WEBVTT - FT MLB Power Rankings + Kevin Pillar breaks down Kyle Tucker's slump 0:00:02.240 --> 0:00:05.240 Hot corner time. This is a man who was known 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:09.000 as Superman Kevin Plar in the outfield and was an 0:00:09.039 --> 0:00:11.600 all out hustler through his whole career, but also an 0:00:11.600 --> 0:00:14.079 outfielder right and he just like anyone else in the 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:16.040 big leagues that went through his ups and downs, especially 0:00:16.079 --> 0:00:18.480 at the plate, like anybody does. Kyle Tucker's going through 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:20.799 that right now. But he has had superstar numbers in 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:23.119 the past. So what we want to do here is 0:00:23.160 --> 0:00:25.200 get your take on what's going on with him. And 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:28.319 also Eric Carros, who's been on broadcast TV for a 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:30.520 long time, mentioned now he thinks he needs a reset 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:31.800 in Arizona. 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:32.120 Now. 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:35.440 The Dodgers are fine, They're leading the division by a mile, 0:00:35.720 --> 0:00:37.519 they're going to make the playoffs, they're fighting for a 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:40.919 buye get it. But Kyle Tucker is being paid more 0:00:41.000 --> 0:00:44.320 than anyone this season alone, and he looks lost at 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:46.440 the plate at home on the road. He's fine. And 0:00:47.000 --> 0:00:48.839 the bigger issue now too, that I'm curious about, and 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:50.640 I want to start with KP is what's going on 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:52.920 in the last few days in the outfield for him 0:00:53.280 --> 0:00:56.080 where it looks like things are getting to him mentally. 0:00:56.120 --> 0:00:56.720 Do you agree? 0:00:57.920 --> 0:00:58.200 Yeah? 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:01.560 I think so, there's definitely some mental stuff going on here. 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:04.559 But you know, I think part of the reason Kyle 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:07.959 Tucker got the amount of money he did is because 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:09.800 he also plays a good right field, you know, when 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:13.119 he's out there, and obviously when he's been successful at 0:01:13.120 --> 0:01:15.080 the plate, he's been able to play a great right field. 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:17.640 The fact that he's not hitting right now and he's 0:01:17.720 --> 0:01:20.600 really playing a below average and at times doesn't look 0:01:20.640 --> 0:01:24.800 like he's very invested out there, there's definitely concerns. And 0:01:25.280 --> 0:01:29.080 you know, from a standpoint of Eric Carrows, who follows 0:01:29.080 --> 0:01:31.120 the team and covers the team a lot more than 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:33.319 I do, for him to come out and make a 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:37.720 statement like he needs a reset is a very interesting thing. 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:40.480 And it's not as simple as just telling a guy, hey, 0:01:40.800 --> 0:01:43.399 who's making you know, seventy plus million dollars this year, Hey, 0:01:43.440 --> 0:01:45.560 you need a reset, go down to Arizona. You know, 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:50.440 it's a very difficult thing. But it's crazy because you 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:52.520 would never think this from a guy like Kyle Tucker. 0:01:52.600 --> 0:01:54.800 You know, I went through struggles like that, but baseball 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:57.280 was hard for me. Guys like Kyle Tucker don't ever 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.360 seem like the games very hard, right for him to 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:05.040 struggle like that is pretty crazy, considering the fact the 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.440 lineup that he's playing in, he's not necessarily the focal 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.880 point of that lineup anymore like he was in Houston. 0:02:11.320 --> 0:02:14.600 You think he would kind of be able to, you know, 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:18.480 honestly put up better numbers because there's so many other 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:20.680 guys in that lineup you have to focus on. And 0:02:20.720 --> 0:02:23.200 I don't know if this is a case of, you know, 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:26.400 kind of a kid who's you know, from a little bit, 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:31.360 smaller town, kind of grew up in the Houston, you know, 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:35.280 organization not necessarily a huge market team. You know, we 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:37.200 saw a little bit of his struggles last year in 0:02:37.240 --> 0:02:40.080 a big market like Chicago. Now him playing in the 0:02:40.120 --> 0:02:42.880 bright lights in the big city of Los Angeles, he's 0:02:42.880 --> 0:02:45.320 not performing at home, So there's a lot of questions 0:02:45.400 --> 0:02:49.800 to why. And I've also seen people kind of comment 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.560 and this is me without knowing Kyle Tucker, so this 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:56.040 is just speculation of what I've heard. He doesn't necessarily 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:59.000 come off as a guy who loves the game. He 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:00.919 seems like a guy who might be a little bit 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:03.760 content the fact that he's making a ton of money. 0:03:04.000 --> 0:03:06.480 He put in his time, his six years to get 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.280 the free agency cash in, and now it looks like 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:12.040 he's checked out once again. I don't know, Kyle Tucker Kratzy. 0:03:12.120 --> 0:03:14.519 I don't know if you know him personally or no 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:16.960 people that have been around him. They're just some of 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:19.680 the things that I've been seeing on the internet. In 0:03:19.720 --> 0:03:22.040 our comments right here is he comes off as a 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:25.040 guy who doesn't care. And I'm sure he does care. 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:28.280 But we've also seen, you know, in recent history, when 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:30.480 you go out and you pay a guy a ton 0:03:30.520 --> 0:03:34.240 of money who's openly said that baseball isn't a priority 0:03:34.280 --> 0:03:36.960 to him or doesn't necessarily care about the game of baseball, 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:39.120 you kind of see the consequences. 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:42.760 There's a lot to unpack. We'll unpack the whole Eric 0:03:42.800 --> 0:03:46.040 Carross his comments, But first, KP, I want to ask 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:49.320 you as an outfielder, because we saw the kind of 0:03:49.400 --> 0:03:52.760 short armed, misplayed ball at the fence in Dodger Stadium, 0:03:52.760 --> 0:03:57.000 and then yesterday the crumble to the ground looked like 0:03:57.040 --> 0:03:59.240 a pitcher trying to catch a fly ball. Do you 0:03:59.400 --> 0:04:02.720 go in slumps? And I thought you should have won 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:04.760 at least one goal glove in your career, so you're 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:07.600 one of the better outfielders, center fielders that I ever 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:11.680 played with. Do you go in slumps? Can you get 0:04:12.160 --> 0:04:15.320 in slumps running balls down? Because we saw him one 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:17.839 over his head that he wasn't able to get and 0:04:17.880 --> 0:04:21.920 then the one last night coming in that just Clankopotamus. 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:25.680 I'm sure you can get into slumps, you know, like 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:28.160 any position, you get into slumps. But I think for 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:30.880 someone like myself, who did a really good job separating 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:33.840 offense from defense, I think that's the bigger concern is 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:36.560 it doesn't look like he's been able to separate what 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:39.839 he's doing offensively, feeling like he's lost and he can't 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:42.039 buy a hit and he has no idea where his 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:45.560 mechanics are. When you take that out to the field, yeah, 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:47.279 it's gonna look like you're slumping and it looks like 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:49.080 you're not going to go make those plays. But when 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:51.280 you can kind of have that firm line of this 0:04:51.360 --> 0:04:53.800 is what I do offensively, this is who I am offensively, 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:56.640 and this part of me never should struggle because I'm 0:04:56.640 --> 0:04:59.480 so gifted, I'm so talented, and more than anything, I 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:01.680 have the willing to go out and make plays for 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:04.320 my team. That's really what it looks like, right now 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:07.159 is he can't separate the two and he's not willing 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:09.040 to kind of really put his body on the line 0:05:09.040 --> 0:05:11.960 in order to go make plays. I knew from the 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:15.120 type of player that I was that was my calling card. 0:05:15.200 --> 0:05:17.560 I couldn't allow defense to slump. I had to go 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:20.000 out there and make place for my team because what 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:22.480 I did offensively was so up and down throughout my 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:25.200 entire career, and I had to kind of trick my 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:28.719 mindset into believing that if I went out and I 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:30.840 made those plays, the two that you're talking about, one 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:33.680 going back against the wall, one coming in. I had 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:36.240 to trick my brain into telling myself that was as 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:38.320 good of getting a hit, so like I could start 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:42.080 to kind of use my defense to hopefully propel my offense. 0:05:42.160 --> 0:05:44.960 Because a lot of people, if they don't hit, they 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:47.160 don't play defense. I felt like if I played defense 0:05:47.200 --> 0:05:49.400 and I could trick my brain into being like, hey, 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:51.600 that feels as good as a hit, maybe I could 0:05:51.680 --> 0:05:53.000 kind of pick up my offensive game. 0:05:55.880 --> 0:05:59.040 See Geek is the official ticket marketplace for Major League Baseball, 0:05:59.080 --> 0:06:01.000 and anytime you want to go to a game, you 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:02.760 should go to Sea Geek. I used to call the 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:04.760 director of team travel I used to call the traveling 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:07.479 secretary whatever they want to be called KP to try 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:09.680 to get a seat. But on Sea Geek, I can 0:06:09.839 --> 0:06:11.800 pick my own seat and I can pick where I 0:06:11.880 --> 0:06:13.920 want to sit instead of being told where to sit. 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:18.120 Yeah, it's a great option. And summer is coming to 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:22.400 an end here soon. I'm going out and finding all 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:25.920 the day games possible, all the warm weather cities so 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:28.279 I could stay in this tank top. I can watch 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:32.600 very competitive baseball as the calendar turns into fall. I 0:06:32.640 --> 0:06:35.240 want to make sure that I get the most out 0:06:35.240 --> 0:06:38.440 of this tank top and warm weather and Sea Geek 0:06:38.480 --> 0:06:39.840 is where I would go and get my seats. 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:42.760 You can use code Territory ten for ten percent off 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:45.640 your next set of MLB tickets at seke. That's ten 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:49.240 percent off MLB tickets with promo code Territory ten. Make 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:51.479 sure you click the link in the description to download 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:53.680 the app and have the code automatically added to your 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:55.239 account so you can use it later. 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.560 KP. It is as good, believe me. That's why they 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:01.000 have all the statistics that they have the value of 0:07:01.040 --> 0:07:03.800 making a catch. That's why they're doing it because the 0:07:03.839 --> 0:07:06.840 nerds are like, well, is that as much of a value. 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:09.280 Wait a minute, it is, and that's why you are 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:12.760 a good player. My question to you is about changing teams. 0:07:13.760 --> 0:07:17.440 You keep talking about about Kyle Tucker being a superstar, 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:21.480 about him being that player that you know is better 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:25.880 than you. He's also still a human. So changing teams, 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:28.920 when you don't start out or you don't hit the 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:32.119 way that you want to or have in the past, 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:35.320 how much does that snowball on you? And could that 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:40.240 be something that's snowballing on Kyle Tucker regardless of he 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:42.440 sucks at home, he's better on the road. 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:47.440 Yeah, there's definitely a compounding effect everything, and it really 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:49.720 starts when you go out and you sign the contract 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:51.320 that he did and he's making I think what over 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:54.320 one hundred million dollars this year including the signing bonus. 0:07:55.160 --> 0:07:57.240 Once again, a lot of us would love to have 0:07:57.280 --> 0:08:00.440 this problem, but this is me talking to the inside 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:02.560 of the game, because once again, we're not robots. We 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:05.360 don't play in a simulation. We still have feelings. There's 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:07.320 still a lot of things that kind of factor in. 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:10.360 He has a target on his back, whether he likes 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:12.720 it or not, not necessarily from the Dodger fans, just 0:08:12.800 --> 0:08:16.640 in the game of baseball, everyone potentially is wanting him 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:18.840 to fail because no one can justify the fact that 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:21.160 he's worth a hundred million dollars. So you come into 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:23.320 a new team, you have that kind of target on 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:25.240 your back. You don't get off to a good start, 0:08:25.640 --> 0:08:27.520 you start getting in your own head. Am I worth 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:29.360 this money? Why did I do this? Why did I 0:08:29.400 --> 0:08:32.520 come here? Not to mention he's going into an environment 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:34.959 of a team who's won back to back World Series 0:08:35.040 --> 0:08:37.680 and then talk about I'm one hundred million dollar player. 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:41.160 They've won back to back World Series. I'm the worst 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:43.400 player on this team right now? What the hell am 0:08:43.400 --> 0:08:45.760 I doing here? You know, I was supposed to be 0:08:45.920 --> 0:08:48.720 kind of the cherry on top, to put this team 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:52.200 over the top, to completely run away. There's no chance 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:54.199 anyone's ever going to beat us. As long as I'm here, 0:08:54.200 --> 0:08:56.120 We're going to win four or five six World Series 0:08:56.120 --> 0:08:57.960 in a row. So yeah, I think there is a 0:08:58.040 --> 0:09:00.960 human element to this where he he's probably looking around 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:03.079 in this room and being like, why the hell am 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:06.640 I here? Like they probably have better players or better 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:09.040 performing players sitting on the bench right now, but it's 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:12.439 hard to not play a guy regard even if you're 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:15.199 the Dodgers, and you know, money doesn't seem like an option, 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:17.480 but when you're paying someone that amount of money, you 0:09:17.600 --> 0:09:19.640 got to put him on the field. He's got to play. 0:09:20.000 --> 0:09:21.720 And I think that's a lot of stuff that's going 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:24.679 on to him right now from a human side, you know, 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:27.920 and I think especially go when you look around that 0:09:28.040 --> 0:09:30.199 room and there's not a lot of other people struggling, 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:32.760 it's hard to relate. You know, Mookie's had his struggles 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:34.960 a little bit, but he's also been in that clubhouse 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.160 a long time when he's been really good. I think 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:40.400 a lot of these players are seeing Kyle Tucker not 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:42.240 for the first time because he's been a guy in 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:44.600 the league, but you're around him for the first time. 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:46.280 You know, you're getting to know him on a personal 0:09:46.360 --> 0:09:48.760 level for the first time. And he hasn't been good, 0:09:49.000 --> 0:09:51.320 and he's probably not the best version of himself, but 0:09:51.880 --> 0:09:54.280 he doesn't have that comfort and cratzy as you know, 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:57.319 there's nothing really like that first team where you come 0:09:57.400 --> 0:09:59.959 up with a lot of the same guys in an organization, 0:10:00.200 --> 0:10:02.640 maybe through the minor leagues you go through, you know, 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:06.560 the grind and the battles and the wars together. You know, 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:08.360 when a lot of these Dodger guys, yes, some of 0:10:08.400 --> 0:10:11.199 them have come from different organizations, but they've been together, 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:13.600 that core group of guys that's been together for a 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:16.320 long time. They know how to push each other's buttons, 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:19.160 they know how to comfort each other. Kyle Tucker is 0:10:19.160 --> 0:10:21.360 still kind of the outcast in that room. 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:24.959 Yeah, I mean not an outcast in a sense the 0:10:25.000 --> 0:10:27.640 team doesn't like him, just more of like, hey, we're 0:10:27.640 --> 0:10:29.920 still trying to figure you out, and he's still trying 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:33.280 to You're always trying to prove that you are good enough, 0:10:33.520 --> 0:10:36.680 and KP. You and I used to joke in twenty 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:40.560 fourteen when a pitcher would go, when a bullpen guy 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:42.760 would go three or four innings, we'd be like, well, 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:45.880 either he's getting sent down or one of us is 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:48.040 getting sent down, and totally would be like, no, it 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:50.240 could be me, and we're like, yeah, right, you're ra 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:54.600 a Dicky's five inning catcher. So we joke about that 0:10:54.760 --> 0:10:58.080 because that's the reality of baseball. You get sent down. 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:01.200 You get sent down when you don't play well and 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:03.960 you get you don't just like how many times KP 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:06.880 were you not playing well and you go, I would 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:09.240 like a mental reset here. And I'm not trying to 0:11:09.920 --> 0:11:13.880 I'm not trying to downgrade or demean anybody that has 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:18.280 mental things going on when you're playing, because it's a 0:11:18.320 --> 0:11:21.880 real thing. You're grinding mentally through what's going on. But 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:25.120 for Eric Carross to say, well, maybe he needs to 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:30.679 go down to Arizona, I think is a gross misunderstanding 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:35.920 of how I think teams are allowed to use roster manipulation. 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:39.120 And we know that the Dodgers will sit guys to 0:11:39.200 --> 0:11:42.880 give them rests, and you know, okay, would they really 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:45.160 be sitting out during this time. No, we're getting ready 0:11:45.200 --> 0:11:48.200 for the postseason. It's something they're afforded. But now this 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:51.640 is just a TV person saying, hey, you know what, 0:11:51.679 --> 0:11:54.240 maybe he needs a reset. Do you agree that a 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:57.280 team should just be allowed to send somebody to Arizona, 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:01.040 because if that's the case, you know, somebody gets sent 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:02.800 down a triple A to be like, actually, I would 0:12:02.800 --> 0:12:05.640 just rather want to reset instead and I'll be back 0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:09.360 in ten days. Do you feel like it's a different 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:13.280 scenario because he's making so much that that was suggested, 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:15.280 or do you think it's because well, you know what, 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:17.080 the Dodgers can do this. They're not going to option 0:12:17.200 --> 0:12:20.120 Kyle Tucker to triple A. I get that, but does 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:20.800 it seem fair. 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:24.600 No, it's not fair, And I think all things could 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:27.880 be true in this scenario. But I think what ultimately 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:31.920 is he's saying is he just looks so lost that 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:34.760 they don't have an answer. It's not like hey put 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:36.679 him on the bench for two or three days or 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:39.200 sit him for a whole series and allow him to 0:12:40.040 --> 0:12:44.920 reset mentally, physically, work on his mechanics. It's just, once again, 0:12:45.160 --> 0:12:48.040 Eric Carrossa has a lot of Dodger games. He lives 0:12:48.040 --> 0:12:50.440 in that he's watching this team, you know, a lot 0:12:50.480 --> 0:12:53.360 more than I'm watching him on a regular basis, And 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:55.680 for him to come out and say a comment like 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:59.520 that just speaks to how, you know, bad he's been 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:01.920 this year, but also how he just looks lost and 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:04.600 there's no answer. There's no quick fix to what he's doing. 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:08.000 I think that's ultimately I'm gaining out of it, is 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:11.160 there's no quick fix for what's going on. And you 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:14.720 know the default, you know, in a perfect world, perfect 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:17.840 scenario without the rules that we have in place, where 0:13:17.840 --> 0:13:20.040 you could just send guys down or you could put 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:22.280 him on a little mental reset or a Lettle vacation 0:13:22.400 --> 0:13:25.040 to Arizona. I think he's saying is he needs some 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:27.360 time away from the game to kind of figure out 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:31.280 what the hell's going on. And I really hope that 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:34.560 this doesn't happen because there are rules in place where 0:13:34.600 --> 0:13:37.679 teams would start kind of manipulating the roster. And obviously 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:40.880 the Dodgers have the luxury to be able to not 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:43.079 only afford a guy like Kyle Tucker who's making so 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:45.400 much money, to kind of step away from the team 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:49.480 for you know, ten days, two weeks, really work on himself, 0:13:49.520 --> 0:13:53.240 work on his you know, his swing, his mechanics, whatever 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:56.080 he needs to work on, because they have internal options. 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:58.080 So I really hope that's not a case where that 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:03.439 actually happens. Yeah, because there's many times in my career where, man, 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:06.040 if I could have just just given me one day off, 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:09.240 you know, and I wouldn't be old, because I worked 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:11.960 really hard to become an everyday player, But the game 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:15.520 could speed up on you. And this compounding effect of 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:19.160 yesterday's game were two days ago and then three days ago. 0:14:19.240 --> 0:14:21.880 Do you kind of get this snowball effect of like, man, 0:14:22.120 --> 0:14:23.840 I'm never gonna ask for it, But I would be 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:25.720 so happy if I was out of the lineup today 0:14:25.720 --> 0:14:27.640 and I could just kind of sit back and watch 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:30.160 and not have to think about going over for or 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:32.960 what my swing's gonna do, or you know, my body's 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:36.200 just kind of physically not all there right now. I 0:14:36.280 --> 0:14:39.680 think that's why people in the major leagues, especially guys 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:41.640 like Kyle Tucker, who have had a history of being 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:43.920 out on the field every single day, and obviously his 0:14:44.000 --> 0:14:47.320 body of work, you know, you could justify the contract. 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:50.400 But that's why these everyday players get paid a lot 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:52.280 of money, because it's not just the back of the 0:14:52.320 --> 0:14:55.640 basebook cart. Statistically, it's extremely hard to go out there 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.760 every single day without taking any days off. You got 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:00.360 to give a ton of credit to guys like Freddie 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:04.120 Freeman and Matt Wilson, these guys who post every single day. 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:09.360 It's not easy to do mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. On 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:12.120 this game will will drain you of all those very quickly, 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:13.520 especially when you're not playing well. 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:20.240 We have pop in colors for Mack Weldon. Here, I've 0:15:20.240 --> 0:15:22.960 got a little green shade, you've got a nice blue shade, 0:15:23.040 --> 0:15:25.480 and what else do you love about mack Weldon crats. 0:15:25.960 --> 0:15:28.440 I can be head to toe with mack Weldon. I 0:15:28.480 --> 0:15:31.720 have the underwear, I have the shorts, I have the pants, 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:33.960 I have the socks. Obviously we got the shirt and 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:38.000 the jackets. But it's head to toe comfort no matter 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:40.520 what piece they send. I even have a belt that 0:15:40.600 --> 0:15:41.200 looks sick. 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:43.920 And make sure you check out mack Weldon's air Knit 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.920 ex fabric to help you out. 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He was out 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:19.120 for a good chunk of the year, but he comes 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:21.760 back and he continues to struggle too. I think they're 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:23.840 going to try to find some softer landing spots for him. 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:26.720 But I mean, you're pitching in a in a blowout 0:16:26.800 --> 0:16:30.080 Rockies Dodgers game, and you got more runs. 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:32.480 I got a very you know, I was talking to 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:36.120 you know, Cody Allen, who I do the the you know, 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:38.040 to the Major's podcast with, and we were kind of 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:40.400 talking about that situation a little bit. And it's very 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:42.680 interesting with a closer. You know, Yes, you want to 0:16:42.720 --> 0:16:46.120 find him the soft landing, right because at some point, 0:16:46.320 --> 0:16:49.200 with how poorly he's pitching, you can't nestly afford for 0:16:49.320 --> 0:16:51.400 him to be pitching those final three outs of a 0:16:51.440 --> 0:16:53.560 game because it's the difference between you winning and losing. 0:16:53.960 --> 0:16:56.760 But when you've been a closer your whole career, that 0:16:56.920 --> 0:17:00.800 soft landing isn't necessarily what you need. You know. They're 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.680 adrenaline junkies. This is what they're built on. They're built 0:17:03.680 --> 0:17:06.399 on the moment of coming out of that bullpen and 0:17:06.440 --> 0:17:09.080 the highest leverage of the game and getting those final 0:17:09.119 --> 0:17:11.680 three outs. So it's a very interesting thing when your 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:15.159 closer is struggling because there's no really other way to 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:17.440 kind of recreate what he needs. You know, at some 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:20.560 point you have to just continue. And luckily the Dodgers 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:22.720 are in a position where they could afford him to 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.240 blow some saves with the sizeable lead they have. I 0:17:25.280 --> 0:17:28.639 know ultimately they'd like to remain, you know, one of 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:30.720 those top two teams, so they can get that by 0:17:30.800 --> 0:17:33.800 in the postseason. But I don't necessarily know if that 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:37.880 soft landing is what a closer needs. Cratsey, you obviously 0:17:37.920 --> 0:17:40.359 caught some of these guys. I'm sure throughout your career 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:43.280 you've had some closer struggle a little bit. I don't 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:44.800 know if they felt the same way, but it was 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:48.120 a very interesting conversation I had with a former closer 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:49.400 about kind of that situation. 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:53.040 It's two different pictures, that's all I have to say. 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:56.719 A closer throwing in a non safe situation is a 0:17:56.800 --> 0:18:01.760 different picture than a closer throwing in a tight safe situation. 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:04.280 And right now he's not good enough. But I agree 0:18:04.280 --> 0:18:06.760 with Cody. Cody knew what it took. He had the 0:18:06.800 --> 0:18:10.399 mental fortitude to be a closer. It's just different. The 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:13.160 stuff is in his crisp when you're thrown in games 0:18:13.520 --> 0:18:15.720 that don't matter, let alone the fact that he's thrown 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:18.720 in a game where a position player was pitching for 0:18:18.720 --> 0:18:22.359 the other team in Colorado, where your slider sink and 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:26.640 your sinker slide. So it's it's like throwing on the moon. 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:29.800 Like give them the three days off. Maybe give him 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:30.560 a mental reset. 0:18:31.920 --> 0:18:34.560 Yeah, just not in Arizona unless they're playing there. Good 0:18:34.560 --> 0:18:38.359 talk though, great insight, love the player perspective. Time for 0:18:38.920 --> 0:18:41.960 power rankings. Yes, we're deep into the season and we 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:44.200 want to see what Kevin Pullar has for us first. 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:47.720 Then krats will follow KP. There are some in the 0:18:47.720 --> 0:18:51.240 boat of Dodgers being back to back champs. They should 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:53.840 just sit at number one all year long. Aj Persinski 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:56.959 is one of those people. I believe you're not. Am 0:18:57.000 --> 0:18:57.880 I accurate there? 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:00.560 Yeah? Your accurate? And let me I'm gonna give a 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:03.120 little context here. You know. I wake up in the morning, 0:19:03.720 --> 0:19:06.680 I get the text from producer Lady, Hey, we need 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:09.000