WEBVTT - The Rays Are Good...REALLY Good 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:16.300 It's time to raise the roof for our latest regular 0:00:16.320 --> 0:00:18.600 season episode. Welcome back to the pod, everyone. I'm your host, 0:00:18.660 --> 0:00:23.040 Alex Murphy. With me today, my co-host, Gibby. Gibby, it's 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:26.320 been a bit. We have the start of college football season. 0:00:27.060 --> 0:00:28.580 We have the start of the NFL, which I don't 0:00:28.600 --> 0:00:30.860 think that a lot of Bucs fans are excited about 0:00:30.910 --> 0:00:35.209 because of what happened on Sunday. But hockey's coming up. 0:00:35.290 --> 0:00:37.970 And then, of course, everything going on with the race. 0:00:37.990 --> 0:00:38.910 How you doing? How you been? 0:00:40.250 --> 0:00:44.650 I've been pretty good, Alex. You know, it's been... Uh, yeah, 0:00:44.670 --> 0:00:47.669 that Sunday game with the box. That was interesting. That 0:00:47.690 --> 0:00:52.150 was very interesting from Baker there. Um, and that's all 0:00:52.210 --> 0:00:54.840 I'll say about that. I didn't actually get to watch 0:00:54.850 --> 0:00:57.700 the game cause it's not the race game, but there, 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.500 there was people around me watching the game and it 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:03.620 was kind of funny just to hear them going, Oh, 0:01:04.420 --> 0:01:05.060 what the heck? 0:01:05.700 --> 0:01:06.640 What the heck Baker? 0:01:07.740 --> 0:01:10.040 It was all around the stadium. So that was kind 0:01:10.060 --> 0:01:14.050 of funny. But, uh, Yeah, I mean, it's a great 0:01:14.090 --> 0:01:18.630 time for Tampa Bay sports. I mean, they just released 0:01:18.670 --> 0:01:20.010 the hockey jerseys, dude. 0:01:20.050 --> 0:01:25.420 These go hard. These go especially hard. Kudos and shout-out 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.920 to the Rays marketing department on the giveaways this year. 0:01:28.940 --> 0:01:32.160 All of them have been great, and I know that 0:01:32.300 --> 0:01:35.040 even the Flappy Boy one, even though that hasn't– I 0:01:35.080 --> 0:01:36.820 don't know if it's in yet. I don't know what 0:01:36.860 --> 0:01:39.560 the vibes are because technically– this series against the A's 0:01:39.620 --> 0:01:42.180 is when fans are supposed to be able to redeem those, 0:01:43.940 --> 0:01:46.860 the free ticket vouchers that they got for the giveaway 0:01:46.920 --> 0:01:49.190 back in August. And I do have one of those 0:01:49.220 --> 0:01:50.480 that I will be giving away to one of you 0:01:50.530 --> 0:01:54.370 guys because I don't live in Tampa, so it's kind 0:01:54.390 --> 0:01:56.950 of hard for me to get there. But one of 0:01:56.970 --> 0:01:59.730 you guys will get those. But yeah, I mean, even that, 0:01:59.790 --> 0:02:02.850 like the shirt was kind of like quickly put together. 0:02:02.890 --> 0:02:03.570 The shirt was still nice. 0:02:04.350 --> 0:02:08.079 Yeah, I mean, it was, yeah. They've been doing well 0:02:08.100 --> 0:02:10.820 with the Kid Boys. I think the Flappy Boys will 0:02:10.860 --> 0:02:15.450 be available this whole series. That'll be fun. 0:02:16.850 --> 0:02:19.830 I will say, going off what Gibby was saying, the 0:02:19.850 --> 0:02:25.589 hockey jersey's clean. The windbreaker, clean. I have a couple 0:02:25.610 --> 0:02:27.810 of those that I'll be giving away as our other co-host, 0:02:28.290 --> 0:02:31.440 Evan Lynch, joins. Evan, where are you at right now? 0:02:32.970 --> 0:02:35.090 No, what's up, fellas? I am in Germany on a 0:02:35.150 --> 0:02:38.680 work trip. Well, vacation last week and then work trip 0:02:38.700 --> 0:02:42.860 this week in Berlin. So pretty cool week. I haven't 0:02:42.940 --> 0:02:44.930 been able to watch much race baseball. I saw the 0:02:44.970 --> 0:02:46.790 game on Sunday since it. 0:02:46.770 --> 0:02:47.369 Was a day game. 0:02:48.050 --> 0:02:50.460 Six hours ahead over here, so it's tough to, you know, 0:02:50.660 --> 0:02:54.720 middle of the night. But I don't want to interrupt. 0:02:55.460 --> 0:02:57.320 Like a week and a half, 11 days. 0:02:57.340 --> 0:02:58.359 That's pretty good. 0:02:58.940 --> 0:03:00.380 I woke up in the middle of the night. I 0:03:00.419 --> 0:03:01.760 didn't see it live, but I woke up in the 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:04.470 middle of the night, saw the junior home run. Took 0:03:04.490 --> 0:03:06.110 me a little bit to go back to sleep. That 0:03:06.130 --> 0:03:08.989 was sick. That was, oh, I'm blown. I missed that 0:03:09.030 --> 0:03:11.669 home run. I'm blown. I missed that live. 0:03:11.710 --> 0:03:14.010 So that would have happened, just trying to do the 0:03:14.050 --> 0:03:15.450 math here, that would have happened. 0:03:15.250 --> 0:03:18.239 At what, like, it's probably 4 a.m yeah like three 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:22.760 or four a.m yeah woke up you know uh woke 0:03:22.820 --> 0:03:24.460 up to a bunch of texts and i was like 0:03:24.500 --> 0:03:27.000 dang that was sick but i'd rather have it happen 0:03:27.040 --> 0:03:29.160 than it not happen so. 0:03:29.540 --> 0:03:32.440 Also very true awesome well yeah so we are pretty 0:03:32.470 --> 0:03:35.210 much everywhere raise the roof is global if you guys 0:03:35.250 --> 0:03:39.170 didn't know uh in this case literally global considering that 0:03:39.230 --> 0:03:42.720 evan's uh in europe right now but i. 0:03:42.820 --> 0:03:44.820 I've seen a couple race i saw a race hat 0:03:44.860 --> 0:03:48.540 on my flight over to munich and then when i 0:03:48.580 --> 0:03:50.420 was checking into my or i don't know what i 0:03:50.460 --> 0:03:52.600 was doing but somebody checking into the hotel that i'm 0:03:52.650 --> 0:03:55.390 in was wearing a race hat too so two two 0:03:55.470 --> 0:04:00.010 race hats let's go in germany so hell yeah. 0:04:00.470 --> 0:04:03.090 We are hey we're doing it's crazy we're doing great 0:04:03.190 --> 0:04:05.410 we are doing great as a fan base and of 0:04:05.490 --> 0:04:08.030 course with the team getting to the playoffs where where 0:04:08.110 --> 0:04:11.610 it's even better um In this episode, I really don't 0:04:11.630 --> 0:04:14.290 want to talk as much about like, I mean, the 0:04:14.310 --> 0:04:15.550 team has been doing great recently. 0:04:15.570 --> 0:04:18.270 They just swept the Astros. It's their 15th sweep of 0:04:18.310 --> 0:04:21.990 the season, which is absurd that they've had that many 0:04:22.050 --> 0:04:26.600 sweeps already. But I think we should, I mean, we've 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:29.060 already kind of said it as like in our group 0:04:29.100 --> 0:04:31.279 chat and all that stuff about like how wrong we were. 0:04:31.860 --> 0:04:34.040 to start the season out just based on what this 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:36.260 team looked like coming into the season. Now, it looks 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:39.460 drastically different now than it looked then. I will say that. 0:04:39.820 --> 0:04:41.700 There's a lot of pieces that have been added to 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:43.880 the mix that have made this team better. But, like, 0:04:44.400 --> 0:04:47.640 how crazy is it that this team made the playoffs 0:04:47.680 --> 0:04:49.160 and are as good as they are right now? 0:04:50.100 --> 0:04:54.250 Yeah, it's absolutely crazy. I mean, the Yankees have been 0:04:54.290 --> 0:04:56.900 trying to catch up for a while now. And, I mean, 0:04:57.020 --> 0:05:00.909 we've just kept that four-game distance from them for the last, like, 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:04.300 three weeks. And so they've just been, they've been pulling, 0:05:04.339 --> 0:05:08.080 they've been balling out. So, uh, the raise has been great. 0:05:08.190 --> 0:05:11.110 I mean, the defense has all been there. Uh, offense 0:05:11.210 --> 0:05:14.589 comes when it needs to, and then explode sometimes like 0:05:14.610 --> 0:05:19.010 this last year, this last game, uh, against the Astros. So, 0:05:19.150 --> 0:05:23.400 I mean, yeah. And it's another freaking sweep, Alex. I mean, 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:27.040 that's like what you said, 15th sweep of the season. 0:05:27.220 --> 0:05:32.390 It's crazy. I mean, we've never swept that many people, uh, Ever, 0:05:32.710 --> 0:05:36.919 I don't feel like. So, kudos to Cash, of course. 0:05:37.080 --> 0:05:43.140 I mean, he's really managed his team well. And he's 0:05:43.600 --> 0:05:49.180 been very good in terms of letting Snyder help him 0:05:49.220 --> 0:05:53.300 manage the pitchers and himself managing the pitchers and the 0:05:53.339 --> 0:05:58.320 roster itself. So, I mean, it's been fantastic just watching, 0:05:58.790 --> 0:06:02.240 you know, the last few weeks. I mean, there's been 0:06:02.250 --> 0:06:04.680 a few times where we struggled a little bit, but 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:08.380 then they just win three games in a row right after. So, 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:12.659 I mean, it doesn't really end up mattering. So, kudos 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.160 to the Rays, and the front office has been great. 0:06:15.380 --> 0:06:17.420 And every new addition, I mean, I just want to 0:06:17.460 --> 0:06:20.539 give it to Freddie Peralta as well, because, I mean, 0:06:20.580 --> 0:06:23.680 he's really turned it around in his last three starts. 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:26.900 I mean, insane. I mean, he's going to get himself 0:06:27.300 --> 0:06:31.210 a new He's winning himself millions and millions of dollars 0:06:31.960 --> 0:06:35.159 just every time he pitches just because that's what the 0:06:35.220 --> 0:06:37.780 Rays told him. It's like, we can fix you and 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:40.660 we can get you more money. It might not be 0:06:40.700 --> 0:06:44.100 from us, but we can get you more money. And 0:06:44.339 --> 0:06:47.840 as a player, when a team tells you some sort 0:06:47.860 --> 0:06:52.300 of thing like that, it's very motivating. It makes you 0:06:52.339 --> 0:06:55.390 feel like they're on your side and they're going to 0:06:55.440 --> 0:07:00.560 try to get you the best opportunity possible after their 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:05.260 rental period. So it's been great. It's been great watching 0:07:05.300 --> 0:07:09.020 these last few weeks. So I'm very excited for the playoffs. 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:12.180 And yes, I didn't see it coming. I didn't see 0:07:12.260 --> 0:07:15.880 us this ingrained in being the first team to clinch 0:07:15.930 --> 0:07:21.190 the playoffs in the entire MLB. So it was kind 0:07:21.310 --> 0:07:22.670 of surreal, kind of crazy. 0:07:23.490 --> 0:07:26.760 Yeah, I mean, I've said it about 20 times how 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:28.660 wrong I was at the beginning of the season. And 0:07:28.700 --> 0:07:32.280 I'll continue to say it another 50 times. Um, I 0:07:32.300 --> 0:07:35.100 did forget. I, I'm wearing my race hat, this, this 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:36.810 over here in Germany. So I guess there's three people 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:41.390 I've seen, including myself, where it raised, raised stuff. But, um, yeah, 0:07:41.410 --> 0:07:43.850 I mean, I couldn't be more wrong. I've, I've, once again, 0:07:43.870 --> 0:07:47.160 I've said it 20 times. I, I, predicted this team 0:07:47.180 --> 0:07:50.500 to be dead last in the AL East. I thought 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:51.930 the Blue Jays were going to be much better. I 0:07:51.950 --> 0:07:54.150 thought the Orioles were going to be much better. I mean, 0:07:54.170 --> 0:07:56.970 the Red Sox have turned it around, but I didn't 0:07:56.990 --> 0:07:58.750 think they'd be that bad to start the season off. 0:07:58.770 --> 0:07:59.810 They're still a really good team. 0:08:00.810 --> 0:08:04.410 The Blue Jays have been really disappointing. I think harping on, like, they, 0:08:04.510 --> 0:08:06.810 I mean, we thought they were going to be, like, 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:09.880 another World Series contender. It took Vlad until yesterday to 0:08:09.900 --> 0:08:12.900 hit his first home run at home this entire season. 0:08:13.000 --> 0:08:13.380 He did it. 0:08:13.950 --> 0:08:19.530 Yeah, 75 games into the home schedule. He finally like 0:08:20.550 --> 0:08:23.800 we didn't expect. I mean, considering what Vlad did last year, 0:08:23.810 --> 0:08:26.700 what he's done before. We didn't I don't think anyone 0:08:26.780 --> 0:08:30.760 expected him to hit like six bombs this year. Like 0:08:30.820 --> 0:08:33.380 things like that. I mean, that's like I guess there's 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:35.380 so many variables to it. But go on with what 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:35.699 you're saying. 0:08:36.420 --> 0:08:40.109 No. And I mean, they were what? a centimeter away 0:08:40.150 --> 0:08:42.069 from winning the world series last year. There were two 0:08:42.170 --> 0:08:44.990 outs away. Then they became a centimeter away. Like, and 0:08:45.010 --> 0:08:47.370 they only got, I mean, they lost Bichette, but they 0:08:47.390 --> 0:08:49.449 got Dylan cease. I mean, they gave him a ton 0:08:49.470 --> 0:08:52.530 of money. He's been, and he's been really good. It's 0:08:52.570 --> 0:08:54.250 not like he's been a disappointment. He's lived up to 0:08:54.270 --> 0:08:58.030 the contract. So I think for good reason, we, I mean, 0:08:58.650 --> 0:09:01.100 I was definitely wrong about it, but I thought, I 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:02.900 thought they were going to be better. I thought the Orioles, 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:04.859 I mean, Pete Alonzo has been a phenomenal addition to 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:07.140 that team, but other than that, once again, their pitching 0:09:07.179 --> 0:09:10.140 has been disappointing. the rest of the team honestly has 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:14.309 been disappointing. So I was very wrong about that. The Ray, 0:09:14.330 --> 0:09:16.910 the rays have taken advantage of a weaker AL not, 0:09:17.170 --> 0:09:20.130 not to discredit what they've done, but they have, they've 0:09:20.150 --> 0:09:21.890 gone out there, they beat who they're supposed to beat. 0:09:22.490 --> 0:09:25.980 And I think, I think a really good sign of 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:28.820 how good this team is, is the game on Saturday, 0:09:29.600 --> 0:09:33.040 like the game on Friday, obviously emotional junior hits his 0:09:33.059 --> 0:09:37.450 first walk-off hit, let alone home run. um 40th home 0:09:37.470 --> 0:09:40.310 run of the season clinched the playoff spot they were 0:09:40.350 --> 0:09:42.250 drinking and they were having a good time which they 0:09:42.270 --> 0:09:45.220 deserve and i was kind of fully expecting saturday for 0:09:45.240 --> 0:09:47.819 them to come back and you know layer stinker they're 0:09:47.840 --> 0:09:50.860 playing the astros good team leading the division didn't expect 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:54.300 them to win that and after we lost on thursday 0:09:54.350 --> 0:09:59.150 I think we were three games up because the Yankees 0:09:59.190 --> 0:10:00.870 won Friday. So we were three games up. So it 0:10:00.890 --> 0:10:03.270 was like, like, we can't really lose. Like, we can't 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:06.500 afford to lose any games. So I was going into Saturday, 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:08.420 assuming we'd kind of come out of that day with 0:10:08.460 --> 0:10:11.260 a two game lead. And we came back. We I mean, 0:10:11.700 --> 0:10:14.359 we won the game. and the Yankees lost. So we went, 0:10:14.380 --> 0:10:15.800 got back up to four games. So I don't know. 0:10:15.820 --> 0:10:17.420 I think that's a sign of a really good team 0:10:17.460 --> 0:10:19.740 and that they were able to celebrate making the playoffs, 0:10:19.780 --> 0:10:22.780 but also realize that there's bigger aspirations and we need 0:10:22.820 --> 0:10:25.200 to still, you know, keep our foot on the gas 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.010 pedal and not let the Yankees get any closer, which 0:10:28.590 --> 0:10:31.890 I mean, we haven't, we obviously they're, they've gotten a 0:10:31.950 --> 0:10:33.950 half game closer cause we didn't play last night, but 0:10:33.970 --> 0:10:38.349 that's not in our control. And I mean, three and 0:10:38.370 --> 0:10:41.650 a half games with what we have 10 games to play, 0:10:41.670 --> 0:10:45.270 I think. Or no, 13 games to play is a lot. 0:10:45.670 --> 0:10:46.530 It's a lot. 0:10:46.910 --> 0:10:49.350 It's a lot of games. If we go 500, we 0:10:49.390 --> 0:10:53.430 should be fine. Tough schedule. But yeah, I couldn't have 0:10:53.450 --> 0:10:58.079 been more wrong. This team is continuing to prove me wrong. 0:10:58.140 --> 0:11:01.500 And the top three hitters of this team is probably 0:11:01.520 --> 0:11:06.059 the best three-hitter stretch that we've ever had. Like I 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:07.680 looked yesterday, I think we have four of the top 0:11:07.730 --> 0:11:10.710 five hit leaders in the AL, which I don't think 0:11:10.730 --> 0:11:15.220 we've ever done that before. But yeah, Cash has been awesome. 0:11:15.240 --> 0:11:17.500 Pitching staff has been awesome. Freddie, love to see his 0:11:17.540 --> 0:11:21.660 bounce back. And yeah, that's enough yapping from me. 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:24.230 No, all of what you're saying is true. And I 0:11:24.260 --> 0:11:26.150 think it's important to note that a lot of these people, 0:11:26.510 --> 0:11:28.510 like I've seen some people taking victory laps and things 0:11:28.550 --> 0:11:31.510 like that about how just well the team has gone 0:11:31.570 --> 0:11:33.989 and they expected the team to do that. I don't 0:11:34.090 --> 0:11:36.809 think that anyone expected the team to do what they're doing. 0:11:36.870 --> 0:11:41.569 Like to expect... uh, Nick Martinez to be one of 0:11:41.630 --> 0:11:44.500 the best pitchers in the American league. I understand he 0:11:44.530 --> 0:11:46.819 was tinkering with some stuff. He was toying with some 0:11:46.860 --> 0:11:50.540 stuff in spring training, but to expect him to have 0:11:50.580 --> 0:11:54.220 a sub three ERA this season to be, uh, probably 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:57.480 outside of Jurassic and the best pitcher on this team. Um, 0:11:58.140 --> 0:12:02.140 like no one, I think realistically expected that. I think 0:12:02.179 --> 0:12:04.360 people were like, Oh, if he gives you like a three, five, 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:07.420 that's good. I don't, I don't think anyone expected this. Um, 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.559 what's it called, Ian Seymour basically being one of the 0:12:11.600 --> 0:12:15.850 best strikeout pitchers in all of baseball despite throwing like 93. 0:12:15.850 --> 0:12:20.750 I can guarantee you no one expected that because I 0:12:20.809 --> 0:12:22.809 know that lefties are good when it comes to being 0:12:22.890 --> 0:12:26.329 able to manipulate pitches and changing levels and things like that. 0:12:26.410 --> 0:12:30.099 But knowing how fast the speed of baseball is now 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:34.760 and how fast pitchers throw, someone like that. I don't 0:12:34.860 --> 0:12:36.900 know if anyone expected him to have the kind of 0:12:36.940 --> 0:12:39.000 success that he has, and he's striking out 10 guys 0:12:39.040 --> 0:12:42.780 a game. Ryan Valade having the kind of impact that 0:12:42.820 --> 0:12:46.040 he had. I think some people expected him to be 0:12:46.220 --> 0:12:48.200 a solid bench piece, but I don't know if they 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:49.920 expected him to be this good of a bench piece. 0:12:51.330 --> 0:12:53.450 I don't know if anyone thought that Victor Mesa Jr. 0:12:53.490 --> 0:12:55.610 was going to come up into this team at any 0:12:55.690 --> 0:12:59.610 point this season, and he's become the best outfielder on 0:12:59.650 --> 0:13:03.290 this team right now. He has shown I mean, the 0:13:03.330 --> 0:13:07.290 defense has been great. The power's been there. His versatility 0:13:07.390 --> 0:13:09.870 around the field has been there. Like, he's played himself 0:13:09.929 --> 0:13:13.720 into a starting spot after essentially being neglected in Miami. 0:13:13.740 --> 0:13:16.080 I know he got a little bit of run last year, 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:19.420 but he was DFA'd. He was thrown to the wolves 0:13:19.460 --> 0:13:21.940 in the race, basically just tossed the Marlins a prospect 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:23.880 and said, hey, we'll take him and see what happens. 0:13:24.540 --> 0:13:29.190 I don't think anyone expected that. After how up and 0:13:29.230 --> 0:13:32.690 down Brian Baker was last season, There's no way that 0:13:32.770 --> 0:13:35.910 anyone expected him to become the best reliever closer in 0:13:36.450 --> 0:13:42.070 the American League. There's no shot. 40 saves, seventh time 0:13:42.110 --> 0:13:45.740 that a Rays reliever has ever recorded 40 saves in 0:13:45.780 --> 0:13:49.400 a season. Kevin Kelly was the worst reliever in terms 0:13:49.440 --> 0:13:51.300 of a full sample size on the Rays last year 0:13:51.340 --> 0:13:54.440 by a wide margin. I don't think anyone thought he 0:13:54.480 --> 0:13:57.300 was going to come back and become like a top 0:13:57.300 --> 0:14:01.270 15 reliever in the AL. There's so many pieces like 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:05.179 that that were so many unknowns. I mean, look at 0:14:05.640 --> 0:14:08.300 what the middle infield situation has looked like the entire 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:11.260 year of them trying to juggle Taylor Walls and them 0:14:11.740 --> 0:14:15.579 trying to juggle Richie Palacios and Ben Williamson. And, you know, 0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:20.280 Valades played second base at times. I mean, Richie's got 0:14:20.320 --> 0:14:25.480 double-digit homers this year. Like, did anyone expect that? Different 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:28.800 things like that. There's so many complementary pieces of this. 0:14:29.300 --> 0:14:31.880 Was that after the home run that he just hit? 0:14:31.900 --> 0:14:33.340 That's just what he does every time. 0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:36.370 He always points with his bat. 0:14:37.030 --> 0:14:39.410 Dude, his swing is pretty. 0:14:39.610 --> 0:14:43.350 I love his swing. It's the most underrated swing. It's 0:14:43.370 --> 0:14:45.390 the most underrated swing. 0:14:46.090 --> 0:14:50.650 I continue to owe him apologies, too, because I've kind 0:14:50.710 --> 0:14:52.850 of said that he's kind of the odd man out, 0:14:52.910 --> 0:14:56.400 and he's had an unbelievable last two or three to him. 0:14:57.570 --> 0:15:01.510 Two or three weeks to a month, honestly. He's been awesome. 0:15:02.010 --> 0:15:03.530 He did have a brutal stretch, though. 0:15:03.770 --> 0:15:06.630 He had a really bad stretch. 0:15:06.650 --> 0:15:10.960 His last month, he's been really solid. Great job, Richie. 0:15:11.060 --> 0:15:16.140 Richie being as good as he's been. Shane being a 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:19.580 usable pitcher and a solid pitcher. I know he's hurt, 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:23.220 but someone that can go out and give you innings 0:15:23.280 --> 0:15:25.580 and be a solid pitcher. I don't know what people 0:15:25.600 --> 0:15:28.080 were expecting out of Shane to start the season. I 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.180 think him just going out there and pitching in a 0:15:30.220 --> 0:15:32.580 general sense was a good thing. But he gave the 0:15:32.640 --> 0:15:36.160 Rays like a 3-2-3-3 ERA. He was able to be effective. 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.240 There's so many variables with this team that have all 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:45.450 hit at the right time. And this includes things that 0:15:45.510 --> 0:15:47.870 haven't hit as much. I mean, Hunter Fiducia, I know 0:15:47.890 --> 0:15:50.280 they tried to make They tried to turn him into 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.580 a thing, a catcher. That didn't work out. But guess what? 0:15:52.620 --> 0:15:54.960 Neander went out into the trade market and got Liam Hicks, 0:15:55.260 --> 0:15:57.400 who's got years of control under him and has been 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:01.320 fantastic with this team. They get another impact reliever in 0:16:01.340 --> 0:16:04.380 Tyler Wells at the trade deadline, who has been fantastic 0:16:04.420 --> 0:16:07.010 for this team. He's one of the best relievers in 0:16:07.030 --> 0:16:10.630 baseball when it comes to holds. Freddie, I know that 0:16:10.670 --> 0:16:14.310 he had that blip. I think it was unfair for 0:16:14.350 --> 0:16:16.090 me to look at him in a negative light after 0:16:16.130 --> 0:16:18.960 what happened at Coors because it is Coors. And Coors 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:22.950 screws everyone up. I think it's pretty obvious. Also, that 0:16:22.990 --> 0:16:25.790 was his first time ever having Hicks as his catcher. 0:16:26.290 --> 0:16:28.310 So he had a guy who was completely brand new. 0:16:28.990 --> 0:16:31.510 Brand new pitcher. Brand new catcher. You know, brand new 0:16:31.550 --> 0:16:35.430 battery first day. And Freddie's been great over his last 0:16:35.470 --> 0:16:37.710 four starts. He's looked like the guy who was a 0:16:39.170 --> 0:16:43.500 top five Cy Young finisher last season with Milwaukee. And 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:47.860 has really turned his time around with the Rays. It's like... 0:16:48.240 --> 0:16:50.900 There's so many things that are working right now for 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:55.980 this team and so many guys that are contributing. And 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:02.780 it's really impressive because you have Yandy and you have 0:17:02.860 --> 0:17:05.780 Junior and you have Aranda, all three of which have 0:17:05.840 --> 0:17:10.080 had great seasons, as Evan mentioned. Probably, and I have 0:17:10.100 --> 0:17:16.350 to agree with you, other than Crawford, Longo, I mean Crawford, Longo, Pena, 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:20.729 and Zobrist. Outside of those, I can't think of another 0:17:20.850 --> 0:17:25.270 trio quartet of guys that comes close to that. Outside 0:17:25.310 --> 0:17:28.439 of Yandy, Aranda, and Junior. I don't think that there's a. 0:17:30.090 --> 0:17:33.190 I mean, maybe Bilal, if you include that last year 0:17:33.250 --> 0:17:36.810 with what they did. Maybe that comes close. But this 0:17:36.910 --> 0:17:40.149 right now, considering how good those three guys are, it's 0:17:40.190 --> 0:17:43.619 pretty impressive. But it's just... There's so many guys up 0:17:43.660 --> 0:17:49.199 and down this roster that have... made significant contributions to 0:17:49.240 --> 0:17:52.980 this team that have made them as good as they've 0:17:53.020 --> 0:17:56.380 been and Kevin Cash has done a great job managing 0:17:56.440 --> 0:17:59.180 this season out he's done a great job of not 0:17:59.320 --> 0:18:01.580 overusing his guys I know people get angry at his 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:05.440 decisions from time to time but knowing where they're going 0:18:05.460 --> 0:18:07.830 to be at in the in the postseason and now 0:18:07.869 --> 0:18:10.929 that they're actually in the postseason like the moves that 0:18:10.970 --> 0:18:13.390 have been made have been calculated moves and have been 0:18:13.450 --> 0:18:18.080 smart moves and um The front office has gone out 0:18:18.400 --> 0:18:22.500 and gotten pieces that have become important pieces for this team, 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:24.960 probably in a better way than they've done in the 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:29.640 last couple of years. And the vibes of this team 0:18:29.680 --> 0:18:31.060 are great. I know the vibes of this team have 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:33.320 been down the last couple of years. I think basically 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:37.700 since the incident in August of 2023, the vibes of 0:18:37.740 --> 0:18:40.200 this team have not been the same. And right now 0:18:40.260 --> 0:18:44.879 the vibes of this team are fantastic. And it shows. 0:18:44.900 --> 0:18:47.350 I mean, they're playing well. Guys love each other in 0:18:47.369 --> 0:18:50.669 the dugout. I talked with so many guys in Baltimore, 0:18:50.690 --> 0:18:53.070 and that podcast is going to be going out later 0:18:53.090 --> 0:18:56.010 this week, about how much fun this clubhouse has been 0:18:56.030 --> 0:18:58.090 and how close these guys are. Like, it is a 0:18:58.150 --> 0:19:01.980 legitimate thing that this team is as close as they've 0:19:02.020 --> 0:19:04.480 ever been and probably one of the closest teams in 0:19:04.500 --> 0:19:07.180 terms of a major league sample size. So it's just 0:19:07.340 --> 0:19:08.699 everything is working right now. 0:19:09.780 --> 0:19:12.400 Yeah, I mean, and you compare this team to last year. 0:19:12.420 --> 0:19:16.290 I mean, last year, pretty much blamed the failures of 0:19:16.330 --> 0:19:18.910 it on the bullpen. Like, I mean, this bullpen has 0:19:18.970 --> 0:19:21.570 been night and day better than last year. Like, this 0:19:21.609 --> 0:19:27.650 bullpen is loaded. Obviously, Brian Baker has really found his role. 0:19:27.670 --> 0:19:30.190 I mean, that's an understatement. He has 40 saves on 0:19:30.230 --> 0:19:32.310 the season. Of course, he's found his role in the 0:19:32.330 --> 0:19:37.020 closing position. And the bounce back of Kevin Kelly, I'd 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:39.910 love to find a player in the entire MLB who's 0:19:39.930 --> 0:19:43.640 had a better bounce back season than he has. I mean, 0:19:43.700 --> 0:19:47.530 he was unwatchable last year. He was, I mean, Alex, 0:19:48.950 --> 0:19:51.630 not Alex's favorite guy. last year um but. 0:19:51.920 --> 0:19:54.500 No a lot i i've enjoyed watching him a lot 0:19:54.540 --> 0:19:55.699 more this year i'll put it that. 0:19:55.540 --> 0:19:58.380 Way he's he's been out of this world good um 0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:01.220 and i know he's injured again but getting manny back 0:20:01.840 --> 0:20:05.520 um it's just this bullpen is loaded it's sick steven 0:20:05.540 --> 0:20:08.699 matts i mean we acquired him not to be in 0:20:08.780 --> 0:20:11.680 this role, but he's been a great addition to the bullpen. 0:20:12.810 --> 0:20:14.369 We don't, I mean, he doesn't get a ton of 0:20:14.390 --> 0:20:17.350 high leverage situations, but I mean, he's gotten a ton 0:20:17.390 --> 0:20:20.730 of big outs and, and he's eaten up a ton 0:20:20.750 --> 0:20:27.870 of innings. So he was awesome. Like like Amina has, 0:20:28.950 --> 0:20:33.050 he's been decent, like kind of a nice surprise boozer. 0:20:33.130 --> 0:20:35.429 Clevenger has been a little bit underwhelming boozer on the 0:20:35.470 --> 0:20:37.740 left side of the mound. He's been awesome. And like 0:20:37.760 --> 0:20:41.340 you said, Wells has been– I mean, I would say 0:20:41.359 --> 0:20:43.660 that Wells has probably been a better acquisition than Liam Hicks, 0:20:43.700 --> 0:20:48.530 which is tough to say. But no, this bullpen, just considering– 0:20:48.590 --> 0:20:50.910 and I think Cash has managed it very well, but 0:20:51.730 --> 0:20:54.970 just night and day difference than last year, which is 0:20:55.270 --> 0:20:57.130 a huge reason why this team is so good. 0:20:57.810 --> 0:20:59.770 This is just fun. This team is just fun. 0:21:00.170 --> 0:21:02.119 And the outfield. I mean, you look at the outfield. 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:03.560 The outfield has been so much better. 0:21:04.240 --> 0:21:07.380 Like, the outfield last year, I mean, it was tough 0:21:07.440 --> 0:21:09.090 moving on from Josh Lowe, but it was kind of 0:21:09.109 --> 0:21:12.990 just time for that to happen. Christopher Murrell, I mean, 0:21:14.350 --> 0:21:17.590 he was our starting left fielder. 0:21:17.869 --> 0:21:19.730 He's been able to be healthy way more consistently. 0:21:20.450 --> 0:21:23.620 Like, and I know he hasn't been great at the plate, 0:21:23.660 --> 0:21:26.479 but his defense has been great. I mean, we went 0:21:26.520 --> 0:21:29.639 out and got Mullins. He's still hit, what, 14 bombs? 0:21:29.660 --> 0:21:29.820 Yeah. 0:21:32.690 --> 0:21:35.560