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Speaker 1: Hello everybody, and welcome to the Monday episode of Fair

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Speaker 1: Territory with Ken Rosenthal. As you can see, that is

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Speaker 1: not Ken Rosenthal. I am absolutely privileged to be joined

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Speaker 1: by my friend Tim Kirchin, of course does a tremendous

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Speaker 1: job covering Major League Baseball on ESPN, the twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: two BBWAA Career Excellence Award recipient, as well as the

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Speaker 1: co host of Is This a Great Game or What?

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Speaker 1: With his son Jeff, part of the Foul Territory Network.

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Speaker 1: More on the show in a few minutes. Tim, great

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Speaker 1: to be with you. Thank you for spots. Starting for Ken,

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Speaker 1: It's awesome to have you on the show. I am

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Speaker 1: very interested in knowing what your takeaway is from last

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Speaker 1: night's game. Usas win two to one over the Dominican Republic.

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Speaker 2: What did you think? Well, it was a great game,

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Speaker 2: and it's just another reminder how great the young players

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Speaker 2: are in today's games. Look at the three guys who

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Speaker 2: hit home runs last night. They are part of an

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Speaker 2: incredibly bright future for Major League baseball. There are stars everywhere,

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Speaker 2: a lot of Ever since Mike trouton Bryce Harper came

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Speaker 2: in essentially together what thirteen years ago, the wave of

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Speaker 2: players who are coming to the big leagues.

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Speaker 3: They are so big, they.

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Speaker 2: Are so strong, they are so fast, they are so talented,

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Speaker 2: and they are so ready when they get here. That

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Speaker 2: was my takeaway when you look at all those All

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Speaker 2: Stars and then you look at the age of them.

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Speaker 3: The game is in.

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Speaker 2: Really good hands moving forward.

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Speaker 3: And yet it really well.

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Speaker 2: It bothered me a little bit that the game was about,

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Speaker 2: you know, the final pitch of the game, which wasn't

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Speaker 2: a strike. We shouldn't be talking about a missed call,

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Speaker 2: an umpire or anything else when there's this many great

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Speaker 2: players on the field. But that's what a lot of

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Speaker 2: people were talking about in the game last night.

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Speaker 3: Unfortunately.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it is unfortunate because that game was so good

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Speaker 1: up until that final moment. But that being said, whether

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Speaker 1: it was a bad call or not, tim the Dominican

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Speaker 1: Republic wasn't that great when they had the opportunities to

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Speaker 1: be great two for nine with runners in scoring position,

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Speaker 1: and it wasn't as if they did not have chances.

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Speaker 1: Are you surprised that that lineup was not able to

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Speaker 1: capitalize in the big moment.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm always surprised when a really good lineup gets

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Speaker 2: shut down. Like that at the same time, Alana, we

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Speaker 2: know this the pitching in the big leagues, the stuff

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Speaker 2: we see every day. I say it every time I

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Speaker 2: do a game, watch a game, how does anyone get

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Speaker 2: a hit anymore?

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Speaker 3: And I was told yesterday, you know, the.

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Speaker 2: United States bullpen is not very good, you know, given

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Speaker 2: all things, And yet the bullpen was absolutely tremendous last night.

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Speaker 2: They had very little chance to get hits off of

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Speaker 2: that bullpen. And when you watch Mason Miller pitch, you

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Speaker 2: ask all the time, how did anyone ever get a

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Speaker 2: hit off of that guy?

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Speaker 3: So yes, I'm surprised.

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Speaker 2: That that great lineup got shut down. But just another reminder.

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Speaker 2: When our pitchers are locating with that ridiculous stuff, when

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Speaker 2: they throw it where they want to properly, the hitters

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Speaker 2: virtually have no chance. And these are some of the

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Speaker 2: best hitters on earth. This is why the United States

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Speaker 2: struck out fifteen times yesterday and won the game. This

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Speaker 2: is what we face every single night. The pitching is ridiculous,

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Speaker 2: and if you miss in the strike zone, it's not

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Speaker 2: a single of the left field anymore. It goes thirty

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Speaker 2: rows up. But if you locate with that ridiculous stuff.

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Speaker 2: You don't just get people out, you strike him out.

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Speaker 1: Mason Miller, Man, I tell you what, if you're in

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Speaker 1: the National League and you're specifically the nationally West, you

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Speaker 1: know a lot about Mason Miller. How does he compare

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Speaker 1: tim to other dominant closers that you have covered in

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Speaker 1: your tenure.

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Speaker 2: Well, he throws a hat as hard as just about

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Speaker 2: any closer that we've seen. And he's got that slider too,

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Speaker 2: which he can balance and people still swing at it

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Speaker 2: because they can't lay off of it.

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Speaker 3: And alta.

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Speaker 2: You know his story too. Remember he told me once

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Speaker 2: that he got so sick that he went down to

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Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty pounds. Well, why weigh less than that,

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Speaker 2: but not many people do. And he's now up. Then

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Speaker 2: he gained back to like twoint fifteen and started throwing

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Speaker 2: really hard again. So he's been through a lot. And

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Speaker 2: go look at his numbers in the World Baseball Classic.

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Speaker 2: I'm not positive about it, but it's like fourteen batters

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Speaker 2: faced and ten strikeouts against the best hitters in the tournament.

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Speaker 2: That's how good he has been. I've seen better closers

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Speaker 2: than him because they've done it for longer. But when

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Speaker 2: it comes to overpowering stuff.

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Speaker 3: Not too many better than that guy.

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Speaker 1: Tim, And it wasn't just the fact that they couldn't

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Speaker 1: capitalize with runners in scoring position. This is a game

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Speaker 1: that really illustrated that base running fundamentals they still matter

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Speaker 1: that momentum swing. Of course, when Aaron Judge threw out

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Speaker 1: Fernando Tatis Junior trying to go first to third, and

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Speaker 1: then the second time you have the opportunity to get

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Speaker 1: to third, he stopped at second base and that proved

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Speaker 1: to be a turning point in the game. So this

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Speaker 1: is where the fundamentals the base running doing the little

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Speaker 1: things really showed and reared its uglyhead.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, a lot of Six years ago for ESPN dot com,

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Speaker 2: I wrote a story that base running is the worst

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Speaker 2: I have ever seen it in all the years that

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Speaker 2: I've covered. And I didn't just make this up. Paul

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Speaker 2: monandor Dusty Baker, all sorts of you know, veteran major

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Speaker 2: league players and managers told me it's the worst we've

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Speaker 2: ever seen. So I wrote another story this spring, and

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Speaker 2: as a run yet on the similar topic that if

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Speaker 2: you don't run the bases properly, it might cost you

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Speaker 2: a game. And to some degree, it cost the Dominican

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Speaker 2: Republic a game last night. You've got to go from

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Speaker 2: first to third on that ball. You got to score

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Speaker 2: from second on that ball. And my story that I

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Speaker 2: wrote is all about getting a good lead, a secondary lead,

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Speaker 2: which we don't talk much about. But because the players

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Speaker 2: just overpowered the sport with their physical gifts, their strength,

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Speaker 2: their size, their speed, their velocity, they are not always

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Speaker 2: taught by the industry how to get a good lead,

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Speaker 2: how to run the bases properly. And last night it

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Speaker 2: didn't cost him the game, but it sure didn't help

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Speaker 2: the Dominican Republic.

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Speaker 1: Well, Fernando Tatist Junior seemed like he was a little

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Speaker 1: bit gunshy going again because of the previous you know,

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Speaker 1: at bat or whatever, when he was thrown out by

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Speaker 1: Aaron Judge. Don't run on number ninety nine, Tim, Who

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Speaker 1: is the best base runner that you have ever covered?

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Speaker 2: Paul monitors the best base runner that I've ever covered,

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Speaker 2: And I've talked to him about this multiple times a lot.

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Speaker 2: He played a game that same name that we played

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Speaker 2: when we were kids.

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Speaker 3: It was called hot Box, and hotbox.

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Speaker 2: Is when there's a guy in a rundown and you're

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Speaker 2: trying to get from base to base. You could play

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Speaker 2: hot box with three people. You don't need eighteen people

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Speaker 2: to play hot box, he said. We played that for

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Speaker 2: hours at a time when I first.

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Speaker 3: Started covering baseball.

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Speaker 2: On it. He would get on first for the Brewers,

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Speaker 2: Robin Yell would hit a rifle shot to right field,

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Speaker 2: and all of a sudden, it's first and third with

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Speaker 2: nobody out. Molder was so good at taking a big

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Speaker 2: lead and understanding the dynamics of running the bases. He

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Speaker 2: could sometimes get so far off of first base that

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Speaker 2: he could peek in and see the catcher's sign from

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Speaker 2: first base. This is back when we used to put

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Speaker 2: signs between our legs like that.

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Speaker 3: That's how good he was.

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Speaker 2: Joe Madden told me the other day, Paul Moloder is

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Speaker 2: the best base runner I've ever seen. And we've had

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Speaker 2: so many good ones, Davey Lopes, Joe Morgan, you.

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Speaker 3: Know, Lou Brock.

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Speaker 2: Of course, Ricky Henderson was great, But the best I've

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Speaker 2: ever seen was Paul Malder And I quoted him in

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Speaker 2: this story about the importance of base running, and he

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Speaker 2: told me it's always been the most fun part of

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Speaker 2: the game for me, And yet we don't really stress

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Speaker 2: it very often in the big leagues, and sometimes it'll

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Speaker 2: come back and get you.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you mentioned Davey Lops That's one of the guys

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Speaker 1: I know with such a tremendous first base coach because

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Speaker 1: he'd really tell the tendencies of the pitcher, knowing exactly

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Speaker 1: what those guys were going to do. Tim you had

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Speaker 1: mentioned the great hitters already at the age under the

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Speaker 1: age of twenty five, Junior Camenaro, the home run Gunnar

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Speaker 1: Henderson only twenty four, of the home run Roman Anthony

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Speaker 1: just twenty one, the Boston future in terms of star

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Speaker 1: studded power there so young star power is in the sport.

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Speaker 1: But let's talk about this in terms of the face

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Speaker 1: of it right now. Aaron Judge obviously is Team USA's captain.

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Speaker 1: But is Paul Skien the pitching face of the sport

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Speaker 1: right now?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? I think he is.

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Speaker 2: Alana, I have never seen in the forty five years

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Speaker 2: that I've covered a pitcher come in and make this

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Speaker 2: kind of impact in his first two full seasons now

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Speaker 2: or his first two seasons. Fernando Balzuel had a nine

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Speaker 2: start stretch at the beginning of his that no one

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Speaker 2: will ever match. But Skeens has essentially done this.

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Speaker 3: For two years.

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Speaker 2: You could make a case that the day he arrived

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Speaker 2: in the big leagues two years ago, he has been

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Speaker 2: the best pitcher from that day until this day. And

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Speaker 2: he still is. He's six six, he weighs two point fifty.

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Speaker 2: He's got ridiculous stuff. He's a absolutely maniacal competitor, and

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Speaker 2: all he cares about is winning. And even though he

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Speaker 2: only went what four and a third last night, he

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Speaker 2: gave them a chance to win. If I had anyone

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Speaker 2: to pitch one game for me right now, I would

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Speaker 2: pick him. And he is the face of pitching in

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Speaker 2: baseball certainly, and he showed it to some degree last night.

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Speaker 1: I love the fact that no free passes either, zero

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Speaker 1: walks on the night four Skeens. Of course, Mark Durosa,

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Speaker 1: tim took a lot of heat for the misspeaking. I

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Speaker 1: guess that he felt that the team had already punched

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Speaker 1: their ticket to the quarterfinals. A little bit of vindication

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Speaker 1: last night though for d row by starting Gunner Henderson

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Speaker 1: over Alex Bregman at third against Louisino. Obviously, Severno doesn't

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Speaker 1: have the best luck against lefties.

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Speaker 2: Did you like that move I did.

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Speaker 3: But I will say how.

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Speaker 2: Difficult it is for Mark de Rosa to tell Alex Bragman, Okay,

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Speaker 2: you're not playing today, to tell cal Rawley with sixty

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Speaker 2: omers you're not playing tonight.

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Speaker 3: How do you do that? That is not an easy decision.

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Speaker 2: But Gunnar Henderson is one of those guys Alna that

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Speaker 2: we're talking about. He's twenty four years old. I remember

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Speaker 2: during his rookie year I asked Aaron Boone about Gunner

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Speaker 2: Henderson and he just looked at me like this and said,

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Speaker 2: he's gonna be a problem. And boy has he been

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Speaker 2: a problem for American ly all pitchers. And to get

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Speaker 2: that ball and put them, you know, on the board

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Speaker 2: like that was just amazing.

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Speaker 3: And yes, he's so athletic.

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Speaker 2: He was a great high school basketball player that he

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Speaker 2: could play shortstop and third base. He can play pretty

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Speaker 2: much wherever you put him. But he's twenty four. And

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Speaker 2: then there's Roman Anthony. This spring again, Alex Cora looked

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Speaker 2: at me and said, if you lined up twenty really

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Speaker 2: great prospects right in front of you, you don't even

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Speaker 2: have to see them work out, you would pick out

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Speaker 2: Roman Anthony and said, that's the best of the group,

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Speaker 2: just by the way he looks, the presence that he has.

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Speaker 2: This is what baseball people can see, and that's how

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Speaker 2: good Roman Anthony is. And then Junior Cambinaro. A lot

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Speaker 2: of three years ago, I did a playoff game from

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Speaker 2: the booth with the Blue Jays and the Rangers. I'm sorry,

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Speaker 2: the Rays and the Rangers and cambin Aro. I went

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Speaker 2: to Toronto the weekend before to make sure I got

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Speaker 2: a good look at the Rays before a playoff game.

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Speaker 2: Cambinaro put on such a performance of prodigious power in

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Speaker 2: batting practice at the Rogers Center.

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Speaker 3: He got a standing ovation.

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Speaker 2: I don't think I've ever seen a visiting player in

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Speaker 2: batting practice get a standing ovation. That's how big his

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Speaker 2: power was three years ago. Now he's had a forty

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Speaker 2: five homer season and he's going to go back to

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Speaker 2: that this year because that kid is really, really good.

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Speaker 1: Future of this sport is bright, tim with these great

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Speaker 1: young stars coming up. Okay, another semi final tonight. It's

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Speaker 1: Venezuela versus the Cinderella Team in Team Italy eight pm

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Speaker 1: Eastern on FS one. Francisco Sevelli managing against his native

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Speaker 1: country of Venezuela. This has just been such an unbelievable story.

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Speaker 1: What are you looking forward to the most in this game?

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Speaker 2: Well, you can't take your eyes off the Italian team.

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Speaker 2: And this is Look, this is why baseball is so

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Speaker 2: so great, with all due respect to basketball, which I

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Speaker 2: absolutely adore. Also, there are no Cinderella teams that go

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Speaker 2: in and beat the dream team for the United States

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Speaker 2: with Jordan and Larry and magic and all that. Now, again,

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Speaker 2: this is not the dream team in baseball, but it's

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Speaker 2: pretty darn good. And this Italian team didn't just beat

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Speaker 2: the United States, they had him down eight to nothing.

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Speaker 2: Only in this sport can this happened, which makes it

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Speaker 2: so beautiful. And here's Bennie Pascatino, who could be out

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Speaker 2: of the American team, but he goes out and hits

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Speaker 2: three home runs for the Italian team. It's so so

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Speaker 2: good that baseball is offering up a story like this.

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Speaker 2: And then I watched that Venezuelan game the other night.

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Speaker 2: I don't know where I've been a lota. How about

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Speaker 2: the talent on that team, and we're surprised that they

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Speaker 2: beat Japan. Japan is great, but there is no surprise

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Speaker 2: when a team with that kind of talent beats another

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Speaker 2: really good team in this tournament.

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Speaker 1: Venezuela out slugging Japan, Italy race past Puerto Rico. Tim

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Speaker 1: If it was up to you, though, when is the

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Speaker 1: best time of the year to play the World Baseball Classic?

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Speaker 1: Because I want Major League Baseball players in the Olympics,

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Speaker 1: But that's in the middle of the season. When's the

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Speaker 1: best time to play the WBC.

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Speaker 2: Well, there's no great time, but this is the best time.

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Speaker 2: I'm convinced of that.

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Speaker 3: Let's go to the end of July.

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Speaker 2: Guys have played almost one hundred games at that point,

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Speaker 2: some of them are on the disabled list, most of

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Speaker 2: them are dragging in the heat. This way, we get

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Speaker 2: to play a lot of places indoors before the fatigue

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Speaker 2: has taken over your body. You're in spring training, and

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Speaker 2: even though you're trying to get your body ready, I

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Speaker 2: think this is the best time, if not the only.

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Speaker 3: Time, to do the WBC.

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Speaker 2: Now, the Olympics are a different animal. We'll see how

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Speaker 2: that goes. But I'll take a fresh guy from the

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Speaker 2: winter rather than a guy who's played one hundred games

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Speaker 2: at a incredibly high level, and then say, all right,

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Speaker 2: let's switch gears. You got to go play for someone

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Speaker 2: else now and leave your team. I don't think that's

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Speaker 2: a better idea than this.

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Speaker 1: I will say this though, whenever it's played, the WBC

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Speaker 1: is phenomenal for the sport that you and I love.

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Speaker 1: It's been so much fun. It's going to be a

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Speaker 1: great semi final tonight in the final, of course, should

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Speaker 1: be a good one as well. Another good one is

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Speaker 1: your podcast with your son Jeff Tim Is this a

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Speaker 1: great game or what you are? New to the foul

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Speaker 1: territory now work, Welcome to the family. Your latest episode

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Speaker 1: revisited an interview with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt. Tell us

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Speaker 1: a little bit more about the pot I love this well.

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Speaker 2: It's my son, Jeff and I. He's thirty two years old.

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Speaker 2: He's a radio guy in Philadelphia, does music talk. He's

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Speaker 2: not a big baseball guy. But that's good because he

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Speaker 2: knows everything about everything else pop culture, music, you know, technology,

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Speaker 2: everything else that poor pop up here. He doesn't know

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Speaker 2: anything other than baseball, at basketball and sitcoms from the sixties.

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Speaker 2: So we are a pretty good team when it comes

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Speaker 2: to that. And Lana, sorry, we've got a different direction

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Speaker 2: instead of having hot takes every day to see how

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Speaker 2: controversial we could be.

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Speaker 3: We just try to.

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Speaker 2: Laugh and we try to learn here, and we're always

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Speaker 2: trying to present something that nobody else has thought about,

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Speaker 2: even if it's on even the silly.

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Speaker 3: Side once in a while.

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Speaker 2: So I think it's okay to laugh at our game anymore, Alan,

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Speaker 2: And we don't laugh in our country very much anymore,

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Speaker 2: and we don't even laugh as much at baseball as

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Speaker 2: we should. We're trying to bring that back. Just an

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Speaker 2: old guy and his son.

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Speaker 3: That's all.

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Speaker 1: Well, I tell you what, it's incredibly refreshing.

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Speaker 2: I love it.

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Speaker 1: I have subscribed, and if I were you guys listening

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Speaker 1: and watching, I would subscribe as well. Is this a

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Speaker 1: great game?

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Speaker 2: Or what?

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Speaker 1: Their next episode drops on Tuesday on YouTube and of

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Speaker 1: course wherever you get your podcast. Much more to come

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Speaker 1: with Tim Kirchin on Foul Territory. We'll be right back

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Speaker 1: with the Inside Dish right after this wout all right,

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Speaker 1: We welcome you back to Inside Dish. Of course it's

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Speaker 1: typically with Ken Rosenthal, but our great friend Tim Kirchen

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Speaker 1: is a spot starting for Ken and Tim of course

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Speaker 1: among the best storytellers of our great game that there

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Speaker 1: ever was any story or standout memory tim about players

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Speaker 1: with birthdays today? Today is March sixteenth, So I'm going

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Speaker 1: to give you a couple of names, and I'll let

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Speaker 1: you choose a couple of stories. Happy birthday, adaimir Gerro Junior,

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Speaker 1: Steven Drew, Brian Wilson, Curtis Granderson, Happy Birthday, Grandy Jose Mota,

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Speaker 1: Abraham Nuniez, Brandon League, and Charles Hudson.

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Speaker 2: You know, when Brandon League used to pitch for the

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Speaker 2: Blue Jays, he was in the same bullpen as David Bush.

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Speaker 2: Multiple times during that season, David Bush would pitch and

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Speaker 2: relief and be followed by Brandon League. So we had

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Speaker 2: the Bush League bullpen at the Blue Jays throughout there.

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Speaker 2: Always I always paid attention to those things. Curtis Granderson,

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Speaker 2: of course, one of the great pros ever, really really

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Speaker 2: good player in his day. He's one of six players

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Speaker 2: in history to hit ten to hit forty or more

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Speaker 2: homers in a season with ten or more letters.

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Speaker 3: In his last name.

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Speaker 2: So I gave him that list and he thought that

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Speaker 2: was like the greatest thing ever. He said, I can't

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Speaker 2: wait to go tell my grandfather that I am part

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Speaker 2: of this list, because he says, my grandfather loved stuff

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Speaker 2: like that. Stephen Drew was a really good player in

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Speaker 2: his day. But I always found this interesting. When his

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Speaker 2: older brother J. D. Drew was struggling in the big leagues,

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Speaker 2: he used to call his little brother, who was a

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Speaker 2: collegiate player at the time, and say, I'm all fouled up.

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Speaker 2: I need you to help me. So Stephen Drew would

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Speaker 2: help his older brother J. D. Drew in order to

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Speaker 2: get better at the game. It should be the other

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Speaker 2: way around, where the collegiate kid calls his major league brother.

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Speaker 3: But that's who Stephen Drew was. Who else is on

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Speaker 3: that list?

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Speaker 2: Oh, Charlie Hudson, Oh my gosh. So Charlie Hudson pitched

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Speaker 2: in the eighty three World Series for the Phillies and

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Speaker 2: I'm covering in Dallas. I'm covering the Rangers at the

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Speaker 2: Dallas Morning News. And Charlie Hudson came back to his

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Speaker 2: high school to speak to the high school kids, having

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Speaker 2: just pitched in the World Series. And it was like

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Speaker 2: the Beatles had shown up to his high school. This

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Speaker 2: poor guy couldn't take five steps without being besieged by kids.

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Speaker 2: Charlie Hudson going back to Dallas.

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Speaker 3: We love that.

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Speaker 1: Also, Happy thirty first birthday to Rowdy Tulez, who wasn't

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Speaker 1: on the list, but he is thirty one today, so

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Speaker 1: happy birthday to him. A lot of great baseball players

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Speaker 1: with a March sixteenth birthday. You talked about Vladimir Gerro Junior.

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Speaker 1: Actually I did at the top of this list thinking

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Speaker 1: about previous runner runners up Ken or Tim When you're talking.

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Speaker 2: About the World Series, what kind of.

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Speaker 1: Challenge do you think awaits the Blue Jays this year,

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Speaker 1: having fallen just short last I mean fallen like this

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Speaker 1: much short last season to the Dodgers in Game seven.

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Speaker 2: Right, this much short in part because of Bath running

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Speaker 2: a lot of weeks. Yes, exactly early. I think you

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Speaker 2: could make a case of Blue Jays are the best

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Speaker 2: team in the American League. Now, Detroit is pretty good.

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Speaker 2: The Mariners, I just saw them in spring training. They're

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Speaker 2: pitching is loaded. But I think Toronto is better than

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Speaker 2: it was last year, and something happened to them. They

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Speaker 2: got a taste, the fans got a taste, and now

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Speaker 2: I think the Blue Jays are for real. They've added

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Speaker 2: to their rotation and back to vlad Guerrero Junior, for

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Speaker 2: a second line of this needs to be said as

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Speaker 2: many times as possible. Until the postseason, there were people

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Speaker 2: out there who thought he was just some heavy set,

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Speaker 2: lumbering first baseman. We saw him run. He can really

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Speaker 2: run way better than people think. I always knew he

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Speaker 2: was a good first basement because he's got great feet

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Speaker 2: and great hands. Well we saw that in the postseason. Also,

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Speaker 2: so when it comes to complete players in the game

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Speaker 2: of Vladiermeer, Guerrero Junior is nearing the top of that

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Speaker 2: list because of the things that he can do beyond

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Speaker 2: just hit a ball as hard as any man on

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Speaker 2: the face of the earth, he does a lot more stuff.

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Speaker 2: In fact, Brian John Schneider, the manager there, went to

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Speaker 2: vlag Guerrero last year and said, I've got three names

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Speaker 2: here and three running speeds. Manny Machado, Aaron Judge, and

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Speaker 2: you who do you think is the fastest there? And

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Speaker 2: Laddie said, well, it's not me, and John Schneider said,

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Speaker 2: yes it is. You run better than Manny Machado, and

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Speaker 2: you run better than Aaron Judge. So it's a good

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Speaker 2: lesson for all of us. Do not always pay attention

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Speaker 2: to what the person looks like, just watch him play

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Speaker 2: and watch him move, and not many players move better

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Speaker 2: than Vla Guerrero, certainly in the last year. And he

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Speaker 2: and the rest of that club are really really good.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And you talked about the clubhouse chemistry and an

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Speaker 1: article for ESPN back in October of twenty twenty five,

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Speaker 1: and they're looking to get back to the World Series

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Speaker 1: in two thousand and twenty six. All right, let's take

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Speaker 1: a quick break. We're going to grill Tim right after

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Speaker 1: this bet.

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Speaker 4: I'm JM account holders today. How about in any sport

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00:21:48,280 --> 00:21:50,760
Speaker 4: parlay boost token you can score a bigger payout if

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00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,120
Speaker 4: your wager with that token. Hits tokens can be used

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Speaker 4: on parlays and on same game parlays. Gambling problem, We're concerned.

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00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:58,960
Speaker 4: There's help called one eight hundred gambler.

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Speaker 1: Well, Tim, hopefully you like barbecue because you're about to

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Speaker 1: get grilled. The first question is in regards to being

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Speaker 1: the commissioner for a day, if you were in mister

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Speaker 1: Manfred's position for a day, what would you change.

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Speaker 2: I would get rid of the ghost Runner. Sorry, Elana,

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Speaker 2: I'm almost seventy years old. When we were kids, we

438
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,040
Speaker 2: used to use the ghost Runner on when we would

439
00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,520
Speaker 2: play five on five, six on six pickup because we

440
00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:36,440
Speaker 2: didn't have enough players right fields, closed pitcher's hand, and

441
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:40,200
Speaker 2: a ghost runner on the basis. Look, the pitch clock

442
00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,000
Speaker 2: has taken care of all the dead time. Can we

443
00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:47,359
Speaker 2: please play until somebody actually wins a game without putting

444
00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:48,600
Speaker 2: a runner on second base?

445
00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:49,360
Speaker 3: I'm sorry.

446
00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:53,120
Speaker 2: Some of the greatest games I've ever seen have been

447
00:22:53,320 --> 00:22:56,400
Speaker 2: eighteen inning games, including four of them in the postseason.

448
00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:59,040
Speaker 2: There have been five eighteen inning games in the postseason.

449
00:22:59,320 --> 00:23:02,399
Speaker 2: I've seen four of them, and those games don't happen

450
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,080
Speaker 2: in the regular season anymore because we put a guy

451
00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:07,760
Speaker 2: at second It is unnecessary, and that would be the

452
00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:09,160
Speaker 2: first thing I would change.

453
00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:11,840
Speaker 1: Two of those with the Dodgers being involved, and both

454
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:14,720
Speaker 1: of those games Brad Paisley saying the national anthem, he's

455
00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:16,080
Speaker 1: no longer allowed.

456
00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:20,560
Speaker 2: Right and the first two Tim Hudson started the first

457
00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:23,879
Speaker 2: two eighteen inning game. What are the chances of that?

458
00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:25,399
Speaker 2: Only in baseball?

459
00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:26,200
Speaker 3: Can that happen?

460
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:28,080
Speaker 2: Only in baseball?

461
00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:32,240
Speaker 1: The next question, your favorite and least favorite ballpark to

462
00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:33,399
Speaker 1: cover a game in?

463
00:23:34,960 --> 00:23:38,639
Speaker 2: Well, Fenway is still my favorite because it opened in

464
00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:42,720
Speaker 2: nineteen twelve, the week that the Titanic sank my father,

465
00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:45,080
Speaker 2: God blessed him in one of the great baseball He

466
00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:48,160
Speaker 2: was a good player and a great baseball man. Gave

467
00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:50,720
Speaker 2: his three boys a really good feel for the game

468
00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:52,200
Speaker 2: and taught us how to play the game.

469
00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:54,640
Speaker 3: That's where he grew up watching games.

470
00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:58,480
Speaker 2: So that's where I You know that the first game

471
00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:01,520
Speaker 2: I can remember going to who was in the early sixties,

472
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,119
Speaker 2: Felix Mantia hit a home run at Fenway Park. Those

473
00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:07,560
Speaker 2: are the things that you don't forget when you're a

474
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:10,320
Speaker 2: dinky little kid. So I'm always going back to Fenway

475
00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:15,040
Speaker 2: because of its age, its tradition, and its history. Least

476
00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:20,800
Speaker 2: favorite look. I love the trop because the trop never

477
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:24,399
Speaker 2: gets rained out and everything else. But I'm sorry, we

478
00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:26,640
Speaker 2: just can't have a pop up hitting the roof. It's

479
00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:29,240
Speaker 2: just as too much and we need to do something

480
00:24:29,280 --> 00:24:32,000
Speaker 2: about that. It's not like I dislike the place. I

481
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,320
Speaker 2: love going to Florida, but I'm not a big roof guy,

482
00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:36,840
Speaker 2: especially when a ball can hit it.

483
00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,960
Speaker 1: I had the opportunity in August of last season to

484
00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,400
Speaker 1: be the color analyst for the Nessen broadcast at Fenway

485
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:48,400
Speaker 1: and to sit in that booth with something incredibly special,

486
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,760
Speaker 1: So I agree with you on Fenway a very special place.

487
00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:54,560
Speaker 1: All right, last question for you, Tim, most improved team

488
00:24:55,160 --> 00:25:00,440
Speaker 1: heading into twenty and twenty six, That is.

489
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:04,760
Speaker 2: A great question. I'm gonna say that the Orioles are

490
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:07,120
Speaker 2: going to be the most improved team now. I say

491
00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:11,159
Speaker 2: it because they were so bad last year that I

492
00:25:11,359 --> 00:25:15,160
Speaker 2: fully expect them to get significantly better this year.

493
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:16,000
Speaker 3: And that doesn't mean.

494
00:25:15,920 --> 00:25:19,200
Speaker 2: They're gonna win the East because Toronto's better, Boston's better,

495
00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:20,480
Speaker 2: and New York is better.

496
00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:21,480
Speaker 3: But this thought that.

497
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,320
Speaker 2: The Orioles fell and they're not going to get up

498
00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,720
Speaker 2: this year of not buying it. Shane bos is gonna

499
00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:29,960
Speaker 2: help them, you know. Trevor Rodgers really gave them something

500
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:32,920
Speaker 2: at the top of that rotation. They've added with Taylor War,

501
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:35,479
Speaker 2: They've added with Pete Alonso. They're going to score a

502
00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:38,680
Speaker 2: lot more runs, and Gunner Henderson's going to be great now.

503
00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:40,720
Speaker 2: They just got to get at the retchman back to

504
00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,280
Speaker 2: where he should be as an elite catcher in the

505
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,679
Speaker 2: big League. So I'm gonna say they're gonna take a

506
00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,240
Speaker 2: really big jump in wins because last year it just

507
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,040
Speaker 2: didn't make any sense to me or anybody else.

508
00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:55,760
Speaker 1: Matt Jackson holiday taking a step forward in his development

509
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,800
Speaker 1: will help the Orioles as well. Tim Kirchin, we appreciate

510
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,560
Speaker 1: you very much. Thanks for being here. Guys, don't forget.

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00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,800
Speaker 1: Foul Territory is coming up at eleven am Eastern aj Pierzyinski.

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00:26:05,840 --> 00:26:08,760
Speaker 1: He's live from Tigers Camp, Eric Kratz and Scott Broun.

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00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,080
Speaker 1: They of course also host. Thank you, Tim. Please subscribe

514
00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:15,560
Speaker 1: to Is This a Great Game or What? On YouTube

515
00:26:15,600 --> 00:26:18,520
Speaker 1: and wherever you listen to your podcast. We're back Thursday

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00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:19,680
Speaker 1: at one pm Eastern.

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00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:20,880
Speaker 2: Talk to you then. Take care