1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,599
Speaker 1: Then you have to ask again, if not now, when,

2
00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,040
Speaker 1: And once again I must say, with Tom Ricketts lately

3
00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:12,080
Speaker 1: the owner of the Cubs, the answer seems to be never.

4
00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:15,360
Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to the Monday edition of Fair Territory, the

5
00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,480
Speaker 1: President's Day edition. We've got a ton to talk about,

6
00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:22,119
Speaker 1: as always, but the big story on this Monday is

7
00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,759
Speaker 1: in the Red Sox camp. Raphael Devers spoke today about

8
00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:31,400
Speaker 1: the addition of Alex Bregman and his potential position change

9
00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:37,000
Speaker 1: and heshed repeat quashed any idea of him moving off

10
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:39,960
Speaker 1: of third base. He said he's not changing positions. He

11
00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:42,640
Speaker 1: said he is not going to DH and now the

12
00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,199
Speaker 1: Red Sox have what we would call a situation. I

13
00:00:46,280 --> 00:00:50,200
Speaker 1: want to go back to Sunday when Bregman was introduced

14
00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,160
Speaker 1: as the Red Sox new infielder. Let's put it that way,

15
00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:58,520
Speaker 1: and what Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow said when asked

16
00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:01,080
Speaker 1: about how they would continue putting the team together.

17
00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:05,920
Speaker 2: AC and I. We have an obligation to the team,

18
00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:09,840
Speaker 2: to the organization, and most importantly to our fans to

19
00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,640
Speaker 2: put the best offensive and defensive team off the field

20
00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:13,440
Speaker 2: that we possibly can.

21
00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:16,360
Speaker 1: All right, so what is the best defensive alignment for

22
00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:19,480
Speaker 1: the Red Sox. It does not include Raphaeld Devers at

23
00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:21,839
Speaker 1: third base. I wrote this last week and I stand

24
00:01:21,880 --> 00:01:25,760
Speaker 1: by it. Rafaeld Devers great hitter, good guy, but his

25
00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,120
Speaker 1: defense at third base has never been good and in

26
00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,600
Speaker 1: recent years has been among the worst in the league.

27
00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,800
Speaker 1: Alex Bregman is a gold Glove third baseman. He won

28
00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,399
Speaker 1: his first goal Glove at the position last year. In addition,

29
00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,679
Speaker 1: the Red Sox have a top prospect, Christian Campbell, top

30
00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:47,240
Speaker 1: infield prospect, who is seemingly ready to take over at second. Now.

31
00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,360
Speaker 1: Bregman can play second, there's no question about that. And

32
00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:52,200
Speaker 1: would he be as good as he was at third?

33
00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:56,080
Speaker 1: Probably not. Initially, Alex Korra has said Bregman can win

34
00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:00,480
Speaker 1: a Gold Glove at second, but it's not that easy. Again,

35
00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,000
Speaker 1: Devers here is taking a stand that is not necessarily

36
00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:07,400
Speaker 1: surprising for a player who is only in the second

37
00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,160
Speaker 1: year of a ten year, three hundred and thirteen point

38
00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:13,640
Speaker 1: five million dollar contract. Raphaeld Devers has a lot of pride.

39
00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,480
Speaker 1: All players do, That's why they're who they are. But again,

40
00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:21,000
Speaker 1: the question becomes what is best for the team. And

41
00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:25,080
Speaker 1: here's my concern. If Devers is indeed adamant about not

42
00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:28,880
Speaker 1: changing positions. Okay, season opens, Let's say he makes a

43
00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:31,600
Speaker 1: couple of errors in the first week. Fans are aware

44
00:02:31,639 --> 00:02:34,960
Speaker 1: of what's going on. Red Sox fans are particularly aware

45
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,760
Speaker 1: of what's going on, and it could get ugly. Fans

46
00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,040
Speaker 1: could get down on Devs because, hey, you got a

47
00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,919
Speaker 1: better third baseman playing second base if that's indeed where

48
00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,680
Speaker 1: Alex Bregman winds up, and I don't see any other option.

49
00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,800
Speaker 1: So this situation is festering now for the Boston Red Sox,

50
00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,440
Speaker 1: and you could make the case that maybe they should

51
00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:56,800
Speaker 1: have had this all worked out before they pursued Bregman,

52
00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:00,720
Speaker 1: or certainly before they signed him. That is an interesting question,

53
00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:05,320
Speaker 1: and it is an interesting question regarding what exactly was

54
00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:09,040
Speaker 1: said and when. But now you have a third baseman

55
00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,520
Speaker 1: who is not very good defensively saying I'm not changing positions,

56
00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:14,919
Speaker 1: and that is not going to be taken well by

57
00:03:14,919 --> 00:03:17,080
Speaker 1: a lot of people. Now I get it, I get

58
00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:21,160
Speaker 1: Devers totally here, but it's going to come off badly

59
00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:23,959
Speaker 1: to fans who are watching and wanting the best Red

60
00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,040
Speaker 1: Sox team possible. It might even come off badly to

61
00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:31,360
Speaker 1: the Red Sox officials Breslo, Alex Cora, Sam Kennedy, the

62
00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:34,600
Speaker 1: team president, who have tried to put together what they

63
00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,360
Speaker 1: feel is the best team possible. So we have a

64
00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,080
Speaker 1: sticky situation here and it's going to play out. It's

65
00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:42,840
Speaker 1: going to be a lot more interesting than even we

66
00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:46,480
Speaker 1: thought the night the Red Sox initially agreed with Alex Bregman.

67
00:03:47,120 --> 00:03:50,400
Speaker 1: For more on Alex Bregman's Boston fit. Robbie Hyde hosts

68
00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,960
Speaker 1: Monster Territory, part of the Foul Territory Network. The latest

69
00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,240
Speaker 1: episode takes a deep dive into Bregman's relationship with Alex

70
00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,000
Speaker 1: Cora and where Bregman fits in the Red Sox club.

71
00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,640
Speaker 1: Subscribe on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts to

72
00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,840
Speaker 1: the entire Foul Territory Network. So that is it for

73
00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,000
Speaker 1: the Red Sox. There are other issues in the game

74
00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:11,280
Speaker 1: we want to address this morning as well. We'll get

75
00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:13,720
Speaker 1: to the Cubs in the Inside Dish and some other

76
00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,280
Speaker 1: teams that aren't spending the way they should. I've got

77
00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:19,520
Speaker 1: a long list, but first I want to talk about

78
00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:23,360
Speaker 1: two managers. The world series managers last October Dave Roberts

79
00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:25,960
Speaker 1: of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Aaron Boone, of the New

80
00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,840
Speaker 1: York Yankees. Both are entering the final years of contracts.

81
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,880
Speaker 1: Both are discussing extensions with their teams now. I expect

82
00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,599
Speaker 1: both will be signed before the end of spring training.

83
00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,120
Speaker 1: That's generally how these things will work. It's not going

84
00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:41,880
Speaker 1: to drag into the season. But at the same time,

85
00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,440
Speaker 1: there are fans I'm sure of both teams who say, hey,

86
00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,720
Speaker 1: wait a second, this guy's not that good. I'm not

87
00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,120
Speaker 1: so sure. Fans of the Dodgers are still saying that

88
00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,680
Speaker 1: about Dave Roberts after his performance last October. He is

89
00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,400
Speaker 1: in a really interesting situation here because his winning percentage

90
00:04:57,920 --> 00:05:01,000
Speaker 1: is the all time highest among manager who have managed

91
00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,960
Speaker 1: at least two hundred and fifty games, a six twenty

92
00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:07,640
Speaker 1: seven winning percentage again number one if you've managed at

93
00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:11,359
Speaker 1: least two hundred and fifty games. Dave Roberts can really

94
00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:14,840
Speaker 1: argue quite successfully that he deserves more than Craig Counsel,

95
00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,599
Speaker 1: who of course received a record five year, forty million

96
00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:23,240
Speaker 1: dollar contract from the Cubs just before last season. Roberts

97
00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:25,960
Speaker 1: is far more accomplished than Council, and you would expect

98
00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:29,280
Speaker 1: the Dodgers, the money bags, filthy rich Dodgers can pay

99
00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,120
Speaker 1: their manager more than eight million dollars a year, and

100
00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:35,120
Speaker 1: guess what, they don't even have to defer it because

101
00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,360
Speaker 1: Dave Roberts does not count against the luxury tax. So

102
00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,400
Speaker 1: Dave Roberts will be signed. The only question is will

103
00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,920
Speaker 1: he set a record with this contract. Aaron Boone more

104
00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:48,400
Speaker 1: of a controversial figure among Yankees fans, and yes, the

105
00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:50,599
Speaker 1: Yankees have not won a World Series in his tenure.

106
00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:52,880
Speaker 1: They have not won a World Series since two thousand

107
00:05:52,920 --> 00:05:56,680
Speaker 1: and nine. But Boone has the second highest winning percentage

108
00:05:56,680 --> 00:05:59,600
Speaker 1: among active managers behind Roberts. He is a five to

109
00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:02,080
Speaker 1: eighty four. He led the team to the World Series

110
00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,800
Speaker 1: last year. And sure, as with any manager, you can nitpick,

111
00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,919
Speaker 1: you can question certain things, decisions, the way he talks

112
00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:12,400
Speaker 1: to the media and is always so positive. I get it.

113
00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,560
Speaker 1: But Aaron Boone does the one thing that is essentially,

114
00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:18,800
Speaker 1: in this day and age, the number one requirement for

115
00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:22,599
Speaker 1: a manager. He keeps the room together. And what I

116
00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,599
Speaker 1: mean by that is he has an open communication with

117
00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:29,360
Speaker 1: the players. He seems to get the most out of them. Now.

118
00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:32,680
Speaker 1: They were defensively flawed last year, and that is somewhat

119
00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:36,159
Speaker 1: on Boone, no question, but a big part of a

120
00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:40,159
Speaker 1: manager's job is keeping the players at a high effort level.

121
00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,120
Speaker 1: You might think that sounds simple. You might think, oh,

122
00:06:43,200 --> 00:06:45,120
Speaker 1: what's the big deal. These guys are professionals, they all

123
00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,280
Speaker 1: should be trying. But you got to keep the group together.

124
00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:50,840
Speaker 1: It's a bunch of big egos, and Aaron Boone does

125
00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:53,800
Speaker 1: that at a really high level. He communicates well, he

126
00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,480
Speaker 1: keeps the guys engaged. That is extremely important. And I

127
00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,359
Speaker 1: know again there are fans out there dismissing this not

128
00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:03,760
Speaker 1: a big deal. No, it is a big deal. When

129
00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:07,239
Speaker 1: a manager loses the team, that is a huge problem.

130
00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:09,800
Speaker 1: Boon has not done that in all those years. He

131
00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,840
Speaker 1: has not done that. He has kept that team going

132
00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,200
Speaker 1: and that is perhaps his number one attribute as a manager.

133
00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,400
Speaker 1: So he too, is going to get an extension, I expect.

134
00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:20,000
Speaker 1: I don't know that it's going to be a record,

135
00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:23,280
Speaker 1: but he will be signed. Also, over the weekend, I

136
00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,200
Speaker 1: had a notes column. This was on Sunday we published this,

137
00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:29,440
Speaker 1: and in that notes column, I had a note about

138
00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:32,560
Speaker 1: Anthony Rendon and the Angels. Now, as we all know,

139
00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:36,040
Speaker 1: Anthony Rendon is scheduled to undergo hip surgery. He most

140
00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:40,040
Speaker 1: likely will miss the entire twenty twenty five season. His

141
00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:43,920
Speaker 1: contract seven years, two hundred and forty five million before

142
00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:48,400
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty season has essentially been a disaster, a washout.

143
00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,560
Speaker 1: He has barely played. If he doesn't play this season,

144
00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:55,640
Speaker 1: he would have missed seventy five percent of the Angels

145
00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,840
Speaker 1: games over the last five years. Think about that, last

146
00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,200
Speaker 1: five years, he's played in only twenty five percent of

147
00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,720
Speaker 1: their games. Again, if he misses the entire season. Now,

148
00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:08,200
Speaker 1: the note was about how the Angels do not have

149
00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:11,480
Speaker 1: insurance on Rendon or any of their other players for

150
00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:14,840
Speaker 1: that matter. That is a choice the owner, Arty Moreno makes.

151
00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,840
Speaker 1: It's a business decision. He doesn't want to pay expensive

152
00:08:17,880 --> 00:08:21,800
Speaker 1: premiums when he might never need to invoke the policies.

153
00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:26,000
Speaker 1: Not all teams carry insurance on their players. In fact,

154
00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,720
Speaker 1: a good chunk do not, so Arti Morino is not

155
00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,480
Speaker 1: alone in this regard. But as I reported, I spoke

156
00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:36,440
Speaker 1: with an expert on baseball insurance and how these things work,

157
00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:40,240
Speaker 1: and he said, in the Angels case with Rendon, not

158
00:08:40,320 --> 00:08:43,320
Speaker 1: taking out a policy has cost them probably at least

159
00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:46,760
Speaker 1: fifty million dollars. That's fifty million dollars that could have

160
00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:51,400
Speaker 1: been applied obviously in other places, Rendon scheduled to make

161
00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,760
Speaker 1: thirty eight point six million this year and thirty eight

162
00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,319
Speaker 1: point six million next year. This will go down obviously

163
00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,000
Speaker 1: as one of the worst contracts of all time, and

164
00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:05,000
Speaker 1: again it is not insured. We'll be back after a

165
00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,400
Speaker 1: quick word from our friends at foul Territory.

166
00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:09,839
Speaker 3: Hey, real nutrition has the power to make a real

167
00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:13,200
Speaker 3: difference in people's lives, So let me talk about Orgain

168
00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,520
Speaker 3: for a moment, please. The new thirty gram complete protein

169
00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:18,920
Speaker 3: shakes really get you set up for pre or post

170
00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,839
Speaker 3: workout crafts. And also it tastes so damn good.

171
00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:24,480
Speaker 1: Tastes too good. It tastes too good.

172
00:09:24,480 --> 00:09:26,880
Speaker 2: I want to have a second one because there's tons

173
00:09:26,920 --> 00:09:31,240
Speaker 2: of protein shakes out there that taste terrible. This makes

174
00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:34,080
Speaker 2: me feel like I'm getting a reward for my workout.

175
00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:39,320
Speaker 3: Satisfy those cravings without any added sugar. All nine essential

176
00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:43,760
Speaker 3: amino acids part of your ultra filtered protein shake. It's

177
00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:45,920
Speaker 3: called or gain. There are no quick fixes when it

178
00:09:45,960 --> 00:09:48,360
Speaker 3: comes to your health. If you want more protein, give

179
00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:50,640
Speaker 3: or gain thirty grand protein shakes. To try a head

180
00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:53,640
Speaker 3: to orgain dot com slash foul thirty. Use code foul

181
00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:56,560
Speaker 3: thirty for thirty percent off your order. That's the best

182
00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,760
Speaker 3: offer that you're gonna find. It's from the ft fam.

183
00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,959
Speaker 3: You got to use the code foul thirty for thirty

184
00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,480
Speaker 3: percent off. Give us a little shake on the way out, Kraft,

185
00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:05,880
Speaker 3: so they know, just a quick shake.

186
00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:07,160
Speaker 1: Nice.

187
00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:10,040
Speaker 3: Well, well, well.

188
00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:13,800
Speaker 1: Time now for the inside dish, the part of the

189
00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:15,880
Speaker 1: show where I talk about maybe a story I've written,

190
00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:19,839
Speaker 1: a trend in the game, something else entirely. And today

191
00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:21,800
Speaker 1: I want to build on a note that I had

192
00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,439
Speaker 1: in my Sunday Notes column, the one about the Cubs

193
00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:27,800
Speaker 1: and how they whiffed on Alex Bregman. And I started

194
00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:31,640
Speaker 1: the note by saying, or recalling what THEO Epstein said

195
00:10:31,640 --> 00:10:34,080
Speaker 1: when the Cubs traded for a role as Chapman during

196
00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:37,440
Speaker 1: the twenty sixteen season. THEO, who is trying to break

197
00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,640
Speaker 1: a one hundred and eight year World Series title drought, said,

198
00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,760
Speaker 1: if not now when now? As I mentioned, the situation

199
00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:47,319
Speaker 1: for the Cubs now is not as urgent as it

200
00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:51,920
Speaker 1: was then. But Alex Bregman for them, presented an opportunity,

201
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,760
Speaker 1: a pretty rare opportunity, at a moment in time when

202
00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:59,640
Speaker 1: they should have been ready to strike. Now, why is

203
00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:02,960
Speaker 1: or why was Bregman such a rare opportunity. A couple

204
00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,760
Speaker 1: of reasons, this is perhaps the only year that the

205
00:11:05,800 --> 00:11:08,120
Speaker 1: Cubs will have Kyle Tucker. At this point, you probably

206
00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,120
Speaker 1: can say it is going to be the only year

207
00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:12,760
Speaker 1: the Cubs are going to have Kyle Tucker because of

208
00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,040
Speaker 1: the way that they've resisted spending long term for the

209
00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:19,319
Speaker 1: most part in recent years. So you've got one year

210
00:11:19,320 --> 00:11:22,320
Speaker 1: of Kyle Tucker at least one certain year of club control.

211
00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:25,480
Speaker 1: You've had years in which you were financially disciplined, cutting

212
00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,880
Speaker 1: the payroll, trying to put yourself in a position where

213
00:11:29,160 --> 00:11:34,360
Speaker 1: when an opportunity like Regman arose, you'd be ready to go. Well,

214
00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:37,680
Speaker 1: what do the Cubs do? They made the fourth highest offer,

215
00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:40,920
Speaker 1: behind the Tigers, behind the Astros, behind the Red Sox.

216
00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:44,600
Speaker 1: I'm talking about total guaranteed money, and obviously they didn't

217
00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:47,960
Speaker 1: get the player. So I was critical of them in

218
00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:51,280
Speaker 1: this particular note, and I said, if not now, when

219
00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:54,400
Speaker 1: that's the question THEO asked, and Tom Ricketts, as owner,

220
00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:58,600
Speaker 1: his answer lately seems to be never. And when you're

221
00:11:58,640 --> 00:12:01,040
Speaker 1: charging the highest ticket price in the game, or among

222
00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,640
Speaker 1: the highest ticket prices, I should say that's a problem,

223
00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:07,880
Speaker 1: and that's a lack of commitment that frankly deserves to

224
00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:11,640
Speaker 1: be called out. We are talking about an industry right now,

225
00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:14,680
Speaker 1: and I'm mentioning the entire industry here, not just the Cubs,

226
00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,920
Speaker 1: an industry that had last season record revenues of twelve

227
00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,760
Speaker 1: point one billion dollars twelve point one billion, and fans

228
00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:25,760
Speaker 1: wonder at times why I call out teams for not spending.

229
00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,000
Speaker 1: I was critical of the Red Sox for not spending,

230
00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,840
Speaker 1: and here they are. They finally did spend. Yes, congratulations,

231
00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:34,400
Speaker 1: good for them. But I'm critical of teams who do

232
00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:37,360
Speaker 1: not give their best effort. And this is a problem

233
00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,480
Speaker 1: that has plagued this sport for a while. And it's

234
00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:42,280
Speaker 1: not just the Cubs, and it's not just the Red

235
00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:46,560
Speaker 1: Sox before them. We're talking about the entire NL Central

236
00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,240
Speaker 1: right now, with the exception of the Cincinnati Reds. The

237
00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:52,240
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh Pirates have Paul Schemes, They've got them under club

238
00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:54,800
Speaker 1: control for only five more years, and what have they

239
00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:59,040
Speaker 1: done this offseason? Essentially nothing. The Saint Louis Cardinals taking

240
00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:03,880
Speaker 1: a step back. The Milwaukee Brewers, the division champion Milwaukee Brewers,

241
00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:08,839
Speaker 1: the perennially powerful Milwaukee Brewers. They lost Willia Domas, they

242
00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:12,720
Speaker 1: lost Devin Williams, traded Devin Williams, and what have they done.

243
00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:16,000
Speaker 1: They've not signed a player for more than one million dollars.

244
00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:18,720
Speaker 1: And it's not just the NL Central teams, of course,

245
00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:21,920
Speaker 1: the Mariners, the Twins, they're off seasons, have essentially put

246
00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,679
Speaker 1: their fans to sleep. The Nationals haven't done as much

247
00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:26,320
Speaker 1: as you would expect for a team that is on

248
00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:30,840
Speaker 1: the rise. The Rockies are perpetually irrelevant. That's just some

249
00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,000
Speaker 1: of the clubs now. Fans talk about a salary cap

250
00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:36,600
Speaker 1: or they want a salary cap, and okay, I get it.

251
00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,080
Speaker 1: You would think, if you're looking at this from the outside,

252
00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,120
Speaker 1: that maybe a salary cap and a salary floor would

253
00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:47,080
Speaker 1: perhaps help solve the revenue disparities that exist between the

254
00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:49,960
Speaker 1: haves and the have nots, the growing revenue disparity. I

255
00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:53,560
Speaker 1: should say, Okay, that's fine, but here's the problem. To

256
00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,120
Speaker 1: negotiate a salary cap. To convince the players that a

257
00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:58,800
Speaker 1: salary cap is worthy, you have to have their trust.

258
00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:03,440
Speaker 1: And when you have teams, small market teams pocketing revenue

259
00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:06,440
Speaker 1: sharing money, big market teams not spending to the level

260
00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:09,840
Speaker 1: they should, you lose that trust. You don't have trust,

261
00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:13,560
Speaker 1: and that is the essential problem here, besides the union's

262
00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:17,360
Speaker 1: philosophical opposition to a salary cap. At some point, if

263
00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:19,840
Speaker 1: you gave the union enough money, maybe they would accept

264
00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:23,600
Speaker 1: the salary cap. But the problem is trust. The union

265
00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:25,560
Speaker 1: is not going to trust the owners to report their

266
00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,080
Speaker 1: revenues properly. They're not going to trust the owners to

267
00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,080
Speaker 1: account for the revenues they make with some of these

268
00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,960
Speaker 1: ballpark development projects that exist in different cities right now.

269
00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,080
Speaker 1: So there you are, and that is the essence of

270
00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:41,960
Speaker 1: the issue, and that is why these teams need to

271
00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,760
Speaker 1: be held accountable for not spending the way they should.

272
00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:49,000
Speaker 1: The sport will not be everything it could be until

273
00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:52,160
Speaker 1: we see that corrected to some degree. Now, some teams

274
00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:54,520
Speaker 1: are going to go backwards in certain years. Some teams

275
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,680
Speaker 1: can't spend as much as other as we all understand this,

276
00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:01,320
Speaker 1: but it seems to me that the Cubs, the Brewers,

277
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,560
Speaker 1: some of these other clubs that are competitive, they're thinking,

278
00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,360
Speaker 1: you know what, we can go get a number six

279
00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:10,320
Speaker 1: seed in the postseason, spend a little less money. We

280
00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,000
Speaker 1: don't have to push for the number three seed as

281
00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:15,080
Speaker 1: a division champion. We can sneak in. See what happens,

282
00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:17,080
Speaker 1: the Cubs are going to draw their two point a

283
00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:19,560
Speaker 1: two point nine million, what's the big deal? Why push?

284
00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:22,000
Speaker 1: You push because you're trying to win, because that is

285
00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:26,880
Speaker 1: the object of the sport. So the Red Sox in

286
00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:30,440
Speaker 1: this case with Bregman, made the push that the Cubs

287
00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:33,600
Speaker 1: did not. Now we can argue about whether Bregman was

288
00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,680
Speaker 1: worth the money. It's a forty million dollar aav thirty

289
00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,880
Speaker 1: million essentially when you factor in the deferrals. But the

290
00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:43,560
Speaker 1: Cubs in twenty twenty three, according to Forbes magazine, we're

291
00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:48,640
Speaker 1: top five in both revenue and franchise value, and yet

292
00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:53,480
Speaker 1: their payroll currently ranks thirteenth. Not good enough, Not right?

293
00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:55,920
Speaker 1: And when you have a front office that was pushing

294
00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:59,240
Speaker 1: for Bregman, a front office that essentially has avoided long

295
00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:03,320
Speaker 1: term commitment. They've got Imanaga, and they've got Swanson signed

296
00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:05,680
Speaker 1: through twenty seven and twenty eight or under contract through

297
00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:08,120
Speaker 1: twenty seven and twenty eight, and that's it. Their books

298
00:16:08,120 --> 00:16:10,160
Speaker 1: are pretty clean. When you have all that and you

299
00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,600
Speaker 1: still put together the fourth best offer for Alex Bregman,

300
00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:16,880
Speaker 1: then you have to ask again, if not now, when,

301
00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,320
Speaker 1: And once again I must say, with Tom Ricketts, lately

302
00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,160
Speaker 1: the owner of the Cubs. The answer seems to be

303
00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:27,480
Speaker 1: never again, not good enough. For more on where the

304
00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:30,640
Speaker 1: Cubs go from here, North Side Territory is available on

305
00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:33,840
Speaker 1: YouTube and wherever you get your podcast My colleagues from

306
00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,480
Speaker 1: the Athletic Patrick Mooney and Sahadi Sharma host Their latest

307
00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,480
Speaker 1: episode is all about Kyle Tucker's future with the club.

308
00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,800
Speaker 1: Subscribe on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts to

309
00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:47,520
Speaker 1: the entire Foul Territory network. Before getting into grilling, can

310
00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:50,040
Speaker 1: want to talk about some news that broke on Monday morning,

311
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,880
Speaker 1: Mike Trott revealing to reporters that he will be playing

312
00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:56,720
Speaker 1: right field this season. Right field, not center field. He

313
00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,080
Speaker 1: will play a little bit of center, a little bit

314
00:16:59,080 --> 00:17:01,960
Speaker 1: of DH it sounds, but right field will be his position.

315
00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:05,840
Speaker 1: The idea, obviously, is to reduce the wear and tear

316
00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,600
Speaker 1: on Trout, perhaps protect him from injury. He, like Anthony Rendon,

317
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,920
Speaker 1: has had a terribly difficult time in recent years staying healthy.

318
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,399
Speaker 1: Whether this actually works or not remains to be seen.

319
00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:20,280
Speaker 1: A number of Trout's injuries, as I wrote recently, kind

320
00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,760
Speaker 1: of stem from being in the batter's box, from hitting,

321
00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:24,879
Speaker 1: and not so much being in the field. But for

322
00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:26,960
Speaker 1: the Angels, it's a smart move because you want to

323
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:30,359
Speaker 1: take every precaution possible to keep Mike Trout healthy. And

324
00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,040
Speaker 1: there's no question that playing right is less wear and

325
00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:36,439
Speaker 1: tear on the legs than playing center. So the news

326
00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:39,200
Speaker 1: out of the Angels camp this morning Mike Trout will

327
00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:42,440
Speaker 1: be in right field this season, a new position for him,

328
00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:44,639
Speaker 1: and it will be quite interesting to see how he

329
00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:48,960
Speaker 1: adapts and more interesting to see whether this indeed accomplishes

330
00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,240
Speaker 1: its purpose of keeping him healthy. Okay, time now for

331
00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:55,120
Speaker 1: Bill and Ken. Let's get to your questions. The first

332
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:59,000
Speaker 1: question comes from Billy Flanagan, who asks, what exactly does

333
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,240
Speaker 1: a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training

334
00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:06,679
Speaker 1: really mean? What are the possible outcomes of such a deal? Billy,

335
00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:09,080
Speaker 1: this is a question that a lot of fans kind

336
00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:11,280
Speaker 1: of have on their minds and don't really understand, So

337
00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:14,359
Speaker 1: I'm glad you asked it. A minor league contract with

338
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,080
Speaker 1: an invitation to spring training is the kind that a

339
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,360
Speaker 1: team gives to a player who is not on their

340
00:18:19,359 --> 00:18:22,520
Speaker 1: forty man roster. They want him in camp, they want

341
00:18:22,560 --> 00:18:24,600
Speaker 1: to give him a chance, but he's not on their

342
00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,680
Speaker 1: forty man. He is on the outside looking in from

343
00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:30,959
Speaker 1: that perspective, but he gets to go to spring training,

344
00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:34,000
Speaker 1: gets to essentially try out before the major league manager

345
00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,120
Speaker 1: and coaches who could take a look at that player

346
00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,399
Speaker 1: and see if at some point he could be added

347
00:18:39,440 --> 00:18:41,840
Speaker 1: to the roster. Now, some of these players are prospects

348
00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:44,480
Speaker 1: who are not on the forty man. Others are veterans

349
00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:48,040
Speaker 1: who are kind of trying to hang on, and in

350
00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:50,520
Speaker 1: some cases you will see them added to the opening

351
00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:52,840
Speaker 1: day roster and at that point the team must take

352
00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,880
Speaker 1: someone else off their forty man. So it's a way

353
00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,000
Speaker 1: to give veterans an opportunity who you don't want to

354
00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,080
Speaker 1: give a major league deal to. It's a way to

355
00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:04,360
Speaker 1: maybe look at some kids that you're wanting camp, some catchers,

356
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,280
Speaker 1: especially because teams always need catchers in camp, and it's

357
00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:11,480
Speaker 1: a clear distinction between a major leaguer and a guy

358
00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,320
Speaker 1: who is trying to get into the major league situation

359
00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:18,080
Speaker 1: one way or another. All right, next question, This one

360
00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:21,360
Speaker 1: comes from KC, who asks the Astros losing some key

361
00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,719
Speaker 1: pieces definitely hurt, but has any team in the West

362
00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:28,800
Speaker 1: done enough to overtake them? The Astros are definitely going

363
00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:31,639
Speaker 1: to look a lot different this season, they have lost

364
00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:35,800
Speaker 1: three franchise pillars. Bregman is one, Kyle Tucker is another,

365
00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,560
Speaker 1: Ryan Presley is a third. Now they've brought in some

366
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,879
Speaker 1: players as well, the Zach Parades, But at the same time,

367
00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:44,120
Speaker 1: this is going to be a much different looking team

368
00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:48,960
Speaker 1: and probably in my estimation, not quite as good a team. Now.

369
00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,560
Speaker 1: The Texas Rangers have done some things, They've improved themselves.

370
00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,159
Speaker 1: The Seattle Mariners have not done much, but they have

371
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,240
Speaker 1: arguably the best rotation in the game, so they're going

372
00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:02,520
Speaker 1: to be competitive. And look at how Fangrafts projects each

373
00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,400
Speaker 1: of these teams going forward in twenty twenty five, it's

374
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:09,600
Speaker 1: quite interesting. They've got the Rangers winning eighty five games,

375
00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,960
Speaker 1: the Mariners also winning eighty five games, and the Astros

376
00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,680
Speaker 1: eighty four. All three teams essentially are projected to have

377
00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:20,000
Speaker 1: the same record in MLB dot COM's Mike Petriello wrote

378
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:23,240
Speaker 1: about this earlier this week, just talking about how rare

379
00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:27,440
Speaker 1: it is for teams to be projected with such similar records.

380
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,840
Speaker 1: So I would say, yes, the Texas Rangers definitely have

381
00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:34,719
Speaker 1: done enough, possibly to overtake Houston the Seattle Mariners by

382
00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,840
Speaker 1: adding Jege Polanco and Donovan Solano haven't done much, but

383
00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:40,880
Speaker 1: they've got the talent to possibly do it. So this

384
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:44,119
Speaker 1: looks like it could be a rather interesting race. And

385
00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,320
Speaker 1: I wouldn't rule out the Angels at least being somewhat

386
00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:51,960
Speaker 1: competitive and the Sacramento as too. Both those teams have improved.

387
00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:54,480
Speaker 1: How good they'll be, well, that remains to be seen,

388
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:58,680
Speaker 1: all right. The final question this one comes from Pinball

389
00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:02,240
Speaker 1: Wizard eighth nine, who asks what is the most exciting

390
00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:04,439
Speaker 1: part of spring training and at what point do you

391
00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:07,879
Speaker 1: want spring training to be over already? To me, the

392
00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,280
Speaker 1: most exciting part of spring training is the day it begins.

393
00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,240
Speaker 1: Is when camp's open. Hear the crack of the bat,

394
00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,720
Speaker 1: the smell of the grass, You got all that going on,

395
00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:22,040
Speaker 1: And for me personally, it's just good to see people again.

396
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,400
Speaker 1: I spend the winter basically on the phone and texting

397
00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:29,399
Speaker 1: and not really seeing people in person. It's just the

398
00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:31,600
Speaker 1: nature of it. At the winter meetings, yes we see people,

399
00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,760
Speaker 1: but we don't see players. And once spring training begins,

400
00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,320
Speaker 1: you're in contact with players and managers and coaches and

401
00:21:38,359 --> 00:21:40,879
Speaker 1: scouts and executives, all the people who are part of

402
00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:44,399
Speaker 1: the baseball ecosystem. To me, that has always been the

403
00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:46,560
Speaker 1: best part of the job. The people. I love the

404
00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:50,000
Speaker 1: people in baseball. Now. As for when I'm ready for

405
00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,040
Speaker 1: it to be over, spring training kind of goes in

406
00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:56,600
Speaker 1: a cycle. At first, you're just excited to see pictures

407
00:21:56,600 --> 00:22:01,040
Speaker 1: and catchers out there working out, pictures taking fielding practice.

408
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,520
Speaker 1: Then after a few days of that, you're kind of

409
00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,800
Speaker 1: anxious for the exhibition games to begin, and then after

410
00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:09,639
Speaker 1: a few weeks of that, you really want the regular season,

411
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:13,119
Speaker 1: the real games to begin. So it's kind of a process.

412
00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:15,199
Speaker 1: I don't know that I ever get tired of it,

413
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:17,960
Speaker 1: but at the same time, you're building towards something. We're

414
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:21,800
Speaker 1: building toward the regular season, the games that actually matter.

415
00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:24,160
Speaker 1: And I'll tell you a little secret about my own

416
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:28,280
Speaker 1: coverage of spring training. I rarely watch the games, and

417
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,880
Speaker 1: there's a reason for that. Over the years, I've kind

418
00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,480
Speaker 1: of gotten fooled watching spring training games, thinking maybe this

419
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:37,320
Speaker 1: player is really good, or maybe this player is not

420
00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,760
Speaker 1: so good, And I've learned that spring training games are

421
00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,480
Speaker 1: almost entirely irrelevant. There are times I will go to

422
00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:47,160
Speaker 1: see a particular picture throw, especially a young pitcher who's

423
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,560
Speaker 1: coming on, but in general I pay very little attention

424
00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:52,760
Speaker 1: to what is going on on the field. I want

425
00:22:52,800 --> 00:22:55,119
Speaker 1: to thank everyone for their questions, thank everyone for watching,

426
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,840
Speaker 1: for listening. You know where to find us YouTube, Apple, Spotify, subscribe, like,

427
00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:02,600
Speaker 1: and we will be back Thursday with our normal live

428
00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,080
Speaker 1: show twelve thirty Eastern. Myself and Alana Rizzo. Have a

429
00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:07,399
Speaker 1: great week everyone.

430
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:10,800
Speaker 3: From February sixteenth until March second, players can join in

431
00:23:10,840 --> 00:23:14,960
Speaker 3: on the bet MGM Poker Winter Online Championships. Players can

432
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,000
Speaker 3: compete for a prize pool of over one point five

433
00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:22,600
Speaker 3: million dollars guaranteed in twenty one trophy events. Play your

434
00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:25,560
Speaker 3: cards right in the Winter Online Championships, and you could

435
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,960
Speaker 3: also claim a share of an additional ten grand on

436
00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,560
Speaker 3: the Winter Online Championships leaderboard.

437
00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:35,280
Speaker 2: Gambling problem we're concern called one eight hundred gambler