I think there is a lot of chatter about the Phillies right now.

Speaker 2:
[33:59] There's chatter.

Speaker 3:
[34:00] And if I was to tell Phillies fans, hey, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwab are going to have OPSs in the nines. And Justin Crawford is going to be approaching 800 to start the year.

Speaker 2:
[34:11] You bet.

Speaker 3:
[34:11] Oh, this is great. We're going to be crushing it. Problem is, like, literally nobody else on that offense is doing anything. And it's just, it seems like that. There's not a lot of clutch happening with the Phillies. Honestly, not a lot of... Well, there's been opportunities, but they just haven't been able to cash it in. And even Harper, who has had a really good start to the year, the times I've watched him come up, and now I'm probably digging myself graves. I haven't watched every single Phillies game, obviously. The times I've seen him come up, it hasn't been great in those situations. I'm not blaming Harper, I'm just saying. It seems to me like they are squandering chances whenever I watch them.

Speaker 2:
[34:57] Zach Wheeler supposed to come back. But yeah, like you're saying, the offensive stats are weird. Jimmy and Shelfie tag teamed a stat that the Phillies have the least amount of innings scored in, I believe, or multiple times scoring in a game. Shelfie said that he's like, yeah, the Phillies will score early and then the offense shuts down. Jimmy, the supercomputer started processing and I believe he looked at team scoring in multiple innings a game and the Phillies were by far the worst. So it's a little bit of the itis. Dalton Robb, I saw you guys cooking. Yes. So from our MLB predictions, you have the Braves making the wild card. Yep. Trev has the Mets winning the East and the Phillies making the wild card.

Speaker 4:
[35:49] No Braves.

Speaker 3:
[35:50] Yeah, that's crazy. If I had them over 88 wins, just a lot of tough.

Speaker 2:
[35:56] NL. Look at the Central.

Speaker 3:
[35:58] Jolly said they were going to win the division. And he says the first time I've ever said that out loud. He got me.

Speaker 2:
[36:06] He's been that.

Speaker 3:
[36:09] Yeah, they have. Wheeler coming back is big, obviously, for the Phillies. I'm curious. It's like it's got to be Taiwan now, right? He's had big time struggles.

Speaker 2:
[36:21] Here there were some loud boos in Philadelphia when he was getting knocked around.

Speaker 3:
[36:26] And as I'm looking at their stats right now, Sanchez looks like it's just been phenomenal with the one five. But that's kind of where it stops.

Speaker 2:
[36:36] Yeah. Like a one four whip.

Speaker 3:
[36:40] He's been giving up hits, finding his way to get out of jams, apparently. Okay.

Speaker 2:
[36:47] Okay. Man, that was a lot of NL. Can we jump over to what I know? It's American League baseball. I grew up, pitchers didn't hit. Okay. Trev, buying or selling? Oh, did we buy or sell? I guess I'm buying the Braves winning the division. I think it's Jover.

Speaker 3:
[37:15] On April 22nd, I'm buying the Braves winning the division. I reserve the right to change my mind.

Speaker 2:
[37:20] Oh, we got the video now.

Speaker 3:
[37:21] Watch how fast he gets out of this picture.

Speaker 2:
[37:23] Benj, Simeon. Okay.

Speaker 3:
[37:29] He wanted no part of that.

Speaker 2:
[37:31] It's a quick exit. I mean, the smile is pretty big there.

Speaker 3:
[37:36] Maybe I misread it. I don't know. Maybe I'm just trying to pile on jolly like my twins admin did.

Speaker 2:
[37:42] Oh, boy.

Speaker 3:
[37:43] Things that you can get by the dozen.

Speaker 2:
[37:47] Buying or selling the reigning ALCS teams, the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays, will both miss the playoffs in 2026. The Blue Jays offense this year after being first in average, first in on base, third in OPS. So far, eighth in average, still kind of good. But 19th in OPS, 20th in OBP. They've had a ton of injuries. They're one of the teams. I think them, Houston, a couple of others can really point to injuries and be like, yeah, man, what if you're missing your one, your three, your five hitter and a whole rotation, you should feel that that has the Blue Jays off to a 10 and 13 start. The Mariners, 10 and 15 a couple of days ago, I think they were 10 and 13 and it was kind of like, ah, you know, let's we're talking about some of those things. 10 and 15 starts to feel a little more significant. The West has nobody pulling away. But man, they are struggling in close games. Again, glass half full, glass half empty. Cal Raleigh is not going to start this season. Naylor got off to a brutal start. Julio traditionally starts slow. That I guess where you at with both these teams, coach?

Speaker 3:
[39:13] I am still in on the Blue Jays. You mentioned the injuries like that's that's they need their guys back. They need Springer. They need Kirk. They just seems like they're about to make a change in the back end of their bullpen. Jeff Hoffman, who had been, if memory serves me correctly, pretty good to start the year and then had two bad outings. And then another one last night where Louis Varlin came in and on the first pitch he threw induced a double play to get out of the inning. One pitch, two outs, when you're closer struggling, that might signal to me that it's Louis V time there. So that could change things around. But yeah, again, like I think it's too early to write the Blue Jays off. If they get healthy or when they get healthy, I'm still in on them. And they're, I mean, 10 and 13 is not some crazy record. I think they end up making the playoffs. I'm pretty positive of that. They're not going to be so bad. The base running has been bad for them. Eight negative base running plays. That should stop. And we'll see what they do with the bullpen. We'll see what they do with the bullpen. Hoffman struggled last year too during the regular season, right? And then he kind of found it during the postseason.

Speaker 2:
[40:37] Yeah, I think he gave up the most home runs, and a lot of those came later in the year that it opened up the conversation a little bit more. The other thing they probably like about your guy, Louis Varland, zero ERA. That works. That works. Yeah, they've had some issues down there. They need to get some bodies back. I know you Savage throwing in the minors, building himself back up. And then, dude, missing Kirk.

Speaker 3:
[41:08] Yeah, Kirk's a big one.

Speaker 2:
[41:09] I believe in catchers. And Alejandro Kirk, especially what he does defensively matters. Barger, we're comparing him to Chipper Jones Light. Maybe I was, and maybe that was crazy. Maybe that was dramatic. And dude, how about maybe as simple as George Springer, who was top five MVP last year.

Speaker 3:
[41:27] He's going to be that was going to be hard to replicate. We knew that coming into this season. The stats that he put up last year were pretty outrageous.

Speaker 2:
[41:37] Agree, but you'd also like to have a chance to replicate it. And if he's out of the lineup, you can't like big big old Eloy Jimenez in the middle of that Blue Jays lineup right now. Watch out.

Speaker 3:
[41:49] Watch.

Speaker 2:
[41:49] Watch your lips. Do you have Mariners concerns?

Speaker 3:
[41:56] Yeah, I mean, not really. OK, I think it's a slow start offensively. I think I think this offense is is better, obviously better than they've shown, but I think we'll pick it up. You know, Kyle Raleigh is not going to be a 600 OPS guy. Josh Naylor is not going to be a 500 OPS guy. It's cold. I'm waiting for these guys to heat up. I think you got to give them. I think you got to give them a month to get the offense going. If it still looks like this, then we can have some concerns, but they also have the recipe that I like. You know, they have the starting pitching. I know Munoz has had some blow ups. It hasn't been great for him to start the year, but I believe in the bullpen as well. Even the guy that brought over Ferrer, he's had some tough outings as well. So, like, the pitching is going to be there. I'm not concerned about that whatsoever. And I also believe in the offense, too. Like, I think it's just a slow start for them. So, I'm not buying that both these teams are going to miss the playoffs. In fact, I think both of them will make the playoffs.

Speaker 2:
[42:59] I like that. Update, one of my Mets buddies, Ed, who we haven't texted since January 2nd, he just texted me, Tell Jolly just to pack it up and close shop. Every Mets fan needs to attend therapy and stop all purchases of gear and tickets. He keeps going. Some of the words I can't say, but Mets fans are in the dark place.

Speaker 3:
[43:23] Everyone's mad at Mendoza, but Stearns has got to have a talking to, right? Like he's the one that puts the roster together. And like some of these moves, you go back and like, I was like, all right, well, a change was needed. The guys they brought in, like, I like. But then when you really start thinking about it and seeing the product on the field, like everyone's at a different position, I think Eno put this like a paragraph about them out saying, actually, the defense hasn't been the problem. And the way they wanted to kind of shore up these guys' defense they brought over was like put them at easier positions. So, Bichette goes to third base, Polanco goes to first base and, you know, and that was supposed to kind of be it. And they've been okay. I believe they've converted the most ground balls into out. So like, that's not the problem. But is that gonna be there all year? I don't know. Some of the additions to me now that I'm looking at it, I'm like, in theory they work, now that I'm seeing them on the field, I don't know, man.

Speaker 2:
[44:30] That's yeah, I go in mental side. I think there's something to sometimes if you're playing a new defensive position, I do think that can leak into offense. I don't know. I'd have to do some actual case studies on that. But I think there's a little bit of that. I think they're just they're just everything right now. Like win one game for yourself.

Speaker 3:
[44:52] Back in the bullpen, like Devin Williams right now just seems like a different type of guy than we saw in Milwaukee. That's just the bottom line. We knew Jimmy and I were talking about it last night, like a two pitch pitcher. It's really tough to be that in the big leagues, man. It's really tough. You had some trajectory stuff going on, which I think it honestly is a massive topic in the game right now. That you being able to see his airbender and just be like, oh, that's all it is. If you can see that pitch 50 times before you go out there, like it's different than not being able to replicate that pitch. You can do it now on your trajectory. Obviously not on the road, but like maybe you saw it before you left in anticipation, even just taking pitches against it, just seeing the movement changes things. Not to mention, seems like a lot of teams have his pitches. So there's issues there. There's some deep-rooted issues with the Mets right now.

Speaker 2:
[45:56] I think that's a good final statement. I took us away from Mariners Blue Jays. That's on me because Ed texted me. Good checking in, Ed. Sorry you're sad. I agree with you on the Mariners. I think it's a little bit divisional that the fact that no one seems to be clicking. Houston, who I was kind of trying to talk myself into. Their pitching is just horrendous. The Texas Rangers, I do like the talent and I'm still in on them, but like, I don't know, I think it's just a slow start. And if you're the Mariners, you can also, you've had a couple slow starts. You've seen Julio on tape delay every year. They're like, you know that's coming basically. That you know, Cal will be better, Naylor will be better. That you're right. I think I don't think Mariners fans should be worried. I do think the Blue Jays. I think I said it all off season and Blue Jays fans thought it was rooted in Yankee stuff. They had a little bit of magic last year.

Speaker 3:
[46:54] And they had a lot of magic last year.

Speaker 2:
[46:56] OK, like I, I agree with that. But it sounds worse coming from me that with this amount of injuries, it's just like right now, the back end of the rotation is Corbin Lauer and Scherzer. So, hey, I guess Toronto fans, like I was saying before.

Speaker 3:
[47:15] That's what I'm saying. If Savage comes back, that's a difference maker. You still need to find some innings back there, which I think you can, you know, with what they have. But that's a big one. Figuring out the back end of your bullpen, big one. The offense has always been a little bit of smoke and mirrors. I know the whole contact thing, we played it up. David Popkins, best hitting strategist in all the baseball, like I'm down for that. Ernie Clement was insane in the playoffs last year. And I think that was like a big part of their run. Can't expect that every single year. And George Springer is another one that I'm circling. Like that seemed like a outrageous kind of outlier for him. And now, he's on the IL and when he was here not producing like the... Didn't he have a nine something OPS last year? I'm looking it up right now.

Speaker 2:
[48:14] Yeah, man. I think...

Speaker 3:
[48:16] 959 in 140 games is crazy.

Speaker 2:
[48:22] It's a little crazy.

Speaker 3:
[48:24] Unsustainable?

Speaker 2:
[48:27] Didn't seem sustainable, which I would say unsustainable. I think that's how that works. Today's episode is sponsored by Best Western Hotels and Resorts. Life's a trip, so why not make the most of it? With over 4,000 hotels worldwide, Best Western is there for every detour, destination and unexpected turn along the way. A great stay isn't just about where you sleep. It's about where the journey takes you next. And when you stay three nights at Best Western, you'll receive a $50 gift card to use on your next stay. Best Western just gets it, people. Traveling is not one size fits all. So whether you're looking for the next great adventure, time to unwind, or making memories with friends and family, Best Western helps you achieve your travel goals. It doesn't matter if you're going solo with your friends or the whole roster, Best Western has you covered. Pack your bag, queue up the playlist, and book more of what matters most. Life's a trip. Make the most of it at bestwestern.com. Trev, our last one on the way out, because we did a lot of team stuff. Originally, we were kind of like wanting to highlight dudes this episode, and then we took it broader than that to try to bring more teams into the mix. That, hey, I'll just let you talk about this guy, because if you want to talk about this guy anytime you want, I'll let you go.

Speaker 3:
[49:42] Oh, you're talking about McGonigle. That's my guy, a young hitter that I'm buying. We talked about early on, like first series of the year. You know, forget spring training. You know, a lot can happen in spring training. First series of the year when they're playing against the Padres, it was just, it just, it looked right, man. He had a great first game going four for five. He had like an 11 or 12 pitch at bat that he ended up winning. And you and I both said, it just looks like, he's just so hitterish, man. Like the swing, I believe what I said was, it looks like this is a swing that like he developed on his own. This isn't like I'm in a lab swing whatsoever. It just looks like a hitterish swing. There's an article on him. I believe it was in the off season that Fangraphs did. And they asked him a question and he's like, I've had the same swing since I was 10 years old. And I was like, yes, feel vindicated right there. And all he's trying to do is barrel up. And he has some interesting thoughts like in the box. And he goes over it like in great detail. And basically, he says, you know, I change. I don't want to ever have the same swing, which I love. I want to have the same setup. And I want to have like kind of like the same toe tap and kind of, you know, my pre swing, like my load and my approach same. But my swing is going to be different because all the pitches are different. I'm like, dude, that is music to my freaking ears. He says, yeah, I want to approach the fastball to the opposite field. You know, if it's a, it's a, you know, I want to go to the left center gap and then any off speed stuff. I just think about pulling down the line, which is an interesting thought process, but it works for him. He, what do you want to talk about this guy? Like barrel to the ball. He's one of the best at swing decisions. He's one of the best at like does not chase pitches. And he's got juice for a smaller guy. A very compact, tight swing that's going to allow him to be consistent with it. He's got juice. He wanted to improve his bat speed. He said the Tigers have been basically hands off with him. If he needs something, he goes and talks. He said, the one time I really asked him for something was, I wanted to improve my bat speed. They gave him a bat speed program to kind of help him with his power. And the rest is history, man. This guy is a borin hitter. I made borin a two syllable word right there.

Speaker 2:
[52:16] I got confused for a second.

Speaker 3:
[52:18] I was emphasizing that he just is a natural hitter.

Speaker 2:
[52:23] Borin hitter.

Speaker 3:
[52:23] And when you see those guys, you're like, all right, just go do your thing. I'm happy the Tigers have been hands off on him because the product is real nice. The Tigers got a good one.

Speaker 2:
[52:34] Borin hitter.

Speaker 3:
[52:35] Borin hitter.

Speaker 2:
[52:36] Thought it was a little Lord of the Rings. I thought you were.

Speaker 3:
[52:40] I'm looking right now. How many Hitless? Oh, you know, the Jimmy effect is really good on this. So not on base whatsoever. I don't know what he calls that stat. There's one empty games, empty games.

Speaker 2:
[52:52] I think an 0 for 4.

Speaker 3:
[52:57] One. One. I have 23 games played.

Speaker 2:
[53:03] Yeah, he so a couple updates for the people. I think I have hit the point that I'm I'm calling myself old. And what that's allowed me to do is really like the young ballplayers, my two favorite players in the game. Yeah, I'm excited to be here because for a few years I was still fighting it. And I like the guys that were older than me. And I was like, look at these MFers. Look at Edwin Encarnacion still holding the parrot around the bases. Now. McGonigle has been such a fresh breath of air, man. I want so many players to play like him for everything you said, dude. It's not a swing every time. It's get the barrel on it like. Everything you said about the swing, it no. Your load, your setup, I love all that. His defense, man, he's he's a ball players, ball player, and him and Denzel Clark are my two favorite players to watch right now for very different reasons. Yeah, that's for anyone asking my two favorite players right now, non-Yankees and maybe Yankees McGonigle and Denzel Clark.

Speaker 3:
[54:20] He doesn't swing and miss 98th percentile and whiff percentage. So naturally that comes with a 92nd percentile and K percentage. And he also takes his walks, 80th percentile there. He just, he is a pure hitter.

Speaker 2:
[54:37] He feels in control of the at bat.

Speaker 3:
[54:40] I just like, I mean, he's already a smaller guy.

Speaker 2:
[54:45] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[54:46] Five nine.

Speaker 2:
[54:47] Not that that matters.

Speaker 3:
[54:48] But he gets, he's crouched, he's in his legs, man. He's in those legs and the head's not moving a ton. And then it's just quick, right to the ball. I mean, it's, it's kind of everything you want. And typically you don't get power with that, but he's got juice.

Speaker 2:
[55:08] Yeah. I'll be interested to see where the final numbers land. I, I don't know. I could see him in the teens for home runs this year.

Speaker 3:
[55:15] Yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[55:16] I mean, he's really not trying.

Speaker 3:
[55:18] I think he's going to be okay. He's going to be a doubles guy. He's got one home run the year right now. He can, he can do damage. But I think he's more of a gap to gap guy at this point when he's 21 years old.

Speaker 2:
[55:32] Right. That's the other factor there. The guy I just want to highlight on the way through. I don't, I don't think we're going to have time to talk Dalton Rushing today because I still don't even know how to process that. I was joking with you beforehand about doing a fake Chris Rose segment. Will Dalton Rushing send Will Smith or Shohei Otani to the bench? I, I don't know, that seems tough both sides.

Speaker 3:
[55:57] He'll send Will Smith to the bench, he'll send Freddie Freeman to the bench. They're going to have scheduled off days. Chris Rose pushed back, said Freddie Freeman wants to get to 3,000 hits.

Speaker 2:
[56:05] Great.

Speaker 3:
[56:06] So he wants to play all the time. I just think that Dodgers will do that. Dalton Rushing will go to first, give Freddie scheduled off days, scheduled off days for Will Smith. I don't see him DH-ing unless it's a DH on a Shohei pitch day if they decide to do that more often.

Speaker 2:
[56:22] Have we seen a catcher kick to the corner outfield in a while?

Speaker 3:
[56:26] They don't have room.

Speaker 2:
[56:30] I know.

Speaker 3:
[56:30] They got Teo, Andy and Tucker out there.

Speaker 2:
[56:34] Sit Tucker against or sit Teo against a tough right? I don't know, but this more so is just other baseball. Like, I don't know, who's all that? Like Ryan Daumet was doing some catcher corner outfield, your guy?

Speaker 3:
[56:49] Daumet, my guy.

Speaker 2:
[56:51] Daumet.

Speaker 3:
[56:52] My spades partner. Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[56:54] Lake Sable?

Speaker 3:
[56:56] He tried it out there, dude.

Speaker 2:
[56:58] Jason Kendall?

Speaker 3:
[56:59] I'll never forget us, it was always me and him, we were called the Shifty's. We played spades together in the club house against Willingham and Dozier. They were the Pawtangs.

Speaker 2:
[57:10] Hate that.

Speaker 3:
[57:11] We're playing one day and he gets a tap on the shoulder. Hey, Terry Ryan wants to see you. He goes up, comes down 15 minutes later. We're like, what the hell, man? You're ruining our game. He goes, I'll just sign an extension, let's go. I'm like, you.

Speaker 2:
[57:30] Nice.

Speaker 3:
[57:31] All I ever wanted was an extension, never got one.

Speaker 2:
[57:34] I'm sorry. And it's sad, looks like. Did Wilson Contreras get thrown in the corner for the Cubs for a little bit?

Speaker 3:
[57:44] I feel like I saw that.

Speaker 2:
[57:45] Maybe Schwab or a little bit, too, if he counts. Interesting. Give me throw Dolan Russian in the corner for a game.

Speaker 3:
[57:52] Let's have some catchers that went to the outfield.

Speaker 2:
[57:55] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[57:56] Tell me Joe Mauer played in the outfield one game because he did.

Speaker 2:
[58:00] Yeah.

Speaker 3:
[58:01] Yeah, I think he played right field one game.

Speaker 2:
[58:03] Dalt's on it right now. This whole section was to highlight Andy Pahez because he was my player. Two games, Dalt says, for Joe Mauer. Ivan Herrera had four games last year for the Cardinals. He's he's hunting for a position. Who else? Andy Pahez, I don't know, man. I just felt like I got hit with an anvil with his hot start, that it was just so dumb, man. A 23 year old center fielder doing what he did last year. The two worst things Andy or three worst things Andy Pahez had going for him. One horrible postseason. And there's a lot of eyes on that, too.

Speaker 3:
[58:46] You could say that changed with one catch.

Speaker 2:
[58:49] Oh, I like that, Trev, and a little motivation this offseason, potentially to James Outman. We saw James Outman ball out for these Dodgers, and then he kind of went missing, although, you know, hoping to spark it up in Minnesota. Happy 420. And then three, being surrounded by everyone else on this godforsaken team, where if any other team had a 24 year old Cuban center fielder, have 27 homers, 86 RBI, a 774 OPS, you'd be like, man, what if this guy takes the next step? Well, it seems like he has. He's leading the National League in batting average. 1.5 with runners on base OPS this season. He's crushing all non-fastballs. It just feels, the test I've been doing with myself is, if Andy Pajas was on pretty much any other team, how much time would we have spent talking on him during team profile and projections or guys we think might take the leap? I think a lot, but we just got blindsided by the Dodgers because we're like, they can't get more riches, right? Well, they've got a center fielder and their backup catcher is the best catcher in baseball, so Dodger problems.

Speaker 3:
[60:04] This is all while Andy Pajas is playing elite center field defense for the Dodgers last year, 11 outs above average. He's got an absolute cannon for an arm, so you get that. And what do we always say about center field? Hey, like, play your position. We need you to play banger defense check, but then also, you know, if you can put up an offensive season like that, you become, you become what I would consider an elite player, like a premium position, playing it well defensively, and then putting up those statistics. I mean, 27 homers, the way he's doing the bat right now. Like Andy Pajas is putting himself into the conversation of elite players.

Speaker 2:
[60:46] Yes.

Speaker 3:
[60:47] And you know, look, you got to look at it a little bit differently. This isn't like, you know, hey, he doesn't, 900 OPS. Like he doesn't, he's never had that. Well, it's like, okay, but he does a lot of other things really, really well. And right now he's one dotting it. So yes, we're talking about 25 year old Cuban. That's my thing.

Speaker 2:
[61:03] Yep.

Speaker 3:
[61:03] You're kind, you're like Cuban, like you're diet Cuban with Miami.

Speaker 2:
[61:07] We've kind of, I think you and I are bridging the gap.

Speaker 3:
[61:10] We are.

Speaker 2:
[61:11] Like other teams would scoff at us because our whole minor league system would be Miami and Cuban ballplay.

Speaker 3:
[61:17] That's it. I put that in our binder too.

Speaker 2:
[61:19] Good coffee.

Speaker 3:
[61:22] I don't know, man, it gets insane, dude. Cuban coffee just gets you, just did we. What was that drink we had with Javi?

Speaker 2:
[61:31] Oh, my God. It's like Javi. Did I miss his city trip?

Speaker 3:
[61:36] I don't know. You better text him some Cuban espresso martini. That's what it was, essentially.

Speaker 2:
[61:42] It looked, it felt like we got introduced to a secret.

Speaker 3:
[61:48] It was noon. I thought we were getting just an espresso to end our meal. But it ended up being an alcoholic drink.

Speaker 2:
[61:54] Javi just like snapped his fingers and there was three alcoholic coffee drinks in front of us. And he was like, oh, no, I'm not having one. And we're like, what? What was this? Is it a Carajillo? I think. Yeah. Probably. No offense to you, Rob. It probably cooler when he said it. Oh, yeah. Because I still don't know how to say it.

Speaker 3:
[62:15] Oh, Boppo was there.

Speaker 2:
[62:16] Yeah. Bob had one. It was delish. Bob was sitting next to Javi. He was getting high tea over there. Just a final Dodgers reminder on our way out. I saw baseball reference posted this on Instagram. So what world are we living in? Good simulation. Since May 2nd of last year, the top hitters in OPS, if you'd like to guess, you can.

Speaker 3:
[62:44] Oh, okay. Since May 1st last year, top hitters in OPS.

Speaker 2:
[62:47] May 2nd. There's a reason why in a second.

Speaker 3:
[62:50] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[62:51] Top of it's pretty chalky.

Speaker 3:
[62:54] Aaron Judge.

Speaker 2:
[62:55] Judge.

Speaker 3:
[62:55] Shohei.

Speaker 2:
[62:56] Shohei, one and two.

Speaker 3:
[62:58] And then how many am I guessing?

Speaker 2:
[63:01] The fourth guy is the real standout here.

Speaker 3:
[63:04] Cal Raleigh.

Speaker 2:
[63:05] Not Cal. I think he was like tenth.

Speaker 3:
[63:07] Okay. I'll go for it.

Speaker 2:
[63:12] Kurtz. Because Nick Kurtz got called up last year. He was third. Number fourth. Coming up on a calendar year.

Speaker 3:
[63:20] Fourth.

Speaker 2:
[63:20] Number fourth. Coming up on a calendar year. Max Muncie.

Speaker 3:
[63:27] No way.

Speaker 2:
[63:28] And May 2nd is the day he started wearing his glasses.

Speaker 3:
[63:33] Oh, my gosh. That's insane.

Speaker 2:
[63:36] So Max Muncie, who has been with the Dodgers since 2018 now, who has seen Cody Bellinger come up be a star center fielder, who has seen Corey Seeger come and go, who's now watching Andy Pahez and Dalton Rushing take the keys. He's over here being an absolute menace to baseballs. It's disgusting.

Speaker 3:
[63:59] I've always said, if there's one guy that can carry an offense just out of nowhere, it's Max Muncie. He'll just hit 17 homers in a week. He's kind of doing that this year.

Speaker 2:
[64:11] Yep.

Speaker 3:
[64:12] Man, that's a good one. That's a good trivia question right there. You're welcome, Dodgers. I'm why he's in your organization. That's crazy.

Speaker 2:
[64:21] Thank you, Dodgers. Thank you, baseball reference. Do you have any commentary on Edwin Diaz? Again, he's got some loose bodies in there that he's going to be out for three months or so, which I think a lot of people are just doing the spin zone of like, oh, so he'll be fresh for the postseason and feeling good. I mean, we'll see, but a definite blow to the Dodgers bullpen after he had a couple rough outings.

Speaker 3:
[64:45] It's also just weird because Tanner Scott comes over last year. He stinks. Edwin Diaz comes over this year. He's hurt, you know, but the Dodgers have plenty, you know, Tanner Scott has, he's been good this year. So they have that option. Vessi has been really, really good for them. Trinen, that's not even mentioning Brewstar Gratterall, who's on his way back. Brock Stewart, who's on his way back. And then, you know, I know they keep saying Rocky's not going to the bullpen, but I guarantee once we get to the postseason, Rocky Zazaki is going to be in the bullpen. That's just like a guarantee, people. So they're going to be fine. I don't worry about them whatsoever. They've signed and have developed enough guys there where, would you like Diaz to be healthy and be there all year? Yes. But yeah, they have that luxury, man. They have the luxury of like, all right, just get healthy and return by September 1st. So we can kind of get you back into game action before the playoffs. And Dodger fans don't like when we say that, but is it not true?

Speaker 2:
[65:50] I think Dodger fans are feeling pretty good.

Speaker 3:
[65:53] Padres are neck and neck with them right now. I believe that the same record. So like, hey, yeah, maybe they didn't have the bye last year. Didn't matter.

Speaker 2:
[66:05] Doesn't matter. Yeah, Padres do have the same record. How do you like that? Because my fight in San Francisco Giants holding on to stock were 500 since the opening weekend of baseball.

Speaker 3:
[66:18] I told you, I saw the Tony Vitello interview about his off day, and it kind of brought me back in on him a little bit. Just such a, I think I just have to accept him for who he is. He's got a little Sean McVeigh in him, which I like. I like my coach.

Speaker 2:
[66:32] You love Sean McVeigh.

Speaker 3:
[66:33] I like my coach. He's got a little Sean McVeigh where he just has got a ton of energy. Tony talks a little bit more than Sean does. Yeah, and just kind of like, that's who he is. He looks like he just wants to get everything off his chest at any given moment.

Speaker 2:
[66:54] My giants.

Speaker 3:
[66:55] I don't know. I'm in.

Speaker 2:
[66:58] OK. I'm in with a shaky hand that could be out any given moment. Trev, let's get the people out of here. It's time to look at some future baseball markets presented by fanatics markets. Hey, the rivalry is going on right now. I'm not sure if you know if you like some lefty pitching coach, Trev, which I know you do. Max Fried vs. Rangers Suarez. Yum.

Speaker 3:
[67:26] Max Fried has a very, very nice career at Fenway. Four career starts there to a 296. So you got to like where the Yanks are at right now with that on the mound and how the Red Sox offense has been non-existent and the way they've been playing.

Speaker 2:
[67:48] It's very interesting. It's very interesting depending what lenses you look at the Red Sox offense on. They can be not appealing. It's like, what can I hang my hat on?

Speaker 3:
[68:08] Okay.

Speaker 2:
[68:09] It's like, it's kind of supposed to be Roman and he's gotten off to a slower start. That's, it's a lot of pressure.

Speaker 3:
[68:14] It's a lot to put on that young guy.

Speaker 2:
[68:16] Right. And we, we kind of move past that quickly. The other one we want to look at, Braves Natinals. It's also cold in Boston. I don't want to see Ranger or Freed if I'm either one of the hitters. Okay, yeah. Braves Nat, Didier Fuentes. Didier? We'll find out. Making his first start this season against Zach Littell, a little. Zach Littell coming at, here's some strikes and some meat. He has allowed seven homers the most in Major League Baseball this year. But I don't know, I'm excited to see the young bloke for the Bravos.

Speaker 3:
[68:54] Yeah, young versus young, Nationals line up young, flying around the bases, doing really well. This one's a tough pick for me. I don't know anything about Didier Fuentes.

Speaker 2:
[69:03] Good.

Speaker 3:
[69:03] I do know the Braves. We just talked about them for a whole segment about how good they are. And the Nationals probably playing a little bit better than most people would have anticipated. I don't know their record right now.

Speaker 2:
[69:17] Second place Nats, I think I can spin that.

Speaker 3:
[69:21] 11 and 13.

Speaker 2:
[69:23] I love it. Coach Trev, go check out Fanatics Markets available now in app stores.

Speaker 4:
[69:30] Event contracts carry risk of total loss and changing prices. Not good for all investors, not available in all states. Must be 21 plus, see important disclosures in Fanatics Markets app. Customers are introduced to crypto.com by Paragon Global Markets LLC, DBA Fanatics Markets IB, an introducing broker registered with CFTC and a member of the NFA.

Speaker 2:
[69:48] And go check out all your favorite baseball teams tonight. Everyone is checking in on the New York Mets. We've hit the point of this streak that it is, it's like national news-ish. And let's see what goes on with the rest of these teams. Coach, you'll be here on Friday. It might be a position player pitching situation. It might be Jolly Bags for Jake. Hopefully the Mets win. Jesus, if not.

Speaker 3:
[70:16] Everyone check in on Jolly. Send them a tweet or a post and say, Jolly, I'm sorry, man.

Speaker 2:
[70:25] Jake sucks. Look at this. August 18th, 2011, Joe Mowers, one game in right field. Trevor Plouffe playing second base.

Speaker 3:
[70:36] Yeah, it was before I took over third base.

Speaker 2:
[70:39] Is that Renee Tosoni in left field?

Speaker 3:
[70:42] That's right. Canadian guy. Look at that stance right there. Cece, what do you want, Cece? Uh-oh.

Speaker 2:
[70:48] Get it out of the gap, pal.

Speaker 3:
[70:50] Yeah.

Speaker 2:
[70:52] Going two? Oh, no. Safe?

Speaker 3:
[70:56] Oh, we can't challenge it? We got to challenge that.

Speaker 2:
[71:00] I thought you were in.