Speaker 1: Here we go one of the best baseball writers ever,
Speaker 1: Tom Berducci. Check out his work in SI and of course,
Speaker 1: as I mentioned before, Buddy with AJ on Fox to
Speaker 1: hear those two throughout the season, but then in the
Speaker 1: postseason together on the call for an American League game.
Speaker 1: There you go, he's really got the company logo going today, Tom,
Speaker 1: great to have you on. How you doing and are
Speaker 1: you prepared for the postseason?
Speaker 2: With a not prepared for the postseason because I have
Speaker 2: no idea what's going to happen, Like who's going to
Speaker 2: be in it? By the way, I think I just
Speaker 2: got back. I did the Mets Braids game last night.
Speaker 2: I think it just ended. That was an ugly ballgame
Speaker 2: that took forever. Besides green delay. My goodness, it was
Speaker 2: like watching you know, when your kids first start doing
Speaker 2: pitch player pitch rather than coach pitch and little league
Speaker 2: and it's ball one, ball two, ball three. That's what
Speaker 2: the Mets the Braids did last night.
Speaker 1: What was it like at the ballpark? Tom, Because we
Speaker 1: did cover this at the top of the show. The
Speaker 1: Mets are going through a really, really tough time at
Speaker 1: the moment, and the pitching staff is crumbling.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's interesting because they had all those good vibes
Speaker 2: from the night before. You mentioned the Alonso home run record,
Speaker 2: and they were supposed to have a celebration before the
Speaker 2: game where they actually had a ceremony for Pete and
Speaker 2: that got wiped out by the rain.
Speaker 3: So that was a downer.
Speaker 2: But then the Mets jump on Carlos Carrasco's now DFA
Speaker 2: because quite frankly, and I love Cookie, it just does
Speaker 2: not have major league stuff. The Mets jumped on and
Speaker 2: for six quick But how do you lose that game?
Speaker 2: You're up six at home, I guess the team out
Speaker 2: of contention, and they boat race you with eleven unanswered runs.
Speaker 2: And again, it's something that's really harm the Mets all year.
Speaker 2: They can't command the baseball. They've walked more batters than
Speaker 2: any pitching staff at the National League. It's been a
Speaker 2: problem all year. We know all about the lack of
Speaker 2: length from their starting rotation. That's still an issue and
Speaker 2: I don't see it getting better anytime soon. Yes, they
Speaker 2: fortified the bullpen, but that starting rotation right now is
Speaker 2: a real problem for New York.
Speaker 4: Tom That's one of my questions with the Mets. Just
Speaker 4: the starting pitching, not giving him length. The bullpen gets
Speaker 4: worn out. But they haven't hit either. They haven't hit
Speaker 4: like the we thought the Mets would hit. So what
Speaker 4: I mean, what the heck is I mean, we can
Speaker 4: throw the Yankees in there too, Like what's going on
Speaker 4: in New York. If something happened to the water that
Speaker 4: we don't.
Speaker 2: Know about, Yeah, something in the water. I'll tell you
Speaker 2: if with the Mets it is a little bit the offense.
Speaker 2: I thought they had a top five offense when the
Speaker 2: year started. It hasn't worked that way. You look at
Speaker 2: Sodo and he's taking more strikes in the zone than
Speaker 2: ever before in his career. We know he's a patient hitter,
Speaker 2: but then when he gets runners on base, he's hitting
Speaker 2: below two hundred. He's between a lot of times, and
Speaker 2: that was the case last night.
Speaker 3: I know we hit a home run.
Speaker 2: Why Carrasco threw him a four seam fastball, I do
Speaker 2: not know, because Wan Soto does not hit sinkers. He
Speaker 2: absolutely destroys four steamers. And that's not the kind of
Speaker 2: guy that challenged one with a four seamer. But after that,
Speaker 2: they just sput him to death and he struck out
Speaker 2: three straight times.
Speaker 3: Bases loaded.
Speaker 2: So Lindor has gotten extremely streaky this year. That's hard
Speaker 2: to figure. I mean, we know he's a good offensive player,
Speaker 2: but he's been in one of those funks now. But
Speaker 2: you look at the bullpen that you mentioned, Aj, it's
Speaker 2: interesting to me. Yes, you can be like San Diego
Speaker 2: and bullpen teams to death, but to do that, you have.
Speaker 3: To have them lined up in order.
Speaker 2: Like Hellsley is the guy to me that got to
Speaker 2: be that weapon. Drop him into a game, middle of
Speaker 2: the order, six or seventh inning.
Speaker 3: Get out of that jam.
Speaker 2: You've got Diaz behind in the close at the face
Speaker 2: the middle of the order the next time it comes up.
Speaker 3: They can't do that with Helsley. He's so used to.
Speaker 2: Being a one inning clean guy, does not do up
Speaker 2: and downs, has a routine to get ready, to get ready.
Speaker 3: For the ninth inning.
Speaker 2: They're trying to groom him now into that super guy
Speaker 2: to drop in the middle of the game, and he
Speaker 2: just can't do it yet. I don't know if he's
Speaker 2: going to get there in time the next six weeks.
Speaker 2: So you look at the names and it looks good
Speaker 2: in terms of depth of bullpen pieces. Yes, they're picking
Speaker 2: up a lot of innings. We know that, but there's
Speaker 2: a lot of things they need to get straightened out.
Speaker 2: They're pitching a kid Nolan McLain on Saturday. You got
Speaker 2: Mantaz and Blackburn starters in the bullpen, and Senga is
Speaker 2: not stretched out seam Andya is not stretched out. Clay
Speaker 2: Holmes is only a five any pitcher right now at best.
Speaker 2: That's why I say this is something that is not
Speaker 2: just a slump. I like the offense still, I think
Speaker 2: that's a slump. But the pitching staff has some real
Speaker 2: world issues.
Speaker 5: They have issues we talk about You talked about Kogie
Speaker 5: Carrasco not being a big league pitcher. This is a
Speaker 5: team with playoff aspirations. If I were to say to
Speaker 5: be any season World Series aspirations, the lineup has the
Speaker 5: potential to be a World Series lineup. Does the pitching
Speaker 5: staff as a whole even have the chance to be
Speaker 5: a NLCS pitching staff.
Speaker 3: That's a great question.
Speaker 2: As much as I know that bullpen dominates in the postseason,
Speaker 2: right look at last year Dodgers win the World Series.
Speaker 2: Their starters go four and four, the bullpenk goes seven
Speaker 2: to one. I think the Lavers through more innings than
Speaker 2: the starters.
Speaker 3: So there is a.
Speaker 2: Path, but you still at times, as Yamamoto did, you
Speaker 2: need some guy or two guys to go out there
Speaker 2: at some point and take the ball into the sixth
Speaker 2: and seventh and win the game yourself as a starting pitcher.
Speaker 3: Right now, the Mets don't have that pitcher. Now.
Speaker 2: If Sega is fully stretched out and he's healthy, yeah
Speaker 2: he can be that guy. But again he's not there.
Speaker 2: He's still gonna need some time.
Speaker 3: You guys know.
Speaker 2: That these pitchers have to go through progressions to work
Speaker 2: up to being that eighty to one hundred pitch guy
Speaker 2: to pitch three times through a lineup. The Mets literally
Speaker 2: don't have one of those starters right now. Yes, I think,
Speaker 2: as much as I like their bullpen, that's still a
Speaker 2: problem when you get the postseason baseball.
Speaker 5: All right, let's go to another bullpen guy that's doing
Speaker 5: Devin Williams. Is he officially with what Benar's done since
Speaker 5: he's come over? Is he officially you are seventh or
Speaker 5: eighth inning guy? A different spot other than I know.
Speaker 5: Aaron Boone said, we got to find some soft landing spots,
Speaker 5: and right now we don't have any soft landing spots.
Speaker 5: Do you think he is supplanted by Bennar? I do?
Speaker 2: I mean in my you know that circle of trust,
Speaker 2: late game, high leverage guy, have a lead, lock it down.
Speaker 2: I'm all about Weaver and Bednar before I put Devin
Speaker 2: in that position.
Speaker 3: Now he may get there. I'm with you. Give him a.
Speaker 2: Few soft landings, get the confidence going. Two pitch guy
Speaker 2: in the changeup doesn't seem to be coming out of
Speaker 2: his hand just the same way.
Speaker 3: I don't know what it is.
Speaker 2: I don't think it's New York at this point, you
Speaker 2: know more than I almost three quarters of the way
Speaker 2: through his season. That adjustment period to me should be over.
Speaker 3: But not the same stuff coming out of the head.
Speaker 2: So I can't just give him the ball on reputation
Speaker 2: here in eighth, ninth inning, one run game. I've got
Speaker 2: to back him up a little bit and eventually hope
Speaker 2: that he gets there.
Speaker 3: But he's not there right now.
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Speaker 4: There's good races going on AL West NL West. There
Speaker 4: are awesome races right within a game of each other
Speaker 4: right there. It's great for baseball. Forget the wildcard. I
Speaker 4: want to know who wins the division in the world.
Speaker 4: The third wildcard is great, but I want your take
Speaker 4: on both these the Padres Dodgers and on the other side,
Speaker 4: I mean the Mariners and the Astros. Who's the better
Speaker 4: teams here and who's gonna get that buy in the
Speaker 4: first round for both of these divisions.
Speaker 3: Yeah, great races.
Speaker 2: I mean, I like Seattle over Houston, and I totally
Speaker 2: respect the Astros, and you never count that team out.
Speaker 3: They're battle tested, we know that.
Speaker 2: But I just like the roster after the trade deadline
Speaker 2: for Seattle a little bit better. And I think they're
Speaker 2: gonna pitch better because guys like Kirby and Gilbert. To me,
Speaker 2: I don't want to say they've underachieved, but there's more
Speaker 2: in the tank there with those guys. So I would
Speaker 2: lean towards Seattle in the West. In National League West,
Speaker 2: I still have to say the Dodgers, but I'm telling you, guys,
Speaker 2: there's something that's just not right with this team. This
Speaker 2: is not just you know, let's get healthy. They've not
Speaker 2: played well this year. The thing that jumps out to me, guys,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers are not a good defensive team. In the
Speaker 2: last six years, they've been either first or second in
Speaker 2: Major League Baseball, and turning batted balls into outs. Now
Speaker 2: that stet because that's not just about defense. It's about
Speaker 2: the way your pitchers control weak contact right, hit the
Speaker 2: ball softly. Your defense is more likely to make the play.
Speaker 2: The Dodgers have been first or second every year for
Speaker 2: six straight years. They're eighteenth this year. They're below average.
Speaker 2: They have a losing record against winning teams for the
Speaker 2: first time in more than a decade. There's some systemic
Speaker 2: problems here. They've pitched starters on the fourth day, we
Speaker 2: four days of rest, less than anybody in baseball. I
Speaker 2: get it. That's their mo Let's stretch everybody out. Gig economy,
Speaker 2: you know, divide up the workload among the many guys.
Speaker 2: But the problem is they haven't pitched third time around
Speaker 2: as much as anybody else in baseball. Those guys aren't
Speaker 2: really locked down now to do that. So I don't
Speaker 2: know that Glassnow and Snell are going to be locked
Speaker 2: down and know Towny lockdowns starters in the postseason.
Speaker 3: It seems to me.
Speaker 2: I don't want to say that there's not an urgency
Speaker 2: here because this is the way they're designed to play.
Speaker 3: I just don't like the way that they're playing right.
Speaker 2: The offense isn't as good as we thought, the defense
Speaker 2: isn't as good as we thought, and the pitching isn't
Speaker 2: as good as we thought.
Speaker 3: So I'm still gonna say the Dodgers.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna sounds like I'm contradicting myself, but top to bottom,
Speaker 2: I'm betting on the talent. I think they're a deeper
Speaker 2: team than San Diego, but there's no question San Diego
Speaker 2: is a hotter team by far.
Speaker 5: Right now, you are one of the only people that
Speaker 5: agrees with me on this show or any of the
Speaker 5: other shows on our network. I agree, I think the
Speaker 5: Dodgers are going to come out on top. But do
Speaker 5: you feel like them coming out on top will be
Speaker 5: a need for Mooki to go back to right field.
Speaker 5: You talk about defense, you have a better shortstop on
Speaker 5: the team. Who plays shortstop still in Rojas? And isn't
Speaker 5: I mean he's gonna give you what he's given you.
Speaker 5: And you said the offense isn't that great? But now,
Speaker 5: all of a sudden, you've upgraded two positions. When you
Speaker 5: have a guy that plays gold glove right field. Do
Speaker 5: you see them making that move here in September or
Speaker 5: even here in August to be able to solidify and
Speaker 5: make them a better defensive team.
Speaker 2: That's a great point, Eric, I mean, I think they're
Speaker 2: probably a better team with Mookie back in right field,
Speaker 2: But I think they're so committed and Mookie's been so
Speaker 2: committed to it, that it's hard for them to get
Speaker 2: off it at this point. So while I think it's
Speaker 2: something that they should consider, I don't see them doing
Speaker 2: it at this late stage game of the season.
Speaker 3: So it's a great point.
Speaker 2: You can make the case they will be and should
Speaker 2: be a better defensive team in that alignment, but I
Speaker 2: don't see them doing that.
Speaker 3: I mean, Mookie's made.
Speaker 2: Himself a pretty good shortstop. I can't say he's an
Speaker 2: elite major league shortstop. I don't think he's harmed him
Speaker 2: that much. But if you want incremental upgrades, I like
Speaker 2: him better in right field and shortstop. I just don't
Speaker 2: see the Dodgers pulling the trigger on that.
Speaker 1: Hey, Tom, you do a great job with Joe Madden
Speaker 1: on the Book of Joe podcast.
Speaker 5: I love it.
Speaker 1: I listen to it all the time. So you can
Speaker 1: help me out with this one, because I think the
Speaker 1: stat that you said was that the last five years
Speaker 1: has produced top four home run teams in the regular
Speaker 1: season as World Series champs. So do you think that
Speaker 1: streak continues as it stands right now? Yankees, Dodgers, Angels, Diamondbacks,
Speaker 1: and if we want to include the Mariners because they're
Speaker 1: tied with the d Backs, those are your teams in
Speaker 1: the top five home run wise, Padres twenty ninth, Brewers fourteenth,
Speaker 1: blue Jay's nineteenth.
Speaker 2: I'm glad you brought that up, Scott, because I love
Speaker 2: watching the Milwaukee Brewers play baseball.
Speaker 3: I mean, how can you not right? They played the
Speaker 3: game the right way.
Speaker 2: They play hard, they put the ball in play, they
Speaker 2: run the bass is great, They're very athletic. They're a
Speaker 2: younger team with young legs, and they just put pressure
Speaker 2: on teams constantly. You don't know if they're gonna bunt
Speaker 2: or hit and run or steal a base, but you
Speaker 2: must be prepared every pitch.
Speaker 3: That's something maybe up.
Speaker 2: And I love that kind of pressure, that anticipation of
Speaker 2: something happening. That being said, yes, there is something that
Speaker 2: in this game day and age, where you get to
Speaker 2: the postseason and you're seeing the front of rotations, the
Speaker 2: backup bullpens, with the off days, that's pretty much all
Speaker 2: you're seeing. It's very hard to string those rallies together
Speaker 2: with three four hits, right, and that's where those one swings,
Speaker 2: two swings Guy on bass pop one can win a
Speaker 2: game for you. And yes, and I think it's the
Speaker 2: last five times five years no lower than fourth.
Speaker 3: In Major League Baseball, not just in the league in
Speaker 3: home runs.
Speaker 2: The Brewers, I think last time I checked, were about
Speaker 2: eighteenth or nineteenth in home runs. The last time a
Speaker 2: team won the World Series without being in the top
Speaker 2: half of Major League Baseball at home runs was the
Speaker 2: twenty fifteen Kansas City Royals. That's a decade ago. You
Speaker 2: guys know how much the game has changed. This is
Speaker 2: a very different game played in twenty five that wasn't
Speaker 2: team So I like to believe it's true, but you gotta.
Speaker 4: Show me that first Tom five second time out. I
Speaker 4: got a special visitor. I don't know if you guys
Speaker 4: know who this is.
Speaker 3: Scott. That's when I watched football. That was the primetime
Speaker 3: day video.
Speaker 4: Yeah exactly. That's what happens when you show up at Fox.
Speaker 4: You just random people walking.
Speaker 3: Oh nice, Oh, tell me good things about Penn State.
Speaker 3: I just gotta know good things about Penn State.
Speaker 4: That's a good thing about Penn State.
Speaker 3: Dudes, we'll see you.
Speaker 4: Said they're gonna win it all by the way, Yeah,
Speaker 4: c l.
Speaker 3: Okay, good answer, good stuff.
Speaker 1: Sorry, I feel like that was a valid interruption there
Speaker 1: aj here, we got two minutes to go.
Speaker 4: So we just had one of the best looking quarterbacks
Speaker 4: of all time. Tom, I got to meet the all
Speaker 4: time best looking Fox employee today. So your second Tom,
Speaker 4: but this other Tom beat you, So I have to admit.
Speaker 4: I mean, Tom, you're a great looking fellow, but that
Speaker 4: guy beat you for Fox Sports rankings.
Speaker 2: I have no problem being number two behind that dude.
Speaker 2: I mean that is that's the goat in every way.
Speaker 3: They don't call him the goat for nothing. And he
Speaker 3: can play and he can play baseball. Yes, he got drafted.
Speaker 4: Yeah, he asked me.
Speaker 3: He's like, he's like exos catcher.
Speaker 2: He's a pretty dark with golfer and there's probably nothing
Speaker 2: he can't do.
Speaker 5: Well, you're the only good Tom on this show. Okay,
Speaker 5: you are Tom. He is Brady. Okay, just just remember that.
Speaker 2: You got you gotta get him on the show. Let's
Speaker 2: get brand and me at the same time.
Speaker 3: How about that?
Speaker 4: He said he would if you could fit it in
Speaker 4: the schedule, which is schedules.
Speaker 3: He said he would.
Speaker 4: He loves to talk baseball. And we just had Matt
Speaker 4: Lionard on. I mean Tom Brady, Matt Lioner. Once one
Speaker 4: has a heisman, the other one does it.
Speaker 5: I mean, right, well done.
Speaker 1: That's true. That is something AJ would say through both
Speaker 1: of them if he was standing with them both. Hey,
Speaker 1: how does it feel.
Speaker 4: That Lioner some walking in and he had a USC shirt?
Speaker 4: I'm like, U C l A right, and he's like
Speaker 4: what he gave me? Knuckles duds Like no, He's like
Speaker 4: you said USC.
Speaker 1: That's good. Well, Tom, thank you for stopping by. I
Speaker 1: really appreciate it. We're looking forwards obviously you got six
Speaker 1: weeks left, but then seeing you and AJ cover whatever
Speaker 1: it is because we have no idea what the postseason
Speaker 1: is going to look like. This is a very unpredictable year.
Speaker 1: But great to see you. Thank you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, this is always fun. You guys do a great job.
Speaker 3: Thanks for having me.