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Speaker 1: Fish Bites podcast is back. I'm your host, Arum Layton

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Speaker 1: Opening Days around the Corner and the Marlins will be

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Speaker 1: taken on the Cubs. That's why I have Al Yellen

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Speaker 1: from Bleed Cubby Blue, the Cubs eSPI Nation affiliate.

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Speaker 2: Al, thanks for being.

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Speaker 3: On, Thanks for having me.

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Speaker 1: So it's been a crazy offseason for the Marlins. A

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Speaker 1: lot of fans haven't even been able to keep up

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Speaker 1: with other teams. So can you tell us a little

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Speaker 1: bit about what went on with the Cubs. Of course,

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Speaker 1: the most notable move being letting Arieta go and bringing

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Speaker 1: in Darvish. Can you tell us what how fans feel

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Speaker 1: about letting a fan favorite like Aria to go and

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Speaker 1: replacing him with an all star pitcher like Darvish.

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Speaker 3: You know, it's been a crazy offseason for just about everybody.

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Speaker 3: You know how long it took for even a kind

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Speaker 3: of a minor free agent to be signed. And you know,

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Speaker 3: every Cubs fan and loves Jake Carrier. He through two

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Speaker 3: no hitters. He had the most amazing season maybe ever

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Speaker 3: for any Cubs pitcher in twenty fifteen. He was great

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Speaker 3: in the World Series for the Cubs. But you know,

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Speaker 3: it became clear towards the middle of the last season

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Speaker 3: and with a couple of contracts extensions offered and not accepted,

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Speaker 3: that it probably wasn't going to happen for him to

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Speaker 3: stay on. He got a great ovation when he left

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Speaker 3: the last game that he pitched in the Championship Series

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Speaker 3: last year. I think all most Cubs fans kind of

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Speaker 3: figured he was gone. And you know, once you Darvish

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Speaker 3: was signed, theo Epstein said that he was their number

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Speaker 3: one target, that they identified what they wanted to get,

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Speaker 3: and they went and traveled to his home in Dallas.

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Speaker 3: They conducted a three and a half hour interview, which

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Speaker 3: Darvish did all in English, which was pretty impressive. And

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Speaker 3: it took about a month after that or a month

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Speaker 3: and a half until he actually signed. And based on

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Speaker 3: what I've seen from him in spring training, he's a

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Speaker 3: great fit for this team. He's ready to go. You know,

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Speaker 3: he and Jake Ariott are almost exactly the same age.

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Speaker 3: But I think the Cubs determined that they thought that

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Speaker 3: Darbish was going to be a better pitcher going forward

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Speaker 3: than Jake Arietta was, And everything I've seen from him

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Speaker 3: in spring training says he's ready to go. I'm very

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Speaker 3: excited to see.

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Speaker 2: Him pitch and kind of segue that into the rotation.

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Speaker 1: Tyler Chotwood was also acquired, and you also have the

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Speaker 1: guys returning of you know, John Lester and Jose Quintana.

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Speaker 1: What can you tell me about Lester? He really struggled

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Speaker 1: last year. He was a victim of the home run

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Speaker 1: surge that we saw in the MLB. He really looked

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Speaker 1: like he might be aging. His velocity was down, his

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Speaker 1: fastball was absolutely crushed. I think an opponent said about

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Speaker 1: two point eighty against his four seemer.

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Speaker 2: He is thirty four years old.

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Speaker 1: Do you think he's starting to run out of gas

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Speaker 1: or can you have a bounce back season at thirty four.

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Speaker 3: I think we're going to see a bounce back season

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Speaker 3: from John Lester. John Neisser did have some minor injury

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Speaker 3: issues last year. Did spend a little bit of time

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Speaker 3: on the disabled list, so you know that may have

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Speaker 3: been bothering him much of the season. He had an

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Speaker 3: outstanding year in twenty sixteen. He's looked good in spring training.

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Speaker 3: He needs to he just needs to go get back

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Speaker 3: to the previous level, and I think he'll be able

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Speaker 3: to do that. Staying healthy is obviously the most important

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Speaker 3: thing you mentioned Tyler Chatwood, who you know has not

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Speaker 3: had great numbers pitching for the Rockies. But one thing

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Speaker 3: that Chatwood has done is he's always pitched much better

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Speaker 3: outside of cors Field than he did in in course Field.

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Speaker 3: So you know, we're looking for him now that he

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Speaker 3: has regally fielded as his home park instead of having

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Speaker 3: to pitch at altitude in Denver, that he'll be a

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Speaker 3: much much better pitcher overall. Cosey Quintana has been solid

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Speaker 3: since the Cubs got him from the White Sox, and

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Speaker 3: now they have the advantage of having him heavy, had

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Speaker 3: him through a whole spring training camp, and you know,

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Speaker 3: getting with the new pitching coach, Jim Hickey, and getting

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Speaker 3: all everything together. With that. Kitana had a couple of

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Speaker 3: games for the Cubs late last year that were just

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Speaker 3: absolutely outstanding. He threw a complete game shut out over

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Speaker 3: the Brewers in the season's final weekend. That was one

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Speaker 3: of the games that the Cubs needed to clinch the

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Speaker 3: division title. And I noticed that you left out, you know,

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Speaker 3: the guy who is really my favorite pitcher of the

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Speaker 3: club staff, Kyle Hendrix. Kyle Hendricks does not throw hard.

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Speaker 3: He rarely breaks ninety miles an hour with his fastball,

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Speaker 3: but he just knows how to pitch. He will set

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Speaker 3: up his change up with that fastball and guys know

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Speaker 3: the changeup is coming and they know how about how

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Speaker 3: fast is going to go, and they still can't hit it.

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Speaker 3: It's just when he's on, you know, they call him

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Speaker 3: the professor. It's a joy to watch him pitch.

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Speaker 1: And he was a victim of some injury problems last

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Speaker 1: year as well, if I'm not mistaken. Kind of easy

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Speaker 1: to overlook him because, like you said, he doesn't flash

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Speaker 1: that you know, high nineties fastball, but he just gets out.

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Speaker 1: It's almost like I'd hate to compare him to Greg Maddox,

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Speaker 1: but he kind of has that type of poise to him,

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Speaker 1: which makes him pretty impressive.

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Speaker 2: I completely overlooked him.

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Speaker 1: You're completely right, And can we talk about the bullpen

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Speaker 1: a little bit. Obviously Wade Davis departs, that's, you know,

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Speaker 1: an elite closer in the MLB. You bring in some

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Speaker 1: guys like Brendon Morrow and a few others. Who do

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Speaker 1: you think will be the closer this year? And who

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Speaker 1: are some candidates otherwise?

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Speaker 3: Well, the Cubs did sign Brandon Marrow to close. I

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Speaker 3: mean they're paying him twelve million dollars a year. That's

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Speaker 3: not set up man money. He had a great year

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Speaker 3: for the Dodgers. He has not closed in several years

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Speaker 3: since he was in Seattle. But I think the Cubs

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Speaker 3: are confident that he can do the job. And if

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Speaker 3: he can't for any reason, they have Steve Seeschek, who

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Speaker 3: they also signed to a free agent deal. Seek has

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Speaker 3: been a closer before, as you certainly know, and he

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Speaker 3: can he can take over. He has the right mindset

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Speaker 3: for closing closing work. They also have Pedro Strop who

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Speaker 3: has mainly been a setup man in his career. But

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Speaker 3: Strope has good velocity and has been a solid setup man.

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Speaker 3: And Carl Drugs Junior, who as long as CJ can

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Speaker 3: get avoid too many walks, he's got a great fastball

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Speaker 3: and the right attitude on the mound. So they have

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Speaker 3: guys who can close Ifmorrow can't. But I think they're

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Speaker 3: expecting him to be able to do it, and before

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Speaker 3: him get info, we get it.

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Speaker 2: Into the line, into the line. I wanted to talk

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Speaker 2: at the UH the farm system.

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Speaker 1: So the farm system is ranked twenty eighth now, something

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Speaker 1: that the Cubs have usually been in the top ten

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Speaker 1: the top five in the league in terms of the

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Speaker 1: level of prospects that they boast. Obviously, the Cubs are

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Speaker 1: in win now mode. How do Cubs fans feel about

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Speaker 1: completely depleting that farm system going all in in twenty

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Speaker 1: eighteen and is that something that's of a concern for

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Speaker 1: the future because the Marlins obviously in our complete opposite

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Speaker 1: position right now.

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Speaker 3: Well, you have to remember this, you know, the Cubs,

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Speaker 3: as you know, as you mentioned, did have a top

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Speaker 3: ranked firm system for several years, but they have graduated

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Speaker 3: so many great prospects to becoming really good major league players.

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Speaker 3: I mean, they have five consecutive number one draft picks

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Speaker 3: who are contributing major league players as Javi or Baias

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Speaker 3: Alban and Moore, Junior, Chris Bryant, Kyle Sowerber, and Ian

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Speaker 3: Happ all came through the system, all have become good

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Speaker 3: to great major league players. I mean, that's a rare thing,

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Speaker 3: rare thing to do. Plus they have another guy who

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Speaker 3: is number one pick of another team, Addison Russell, who

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Speaker 3: they acquired in trade. So this is a this is

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Speaker 3: a great you know, a great cop of farm system players.

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Speaker 3: Who have been graduated to the system. Also, they use

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Speaker 3: some of the depth in the system to trade for

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Speaker 3: players who have helped them win. They traded away glabor Taurus,

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Speaker 3: who is now, you know, on the cusp of becoming

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Speaker 3: a starter with the Yankees, to get an oldest Chapman.

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Speaker 3: The Cubs probably don't win the World Series without an

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Speaker 3: oldest Chapman. So you know, to me, it doesn't matter

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Speaker 3: if labor Taurus makes ten All Star teams. It doesn't matter,

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Speaker 3: because the Cubs won the World Series. Then they traded

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Speaker 3: Elo Jimenez and Dylan Ceese to the White Sox for

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Speaker 3: Jose Kintana. Elo Jimenez looks like he's the real deal.

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Speaker 3: He's going to be a really good, solid major league player,

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Speaker 3: if not a star. But the Cub's got three and

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Speaker 3: a half years of Jose Kintana at below market rates,

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Speaker 3: and if they win another World Series or two within

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Speaker 3: the three years that are left on Katana's contract, that's

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Speaker 3: also worth it. So the Cubs are in a situation

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Speaker 3: like you say, they're gonna win now more but not

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Speaker 3: more than that. They've got basically the core of this

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Speaker 3: team is together for at least the next two years.

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Speaker 3: And most of them will be together for the next

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Speaker 3: four years. So in that four year period work on

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Speaker 3: rebuilding the depth and the farm system while they're going

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Speaker 3: to win at the major league level. So they are

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Speaker 3: not what the OBSTE calls parallel tracks to both winning

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Speaker 3: in the major leagues and then rebuilding the farm system

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Speaker 3: for when they either have to sign that young core

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Speaker 3: to long term contracts or they leave his free agents.

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Speaker 1: Well, that's interesting you bring up that Chatman move giving

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Speaker 1: up Gleaver Torres. It reminds me a lot of in

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Speaker 1: two thousand and three when the Marlins found themselves in

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Speaker 1: contention right around the deadline, they parted with a young

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Speaker 1: prospect named Adrian Gonzalez in order to get a closer

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Speaker 1: and uglitth Urbina, who is in prison i think now.

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Speaker 1: But he was a huge put a huge part in

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Speaker 1: that two thousand and three World Series run, and it

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Speaker 1: could be argued that the Marlins may not have won.

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Speaker 2: That World Series without him.

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Speaker 1: So, yes, adriangan Zalas went on to be a perennial

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Speaker 1: All Star, but it's hard to argue against a move

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Speaker 1: like that when you win a World Series title exactly.

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Speaker 3: That's what it's all about. You could make a move

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Speaker 3: like that and you win. It's always worth it, always

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Speaker 3: no matter what the player you give up does.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, you can't contest that. So going into the lineup,

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Speaker 1: it's very similar to last year. Not much has changed,

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Speaker 1: you have. You know, Ian Hatton out coming in after

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Speaker 1: starting a little late last year, and he's expected to

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Speaker 1: be one of the main outfielders. He's not going to

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Speaker 1: probably play the infield much anymore. Opens up the spot

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Speaker 1: for Javier Bayaz, who struggled last year. Tell me a

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Speaker 1: little bit about the lineup and what Cubs fans are

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Speaker 1: expecting out of some of those fringe guys that struggled

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Speaker 1: a little bit last year, like Kyles s Warber, Javier Bayaz,

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Speaker 1: and Ian hap who is trying to avoid a sophomore

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Speaker 1: swamp well.

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Speaker 3: Ian Happen, as you mentioned, had they had a pretty

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Speaker 3: solid rookie season. He kind of went back and forth

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Speaker 3: between second base, center field, left field. He's going to

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Speaker 3: primarily be the center fielder this year. He came into

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Speaker 3: camp wanting to win the leadoff spot in the batting order,

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Speaker 3: and he produced. He had five leadoff home runs in

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Speaker 3: spring training. Can't argue with that. So at least for now,

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Speaker 3: he will be the Cubs leadoff man, although you know,

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Speaker 3: Joe Madden likes to mix and match, you will see

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Speaker 3: other guys lead off, you know, depending on certain matchups.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I'm going to google with a little bit

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Speaker 3: about Hoavier Bias. Javier Bias actually had a very good

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Speaker 3: year last year. He had twenty three home runs. Yes,

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Speaker 3: he still strikes out a lot. Yes he still swings

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Speaker 3: and misses it pitches that are like ten feet out

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Speaker 3: of the strike zone, but he really kind of took

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Speaker 3: a step forward last year in terms of power. His

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Speaker 3: defense is you know, almost beyond compare. He will be

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Speaker 3: the regular second baseman this year, although he did play

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Speaker 3: some shortstop last year. He can play all over the infield,

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Speaker 3: and this is one thing that will allow Joe Madden

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Speaker 3: to give his guys some rest. You know, if he

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Speaker 3: wants to give Addison Russell a day off, Bias can

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Speaker 3: move over to shortstop. Ben Zeber's can play second base,

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Speaker 3: Hap can play second base, Tommy Lostella can play second base,

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Speaker 3: Bias can play third base if they want to give

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Speaker 3: Chris Bryan a day off. So that's one of the

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Speaker 3: reasons that Joe likes to have versatile players who can

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Speaker 3: play multiple positions.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, And I guess I for some reason tend to

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Speaker 1: think bias struggles when I look at his strike on numbers.

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Speaker 1: But you're right, he still did hit over a two

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Speaker 1: to seventy clip and did make some strides at the plate.

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Speaker 2: Do you think Schwarber can can turn things around it?

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Speaker 1: He did hit for power last year, obviously struggled to

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Speaker 1: consistently get on base. There's been reports that he slimmed

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Speaker 1: down at spring training. What can you tell me about

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Speaker 1: Schwarburn what you've seen so far?

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Speaker 3: Well, Kyle Schwarber had a terrible first half and they

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Speaker 3: installed them in the leadoff spot, which probably was a mistake.

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Speaker 3: He just couldn't hit at all. They wound up sending

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Speaker 3: him to Triple A for three weeks. After he came

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Speaker 3: back for Triple A, he hit very well. He hit

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Speaker 3: for almost a nine hundred ohps and as you say,

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Speaker 3: he want to any thirty home runs into spring training.

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Speaker 3: People didn't recognize him. I mean, he really didn't recognize.

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Speaker 3: He looked like a totally different person, lost thirty pounds,

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Speaker 3: got into great shape. He's much better. He's a much

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Speaker 3: better left fielder than he was. He takes much better

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Speaker 3: routes to balls, and he's really looks He's never going

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Speaker 3: to be a great outfielder, but he looks like he

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Speaker 3: can at least be an average major league left fielder,

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Speaker 3: and with that kind of offense, I think that he will.

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Speaker 3: He'll certainly be a solid contributor. He may he still

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Speaker 3: struggles a bit against left handed pitching, so you may

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Speaker 3: see some mixing match there when the Cubs face certain

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Speaker 3: left handers. But I look for house Ober to maybe

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Speaker 3: have a breakout season this year.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, I can one hundred percent see that too.

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Speaker 1: And the Marlins have made the NL Central better almost

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Speaker 1: alone in terms of some of the players that they've

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Speaker 1: dealt out, trading Yelwich to the Brewers, Ozuna to the Cardinals.

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Speaker 1: How do you feel about the Cubs stacking up against

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Speaker 1: other teams in the NL Central is they've all kind

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Speaker 1: of made moves to improve this year.

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Speaker 3: One thing that I don't understand about the Brewers is that,

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Speaker 3: yes they you know, they got Christian Yellich from the Marlins,

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Speaker 3: which will improve them. They signed Lorenzo Kaine as a

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Speaker 3: free agent, the guy who used to do at the

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Speaker 3: Brewers on his return, so they they got a couple

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Speaker 3: of big name players for their lineup, they didn't really

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Speaker 3: address their biggest problem, which is their starting rotation. Uh,

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Speaker 3: you know, the Brewers are gonna They're gonna be without

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Speaker 3: Jimmy Nelson until at least June. Chase Anderson probably pitched

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Speaker 3: over his head a little bit last year. So and

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Speaker 3: they their fourth and dis spots are kind of up

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Speaker 3: for grabs. So you know, there were free agents out

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Speaker 3: there to sign. There were guy, I mean, they have

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Speaker 3: a glut of outfielders. They could have traded a couple

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Speaker 3: of their outfielders to get some pitching up, and they

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Speaker 3: didn't do it. It's kind of just defying. I'm not

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Speaker 3: really sure where the Brewers are headed. The Cardinals offense

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Speaker 3: is definitely going to be improved by the addition of

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Speaker 3: Marcelo Zuna. He's a great hitter and I certainly don't

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Speaker 3: look forward to him hitting against Cubs pitching. The Cardinals

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Speaker 3: seem to have, you know, this magic Pixie Ferry does

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Speaker 3: that they that they sprinkle on their franchise and suddenly

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Speaker 3: they win. They wind up winning when nobody expects them to. So,

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Speaker 3: you know, I don't know the Cardinals and Cubs rivalry

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Speaker 3: has always been a great one. It's better when both

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Speaker 3: teams are good, so you know, I will always look

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Speaker 3: forward to those games.

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Speaker 1: The NL Central seems to be the division to watch

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Speaker 1: for me so far this year. Of course, the AL

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Speaker 1: East with the Yankees and Red Sox is always interesting

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Speaker 1: as well. Tell me what the other divisions and what

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Speaker 1: you guys are thinking about that the NL East Now,

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Speaker 1: I know the NL East is going through a transitional

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Speaker 1: phase as the Marlins are to the Phillies are starting

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Speaker 1: to shift into win now mode with the signing of

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Speaker 1: Arieta of course, going out and getting Carlos Santana. The

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Speaker 1: nash those are always the Nationals. What's the opinion on

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Speaker 1: the NL East from outsiders perspective?

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Speaker 3: The way I look at it is that this year

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Speaker 3: it looks like, you know, it looks like the Nationals

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Speaker 3: will probably run away with the division again as they

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Speaker 3: did last year. They have a new manager, so that'll

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Speaker 3: be an adjustment for them. But you know, Dave Martinez

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Speaker 3: was bench coach under Joe Madden for a long time.

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Speaker 3: It was always thought that he would make a good manager.

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Speaker 3: Now he's finally getting his chance to do it. Everybody

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Speaker 3: seems to think very highly of him, So that'll that

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Speaker 3: should be a good thing for Washington. You know, they

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Speaker 3: are kind of in a transition too, because Bryce Harper

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Speaker 3: is a free agent after this year. Whether he stays

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Speaker 3: in Washington or go somewhere else, we'll tell you a

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Speaker 3: lot about the direction of that team. As you say,

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Speaker 3: the Phillies, you have improved themselves with the signing a

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Speaker 3: Jake Arietta. They got a pretty good offensive Phillies. You know,

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Speaker 3: signing AREAA might even make them in the marginal wildcard

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Speaker 3: contenders if they can they can kind of put things together.

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Speaker 3: The Atlanta Braves are still kind of rebuilding. They got

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Speaker 3: a lot of good young players on that team, but

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Speaker 3: they're still probably a couple of years away. And you know,

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Speaker 3: the Mets are the Mets. They they will win if

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Speaker 3: that pitching staff stays healthy, and they've rarely stayed healthy,

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Speaker 3: so you know, who knows. You know, two years ago

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Speaker 3: or three years ago, the Mets are in the World Series,

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Speaker 3: and the last couple of years they've they've had struggles

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Speaker 3: and mostly because the pitching staff can't stay healthy.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, And of course, last but not least, the Marlins

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Speaker 1: they're going through a very tough phase for fans right now.

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Speaker 1: Fans feel a little bit betrayed. It's another fire sale.

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Speaker 1: A lot are saying that's kind of in the narrative

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Speaker 1: from the national media. Obviously, Jeter and company are trying

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Speaker 1: to make it clear that it's different than what it's

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Speaker 1: been in the past with Jeffrey Lauria in terms of

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Speaker 1: the overhaul of the farm system and just starting over

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Speaker 1: and kind of giving a fresh start in a blank

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Speaker 1: slate for this new ownership. What is once again, an

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Speaker 1: outsider's perspective on specifically the Marlins and what do you

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Speaker 1: think about what the Marlins are doing so far. I,

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Speaker 1: for one, I'm a big fan of some of the

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Speaker 1: pieces that they've acquired. I think a fire sale was necessary.

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Speaker 1: I actually don't even like the word or the phrase

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Speaker 1: fire sale. I do think a restructuring was necessary, and

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Speaker 1: I do think this is something that had to be done.

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Speaker 3: I mean, from from an outsider's point of view, I'm

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Speaker 3: just I'm absolutely mystified, to be honest with you, at

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Speaker 3: what Derek Jeter and his group have done. You know,

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Speaker 3: it was pointed out by a couple of people during

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Speaker 3: the offseason that you know, the Marlins won seventy seven

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Speaker 3: games last year, and they were sort of in wildcard

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Speaker 3: contention until August when they felt they fell kind of

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Speaker 3: fell down on the standings. But you know, they had

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Speaker 3: they got. They had quite a few good players there.

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Speaker 3: I mean, you know, besides the two they traded with,

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Speaker 3: the two we've talked about already. You know, Jim Carlo

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Speaker 3: Stanton is a great, great hitter, and you know there

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Speaker 3: were some of whom thought, you know, if the Marlins

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Speaker 3: had wanted to spend some money, they could have signed

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Speaker 3: Jake Ariana and you Darvish and they would have been

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Speaker 3: a wildcard contender. So you know, but is that a

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Speaker 3: short term band aid? I don't know. The question I

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Speaker 3: would have to ask. I guess then is And I'm

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Speaker 3: not as familiar with the pieces that required in the

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Speaker 3: trades as you are are. Are these pieces good enough

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Speaker 3: so that they can become a contender, let's say, in

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Speaker 3: two or three years, like the other teams that have

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Speaker 3: done teardowns, like the Cubs, like the Astros, you know,

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Speaker 3: will that same thing work for the Marlins? I mean,

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Speaker 3: maybe it will.

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Speaker 1: Well that's why I kind of wanted to pick your brain,

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Speaker 1: because the Cubs and the Astros are two of the

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Speaker 1: biggest success stories in terms of what the Marlins are

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Speaker 1: doing right now in the teardowns and restructuring. When it

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Speaker 1: comes to you know, there's been a common narrative, you know,

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Speaker 1: the Marlins where a couple pitchers away. It's a great point,

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Speaker 1: and the Marlins really were a couple of pitchers away.

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Speaker 1: But with the passing Jose Fernandez, I think it kind

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Speaker 1: of set the franchise back beyond repair where they were

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Speaker 1: perpetually in debt, didn't really have money to go get

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Speaker 1: those pictures. A lot handcuffed by a lot of bad

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Speaker 1: contracts and weigh in Chen brad ziegeor among others, Martine

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Speaker 1: Prado is another tough contract and Stanton, interestingly enough, was

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Speaker 1: a pretty difficult contract to deal with. I don't think

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Speaker 1: anyone can ever play to a three hundred million dollar contract,

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Speaker 1: and with that whole situation, uh, you know, coming to

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Speaker 1: the forefront with the new ownership, I just think it

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Speaker 1: was something that they really couldn't win with and really

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Speaker 1: kind of, like I said, handcuff them. What do you

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Speaker 1: what specifically made the Cubs and Astros rebuild so successful

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Speaker 1: in your opinion, other than the obvious being the prospects

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Speaker 1: being successful. But what was there some sort of method

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Speaker 1: that the two had in common or was it just

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Speaker 1: prospects panning out.

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Speaker 3: I mean, one thing that THEOEPS scene said he was

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Speaker 3: going to do and he did. He said that in

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Speaker 3: the draft he was going to focus on hitters and

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Speaker 3: obtain pitching by trades or free agency, and that's exactly

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Speaker 3: what he did. You know, look at some of the

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Speaker 3: pitchers that had been drafted. You know, for example, the

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Speaker 3: year of the Cubs took Chris Bryan with the number

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Speaker 3: two overall pick. The number one overall pick was Mark A. Pell.

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Speaker 3: You know, obviously obviously that worked. You know, if the

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Speaker 3: if the Astros take Chris, you know, I don't think

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Speaker 3: that Actually I don't think the Cubs would have taken

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Speaker 3: a Markpell with the second pick. I think they would

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Speaker 3: have taken John Gray. That would have probably worked out,

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Speaker 3: all right. John Gray is a decent major league pitcher.

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Speaker 3: But obviously Chris Bryant, you know, has had much more

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Speaker 3: impact than the Cubs franchise. And as I mentioned earlier,

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Speaker 3: you know, the Cubs now have five consecutive number one

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Speaker 3: picks were not only in the major leagues, but are

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Speaker 3: you know, good to excellent major league players in Biez

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Speaker 3: al Mora, Bryant Schwarber and Hap. I mean, what other

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Speaker 3: team has that? And you know, so that's what the

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Speaker 3: Cubs have done. They've gone ahead and built from within,

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Speaker 3: uh with hitters, and then they've signed or traded for pitchers,

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Speaker 3: you know, like Lester, like Jose Kintana, and in fact,

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Speaker 3: Kyle Hendrix came into trade. He came to trade for

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Speaker 3: Ryan Dempster when they started the teardown when he was

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Speaker 3: a prospecting the Texas Rangers organization. So that you know,

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Speaker 3: that's how the Cubs did it. The Astros I'm not

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Speaker 3: as familiar with with them, of course, but they also

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Speaker 3: had some really good luck in the draft with Alex

431
00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,359
Speaker 3: Bregman and George Springer. And then of course they had

432
00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:06,879
Speaker 3: Jose Altuve before the teardown, and he I don't know

433
00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:08,399
Speaker 3: that anybody would have thought he was going to be

434
00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:11,520
Speaker 3: this good, but those three guys are obviously the centerpiece

435
00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,320
Speaker 3: of that team. So I guess in terms of what

436
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:16,320
Speaker 3: the Marlins need to do over the next couple of

437
00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:19,239
Speaker 3: years is identify those kinds of players that they can

438
00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:21,639
Speaker 3: draft and hope that they get lucky as the Cubs

439
00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,280
Speaker 3: in and Astros have done.

440
00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:28,160
Speaker 1: And I mean, I'm as big of a Theo Epstein

441
00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:31,240
Speaker 1: fan as anyone, But how much do you think of

442
00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:34,800
Speaker 1: the Cub's success as attributed to luck? In regards to

443
00:20:35,359 --> 00:20:38,080
Speaker 1: when Jake Arietta was acquired, he wasn't a very high

444
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,919
Speaker 1: level prospect. He wasn't even a prospect at that point anymore.

445
00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:43,840
Speaker 1: He was already what twenty six years old and not

446
00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:45,720
Speaker 1: really doing that well for the Orioles. And the same

447
00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:49,040
Speaker 1: thing with Kyle Hendricks. He was not a high level prospect.

448
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:51,280
Speaker 1: And both of those guys ended up being top of

449
00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:53,720
Speaker 1: the rotation types of pitchers.

450
00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:54,399
Speaker 2: For the rest of the.

451
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:57,840
Speaker 1: Players, they were mostly top prospects. But how much you

452
00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,200
Speaker 1: think was attributed to luck? And how much do you

453
00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:01,880
Speaker 1: think it's just still Epstein being a magician.

454
00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:04,120
Speaker 3: Well, I'm going to give you a third choice here,

455
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:08,400
Speaker 3: and that's excellent scouting, because you know, obviously excellent scouting

456
00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,520
Speaker 3: is what brought the Cubs Jake Arietta. They had a

457
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:13,919
Speaker 3: scout who said, you know, get this guy and we

458
00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:16,159
Speaker 3: can you know, we can turn him into a good pitcher.

459
00:21:16,359 --> 00:21:17,879
Speaker 3: And they gave him almost nothing to get him and

460
00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:19,520
Speaker 3: They also got paid to a strop in that deal,

461
00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:22,480
Speaker 3: So they got not only five years of Jake Arietta,

462
00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,000
Speaker 3: but they got five plus years of a really solid

463
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:27,320
Speaker 3: major league setup man that you know, that could turn

464
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:29,359
Speaker 3: out to be one of the best trades in Cubs

465
00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:34,560
Speaker 3: franchise history. There's more than to it than just that. Also,

466
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,560
Speaker 3: I think at the end of twenty fourteen, the Cubs were,

467
00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:40,480
Speaker 3: you know, kind of on the cusp. They had improved

468
00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:44,119
Speaker 3: from from sixty six wins to seventy three, and I

469
00:21:44,119 --> 00:21:46,040
Speaker 3: thought it still might be a couple of years until

470
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,679
Speaker 3: they contended. But for me, the one biggest factor in

471
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,800
Speaker 3: how they in how they turn this around is Joe Madden.

472
00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:55,480
Speaker 3: You know, Joe Madden got dropped in their laps when

473
00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:00,440
Speaker 3: he exercised his outclaus in Tampa. And Joe Madden, more

474
00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:05,399
Speaker 3: than any other person, has transformed the clubhouse culture for

475
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,080
Speaker 3: the Cubs and got these guys to believe in themselves

476
00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:11,880
Speaker 3: to buy into his message. I don't think John Lester

477
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,120
Speaker 3: comes to the Cubs if Joe Madden wasn't the manager,

478
00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:17,879
Speaker 3: because I think that hiring Joe Madden sent a signal

479
00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,080
Speaker 3: to John Lester that you know, hey, we've got this.

480
00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:23,679
Speaker 3: You've got this good manager who's been to the World Series.

481
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,680
Speaker 3: We want to win right now. I think if Joe

482
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,120
Speaker 3: Madden isn't signed, I think John Lester's the San Francisco

483
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,159
Speaker 3: Giant right now because he was Buster Posey went to

484
00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:34,240
Speaker 3: John Lester's house and knocked on his door and said,

485
00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:36,119
Speaker 3: I want to be your catcher for the next six years.

486
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,119
Speaker 3: That's a true story. They lived near each other in

487
00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,200
Speaker 3: the Atlanta area. So but I think that having Joe

488
00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:44,480
Speaker 3: Madden was one of the things that convinced John Lester

489
00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:47,800
Speaker 3: to sign with the Cubs, and Madden has Madden is

490
00:22:47,800 --> 00:22:51,000
Speaker 3: the best Cubs manager in eighty five years. Of course

491
00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:53,080
Speaker 3: that's not a high bar to hurdle in some cases,

492
00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:56,119
Speaker 3: but you know, what he has done for this franchise

493
00:22:56,320 --> 00:22:59,120
Speaker 3: is is just you know, you can't say enough about

494
00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:01,280
Speaker 3: what Joe Madden has done. And I believe that when

495
00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:03,000
Speaker 3: he's retired, he's going to the Hall of Fame.

496
00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:08,359
Speaker 1: And I mean, Joe Madden is very unconventional and very

497
00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:10,520
Speaker 1: exciting manager. And I think I when I saw the

498
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:12,560
Speaker 1: Cubs ended up, you know, bringing him in, and it

499
00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:14,960
Speaker 1: was around the time the whole team was starting to

500
00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,400
Speaker 1: get exciting to watch, it seemed like a really good

501
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:19,240
Speaker 1: move and it's definitely panned out.

502
00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:22,160
Speaker 2: Let's talk Opening Day for a little bit. So Jose

503
00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:22,840
Speaker 2: Uranye is.

504
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,680
Speaker 1: Going to be on the bump for the Marlins. I'm

505
00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,520
Speaker 1: not sure how much you know about him. He advanced

506
00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:31,840
Speaker 1: metrics are not very kind to him. Attribute a lot

507
00:23:31,840 --> 00:23:34,679
Speaker 1: of the season last year to luck. But the Marlins

508
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:37,600
Speaker 1: seemed to play the Cubs pretty tough at home last year?

509
00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:40,160
Speaker 2: Did all right held their own against Chicago?

510
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,440
Speaker 1: How are Cubs feeling going into an opening day series

511
00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:46,280
Speaker 1: in Miami on ESPN?

512
00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:48,560
Speaker 2: Thanks to the Cubs, of course, but my wins. Fans

513
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:49,600
Speaker 2: will take what they can get.

514
00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:53,560
Speaker 1: But how are they feeling going into a series against

515
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:56,000
Speaker 1: one of the teams has probably considered the worst team

516
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:56,600
Speaker 1: in the MLB?

517
00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:58,640
Speaker 3: I mean, you can't go in, you know, either as

518
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:00,960
Speaker 3: fans or certainly as players. You can't go into any

519
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,119
Speaker 3: four game series thinking, you know, this team is terrible

520
00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:04,600
Speaker 3: and we're going to sweep them. That's not the way,

521
00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:06,600
Speaker 3: That's not the right attitude to have. You know, Jose

522
00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:09,360
Speaker 3: Irenia is a pretty good pitcher. Last JUNI threw six

523
00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:12,600
Speaker 3: shutout innings against the Cubs in Miami, So you know,

524
00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:15,120
Speaker 3: he certainly would looked impressive on that on that day,

525
00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:18,119
Speaker 3: and you know, they put up pretty good numbers overall.

526
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,160
Speaker 3: You know, I know the Marlins would would probably rather

527
00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:22,119
Speaker 3: have Dan Stralia as the opening day starter. He had

528
00:24:22,119 --> 00:24:24,320
Speaker 3: a pretty good year for them last year, and I

529
00:24:24,359 --> 00:24:27,359
Speaker 3: know he's not going to make opening Day, but you know,

530
00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,600
Speaker 3: I'm sure the Cubs are going in there think you know,

531
00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,000
Speaker 3: thinking that you know, this is a good place to open.

532
00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,000
Speaker 3: It's in you know, you don't have to worry about

533
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:36,040
Speaker 3: starting in Chicago where it can be cold at the

534
00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:38,080
Speaker 3: end of March and they can play in you know,

535
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:40,520
Speaker 3: climate controlled conditions or if they have the roof open

536
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,520
Speaker 3: in warm weather, and you know, they just go in

537
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,400
Speaker 3: and looking to looking to have a have a good

538
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:47,080
Speaker 3: series on the road before they move on to play

539
00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,720
Speaker 3: a couple of divisional opponents in Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

540
00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,160
Speaker 1: And for the Marlins, it's always exciting when the Cubs

541
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:56,920
Speaker 1: come to town. There's always a great showing of fans

542
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,040
Speaker 1: and uh, it's pretty it's pretty electric in the ballpark.

543
00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:02,399
Speaker 1: Of brings more out of the Marlins fans when you

544
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:05,000
Speaker 1: have that many Cubs fans there. So I'm definitely looking

545
00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:06,879
Speaker 1: forward to that, and like I said, to have the

546
00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,400
Speaker 1: Marlins on national television is always nice.

547
00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:10,920
Speaker 2: And I always like.

548
00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:14,760
Speaker 1: To go into predictions at the end, and honestly, I

549
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,280
Speaker 1: have the Cubs as my world series pick. I know

550
00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:21,600
Speaker 1: a lot of people have the Yankees. I think as

551
00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:23,600
Speaker 1: scary as that lineup is, I think there's way too

552
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:25,760
Speaker 1: many strikeouts in that lineup. I think they can go

553
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,159
Speaker 1: very cold for a very long time, especially in a

554
00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:31,640
Speaker 1: seven game series. I could see them easily becoming stagnant

555
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:33,639
Speaker 1: in the hitters parks trying to put up runs. I

556
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,440
Speaker 1: like the balance of the Cubs lineup. I like the rotation,

557
00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:39,720
Speaker 1: especially if Lester bounces back like you say he can

558
00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:42,879
Speaker 1: and like you think he will. What's your prediction on

559
00:25:42,960 --> 00:25:46,240
Speaker 1: how the Cubs will fare and just the MLB season

560
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:46,680
Speaker 1: in general.

561
00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:48,359
Speaker 3: I'd love to hear before I get to that prediction.

562
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:49,639
Speaker 3: I just want to let you know. The Cubs just

563
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,119
Speaker 3: finish playing two exhibition games against the Red Sox and

564
00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:55,200
Speaker 3: Fort Myers where the place was basically overrun with Cubs fans.

565
00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:57,119
Speaker 3: So there are a lot of people, I guess who

566
00:25:57,200 --> 00:25:58,920
Speaker 3: plan to go to those two games and then head

567
00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,720
Speaker 3: over to Miami for the opening series. So there will

568
00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,639
Speaker 3: be a lot of Cubs fans in Marlins Park this

569
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,119
Speaker 3: not just for Opening Day, for the whole weekend. In

570
00:26:07,240 --> 00:26:10,879
Speaker 3: terms of the season. You know, it's easy for me

571
00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:12,560
Speaker 3: as a Cubs fan saying, oh, yeah, the Cubs are

572
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:14,320
Speaker 3: gonna win the World Series, but you know, now that's

573
00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:17,760
Speaker 3: kind of a realistic thing to say. Actually, and got

574
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:20,800
Speaker 3: I've actually got a Cubs Yankees World Series on my

575
00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:24,360
Speaker 3: predictions list as well. That Yankee team, as you say,

576
00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:25,920
Speaker 3: they got a lot of strikeouts there, but they certainly

577
00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,320
Speaker 3: have a lot of home runs. I don't relish the

578
00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:30,680
Speaker 3: idea of the Cubs pitchy staff having to face Jim

579
00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,320
Speaker 3: Carlos Stanton in the World Series, but I certainly would

580
00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,159
Speaker 3: take it. And I think that's the matchup I'm looking.

581
00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:40,120
Speaker 1: For, and that would be the matchup I think BMLB

582
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,240
Speaker 1: is looking for. I think that's the matchup that sports

583
00:26:42,280 --> 00:26:45,080
Speaker 1: fans are looking for. As much as people want to

584
00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:48,560
Speaker 1: hate the Cubs and Yankees for their recent success.

585
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,119
Speaker 2: What's your prediction across the league in terms of each division.

586
00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:55,639
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear and do you think the Marlins

587
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,280
Speaker 1: will hit their Vegas over under of sixty six wins?

588
00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:04,440
Speaker 3: The negative to you as a Marlins fan, but I'm

589
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,960
Speaker 3: I'm thinking that's probably going to be the under Uh yeah,

590
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:09,959
Speaker 3: you know, you never know how young players are going

591
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,080
Speaker 3: to react. You know, they got they got a good

592
00:27:12,119 --> 00:27:13,960
Speaker 3: manager there, and you know, maybe you can get the

593
00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,320
Speaker 3: most out of out of the kids, you know, while

594
00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:18,360
Speaker 3: they're in a rebuilding phase. In terms of the rest

595
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,320
Speaker 3: of the divisions, you know, I think the three divisions

596
00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:23,560
Speaker 3: are about as much of a lock as you can

597
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,960
Speaker 3: think of for you know, anytime since the three division

598
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:30,280
Speaker 3: setup has been been instituted. You know, the Cubs will win,

599
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:32,440
Speaker 3: should win the Central, the Nationals should win the East,

600
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:35,160
Speaker 3: and the Dodgers will win the West fairly easily. I'm

601
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:38,360
Speaker 3: looking for a rematch of the of last year's Wildcard

602
00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:41,639
Speaker 3: game again that the Diamondbacks and Rockies for the National League.

603
00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,800
Speaker 1: I'd love to see that as well, And Marlins fans

604
00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:47,240
Speaker 1: might be coming at you on Twitter.

605
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:48,000
Speaker 2: I'd be careful.

606
00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:52,280
Speaker 1: How the fans that are still sticks sticking through through

607
00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,639
Speaker 1: all of this have been very passionate and very defensive over.

608
00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:57,000
Speaker 2: Jeter, which I do appreciate.

609
00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:00,679
Speaker 1: You've seen the respect the process, how tag in some

610
00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:03,240
Speaker 1: of these things, and they'll go to war for this team,

611
00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,720
Speaker 1: and I do like the youth in the team. It

612
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:08,399
Speaker 1: reminds me a lot of two thousand and six in

613
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:10,639
Speaker 1: two thousand and eight, where those teams actually ended up

614
00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,240
Speaker 1: surprising and winning close to eighty games. In two thousand

615
00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:14,920
Speaker 1: and eight, they actually won eighty seven games. It's the

616
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:19,320
Speaker 1: most game they've won in over fifteen years. So it's

617
00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:22,680
Speaker 1: it's been a pretty interesting ride with some of these teams.

618
00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:25,720
Speaker 1: But you never know, and I mean, you see, you've

619
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:27,359
Speaker 1: been on the other end of things with the Cubs

620
00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:29,879
Speaker 1: as as everyone knows the Cubs did, you know, go

621
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,320
Speaker 1: through their growing pains as well. So if you have

622
00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:36,959
Speaker 1: any advice for Marlins fans before we part about dealing

623
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,720
Speaker 1: with some of this rebuilding process, what would it be.

624
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:41,040
Speaker 3: Well, let me you know, let me just say, I

625
00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:43,640
Speaker 3: certainly you don't wish the Marlins any ill. I just

626
00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:45,640
Speaker 3: have been kind of mystified at the whole thing. But

627
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:47,960
Speaker 3: you know, maybe the process will work. It's worked for

628
00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,240
Speaker 3: the Cubs, it works for the Astros. There are other

629
00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:52,440
Speaker 3: teams that are trying the same thing because of what

630
00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:54,640
Speaker 3: the Cubs and Astros did, and it looks like the

631
00:28:54,680 --> 00:28:56,800
Speaker 3: Marlins may be doing the same thing and it may

632
00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:00,560
Speaker 3: very well work. They just have to be they have

633
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,400
Speaker 3: to be fortunate and they have good They have to

634
00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:05,760
Speaker 3: have good amateur scouts who identify the right guys to draft.

635
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,440
Speaker 3: Then they have to have good player development people who

636
00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:10,760
Speaker 3: work with these prospects all the way through the system.

637
00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,239
Speaker 3: If they can get those kinds of people together and

638
00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:16,440
Speaker 3: you know, have a real good plan from draft day

639
00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:20,080
Speaker 3: to major league, you know they can have the same success. Yes,

640
00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:23,240
Speaker 3: it'll take two or three years, maybe longer, but you

641
00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:26,320
Speaker 3: know teams have succeeded this way, so I can't certainly

642
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:29,600
Speaker 3: can't fault any team ownership or management for wanting to

643
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:30,080
Speaker 3: try it.

644
00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:33,760
Speaker 2: And regardless, baseball is back.

645
00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,600
Speaker 1: So we'll see you opening day and you'll be hearing

646
00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:39,440
Speaker 1: from me a Jose or and you go six shutout again.

647
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,719
Speaker 3: And you know that'll be you know, certainly he's capable

648
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Speaker 3: of doing that. And you know, on any given day,

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00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:47,240
Speaker 3: any other team can be in any other team. As

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00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:49,400
Speaker 3: they always say, you know, the best teams win a

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00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:52,400
Speaker 3: third of all teams win a third of their games

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00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:53,880
Speaker 3: and lose a third of their games. And it's what

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00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:55,720
Speaker 3: you do with the other third that makes a difference

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00:29:55,720 --> 00:29:58,880
Speaker 3: between winners and losers, So you know, maybe Marlins will

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00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,520
Speaker 3: surprise the Cubs and and end up and play a

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00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:03,800
Speaker 3: tough series. I'm sure the Cubs are not going in

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00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:06,640
Speaker 3: there looking to you know, thinking it's a cakewalk. They're

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00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:09,760
Speaker 3: gonna look for play competitive baseball games, and like you say,

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Speaker 3: it's just exciting to have the baseball season ready to start.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, and thank you again for joining me. Al We're

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Speaker 1: wishing the Cubs all the best and just not against

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Speaker 1: the Marlins.

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Speaker 3: Thanks for having me