1
00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:09,440
Speaker 1: I was watching some of the movie Major League this morning.

2
00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:11,960
Speaker 2: That's one that if it's on and I'm flipping the dow,

3
00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,400
Speaker 2: I will watch for a while, in fact, very often

4
00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:16,360
Speaker 2: through the end, like I did today. I picked it up.

5
00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:19,520
Speaker 2: I picked it up right when Rick Bond slept with

6
00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:22,279
Speaker 2: Thorn's wife and watched it the rest of the way.

7
00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:27,160
Speaker 2: And the movie reminded me how baseball can galvanize a community,

8
00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:31,360
Speaker 2: bring a city together like really no other sport, and

9
00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:32,600
Speaker 2: that includes football.

10
00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:34,120
Speaker 1: Because baseball is.

11
00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:39,720
Speaker 2: Played every day, there's talking points every day. It constantly refreshes.

12
00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,760
Speaker 2: We talk about football every day because we force ourselves,

13
00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:48,600
Speaker 2: or rather ESPN forces us with baseball to talk. Is

14
00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:54,520
Speaker 2: organic and if it's good, it's built. It's big sample,

15
00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,600
Speaker 2: and it's cumulative. I got a bunch of kind of

16
00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:01,880
Speaker 2: random thoughts about the Pirates. I can't help but wonder

17
00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,759
Speaker 2: if Griffin's arrival is the beginning of Cruise's departure.

18
00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:11,600
Speaker 1: If Griffin plays great and they.

19
00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,760
Speaker 2: Get tired of Cruise I kind of died of but

20
00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,880
Speaker 2: I wonder. And since he's not lived up to his potential,

21
00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:20,280
Speaker 2: they've not had to pay him a big ticket yet.

22
00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,800
Speaker 2: But I nonetheless wonder with Griffin at shortstop. I would

23
00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:29,160
Speaker 2: play Triolo at third, uh, which is what they're doing.

24
00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:29,280
Speaker 3: Well.

25
00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:32,280
Speaker 1: No, actually I go back and forth on that case.

26
00:01:32,319 --> 00:01:34,560
Speaker 2: He said a moment ago, hit play Gonzalez because of

27
00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:35,199
Speaker 2: a better bat.

28
00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:36,759
Speaker 1: I don't know, maybe I would.

29
00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:39,399
Speaker 2: The point is Triola is at third today and I

30
00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:43,920
Speaker 2: could see doing that because maybe they should make that

31
00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:48,120
Speaker 2: one concession to defense and hope Treillo hits a bit better.

32
00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,160
Speaker 2: Billy Cook, the Jebroni outfielder, he goes set the trip

33
00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:54,840
Speaker 2: away when Griffin got called up. Cook was the guy

34
00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,240
Speaker 2: who hoisted the cone for the first six games. It

35
00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,600
Speaker 2: leaves avoid who is going to hoist the cone now?

36
00:02:01,640 --> 00:02:04,240
Speaker 2: For God's sakes, all kinds of traffic cones being carried

37
00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:07,200
Speaker 2: by people at P and C, which goes to show

38
00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,239
Speaker 2: anything can catch on, no matter how stupid stupid to

39
00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,839
Speaker 2: strong word. I'm amused by it, and, like I said,

40
00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:17,519
Speaker 2: a thing that rallies the people. But you know, you

41
00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,280
Speaker 2: got the big orange dildo everybody's carrying. But I got

42
00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:27,680
Speaker 2: an idea. Bring back Andrew McCutcheon to hoist the cone.

43
00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:31,440
Speaker 2: This is the Mark Maddon show. You like it, you

44
00:02:31,480 --> 00:02:34,200
Speaker 2: love it, you want more of it? Eight three three

45
00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,560
Speaker 2: four one two WXDX I said a moment ago, and

46
00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:41,520
Speaker 2: let's do it now. Let's compare and contrast these sports

47
00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:45,360
Speaker 2: teams of Pittsburgh. The Pirers have skins in Griffin and

48
00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,760
Speaker 2: will likely have for this year and three more. There

49
00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,040
Speaker 2: is a window wide open for them. Do I really

50
00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,160
Speaker 2: think Skians will stay all three of his arbitration years? No,

51
00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:56,600
Speaker 2: I don't.

52
00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:57,560
Speaker 1: Let's see how it goes.

53
00:02:57,960 --> 00:03:00,680
Speaker 2: I think you got Skins and Griffin together, sure for

54
00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,280
Speaker 2: this year and two more. Anyway, the plan that the

55
00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:09,920
Speaker 2: Penguins having place is very visibly working. And meanwhile, these

56
00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,880
Speaker 2: Steelers are begging a washed up forty two year old

57
00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,359
Speaker 2: grandpa game manager to please please come back and play

58
00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:22,640
Speaker 2: cornerback Aaron please. And that is the extent of the

59
00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:28,760
Speaker 2: Steelers plan, old quarterback, next game, rinse repete. It ends

60
00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:30,600
Speaker 2: up in the same place, which ain't bad, but it

61
00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,560
Speaker 2: ain't good enough and it's always boring. Yeah, you look

62
00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:36,600
Speaker 2: at what the Pirates are doing, the Penguins are doing,

63
00:03:36,600 --> 00:03:37,720
Speaker 2: and these Steelers are doing.

64
00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:43,480
Speaker 1: It seems to me there's a new world order in

65
00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:44,560
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh sports.

66
00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:49,640
Speaker 2: There are some who think the Pirates made a mistake

67
00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:54,360
Speaker 2: signing Griffin. Now for that amount of money and that

68
00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,240
Speaker 2: term like Paul's Ice thinks that. And I'm not saying

69
00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,360
Speaker 2: that Paul and those who think like that don't have

70
00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:05,680
Speaker 2: a point. But it's not about value, just it's about

71
00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:10,160
Speaker 2: the kind of franchise you are and demonstrating that. It's

72
00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,119
Speaker 2: about opportunity and taking advantage of that. The Pirates were

73
00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:16,320
Speaker 2: the type of franchise that would never do what they

74
00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,560
Speaker 2: did by signing Griffin until they did, as witnessed by

75
00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:23,680
Speaker 2: them not trying to do the same thing with Schemes,

76
00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:27,360
Speaker 2: giving him the big money deal for eight nine years

77
00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,640
Speaker 2: whatever before it ever pitched an inning in the major leagues.

78
00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:35,120
Speaker 2: Stuff like yesterday the long term deal to Griffin, which

79
00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:39,240
Speaker 2: has risk, it does, but it's the only way the

80
00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,120
Speaker 2: Pirates can get a talent like that tied up for

81
00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,560
Speaker 2: an appreciable length of time. It's almost like, if you

82
00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,480
Speaker 2: even want to give the impression fool the people some more.

83
00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:53,680
Speaker 2: I mean, I'm not discounting that possibility. If we want

84
00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,120
Speaker 2: to give the impression you are trying to contend you

85
00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:58,360
Speaker 2: got to do that. It's like, there wasn't a choice

86
00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,440
Speaker 2: with this Griffin deal, And like I said, they should

87
00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:03,080
Speaker 2: have tried.

88
00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:03,479
Speaker 1: It with skins.

89
00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:06,880
Speaker 2: If they did, we didn't hear about it, but they

90
00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:13,599
Speaker 2: should have tried it with skiings uh eight three three

91
00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:21,120
Speaker 2: four one two, WXDX generation whatever, Bucco fans, xz fu, whatever.

92
00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:24,520
Speaker 2: Whenever they get even a small ray of sunlight, they

93
00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:29,440
Speaker 2: turn it into insufferable DINX. Don't forget last year you

94
00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:32,359
Speaker 2: were chanting sell the team. The owner is still the owner.

95
00:05:32,760 --> 00:05:35,599
Speaker 2: Last year you wanted the GM fired very badly, you did,

96
00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:37,160
Speaker 2: but he's still the GM.

97
00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:38,800
Speaker 3: Now.

98
00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:42,279
Speaker 2: I will say, regarding the Pirates potential, if Griffin plays

99
00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,719
Speaker 2: at a Rookie of the Year level, and if Bubba

100
00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:47,880
Speaker 2: and Ashcraft pitched like they're supposed to in and showed

101
00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,880
Speaker 2: certainly flashes of in their initial outings this season, if

102
00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:54,200
Speaker 2: that happens, and obviously a lot of other stuff, but

103
00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:56,719
Speaker 2: I feel like those are the wild cards. If that happens,

104
00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:00,560
Speaker 2: the Pirates could be a playoff team. And I emphasize

105
00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:04,640
Speaker 2: again in the spirit of me saying, the Pirates need

106
00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:11,240
Speaker 2: to go all in, spend more, get Reynolds, augment it

107
00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:13,800
Speaker 2: the deadline. You got to do that while you have

108
00:06:13,839 --> 00:06:17,920
Speaker 2: Schemes and Griffin, and the most immediate test of that

109
00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:21,920
Speaker 2: is to add it to the deadline. And that's where

110
00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:24,000
Speaker 2: my cynicism comes in because I don't have to see

111
00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:27,320
Speaker 2: that to believe it. I honestly believe it's more likely

112
00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:30,680
Speaker 2: they trade Brandon Lowe and is expiring contracted the deadline.

113
00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,240
Speaker 2: Then they add pieces to help make sure they get

114
00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:40,240
Speaker 2: a playoff spot. Like I said, you wanted nothing to

115
00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:42,400
Speaker 2: sell the team. You wanted to fire Sherington. Now you're

116
00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,120
Speaker 2: trusting the same two men to see things through and

117
00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:47,600
Speaker 2: make all the right moves.

118
00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:48,520
Speaker 3: You know.

119
00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:50,480
Speaker 2: I get told I'm moving the goalpost when I talk

120
00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:54,240
Speaker 2: about the pirates, But no, you are, and the pirates are,

121
00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:58,440
Speaker 2: but they are in a good way because again, I

122
00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:02,000
Speaker 2: am really skeptical about the commitment to winning, about the

123
00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,240
Speaker 2: sudden burst of ambition. It may be just mere appeasement

124
00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:09,720
Speaker 2: to keep you interested in that Griffin deal. It's expensive,

125
00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:10,640
Speaker 2: but it's affordable.

126
00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:12,240
Speaker 1: It can be both.

127
00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:17,800
Speaker 2: But hey, it's Opening Day, a time for optimism, the

128
00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,680
Speaker 2: calm before the porn. As I've heard it said, let's

129
00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:24,080
Speaker 2: go to Steve Steve Young with double M hello Mark.

130
00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:28,760
Speaker 3: In the early nineteen seventies, that was at Bonepine Country, Cloven, Washington, PA,

131
00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:31,560
Speaker 3: for a charity golf tournament that was sponsored by Joe

132
00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:35,320
Speaker 3: Hardy the man was there, Whitey Ford the gunner, and

133
00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:40,800
Speaker 3: my hero Mays was there. Is his court partner. I

134
00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:44,760
Speaker 3: think was Jerry Lynch to them? Is that were they were?

135
00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:45,320
Speaker 3: They closed?

136
00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,679
Speaker 1: Don't know, but Jerry Lynch yet, Lynch the pinch.

137
00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:52,040
Speaker 2: He played for the Pirates, not for a long time

138
00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:54,840
Speaker 2: but a few years, and I would assume, I mean

139
00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,640
Speaker 2: back then the baseball players, the method of travel, you know,

140
00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:00,920
Speaker 2: the time they spent well really not to the time

141
00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:01,600
Speaker 2: they spent together.

142
00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:02,560
Speaker 1: I would imagine they were.

143
00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:05,520
Speaker 2: But yeah, I was a big mass fan, really honored

144
00:08:05,520 --> 00:08:08,480
Speaker 2: to meet him, really sad to hear that he passed away.

145
00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:12,080
Speaker 3: Me too. And did Jerry Lynch by chance hit something

146
00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,040
Speaker 3: like sixteen pinchittmund I seem to recall.

147
00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:17,160
Speaker 1: Well he was called he was called Lynch to pinch.

148
00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:20,920
Speaker 2: The two pre eminent pinch hitters of that day were

149
00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,840
Speaker 2: Jerry Lynch and Manny Mota, and both at one point

150
00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:27,200
Speaker 2: played for the Pirates. Thank you for the call. Did

151
00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:29,320
Speaker 2: everybody see the Griffin interview I was talking about? He

152
00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:35,720
Speaker 2: did a press conference before the game where he talked

153
00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,680
Speaker 2: so long it was like Trump talking about Iran.

154
00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:42,280
Speaker 1: Well not really, shouldn't have said that. Sorry, I did

155
00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:46,280
Speaker 1: not for any consequence to me. But let's not drag

156
00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:49,440
Speaker 1: Connor Griffin into that. But yeah, like I said, he

157
00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:53,920
Speaker 1: sounds like a regular teenager. No, airs, he did say

158
00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:56,080
Speaker 1: the Pirates are loaded. I'm not sure about that. How

159
00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:59,199
Speaker 1: about he's married at nineteen, that's good. I'll tell you

160
00:08:59,280 --> 00:08:59,959
Speaker 1: why that's good late.

161
00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,800
Speaker 2: Obviously my extensive experience being married, But I'll tell you

162
00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:04,680
Speaker 2: why that's good later.

163
00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,520
Speaker 1: I'm a Griffin fan, and if he plays at.

164
00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,120
Speaker 2: A rookie year level, the Powers can make the playoffs.

165
00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:14,079
Speaker 2: But I think that there's a certain thing that's non negotiable. Well,

166
00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,360
Speaker 2: you know what, it's all non negotiable. This is still

167
00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,319
Speaker 2: a borderline team. You know, schemes, you know what you're

168
00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:22,880
Speaker 2: gonna get out of him. Statistically, be gonna win the

169
00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:27,160
Speaker 2: two thirds three quarters of his starts. Ashcraft and Chandler

170
00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,160
Speaker 2: gotta come through Cruise and Reynolds gonna do better than

171
00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:33,640
Speaker 2: last year, a lot better. The new guys they're hitting

172
00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:36,400
Speaker 2: pretty good so far except for Azuna. There's just a

173
00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,200
Speaker 2: lot of variables and something needs to come out of nowhere.

174
00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:42,760
Speaker 2: Does that make sense? Like Majinsky had that great start,

175
00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:43,920
Speaker 2: What if he can keep that up.

176
00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:46,120
Speaker 1: What if Henry.

177
00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,320
Speaker 2: Davis can hit as a one to one should instead

178
00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:54,600
Speaker 2: of just being the designated defensive catcher. And like I said, Griffin,

179
00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:57,000
Speaker 2: can he play at a rookie year level? If so,

180
00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:00,600
Speaker 2: that's that's one of the wild cards for eight three

181
00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:03,320
Speaker 2: three four one two WXDX eight three three four one

182
00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:07,360
Speaker 2: two wxdx pirates home opener less than an hour away

183
00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:09,959
Speaker 2: the first pitch. Uh, I want your Penguins thoughts to

184
00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:15,880
Speaker 2: discouraged encouraged by last night's Well, you won't be encouraged,

185
00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,319
Speaker 2: but what's your take on the Penguins and their playoff

186
00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:22,040
Speaker 2: hopes and their their potential to win a series or

187
00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:26,719
Speaker 2: series after last night's lost to Tampa? And maybe I

188
00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:31,280
Speaker 2: shouldn't be discouraged to discourage From this standpoint, Tampa is

189
00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:33,560
Speaker 2: the one team in the East that I think would

190
00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:36,360
Speaker 2: just kill the Penguins in the playoff series, like four

191
00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,760
Speaker 2: or five games. I think they would beat the Islanders

192
00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:47,000
Speaker 2: of Columbus. I think they would give everybody else a

193
00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:50,360
Speaker 2: series like if they played if they played Montreal, I'm

194
00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,000
Speaker 2: not sure they're ready for prime time. Buffalo is real good.

195
00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,080
Speaker 2: Same thing could be said about them, though. Caroline is predictable.

196
00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,199
Speaker 2: I don't think they're well coached. Uh you know, if

197
00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:02,120
Speaker 2: an Ottawa Detroit Philadelphia would sneak in, the Penguins would

198
00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:04,640
Speaker 2: beat them. But the one team I don't think they

199
00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:07,520
Speaker 2: could beat in the East in a playoff series would

200
00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:07,880
Speaker 2: have no.

201
00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:09,080
Speaker 1: Chance to beat I should say.

202
00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:11,360
Speaker 2: I mean, I don't think they'd beat Carolina, but they'd

203
00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:13,920
Speaker 2: give them a series. If they played Tampa, Tampa would

204
00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,760
Speaker 2: kill them. So maybe I shouldn't get too upset about

205
00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:19,959
Speaker 2: the loss to Tampa last night. But let me know

206
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,040
Speaker 2: what you think. Eight three to three, four one two WXDX.

207
00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:28,920
Speaker 2: If I were you, I wouldn't be listening to this show.

208
00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:34,520
Speaker 2: I'd be listening to Lost Culturistas. I love Lost Cultureristas.

209
00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,560
Speaker 2: I'm gonna be off Monday and Tuesday because that's what

210
00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:41,199
Speaker 2: I do now. I take a lot of time off

211
00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,360
Speaker 2: because I'm near the end, gonna be in New Jersey

212
00:11:44,440 --> 00:11:48,160
Speaker 2: watching Robert Plant squeeze his lemon till the juice runs

213
00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:54,680
Speaker 2: down his leg figuratively. I think, uh, Connor Griffin the

214
00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:56,280
Speaker 2: debut today. That is the news.

215
00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:56,760
Speaker 4: D Jore.

216
00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:59,199
Speaker 2: Although I want Penguins talk, gets Penguins calls in, We'll

217
00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:01,199
Speaker 2: jump to the front of the line because this is

218
00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:03,240
Speaker 2: a Penguin show on the Penguin Station.

219
00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,160
Speaker 1: But Carter Griffin is in a weird spot. We've been

220
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:08,880
Speaker 1: talking about this on and off all day.

221
00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:12,920
Speaker 2: Expectations are so high and for the Pirates to win,

222
00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:17,600
Speaker 2: Griffin has to excel. But he's nineteen and there's gonna

223
00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:21,760
Speaker 2: be growing pains. People are gonna spot weaknesses, They're gonna

224
00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:26,240
Speaker 2: be exploited. But he's gonna learn and adjust and Griffin

225
00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:29,840
Speaker 2: won't be Babe Ruth today and then non stop moving forward.

226
00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:35,680
Speaker 2: But today, opening day is all about him, and we'll

227
00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,240
Speaker 2: be all seasoned on every day that Schemes doesn't pitch.

228
00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,520
Speaker 2: That is both the good and bad of the level

229
00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:44,199
Speaker 2: of hype. But you've got to be fair with the

230
00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:48,440
Speaker 2: kid regarding the expectations. But I'm not sure they can

231
00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:53,160
Speaker 2: be controlled. You know what I find fascinating about Griffin.

232
00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:55,480
Speaker 2: This is another thing he's gonna deal with. He's married

233
00:12:55,520 --> 00:13:00,320
Speaker 2: at nineteen, so he's gonna take out the garbage. Griffin

234
00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:02,360
Speaker 2: and the missus live in a house or a condo

235
00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,360
Speaker 2: or an apartment. What do what do young marrieds do

236
00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:11,360
Speaker 2: when when the U the breadwinner. I don't know what

237
00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,080
Speaker 2: she does if she does anything, but Connor Griffins getting

238
00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:16,120
Speaker 2: a hundred ninety nine mil one hundred ninety mil, and

239
00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:19,280
Speaker 2: he already had that signing bonus from back. When where

240
00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,720
Speaker 2: will they live? Won't be at Motel six, I can

241
00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:26,720
Speaker 2: tell you that. And by the way, I'm joking about it,

242
00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,079
Speaker 2: but not making fun of it, because I think it's

243
00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:32,280
Speaker 2: great that Connor Griffin is married at nineteen, and very

244
00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,079
Speaker 2: lucky to be so, because when you marry the high

245
00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:36,840
Speaker 2: school sweetheart, you can trust her.

246
00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:39,960
Speaker 1: You know she's there for the right reasons.

247
00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:44,000
Speaker 2: I'm a Connor Griffin fan, and I am also a

248
00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:45,440
Speaker 2: Missus Griffin fan.

249
00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:48,880
Speaker 1: I'll get to this later.

250
00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:51,719
Speaker 2: I turned on ESPN this morning and it was like

251
00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:55,280
Speaker 2: twenty minutes of Ty Simpson talk the Alabama quarterback and

252
00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:57,760
Speaker 2: will the Steelers draft him?

253
00:13:58,080 --> 00:13:59,920
Speaker 1: Let's go to Joe, Joe, you're all with Mark?

254
00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:03,600
Speaker 3: What up? Mang? What up? Mine?

255
00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:08,480
Speaker 5: Kind of a two part question about the Pens. First off,

256
00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:11,960
Speaker 5: is Crosby playing at one hundred percent? If not, what

257
00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:13,920
Speaker 5: percentage do you think he's playing at right now?

258
00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:16,880
Speaker 2: I don't know, and I certainly wouldn't guess the percent,

259
00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:19,440
Speaker 2: but he does not look one hundred percent. Does he's

260
00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:22,840
Speaker 2: not like dragging a leg behind him, but he doesn't

261
00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:26,160
Speaker 2: have I will say this, he has about ninety percent

262
00:14:26,160 --> 00:14:27,240
Speaker 2: of his usual burst.

263
00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:30,800
Speaker 1: Is that fair to say? Yes?

264
00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:33,480
Speaker 5: I would agree. And the second part of that is

265
00:14:33,480 --> 00:14:36,160
Speaker 5: is if he's not playing at one hundred percent and

266
00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,560
Speaker 5: the Pens percentage of still making the playoffs is high,

267
00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:42,720
Speaker 5: would it behoove the team to rest him for a

268
00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:44,680
Speaker 5: week and a half and then play him when the

269
00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:46,080
Speaker 5: playoffs start or that.

270
00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,880
Speaker 2: He would not want to do that, but the minute

271
00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:55,720
Speaker 2: they clinched the playoffs, he shouldn't play another game this year, agreed,

272
00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,280
Speaker 2: But I think they have to mathematically clinch it. Bad

273
00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:02,880
Speaker 2: things happen when you rest guys. While taking for granted.

274
00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:05,800
Speaker 3: Makes sense.

275
00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:07,560
Speaker 5: Is that like one hundred points then that they have

276
00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:09,320
Speaker 5: to get to to a clinch.

277
00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:10,840
Speaker 1: I don't know.

278
00:15:10,920 --> 00:15:15,000
Speaker 2: I mean there's six games left, right I think three

279
00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,560
Speaker 2: and three definitely clinches it. I think two and four

280
00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:20,600
Speaker 2: probably does. But I hate the conjecture. The one good thing,

281
00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:22,400
Speaker 2: and I was gonna get to this earlier, and thank

282
00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:26,680
Speaker 2: you for the call. The one good thing is Columbus

283
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:31,880
Speaker 2: is falling apart. The Jackets really are. They've lost five

284
00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:33,680
Speaker 2: in a row, four of those in the regulations, so

285
00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:37,200
Speaker 2: one point in the last five games out of ten available.

286
00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:40,200
Speaker 2: They lost five to one to Carolina last night. Got

287
00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,560
Speaker 2: only ten shots, only two of the shots by forwards.

288
00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,360
Speaker 2: How about that. That's a crazy number. Ten shots total

289
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,600
Speaker 2: and eight were by defensemen. And Carolina had only sixteen

290
00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,880
Speaker 2: shots on goal, So twenty six shots on goal total

291
00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:56,520
Speaker 2: in a National Hockey League game. I'm glad I didn't

292
00:15:56,560 --> 00:16:00,000
Speaker 2: have to watch that MF or Ottawa one. Boston lost Philadelphia,

293
00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,920
Speaker 2: so even though the Penguins lost, it was not a

294
00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:07,040
Speaker 2: horrible night for them. I had the sound down on

295
00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,560
Speaker 2: the TV in my studio. I see Bob Nutting talking boy.

296
00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:12,600
Speaker 2: Even with the sundown, I can tell that he's lying.

297
00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:17,240
Speaker 2: I can tell that he's lying. I refuse to give

298
00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:22,920
Speaker 2: the career thief who has raped this city for twenty

299
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,840
Speaker 2: years financially, who was taking money, taking the free ballpark,

300
00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:30,600
Speaker 2: taking everything, and giving almost nothing back. I refuse to

301
00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,200
Speaker 2: give him amnesty because he long last did the right thing.

302
00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:36,600
Speaker 2: I refuse to do that. Even if they win the

303
00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,240
Speaker 2: World Series, I'm not sure you should be forgiven for

304
00:16:39,280 --> 00:16:42,080
Speaker 2: the first how many years of his tent of his stewardship.

305
00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:44,800
Speaker 2: He's on the team what for nineteen years they made

306
00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:45,960
Speaker 2: the playoffs three times.

307
00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:47,280
Speaker 1: That was by accident.

308
00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,200
Speaker 2: They took the team from twenty fifteen that won almost

309
00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:53,960
Speaker 2: one hundred games apart in the name of Thrift. So

310
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:56,160
Speaker 2: I'm sorry. I'm not going to give this son of

311
00:16:56,160 --> 00:16:58,080
Speaker 2: a bitch the benefit of the dot. There's no chance

312
00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,520
Speaker 2: of that. Let's go to Kevin Kevin with Mark.

313
00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,720
Speaker 6: Hey, Mark, I agree with your sentiments with respect to Nutting,

314
00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,919
Speaker 6: but let's talk about the Penguins real quick. I was

315
00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,560
Speaker 6: just looking at some goaltending stats. Neither she Lost or

316
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:16,760
Speaker 6: Skinner is in the top twenty five as far as

317
00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:19,439
Speaker 6: goals against in the NHL, and neither one is in

318
00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:22,240
Speaker 6: the top twenty as far as say percentage. How much

319
00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:24,639
Speaker 6: is of that is them and how much of that

320
00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:26,960
Speaker 6: is what we're doing in the defensive end?

321
00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,359
Speaker 2: Well with the Penguins have done in the defensive end

322
00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:32,639
Speaker 2: has not been great all season, and it's been sporadic lately.

323
00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:36,800
Speaker 1: And Bob Grove, who knows so.

324
00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:40,840
Speaker 2: Much about hockey, he tweeted out some stats, you know,

325
00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:43,879
Speaker 2: some advanced stats that support that Chiloffs and Skinner might

326
00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,080
Speaker 2: not be doing that bad. But I know what I'm

327
00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,000
Speaker 2: seeing and my biggest complaint with those two is they

328
00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,080
Speaker 2: just don't ever steal a game. Like my big complaint

329
00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:53,959
Speaker 2: with Jari was that he never stole a game. Now

330
00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:55,960
Speaker 2: he let an even more bad goals. But these guys

331
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:58,560
Speaker 2: are hardly immune to bad goals. We had a couple

332
00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:02,399
Speaker 2: last night that Skinner allowed. And by the way, I

333
00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:04,159
Speaker 2: have a sound bite from Skinner for later where he

334
00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:06,520
Speaker 2: sounds like Jarr, which I don't mean as a compliment.

335
00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:09,800
Speaker 2: But no, I don't think the goalie stink. I just

336
00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:11,879
Speaker 2: don't think they're ever gonna steal a game. And in

337
00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:14,399
Speaker 2: the playoffs you need that. And even though I just

338
00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,560
Speaker 2: said the Penguins would beat Columbus, that's who they want

339
00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:20,440
Speaker 2: to play, but I bet Columbus doesn't make the playoffs

340
00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,400
Speaker 2: now they're just collapsing. If they play the Islanders, Siroka,

341
00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:25,119
Speaker 2: it will beat Skinner. I hate to say it, but

342
00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:26,280
Speaker 2: that's what I would pick.

343
00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:31,200
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, I agree that the problem, like you said,

344
00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:33,800
Speaker 6: is in these seven game series, you come up against

345
00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:37,160
Speaker 6: good teams, you need your goaltender to steal at least

346
00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,040
Speaker 6: a game, and these guys are just so.

347
00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:42,960
Speaker 2: Erratic and they would they would have clinched the playoff

348
00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,520
Speaker 2: worth a couple of weeks ago. If the goalie stole

349
00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:48,760
Speaker 2: the occasional game this year, between that and the shootout,

350
00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:50,760
Speaker 2: I'm just not happy with the goaltending and I would

351
00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:55,720
Speaker 2: have called it Morrishop. But you know well, I used

352
00:18:55,720 --> 00:19:00,480
Speaker 2: to be into into sadism, beastiality, necrophilia, but after a

353
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:02,280
Speaker 2: while I felt like I was beating a dead horse.

354
00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:03,520
Speaker 1: Thank you for the call.

355
00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:05,720
Speaker 2: Next, good to talk to Tim ben'z one oh five

356
00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:08,919
Speaker 2: ninety X joining us now. He's at PNC Park for

357
00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,160
Speaker 2: the bucket home opener from the trip.

358
00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:14,640
Speaker 1: It's Tim Benz. Tim. It's almost time for Griffin Amania.

359
00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:15,680
Speaker 1: What are your.

360
00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,919
Speaker 2: Expectations both today and for the long run with Connor Griffin.

361
00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:23,000
Speaker 7: Let's good question, Mark because it leads directly into what

362
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:25,879
Speaker 7: I'm writing about Connor Griffin today, which is You're allowed

363
00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:27,359
Speaker 7: to have those expectations.

364
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:27,680
Speaker 3: Now.

365
00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:31,719
Speaker 7: Everybody's up. There's no more Tomorrow's. It's now about today,

366
00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:35,399
Speaker 7: Chandler's year schemes. This year, Griffin is here. You know,

367
00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:37,800
Speaker 7: we can talk about the pitch they drafted last year.

368
00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,359
Speaker 7: A couple of years down the way Tomorrow Johnson in

369
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,840
Speaker 7: the future, but he's not of this scale. Everybody is here,

370
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,320
Speaker 7: so you're allowed to have expectations, and mine are that

371
00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:49,560
Speaker 7: he'll hit a bunch of home runs, he'll steal a

372
00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:53,439
Speaker 7: bunch of bases, he'll be competent at shortstop. He'll strike

373
00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:55,720
Speaker 7: out too much. He tends to do that, as do

374
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:58,719
Speaker 7: a lot of players in this era. But I don't know,

375
00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:02,000
Speaker 7: maybe to the tune of two fifty somewhere in the

376
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,280
Speaker 7: neighborhood of twenty homers and some of the neighborhood of

377
00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,360
Speaker 7: seventy RBIs. I think that's not sitting the bar too

378
00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:10,520
Speaker 7: terribly high up here.

379
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,760
Speaker 1: I'm setting it higher because it's not fair.

380
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:15,760
Speaker 2: But I think he needs to perform at a Rookie

381
00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,200
Speaker 2: of the year level for them to make the playoffs.

382
00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:20,600
Speaker 2: I think there's certain things that have to happen that

383
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:22,800
Speaker 2: are pretty close to non negotiable, and that might be

384
00:20:22,800 --> 00:20:23,280
Speaker 2: one of them.

385
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,760
Speaker 7: We might be saying things with slightly different strokes here,

386
00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:30,199
Speaker 7: but yeah, I get your point. I think some of

387
00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:35,160
Speaker 7: the guys that they brought in from Tampa and O'Hearn too,

388
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:38,120
Speaker 7: like that should offset the need for him to be

389
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,240
Speaker 7: three hundred and thirty thirty, you know what I mean.

390
00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,600
Speaker 7: Like if they weren't here, then they would need those

391
00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:46,720
Speaker 7: kind of numbers for them to make the playoffs. Yes,

392
00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:49,680
Speaker 7: but especially with the way that Lao and O'Hern have started.

393
00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,280
Speaker 7: My hope is that those guys are are, you know,

394
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:55,639
Speaker 7: as advertised, and then eventually Ozuna will find his form.

395
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,520
Speaker 2: No, but I think if you want to be putting

396
00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:00,680
Speaker 2: numbers on it, I'd say Griffin has to be like

397
00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:05,119
Speaker 2: two seventy twenty thirty walk a lot, not strike out

398
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:05,600
Speaker 2: as much.

399
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,359
Speaker 7: The walk and strikeout thing is probably where we differ.

400
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,280
Speaker 7: I think every other number we threw out there pretty

401
00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:17,720
Speaker 7: similar to each other. But yeah, the strikeout thing is

402
00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,119
Speaker 7: a bit of a knock on him. It certainly was

403
00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,320
Speaker 7: down in spring training. It was even when he's being

404
00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,240
Speaker 7: evaluated in the draft. You know, it's part of the

405
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:27,400
Speaker 7: reason why he dropped from number one to number nine

406
00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:29,680
Speaker 7: and some other hitters went in front of him. That's

407
00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,160
Speaker 7: something you've still got to get straightened out. I would

408
00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:34,640
Speaker 7: expect that to come with time, but you know, that's

409
00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:36,679
Speaker 7: part of the reason. Mark maybe I'm still in the

410
00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:39,320
Speaker 7: eighty one win range where some other people had bumped

411
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:41,520
Speaker 7: it up to eighty six or eighty seven, presuming that

412
00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:43,800
Speaker 7: Griffin would be up some time before May.

413
00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:45,320
Speaker 1: I'm still at seventy seven.

414
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:47,880
Speaker 2: I think a lot has to go right for them

415
00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:50,920
Speaker 2: to do better to finish over a five hundred and maybe.

416
00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:52,120
Speaker 1: Get a playoff spot. And it can.

417
00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:56,280
Speaker 2: But seeing is believing who's going to play third tim

418
00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,240
Speaker 2: It's gonna be Triolo today, but who's going to get

419
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:00,320
Speaker 2: most of the time there.

420
00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:04,440
Speaker 7: I actually would expect it to be him. They love

421
00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,600
Speaker 7: his defense. I don't know how long they can stick

422
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:09,720
Speaker 7: with the bat. You know, one thing that I've noticed

423
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:13,439
Speaker 7: about Don Kelly so far, especially this season, just in

424
00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:16,119
Speaker 7: some of his postgame press conferences and some of the

425
00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:18,480
Speaker 7: things he's talked about in spring training and so forth,

426
00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:22,040
Speaker 7: he is willing to admit when there is a problem.

427
00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:23,879
Speaker 7: You know, Dan muse I was thinking the same thing

428
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,520
Speaker 7: about him last night, talking about the shorthanded goal situation

429
00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,159
Speaker 7: and talking about some of the goaltending, some of the

430
00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:33,560
Speaker 7: flurries around the goalies in recent games. Whereas in the past,

431
00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:37,880
Speaker 7: I think their predecessors might have tried to take questions

432
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:40,680
Speaker 7: from the media and turn them into narratives, these guys

433
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,040
Speaker 7: at least acknowledged that the problems exist. He was talking

434
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:45,960
Speaker 7: about that a bit today with Triolo. You know, He

435
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,440
Speaker 7: did talk about how great his defense was, but bracketed

436
00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:50,960
Speaker 7: those comments by saying he's not off to a great

437
00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:54,280
Speaker 7: start offensively. I think they wanted to be Triolo, but

438
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:57,639
Speaker 7: they also know he's got a hit closer to what

439
00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:02,080
Speaker 7: Gonzales can hit and be way better defensively, and I

440
00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:04,320
Speaker 7: think that's a tough needle to thread. I don't think

441
00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:09,120
Speaker 7: he's gonna get there. I would actually lean with Gonzales

442
00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:11,119
Speaker 7: in the not too distant future, but my bed is

443
00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:13,640
Speaker 7: they stick with Triola for a longer time than maybe

444
00:23:13,640 --> 00:23:14,560
Speaker 7: you and I both want.

445
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:14,800
Speaker 1: Well.

446
00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,680
Speaker 2: Sean Casey said earlier that it hitd pick Gonzalez as well.

447
00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:23,000
Speaker 2: I know they prefer Triolo's glove, and maybe they need

448
00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,000
Speaker 2: to make a concession to defense at that position when

449
00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,959
Speaker 2: it's not a very good defensive team overall. But I

450
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,800
Speaker 2: think the key and this ties into both Triolo Gonzalez,

451
00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,520
Speaker 2: whoever does play there. Tim The Pirates are a very

452
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:38,000
Speaker 2: easy team to analyze.

453
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:39,960
Speaker 1: What you see is very likely what you're.

454
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:42,679
Speaker 2: Gonna get, and they have six or seven guys that

455
00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:45,359
Speaker 2: should hit. They need one or two to kind of

456
00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:48,960
Speaker 2: come out of nowhere and do appreciably better. While none

457
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,880
Speaker 2: of those six or seven do worse than we think.

458
00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:55,040
Speaker 7: And they're in lies the dilemma. Mark Oh even I

459
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,320
Speaker 7: think those one or two people that you're talking about

460
00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:59,240
Speaker 7: are O'Neil Cruz and Brian Reynolds.

461
00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:01,800
Speaker 2: No, no, no, no, no, I'm conning on them among

462
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,840
Speaker 2: the six or seven, which again that may be my mistake,

463
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,439
Speaker 2: but they're yeah, the guys who can't recede, and they

464
00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:09,040
Speaker 2: certainly receded last year.

465
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,159
Speaker 7: That's it. That's the chasm there, because those are the

466
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:16,679
Speaker 7: two guys that have the biggest book on themselves. We

467
00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,639
Speaker 7: know the most about them, especially here in Pittsburgh, hitting

468
00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:24,119
Speaker 7: in this park, playing in this market with other talent

469
00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:27,400
Speaker 7: of that ilk around them. We know what their track

470
00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,800
Speaker 7: record is, but we keep trying to will and manifest

471
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:33,080
Speaker 7: those numbers into being better than what they have been.

472
00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,960
Speaker 7: I'll give you an O'Neal Cruz little die tribe here

473
00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:39,479
Speaker 7: as a sidebar for a second, because like I got

474
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:41,560
Speaker 7: an email from a guy who was saying, you know,

475
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,200
Speaker 7: his bat can't possibly be worth what his glove is not.

476
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:47,920
Speaker 7: And if you look at the raw numbers and the

477
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:49,960
Speaker 7: number that you use to quantify that, I'm not a

478
00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:51,240
Speaker 7: big fan of it, but I'll use it on this

479
00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:54,359
Speaker 7: convenience to be sure, it's war. You know, the winds

480
00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:57,360
Speaker 7: above replacement stat that's where you throw all the metrics

481
00:24:57,359 --> 00:24:59,440
Speaker 7: together and you pump out a number that says are

482
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,159
Speaker 7: you worth it or not? And the guy had a

483
00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:04,800
Speaker 7: zero point three war And with that much power, the

484
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,119
Speaker 7: bat should be more than it is to say that

485
00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:11,040
Speaker 7: his back is only a tiny, tiny little piece better

486
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,760
Speaker 7: than what that glove is negative that that means he's

487
00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:14,400
Speaker 7: not hitting enough.

488
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:16,280
Speaker 1: Oh, Jim, I wrote a column.

489
00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:18,280
Speaker 2: Oh you know, after the first couple of games, I

490
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:21,680
Speaker 2: would play Mangham ahead of him. Mangum's a singles hitter,

491
00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:26,320
Speaker 2: but he could run, he can field, and his ops

492
00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:31,119
Speaker 2: another catch all number was better last year than cruises exactly.

493
00:25:31,200 --> 00:25:32,840
Speaker 7: I think it was six to seventy six for cruise

494
00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:38,239
Speaker 7: last year. And that's not enough. Yeah, the way that

495
00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:40,800
Speaker 7: the cruise makes out, which is striking out a lot,

496
00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:44,359
Speaker 7: sometimes oftentimes with runners in scoring position and not giving

497
00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:47,879
Speaker 7: you a very good glove in left and oftentimes I

498
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,760
Speaker 7: would also say that the arm and the speed that

499
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:54,640
Speaker 7: they are trying so hard to keep on defense, those

500
00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:56,720
Speaker 7: things are minimized when he never gets a great read

501
00:25:56,800 --> 00:25:59,320
Speaker 7: on the ball. You know, that's the old anti Vans

502
00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:01,679
Speaker 7: like thing where he isn't necessarily the fastest guy in

503
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:03,480
Speaker 7: the world. He always got a better trump than any

504
00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:05,760
Speaker 7: other center fielder in baseball. He wouldn't know the difference.

505
00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:07,080
Speaker 7: He would catch up to it, and they had a

506
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:09,639
Speaker 7: good arm when he did get to a ball, whether

507
00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:11,600
Speaker 7: that was a ball that was rolling towards the gap

508
00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:13,639
Speaker 7: or a line drive in the gap. So he doesn't

509
00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:17,000
Speaker 7: bring that, and you know the mangum thing. I think

510
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:18,919
Speaker 7: he's a good player. I'm a fan of his. I

511
00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:22,119
Speaker 7: loved his inclusion in that deal. He'll hit, you're right,

512
00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:24,680
Speaker 7: I mean, like the singles. He's more of a slappy

513
00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:26,840
Speaker 7: hitter than he is a power guy. But get him

514
00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:29,080
Speaker 7: on base and create havoc and you got a good

515
00:26:29,080 --> 00:26:30,639
Speaker 7: guy there. You can bat in a nine hole to

516
00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,119
Speaker 7: turn over if you so desire.

517
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:35,800
Speaker 1: We're talking to Tim Benz here on the Mark Madden Show.

518
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:41,480
Speaker 2: Tim other there are so many non negotiables for me

519
00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:44,480
Speaker 2: for this team to be a playoff contender. I like

520
00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:48,280
Speaker 2: what we saw Chandler and Ashcraft their first starts. They

521
00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:50,680
Speaker 2: have to rinse and repeat like a lot more often

522
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:53,800
Speaker 2: than not because they have barely any big league experienced,

523
00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:55,520
Speaker 2: but they definitely have the stuff.

524
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:59,639
Speaker 7: Agreed. And I'll take it one step further to the

525
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,800
Speaker 7: guy who's pitching today and Keller, where we saw him

526
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:05,600
Speaker 7: pitch very well against the Mets the first time, but

527
00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:09,080
Speaker 7: I expected that, and I expected for the rest of April,

528
00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,919
Speaker 7: in May, in June, and then what happens in July.

529
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:17,280
Speaker 7: That's the thing with him. If you want a non negotiable,

530
00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:19,920
Speaker 7: I'll give you one clear non negotiable from my end

531
00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:21,760
Speaker 7: is that Keller has to be as good in the

532
00:27:21,800 --> 00:27:23,760
Speaker 7: second half of the season as he is in the first,

533
00:27:24,119 --> 00:27:26,240
Speaker 7: if not better for them to be a playoff team.

534
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:27,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'll go with that.

535
00:27:27,480 --> 00:27:29,840
Speaker 2: That's assuming he's good in the first half and for

536
00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:33,800
Speaker 2: that matter, today, but he traditionally does well up up

537
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:36,200
Speaker 2: through the All Star break. Now, I want to get

538
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,480
Speaker 2: back to Griffin. If you're in his shoes, do you

539
00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:40,719
Speaker 2: feel like he made the right decisions? What are the

540
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,840
Speaker 2: pros and cons of him taking that nine year deal

541
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:45,640
Speaker 2: for one hundred and forty million dollars?

542
00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,919
Speaker 7: Well, I mean it's there's nothing like money in the

543
00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:54,240
Speaker 7: bank literally and figuratively. You know, what do you buy

544
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,480
Speaker 7: against injury? For lack of a better phrase, and the

545
00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,399
Speaker 7: market being what it is and what it could be.

546
00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:02,240
Speaker 7: You never know, but it's better to have it. You

547
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:04,800
Speaker 7: can invest in. You can sock it under the mattress

548
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:08,160
Speaker 7: if you want. You're nineteen and you're going to hit

549
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:11,440
Speaker 7: your free agency with lots of good years, maybe your

550
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:13,959
Speaker 7: prime year, your twenty seven to twenty eight year old year,

551
00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:17,000
Speaker 7: whatever that is in front of you, So he's going

552
00:28:17,080 --> 00:28:18,760
Speaker 7: to be in good shape to get a really good

553
00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:22,880
Speaker 7: second contract. Those the pros. The cons are, you're gonna

554
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:24,720
Speaker 7: be paid a lot by the time you're in the

555
00:28:24,720 --> 00:28:27,359
Speaker 7: middle part of that contract. You're gonna be undervalue if

556
00:28:27,359 --> 00:28:30,440
Speaker 7: you're worth a dam for somebody who signed that contract

557
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:32,760
Speaker 7: in the first place. And you might be doing another

558
00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:35,359
Speaker 7: team that's still crappy. You might be doing it a

559
00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,159
Speaker 7: team that never gets there. You might be doing it

560
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:39,720
Speaker 7: on a team that has a five year window and

561
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,680
Speaker 7: is ready to start downsizing again, as they did after

562
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,920
Speaker 7: twenty fifteen because the schemes window is gone. Those are

563
00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:47,320
Speaker 7: the downs Those are the cons.

564
00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,880
Speaker 2: Yeah, if I were him, I mean I mixed emotions.

565
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:54,440
Speaker 2: You know, I wish they would have pulled this game,

566
00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:56,360
Speaker 2: but with schemes to try to sign him before he

567
00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,720
Speaker 2: ever threw a pitch. I rather dobt he would have

568
00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:01,480
Speaker 2: bit he might have been at least they should have

569
00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:04,760
Speaker 2: tried it. Yeah, I'm glad the Powers did it. From

570
00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:08,000
Speaker 2: his standpoint, I'm not sure. But one thing that was

571
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:10,800
Speaker 2: pointed out to me, Tim, if he does good in

572
00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:13,120
Speaker 2: the team stinks, he can always kind of finagle a trade.

573
00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:14,400
Speaker 1: He can always force his way out.

574
00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:18,280
Speaker 7: We see that all the time in sports. Now, you know,

575
00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:20,960
Speaker 7: I'll go do something else, I'll sit out a year.

576
00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:23,840
Speaker 7: You know, the agent will try to pull a trick.

577
00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:27,320
Speaker 7: We don't want an unhappy camper. You know, it was

578
00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,719
Speaker 7: Tomlin who used the phrase, we want to volunteers, not hostages.

579
00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:32,800
Speaker 7: But you know that's that was a cute way to

580
00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:35,280
Speaker 7: sum up what a lot of other organizations have felt.

581
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:37,440
Speaker 7: You can pout your way out of town. It's been

582
00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:39,480
Speaker 7: done long before Tomlin said. That has been done in

583
00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:42,880
Speaker 7: many other sports besides just the NFL. And who knows

584
00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:44,680
Speaker 7: how these contracts are going to go and what they're

585
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,360
Speaker 7: going to look like. I think's part of the reason

586
00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:48,640
Speaker 7: why they did what they did. Here's another pro mark

587
00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:51,360
Speaker 7: that I'll throw at you from what doing it. Now,

588
00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,520
Speaker 7: neither side is completely sure what the world is going

589
00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,400
Speaker 7: to look like after the CBA. So at least you

590
00:29:57,480 --> 00:29:59,720
Speaker 7: know you've got a good deal now, and if it's

591
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,240
Speaker 7: stay is roughly the same for both sides and there's

592
00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:06,600
Speaker 7: not some sort of massive difference like a true cap

593
00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:09,360
Speaker 7: or whatever the case may be, at least you've got

594
00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:12,520
Speaker 7: something on paper that I bet with the Players Union

595
00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:16,120
Speaker 7: you can grandfather in in a positive way for the player.

596
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:17,400
Speaker 7: I would imagine that would.

597
00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:17,640
Speaker 3: Be help go.

598
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,280
Speaker 2: If there's a cap, you'll be able to grandfather stuff in.

599
00:30:20,360 --> 00:30:23,400
Speaker 2: I just don't believe the Players Union will ever acquiesce

600
00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:24,000
Speaker 2: to a cap.

601
00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:24,680
Speaker 1: Tim.

602
00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:26,479
Speaker 2: I got to kind of go against the grain here

603
00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:28,360
Speaker 2: because I'm watching the pregame on TV.

604
00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:30,760
Speaker 1: Why are you in the park right now?

605
00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:33,920
Speaker 7: I'm in the park right now. I'm watching it on

606
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:35,160
Speaker 7: the big screen as you're talking.

607
00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:37,360
Speaker 1: They just why are so many seats empty?

608
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:41,560
Speaker 7: Well, I think a lot of it was walk up

609
00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:45,240
Speaker 7: because and I have not been outside Mark since eleven

610
00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:48,120
Speaker 7: o'clock that's when I got in. I think the parking

611
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,560
Speaker 7: is terrible. People are trying to figure out where to park.

612
00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:53,280
Speaker 7: I think the lines are probably bad outside because I

613
00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:54,960
Speaker 7: don't think a lot of people had tickets in advance

614
00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,920
Speaker 7: before Griffin signed in.

615
00:30:57,920 --> 00:30:59,120
Speaker 1: The lines the lines are bad.

616
00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:01,920
Speaker 7: You're right, Yeah, I think that would be my hunch.

617
00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:04,960
Speaker 7: I think a lot of people are walking from greater distance.

618
00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,120
Speaker 7: Like I'll just tell you when I parked here at eleven.

619
00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:11,800
Speaker 7: You can't get out of the trip lot anymore because

620
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:13,480
Speaker 7: of the draft. Construction.

621
00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:15,600
Speaker 1: We had to walk all.

622
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:17,680
Speaker 2: The way around to The draft is gonna be the

623
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,760
Speaker 2: bane of our existence, except for a very few people

624
00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:21,680
Speaker 2: who profit from it.

625
00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:24,120
Speaker 1: We will regret having had the draft.

626
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:27,600
Speaker 7: With you more and more every day on that stance.

627
00:31:27,640 --> 00:31:29,240
Speaker 7: You've said that a couple of different times of the

628
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:31,400
Speaker 7: platforms where you and I interact, and you are making

629
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:34,400
Speaker 7: more and more sense every day. I think you know

630
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:36,200
Speaker 7: what I'm talking about. At the trip building, you have

631
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:38,480
Speaker 7: to go out of the trip walk around up to

632
00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:42,320
Speaker 7: seventh Street and down now practically to get here, to

633
00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:45,480
Speaker 7: get through the other side lot, because there's a construction

634
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,640
Speaker 7: site that, like the heavy equipment, is right by the

635
00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:51,280
Speaker 7: Trip building, and that takes up a lot of parking

636
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:53,440
Speaker 7: for people, and it's hard to get there for a

637
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:54,440
Speaker 7: few spots that remained.

638
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:57,040
Speaker 2: Tim, I'm told to sports that Pittsburgh people can't go

639
00:31:57,080 --> 00:31:59,160
Speaker 2: to work because the NFL is gonna have the streets closed.

640
00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:00,840
Speaker 1: I'd want to see what the court has to say

641
00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:01,239
Speaker 1: about that.

642
00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:05,200
Speaker 7: Well, Hannah meres this here, Rob King is here, Brownie

643
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:05,480
Speaker 7: is here.

644
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:06,960
Speaker 1: No, no, no, no, I'm talking.

645
00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,400
Speaker 2: I'm talking about when when the draft actually commences.

646
00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,200
Speaker 7: Oh you're oh okay, Yeah, Well I hadn't thought about that.

647
00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:16,720
Speaker 7: I want to go to work and they can't take

648
00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:19,320
Speaker 7: a boat because we floated that idea out for you

649
00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:21,080
Speaker 7: to get up and down the river, and they're controlling

650
00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:24,120
Speaker 7: the waterways. This is like the Straits of Four Moves. Mark.

651
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:28,520
Speaker 2: It's it's like like Admiral Raider in World War Wait, No, who.

652
00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:30,120
Speaker 1: Wasn't Who is he?

653
00:32:30,840 --> 00:32:33,480
Speaker 2: Darn it's Dannet's he. He would have known what to

654
00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:36,640
Speaker 2: do in those rivers. Actually, actually the record shows he

655
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:39,320
Speaker 2: did not. Uh Tim, What has to happen for the

656
00:32:39,400 --> 00:32:40,640
Speaker 2: Pirates to make the playoffs?

657
00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:41,560
Speaker 1: And what are the odds?

658
00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:45,840
Speaker 7: I would say that the odds are in the forty

659
00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:49,920
Speaker 7: five to range. It's a I think it's a soft

660
00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:51,800
Speaker 7: middle in the National League.

661
00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:57,120
Speaker 2: Like I said, I think, yeah, but now Central is mediocre,

662
00:32:57,240 --> 00:32:59,880
Speaker 2: but mediocre from top to bottom and that includes the

663
00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:02,880
Speaker 2: It won't be easy, No, it won't be.

664
00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:05,080
Speaker 7: Like I said, I think they're a five hundred team.

665
00:33:05,080 --> 00:33:07,080
Speaker 7: I think they're an eighty one win team. So what

666
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:09,720
Speaker 7: has to happen. You know, they've got to cut that

667
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:13,040
Speaker 7: ten game losing streak that they have every year to seven.

668
00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:15,880
Speaker 7: They got to stretch out their longest winning streak from

669
00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:18,440
Speaker 7: maybe eight to eleven. They got to have two extra

670
00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:21,400
Speaker 7: good weekends, and they can't go into tank for a

671
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:22,440
Speaker 7: prolonged stretch.

672
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:24,080
Speaker 1: It was thirty.

673
00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:27,320
Speaker 7: It was eighty three wins last year. My hunch's probably

674
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,280
Speaker 7: got to get up to about eighty six this year.

675
00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:31,840
Speaker 7: That's closer to the average since they went to this format.

676
00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,680
Speaker 7: I think the Pirates can be that team, but it's unlikely.

677
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:38,600
Speaker 7: I think they're much closer. If I had to swing

678
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:40,480
Speaker 7: it round one direction, mark, because it sounds like we're

679
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,000
Speaker 7: in the middle of that, I would say it's closer

680
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:45,720
Speaker 7: to your side. They're probably at one hundred, five hundred team.

681
00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:47,800
Speaker 7: That's just a little bit better than last year, But

682
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:52,120
Speaker 7: eighty six is not completely out of the realm of possibility.

683
00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:53,720
Speaker 7: I think they're an eighty one win team.

684
00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:54,680
Speaker 1: You know what, I find.

685
00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:57,560
Speaker 2: Ironic, Tim, And let's wrap up with this. If the

686
00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:00,600
Speaker 2: same people who who can't and sell them team last

687
00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:05,960
Speaker 2: year and very badly wanted the GM fired. Now appear

688
00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:08,880
Speaker 2: to have total trust in the same two guys to

689
00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:12,120
Speaker 2: see this through, and that just shows how dumb the

690
00:34:12,239 --> 00:34:13,799
Speaker 2: gen whatever Bucco fans are.

691
00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:15,799
Speaker 1: You give him a ray of hope and they they

692
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:17,640
Speaker 1: just think they got the World Series in there in

693
00:34:17,719 --> 00:34:18,240
Speaker 1: their sights.

694
00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:22,960
Speaker 7: Agreed, But can I also counter that by saying it's

695
00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:27,000
Speaker 7: also indicative of how little the Pirates have ever had

696
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:30,799
Speaker 7: to try, and their refusal to do so is mind

697
00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:34,239
Speaker 7: boggling because these people don't need much to buy in

698
00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:36,799
Speaker 7: and they've refused to do so up until this point.

699
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:39,760
Speaker 2: Well, right, I refuse to get happy because the Pirates

700
00:34:39,800 --> 00:34:42,040
Speaker 2: at long last are doing the right thing. It's like

701
00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:46,200
Speaker 2: I see O'Neill Cruz getting praised like crazy because he

702
00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,600
Speaker 2: hired a batting practice pitcher, a lefty to throw to

703
00:34:49,680 --> 00:34:51,640
Speaker 2: them all off season and now he has two home

704
00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,480
Speaker 2: runs right away off left handed pitching when he had

705
00:34:54,520 --> 00:34:55,560
Speaker 2: I think one last year.

706
00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:57,920
Speaker 1: Well, okay, that's great. Why to take you till you

707
00:34:58,000 --> 00:34:58,800
Speaker 1: were twenty seven?

708
00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:01,839
Speaker 7: Want to take it to the crisis point of over

709
00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:04,440
Speaker 7: twenty six to wrap up the year? Right exactly? Or

710
00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:08,000
Speaker 7: for that matter, you know, I guess if you're talking

711
00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,760
Speaker 7: about well, I guess he did have one off season

712
00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:12,920
Speaker 7: prior to the move to center field. But you know,

713
00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:15,279
Speaker 7: getting cure Meyer involved, that's another thing that I've heard

714
00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:17,879
Speaker 7: a bunch and whatever happened there, he still needs more

715
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:19,799
Speaker 7: work because the fielding still has to come a long,

716
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:20,319
Speaker 7: long way.

717
00:35:20,760 --> 00:35:23,120
Speaker 2: Tim, they just showed a clip on the scoreboard. It

718
00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:26,399
Speaker 2: showed Jim Palmer pitching. It turns out that was from

719
00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:28,359
Speaker 2: the seventy one series. But I thought he was going today.

720
00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:30,520
Speaker 2: I was gonna say, boy, that's gonna be a problem

721
00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:34,160
Speaker 2: until he drops over because he's old. Tim up, great stuff.

722
00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:35,839
Speaker 2: Enjoy the game. We'll talk again soon.

723
00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:38,600
Speaker 7: Now you've got to be thinking about how Earl Weaver

724
00:35:38,719 --> 00:35:40,840
Speaker 7: will have handled the abs situation.

725
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:42,719
Speaker 6: I think we would have lost a lot there.

726
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:45,080
Speaker 1: He would have he would have he would have not

727
00:35:45,280 --> 00:35:46,080
Speaker 1: handled it. Well.

728
00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:52,320
Speaker 2: That's Tim Benz on Mark Madden up next. Kind of

729
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:55,239
Speaker 2: a curious SoundBite from Stuart Skinner the Penguins goalway after

730
00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:56,080
Speaker 2: last night's loss.

731
00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:57,239
Speaker 1: That's next a one oh five.

732
00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:57,600
Speaker 3: To nine.

733
00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:03,800
Speaker 1: Powart's introducing their opening day starting lineup.

734
00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:09,440
Speaker 2: Donny Kelly just ran through the little tunnel they have

735
00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:11,200
Speaker 2: set up and almost tripped but didn't.

736
00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:13,960
Speaker 1: That's Goody sticking on his feet. Way to go kill.

737
00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:16,120
Speaker 3: H.

738
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:21,480
Speaker 2: Here's Stuart Skinner, the Penguin's goalie, after the Penguin six

739
00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:24,840
Speaker 2: y three loss at Tampa last night, in which Skinner

740
00:36:24,880 --> 00:36:26,480
Speaker 2: a lot five goals.

741
00:36:27,600 --> 00:36:29,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, I felt really good.

742
00:36:30,719 --> 00:36:34,000
Speaker 8: I think the way that we played tonight, I mean

743
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:37,200
Speaker 8: we had some huge blocks in the N zone, massive times,

744
00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:40,600
Speaker 8: you know, you see it, very resilient group. I think

745
00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,120
Speaker 8: we got unlucky a couple of times. A few of

746
00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:45,960
Speaker 8: their goals were not shots that.

747
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:47,000
Speaker 7: They wanted to hit.

748
00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:49,360
Speaker 1: That kind of just flubbed then.

749
00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:52,160
Speaker 3: So, but that happens.

750
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:55,799
Speaker 8: I mean they there, I mean they they were able

751
00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:57,919
Speaker 8: to give themselves some time and space on the ice,

752
00:36:57,960 --> 00:36:59,280
Speaker 8: which makes it difficult to defend.

753
00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:04,399
Speaker 2: You know, hearing that, it strikes me that Stu's got

754
00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:08,400
Speaker 2: a bit of Tristan Jarry and him unlucky flubbed in,

755
00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:12,480
Speaker 2: gave themselves time and space on the ice. Makes it

756
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,920
Speaker 2: difficult to defend. Dude, you're letting in too many goals.

757
00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:20,840
Speaker 2: Own it a little better. The Penguins goaltending never steals

758
00:37:20,960 --> 00:37:21,319
Speaker 2: a game.

759
00:37:22,360 --> 00:37:28,960
Speaker 1: It's just chock goaltending. The Pirates are coming out through

760
00:37:29,120 --> 00:37:30,880
Speaker 1: not an arch, not a tunnel.

761
00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:34,800
Speaker 2: But there are these two columns erected with the Pirate's logo,

762
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:40,360
Speaker 2: and there's really like bad pyro like smoke being blown

763
00:37:41,160 --> 00:37:45,520
Speaker 2: every time a guy's interested, but only smoke from one column.

764
00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:50,239
Speaker 2: I think the other column is malfunctioning. Okay, here comes

765
00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:55,120
Speaker 2: Griffin Boy. He's a big guy, just a big guy.

766
00:37:56,080 --> 00:38:00,680
Speaker 2: He looks like a Steiner brother or bron Raaker's brother,

767
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:01,880
Speaker 2: Steiner progeny.

768
00:38:02,040 --> 00:38:02,440
Speaker 1: I love it.

769
00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:09,040
Speaker 2: Here's Chris Simms, the former quarterback, about Mike Tomlin's departure

770
00:38:09,640 --> 00:38:11,280
Speaker 2: and the Steelers quarterback situation.

771
00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:14,840
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's so what's kind of embarrassing about, you know,

772
00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:17,000
Speaker 4: the Steelers. That's the aspect where you go, man, they

773
00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,160
Speaker 4: didn't even have to play a quarterback contract and they

774
00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:21,360
Speaker 4: couldn't put a team out there that really you felt

775
00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:24,160
Speaker 4: like and do anything in the playoffs.

776
00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:25,640
Speaker 1: That's unfortunate.

777
00:38:25,760 --> 00:38:28,800
Speaker 4: And again that's where I don't blame Mike Tomlin for everything,

778
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:30,520
Speaker 4: because I go, he doesn't make all the picks and

779
00:38:30,640 --> 00:38:33,440
Speaker 4: do all that, and so that's where it's a little different.

780
00:38:33,239 --> 00:38:38,360
Speaker 2: That except Mike Tomlin did make all the picks and

781
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:39,920
Speaker 2: personnel decisions.

782
00:38:39,560 --> 00:38:41,120
Speaker 1: Or at least approve all of them.

783
00:38:43,040 --> 00:38:46,120
Speaker 2: You think tom would be easier to blame and would

784
00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:49,359
Speaker 2: absorb more criticism now that he's gone, But he's still

785
00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:53,200
Speaker 2: tough one, Tomlin. And what all that matters is the

786
00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:56,680
Speaker 2: next game you mangled the big picture and don't win

787
00:38:56,719 --> 00:39:00,120
Speaker 2: playoff games, and even though tom Win is gone, that

788
00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:04,640
Speaker 2: will decidedly be the approach moving forward. The Steelers are

789
00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:07,719
Speaker 2: running it back, but just with a different coach and

790
00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:13,520
Speaker 2: to go more current. It's why you're begging a forty

791
00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:18,200
Speaker 2: two year old grandpa game manager to play, Oh please play,

792
00:39:19,160 --> 00:39:21,000
Speaker 2: because you're only worried about Week one.

793
00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:23,960
Speaker 1: I gotta give Denver credit. I think it's nuts.

794
00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:30,440
Speaker 2: That they want to bring Rogers in if bo Nicks

795
00:39:30,520 --> 00:39:33,040
Speaker 2: can't start the season because he's not recovered from his injury.

796
00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:36,120
Speaker 2: That's the rumor. I don't think it's gonna come to fruition.

797
00:39:36,239 --> 00:39:38,879
Speaker 2: I don't even think it's reality. I think Florio made

798
00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:43,560
Speaker 2: it up. Then again, my track record on assuming what's

799
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:49,240
Speaker 2: made up ain't so good lately. But Denver's looking big picture,

800
00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:51,719
Speaker 2: what do we need to do to have the best

801
00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:55,160
Speaker 2: season possible? And ironically it ties into week one having

802
00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:58,799
Speaker 2: a better quarterback than what was it Stidham who played

803
00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:01,880
Speaker 2: in the AFC Championship game having better than him week one?

804
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:04,840
Speaker 2: Then again, right now, I take Stidham over Rogers.

805
00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:08,600
Speaker 1: I would you know what show they've talked about that

806
00:40:08,719 --> 00:40:10,120
Speaker 1: comparison at link doock.

807
00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:17,320
Speaker 2: Lost Culturistas. We got seth to warrior about talking hockey

808
00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:20,560
Speaker 2: at the bottom of the four o'clock hour. Get a

809
00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:22,319
Speaker 2: lot of hockey calls in now because the Pirates are

810
00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:26,120
Speaker 2: getting ready to start. I assume the baseball audience has departed,

811
00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:28,120
Speaker 2: so we got to super serve.

812
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:28,840
Speaker 1: The hockey audience.

813
00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:31,800
Speaker 2: What was your take on last night's loss at Tampa

814
00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:36,680
Speaker 2: and are you still frustrated to a disturbing and too

815
00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:40,920
Speaker 2: frequent level with the Penguins goaltending. This segment brought to

816
00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:44,239
Speaker 2: us by on the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct

817
00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:46,200
Speaker 2: from the team at shop dot Steelers dot com one

818
00:40:46,239 --> 00:40:47,040
Speaker 2: oh five ninety.

819
00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:53,640
Speaker 1: X prinstall right now so when you need tires, just

820
00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:56,000
Speaker 1: drive in, no appointment necessary. Plans will get