1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,280
Speaker 1: Simply being unafraid and not worried about perceptions and not

2
00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:07,440
Speaker 1: worried about what's going to be written or said. That

3
00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:14,440
Speaker 1: is a competitive advantage. Welcome everyone to the Monday edition

4
00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:17,440
Speaker 1: of Fair Territory. This is the week, the week we

5
00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,520
Speaker 1: have been waiting for, the week in which the baseball

6
00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,760
Speaker 1: season officially begins. We had, of course, the two games

7
00:00:23,800 --> 00:00:27,200
Speaker 1: in Japan, but these are the domestic openers coming up

8
00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:31,040
Speaker 1: on Thursday. Obviously we're all very excited for that, and

9
00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:33,760
Speaker 1: we have some news to discuss in the first part

10
00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:35,320
Speaker 1: of the show, and then I'm going to give you

11
00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:39,560
Speaker 1: some of my picks. Now, of course, my picks every

12
00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,879
Speaker 1: year are a source of great amusement for most of

13
00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:44,960
Speaker 1: the people who read me and who watch me and

14
00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,040
Speaker 1: listen to me. So I advise you to, of course

15
00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:50,440
Speaker 1: take the picks as seriously as you want to, which

16
00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:53,960
Speaker 1: is to say it's probably best not to take them

17
00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,560
Speaker 1: seriously at all. But first, some news over the weekend.

18
00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,279
Speaker 1: The big news coming out on Sunday. Christian Campbell, one

19
00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,120
Speaker 1: of the Red Sox Big three prospects, is going to

20
00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,959
Speaker 1: make the team as the starting second basement. Now, this

21
00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,039
Speaker 1: isn't really that much of a surprise. It's kind of

22
00:01:11,080 --> 00:01:13,959
Speaker 1: been in the works for some time now, but it

23
00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,720
Speaker 1: now explains why the Red Sox were never going to

24
00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,360
Speaker 1: play Alex Bregman at second and Ralphael Devers at third. No,

25
00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:25,440
Speaker 1: it's going to be Campbell at second, Bragman third, Endeavors

26
00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,039
Speaker 1: at DH, and this is the best alignment for them Defensively,

27
00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:32,600
Speaker 1: There's not much question about that. Christian Campbell played a

28
00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,160
Speaker 1: number of positions last year, and he is not necessarily

29
00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:40,320
Speaker 1: an accomplished, skilled second baseman on the defensive end just yet.

30
00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:42,560
Speaker 1: But he is a prospect the Red Sox have been

31
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,440
Speaker 1: excited about all winter long. They were talking about him

32
00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:50,000
Speaker 1: even before they signed Bregman. They were talking about him

33
00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,680
Speaker 1: playing a major role. So this is what the plan

34
00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,400
Speaker 1: was all along. It's why the Red Sox never announced

35
00:01:57,400 --> 00:01:59,960
Speaker 1: Regman was going to play second after they signed him.

36
00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,720
Speaker 1: It's because they wanted this to happen. Campbell at second,

37
00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,600
Speaker 1: Gregman at third, and again Devers at DH. A couple

38
00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,600
Speaker 1: of more notes on Campbell. He's an interesting guy. He

39
00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,600
Speaker 1: is a fourth round pick, a compensation pick from twenty

40
00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,920
Speaker 1: twenty three out of Georgia Tech. Now that was a

41
00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:21,840
Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty second pick overall. He actually was

42
00:02:21,919 --> 00:02:26,000
Speaker 1: the player the Red Sox gained for losing Xander Bogart's

43
00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,000
Speaker 1: to free agency. They got a compensation pick, but it

44
00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,040
Speaker 1: was only after the fourth round because of course they

45
00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,480
Speaker 1: had exceeded the luxury tax, not a revenue sharing recipient.

46
00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:40,160
Speaker 1: That's the game. Well, they obviously drafted, well, they obviously

47
00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:43,680
Speaker 1: developed Campbellwell, here's a guy who had some swing questions

48
00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,480
Speaker 1: coming out of college. They focused on ballflight with him

49
00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:50,640
Speaker 1: getting the ball in the air, and look what has happened.

50
00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:53,960
Speaker 1: He is now their starting second baseman, So big news

51
00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,680
Speaker 1: out of Boston. Christian Campbell is a guy I wrote

52
00:02:56,680 --> 00:02:59,680
Speaker 1: about earlier this spring. He was mentored by Dee Gordon

53
00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,080
Speaker 1: at was the other good prospect out of Georgia Tech,

54
00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,320
Speaker 1: Chandler Simpson. Dee Gordon is a guy who mentors a

55
00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,679
Speaker 1: lot of young black players, and Kristin Campbell is a

56
00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:11,440
Speaker 1: guy he has known or a kid he has known

57
00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:13,520
Speaker 1: since he was about I don't know, seven or eight

58
00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:15,880
Speaker 1: years old. Read the story. It's kind of a good one.

59
00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:18,760
Speaker 1: It's actually my favorite story that I wrote this spring.

60
00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:22,639
Speaker 1: Also in the news this weekend, the Cleveland Guardians. Here's

61
00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,920
Speaker 1: a team I wrote about in The wind Up in

62
00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:27,800
Speaker 1: the Athletic on Monday. The wind Up is our free

63
00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:32,280
Speaker 1: daily baseball newsletter that comes out every day starting last week.

64
00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:34,840
Speaker 1: We do it a little bit less often during the offseason,

65
00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:36,680
Speaker 1: but you can read it for free. You don't have

66
00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:39,640
Speaker 1: to subscribe, you can just subscribe to the newsletter. And

67
00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,120
Speaker 1: I wrote about the Guardians in this sense that we

68
00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:46,520
Speaker 1: don't look at them necessarily as a powerhouse. But since

69
00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:50,440
Speaker 1: twenty sixteen, guess which team has the fourth most wins

70
00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:54,520
Speaker 1: regular season wins in the major leagues. It's the Cleveland Guardians,

71
00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,920
Speaker 1: behind the Dodgers, Astros, and Yankees. The Guardians are obviously

72
00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:01,800
Speaker 1: a low revenue team, but my point here is they

73
00:04:01,840 --> 00:04:04,760
Speaker 1: always seem to figure it out. Now, the two moves

74
00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,080
Speaker 1: over the weekend were kind of interesting. Tanner Biby, that's

75
00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,920
Speaker 1: an obvious move. They obviously wanted to extend him. They

76
00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,080
Speaker 1: give him a contract that will buy out at least

77
00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,560
Speaker 1: one of his free agent years and perhaps two with

78
00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,960
Speaker 1: the club option. It's five years, forty eight million. And

79
00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,440
Speaker 1: here's a guy who has emerged as their staff ace

80
00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,799
Speaker 1: and to get additional club control with him is something,

81
00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:30,400
Speaker 1: of course the Guardians wanted badly to do. They got it.

82
00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:33,920
Speaker 1: The other move much more under the radar, Tyler Freeman

83
00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,599
Speaker 1: to the Rockies for Nolan Jones, a player that the

84
00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:41,159
Speaker 1: Guardians originally drafted second round twenty sixteen, if I'm not mistaken,

85
00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,159
Speaker 1: and traded away to the Rockies a couple of years

86
00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,960
Speaker 1: ago for Jan Brito, a player that could figure into

87
00:04:47,960 --> 00:04:51,440
Speaker 1: their second base mix this year. So they get Jones back,

88
00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,080
Speaker 1: and here's a guy who in twenty twenty three finished

89
00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,640
Speaker 1: fourth in the National League Rookie of the Year, voting

90
00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,839
Speaker 1: twenty home runs twenty stolen bases that year, and yet

91
00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:03,359
Speaker 1: last season he regressed. He was hurt, he had a

92
00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:06,280
Speaker 1: lower back issue for most of the season, and just

93
00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,640
Speaker 1: wasn't the same player. Seemed to lose confidence, at least

94
00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:12,600
Speaker 1: of the Rockies' opinion, then had a bad spring, wasn't

95
00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:16,120
Speaker 1: going to make the Rockies team. But with the Guardians,

96
00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,160
Speaker 1: they see him as the strong side of the right

97
00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:22,040
Speaker 1: field platoon. He's the guy who's going to play as

98
00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:25,360
Speaker 1: a left handed hitter against right handed pitching, and they

99
00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:28,000
Speaker 1: believe that he's going to offer them on base percentage

100
00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,200
Speaker 1: and more power. We'll see how it works out. But

101
00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:35,359
Speaker 1: the Guardians, they forever operate on the fringes, and they

102
00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,240
Speaker 1: had an interesting offseason. Remember they traded him and as

103
00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:41,560
Speaker 1: their second basement. They traded Naylor, their first baseman, Josh Naylor.

104
00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,159
Speaker 1: This is coming off an ALCS appearance, and yet they

105
00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,839
Speaker 1: are constantly churning trying to figure out how to kind

106
00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:50,880
Speaker 1: of just keep competitive, and they do an excellent job

107
00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:53,039
Speaker 1: of it. Not every year, they're not in the mix

108
00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:57,280
Speaker 1: every year, but again since twenty sixteen, fourth in the

109
00:05:57,320 --> 00:06:00,880
Speaker 1: majors in regular season wins. And here the leveland Guardians

110
00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:05,080
Speaker 1: again in an increasingly competitive AL Central. I would not

111
00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:08,279
Speaker 1: be surprised to see any of the four leading contenders winning.

112
00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:12,120
Speaker 1: I'm talking, of course about the Guardians, about Detroit, Kansas

113
00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,400
Speaker 1: City and Minnesota. So that's going to be one really

114
00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:19,240
Speaker 1: interesting race to watch all season long. We'll be back

115
00:06:19,279 --> 00:06:22,000
Speaker 1: after a quick word from our friends at foul Territory.

116
00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:24,839
Speaker 2: Life comes at you fast. Make life easier and healthier

117
00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,479
Speaker 2: with Green Chef, stay on track even on your busiest days.

118
00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:30,040
Speaker 2: Of options like salads ready in five minutes or less

119
00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:32,880
Speaker 2: and ready to blend smoothies. You'll get pre made sauces,

120
00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,960
Speaker 2: pre portioned ingredients to enjoy restaurant quality meals for the

121
00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:39,040
Speaker 2: number one meal kit for eating well.

122
00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:41,960
Speaker 3: If you're like, wait, what about hello Fresh Green Chef

123
00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,520
Speaker 3: is owned by HelloFresh, with a lovely array of meal

124
00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:46,640
Speaker 3: plans to choose from. We love them both dearly. I

125
00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,800
Speaker 3: switched between brands and now our listeners can enjoy both

126
00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:50,880
Speaker 3: brands at a discount.

127
00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:54,400
Speaker 2: Scott I made the shrimp rice dish with corn and

128
00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,960
Speaker 2: roasted cashews last night. It was fia. It came with

129
00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,000
Speaker 2: a high quality organic fresh pro that I love. So

130
00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:02,640
Speaker 2: my whole family can eat clean.

131
00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:05,640
Speaker 3: Thrive all year with clean, easy meals from Green Chef.

132
00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,920
Speaker 3: Go to green chef dot com slash territory free and

133
00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:12,600
Speaker 3: use code territory free to get started with free salads

134
00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,240
Speaker 3: for two months plus fifty percent off your first box.

135
00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,440
Speaker 3: That's green chef dot com slash territory free and use

136
00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:22,760
Speaker 3: that code territory free.

137
00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,239
Speaker 1: Finally, also in the news, the Blue Jays they extend

138
00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:30,840
Speaker 1: Alejandro Kirk five years fifty eight million dollar extension. Here's

139
00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,400
Speaker 1: a guy who had one more year of arbitration left

140
00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,400
Speaker 1: after this one, and what the Blue Jays did was

141
00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:40,360
Speaker 1: effectively buy out for free agent years. An executive over

142
00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:42,480
Speaker 1: the weekend made an interesting point to me. He said,

143
00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:45,800
Speaker 1: you never see catchers go to the market. They never

144
00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:49,400
Speaker 1: become free agents. Never is a strong word, but he's

145
00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:53,440
Speaker 1: basically right. JT. Realmuto was the last big free agent

146
00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,680
Speaker 1: catcher that we saw. Most of the other ones do

147
00:07:56,760 --> 00:08:00,240
Speaker 1: get extended, and as we know, they're hard to find. Now,

148
00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:02,520
Speaker 1: the Jays a couple of years ago were in a

149
00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:07,119
Speaker 1: really interesting position. Remember that Gabriel Moreno. They had Kirk,

150
00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:10,160
Speaker 1: of course, and they had Danny Jansen, so they traded

151
00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:13,640
Speaker 1: Gabriel Moreno for Dalton Varcho traded Jansen last summer. He

152
00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,920
Speaker 1: subsequently signed with the Rays as a free agent, so

153
00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:22,040
Speaker 1: Kirk was left as their guy. He is an excellent defender, framing, throwing,

154
00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,119
Speaker 1: receiving especially. He's also a guy who won a Silber

155
00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:28,160
Speaker 1: Slugger and was an All Star in twenty twenty two.

156
00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:32,120
Speaker 1: Hasn't hit that effectively since, but they believe with their

157
00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,480
Speaker 1: new hitting coach, David Popkins, there's more in there. We'll see.

158
00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:40,760
Speaker 1: Alejandro Kirk is now a Blue Jay into the next decade.

159
00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:44,120
Speaker 1: How about that? Still Vladimir Guerrero out there As far

160
00:08:44,160 --> 00:08:46,760
Speaker 1: as extension candidates for the Blue Jays, they want to

161
00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:48,960
Speaker 1: get that done. I don't know that there's been any

162
00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,360
Speaker 1: movement on that in recent days. Perhaps in the next

163
00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:55,600
Speaker 1: few we'll see something leading up to Opening Day, not

164
00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:58,280
Speaker 1: counting on it. And finally, some awful news over the

165
00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:02,160
Speaker 1: weekend as well, Brett gar the former Yankee outfielder, losing

166
00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:06,240
Speaker 1: his son, Miller, just fourteen years old. The family was

167
00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,440
Speaker 1: on a vacation, a number of family members fell ill

168
00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,440
Speaker 1: and Miller for reasons that are still not known, died

169
00:09:13,480 --> 00:09:16,839
Speaker 1: in his sleep. And Bet Gardner, for all Yankee fans

170
00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,400
Speaker 1: and really all baseball fans, was kind of a model player.

171
00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:22,920
Speaker 1: He was a guy who never really attracted attention off

172
00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:25,440
Speaker 1: the field. He just played hard all the time. He

173
00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,240
Speaker 1: had two sons, Miller was the younger of those sons.

174
00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,160
Speaker 1: He's been married for some time. He's a guy who

175
00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:35,120
Speaker 1: had dedicated himself since his playing career ended to his family.

176
00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:39,400
Speaker 1: And for anyone who has ever lost a child, anyone

177
00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:42,360
Speaker 1: who even knows anyone who has lost a child, there

178
00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:46,080
Speaker 1: is really nothing worse. So our condolences go out to

179
00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:49,800
Speaker 1: the Gardner family. The entire baseball world is mourning for him.

180
00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:52,680
Speaker 1: Bet Gardner, We're all thinking of you and your family

181
00:09:52,720 --> 00:10:00,319
Speaker 1: as well well. Time now for the inside Dish part

182
00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:01,880
Speaker 1: of the show, where I talk about maybe a story

183
00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,800
Speaker 1: i've written, maybe a trend in the game. And this week,

184
00:10:05,640 --> 00:10:08,679
Speaker 1: unfortunately for everyone listening and watching, I'm going to give

185
00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,280
Speaker 1: you some of my picks, not going to reveal all

186
00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:13,760
Speaker 1: of them. I did that in the Athletic today we

187
00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,480
Speaker 1: had all of our supposed experts make their picks for

188
00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:19,680
Speaker 1: the season, all thirty three Baseball contributors, and we'll see

189
00:10:19,679 --> 00:10:21,760
Speaker 1: how they all turn out too. But I'm going to

190
00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,880
Speaker 1: start off with two off the board categories and then

191
00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,839
Speaker 1: we'll get into some more traditional ones. Let's start off

192
00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:31,040
Speaker 1: first with most improved Player, and I'm going to go

193
00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:33,240
Speaker 1: with a guy who a lot of people thought might

194
00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:35,920
Speaker 1: be the rookie of the Year last year. Team was

195
00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,640
Speaker 1: very excited about him coming out of camp. He even

196
00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,760
Speaker 1: drew comparisons to Mike Trout, body type, style of swing,

197
00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,800
Speaker 1: that kind of thing. His name is Wyat Langford. He

198
00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:48,880
Speaker 1: didn't have the year everyone expected. Last year certainly wasn't

199
00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,840
Speaker 1: a bad year seven to forty ops, missed some time

200
00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:54,360
Speaker 1: with a strain and hamstring. But here's a guy with

201
00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:57,280
Speaker 1: all the ability in the world and someone that I

202
00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,480
Speaker 1: feel is really ready to break out this year. I

203
00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,120
Speaker 1: had some other guys I considered for this. One was

204
00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,319
Speaker 1: Matt McClain, who's on the Reds, of course, at their

205
00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:09,000
Speaker 1: second baseman, who missed all of last year with an injury.

206
00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:11,880
Speaker 1: He wouldn't be most improved because he was really good

207
00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:14,520
Speaker 1: in twenty three, but he's someone to watch because I

208
00:11:14,559 --> 00:11:16,800
Speaker 1: believe he's gonna play a major role for the Reds

209
00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,199
Speaker 1: this season. And I also thought about O'Neil Cruz first

210
00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:24,559
Speaker 1: full season in center field. Maybe now freed of shortstop

211
00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:27,080
Speaker 1: and able just to kind of focus more on his

212
00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:30,640
Speaker 1: hitting and just being an athletic center fielder, he will

213
00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:35,520
Speaker 1: become not just an exit velocity wizard, but a Baseball

214
00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:38,360
Speaker 1: All Star as well. We'll see, all right, that's my

215
00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:42,600
Speaker 1: most improved player, Wyatt Langford. For my most improved team,

216
00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:46,320
Speaker 1: I considered the Rangers because I do believe they're going

217
00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:48,120
Speaker 1: to be a really good team this year. In fact,

218
00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:50,280
Speaker 1: I'm picking them to go to the World Series. But

219
00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:52,840
Speaker 1: picking a most improved player from one team and then

220
00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,040
Speaker 1: picking that team is the most improved team, that's not

221
00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:57,680
Speaker 1: all that fun. So I'm gonna go with Matt McClain's

222
00:11:57,679 --> 00:12:00,240
Speaker 1: team for the most improved team. That's the team with

223
00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:04,760
Speaker 1: Terry Francona taking over as manager the Cincinnati Reds. I

224
00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:08,200
Speaker 1: like their rotation if it stays healthy. I like their

225
00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,160
Speaker 1: position player club, though they've got some mixing and matching

226
00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:14,600
Speaker 1: to do. I am worried about their bullpen and they've

227
00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:17,240
Speaker 1: got some questions there. Alexis Diaz is going to open

228
00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,720
Speaker 1: the season on the injured list. But at the same time,

229
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,800
Speaker 1: I'm confident that Francona, like Bruce Bochi and Texas, through

230
00:12:24,840 --> 00:12:28,120
Speaker 1: his years of experience and expertise, will figure out just

231
00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:30,200
Speaker 1: what he wants to do with that bullpen and they'll

232
00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:34,800
Speaker 1: get eventually the right pieces in place. All right, National League,

233
00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:38,520
Speaker 1: Cy Young, I'm going with a guy who has finished

234
00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:42,199
Speaker 1: second twice, has also been someone who received votes two

235
00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:45,800
Speaker 1: other times, finished second last year, and some people even

236
00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,320
Speaker 1: thought he should have won the award in the National

237
00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,800
Speaker 1: League over Chris Sale. Who am I talking about? Of course,

238
00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:55,280
Speaker 1: it's Zach Wheeler. Zach Wheeler turns thirty five this season,

239
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:57,120
Speaker 1: and yet he seems to be at the peak of

240
00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:59,839
Speaker 1: his powers, and I'm quite confident he's going to have

241
00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:01,600
Speaker 1: a good year, And of course he is on a

242
00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,920
Speaker 1: good team, so Zach Wheeler my choice for National League

243
00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,760
Speaker 1: Cy Young. American League Cy Young going off the board

244
00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,480
Speaker 1: a little bit here. Tyrek school Will, of course, is

245
00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:15,000
Speaker 1: the chalk. The obvious choice. Garret Crochet is going to

246
00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:18,400
Speaker 1: get some attention preseason at least as well. But I'm

247
00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:20,200
Speaker 1: gonna go with the guy who led the major leagues

248
00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,800
Speaker 1: in innings last year and was fourth in the majors

249
00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,040
Speaker 1: in opponents ops, which is a stat that for pitchers

250
00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,040
Speaker 1: I think is quite revealing. That guy is Logan Gilbert

251
00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,120
Speaker 1: of the Seattle Mariners. He is entering his age twenty

252
00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:36,840
Speaker 1: eight season. He is someone who seems to be getting

253
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,560
Speaker 1: better and better. He is on a staff, of course,

254
00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,040
Speaker 1: that is extremely talented, and I just believe that this

255
00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:45,520
Speaker 1: is the year he's going to take another step forward

256
00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:51,120
Speaker 1: and become a legitimate Cy Young type National League MVP. Now,

257
00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,800
Speaker 1: my choice is someone who right now is not playing.

258
00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:57,840
Speaker 1: And there's a little bit of concern about Mookie Betts

259
00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,520
Speaker 1: because of all the weight he has lost with this

260
00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:04,080
Speaker 1: mysterious stomach illness. He said to reporters on Sunday night

261
00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:06,760
Speaker 1: that he has not been diagnosed with anything. He's just

262
00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:10,200
Speaker 1: had this stomach virus. He's lost something like twenty pounds.

263
00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,600
Speaker 1: I'm assuming at some point this is going to fade away,

264
00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:15,559
Speaker 1: this illness and he's going to get back to being

265
00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,920
Speaker 1: Mookie Bets. He'll be playing shortstop this year. He's worked

266
00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:22,040
Speaker 1: extremely hard at that position, and an up the middle

267
00:14:22,200 --> 00:14:27,360
Speaker 1: infielder with Mookie bets offensive potential is a classic MVP candidate.

268
00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,160
Speaker 1: So I'm going with Mooky for my National League MVP, Yes,

269
00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:36,040
Speaker 1: even over his teammate Shohotani and finally al MVP. A

270
00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:39,480
Speaker 1: guy who put together a historic season last year and

271
00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,360
Speaker 1: yet was not rewarded. Bobby Wick Junior is my choice.

272
00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:47,560
Speaker 1: He in almost any other year in twenty twenty four

273
00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:51,720
Speaker 1: would have won American League MVP. But Aaron Judge had

274
00:14:51,760 --> 00:14:55,400
Speaker 1: an all time great offensive season, and he might ask,

275
00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:58,640
Speaker 1: don't you expect Aaron Judge to have another great offensive season?

276
00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,120
Speaker 1: I do, But again, I'm going with the up the

277
00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:03,840
Speaker 1: middle player Judge was that last year won't be that

278
00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:07,480
Speaker 1: this year. And I just think that ultimately, Bobby Wit

279
00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:10,480
Speaker 1: he is still getting better. He is still a guy

280
00:15:10,520 --> 00:15:15,000
Speaker 1: with unbelievable ability and untapped potential. Yes, as good as

281
00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,200
Speaker 1: he was last year a ten war player, I just

282
00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:21,760
Speaker 1: see Bobby Witt this year taking yet another step and yes,

283
00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:26,040
Speaker 1: wrestling the MVP award away in the American League from

284
00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,120
Speaker 1: Aaron Judge. So those are my picks. You can do

285
00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,200
Speaker 1: what you want with them. I would suggest not taking

286
00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:33,480
Speaker 1: them all that seriously, It's part of the fun. When

287
00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,200
Speaker 1: the season starts, we all get to play expert and

288
00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:38,280
Speaker 1: try to figure out what's going to happen when the

289
00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,800
Speaker 1: reality is and the beauty of baseball is we never

290
00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,960
Speaker 1: know what is going to happen. Time Now for Grill

291
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,600
Speaker 1: and Ken, let's get to your questions. The first question

292
00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:51,360
Speaker 1: comes from Swits, who asks, is Aj Preller a top

293
00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:56,120
Speaker 1: five GM in baseball? Interesting question, No doubt. Aj Preller

294
00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:59,080
Speaker 1: of the San Diego Padres has built that team into

295
00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,320
Speaker 1: really a perennial contender. Top five. I'm not sure i'd

296
00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:08,160
Speaker 1: have him in the top five. I would say Dave Dombrowski, Alexanthopolis,

297
00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:12,400
Speaker 1: Chris Antonetti, Andrew Friedman, Eric Neander would be my top five,

298
00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,320
Speaker 1: not necessarily in that order, but aj Preller is in

299
00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,640
Speaker 1: the mix, and you can certainly make an argument that

300
00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:20,800
Speaker 1: he is top five. Now the rap against him is

301
00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:23,400
Speaker 1: some of those contracts are going to come do and

302
00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,320
Speaker 1: they're going to have financial issues going forward. They're actually

303
00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:28,720
Speaker 1: having some of them right now. Part of that is

304
00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:32,120
Speaker 1: due to the ownership situation, of course, but they have

305
00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,560
Speaker 1: awarded some monster deals and not all of them are

306
00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:38,400
Speaker 1: going to work out well in the end, and perhaps

307
00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:42,560
Speaker 1: perhaps will hamstring them financially. But what I love about

308
00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,760
Speaker 1: aj Preller is that he is always aggressive, He is

309
00:16:45,840 --> 00:16:49,080
Speaker 1: always trying to win. He is among the most creative gms,

310
00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:51,520
Speaker 1: there is no question about that. And he is a

311
00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:56,560
Speaker 1: guy who is unafraid, and in this era, simply being

312
00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:00,640
Speaker 1: unafraid and not worried about perceptions and not worried about

313
00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:04,000
Speaker 1: what's going to be written or said. That is a

314
00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:09,000
Speaker 1: competitive advantage because so many gms today are concerned about

315
00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:12,960
Speaker 1: losing a trade, making a bad move, any kind of misstep.

316
00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,960
Speaker 1: AJ Preller fires away. So if he's not top five,

317
00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,800
Speaker 1: he's in the conversation and I've got him there among others.

318
00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:25,040
Speaker 1: Next question comes from Darryl McGee, who says, if you

319
00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,879
Speaker 1: could build a team around one young star under twenty five,

320
00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,520
Speaker 1: who would it be. Well, Bobby Rick Junior is the

321
00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:36,400
Speaker 1: obvious choice. He is not yet twenty five, But I'm

322
00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:38,719
Speaker 1: gonna go with a less obvious choice because he's an

323
00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:41,760
Speaker 1: interesting player, no doubt, and a guy who burst onto

324
00:17:41,840 --> 00:17:45,000
Speaker 1: the scene last year. It could be Jackson Merrill, but

325
00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:48,560
Speaker 1: I'll take Jackson Churio, who's even younger than Jackson Merrill

326
00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,639
Speaker 1: and a guy that had a monster spring for the

327
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,880
Speaker 1: Milwaukee Brewers and just has superstar written all over him.

328
00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:58,680
Speaker 1: Merrill is another guy, and you can certainly pick him

329
00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,359
Speaker 1: in this category as well well among others. But Jackson Cheerio,

330
00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,320
Speaker 1: to me, is rather intriguing and I'm going with him

331
00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,480
Speaker 1: in part because of his age. All Right, Finally, let's

332
00:18:09,480 --> 00:18:12,400
Speaker 1: see what the last question brings. This one comes from

333
00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:16,119
Speaker 1: Timothy Kelly, who asks any word on whether Nico Horner

334
00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,840
Speaker 1: will be in the lineup for the Cubs against the Diamondbacks,

335
00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:22,399
Speaker 1: and if not, how close is he to returning. Nico

336
00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:26,320
Speaker 1: Horner on Friday played his first game of the spring,

337
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,840
Speaker 1: coming off right for arm surgery, and yes, the plan

338
00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,199
Speaker 1: is for him to be ready for opening Day. He

339
00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,240
Speaker 1: took Saturday off, played Sunday as well. Maybe they'll decide

340
00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:38,480
Speaker 1: ultimately he needs more at bats, but he got a

341
00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:40,960
Speaker 1: ton of it bats in the minor league side when

342
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,199
Speaker 1: the Cubs were in Japan. He didn't go to Japan,

343
00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:46,760
Speaker 1: so he obviously is a very pivotal player for the Cubs,

344
00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:49,600
Speaker 1: a guy that they are counting on to be a

345
00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:52,399
Speaker 1: huge part of what they try to accomplish this season.

346
00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:56,440
Speaker 1: The expectation is yes, he'll be ready quite soon. Want

347
00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:58,960
Speaker 1: to thank everyone for their questions, Thank everyone for watching,

348
00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:02,639
Speaker 1: for listening. You know where to find us YouTube, Apple, Spotify.

349
00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:06,560
Speaker 1: We'll be back Thursday with our normal Thursday live show

350
00:19:06,760 --> 00:19:09,760
Speaker 1: ten thirty Eastern, myself and Alana Rizzo, and I might

351
00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,400
Speaker 1: as well mention my first Fox game coming up this weekend,

352
00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:17,520
Speaker 1: Mets at Astros, Jan Soto for the Mets, Jose Altuve

353
00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:20,600
Speaker 1: in left field for the Astros. Really looking forward to it.

354
00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:23,600
Speaker 1: Have a great opening day everyone, and a great week.

355
00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,320
Speaker 4: BETMGM First Bet fifteen hundred dollars offer when you use

356
00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:29,840
Speaker 4: the bonus code foul. Get this offer when you download

357
00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:33,320
Speaker 4: the betmgmsportsbook app or at betmgm dot com sign up,

358
00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,160
Speaker 4: enter that bonus code foul, and deposit at least ten

359
00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,359
Speaker 4: dollars into your new account. Place your first wager, Receive

360
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:42,920
Speaker 4: up to fifteen hundred dollars back in bonus bets if

361
00:19:42,960 --> 00:19:45,880
Speaker 4: the bet loses. If it does lose your bonus bets

362
00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,280
Speaker 4: will be available once your initial wager is settled. A

363
00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:49,040
Speaker 4: gambling problem.

364
00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:49,640
Speaker 3: We're concerned.

365
00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:52,040
Speaker 4: There's help. Call one eight hundred Gambler