WEBVTT - FairT: Derek Shelton fired, Surging Mariners, Betts bat concern 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:04.120 They're a team that just cannot get going. And while 0:00:04.200 --> 0:00:06.200 depth is a problem and there are all kinds of 0:00:06.200 --> 0:00:09.559 problems here, I can see where they thought it logical 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:12.760 to just change it up a little bit. Here. Welcome 0:00:12.800 --> 0:00:16.320 everyone to the Thursday edition of Fair Territory. We are live. 0:00:16.600 --> 0:00:19.640 I am Ken Rosenthal. We are with Alano Rizzo. As always, 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:23.200 I am coming to you from parts unknown. Aj Perzinski 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:25.640 always wants to know which hotel I'm staying at. We're 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:28.280 not telling him. We're not telling anyone but Alana. We 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:30.840 have a lot to talk about today, and it starts 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:34.159 off with the team that I consider perhaps the biggest 0:00:34.159 --> 0:00:35.520 surprise in baseball. 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:38.280 It's funny that you say that, because when you told 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:41.080 us that that's how you were going to introduce this segment, Ken, 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.040 that's the surprise to me that this team is a 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:45.080 surprise to you. 0:00:45.120 --> 0:00:47.600 Tell me more, I'll tell you why. 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:51.720 And it's really twofold one. They didn't do much in 0:00:51.760 --> 0:00:55.080 the offseason. I'm talking about the Seattle Mariners. They signed 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:59.360 Jorge Polanco and Donovan Solano and that was it. About 0:00:59.400 --> 0:01:04.039 eleven point five million total is what they spent. And offensively, 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:07.240 they've been challenged for a number of years and I 0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:10.600 thought they would be challenged again, and yet this is different, 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:13.600 and we've seen them now win nine straight series. That's 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:17.160 their longest streak, Mariners' longest streak since the two thousand 0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:20.400 and one team that won one hundred and sixteen games. 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:23.480 They put together fifteen straight series wins at one point. 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:27.360 And getting to the offense, what's amazing about them is, 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:30.280 all right, they're fifth in runs, that's one thing, but 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:34.600 they were also fourth in home runs fifty one home runs. 0:01:34.640 --> 0:01:37.560 A lot of it's Kyle Raley and Jorge Polanco, and 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:39.920 they're leading the majors in walkway. This is a good 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:43.200 combination power and play, discipline. That is what makes a 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:46.280 good offense. And they're doing it with some guys that 0:01:46.560 --> 0:01:48.480 I don't know if people have really heard of much. 0:01:49.360 --> 0:01:53.000 Ben Williamson, the rookie third baseman, Master Roney, he's come 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:55.920 on for them. They've had Leo Reeves at second base. Now, 0:01:56.000 --> 0:02:00.560 these aren't the main contributors, but they're getting offensive from 0:02:00.600 --> 0:02:04.280 those guys as well as of course Raleigh and Polanco. 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:08.760 JP Crawford's playing really well. Julio is coming on now. 0:02:08.840 --> 0:02:11.800 So it's been interesting. We've said all along right a 0:02:11.800 --> 0:02:14.960 lot of Hey, if they can only hit to support 0:02:15.000 --> 0:02:17.799 their pitching, you're going to be a formidable group. Now 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:20.959 they've got Gilbert and Kirby still on the il. The 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:23.840 pitching's taken a bit of a hit, but Emerson Hancock 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:28.040 stepped up, and overall in a weaker division than we expected, 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:30.560 the Astros own is good, the Rangers zone is good. 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:32.800 The Mariners look like the class right now. 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:35.320 Yeah, and Roddi Tilez has had a nice little season 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:37.440 for the Seattle Mariners as well. Ken, and you had 0:02:37.440 --> 0:02:40.440 mentioned that both George Kirby and Logan Gilbert are on 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:42.560 the elbum. Some of these other guys are stepping up, 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:45.160 and you mentioned Emerson Hancock. We know what Luis Castillo 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:47.320 can do, Bryce Miller, Logan Evans. 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:47.840 Brian wu. 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:51.280 Although he did not pitch great yesterday against the Athletics, Ken, 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:54.680 he absolutely owns them. He's six to zero undefeated against 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:57.399 the Athletics. He's had a nice run for the Seattle 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:00.880 Mariners as well. Another guy, Ken, as we continuing here 0:03:00.919 --> 0:03:03.800 on the lead that isn't having a nice season is 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:07.560 Ryan Presley with the Chicago Cubs. Now, because in addition 0:03:07.560 --> 0:03:10.040 to Kyle Tucker, there are other big signing in the 0:03:10.040 --> 0:03:12.959 off season or the trade acquisition. Rather, Ryan Presley was 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:15.480 supposed to be the big deal, and he's really struggled. 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:16.080 What have you seen. 0:03:17.320 --> 0:03:19.760 He's not striking out people, and when you don't strike 0:03:19.800 --> 0:03:22.280 out people, and when the ball is in play, there 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:25.160 are times when your outings are going to go awry. 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:29.760 And if you read some of the stuff analysis on him, 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:32.839 his fastball has lost ride and velocity is curveball still 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:36.240 his best pitch, but he just isn't the same guy. 0:03:36.480 --> 0:03:40.640 And Enosaras highlighted him in The Athletic yesterday as one 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:43.800 of the potential issues we're seeing around the game based 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:46.720 on his numbers and his stuff is down, as Eno 0:03:46.800 --> 0:03:50.560 points out, So for the Cubs it is a concern. 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:54.160 Remember they're down two starters, actually three already. I'm talking 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:56.760 about him Anaga Steele, and you can count a sod 0:03:56.880 --> 0:03:59.800 in that mix. And then to see their bullpen, which 0:03:59.920 --> 0:04:02.360 was a question to begin with, kind of in this 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:07.080 uncertain state, at least at the back end, that becomes problematic. 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:10.240 As good as their offense has been now, Porter Hodge 0:04:10.280 --> 0:04:13.720 is a big stuff guy and he could ultimately become 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:16.640 the closer if Presley cannot figure it out, maybe that's 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:19.159 the way the Cubs will go entering their series against 0:04:19.160 --> 0:04:22.640 the Mets this weekend. But Presley was supposed to be 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:24.599 a big part of what they're doing, and if he's 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:27.120 not going to be, or if he's not capable of 0:04:27.160 --> 0:04:29.880 being the same guy he was in Houston, sure it's 0:04:29.880 --> 0:04:30.560 a problem. 0:04:31.080 --> 0:04:33.640 My guess is the Cubs will be buyers at the deadline. 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:35.520 They're very much still in the thick of things in 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:38.440 the National League Central, not particularly a strong division. And 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:40.320 I know one of the questions likely coming up on 0:04:40.360 --> 0:04:43.080 Grill and Ken is where do the Cubs go Ken 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:44.600 to get some bullpen help. 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:48.640 Well, every team's going to be asking that question Alta. 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.240 As you know, as we get into July, every contender, 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:54.640 and we can see the teams that are falling out 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:57.800 of it already. Most of those teams don't necessarily have 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:02.360 relievers that clubs are going to want. I'm talking about Pirates, 0:05:02.880 --> 0:05:06.479 the Marlins, the Rockies. These are the non contending teams 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:10.240 that we are seeing in the game. That said things 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:13.240 will happen. Teams will fall out of it, Teams will 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:15.560 be willing to make Major League for Major League trades. 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.120 David Robertson is still out there as well as a 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:22.200 free agent. I imagine he'll get some attention. So it's going 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:24.040 to be interesting to see how that all plays out, 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:28.360 because every team at the deadline almost always wants more 0:05:28.400 --> 0:05:31.600 help in the bullpen. It's just a depth question if 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:34.000 nothing else, And in most cases it's not simply a 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:36.080 depth question, it's a performance question too. 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:39.120 Do you think that the upcoming schedule perhaps is a 0:05:39.120 --> 0:05:42.240 good way to take advantage for the Chicago Cubs. Seems 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:44.839 like this next stretch run is a bit more manageable 0:05:44.880 --> 0:05:47.719 in terms of teams either at or below five hundred. 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:50.760 Once they get through the Mets. Yes, and they had 0:05:50.800 --> 0:05:54.320 an incredibly difficult schedule in April, which is why you 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:56.560 can say, well, why are you saying the Mariners are 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:59.360 the biggest surprise. The Cubs might be the biggest surprise 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:02.960 considering they had all those Beasts of the West early 0:06:03.040 --> 0:06:06.400 on San Diego, Arizona and the Dodgers and they came 0:06:06.440 --> 0:06:09.080 out of it really well. But yes, it is going 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:11.200 to ease for them. That can be a trap, as 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:15.600 we've discussed, but in general, yeah, it will be a 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:18.240 break from at least what they've been seeing so far. 0:06:18.839 --> 0:06:20.360 Ken, one of the teams I think that's been a 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:22.720 big surprise for me is also in the American League, 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:24.680 but they're in the American League East. You say the 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:27.359 Seattle Mariners in the West, I say the Baltimore Orioles 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:29.400 in the East. I don't know, Ken, if this team 0:06:29.480 --> 0:06:32.400 is going to make the postseason. The young core is 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:35.640 not hitting, and obviously their starting staff is decimated. Is 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:36.560 that a fair assessment. 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:39.840 It's a very fair assessment. A lot. And that's a 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:44.360 negative surprise. I was talking about positive surprise, no question. 0:06:44.440 --> 0:06:48.320 The biggest negative surprise would be the Orioles. Now, a 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:50.600 team like the Pirates, you didn't expect them to be good, 0:06:50.760 --> 0:06:53.400 not a surprise. The Oriols we did expect to be good, 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:58.080 and they cannot figure out and get the help they 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:00.880 need in the rotation right now. And Charles Morton struggled 0:07:00.880 --> 0:07:04.800 again last night. Kyle Gibson has not been great since 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:07.480 joining the rotation. They just don't have answers there now. 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:10.679 Chagano has been really good, Povich has not been great. 0:07:10.800 --> 0:07:15.080 Kramer just okay. Efflyn's coming back and that's gonna help them. 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.400 But it's a five man rotation or a six man 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:21.840 rotation in some cases with certain teams, and they just 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:24.640 don't have enough right now, and that is my concern 0:07:24.720 --> 0:07:27.440 going forward. I don't know how they stabilize this thing, 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:30.480 even if they start hitting in a better way, and 0:07:30.880 --> 0:07:34.000 this kind of thing all plays into each other's hands. 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:36.640 Even if they do start hitting, if they're giving up 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.680 five six a night with the rotation, it's a problem. 0:07:40.720 --> 0:07:43.040 You can't play from behind every night, and that's the 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:44.880 situation that they're often in. 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:48.160 Yeah, it's a tall, tall order in Baltimore. Get your 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:50.640 questions in for Grill and Ken. That's coming up here 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:53.520 momentarily on Fair Territory with Ken Rosenthal. We're going to 0:07:53.560 --> 0:07:55.840 talk a little mooki bets after the break, but first 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:58.320 a word from our friends at Foul Territory. 0:07:57.880 --> 0:07:58.840 On Arena Club. 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:04.320 By now, you know, if you're buying, selling, trading, collecting cards, 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:06.800 Arena Club is the spot. We've been talking about them 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:09.360 all season long. But I do want to focus on 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:12.840 the slab pack experience, Scrats, since you've been ripping some 0:08:12.880 --> 0:08:15.120 slab packs digitally and what happens. 0:08:16.280 --> 0:08:17.960 I mean, as a kid, you wanted to rip open 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:21.080 the packs. How can they do this digitally. 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Right now, you can 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:53.600 get twenty percent off your first slab pack or card 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:56.360 purchase by going to arenaclub dot com slash foul and 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:59.400 use code foul. Arenaclub dot com slash foul, use code foul. 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:04.760 All right, we appreciate Arena Club being a part of 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:07.240 the program here and don't forget, as I mentioned, to 0:09:07.280 --> 0:09:09.840 get your questions in for Grill and Ken an opportunity 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.760 to ask Hall of famer Ken Rosenthal some questions always 0:09:13.760 --> 0:09:15.880 a Hall of famer in my book, let me ask 0:09:15.920 --> 0:09:21.040 you this question, Kenn, Oh, give me a break, Give 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:22.800 me a break. If you're not in the Hall of Fame, 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:25.600 I'm going to riot give me a point. Mookie Betts, 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:27.400 let's talk about him for a second. I tell you, 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:29.720 this is a guy that puts so much pressure on himself. 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:33.120 Ken Rosenthal, and you just had an article right today 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:36.000 recently in the Athletic and MOOKI talked to you about 0:09:36.040 --> 0:09:38.719 the need to get the barrel going. What more can 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:39.480 you tell us? 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:42.720 This is interesting, Elana, because initially when I was talking 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.640 to Mookie Betts last weekend before broadcast, and he mentioned 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:47.800 this to me that when he went through a tough 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:51.000 stretch for about two weeks, the problem was he had 0:09:51.000 --> 0:09:53.520 lost the weight with his illness. He was trying to 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:57.079 regain his bat speed, which is below average even when healthy, 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:00.760 and he created some bad habits. I'm sitting there thinking, 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:03.440 this is how I started the article. Mookie Bets is 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:06.880 worried about bat speed. Where are we here these Mookie Bets. 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:11.080 He is a Hall of Famer, and yet his concern 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:15.720 is legitimate because when you have lesser bat speed as 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:18.720 he does, there are ways to succeed and the way 0:10:18.760 --> 0:10:21.880 to succeed. And we've learned this from the Great Stack 0:10:21.960 --> 0:10:25.240 cast metrics that have been introduced this year publicly by 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:29.520 stat Cast about not just bat speed, but something called 0:10:29.600 --> 0:10:32.560 squared up rate, which is basically getting the ball in 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:34.720 the barrel, as you just mentioned, hitting it on the 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:37.000 sweet spot. When you do it as often as he 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:41.280 does it, you can compensate for poorer bat speed. The 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:46.440 problem is if you start losing that skill somehow, if 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:48.640 you're not squaring balls up the same way, then you're 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:52.240 essentially a Luisa Rise or a Stephen Kwan, one of 0:10:52.240 --> 0:10:55.520 these high contact, low power types, and that's never been 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:59.440 who Mookie is. So it is a weakness in his 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:02.320 game thing he's mindful of. He went to drive line 0:11:02.320 --> 0:11:04.079 a few years ago with a number of the Dodgers 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:07.800 players to think of ways to get back to or 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:10.640 get to a better level with his bat speed. It 0:11:10.720 --> 0:11:12.920 seems in spring training he was in a good place 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.280 than the illness hit. So he or has been scrambling 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:19.800 back trying to regain it. And it's just fascinating to 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:22.480 talk to him always because you're right along it. He 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:27.600 puts incredible pressure on himself. He never seems to be 0:11:27.640 --> 0:11:31.160 happy with his offense, and it's a great way to 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:33.320 be It's why he is the player he is, and 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:35.719 so many players are like this, so many people in 0:11:35.760 --> 0:11:38.440 all walks of life who are accomplished are like this. 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:41.760 But he can grind himself down a little bit, and 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:45.720 I just see him still as this amazing player, a 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:47.640 unique player in the game. And we're not even talking 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.839 about his defensive versatility, which is incredible, and what he's 0:11:50.880 --> 0:11:53.640 doing at shortstop is incredible because he's playing that at 0:11:53.679 --> 0:11:56.800 a pretty high level. But when I asked him, hey, 0:11:57.000 --> 0:12:00.920 is the shortstop and the concentration they're bleeding to the offense, 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:03.080 he said no, And that's when he got to talking 0:12:03.160 --> 0:12:04.720 about the bat speed question. 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:07.440 Yeah, and he mentioned that he knew his bat speed 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:09.680 was already below average in terms of the league. But 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:12.400 then you tack on the fact he lost seventeen to 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:15.040 twenty pounds and that's certainly going to affect the offense 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:17.000 and the bat speed. But he does have five home runs, 0:12:17.080 --> 0:12:19.240 Kenny has twenty two RBI. He is batt in two 0:12:19.320 --> 0:12:21.040 fifty eight. But you know that the average is going 0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:22.920 to be there. But you mentioned something that people are 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:26.760 alluding to. Perhaps the focus and the concentration at being 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:30.960 a good defensive shortstop is taking away from his offense, 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:32.880 and I'm glad that you asked him that question. I'm 0:12:32.880 --> 0:12:35.240 glad he told you no. One doesn't have anything to 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:37.000 do with the other. And people are kind of getting 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.480 on Mookie Bets Ken because of the amount of time 0:12:39.800 --> 0:12:42.800 he is spending taking ground balls at second base, working 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:46.440 on the footwork in the infield. People seem to forget 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:49.000 Ken that if Mooki was not willing to come into 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:51.560 the infield, the Dodgers would not have been able to 0:12:51.600 --> 0:12:55.520 sign Tayoscar Hernandez. This is not just Mooky saying you know, yeah, sure, 0:12:55.520 --> 0:12:57.160 I'll do it. This is a way that the team 0:12:57.240 --> 0:13:00.360 was able to get better in the off season. Three 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.560 time World Series champion Mookie Betts does not have to 0:13:03.600 --> 0:13:06.320 move in from right field to short and I think 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:08.720 that kind of goes under the rug a little bit 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:12.360 that people on understanding this guy is so accomplished yet 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:13.520 such a team player. 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:17.199 I agree Alana and a couple of things on that. 0:13:17.800 --> 0:13:21.440 So at shortstop last year when he was first transitioning 0:13:21.640 --> 0:13:23.960 into the infield or back into the infield, remember he 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:26.520 played it very early in his professional career in the 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:31.480 minor leagues. He was working excessively hard. He didn't have 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:35.679 a routine. Now he does. He is much more restrained 0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:38.360 in what he does each day. He still does a lot, 0:13:38.600 --> 0:13:40.640 and he still has a lot to learn in his mind, 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:44.760 but he is under control with that. Miguel Rojas has 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:46.920 talked about that now last year, that what he was 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:49.800 doing was unsustainable. And the other part of it is 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:54.200 he enjoys it, and he has been pretty outspoken about this. 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:57.520 I like playing this position, I like the pregame work, 0:13:57.600 --> 0:13:59.840 I like all of this stuff. He told me last 0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:02.600 week in the outfield, you know, you show up at 0:14:02.640 --> 0:14:04.960 the car and do a little bit, but you don't 0:14:04.960 --> 0:14:07.800 have to do as much preparation. And he enjoys it. 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:11.760 So I believe him when he says it's not bleeding 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:16.920 into his offense. The offense has other things associated with it. 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:20.240 As you mentioned the weight loss. That's incredible how much 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:23.040 the weight he lost, considering he's only one seventy eight 0:14:23.120 --> 0:14:27.720 at his heaviest. So I wouldn't draw that conclusion just yet. 0:14:27.720 --> 0:14:30.320 And in fact, if I were a fan of the Dodgers, 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:33.760 or just a Milki or the game in general, I'd 0:14:33.800 --> 0:14:36.960 be pretty impressed by his defensive metrics so far. I 0:14:37.000 --> 0:14:39.320 know It's a small sample, and the metrics aren't always 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:42.520 trustworthy in such a small sample, but what he is 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:45.560 doing in the field, it's borderline incredible to me. 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:49.760 I love the way that Moki constantly challenges himself. He's 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:53.160 never satisfied, regardless of the amount of trophies or accolades 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:55.360 that he has or the back of his baseball card. 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.200 All right, let's get to those grillin ken questions. 0:14:58.200 --> 0:14:58.800 What do you got? 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:04.320 All right, guys, apparently we have some breaking news here. 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:07.640 The first question is on Sandy al Contrara. Struggling this 0:15:07.640 --> 0:15:10.080 season doesn't impact his chances that he's dealt at the deadline. 0:15:10.120 --> 0:15:12.920 While I am not an insider, I would imagine certainly 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:15.720 that the Miami Marlins would be willing to part with 0:15:15.800 --> 0:15:18.760 Sandy al contra to get whatever they can in terms 0:15:18.880 --> 0:15:21.480 of a return for him while he still has some value. 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:23.680 And you know, those at the deadline that are in 0:15:23.720 --> 0:15:26.760 contention would love to have that arm in their arsenal. 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:29.320 As we bring Ken Rosenthal back in here now and 0:15:29.400 --> 0:15:32.080 Ken breaking news on the Pittsburgh Pirates. And originally our 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:33.920 first question was going to be at the Pirates in 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:36.080 terms of who they would sell at the deadline. But 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:38.600 it looks like Derek Shelton is out of a job. 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:40.840 Obviously the hot seat was pretty hot. What more can 0:15:40.880 --> 0:15:42.000 you tell us. 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:43.640 Well, first of all, on that and we'll get to 0:15:43.680 --> 0:15:47.520 our contra. Derek Shelton's team is twelve and twenty six. 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:50.440 This is a team that entered the season with higher 0:15:50.480 --> 0:15:53.920 expectations than in the past, in part because of Paul Skins, 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:57.120 in part because theoretically some of their players should be 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:00.640 coming into their own Cabrian Hayes, Brian, these guys are 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:03.520 actually in their primes and pretty good players, and they 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:05.800 didn't do much in the offseason, but they thought it 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:09.880 would be better. It hasn't been better. And while you 0:16:09.960 --> 0:16:13.520 can make a case that later in the season, when 0:16:13.520 --> 0:16:15.840 they get Jared Jones back, when they get Bubba Chandler 0:16:15.840 --> 0:16:18.600 into the rotation, that starting rotation will be really good. 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:20.800 You can make that case. And you can make the 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:26.560 case also that when Spencer Horowitz returns and when ikf 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:29.960 returns Isaiah kind of filefa that the offense will be 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:33.680 in a better place. But they're playing losing baseball. They're 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:37.640 a team that just cannot get going. And while depth 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:40.040 is a problem and there are all kinds of problems here. 0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:43.920 I can see where they thought it logical to just 0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:46.960 change it up a little bit here, and it doesn't 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:49.920 excuse the way the team has been constructed. That falls 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:52.840 on Bench Charrington, the general manager, and he too is 0:16:52.880 --> 0:16:56.160 in his sixty year of running this team and they 0:16:56.200 --> 0:17:00.000 haven't gotten anywhere. Now. Part of that is on Sherrington 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:02.960 for not building a better base of talent, greater depth. 0:17:03.560 --> 0:17:06.080 A lot of it is on the owner, Bob Nutting, 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:10.840 who has not given Charrington, Shelton and others these sufficient 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:14.560 resources they need. But this team is spinning its wheels 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:20.560 and it's a huge disappointment as always, and I hate 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:22.920 it when a manager gets fired in some ways because 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:26.280 it's never just the manager, same with a coach. But 0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:28.679 at the same time, do I understand this, Yes, I 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:31.960 understand this. It's been enough time, and now the question becomes, 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:38.240 is Ben Sherrington as general manager under greater scrutiny as well? Yeah? 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:40.480 And it looks like the Pittsburgh Pirates can just put 0:17:40.480 --> 0:17:43.640 out a release about a moment ago regarding the relief 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:46.440 of manager Derek Shelton of his duties. They also said 0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:48.880 that Pirates bench coach as you know, Don Kelly has 0:17:48.920 --> 0:17:51.600 been named manager at this time, so we'll see what 0:17:51.680 --> 0:17:54.120 direction Don Kelly can take this team. But that goes 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:56.800 back to our earlier question that we had here on 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.600 Grill and Ken in terms of, you know, the Pirates 0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:01.480 don't want to give up on young talent, but it 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:02.800 seems like it's not working. 0:18:02.880 --> 0:18:04.200 Were they counting too much? 0:18:04.280 --> 0:18:04.520 Ken? 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:05.760 I know they got a lot of guys on the 0:18:05.760 --> 0:18:07.720 il that you said, a lot of guys coming back, 0:18:08.000 --> 0:18:11.399 but were they counting too much on these young talented 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:14.120 guys to be able to perform I guess over their skis, 0:18:14.160 --> 0:18:16.680 over their numbers right now, they maybe needed a little 0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:19.159 bit more veteran presence in that lineup on that roster. 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:22.800 You can certainly make that case. Alta, They're just not there. 0:18:23.280 --> 0:18:27.960 And this is a team that, yes, has revenue challenges, 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:30.960 we all get it, but look at Tampa Bay, look 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:34.880 at Cleveland, even look at Sacramento, Vegas, Oakland right now, 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:38.520 what they're doing, it's impressive to see some of these 0:18:39.359 --> 0:18:41.640 lower revenue teams do what they do year after year. 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:44.240 And I'm leaving out Milwaukee, which is a prime example 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:47.560 as well. Those teams can do it. Those teams do 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:51.360 do it now? Do they have challenges unlike what other 0:18:51.400 --> 0:18:56.119 clubs in bigger markets face. Absolutely, and it's an issue 0:18:56.200 --> 0:18:59.200 in the sport, an ongoing issue. But Pittsburgh, year after 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:03.000 year after year, has not answered the bell, for lack 0:19:03.040 --> 0:19:04.959 of a better phrase, they have not come up with 0:19:05.280 --> 0:19:08.440 the young talent and heck, they fell into Skins. He's 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:11.280 a number one. And keep in mind too, they're only 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:14.879 going to have schemes for so long, so at some 0:19:15.040 --> 0:19:20.159 point you've got to maximize what resources you have to 0:19:20.200 --> 0:19:23.359 the best of your ability. It's tough to make a 0:19:23.400 --> 0:19:24.399 case that they've done that. 0:19:25.280 --> 0:19:27.240 I want to circle back to what phaser sq was 0:19:27.280 --> 0:19:30.119 asking Ken about Sandy Alcontro when you were dealing with 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:32.679 the breaking news situation. I'm certainly not an insider, so 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:35.240 what is your take on this? With al Contra struggling 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:38.560 early this season, does it impact his chances that he's 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:40.240 dealt at the deadline. I think a lot of this 0:19:40.359 --> 0:19:42.800 is change of scenery. We know the type of stuff 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:46.000 can that Alcontra has. Despite the early struggles. 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:49.879 He's coming off Tommy John surgery. He hasn't pitched in 0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:53.080 a while. This to me is expected what he's going 0:19:53.160 --> 0:19:57.560 through and the deadline is essentially three months away. Not 0:19:57.640 --> 0:20:00.720 quite three months away, but almost three months away. I 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:04.200 would expect that he's going to be better by the deadline, 0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:06.600