Speaker 1: Well, the All Star break coming almost to a conclusion.
Speaker 1: Baseball will be back in the second half here very
Speaker 1: shortly with the Orioles in Houston. But today on Birdland Territory,
Speaker 1: it's a first for us. It's a Birdland Territory mail
Speaker 1: bag show. We asked you, guys and gals to send
Speaker 1: in some questions, and you did so without further ado.
Speaker 1: Let's get to their questions right away and Steve, Tim
Speaker 1: and Brad will answer him as best we can on
Speaker 1: this edition of Birdland Territory. Guido, I bet he's not
Speaker 1: Polish guy like me. He asked, who do they call
Speaker 1: to replace Blaze? Now we mentioned on a recent show,
Speaker 1: and by the time people see this they may have
Speaker 1: already called someone for all we know. So if they have,
Speaker 1: forgive us. But as we tape it, they haven't philled
Speaker 1: bet yet. We mentioned Christian and Carnassi on Strand, who's
Speaker 1: hit with pop in his brief big league time in Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: is having a big year, swinging at a triple A.
Speaker 1: He is on the Oriels forty man roster and guys,
Speaker 1: that's all all almost always important when they make a
Speaker 1: call up, And of course the caveat here is at
Speaker 1: the trade deadline, they could trade for someone someone the
Speaker 1: other team is a backup somewhere else, and maybe they
Speaker 1: like him a lot. Hey, what guys, what thoughts do
Speaker 1: you guys have on this one?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I kind of think I don't know if it's
Speaker 2: gonna be Steve. It might be the guy you just mentioned.
Speaker 2: He might come up to the big leagues, but I
Speaker 2: don't know if it's gonna be on an everyday basis,
Speaker 2: like Blaze was playing. I think if anything, they're gonna
Speaker 2: use the guys they have and just kind of Kobe, like,
Speaker 2: have Kobe play more at third base, and Jackson Holliday
Speaker 2: is pretty much gonna get every day at second and
Speaker 2: maybe they pledge Jeremiah Jackson at third base. I think
Speaker 2: he has a little bit of third base experience. So
Speaker 2: I don't know if it's gonna be a trade. I
Speaker 2: don't know if it's gonna be anybody from Triple A.
Speaker 2: I just think they might use the roster they have now,
Speaker 2: and we've kind of mentioned early on in the season
Speaker 2: it's kind of who they got right now is who
Speaker 2: they got, and there's not a ton of depth really
Speaker 2: at the Triple A level to kind of bring up
Speaker 2: somebody to replace a guy like Blaze. I don't know
Speaker 2: if there's many utility guys that they have, so to me,
Speaker 2: I just kind of feel like they're gonna it's just
Speaker 2: gonna be more playing time for guys on the roster,
Speaker 2: and I think that could be a good thing.
Speaker 3: I think the guys they have right now can win games.
Speaker 2: And yes, it's gonna be tough to replace the at
Speaker 2: bats and the approach that Blaze has, but I feel
Speaker 2: like with the guys that they have, they're gonna be
Speaker 2: able to get enough production that they don't need to
Speaker 2: go outside the organization. That's just what I think is
Speaker 2: gonna happen. And you guys might have a little bit
Speaker 2: more insight than I'm seeing or have.
Speaker 4: I would definitely be surprised if they swing this big
Speaker 4: trade to bring in, you know, an everyday third baseman.
Speaker 4: I do kind of side with more of what you're saying, Brad,
Speaker 4: whether it's bringing up Ankarnazi on Strand or I doubt
Speaker 4: they do it at this point because and I didn't
Speaker 4: like it when they were even trying it, but they
Speaker 4: did try Jackson Holiday at third base when they were
Speaker 4: you know, having him during the rehab assignment. I'm assuming
Speaker 4: that's well beyond at this point. Jeremiah Jackson's definitely an
Speaker 4: option there, but ultimately they need to at least get
Speaker 4: to a point at third base where it's.
Speaker 5: More of a platoon.
Speaker 4: Kobe Mayo is going to start at third base every
Speaker 4: single time a left handed pitcher is up there, because
Speaker 4: he matches left handed pitching.
Speaker 5: But he's just probably not at the point where he.
Speaker 4: Can play every day at third base defensively and also
Speaker 4: with the bat because he's really struggled against right handed pitching.
Speaker 4: I expect a move to be made, it's just maybe
Speaker 4: expectations need to be tempered on who they're going to
Speaker 4: acquire if they do.
Speaker 1: It's a mailbag show on this edition of Birdland Territory
Speaker 1: from Maryland, ed three point fifteen, and you guys wrote
Speaker 1: questions on our YouTube comments section, which we appreciate all
Speaker 1: the comments we've been getting. By the way, there's really
Speaker 1: are great, so keep them coming. And some of some
Speaker 1: of us out saw that he's on Twitter. So Tim,
Speaker 1: what two to three words best describe the Orioles year
Speaker 1: so far?
Speaker 4: Frustrating A roller coaster ride. I guess that's three words.
Speaker 4: A frustrating roller coaster ride. Maybe it's it's up and down.
Speaker 4: And we were talking on Sunday's episode, guys, how all
Speaker 4: right four.
Speaker 3: Game winning streak, like is this it is this going
Speaker 3: to get them going?
Speaker 4: And we've seen this before, the you know, winning that
Speaker 4: series at LA at the Dodgers. They're one of the
Speaker 4: best teams in all of baseball, the best team in
Speaker 4: all of baseball, and then you drop that series against
Speaker 4: the Angels, who were tied with the Royals for the worst.
Speaker 5: Record in the American League.
Speaker 4: So it's it's just been frustrating and you keep waiting
Speaker 4: for you know, Gunner to get going and so many
Speaker 4: of these guys, but I keep going back to saying,
Speaker 4: sustain success like that, that's what has been lacking from
Speaker 4: this team. We've seen individual performances, we've seen even individual series, Steve,
Speaker 4: you mentioned it the other day, like they swept the Rays,
Speaker 4: they won a series against the Yankees, they won a
Speaker 4: series at the Dodgers. Like see, these are some of
Speaker 4: the best teams in all of baseball, but it just
Speaker 4: hasn't been seen on a consistent basis, whether it's the offense,
Speaker 4: certainly the defense, that the starting pitching which has been
Speaker 4: great of late over the past month and a half
Speaker 4: the Bullpen. It's just they haven't been able to put
Speaker 4: it all together for a prolonged period of time.
Speaker 1: What do you say, Brad?
Speaker 2: Yeah, Tim, I agree, and I'm going to go extremely
Speaker 2: positive on this. I'm going to go still in it
Speaker 2: because at this point they still are.
Speaker 3: So it's as frustrating.
Speaker 2: As this season has been, Yeah, it could be that
Speaker 2: exciting in the second half, just because the American League,
Speaker 2: nobody wants to do anything. They don't want to get,
Speaker 2: you know, gain some ground on anybody else. So as
Speaker 2: frustrating as it all has been, I still believe this
Speaker 2: team has the pieces that they need to win and
Speaker 2: at this point they're still in it. So I'm going
Speaker 2: to go with still in it at this point. And
Speaker 2: it's been It has definitely been everything you said. Roller
Speaker 2: coaster rider is a great way to describe it. But yeah,
Speaker 2: they're still alive and that's all you can really ask
Speaker 2: for heading into July and close to the trade deadline
Speaker 2: here is that this team still has a chance. They
Speaker 2: still have the guys that we thought could make the playoffs,
Speaker 2: so why not then why not the be their second
Speaker 2: half here and kind of take it by the reins
Speaker 2: and go and make the playoffs.
Speaker 3: You just never know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I like that a lot, but I'm going to
Speaker 1: go back to negative town and say very disappointed. But
Speaker 1: you know, just we just look at the preseason expectations. Man,
Speaker 1: people were thinking this team could win the East. National
Speaker 1: pundits were saying it's a four team race. They left
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay out, Tampa Base on top of the division,
Speaker 1: you know their things. So this has just been really
Speaker 1: disappointing for the Orioles. That doesn't mean it's not salvageable.
Speaker 1: We've discussed that on previous show that we ended the
Speaker 1: first half on a pretty high note. On this show,
Speaker 1: excited to see a four game winning streak, pointing out
Speaker 1: how crucial it is ow of the break as they're
Speaker 1: playing direct contenders for that wild card.
Speaker 4: Spond him, and it's worth mentioning again, like we've seen
Speaker 4: so many of these instances of teams the first one
Speaker 4: hundred games, the Orioles are ninety seven.
Speaker 5: Where it's an extreme disappointment.
Speaker 4: Guys, go back to last year, the Tigers looked like
Speaker 4: they were going to run away with the Central and
Speaker 4: then the Guardians roaring back and even the Tigers from
Speaker 4: a couple of years ago where they have one of
Speaker 4: the most improbable comebacks to make the playoffs and MLB
Speaker 4: history and selling at the deadline and Steve, that was
Speaker 4: one of your bold predictions, you know in the last
Speaker 4: episode that we did. Possibly selling a Taylor Ward and
Speaker 4: a Trevor Rodgers and still making the playoffs. It is
Speaker 4: possible because, like we were saying in the trade deadline episode,
Speaker 4: it's going to take the guys that are on this team.
Speaker 4: I understand fans wanting big moves to be made and
Speaker 4: this savior to come in and save this team, but ultimately,
Speaker 4: if they're able to change this narrative, change how we
Speaker 4: view this season, it's going to be on the twenty
Speaker 4: six guys that are on the active roster right now.
Speaker 1: It's a mail bag edition on Birdland Territory. Our first
Speaker 1: certainly won't be our last. We love all the comments
Speaker 1: we've been getting, so keep subscribing to our YouTube channel,
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Speaker 1: we're getting as you guys are keeping our channel humming.
Speaker 1: So man, we really appreciate how Birdland has found Birdland territory,
Speaker 1: and we got more of your questions coming up.
Speaker 4: We're in the middle of the all third break, but
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Speaker 5: Thank you.
Speaker 1: Seek all right, Tim, appreciate that. Let me hit some
Speaker 1: right buttons here. Uh well, we throw three or four
Speaker 1: clicks at Steve Man. You got a real chance for
Speaker 1: an issue. So let's get this back on the back
Speaker 1: on the channels here and keep rolling Berland Territory our
Speaker 1: mail bag show. And on we go with the next
Speaker 1: one from doctor Schiz. The Schiz says, who are the
Speaker 1: other people there to report to and support Michae Elias
Speaker 1: and the upcoming deadline decisions? Now I'll throw out a
Speaker 1: bunch of names, many of which you've heard. Top lieutenants
Speaker 1: to Elias of course, includes sig Mydell and Ebrosenbaum. They've
Speaker 1: been with the Ools for years. In the last year
Speaker 1: or two, Brandon Forney was promoted to assistant channel manager.
Speaker 1: So I think a three men and woman, it's maybe four.
Speaker 1: Now I'll throw out a name. Danny hass As a
Speaker 1: special assistant with the Oriols, special assistant to Michael Olias.
Speaker 1: Very well respected, longtime scout in the game. This is
Speaker 1: his second tour with the Orioles. I don't see him
Speaker 1: much around Camden Yards, but I know he's working around
Speaker 1: the game. And I'll say I'll throw these guys out too.
Speaker 1: What about Adam Jones and Cal Ripken. They are employed
Speaker 1: by the team and they are assistants to Elias. And
Speaker 1: what about Mike Schult You've got a former major league
Speaker 1: manager on staff. Now we've talked about him working with
Speaker 1: player development, but there's a respected opinion on a player,
Speaker 1: on a move, on anything. Michael las can pick up
Speaker 1: one phone and they go back to a long way. So, guys,
Speaker 1: I used to try a poll of names there. Who
Speaker 1: knows the names they rely on the most. It's funny baseball.
Speaker 1: You can look at media guides and if you just
Speaker 1: go by the order they list the names. Sometimes you
Speaker 1: think that's the priority of but it's the twelfth guy
Speaker 1: listed might be the real key guy for the GM.
Speaker 1: So you never completely knows what I'm trying to say.
Speaker 4: Well, I think ultimately it takes a village in any
Speaker 4: MLB front office, right And I'm sure, Look, there's some
Speaker 4: gms for some teams that are maybe more dictator like
Speaker 4: and this is my decision, and I'm gonna go with
Speaker 4: my decision, and that's that. But if there's something that
Speaker 4: we've learned over now this year eight of Michael Isias's tenure,
Speaker 4: as you know, GM President of Baseball Operations, over the
Speaker 4: past year or two, they keep everything close to the
Speaker 4: vest man. There is not many leaks. There is not
Speaker 4: much like when a move happens. That's typically when it happens.
Speaker 4: You don't get too much foreshadowing where there's some front
Speaker 4: offices that play the game and they leak some things
Speaker 4: out to the media Jeff Passing and so on and
Speaker 4: so forth. But I just keep thinking how interesting this
Speaker 4: deadline is going to be for so many different things
Speaker 4: where the Orioles are right there, but they have to
Speaker 4: jump a lot of teams, and Michael Oias, he says
Speaker 4: that he would do what's best for the organization. Moving
Speaker 4: forward and not just worrying about his job security. But
Speaker 4: there's just so many layers to this trade deadline.
Speaker 2: Brad, Yeah, it is, and like I think, like Steve said,
Speaker 2: it's at the end of the day, the decision will
Speaker 2: come down to Elias. I think he'll okay, but he's
Speaker 2: got who knows how many people helping him out to
Speaker 2: get all the information that he needs and to run
Speaker 2: all these simulations and all this kind of stuff. I'd
Speaker 2: be curious to see, with the National League being so
Speaker 2: top heavy, if one of these teams, like Steve's bold prediction,
Speaker 2: they trade Trevor Rodgers if they don't get a young
Speaker 2: starter who's on one of these National League rotations right
Speaker 2: now that is not maybe not established, but he's in
Speaker 2: the rotation right now, and he comes over to Baltimore
Speaker 2: and there is years of control. But they need a
Speaker 2: top guy, which Trevor Rodgers is showed here. It'd be
Speaker 2: interesting to see if they could get a starting piece
Speaker 2: back that could slot into the rotation right now and
Speaker 2: maybe has four or five years of control and kind
Speaker 2: of has is not a guy in the minor leagues,
Speaker 2: but it's a guy who's right there ready to kind
Speaker 2: of run with a leeway on the big league roster.
Speaker 2: I think that could be something that would be interesting,
Speaker 2: just because the National League looks like it's going to
Speaker 2: come down to a top couple teams. I think the
Speaker 2: American League's going to be tough to make a trade
Speaker 2: because there's so many teams there that you don't want
Speaker 2: to give somebody else an advantage. So I just I
Speaker 2: think if you look at the National League, I think
Speaker 2: something could come from there.
Speaker 3: And like we said, it.
Speaker 2: Could be who knows what team is going to be
Speaker 2: or what guy it's going to be, but I think
Speaker 2: that could definitely be something to look at here for
Speaker 2: the deadline totally.
Speaker 4: And Steve, i'd like your perspective on this as well,
Speaker 4: because we haven't mentioned this. Scouts, you know, scouts out
Speaker 4: there possibly scouting players. Just how important is that, Steve?
Speaker 4: You see them in the press box.
Speaker 1: Yeah, very important. And you know, I think the Orioles
Speaker 1: are some fans. I think they're just a spreadsheet organization.
Speaker 1: You know, they split some data out and they make
Speaker 1: a call, and that's probably somewhat true. I know in
Speaker 1: the draft they have their draft model and they heavily
Speaker 1: rely on that and that's a data driven thing. That's
Speaker 1: how they do it, that's what they believe in. But
Speaker 1: I think Elias's background was an area of scout. That's
Speaker 1: how he started for the Saint Louis Cardinals back of
Speaker 1: the day scouting this region. He spent times in ballparks
Speaker 1: than Frederick and Bowie when he wasn't working for the
Speaker 1: Oriels scouting players. So I got to believe that that's
Speaker 1: still a trusted voice. The scouting department has dwindled all
Speaker 1: over baseball, including in Baltimore, and I don't like that trend.
Speaker 1: And the other thing is you can look at a
Speaker 1: hierarchy of a team and see a guy's name as
Speaker 1: scouting and they'll say he's amateur scout. And I'll run
Speaker 1: into the guy on the road in Houston and he'll say, oh,
Speaker 1: I've been scouting pro for the last two months. So
Speaker 1: you just never know what they're having guys do. They're
Speaker 1: employees of the Orioles, and Elias may say, I need
Speaker 1: you to go watch the Saint Louis Cardinals for a
Speaker 1: month and I trust your opinion. And then a lot
Speaker 1: this time of year with trade deadline, sometimes media looks
Speaker 1: who's or the scouts are in the stands, you know,
Speaker 1: and they try to match it up. Oh, a met
Speaker 1: scout's been following the Orioles for the last ten days.
Speaker 1: What does that mean? It might mean nothing at all,
Speaker 1: So we just don't know. It's really it's a fascinating game.
Speaker 1: I guess it's one of a million reasons why we
Speaker 1: love it. So mail back question from Charles what moves
Speaker 1: do you guys think Elias will make? If it's a trade,
Speaker 1: who do you think we would target? That's a hard
Speaker 1: one to answer specific names. Maybe, I don't know what
Speaker 1: do you guys have any thoughts on that, whether it's
Speaker 1: a name or what position or an aspect of the team. Maybe.
Speaker 4: I think Brad brought up a great point, where can
Speaker 4: this sort of be like a buying and selling thing?
Speaker 4: You trade a Trevor Rodgers who's only have a couple
Speaker 4: months left of his contract before hitting free agency?
Speaker 5: Can you get more of a control aible guy that
Speaker 5: is in the.
Speaker 4: Majors at that point, are on the cusp of making
Speaker 4: the majors, And if the Orioles end up going that direction,
Speaker 4: I think outfield is definitely big. Taylor Ward obviously a
Speaker 4: looming free agent, we'll see if he ends up getting
Speaker 4: traded at This third base situation is interesting now, but
Speaker 4: I'm sort of looking outfield bullpen teams can always use
Speaker 4: bullpen help at this time of year, but a controllable
Speaker 4: starter is is definitely something that this organization would covin.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think it's you know, you can look
Speaker 2: for no further than the Dodgers and the Phillies right now.
Speaker 3: I mean win now organizations.
Speaker 2: The Dodgers are win now and forever, it feels like,
Speaker 2: but the Phillies especially are just a win now.
Speaker 3: They have guys that are.
Speaker 2: You know, towards the twilights of their career, still very
Speaker 2: good players, but they're towards the twilight, and it's they
Speaker 2: want to win a.
Speaker 3: Championship, and they're one or two pieces away.
Speaker 2: And I think they would love to have a Trevor
Speaker 2: Rodgers and who knows, maybe Trevor Rodgers tailor award or
Speaker 2: package together and they go somewhere to somewhere in the
Speaker 2: National League and you get a couple of young players.
Speaker 3: Like I said, maybe there's one major league ready player, maybe.
Speaker 2: Guy in Triple A, maybe a guy that's back and
Speaker 2: forth between Triple A and the major leagues, But I
Speaker 2: don't think it necessarily has to be a sell off
Speaker 2: when you when you look at trading these guys, I
Speaker 2: don't know if it will necessarily have to go down
Speaker 2: as the Orioles selling. It could be getting rid of
Speaker 2: some players for next year's team or something along those lines,
Speaker 2: because it's just at this point, to me, it just
Speaker 2: doesn't make sense to call this a sell if they
Speaker 2: decide to trade, because you have all the pieces that
Speaker 2: you want to win, if not this year, next year.
Speaker 3: And it's just it's just it's a tough spot.
Speaker 2: I feel like they're in because it's not a complete
Speaker 2: sell off unless out of nowhere they decide the trade
Speaker 2: adlye to me, that would indicate to sell off.
Speaker 3: But I just can't imagine that happening.
Speaker 2: At this point, especially with the way this weekend when
Speaker 2: and the timeframe is getting so short here that it's
Speaker 2: it's going to be definitely interesting to see how plays off.
Speaker 2: I don't know exactly what players they would target or
Speaker 2: what positions, but to me, I just feel like, if
Speaker 2: there's something that can help this team win now but
Speaker 2: moving into next year, I just feel like it's something
Speaker 2: you need to really consider and look at.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's a good point about you know, if
Speaker 1: you're trading a big enough name that brings multiple players back,
Speaker 1: it could be one of those players is immediate help,
Speaker 1: a bullpen piece for instance. A second could be a
Speaker 1: double a pitcher who's a year or two away you
Speaker 1: like a lot. A third could be a Dominican summer
Speaker 1: league player who's five years away as a kid you've
Speaker 1: scouted for a couple of years and you really like. So,
Speaker 1: I mean, there's a lot of ways this can work.
Speaker 1: And that deal is that deal brings you players for today, tomorrow,
Speaker 1: and five years from tomorrow. So a lot of interesting
Speaker 1: trades can happen.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm sort of thinking back, Steve, what was it
Speaker 4: twenty twenty four when the Orioles traded Austin Hayes to
Speaker 4: the Phillies. I can't remember if that was for Mingez
Speaker 4: or Soto, but it was one of those two relievers
Speaker 4: because they were both on the Phillies at that point,
Speaker 4: and one other minor move. Now, obviously that Orioles twenty
Speaker 4: twenty four team ended up making the playoffs and they
Speaker 4: were true buyers, but the point being they still traded
Speaker 4: a major league player in Austin Hayes to help augment
Speaker 4: an area of their team, the bullpen in that case exactly.
Speaker 1: It's our mailbag show on Birdland Territory. More of your
Speaker 1: questions coming right up.
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Speaker 1: It's our mailbag show in Birdland's territory. We roll in
Speaker 1: here with James question he felt in the game the
Speaker 1: last game before the break Blames Alexander was ticked off
Speaker 1: because he was quick pitched by Earth Sag so he
Speaker 1: couldn't get out of the way of the pitch, and asked, Brad,
Speaker 1: how do you feel about quick pitching? First of all,
Speaker 1: do you think that happened there with Ursach?
Speaker 2: He definitely was mixing you a quick pitch. I don't
Speaker 2: know exactly if it was on that particular pitch, but
Speaker 2: I know hitters don't like it, and I get it
Speaker 2: from their perspective. But at the same time, as a pitcher,
Speaker 2: these guys now with the big legs, I'm not willing
Speaker 2: to just be a batting practice picture up there and
Speaker 2: let you take your huge leg kick and take your
Speaker 2: huge swing on a pitch that's in the zone. And
Speaker 2: I have two stories in particular that I used a
Speaker 2: quick pitch and it was JJ Hardy played with Prince.
Speaker 3: Fielder, came up with him through the Brewers.
Speaker 2: System, and he told me he's like he absolutely hates it,
Speaker 2: like it pisses him off and he can't stand it.
Speaker 2: So I had a chance to do it to him
Speaker 2: in Texas when he was with the Rangers. After I
Speaker 2: got done doing it. For those of fans, I don't
Speaker 2: know who Prince Fielder is, He's like a bear. The
Speaker 2: guy was gigantic, and it was the last guy I
Speaker 2: think I wanted to piss off. But I knew when
Speaker 2: I got to two strikes if I did it, JJ
Speaker 2: was like, you will get a swing and to miss
Speaker 2: and he's going to be pissed.
Speaker 3: So I did a quick pitch change up to him.
Speaker 2: It was in the dirt, and he just took like
Speaker 2: a half swing and he just kind of stared at
Speaker 2: me after and I think it was the end the inning,
Speaker 2: and I just walked off the mound because it was
Speaker 2: like I knew he was not going to be happy.
Speaker 3: He was.
Speaker 2: They think it's kind of a trick thing that pictures do,
Speaker 2: and it's like a kind of a BS thing that
Speaker 2: pictures do. But for me, it was more I used
Speaker 2: it on quick pitch change up and I had pitching
Speaker 2: coaches who told me, if you're gonna do it, don't
Speaker 2: necessarily do it on a fastball, because yes, it messes
Speaker 2: up their timing. But if you do a quick pitch,
Speaker 2: they think you're throwing fastball, so you get ready for
Speaker 2: something that's hard, you throwing something soft and they can't
Speaker 2: possibly be ready for it. I did the Chase Utley also.
Speaker 2: I was told he hates it also, and he gave
Speaker 2: me the same type of swing, and it was just
Speaker 2: it's like two guys who were, you know, one of
Speaker 2: the two of the better hitters during the time when
Speaker 2: I was coming up, and it was fun to use
Speaker 2: against them. But I so, I don't really know what
Speaker 2: I'm trying to say. I like it from a pictures perspective,
Speaker 2: and I used it at times, But is it kind
Speaker 2: of a BS kind of trick pitch thing. It is,
Speaker 2: but it's all about messing up timing, and I just
Speaker 2: feel like, especially in today's game, that's really what it's
Speaker 2: all about, is just trying to mess up hitters timing
Speaker 2: with the highlight kicks and the big swings that they take.
Speaker 2: If you're able to mess up their timing just a
Speaker 2: little bit, it's really hard for them to catch up
Speaker 2: to Ersac throwing ninety eight. I just feel like if
Speaker 2: you're a pitcher that's gonna do it, you got to
Speaker 2: throw over the plate because that the whole point is
Speaker 2: to get a swing in the miss.
Speaker 3: It's not to just get a take.
Speaker 2: And I think and if he did quick pitch there
Speaker 2: with the fastball, it's got to be over the plate
Speaker 2: when you do it because hitters don't have time to
Speaker 2: react and they're they're messed up.
Speaker 3: They're trying to get their timing right.
Speaker 2: And if that was the case, I could see Blaze
Speaker 2: being super pissed because he.
Speaker 3: Wasn't ready to get out of the way. And if
Speaker 3: it did that was the case, then it's unfortunate that
Speaker 3: it did cause the injury.
Speaker 1: Is it?
Speaker 5: Le's magnified?
Speaker 4: Maybe now Brad, we don't have the pitch clock, or
Speaker 4: excuse me, the now that we do have the pitch clock,
Speaker 4: is quick pitching less of a deal.
Speaker 2: You would say, I haven't seen it as much. I
Speaker 2: haven't seen guys do it a ton. I think a
Speaker 2: lot of times too. With the way mechanics are with pitchers,
Speaker 2: they can get out of whack so quick now, and
Speaker 2: everybody's trying to go max effort on every single pitch
Speaker 2: that they throw, whether they're a starter or reliever that
Speaker 2: I feel like the quick pitch has kind of gone
Speaker 2: a little bit out of the game, just because I
Speaker 2: feel like pitchers are so in tune with how they
Speaker 2: move and all this stuff. To me, it was kind
Speaker 2: of just get it and throw it. And I was
Speaker 2: a quick pitcher, as it was like quick in between pitches.
Speaker 2: As it was so the quick the clock wouldn't have
Speaker 2: messed me up. But I know some guys are so
Speaker 2: intuned with what they're doing that I have not seen
Speaker 2: it as much. But Ersak was definitely someone I've seen
Speaker 2: even the previous series, he liked to use a quick
Speaker 2: pitch just to kind of mess up timing. So I
Speaker 2: think with the quick with the pitch clock, I think
Speaker 2: it has kind of gone out of the game a
Speaker 2: little bit.
Speaker 1: That might have led to Blaze's disappointment here. Not just
Speaker 1: so he got hit, but like you just said, if
Speaker 1: you're going to quick pitch, throw it over.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: So he got a quick pitched and you're not completely
Speaker 1: set and he got hit.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And that was that was what the pitching coaches
Speaker 2: that told me to do it. They said, if you're
Speaker 2: gonna do it, you got to throw it over the
Speaker 2: plate because you're not trying. It doesn't help you if
Speaker 2: you throw it for a ball, so it or like
Speaker 2: a pitch that's completely out of the zone and you're
Speaker 2: not gonna get a swing because the whole point is
Speaker 2: to get a swing on it, because it's either going
Speaker 2: to be a bad swing or it's gonna be a
Speaker 2: swing and a miss.
Speaker 3: So it's that was the whole point of it. And
Speaker 3: I could see why.
Speaker 2: Blaize was pissed because if you're gonna do that to
Speaker 2: mess up my timing, throw it over the plate, because
Speaker 2: I'm already messed up as it is. When you missed
Speaker 2: that far inside, you don't give him a chance to
Speaker 2: really do much because everything is off their timing, their rhythm, everything,
Speaker 2: and it's just it complicates things a lot.
Speaker 1: Good friend of mine, Steve Stewart, I work with in
Speaker 1: Baltimore Radio, is one of the broadcasters for many years
Speaker 1: for the Royals. He texted me Sunday night to basically say,
Speaker 1: the coaches were surprised that Blaze got hurt. They all
Speaker 1: thought he got hit of the arm. They didn't know
Speaker 1: he got hit in the hand. They thought he was
Speaker 1: gonna be okay. He hit his shoulder or armed something
Speaker 1: high and tight, but that ball got through to the
Speaker 1: hand and they were surprised and their sack. I don't
Speaker 1: think was throwing intentionally. I don't think therein that either,
Speaker 1: but just disappointed at the injury. And so the Royals
Speaker 1: were surprised to learn where he got hit and that
Speaker 1: he got hurt, and they were not happy about it either.
Speaker 1: I mean, no one wants to see a player having
Speaker 1: a great year miss time. You know, players drought the
Speaker 1: game feel for that. Yeah, so Brad, Tim had a
Speaker 1: good question earlier for you, is.
Speaker 5: My male bad question?
Speaker 1: Yeah, Tim version.
Speaker 4: Yes, Well, obviously, we we did a prior episode a
Speaker 4: week or so ago detailing your All Star experience. Brad,
Speaker 4: what did you do you know during the All Star
Speaker 4: break when you were not in the game, and then
Speaker 4: what did you know the majority of your teammates do
Speaker 4: Are you just getting away from the game, like you
Speaker 4: don't even want to see your baseball?
Speaker 5: Or how would you handle the All Star break? Yeah?
Speaker 3: I might have been a little bit different.
Speaker 2: A lot of a lot of baseball players when they
Speaker 2: get away, they don't want to talk about baseball, they
Speaker 2: don't want to watch baseball. They kind of want to
Speaker 2: get away. But for me, I always enjoyed watching the
Speaker 2: home run derby even as a kid. So I'd go home,
Speaker 2: and Monday was really like my true true off day.
Speaker 2: I'd go and kind of we rented bullets and went
Speaker 2: out on the lake. I just you know, hung out
Speaker 2: around a pool, got together with some of the guys
Speaker 2: that I knew that were in the Nashville area. That's
Speaker 2: where i'd go for All Star Break a lot of time,
Speaker 2: So a lot of times just go back there and
Speaker 2: kind of take Monday completely off, and then Tuesday, I
Speaker 2: just wanted to move my body around at least throw,
Speaker 2: So Tuesday I'd go and throw, and then kind of Wednesday,
Speaker 2: I was back back into it, kind of got to
Speaker 2: work out in and did my throwing, but still give
Speaker 2: myself the rest of the day to enjoy. But I'd
Speaker 2: watch the horun derby on Monday, and then Tuesday I
Speaker 2: necessarily would watch the full game, but especially if I
Speaker 2: had teammates that were in the game, I wanted to
Speaker 2: watch them and see how they did and just kind of,
Speaker 2: you know, enjoy the game as a fan because it
Speaker 2: is a if you're a baseball fan, you like baseball.
Speaker 2: The All Star game's cool to watch. I mean, you're
Speaker 2: watching future Hall of Famers, You're watching the best players
Speaker 2: in the gameplay, And for me, it was kind of
Speaker 2: just cool to get get the go guys, see get
Speaker 2: to watch guys kind of put their their talents out
Speaker 2: there without all the pressure and just kind of watch
Speaker 2: these pictures that normally are starters go out there and
Speaker 2: blow it out for one inning. And I remember were
Speaker 2: watching the twenty fifteen game because Darren and Zach were
Speaker 2: there watching this picture Jacob deGrom, I'm like, who is
Speaker 2: this guy?
Speaker 5: Like you?
Speaker 2: We don't get to see him that much, and it
Speaker 2: was the most impressiveating I've ever watched. Come to find
Speaker 2: out he's a cy young It's just it's kind of
Speaker 2: one of those games where you can see the breakout
Speaker 2: guys and you can see who are going to be
Speaker 2: the next stars, and there's certain innings you watch and
Speaker 2: you're like, dang, who is that guy?
Speaker 3: Like I played this game and I barely even know.
Speaker 2: Who this guy's name is, and it's it's it's cool
Speaker 2: as a player to kind of get to and kind
Speaker 2: of admire your your fellow colleagues and just kind of
Speaker 2: experience it but yeah, it's definitely a time to go
Speaker 2: and relax and just take a little bit of time off, but.
Speaker 3: Still you want to do your throwing, you want to move.
Speaker 2: Around because Friday, Friday comes fast, and you don't want
Speaker 2: to be super sore for the game Friday too, So
Speaker 2: you try to do as much as you can and
Speaker 2: enjoy the time off.
Speaker 3: But for me, it was hard to get away. Mentally.
Speaker 3: I was still there, you know, ready to go on Friday, and.
Speaker 2: I just it was a hard time for me because
Speaker 2: I wanted to enjoy the time off, but at the
Speaker 2: same time, I knew what was coming the second half,
Speaker 2: and it's it's the second half can be grueling, So
Speaker 2: it's you don't want to go too far away mentally,
Speaker 2: So you're there, but you're not and it's nice to
Speaker 2: have a couple days away, but you're excited to get
Speaker 2: back around your teammates.
Speaker 1: Well, those fans, I hope you've enjoyed our All Star
Speaker 1: Break edition of shows. We had the mail Bag today,
Speaker 1: we had the Award Show earlier, and Friday night it
Speaker 1: resumes for the Orioles in Houston and then on the
Speaker 1: Boston So it gets important quick. I mean, they're playing
Speaker 1: other contenders for that third ay a wild card spot,
Speaker 1: and it's go time in Birdland, and it'll be go
Speaker 1: time for our show. You'll see another show, I believe
Speaker 1: on Sunday here after the Oils wrap up the series
Speaker 1: in Houston.
Speaker 3: So thanks for
Speaker 1: Joining Steve, Tim and Brad today and we'll see you
Speaker 1: next time on another edition of Birdland Territory eight