Speaker 1: It's time to place your bets right coming down, let's
Speaker 1: talk to the pros one. Welcome to everybody to betting pros.
Speaker 1: It's me Joey p Joe Pizza for you. We got
Speaker 1: a great show for you today as always. Yes, we're
Speaker 1: past the halfway part of the Major League Baseball season. Yes,
Speaker 1: so the home run Derby is in the rear view,
Speaker 1: so is the All Star Game. But there have been
Speaker 1: a lot of injuries to talk about here that really
Speaker 1: are going to affect not only futures of players, but
Speaker 1: futures of teams. And there's nobody better to get the
Speaker 1: inside information than a real Major League Baseball insider. He
Speaker 1: is my former co host of Fantasy Sports Today and
Speaker 1: the current co host there at Sports Grid as well.
Speaker 1: And not only that, he also covers the Marlins everything
Speaker 1: going on with them. He's the one, the only Craig Mish.
Speaker 1: Mish Welcome to the show, my friend. It's been too
Speaker 1: long and here we are talking little baseball today. It's
Speaker 1: good to see your face.
Speaker 2: It is great to see you, Joe. Hope you and
Speaker 2: your family are well. Thanks for the invitation.
Speaker 1: By the way, Yeah, well you know we're gonna be
Speaker 1: doing some Football and Sports Grid together every Sunday, and
Speaker 1: I figured, you know what, I haven't talked to Miss
Speaker 1: in a few weeks here months. Maybe it's time to
Speaker 1: make sure we dust off the old brand, which is
Speaker 1: Joey P and Craignish, which you can't kill. I mean,
Speaker 1: really share man, it is. It is stunning. You know,
Speaker 1: we're coming up on a decade. I don't know what
Speaker 1: you're gonna get me for the ten year anniversary.
Speaker 2: But I know the nice you know, it's funny. It's
Speaker 2: funny that you bring that up because we were talking
Speaker 2: about you the other day on the show. We were
Speaker 2: on the air and something came up. I think it
Speaker 2: was Space Jam. I want to say, I don't know
Speaker 2: what it was, but I said, if Joe Piece of
Speaker 2: P was on this show, this is what he would
Speaker 2: say about Space Jam. I'm not gonna watch it now,
Speaker 2: but I promise you eventually I will. It may not
Speaker 2: be today, it may not be tomorrow, but I guarantee
Speaker 2: you eventually, and then and then I and I will
Speaker 2: ask Joe about this weekly. He still will not watch it,
Speaker 2: he does not have the time, but eventually he will
Speaker 2: and he will give a fair review on it at
Speaker 2: his pace.
Speaker 1: Well, I got a show for you when baseball is
Speaker 1: over and you get some more time. We're not traveling
Speaker 1: anymore or do anything. The Boys. Have you watched The Boys?
Speaker 1: I don't know, Amazon Prime. Let the Superheroes are kind
Speaker 1: of the bad guys. So The Heroes is like the
Speaker 1: anti hero kind of thing going on. It is amazing.
Speaker 1: It is one of the most clever, dark, funny shows
Speaker 1: I've ever seen, turns all that superhero stuff on its
Speaker 1: ear and it is really well acted. So there you go.
Speaker 1: So you got a little shows, you get that, you
Speaker 1: get a little everything here. But let's talk here with
Speaker 1: Craig Mitch because the Jacob de Gram injury in the
Speaker 1: National League has really changed the dynamic of what's going
Speaker 1: on all of a sudden. Now the MVP odds have
Speaker 1: come down from all the places here over I'm betting
Speaker 1: pros and you can't wager on that, can't wager on
Speaker 1: this young right now. And I'm curious to ask you this, Craig,
Speaker 1: because you have the Acunya injury just a few weeks
Speaker 1: ago to which changed the dynamic of that race. Tatist
Speaker 1: kind of was the guy that I thought people should
Speaker 1: be on, but now it's just Jacob de gram injury.
Speaker 1: If da Grom comes back healthy, what do you think
Speaker 1: that line's going to look like in anticipation? Is this
Speaker 1: the last time also to get in and tatus or
Speaker 1: maybe is there a third guy like Juan Sota who's
Speaker 1: getting red hot, who could finish and maybe carry the
Speaker 1: now single handedly to the playoffs. What's your thoughts about
Speaker 1: the National League right now? MVP race the way.
Speaker 2: It stands, Yeah, look, I mean at this point you
Speaker 2: can make a case for a lot of different players
Speaker 2: for the MVP. It was interesting that two weeks ago,
Speaker 2: if you would have asked this question, you would have
Speaker 2: said the Grama's got the cy Young and the MVP
Speaker 2: locked up. I still think he's got a great shot
Speaker 2: at the Cy Young Award, especially if he only misses
Speaker 2: two or three starts. But I think that as you
Speaker 2: look around the league and you look at some of
Speaker 2: the teams in the National League, it's unfortunate, but no
Speaker 2: one really sticks out. Milwaukee has kind of had a
Speaker 2: great pitching season, but their hitting has sort of been
Speaker 2: ah so far. You can't throw Christian Yelich into that category,
Speaker 2: and certainly they've gotten enough done to be where there are,
Speaker 2: but I don't see an MVP on that team. The
Speaker 2: Los Angeles Dodgers, Joe are just so well rounded that
Speaker 2: you could name five or six guys on that club
Speaker 2: and say, hey, I mean they have MVP type numbers.
Speaker 2: But with that takeaway from the others. So of course
Speaker 2: you mentioned the key name, and that is Fernando Tattis,
Speaker 2: junior on the San Diego Padres, and I think that, look,
Speaker 2: you still have an opportunity, whatever his odds are at
Speaker 2: this point, whenever they get reposted, to take advantage of that.
Speaker 2: The Giants, I mean, look, Buster Posey, by the way,
Speaker 2: is making the case for an MVP season. I mean,
Speaker 2: he's not gonna win, probably, but my gosh, this guy
Speaker 2: just was on the injured list. He comes right back,
Speaker 2: hits a home run in his first game back. The
Speaker 2: Giants are having a great season as well. You mentioned
Speaker 2: Sodo the Nationals first half MVP to stay in. It
Speaker 2: was Schwarber. It was not Sodo. So I'm curious when
Speaker 2: Schwarber comes back next week or the week after, how
Speaker 2: that will affect Soda. Will it make him better? Will
Speaker 2: it put more light on Schwarber at this point? But look,
Speaker 2: you can make the case that if Sodo goes on
Speaker 2: in absolute tear, he potentially could win it. Put Joe,
Speaker 2: I don't see the Nationals winning the division, and usually
Speaker 2: they try to give the MVP to a player that's
Speaker 2: on a winning team. Mike Trout may have something else
Speaker 2: to say about that over the last decade, but I
Speaker 2: think in this case, Tatis is the name that you mentioned,
Speaker 2: and it would really seem to me that if they
Speaker 2: make the postseason that he would be the favorite.
Speaker 1: And he's got the narrative to playing through the season
Speaker 1: with that shoulder injury too. He also had a COVID
Speaker 1: test earlier in the year to miss some time there.
Speaker 1: So I think he's just had a brilliant season. To me,
Speaker 1: that was the guy you know when you look at
Speaker 1: the MV. Excuse me the Cy Young race though, now too,
Speaker 1: with Jacob de Gram on pause, is it time to
Speaker 1: start after now? This is not the first time, the
Speaker 1: second time, this is the third time Jacob de Grom
Speaker 1: has experienced some issues here with different parts of the
Speaker 1: arm right, is it time to start kicking the tires
Speaker 1: on Brandon Woodruff or Corbyn Burns or maybe even a
Speaker 1: Kevin Gosman we mentioned the Giants and Buster Post, and
Speaker 1: we kind of forget about the Giants quite a bit.
Speaker 1: I know this past week wasn't the best start for
Speaker 1: Kevin Gosman that he's had this year, but still Gossman's
Speaker 1: been spectacular from a number standpoint. Is it worth throwing
Speaker 1: any long shot money in any of those guys?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, look, they shouldn't really be long shots
Speaker 2: honestly at this point. Burns was the one that I
Speaker 2: liked going into the season, and then unfortunately he had
Speaker 2: the COVID at the at the beginning of the season
Speaker 2: that kind of shut him down. He and Burns have
Speaker 2: really close numbers in terms of their stats the course
Speaker 2: of the season, so it could be either of those
Speaker 2: guys going on a run. That's how Jake Arietta won
Speaker 2: the Cy Young Award a couple of years ago. His
Speaker 2: first half was okay, his second half was unbelievable and
Speaker 2: he just pushed his way all the way to the
Speaker 2: Cy Young. But yes, Kevin Gossman, unfortunately for me, that
Speaker 2: is the name of the guy that has has had
Speaker 2: a fantastic season. He plays on a really good team.
Speaker 2: He could potentially carry them to the best record in
Speaker 2: the entire Major League Baseball. So yeah, Joe, I definitely
Speaker 2: think that's him a very deep dart throw at this point,
Speaker 2: if you have a player that saves forty games at
Speaker 2: a forty tries in his first forty tries, I think
Speaker 2: you at least have to have him in the conversation
Speaker 2: in Alex Reyes. I don't think he's gonna win the
Speaker 2: Cy Young Award, But you're talking about somebody that is
Speaker 2: on pace to do, somebody something that no one else
Speaker 2: has in the history of baseball, which is from your
Speaker 2: first save to the end, not blow one. And I
Speaker 2: just at least want to mention that because if things
Speaker 2: go and a couple of the other names that you
Speaker 2: mentioned go down, maybe that's part of the conversation. But
Speaker 2: I don't see him winning a deep dark throw there.
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about the American League here for
Speaker 1: a second and show Hey, Tani, you know, I gotta
Speaker 1: tell you I learned from my good pal Craig Mish
Speaker 1: from doing show after show with him. He said, just
Speaker 1: get the guy you want before you think it's gonna
Speaker 1: get away from you, and don't go betting a million things.
Speaker 1: Just go find the thing that you think you believe
Speaker 1: in and then watch it and then get in before
Speaker 1: you think it's going to get away. And I did.
Speaker 1: I got in on show hal Tan and be very
Speaker 1: proud of me. But nice fat bet there at six
Speaker 1: point fifty for the MVP odds now he is at
Speaker 1: minus three sixty and the plus side of that, so
Speaker 1: that is way gone. Yeah, here's my question to you,
Speaker 1: is this it's over? We all think it's over. If
Speaker 1: there's a scenario where shoe Aotani, let's say, injury did
Speaker 1: happen like all of a sudden, we have injury to
Speaker 1: Ronald Cooney and all of a sudden that changes the dynamic.
Speaker 1: Has Otani already done enough that it doesn't matter? But
Speaker 1: or is Vlad's possibility of winning a triple crown? Does
Speaker 1: that really kind of match up at all? I keep saying, no,
Speaker 1: it doesn't matter because Otani's already built up so much
Speaker 1: equity with the pitching side. Do you think that Vlad
Speaker 1: can do anything to get this award back on his side?
Speaker 2: Well, I mean, let's be fair. If Otani decided to
Speaker 2: leave the United States today and go back to Japan
Speaker 2: and never play again, he would not win the MVP
Speaker 2: somebody else would win it, But that's the kind of
Speaker 2: extraordinary circumstance that I think that it would require. I
Speaker 2: would say, I'm looking at the calendar the twentieth of July.
Speaker 2: I think if Otani just makes two more weeks or
Speaker 2: three more weeks, I don't think it'll matter, but not
Speaker 2: quite yet because vladd is having an unbelievable season, but
Speaker 2: a triple crown or not Otani that was the right call.
Speaker 2: I think you and I talked about betting Otani last
Speaker 2: year before the season. Winning the MVP is just it
Speaker 2: had to happen at some point, even if he was
Speaker 2: just decent, they had to give him the MVP. I
Speaker 2: think the bigger story, Joe is that for the next
Speaker 2: ten years, if Shohei Otani is just does eighty percent
Speaker 2: of what he's doing now, not great, but just good,
Speaker 2: how do they not give him the MVP? Like this
Speaker 2: is what they're setting themselves up for for the next decade.
Speaker 2: So it's gonna be really interesting moving forward because somebody
Speaker 2: could have an unbelievable year and Otani just kind of
Speaker 2: does what he does, and then what are you just
Speaker 2: not going to give him the MVP the next year?
Speaker 2: So fascinating moving forward. But you got Otani this year
Speaker 2: for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And of course the regret is not getting it
Speaker 1: at twenty to one. But I think part of it
Speaker 1: is when you look at those numbers in the preseason,
Speaker 1: you like things and you go, yeah, but he's gotta
Speaker 1: hit a certain number of innings first, Like it's got
Speaker 1: to get to a point where you start to believe
Speaker 1: the narrative of the two way player, that it's not
Speaker 1: a gimmick, that it's a reality. And I feel like
Speaker 1: we got to a point where it's actually the reality
Speaker 1: with Otani, and then you started to see it go
Speaker 1: from twenty to fifteen to ten, and it kept going
Speaker 1: and going, and I said, all right, I can't wait
Speaker 1: anymore for this. But it stinks for Vlad because Vlats
Speaker 1: is having a transcendent breakout year that we've all been
Speaker 1: waiting for. The race that's kind of close in the
Speaker 1: American League, though, is not the MVP. It's the Saw
Speaker 1: Young Because you got lanceln at plus four hundred on
Speaker 1: betting pros that's a consensus number. You got carls renon
Speaker 1: plus two hundred, and of course Garrett Cole at the
Speaker 1: top at minus one thirty four, he is still the
Speaker 1: prohibit favorite, and with the Yankee struggles, do you think
Speaker 1: he should still be the prohibitive favorite. I know, Rodonn's
Speaker 1: kind of came out of nowhere and that's been a
Speaker 1: great story. And maybe if it weren't for Trey Mancini,
Speaker 1: maybe Comeback Player of the Year would be his award.
Speaker 1: But I think that one might be locked up for Trey.
Speaker 1: But what about Lance Linn. I keep kind of pounding
Speaker 1: the table for this guy because I feel like he
Speaker 1: doesn't get a lot of respect. The White Sox just
Speaker 1: extended him two more years. Do you see any value
Speaker 1: there putting plus four hundred over on lanceln for the
Speaker 1: sy in in the American League?
Speaker 2: Yeah, not really, not really. I think he profiles as
Speaker 2: a very good pitcher that it probably does not get
Speaker 2: the respect that he deserves because he's one of the
Speaker 2: few guys that gets very deep into the games. But
Speaker 2: Rodonna has the No hitter behind him, and I think
Speaker 2: that if it came down to those two, I think
Speaker 2: Rodnan would end up winning the cy Young. Look, We're
Speaker 2: gonna have to see what happens with Garrett Cole. It
Speaker 2: was a rocky first couple of starts after the non
Speaker 2: sticky stuff, but then even in the rain, he pitched
Speaker 2: really well last time out. So my guess is that
Speaker 2: it's gonna be between Cole and Rodin. And of course
Speaker 2: we still have seventy games to play, so anybody could
Speaker 2: jump into the mix at this point. But those are
Speaker 2: the names. I think that you nailed all the names
Speaker 2: that are possible.
Speaker 1: Now with those seventy games left to play, Let's talk
Speaker 1: a little bit of win totals here. Let's start with
Speaker 1: those Yankees where at ninety five and a half minus
Speaker 1: won twelve on the under on the over minus one ten.
Speaker 1: Your feelings on the Yankees right now and that number
Speaker 1: ninety five and a half, I know you know that
Speaker 1: injury to Tyra Glass now really change the dynamic. What
Speaker 1: the Rays look like without that true ace every fifth day.
Speaker 1: I think they're a very different team. Boston's played very well,
Speaker 1: the Toronto Blue Jays like they are going to be
Speaker 1: an up and coming team here in these last seventy
Speaker 1: games to deal with and contend with. And let's be honest,
Speaker 1: I mean, the Yankees have not played up to their abilities.
Speaker 1: So when you're looking at this team right now, do
Speaker 1: you think ninety five and a half. They are going
Speaker 1: to come close to that number this year, And do
Speaker 1: they have a run in them the way they're currently constituted.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think that they'll hit the ninety five.
Speaker 2: But the other part of this, too is that the
Speaker 2: better conversation is to do this on August first, because
Speaker 2: you just don't know which direction the Yankees are going
Speaker 2: to go and what they would add and how much
Speaker 2: that could add to what they have. So on paper, no,
Speaker 2: I don't think that they I don't think they win
Speaker 2: ninety games right now. But truthfully, Joe, the market is
Speaker 2: not going to dictate the outcome of this until the
Speaker 2: trade deadline comes and goes on the thirtieth. We really
Speaker 2: didn't have a genuine trade deadline last year. We played
Speaker 2: thirty days of baseball a trade deadline, and then go
Speaker 2: and run toward the rest of the season. This is
Speaker 2: going to be very different this year. Other thing that
Speaker 2: I would say is, unlike previous years, you're in a
Speaker 2: better position to know which teams are going to get
Speaker 2: better from both a reality and wagering standpoint than you
Speaker 2: ever have, Joe. We can actually identify the teams that
Speaker 2: are out this year, it's pretty easy to do. Usually
Speaker 2: everyone complains we don't know who's in and who's out.
Speaker 2: I think you do. I mean, you know who the
Speaker 2: teams of the National League pretty much are. The three
Speaker 2: teams of the National League West are going to get in.
Speaker 2: Cincinnati has fallen back, you could throw a dart them,
Speaker 2: but Milwaukee's the Central winner. And then look, the East
Speaker 2: is definitely a wreck and that's up for grabs. But
Speaker 2: you pretty much know everyone in the NL. You know
Speaker 2: the Astros are in in the AL. Boston would have
Speaker 2: to completely fall flat. I mean, you probably know that
Speaker 2: the good teams are gonna get better and the bad
Speaker 2: teams are gonna get worse.
Speaker 1: So where the Yankees are a buyer or seller?
Speaker 2: You think they always are buyers. They're never seller, So
Speaker 2: they'll buy something. I just don't know how far they'll go.
Speaker 1: All right, let's talk about the Astros since you mentioned
Speaker 1: them to eighty seven and a half. Is that number
Speaker 1: here minus one eighteen on the over, minus one ten
Speaker 1: on the under on consensus line at betting pros. So
Speaker 1: do you think with this Astros team lately? You've seen
Speaker 1: Lance mccullor's pitch very well. Garcia They've gotten a lot
Speaker 1: for Amber Valdez came back and was a house on
Speaker 1: fire and then kind of cooled off recently, maybe a
Speaker 1: little dead arm. I'm not sure what's going on there,
Speaker 1: but look, this team scores a ton of runs and
Speaker 1: they have a lot of depth. When they have guys
Speaker 1: like Christian Javier, they could throw in there if they
Speaker 1: have to into a rotation spot. Do you think the
Speaker 1: Astros run away with this division? You think eighty seven
Speaker 1: and a half is going to be their thing? Or
Speaker 1: do you think the A's are going to stay there
Speaker 1: all the way to the bitter end? With them?
Speaker 2: I think Houston will be a team that adds at
Speaker 2: the deadline, and I think that they are well positioned
Speaker 2: to even win the American League Pennant. So if I
Speaker 2: had to go one way or the other on them,
Speaker 2: it would be over the eighty seven. Remember, they're going
Speaker 2: to get a lot of games against Texas down the stretch.
Speaker 2: That's going to be pretty easy for them. The Rangers
Speaker 2: have looked horrible virtually from the start of the season,
Speaker 2: So Houston, some people feel like they have overachieved. I
Speaker 2: really don't think so. I feel like the talent has
Speaker 2: always been there. They just haven't all put it together
Speaker 2: since they won that World Series a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2: But it seems like the mental stuff is gone. They're
Speaker 2: going to get Alex Pregman back, They're gonna get Carlos
Speaker 2: Korea back. You mentioned the pitching. They're probably another starter
Speaker 2: away from getting over the top. But look, I mean,
Speaker 2: they're saying that Justin Verlander is not going to pitch
Speaker 2: this season. They're saying that, but talk to me on
Speaker 2: September first to see if that is really the case.
Speaker 2: And by the way, we haven't heard anything from him
Speaker 2: in a lot of PEP.
Speaker 1: I was gonna ask, you know, we've really you haven't heard,
Speaker 1: and usually there's some kind of well he's he's doing
Speaker 1: baseball activities, which I'm not even sure at this point
Speaker 1: what that is. I'm sure you can actually answer that
Speaker 1: question what baseball activities really mean. I don't know if
Speaker 1: that means like you're just playing RBI baseball Nintendo. I
Speaker 1: don't know if you just like trading baseball cars. But
Speaker 1: baseball activities, that's what we've got. Let's talk about the
Speaker 1: West of the National League, because you said three teams
Speaker 1: are gonna come out into the playoffs from there, ninety
Speaker 1: four and a half is the number for the Padres
Speaker 1: minus one twelve on the over, minus one ten on
Speaker 1: the under. For the Dodgers. That number is one oh
Speaker 1: two and a half, and that is minus one to
Speaker 1: eighteen minus one ten, so one oh two and a
Speaker 1: half for the Dodgers. For the Padres side, you got
Speaker 1: ninety four and a half. Any feelings one way or
Speaker 1: another about these two teams because the Dodgers clearly right
Speaker 1: now with the Bower issues going on with playt Kershaw's injury,
Speaker 1: we have Gavin Luck sitting the DL, and obviously we
Speaker 1: still have some questions regarding Mookie Bett's health too, which
Speaker 1: is not great. Bellinger has been terrible. Some no wonder
Speaker 1: a little bit. I know they keep winning games, but
Speaker 1: a little concerned with the Dodgers and the Padres feel
Speaker 1: like the opposite, even though they've had their hurdles. It
Speaker 1: feels to me like the Padres, you and I have
Speaker 1: said it, they're all in. They've got the goods in
Speaker 1: the minor league system to make a huge acquisition, be
Speaker 1: at a Barrios, be it a big time pitcher like that,
Speaker 1: maybe you could bring in and really change the dynamic
Speaker 1: of this rotation. Do you think ninety four and a
Speaker 1: half and the total for the Dodgers world two and
Speaker 1: a half is within their reach there? Do you like
Speaker 1: the over under if you had a lean on either.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well, with the Dodgers, it's the kind of thing
Speaker 2: where I still go back to the beginning of the
Speaker 2: season when I see a total of one hundred or over.
Speaker 2: There's just so much variance, Joe. In the last two
Speaker 2: weeks of the season. The Dodgers clearly are not playing
Speaker 2: for September. They're playing to win at all. We don't
Speaker 2: know how injured Clayton Kershaw is, Joe. There's a chance
Speaker 2: if they needed him the pitch, could he tomorrow maybe?
Speaker 2: But do they need him right now?
Speaker 1: No?
Speaker 2: And they've shown a propensity to just throw their guys
Speaker 2: on the injured list and let them sit for weeks.
Speaker 2: Bellinger has been out, Speaker's been out, Bets has been out,
Speaker 2: They've all been out, and they simply don't care. They
Speaker 2: just need to get themselves into a position at the
Speaker 2: end of September to fight with the Padres and fight
Speaker 2: with the Giants. So no real lean for me on
Speaker 2: the Dodgers, because I could honestly see them with ninety
Speaker 2: nine wins going into the last week of the season,
Speaker 2: winging them all or losing them all. Don't and I
Speaker 2: don't think that it will matter. I even think that
Speaker 2: they're okay with the wild card. I don't even think
Speaker 2: they care about the pas all that much. I lean
Speaker 2: under on the Padres, really under on the Padres too fast,
Speaker 2: you know. I think that everything has gone very well
Speaker 2: for them. I think that from a betting perspective, you
Speaker 2: got to be really careful about just buying into buzz
Speaker 2: and buying into excitement. And yes, the crowds are going crazy,
Speaker 2: and yes they're hitting Grand Slams, and yes, that's all fun.
Speaker 2: But do they have enough pitching?
Speaker 1: Like have we seen right now? No, I don't think.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think they do, and I'm not sure
Speaker 2: they will. So they've they've made a huge, you know,
Speaker 2: motion in the off season to add everything that they
Speaker 2: did in terms of pitching, and to be quite honest
Speaker 2: with you, I still don't think it's enough. Like Snell
Speaker 2: has not looked right you Darvish. Now we'll see. I
Speaker 2: mean he's coming off the injury list now, so that's
Speaker 2: gonna be a big key for them. Of course, Clevenger
Speaker 2: has been out for the year. Since the beginning of
Speaker 2: the year, Danelson Lamed's been on and off. The bullpen's
Speaker 2: been okay. So for me, I think the Padres are
Speaker 2: gonna get in. But I'm starting to think that the
Speaker 2: Giants are the better team. And I did not think
Speaker 2: I'd be saying that, But the Giants look very good
Speaker 2: at this point, and that's another club that all of
Speaker 2: a sudden is gonna be going for it here.
Speaker 1: I gotta say, I'm trying my best to start to
Speaker 1: believe in the Giants, but then I start reminding myself, well,
Speaker 1: second half buster posey.
Speaker 2: You know it's true.
Speaker 1: Does he went down? He's a catcher. Looking at the
Speaker 1: rest of these pitchers, the Alex Woods, and are they gonna
Speaker 1: stay healthy? Desko Finie gonna get enough from them? I
Speaker 1: don't know. Gosman's been great, and I do believe in Gosman,
Speaker 1: But does Alex Dickerson in the middle of that order, really,
Speaker 1: you know, screamed terrifying lineup protection.
Speaker 2: I guess that's true, that's true. But let me ask
Speaker 2: you this, did you think that the Giants were gonna
Speaker 2: win all those World Series with the squads that they
Speaker 2: had back then when they did that too.
Speaker 1: No, he had that one pitcher, and I don't know
Speaker 1: if Gosman could be what Bumgarner was, a guy who
Speaker 1: could pitch, you know, every two hours.
Speaker 2: It's fair, it's a fair assessment. But the thing with
Speaker 2: the Giants is that I would say that like the
Speaker 2: Contrarian too, that is that they're getting better now. It's
Speaker 2: not even like you could say, well, Craig, they've played
Speaker 2: five hundred baseball over the last month and it doesn't
Speaker 2: seem to be going very well, and they kind of
Speaker 2: got off to that great start. Like they're getting better,
Speaker 2: they're pulling away from teams. So at some point soon
Speaker 2: I think we have to start recognizing that they're just
Speaker 2: a good team. And who had Gabe Kapler winning manager
Speaker 2: of the Year.
Speaker 1: I don't think I had that on my Bengo card
Speaker 1: I got a check. Nope, did not have that one
Speaker 1: at all. Let's talk about the East since you mentioned
Speaker 1: them in the National League, because again de grom Lindor,
Speaker 1: you know, this is why he's a Mets fan. You
Speaker 1: can't have nice things. I always preface and you know,
Speaker 1: self loathing. This is why we are because the minute
Speaker 1: you start to feel good about something, you know you're
Speaker 1: looking forward to it. You come back from the All
Speaker 1: Star Break, Pi Alonso wins the home run derby, you're thinking, look,
Speaker 1: baseball's fun again. De gram is great. He's not even
Speaker 1: pitching the All Star Game because he cares so much
Speaker 1: about the team winning and all this blah blah blah,
Speaker 1: and to back here we are. Everybody's hurt again. This
Speaker 1: is tough. The number for the Mets ninety and a
Speaker 1: half minus one eighteen, minus one ten on the over,
Speaker 1: minus one eighteen on the under. So ninety and a
Speaker 1: half is that number for the Mets. The Mets continue
Speaker 1: to find ways to win games, yesterday being another bizarre one,
Speaker 1: A strange game in Cincinnati to say the least. I
Speaker 1: guess here's my question to you, Acunya out the Braves
Speaker 1: missing a ton of pieces, including now Ian Anderson on
Speaker 1: the aisle the Phillies. I don't know that bullpen's still trash.
Speaker 1: I think we could agree on that. Still looking at
Speaker 1: the rest of that rotation and have a lot of
Speaker 1: question marks the Nationals kicking around. Do you think that
Speaker 1: this is locked up? Is it the Mets and is
Speaker 1: ninety and a half the number. Can they sustain all
Speaker 1: these other injuries? Can they get Carrasco back? Can they
Speaker 1: just continue to pull rabbits out of their hat and
Speaker 1: hit this ninety nine and a half.
Speaker 2: Okay, So I look, we unfortunately, we can eliminate Miami.
Speaker 2: It's just they've they have not had aura you even
Speaker 2: ask you, they have. We got to eliminate Miami from it.
Speaker 2: My heart hurts, but that's just the true. I'm going
Speaker 2: to eliminate Washington from the conversation.
Speaker 1: I just I don't think thebourg recent setback.
Speaker 2: Look, they went on. They went on a three week
Speaker 2: run with the hottest player I may have ever seen
Speaker 2: in Kyle Schwarber, and that was their whole season. They're
Speaker 2: under five hundred. So let me ask you this, Okay,
Speaker 2: the Braves, the Braves, I'm in agreement with you there.
Speaker 2: I think too many injuries. I think they're trying to
Speaker 2: stay in it. I don't think that they will. I
Speaker 2: agree with you. You can't lose a guy like Akunya.
Speaker 2: Smiley has not been really great for them all season.
Speaker 2: Their acquisitions haven't worked out. Ozuna, you know, going off
Speaker 2: the deep end this year. All those things happen, I'll
Speaker 2: eliminate Atlanta from the conversation as well. So I would
Speaker 2: ask you this, Joe, Dave don Browski is the general
Speaker 2: manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, who has all who has
Speaker 2: been in this seat many times, with the Marlins, with
Speaker 2: the Tigers, with the Red Sox World Series. On all
Speaker 2: those three teams, I'm not saying the Phillies have a
Speaker 2: World Series seat. Do you think that on July thirty
Speaker 2: at Dave Don Browski is not going to go out
Speaker 2: and get some crazy to help them. If I told
Speaker 2: you that the Phillies got Craig Kimberl on July thirtieth
Speaker 2: and he was their closer, I think you, Joe would
Speaker 2: feel differently about the Phillies at that point, or any
Speaker 2: other closing by it, you would say, wow, okay, well,
Speaker 2: now maybe they have a guy to close out the
Speaker 2: Knife now. Anybody who they've gotten in the past has
Speaker 2: not worked out. It doesn't matter who the name is.
Speaker 2: Brandon Workman was phenomenal last year in the first half.
Speaker 2: He goes to Philadelphia can't pitch anymore. I'm not going
Speaker 2: to rule Philadelphia is a little bit of a strange team.
Speaker 2: They definitely have an odd clubhouse. It doesn't always seem
Speaker 2: to fit. But talent wise, you put Philadelphia's lineup against
Speaker 2: the Mets, it's there. You put their pitching, Philadelphia's pitching
Speaker 2: against the Mets when they're right Wheeler and Nola, it
Speaker 2: is there. They don't have the bullpen pieces, but this
Speaker 2: is a close enough. These two teams are close enough
Speaker 2: within the division that when they play each other, I
Speaker 2: think it's going to get decided. So for me, I
Speaker 2: still think the Mets have a good shot, but I
Speaker 2: will not rule out Philadelphia. I think that's the team
Speaker 2: that could catch them.
Speaker 1: You know what I mean, You certainly make a good
Speaker 1: case if Zach Wheeler especially can continue to pitch the
Speaker 1: way he has this year. No one's been erratic, that's
Speaker 1: the tough thing about. The only guy more erratic is
Speaker 1: Blake Snell. We just talked about what the padres. I mean,
Speaker 1: you look at those home road splits. He's got an
Speaker 1: era at home under two and on the road it's ten.
Speaker 1: I don't remember recent remembory seeing anything as crazy as that.
Speaker 1: That Yan Chen, Yeah, well way and Chen, I remember
Speaker 1: who there was another guy a couple of year, Lance
Speaker 1: mccullors had an era like that two years ago. It
Speaker 1: was just bizarre. He couldn't believe that the splits. So
Speaker 1: let's see how Craig feels about the Mets and the
Speaker 1: Phillies and some other teams. Here we get to the
Speaker 1: National League representation. Here, the Dodgers plus one seventy five
Speaker 1: to win the National League. The Mets are the next
Speaker 1: closest at plus four fifty, the Padres at plus four
Speaker 1: to forty. Then you've got six plus six hundred for
Speaker 1: the Milwaukee Brewers, plus seven for the Giants, and the
Speaker 1: Phillies plus twenty three hundred. So when you're looking right now,
Speaker 1: who do you think is the team that's going to
Speaker 1: come out of the National League? Because we all know
Speaker 1: getting into playoffs is one thing short series is, And
Speaker 1: can the Brewers' rotation handle the innings that are going
Speaker 1: to be out there, not just in the season, but
Speaker 1: then on top of that, can Freddy Peralta and Corbyn
Speaker 1: Burns continue to be that good when you cross over
Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty hundred and sixty innings because that's
Speaker 1: the pace they're going to be on. Is that enough
Speaker 1: in a short series with that lineup? Do you like
Speaker 1: the Mets? Do you like the Dodgers? Where you like
Speaker 1: to put your money for the National League?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll still take LA at almost two to one.
Speaker 2: I think there's still some value there. I think that
Speaker 2: the Dodgers will replace Bauer at the trade deadline. They're
Speaker 2: a very clear buyer, they Joe. They acquired you Darvish,
Speaker 2: remember that out of nowhere a couple of years ago,
Speaker 2: and they made a run with him. They're going to
Speaker 2: do something similar to that. Like you don't think Max
Speaker 2: Sure's are is going to be on the Dodgers, Joe?
Speaker 2: But would it shock you if Max Shus ended up
Speaker 2: on the Dodgers?
Speaker 1: And if your Max Sure's I can understand saying okay
Speaker 1: to that one. What about Charlie Morton? Another guy too
Speaker 1: may shock me?
Speaker 2: Maybe Charlie?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: On Atlanta? Yeah, I mean I don't know that Atlanta
Speaker 2: will be that far see Morton deal, Joe would probably
Speaker 2: happen like through the waivers on August thirty first? Is
Speaker 2: I think Atlanta? I mean, we're still we're only nine
Speaker 2: days away. I don't unless the Braves lose every game
Speaker 2: between now and then. The feeling I get is that
Speaker 2: they're still gonna fight for a while. People forget that
Speaker 2: other deadline. And that's a perfect example of a guy
Speaker 2: that could get traded, you know, right there, because he
Speaker 2: does have some money to pay. There are a lot of
Speaker 2: teams would just be like, what are we gonna do
Speaker 2: with this guy? We don't need him. So it's a
Speaker 2: good name, definitely, so, but more of a name I
Speaker 2: think for a month from now, I braves believe they
Speaker 2: still have a chance. We got to at least acknowledge that.
Speaker 1: All right, So the American League possibly more complicated. We
Speaker 1: have the Astros plus two hundred, the White Sox at
Speaker 1: plus three ten consensus betting line over at betting pros.
Speaker 1: On the Red Sox side, he got plus five to fifty,
Speaker 1: than Tampa plus seven hundred, the Oakland A's plus nine
Speaker 1: to fifty, and the Toronto Blue Jays ten to one.
Speaker 1: Which there's something about the Blue Jays, Craig and I
Speaker 1: don't know when they get back to Canada, if they're
Speaker 1: gonna have capacity seating, how that's going to work out
Speaker 1: eventually for them. But sometimes those young teams that just
Speaker 1: don't know they're not supposed to be there, they are
Speaker 1: incredibly dangerous they're finally gonna get George Springer here, the
Speaker 1: George Springer we hope here in the second half that
Speaker 1: they were hoping in the first half healthy. You see
Speaker 1: the lineup, You see what FLA's doing. Robbie Ray has
Speaker 1: been a revelation. I mean, how good has he been
Speaker 1: this season? Ree's pitching a little better. I know, Minoa
Speaker 1: just went on the il. The Blue Jay is kind
Speaker 1: of a fun one to just throw some darts at.
Speaker 1: Maybe at the end, if they can get hot, can
Speaker 1: they add another starting pitcher or is it just down
Speaker 1: to the favorites like the White Sox and the Astros,
Speaker 1: Because I look at the White Sox, they get Lja
Speaker 1: Menez back healthy and Robert back healthy. That you know
Speaker 1: that staff of pitchers that to me is the toughest
Speaker 1: out in the American League, incorting to a small series,
Speaker 1: a short series with three arms. So what do you
Speaker 1: think the American League winner is going to be.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's fun to talk about the Blue Jays, but
Speaker 2: I think you're burning the money. You know, the other
Speaker 2: night they lost what thirteen and nothing to Boston. You
Speaker 2: don't win a World Series with like that. Like they're
Speaker 2: pitching is just not good enough, and look, it may
Speaker 2: be a different story next year, and hitting is something
Speaker 2: that is sort of sustainable, where you could see all
Speaker 2: of their guys that are hitting and having springer for
Speaker 2: a full year. Next year, you could see the Blue
Speaker 2: and the Blue Jays being home and being good like
Speaker 2: all those things. I can see they do not have
Speaker 2: enough this year. By the way, they do not have
Speaker 2: enough in the back end of the bullpen too. So
Speaker 2: I could see them being fun, making a run, great
Speaker 2: to be in Canada, maybe making the postseason, maybe being
Speaker 2: a wild card. But no, I do not see them
Speaker 2: winning the World Series or even winning the American Link.
Speaker 2: I think there are much better teams there, So I
Speaker 2: guess my focus probably would be either on Houston in
Speaker 2: the West or the White Sox in the Central. I
Speaker 2: think it's fair to think that one of those two
Speaker 2: teams will do it. Listen, I was completely wrong on Boston.
Speaker 2: I didn't think they'd be anything near what they are.
Speaker 2: I still can't figure it out. They have no pitching whatsoever,
Speaker 2: and yet they have one of the best records in baseball.
Speaker 2: So shame on me for not knowing that.
Speaker 1: One an think it's shame on you or I don't
Speaker 1: think anybody could have expected what happens Boston this year.
Speaker 1: And Nadia Valdi's been very good. Usually he's incredibly hittable,
Speaker 1: and you've gotten some gutty performances from some of the
Speaker 1: other pitchers. But I mean, who knows when they get
Speaker 1: Chris saleback how good he could probably be. We'll see.
Speaker 1: But that's an addition that, you know, Tommy John, these
Speaker 1: guys come back and it's not velocity. It never goes well,
Speaker 1: no it doesn't, but it's never velocity. When they all say, well,
Speaker 1: VLOSSI looks good, I'm like, well, that's fine, but what's
Speaker 1: the feel for pitching? That to me is always the
Speaker 1: big problem.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, the data from the last I saw the
Speaker 2: other day. The data from the last five like solid
Speaker 2: pitchers that came off Tommy John and came back in
Speaker 2: the second half of the season, none of them were
Speaker 2: good zero zip none like no good stats.
Speaker 1: Every year people draft them in fantasy, going, oh, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna have this Ace comeback in July or August. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be so huge, right, I don't know why people
Speaker 1: do that. All right, So where do you go for
Speaker 1: the champion? Right now? I know it's only the end
Speaker 1: of July. We still got to and change left in
Speaker 1: terms of months to play. I'm still feeling those White
Speaker 1: Sox man. I just think that White Sox team's got
Speaker 1: a lot of pitching, a lot of allent, very deep
Speaker 1: lineup when they're healthy, and they're getting healthier. And that's
Speaker 1: another team too. That's staggering. Think about the injuries when
Speaker 1: you talk about the Mets injuries, how about the White
Speaker 1: Sox injuries this year? The things that they've had to overcome,
Speaker 1: and yet here they are just blowing away the competition
Speaker 1: in that division. Who do you like? You like the
Speaker 1: Dodgers plus three ninety, you got the Astros plus four
Speaker 1: fifty to one at all, the White Sox for plus
Speaker 1: seven fifty with that pitching, and then after that the Padres,
Speaker 1: Mets and Red Sox. So right now, who do you
Speaker 1: think is the favorite? Is it the Dodgers after all?
Speaker 1: Or do you think somebody else, like maybe the villainous
Speaker 1: Houston Astros us against the world might be the better wager?
Speaker 2: Yeah, boy, it's so boring to take the favorite. And
Speaker 2: you know me, and you've known me long enough, and
Speaker 2: you know me long enough not to take the favorite
Speaker 2: it greates you.
Speaker 1: I'm actually shocked you even went to the Dodge to
Speaker 1: the National League.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I am so scared they're going to end up
Speaker 2: with somebody really good next week. Yeah, I'm really you know,
Speaker 2: it's just when you're when you're there and you've been
Speaker 2: in the war and you've won the World Series and
Speaker 2: then you got to the World Series and everyone expects
Speaker 2: you to be there. You have that obligation, Joe, to
Speaker 2: get better. And this is a team that does it.
Speaker 2: Like they really look like almost the old Yankees to
Speaker 2: a degree, Joe like almost them. Like they go out
Speaker 2: and they say, oh, you know, this may look like
Speaker 2: it's enough, but no, let's just go ahead and get
Speaker 2: the best player at some position. So what is the answer, Like,
Speaker 2: who are they going to get? I don't know, and
Speaker 2: I wish I could tell you, But your sure, there's
Speaker 2: the thing that I brought up. I was just kidding.
Speaker 2: By the way, I don't think he's gonna get traded.
Speaker 2: I think he's gonna stay in Washington. But I feel
Speaker 2: like LA will fortify and they'll add some major pieces
Speaker 2: to their team, and I think they have a great
Speaker 2: shot to win the World Series again. I just don't
Speaker 2: like any team in the American League. The White Sox
Speaker 2: are good. They could get there for sure, but to
Speaker 2: win to win it all, I don't know. Also, the
Speaker 2: other thing I want to say, you're totally right that
Speaker 2: the White Socks have overcome injuries, but and you follow
Speaker 2: it every day, but like we could go through all
Speaker 2: thirty teams, and yes, there are a lot of teams
Speaker 2: that have not overcome injuries, but everybody has like five
Speaker 2: or six injuries.
Speaker 1: Sure, it's insane, but I look at they lost Magical
Speaker 1: for the year, They lost to Lloyd before the season started.
Speaker 1: They lose Robert right, you know as the season began. Uh,
Speaker 1: and I Bray. You everyone's complaining about a Bray You
Speaker 1: mean lot. You look at the numbers, it's still pretty
Speaker 1: darn good. He's still at the top they do. And
Speaker 1: you look at that lineup some days and you go,
Speaker 1: who are these guys that they're throwing out there? You know?
Speaker 1: And they continue to just show up in the pitching matters.
Speaker 1: I mean, in short series, you throw Gilito, Lynn Rodin Kikeel.
Speaker 1: That's a pretty it.
Speaker 2: Sounds good, it sounds good, but is it good enough
Speaker 2: to beat l A. I'm not sure.
Speaker 1: We shall find out, all right, last question for you,
Speaker 1: then I'll let you go your gut instincts. Do we
Speaker 1: see Trevor Bauer pitch again in twenty twenty one?
Speaker 2: For the doctors, it's like a such a loaded question.
Speaker 2: It's like and by the way, this is And sometimes
Speaker 2: I can tell you with information, and sometimes I can
Speaker 2: tell you that I'm guessing. But I would guess no,
Speaker 2: I would guess no. I just I don't know enough
Speaker 2: about the situation. All I'm doing is reading along with
Speaker 2: with everybody else. But give given the nature of how
Speaker 2: Major League Baseball has chosen to handle these sort of cases,
Speaker 2: which is basically, hey, we uh, you know, we're gonna
Speaker 2: we're gonna shut this down. We're gonna figure out and
Speaker 2: then we'll go ahead and delegate. Whether or not you
Speaker 2: agree with that, that's not up for me. But I
Speaker 2: do think that that's the way that Baseball is going
Speaker 2: to handle this thing. And no, I mean I just
Speaker 2: don't think that. I just don't. I don't think so.
Speaker 2: But better indication will be next week, Joe, if they
Speaker 2: go ahead and get a big starting pitcher. What does
Speaker 2: that tell you?
Speaker 1: It tells me exactly the answer to that question. There
Speaker 1: you have it. You can follow him on the Twitter
Speaker 1: machine at Craig Mish and of course check him out
Speaker 1: every day on Sports Grid from twelve to see you
Speaker 1: on Fantasy Sports Today of course covering the Marlins, and
Speaker 1: with me on Sunday mornings. Starting soon in a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks, my goodness, it's gonna be Football Time Sports
Speaker 1: Today Sunday edition with Matt Striker, myself and Craig Mish. Greig,
Speaker 1: we appreciate your time as always. I know you're busy,
Speaker 1: so get out to the ballpark. I know you always
Speaker 1: got somewhere to be, so that'll do it for us.
Speaker 1: But the story of the game goes on for Craig Mish,
Speaker 1: I'm Joey P. We'll see you next time. Kids became