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Speaker 1: This is straight fire with Jason McIntire. What is up

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Speaker 1: straight fire? Fam? It is me Jason McIntyre. Straight fire

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Speaker 1: for Tuesday July. The home run derby. That was fire. Huh.

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Speaker 1: I hope you guys enjoyed that Dodger Stadium a little

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Speaker 1: over priced, so I did not make an appearance. I

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Speaker 1: know Fox has it, Jason, what didn't you get tickets?

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Speaker 1: Probably should have should have leaned on the corporate overlords,

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Speaker 1: but did not, and the home run derby went off

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Speaker 1: pack Dodger Stadium. Congrats to one Soto. I know not

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Speaker 1: a lot of people are into the home run derby.

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Speaker 1: I myself did not was not glued to the television

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Speaker 1: for it. I was actually playing tennis in a tune

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Speaker 1: up for a tennis tournament. I entered this weekend a

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Speaker 1: quick sidetrack before I get to baseball. And our guest, Um,

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Speaker 1: I played in a tennis tournament in twenty nineteen. I

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Speaker 1: got to the semifinals and into the guy who ended

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Speaker 1: up winning it, who was sandbagging. He was a four

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Speaker 1: point out playing in the three fives and just destroyed everybody.

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Speaker 1: Did not lose um a set. I don't I think

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Speaker 1: the you know, I I lost six two, six one.

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Speaker 1: I think maybe one person pushed him to sixth three,

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Speaker 1: but I don't know anyway, So it was canceled due

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Speaker 1: to COVID, and then I entered it last year and

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Speaker 1: I made the semifinals and I'm I've told this on

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Speaker 1: the podcast before. I was leading four to one in

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Speaker 1: the first set, and in my head, I'm thinking, oh,

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Speaker 1: you know, jeez, I'm gonna have to have to shake

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Speaker 1: up my Sunday schedule because I'm played in the championship obviously,

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Speaker 1: and I had, you know, my family was there and

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Speaker 1: a couple of buddies, and I melted down. And it's

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Speaker 1: still to this day, I can see it in my head.

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Speaker 1: I was livid. I was playing a guy much younger.

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Speaker 1: I think he was like twenty seven years old. You know,

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Speaker 1: he's like six too, and he played basically my game,

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Speaker 1: but he just did it a little better than me,

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Speaker 1: and uh and he beat me, and I was I

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Speaker 1: was so wrecked. I didn't play tennis for the longest time,

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Speaker 1: so I played yesterday. I played a couple of weeks ago,

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Speaker 1: and listen, I'm playing good. It's like when you play

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Speaker 1: a lot, you kind of overthink it and I wasn't

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Speaker 1: overthinking yesterday. I played great and we'll see how it goes.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I I not no expectations. I will not

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Speaker 1: feel like I regressed if I lose in the first

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Speaker 1: or second round. Um, I'm just I'm a I'm a

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Speaker 1: wall I'm gonna get to everything. I'm gonna hustle and

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Speaker 1: you know, occasionally I hit some winners. I'll time it out.

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Speaker 1: But um, we'll see. I'm not a great tennis player.

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Speaker 1: Um by any stretch. I guess from my age and

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Speaker 1: being like a weekend warrior type guy, I'm okay, but

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Speaker 1: we'll see how that goes. At any rate, I played

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Speaker 1: tennis instead of watching most of the home run derby

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Speaker 1: Juan Soto wins it, and the interesting storyline there for

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Speaker 1: National fans is Soto is one of the best players

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Speaker 1: in baseball. He helped the Nationals win the World Series

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Speaker 1: a couple a few years ago, and earlier this month

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Speaker 1: he turned down turned down fifteen years, four four million. Yes,

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Speaker 1: that that's correct. Fifteen for four hundred and forty million.

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Speaker 1: That's ridiculous money. I mean, that's you can't even put

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Speaker 1: that in context. He said no to that, and the

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Speaker 1: expectation is he's traded by the end of the month,

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Speaker 1: So everybody's of course speculating Dodgers Yankees. Who's going to

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Speaker 1: break the bank for one? Soto should be fun. Soto

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Speaker 1: beat out Um Jay rod This young kid on the Mariners,

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Speaker 1: who I am. I have to admit that I'm not

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Speaker 1: very familiar with Juan Sorry, Julio Rodriguez. Um, he's been

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Speaker 1: on fire. I mean this kid is um one of

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Speaker 1: one of the best young players in baseball. Mariners have

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Speaker 1: one four team straight. We'll talk about the Mariners shortly.

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Speaker 1: The funniest note I saw on this was the guy

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Speaker 1: who wanted the last two years was Pete Alonso. And

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Speaker 1: Pete Alonso of course playing plays for the Mets. And

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Speaker 1: the funniest thing I saw was Pete Alonso was eliminated

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Speaker 1: before the finals a k a. The Mets second half

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Speaker 1: collapse has begun. Mets, of course, exceeded expectations in the

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Speaker 1: first half. They are notorious choke artists and really nobody

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Speaker 1: inks that the Mets are going to keep this up.

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Speaker 1: All that being said, major League Baseball, I don't know

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Speaker 1: if a phone call can push you over the top.

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Speaker 1: But according to Chris Haynes, of Yahoo. Yes, Chris Haynes,

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Speaker 1: the NBA reporter, a phone call in the NBA nearly

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Speaker 1: led this podcast over the MLB All Star Game. According

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Speaker 1: to Chris Haines of Yahoo, Lebron, Anthony Davis and Russell

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Speaker 1: Westbrook got on the phone this weekend to confirm their

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Speaker 1: commitment to each other through the uncertainty. According to Chris Haines,

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Speaker 1: now nothing from Woe John, This nothing from Shams. But

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Speaker 1: Chris Haines is very connected with the players. Obviously he's

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Speaker 1: super close with Debbie Lillard, but he also has a

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Speaker 1: clear connection to Lebron James. And this is I mean,

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Speaker 1: there's not much here other than they had a phone

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Speaker 1: conversation in the first weekend of NBA Summer League in

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Speaker 1: Las Vegas. Actually first weekend the Summer League in Vegas.

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Speaker 1: That doesn't mean it was this weekend. I means it

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Speaker 1: was a little while ago. But that makes it if

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Speaker 1: the timing of Haynes's story is accurate, that makes the

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Speaker 1: Lebron versus Westbrook kind of I see moment remember when

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Speaker 1: at the NBA All Star weekend where Isaiah Thomas I

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Speaker 1: stout Jordan's like wouldn't talk to him and wouldn't shake

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Speaker 1: his hand, wouldn't pass the ball. There was a vibe

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Speaker 1: of that with Lebron and Westbrook in the Vegas Summer League.

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Speaker 1: If you go back to Monday's podcast and listen to

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Speaker 1: our guests, he was in the building, Mark Medina was there,

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Speaker 1: Um and a lot of reporters witnessed it. Lebron and

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Speaker 1: Rust did not talk, But now Chris Haynes is saying

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Speaker 1: they had a phone call to express their commitment. I

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Speaker 1: don't know what that means, guys. I'm trying to get

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Speaker 1: my decoder ring out to understand what's going on in

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Speaker 1: the NBA. I don't, I don't. I still don't know

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Speaker 1: why Kevin Duran asked for a trade. You know, I

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Speaker 1: don't know why the Lakers weren't get in bed with

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Speaker 1: Kyrie Irving. I don't know. I know I'm supposed to

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Speaker 1: have the strong take. You guys already know I'm an

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Speaker 1: anti Kyrie verment. I'm just I don't want him with

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Speaker 1: the Lakers. Russ was pretty bad, Yeah, totally admit that

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Speaker 1: that no doubt, and nobody can say he was good.

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Speaker 1: And I don't know what this phone called means. I

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Speaker 1: my guess is the Lakers. Genie Buss says no, the

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Speaker 1: Lakers hold firm and Kyrie and Kevin Durant start the

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Speaker 1: season in Brooklyn. I still think if the Lakers are healthy,

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Speaker 1: specifically Anthony Davis, I don't see why I can't work

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Speaker 1: Russell Westbrook coming off the bench, be the sixth man,

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Speaker 1: run the second unit. He you can't have a non

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Speaker 1: shooter on the floor with Lebron. It's just not gonna work.

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Speaker 1: So I'm holding out hope that I am right and

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Speaker 1: Lebron stays with a D and Russell Westbrook just say

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Speaker 1: no to Kyrie Irving. All right, Let's get to our guests.

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Speaker 1: He covers a lot of baseball, writes about it for

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Speaker 1: Fox Sports. He's on TV with Bally Sports. He does

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Speaker 1: some stuff with the show I used to do over

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Speaker 1: at FanDuel More Ways to Win Edward E. Gross Here

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Speaker 1: it is talking MLB second half. Preview Sports Radio has

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Speaker 1: the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all

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Speaker 1: of our shows at Fox Sports Radio dot com and

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Speaker 1: within the I Heart Radio app search f s R

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Speaker 1: to listen live. Jason likes to think he knows everything

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Speaker 1: when it comes to sports. I know what sports dance,

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Speaker 1: want but for everything he doesn't, he knows a guy

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Speaker 1: who does. Let's just say I know a guy who

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Speaker 1: knows a guy he knows another guy. All right, let's

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Speaker 1: welcome into straight fire. A guy you know he is

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Speaker 1: basically who I turned to for baseball. He's a great

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Speaker 1: follow he does football as well basketball. Big numbers guy,

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Speaker 1: Edward E. Gross? Did I say your name right? Ed

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Speaker 1: Edward E? Gross? Gross? Yeah, I mean I've known you

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Speaker 1: for what four years now, and I'm butchering your last name. Hey,

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Speaker 1: you know it's it's It's fine, no big deal name act.

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Speaker 1: That's fine. Uh So, how excited are you for the

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Speaker 1: All Star Game? Oh? To live in l A? To

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Speaker 1: be a part of the vibe in l A. Having

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Speaker 1: the All Star Game and the home run be in

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Speaker 1: l A. Uh, it's fantastic. And you can tell that

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Speaker 1: different major cities sort of appreciate this experience much more

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Speaker 1: so than others. And Los Angeles has been fantastic. There's

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Speaker 1: been a special vibe around the city. Nothing like it.

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Speaker 1: I'm stoked. Yeah. It helps that the Dodgers as usual

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Speaker 1: are dominating, and we listen, we'll get to a Yankees

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Speaker 1: Dodgers potential World Series in a moment. But I'm curious

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Speaker 1: your first half like assessment of the league outside of

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Speaker 1: the Yankees and Dodgers, Like, what what do you think

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Speaker 1: has been Like? The Mets are a bit of a surprise.

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Speaker 1: I think. I know you're, you know, a big numbers guy.

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Speaker 1: Do any numbers kind of tell the story that the

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Speaker 1: standings do not. I'll get to the standings in just

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Speaker 1: a bit, but I think it's really important to kind

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Speaker 1: of analyze the state of baseball right now and then

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Speaker 1: kind of get into the standings as far as who

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Speaker 1: has taken advantage of that and who has struggled because

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Speaker 1: of it. One of the things that I've noticed in

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Speaker 1: terms of looking at offensive output is batting average is

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Speaker 1: on a slight increase, waited on base averages slightly on

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Speaker 1: an increase, But where there's been significant decline is actually

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Speaker 1: the number of home runs hit this year. And you

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Speaker 1: think about this analytical era that we are in concerning baseball,

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Speaker 1: where guys are swinging for the fences pretty much every

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Speaker 1: time they're at bat, and we're seeing fewer home runs.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we're seeing balls dying out there, you know,

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Speaker 1: trying to get through the outfield, whatever the case may

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Speaker 1: be and this is becoming a significant trend. And even

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Speaker 1: though it has picked up just a little bit, because

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Speaker 1: we are in the warmer months, we're not seeing that

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Speaker 1: many home runs, and especially when we get to say

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Speaker 1: September and then October for the postseason, I think that

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Speaker 1: home run trend is going to go down even more

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Speaker 1: so than it naturally does. And I bring this up

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Speaker 1: first and foremost because when you look at the teams

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Speaker 1: that are doing well in the standings, pitching seems to

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Speaker 1: be a little bit more important than it normally is.

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Speaker 1: And it's one of the reasons why when you talk about,

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Speaker 1: say the Mets, if Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer can

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Speaker 1: stay hell healthy, then absolutely they're going to be a

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Speaker 1: serious contender. And it's something where they're manufacturing runs, perhaps

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Speaker 1: a little bit more than say most other ball clubs,

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Speaker 1: but it's really the pitching that matters a great deal.

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Speaker 1: The Dodgers are perhaps in a more advantageous position because

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Speaker 1: they've always had fantastic pitching, but you know, Tony Gonsolin

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Speaker 1: has kind of come out of nowhere and they're now

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Speaker 1: a serious threat. So what's interesting is that pitching matters

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Speaker 1: just a little bit more this season than saying season's past.

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Speaker 1: And I think the standings are kind of reflecting that

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Speaker 1: as far as the teams that maybe don't have as

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Speaker 1: much power still being able to contend, like the Padres

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Speaker 1: would be another great example offensively, you know they have

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Speaker 1: a lot of question marks. Not having tattoos is one

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Speaker 1: of the big reasons why. But you look at that

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Speaker 1: starting rotation with you Darvish, and you know Joe must

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Speaker 1: grove a cy young contender. Uh, it's quite for Sean

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Speaker 1: and I as another one, very very fantastic starting rotation,

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Speaker 1: and that's why they are a contender much more so

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Speaker 1: than they have been in season's past. Any theories as

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Speaker 1: to why the home runs are down, because I remember

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Speaker 1: when there a lot of juice ball stories last year

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Speaker 1: and people are talking about everybody's just hacken. It's home runner, strikeout,

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Speaker 1: that's all anybody wants. What do you Any theories as

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Speaker 1: to what may be happening. I think one of the

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Speaker 1: things that is being bandied about is the human or

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Speaker 1: thing where baseballs are being stored in climate control things,

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Speaker 1: so to speak, and then when they come out of

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Speaker 1: these human doors, then the balls tend to expand just

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Speaker 1: a little bit, and it's a little bit harder to hit.

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Speaker 1: You know, you're you're hearing ideas about you had a

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Speaker 1: ball so hard it starts to dent, and then when

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Speaker 1: it dents, so to speak, then it can't fly as far.

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Speaker 1: And there's been a couple of other things as well

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Speaker 1: that you can point to as far as the manufacturing

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Speaker 1: of baseballs and and things like that, but for the

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Speaker 1: most part, it's this humid or situation where they're trying

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Speaker 1: to make baseball's uh, you know, even as far as

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Speaker 1: how they are put together, how well they can fly,

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Speaker 1: things like that, and it's becoming a bit of a problem.

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Speaker 1: And it's one of the reasons why you know, some

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Speaker 1: ballparks historically beyond just if it's hot or cold dome

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Speaker 1: not a dome where they are situation situated. Is it

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Speaker 1: a warm weather area, cold weather area. That has mattered

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Speaker 1: a good bit as far as how far baseballs can fly.

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Speaker 1: But because they're trying to put everything on an even

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Speaker 1: playing field, we're getting fewer home runs as a result.

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Speaker 1: Interesting because I know in the NFL and the NBA

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Speaker 1: offense has been what put butts in the seats, right,

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Speaker 1: That's why the NBA adjusted the rules, and we know

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Speaker 1: in the NFL the offensive teams people love to see them,

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Speaker 1: They want scoring. So in baseball, are they this humid

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Speaker 1: or is there a conspiracy theory that many they're trying

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Speaker 1: to take down the home runs and make it more

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Speaker 1: you know, strategy and and pitching, and doesn't that wouldn't

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Speaker 1: that technically hurt baseball because people love a home run.

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Speaker 1: They do love home runs, but you can't have too

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Speaker 1: much of a good thing, right, And I think that's

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Speaker 1: something to to sort of keep in mind. I don't

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Speaker 1: necessarily believe in conspiracy theories that Major League Baseball is

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Speaker 1: trying to do these subtle things to sort of suppress

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Speaker 1: home run totals, because you know, what's one of the

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Speaker 1: great storylines in baseball this year. It's Aaron Judge, And

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Speaker 1: you know, especially with what he did against Boston over

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Speaker 1: the weekend, he's someone who is trying to go after

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Speaker 1: sixty home runs this year, and certainly fifty is more

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Speaker 1: than achievable for him, given his history, given the towards

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Speaker 1: start that he's had, and I think fans really do

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Speaker 1: want to see that, And so I'm not so much

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Speaker 1: concerned about baseball necessarily conspiring against home run hitters. I

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Speaker 1: think it's just more so trying to even the playing

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Speaker 1: field so that we don't have ball clubs coming in

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Speaker 1: and complaining about, you know, one team having a decided

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Speaker 1: advantage versus another, especially when you get into postseason action

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Speaker 1: when the games are fewer and far between. I think

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Speaker 1: that's probably the bigger issue as opposed to say, trying

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Speaker 1: to adjust what we're watching. Yeah, I'm going I'm going

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Speaker 1: back in the numbers here. It looks like Stanton hit

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Speaker 1: fifty nine and um, Judge at fifty two, So that

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Speaker 1: was the last time anybody really approached sixty. Um. I

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Speaker 1: guess your thoughts on Aaron Judges, like just the phenomenon

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Speaker 1: that he is pretty clearly best player in baseball right now?

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Speaker 1: Right Well, I'm sorry, outside of who's doing it at

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Speaker 1: both you know, both ends off. Yeah, I was about

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Speaker 1: to say, like, as far as hitting is concerned, then yes,

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Speaker 1: Aaron Judge is very much the guy. Uh you know,

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Speaker 1: someone who you know follows the Angels a lot and

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Speaker 1: covers them, Uh, you know a good bit as well.

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Speaker 1: You know, I might like to differ as far as

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Speaker 1: through the best players. Uh, as far as Aaron Judge

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Speaker 1: is concerned. Yes, what he's doing is just phenomenal. Also

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Speaker 1: a great defender to you know, let's let's not forget

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Speaker 1: that part. And that's one of the reasons why he's

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Speaker 1: in the A L. M. D. P. Conversation is because

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Speaker 1: he is a solid defender in the outfield. But it's

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Speaker 1: as bad. That's really what's you know, putting Yankees fans

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Speaker 1: in the seats, so to speak. It's fantastic to watch

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Speaker 1: him hit, in large part because he can do so

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Speaker 1: many different things. Uh, you know, he's not waiting on

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Speaker 1: just one pitch. He has a you know, a wide

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Speaker 1: repertoire in terms of what he's looking for. You look

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Speaker 1: at you know, lead wide standings. Uh, pitchers are throwing

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Speaker 1: fewer fastballs. They're trying to, you know, do different tricky things. Uh.

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Speaker 1: Use you know, larger arsenals try and outthink hitters things

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Speaker 1: like that. And even though Aaron Judge is still a

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Speaker 1: relatively young guy, you can't really outthink him, so to speak.

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Speaker 1: He knows what to expect and he goes out there

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Speaker 1: and hits it. And I think that's been the most

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Speaker 1: impressive part, in addition to just being super strong. All right,

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Speaker 1: So let's go to Atani, Now, who is the greatest

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Speaker 1: story I would say in baseball, Um, the guy's just phenomenal.

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Speaker 1: I meant, when when he came over, did you think

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Speaker 1: we would see someone this awesome or was it more like,

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Speaker 1: all right, let's see if he can do it? And

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Speaker 1: now that he's doing it two years and I mean

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Speaker 1: the guys, he's really fun to watch. I certainly didn't

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Speaker 1: have any expectations that we would see something like this.

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Speaker 1: And the fact that he is in the m v

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Speaker 1: P conversation for two consecutive years, despite the fact that

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Speaker 1: the rest of his ball club has had some serious struggles,

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Speaker 1: that at has been you know, even more so impressive.

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Speaker 1: What's interesting about this year compared with last year is that, yes,

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Speaker 1: you can certainly make the argument that Otani is not

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Speaker 1: having as great of a season now as he did

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Speaker 1: in one, but you also have to sort of balance

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Speaker 1: the scale, so to speak. Last year, his hitting was phenomenal,

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Speaker 1: one of the great power hitters in baseball. I think

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Speaker 1: he finished you know, top three, top five, and expected

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Speaker 1: Wilba something like that. Uh, this year, the hitting is

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Speaker 1: not as good, but I would argue the pitching is

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Speaker 1: a good bit better. His strikeout numbers are about as

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Speaker 1: good as anybody's in baseball, and you know he's doing

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Speaker 1: it with a slightly different uh, you know, pitching arsenal.

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Speaker 1: I think last year is you know about it was

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Speaker 1: all about you know, sinkers, splitters, you know, sort of

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Speaker 1: getting lower on the strike zone. And now he's you know,

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Speaker 1: looking at sliders and other kinds of pitches. He's adjusting

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Speaker 1: and updating his repertoire to where he is even more impactful.

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Speaker 1: I mean, is this the kind of thing that you think,

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Speaker 1: given what he's been able to accomplish, we'll maybe see

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Speaker 1: more picture hitters down the road. Is because I know

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Speaker 1: baseball had been long closed off to that idea, you

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Speaker 1: think we'll see any of these type players who can

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Speaker 1: do both. I maybe in the minority as far as

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Speaker 1: this is concerned, but I actually do think that we're

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Speaker 1: going to see more people at least attempt this. And

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Speaker 1: there are a couple there are two ways that we

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Speaker 1: get to this point. Number One, if you think about

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Speaker 1: sort of the state of the game right now, I

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Speaker 1: think more ball clubs are likelier to not so much

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Speaker 1: surrender or give up, but at least conceived the fact

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Speaker 1: that they're probably not going to win a baseball game,

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Speaker 1: and so they don't need to throw their primo relievers

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Speaker 1: out there in key situations. I think what we might

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Speaker 1: see our position players who are pitching a good bit more,

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Speaker 1: but the pitching is of a higher quality. When you

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Speaker 1: think about a position player pitching, you think, okay, it's

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Speaker 1: a twelve one, you know, twelve to one blowout, and

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Speaker 1: there's really no point in throwing good arm out there.

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Speaker 1: So let's get a first baseman out there who can

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Speaker 1: at least throw it sixty miles per hour and just

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Speaker 1: get out of this baseball game. I actually think what

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Speaker 1: we're going to see our four run deficits, where say

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Speaker 1: an outfielder or someone on the left side of the

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Speaker 1: endfield comes in and throws maybe eight eight five, something

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Speaker 1: like that, where the pitching isn't elite, but it's enough

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Speaker 1: to at least get through those later innings and you know,

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Speaker 1: at least just survive and get through it without wasting

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Speaker 1: an arm for the rest of the series. I think

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Speaker 1: that's probably likelier to happen. So we are going to

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Speaker 1: see more two way players, but it's not going to

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Speaker 1: be the same ilk of show Aotani. The second way

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Speaker 1: we get to this point is sort of at the

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Speaker 1: grassroots level where you see guys, you know, kids, coaches, whomever,

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Speaker 1: watching show Aotani and saying, you know what, this is

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Speaker 1: actually conceivable. This is feasible. Now you can't play any

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Speaker 1: other sport, and you have to do all these various ings,

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Speaker 1: and maybe you have to sort of give an added

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Speaker 1: commitment financially with your time, whatever it is. But I

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Speaker 1: do think that at some point there are going to

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Speaker 1: be more candidates trying to get out there, bucking the system,

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Speaker 1: creating their own systems and teams and leagues and whatever,

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Speaker 1: trying to at least create their own show, Heyotani, and

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Speaker 1: I do believe that once enough people make that attempt,

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Speaker 1: someone will be successful in doing so. But again, it's

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Speaker 1: a very high bar to meet and it might take

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Speaker 1: a while, but I think eventually someone else will at

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Speaker 1: least come close. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports

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Speaker 1: talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows

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Speaker 1: at Fox sports Radio dot com and within the I

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Speaker 1: Heart Radio app search f s R to listen live.

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Speaker 1: Biggest surprises ed in baseball this year? Would you go

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Speaker 1: Mariners given they are in the mix for the wild

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Speaker 1: Card or the Baltimore Orioles, who somehow are five. I

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Speaker 1: believe they're approaching their over underwind total um and they

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Speaker 1: might hit a year in the next week or two.

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Speaker 1: It is amazing. I mean, Seattle has been a great story,

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Speaker 1: but you think about last season, Uh, they were more

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Speaker 1: about fun differential than run differential. They were roughly a

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Speaker 1: five hundred ball club, but we were talking about them

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Speaker 1: potentially making the postseason, and I think because you're adding

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Speaker 1: a wild card with each league, they were certainly likelier

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Speaker 1: to make the postseason in the first place. And so

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Speaker 1: they've certainly been a great story. But as far as

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Speaker 1: what's surprising to me, I feel like it's more on

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Speaker 1: the other end of the spectrum. I have been, you know,

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Speaker 1: strangely disappointed in the White Sox. This was a ball

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Speaker 1: club that I seriously thought was going to run away

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Speaker 1: with the AO Central and be in contention with the

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Speaker 1: Astros and the Yankees to get one of those two

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Speaker 1: first round buys, and instead they're under five hundred at

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Speaker 1: this point, or roughly around five hundred. Meanwhile, Minnesota is

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Speaker 1: the one that's running away with this division, and by

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Speaker 1: my projections, the White Sox aren't even making the postseason.

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Speaker 1: That to me is an absolute shock, and so they're

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Speaker 1: probably the biggest surprise to me because I thought they

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Speaker 1: would be in a much better position than they are now.

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Speaker 1: Well from a gambling perspective, do you think would you

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Speaker 1: advise people, hey man, like you said, for fun, Mariners

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Speaker 1: Orioles put some pizza money to make the playoffs. Obviously

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Speaker 1: their numbers aren't great like they were, you know back

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Speaker 1: before the season. Uh, and you're not getting the best number,

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Speaker 1: but you know, something to get excited about in July

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Speaker 1: and August? Would you back the Mariners or Orioles to

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Speaker 1: make the postseason? The Mariners? I absolutely would, because I

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Speaker 1: think when you specifically look at the American League, there

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Speaker 1: just aren't that many ball clubs on the lower end

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Speaker 1: of say the wild card standings who I think can

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Speaker 1: really contend. Certainly, when you look at the American League East,

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Speaker 1: do you have a lot of teams out there that

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Speaker 1: are decent to very very good. The Red Sox are

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Speaker 1: are sort of on that cusp, The Rays are on

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Speaker 1: that cusp. But I do think the Blue Jays they're

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Speaker 1: probably getting that first wild card spot. And then that

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Speaker 1: makes total sense when you look at the hitting pitching

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Speaker 1: and starting to come around as well. I think Toronto

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Speaker 1: is kind of safe bet as far as that's concerned.

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Speaker 1: But when you're looking at the second and third wild

427
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,080
Speaker 1: card spots, absolutely seattle as a chance to win it.

428
00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,439
Speaker 1: I don't feel too good about Baltimore, almost regardless of

429
00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:12,080
Speaker 1: the number, because the division they're playing in is the

430
00:22:12,119 --> 00:22:16,480
Speaker 1: best division in baseball. Four teams could very well make

431
00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:19,160
Speaker 1: the postseason, and I don't think we would be surprised

432
00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:21,760
Speaker 1: if four out of five make it there, So for

433
00:22:21,840 --> 00:22:25,919
Speaker 1: Baltimore to sort of surpass say Boston or Tampa Bay,

434
00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,080
Speaker 1: I I just don't see it at this point. And granted,

435
00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:31,160
Speaker 1: you know, how is Baltimore doing it? You know, part

436
00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,240
Speaker 1: of it is very much pitching, And that goes back

437
00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:35,639
Speaker 1: to sort of the state of baseball right now is

438
00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:38,200
Speaker 1: that Baltimore is taking advantage of conditions at just the

439
00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:42,840
Speaker 1: right time. But at some point this streak will wear down,

440
00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,159
Speaker 1: and I think we're sort of looking at say, you know,

441
00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:48,520
Speaker 1: ten twelve games sample size and thinking that they can

442
00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:52,280
Speaker 1: continue this in the second half. At some point, you know,

443
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,120
Speaker 1: we're gonna get to the trade deadline. You know, they

444
00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,200
Speaker 1: may you know, look at what their assets are and

445
00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,720
Speaker 1: kind of evaluate where they are and realize, Okay, we

446
00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:02,560
Speaker 1: need to think about the future because we are getting close,

447
00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:05,880
Speaker 1: but we're certainly not in a situation to buy anything

448
00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:09,000
Speaker 1: because we are just that far behind everybody else who

449
00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:12,520
Speaker 1: will also be buyers. Yeah, speaking of buying and selling,

450
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,960
Speaker 1: would you buy the Padres now? Tattoos expected to return

451
00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:20,359
Speaker 1: from the risk surgery kind of sort of soon maybe

452
00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,280
Speaker 1: end of the month. But they're right in the playoff, Bax.

453
00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:25,880
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know. I feel like maybe they're

454
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:28,760
Speaker 1: they're a little undervalued at this point, or or disagree

455
00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:30,840
Speaker 1: or what where are you on on the Padres? They

456
00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:34,199
Speaker 1: are undervalued, They certainly are. I I do have some

457
00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:37,080
Speaker 1: questions because the deficit is so great in the National

458
00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:39,639
Speaker 1: League west of them surpassing the Dodgers. You know, the

459
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,000
Speaker 1: Dodgers are Juggernaut. They're gonna make another move. They're they're

460
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,040
Speaker 1: gonna be just fine as far as that's concerned, And

461
00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:46,080
Speaker 1: I thought it would be a little bit closer up

462
00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:49,280
Speaker 1: to this point. It's not whatever. But when you look

463
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,280
Speaker 1: at the Padres, the pitching has been just fantastic. We

464
00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 1: mentioned those guys before, and when you bring Tattoos back

465
00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,480
Speaker 1: in one of the things that the Padres hitters have

466
00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:00,439
Speaker 1: have really been missing is just a good, good bit

467
00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,280
Speaker 1: of pop, some power. Uh. You know, you look at

468
00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,640
Speaker 1: some preseason projections, Tattoos was expected to hit thirty five

469
00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:09,240
Speaker 1: home runs, which is you know, quite good, you know,

470
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,560
Speaker 1: all things considered, um and he's certainly not gonna you know,

471
00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:15,720
Speaker 1: have some gaudy home run total given that he'll only

472
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,800
Speaker 1: be playing two months at best. But at the same time,

473
00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:21,720
Speaker 1: that power just hasn't been there, and so it's quite

474
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,840
Speaker 1: possible that Tattoos comes back as an outfielder where they're

475
00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,439
Speaker 1: probably thinnest. Padres will be making some kind of a

476
00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,120
Speaker 1: move to sort of supplement probably the outfield, probably get

477
00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:32,639
Speaker 1: another bat, something of the sort, maybe a reliever. But

478
00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,479
Speaker 1: if you add some power to that mix, then all

479
00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:39,159
Speaker 1: of a sudden, the Padres are almost quite at the

480
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,760
Speaker 1: same level as some of the elite teams in the

481
00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 1: National League. And that's starting pitching, and we talked about

482
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:49,040
Speaker 1: you look at expected fielding, independent pitching, they're right there

483
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:51,959
Speaker 1: with the Mets and the Giants, maybe a little bit behind,

484
00:24:52,359 --> 00:24:55,040
Speaker 1: but not so far behind to where they can't make

485
00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,960
Speaker 1: it up for a couple of good bats and sort

486
00:24:57,960 --> 00:24:59,800
Speaker 1: of getting hot at the right time. Yeah, I do.

487
00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:04,359
Speaker 1: Under tattoos and the continual injuries, what's the deal? Do

488
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:07,760
Speaker 1: we know why he's always hurt? I you know, that's

489
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,080
Speaker 1: a very good question, and you know, sometimes there's information

490
00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:13,400
Speaker 1: that that you don't. You aren't necessarily privy too as

491
00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:16,400
Speaker 1: far as what's going on, But specifically when it comes

492
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:19,760
Speaker 1: to this particular injury, the timeline is about right. I

493
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:22,480
Speaker 1: think perhaps some people were voicing a little bit too

494
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:26,040
Speaker 1: much optimism as far as when he could return, But

495
00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,159
Speaker 1: if you look at say, other injuries similar to his,

496
00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:31,800
Speaker 1: it's about right as far as how long has been out.

497
00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,720
Speaker 1: Let's quickly talk about old guys, Albert pooh Holes, Clayton Kershaw.

498
00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:38,480
Speaker 1: Kershaw is not that old. I was fortunate enough to

499
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,480
Speaker 1: see him a couple of saturdays ago at Dodgers Datium.

500
00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:43,800
Speaker 1: I mean, the guys still incredible. But I had another

501
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:46,560
Speaker 1: buddy say, listen, look at his contract and he's getting old.

502
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:50,000
Speaker 1: Like if they win the World Series, does he walk off? Like?

503
00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,400
Speaker 1: I don't. What's your vibe on Kershaw? And well, when

504
00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:56,439
Speaker 1: it comes to Kershaw, certainly his fastball doesn't have the

505
00:25:56,480 --> 00:25:59,840
Speaker 1: same velocities have once did. But sometimes the older guys

506
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:01,919
Speaker 1: make up for it by being just a little bit

507
00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:04,840
Speaker 1: smarter and perhaps going to other pitches. And that's certainly

508
00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:06,720
Speaker 1: what Kershaw has done. You saw what he did against

509
00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:10,159
Speaker 1: the Angels, and uh, it was certainly something where elite.

510
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:12,520
Speaker 1: Kershaw certainly still exists. And I feel like that he's

511
00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:15,480
Speaker 1: enough of a competitor, uh to where you know, even

512
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:17,960
Speaker 1: at the Dodgers win the World Series this year. Yes,

513
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,600
Speaker 1: he is a little bit older, but I still feel

514
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:24,080
Speaker 1: like that competitive drive is still there. Maybe I'm wrong, perhaps,

515
00:26:24,600 --> 00:26:27,959
Speaker 1: but there are enough reasons where he could still go

516
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,840
Speaker 1: out there and perform. And you know, maybe it's not

517
00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:34,399
Speaker 1: a Dodger uniform. I mean, he knows. I mean I

518
00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,359
Speaker 1: don't know. I mean, these things happen, right like someone

519
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,120
Speaker 1: sort of overstays there, welcome. It's hard to say, but

520
00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:43,959
Speaker 1: you know, when it comes to Kershaw, Okay, fine, the

521
00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:47,280
Speaker 1: skills have wayned just a tad, but I feel like,

522
00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,320
Speaker 1: you know, it's not to the point where it's embarrassing.

523
00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:53,200
Speaker 1: Like he can he can go deep into games, and

524
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:56,000
Speaker 1: I think that stamina leads me to believe that he

525
00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,600
Speaker 1: can still do this for a little while in whatever

526
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:01,120
Speaker 1: capacity that may be. So that's gonna be the big question.

527
00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:03,879
Speaker 1: But as far as the pool Holes is concerned, you know,

528
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:06,520
Speaker 1: the hitting isn't quite there. I mean, the batting average

529
00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:08,000
Speaker 1: is a little bit low. He can still get a

530
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:09,960
Speaker 1: few home runs out there. I think the Derby is

531
00:27:09,960 --> 00:27:12,520
Speaker 1: a nice honor for him, and certainly he's done some

532
00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,520
Speaker 1: fantastic things in baseball. Yes, he's a future Hall of Famer.

533
00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,040
Speaker 1: You know, is he gonna get to seven hundred home runs?

534
00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:20,560
Speaker 1: I don't think so. I I just don't think they're

535
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:23,400
Speaker 1: gonna be enough opportunities. And also to the Cardinals are

536
00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,040
Speaker 1: very much in the hunt for making the postseason, and

537
00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:28,680
Speaker 1: so I think there's also that that St. Louis needs

538
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,080
Speaker 1: to be mindful of. And they also have some good hitters.

539
00:27:31,119 --> 00:27:33,119
Speaker 1: And so do you really want to subject pool Holes

540
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:37,679
Speaker 1: to uh, you know, chasing a record when the Cardinals

541
00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:39,919
Speaker 1: are going after that third wild card spot, you know,

542
00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,679
Speaker 1: trying to take down the Phillies getting there. I feel

543
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:48,280
Speaker 1: like that that balance of being competitive versus uh, you know,

544
00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:52,560
Speaker 1: giving pool Holes enough opportunities, I feel like the competitive

545
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:56,280
Speaker 1: part wins out. Yeah. Just to circle back on Kershaw

546
00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:58,960
Speaker 1: not in a Dodgers uniform would stune me? Now? He's

547
00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:00,920
Speaker 1: a Dallas guy, but he talks about you know, the

548
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,200
Speaker 1: famous high school he went to with all these other athletes.

549
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:09,439
Speaker 1: You went there, Oh no, no, no, no, okay, Highland

550
00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:11,760
Speaker 1: Park was like within walking distance, and so I got

551
00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:14,720
Speaker 1: to hear all sorts of great stories about uh Kershaw

552
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,400
Speaker 1: and Matthew Stafford and all those things. What do you

553
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,960
Speaker 1: think he could end up with, like the Texas Rangers

554
00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:22,200
Speaker 1: to close out his career or something like that. I

555
00:28:22,640 --> 00:28:24,400
Speaker 1: don't know. I mean, I don't know how much that

556
00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:26,919
Speaker 1: means to him. Uh. You know, I know that he

557
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:30,680
Speaker 1: has endeared himself to Dodger fans, so it may very

558
00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:32,720
Speaker 1: well be something where he wants to know, stick around

559
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,240
Speaker 1: as much as possible, and there there's some ways to

560
00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:37,800
Speaker 1: do that and finagle that. So, I mean, it's hard

561
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:40,640
Speaker 1: for me to say. And you know, certainly it would

562
00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:43,960
Speaker 1: be weird to see him not being a Dodger uniform. Yeah,

563
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,239
Speaker 1: very it would be strange, and and I don't I

564
00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:50,800
Speaker 1: think that will happen, But it's not what It's within

565
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,840
Speaker 1: the realm of possibilities, in large part because the Dodgers,

566
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:56,560
Speaker 1: you know, they're going to be competitive for a long

567
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,000
Speaker 1: time and they want to make sure that that starting

568
00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,120
Speaker 1: rotation is the absolute best in baseball. For the most part,

569
00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:05,600
Speaker 1: it's been year in and year out. And if Kershaw's

570
00:29:05,600 --> 00:29:08,920
Speaker 1: skills wane to a certain point and he's not ready

571
00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:11,880
Speaker 1: to retire, I wouldn't be surprised if that happens. But

572
00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:15,920
Speaker 1: at the same time, you know, there's there's legacy and

573
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:17,720
Speaker 1: all those other things that you have to keep in mind,

574
00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:20,360
Speaker 1: and so it's a tough position to be in, but

575
00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:22,280
Speaker 1: it may not be something that we need to worry

576
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,760
Speaker 1: about anytime. So I'm just trying to think, like thirty

577
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:28,560
Speaker 1: four for a picture, Uh, is that considered near the end?

578
00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:32,160
Speaker 1: Or I mean historically, I don't know how long pittures go.

579
00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:34,000
Speaker 1: I know, we know hitters can last stick around for

580
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,720
Speaker 1: a long much longer. We're what about thirty four years old?

581
00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:39,520
Speaker 1: Is that considered near the end? Sure? Hitters, you know,

582
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:41,960
Speaker 1: they can get into their forties and still be serviceable.

583
00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:44,400
Speaker 1: I mean we saw Randy Johnson, uh get to be

584
00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:46,560
Speaker 1: forty forty one. If I'm not mistake, I'd have to

585
00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:48,440
Speaker 1: look that up. But I want to say that forty

586
00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:51,440
Speaker 1: was around the right number for him. So Kershaw's you know,

587
00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:55,280
Speaker 1: if he is pitching as as wisely as you would

588
00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:58,160
Speaker 1: expect him to. It's it's certainly something where he may

589
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,400
Speaker 1: have a few more good years left in him. I mean,

590
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:02,680
Speaker 1: pictures are a little bit harder to project because it's

591
00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,440
Speaker 1: a little bit more volatible, whereas a hitter's kind of

592
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,680
Speaker 1: wayne at roughly the same rate across the board. But

593
00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:11,560
Speaker 1: with pictures, it could very well be, you know, one

594
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:15,239
Speaker 1: bad injury or one setback, or one pitch in your

595
00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,360
Speaker 1: arsenal not working, and then it throws the whole thing off,

596
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:20,760
Speaker 1: and so it's a little bit tougher to sort of

597
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:24,280
Speaker 1: handicap his chances going forward. Uh. And and that may

598
00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:26,120
Speaker 1: be something that Kershaus sort of keeps in mind as

599
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:28,120
Speaker 1: far as you know, when he wants to hang it up.

600
00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:30,160
Speaker 1: I don't get the sense he wants to do it

601
00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,000
Speaker 1: anytime soon. Maybe others closer to him have a better idea,

602
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,160
Speaker 1: But at this rate, it's still fun to watch him pitch,

603
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,760
Speaker 1: and he certainly still has it. Yeah, alright, Edward, Uh,

604
00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:41,240
Speaker 1: you still work with Bali's and Van Duel. I mean,

605
00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:43,400
Speaker 1: the guys. He's got more checks than than I do

606
00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,640
Speaker 1: at this point, just cleaning up continued success and thanks

607
00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:48,800
Speaker 1: for taking the time. Thank you so much, my pleasure,