Free Agent Dominoes & World Baseball Classic warm up

Correction: Wander Franco is not scheduled to be on the 2026 World Baseball Classic Dominican Republic team as stated in the show by Mark. This was based on outdated information.

Kyle Tucker Watch

• Why Tucker remains the most intriguing outfield name on the market
• How a surprise signing—especially with the Giants—could dramatically alter the NL West
• Comparisons to past shock signings like Corey Seager to Texas
• Giants’ Offseason Moves
• Adrian Houser as an innings-eater who buys time for young arms
• The impact of adding Jason Foley midseason
• A potential core of Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and what if Kyle Tucker joined them

Luis Arráez:  Why is Arráez still unsigned  - ideal landing spots

• Arráez Potential landing spots: Pittsburgh Pirates: setting the table for Oneil Cruz or Cincinnati Reds: stabilizing the top of the lineup with flexibility at DH/2B

The Next Big Domino: Alex Bregman

• Bregman’s decision could unlock multiple trade and free-agent markets
• Second base vs. third base implications
• Possible fits: Astros reunion, Red Sox, Diamondbacks
• Ripple effects on Brendan Donovan, Brandon Lowe, and others
• Jorge Polanco to the Mets as a key piece falling
• Why second base is the position holding up much of the market
• Bo Bichette’s shifting market
• Alex Bregman, where will he land? 
• The 5-year contract limit rule of Alex Anthopoulos
• Anthony Volpe, has he worn out his welcome in New York with the Yankees fans
• What if Orioles signed Cody Bellinger along with Pete Alonso
• O’s need to build up their pitching 
• Tyler Marley could be a potential starting pitcher with the Orioles – take a look at his record with the Rangers
• Older pitchers that are still Free Agents & available: Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Chris Bassitt
• Ranger Suarez & Framber Valdez could be strong pitching options for O’s
• Concept of Max Sherzer & Justin Verlander return to the Detroit Tigers as the last stop of their career
• World Baseball Classic – which MLB players will be on the various countries’ teams
• Vladdy Jr will be playing for the Domican Republic – perhaps for Canada in the future
• Team USA’s amazing WBC team includes: Will Smith, Pete Alonso, Bobby Witt Jr., Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber
• 
  
• Strength of Team Japan in the WBC – that advantage of the timing of their season
• Venezuela Little League and Senior League challenges for teams and parents to attend games
• Will Donald Trump block Venezuela from participating in WBC games in the USA
• 3 MLB players for Team Australia, Travis Banzani, Liam Hendriks, Curtis Mead
• What will it take to bring Baseball & Women’s baseball to the Olympics
• Finding the right price for tickets to the WBC
• What happens if Wander Franco wins his court case and how will that impact the Tampa Bay Rays
• Pointless Quiz Game
• Advent Calendars & German Christmas Cake

Remember the Season of Giving
Neil Solondz with the Purple Stride -
To join go to http://support.pancan.org/goto/neilsolondz

Find Mat at @matgermain.bsky.social or reach Mark @  baseballbizondeck@gmail.com BaseballBiz on Deck, @ iHeart Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, & at www.baseballbizOnDeck.com 
Special Thanks to XTaKe-R-U-X for the music Rocking Forward

Transcript

328 BaseballBiz Signings, Free Agents, World Baseball Classic

Correction: Wander Franco is not scheduled to be on the 2026 World Baseball Classic Dominican Republic team as stated in the show by Mark

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. We'll just scramble through it. That's it. All righty. Welcome to Baseball Biz on Deck. I am Mark, and with me is Mr. Mat Germain. How you doing today, buddy? 

[00:00:14] Mat Germain: I am just shopped out. Mark, I'm done. It's over. I've spent what I'm gonna spend. Uh, they're getting what they're getting and , if they don't like it, they can talk to Santa.

[00:00:25] Mark Corbett: Well, I about emptied out the dollar store today, so I guess I got my Christmas shopping done, you know, backed up the pickup truck and just, uh, gave him a hundred dollars and said, fill it up. And so Christmas is done. Got it all wrapped up. Everybody's ready. So. No surprises, anybody. 

[00:00:42] Mat Germain: We all have our own niches, mark.

[00:00:44] We all have our own stores and it's, there's a survival guide to the holidays, right? And everybody has their own recipe and it's fine. I don't judge other people's, whether it's a gift card, whether it's you gotta buy your wife a new car. There's all kinds in between. And, uh, [00:01:00] and as long as it makes you happy and it fulfills your, your year and the end of it, that's awesome.

[00:01:07] Mark Corbett: Well, we'll maybe we'll talk a little bit more about some, uh, Christmas party games we talked about last week. And, uh, Karen and I were looking up some stuff la last time around. We will, , maybe share some of that. 'cause if anything new or traditions maybe y'all have, but there's. Always something new that you can do during the holidays and, and I'm looking forward to that as well.

[00:01:27] So we might be on hiatus next week. I know since I'll be traveling and, and, uh, we'll all have our family stuff going on. We'll see, , how that all plays out. But, well, Winter meetings have come and gone, hot, hot stove is still cooking, you know who's gonna do what And I'm guess we're still looking for a home for Kyle Tucker and a lot of other guys.

[00:01:52] Mat Germain: Yeah, there's I, you know what? It's funny that you mentioned him first because I started doing some digging and . Just thinking to myself, what would rattle [00:02:00] major league baseball most like, where could he sign where it would shake things up? Like we've, we've seen this happen a few times, right? Where a free agent gets talked about at certain teams and boom, suddenly he goes somewhere else.

[00:02:13] Like the, the last one I could think of was Corey Seager. Hmm. When he went to, uh, the Texas Rangers. That was a little bit of an outlier that people weren't really talking about at the time. And uh, and then Marcus Simeon ended up there as well. And it was sort of that whole, you know, push towards the World Series win.

[00:02:31] So with that in mind, and seeing today, the, the San Francisco Giants adding Adrian Houser, which I think was an excellent signing for him. Yeah. It just slows down the arrival of a lot of their pitching prospects who sort of had a bump in the road last year. And it buys them more time and it eats up more innings in a rotation that, could use it.

[00:02:51] 'cause Robbie Ray and Logan Webb have had some health issues, but, um, overall it gives them that. Pitching staff that he started looking at and you're like, ah. And they [00:03:00] also added Jason Foley, who's not gonna be ready for, to start the year, but he's expected to arrive somewhere around the middle of the year and he's gonna be a strong back end of the, you know, uh, pen kind of arm that they can add to get through that stretch if ever they make the playoffs.

[00:03:15] So I started thinking, what if they added Kyle Tucker? 'cause I'm like, which. Player would have the most significant boost to their profile. I think you're seeing the Padres struggle to add, right? And, and they're kind of trying to balance the books and they're thinking big deals and they're talking to everyone.

[00:03:33] From what I hear, uh, it may or may not be true, but to me it's an opportunity for the giants to just. Finish off what they started, you know, they, they've added a lot of intriguing pieces. They've got some trade chips that they can kind of work into it, and if Kyle Tucker were to sign with the Giants, it just, oh wow.

[00:03:52] , It reshapes what the NL West looks like. 

[00:03:54] I 

[00:03:55] Mark Corbett: would've loved to see him there. I mean, I keep thinking that's where Willie still is these days, isn't [00:04:00] it? Willie Adames. 

[00:04:01] Mat Germain: Willy Adames and Matt Chapman at third, and you'd have some really, impactful players that are seasoned, they're ready to perform now, , and they can lead the team , through all the bumps in the road.

[00:04:13] Right? 

[00:04:14] Mark Corbett: Yeah. You know, I mean, looking across there too, are there any other folks that you're looking at? Because one of 'em I was still surprised to see out there was Luis Arráez and, uh, I don't know why I thought he would be picked up sooner than, than he has been or he, he's still out there, I guess, at this point, but I thought he would've been in there.

[00:04:33] I've seen that, uh, Josh Bell and Josh Naylor both have signed the contracts this past week, but, uh. I don't know, Arráez , I thought, Luis Arráez , I know watching him when he was with Miami, he was amazing. Mm-hmm. The kind of stats, the kind of numbers he was putting up, you know, made him very appealing. So I'm not sure where he is right now, but I thought he would've been with a team by now. Matt. 

[00:04:57] Mat Germain: Yeah, I think when I look at him and I [00:05:00] think of O'Neill Cruz with Pittsburgh.

[00:05:02] Mark Corbett: Mm. 

[00:05:02] Mat Germain: I think like ha sliding O'Neill Cruz down to the second spot and having Luis Arráez ahead of him would be perfect and, and the pirate don't really have the budget to go for the superstars, but Luis Arráez is well within the reach. He probably isn't demanding a long term deal, you know, two, three years, whatever.

[00:05:22] He's looking for. He would be one of those guys that lengthens their lineup substantially, wears down pitchers right off the bat and sets 'em up for O'Neill Cruz and others behind them. I think that would be a really good boost to that lineup and get them producing runs more regularly. So I really like the fit with them.

[00:05:42] Another team that I, that I don't know if they would actually go there, but, but the Cincinnati Reds to me or the other kind of team that, you know, they keep flipping everybody in and out of the DH spot. So would he be a guy that even though they have Spencer Steer, they could kind of play [00:06:00] off of one another?

[00:06:01] DH first base, DH first base, and he can even go in and play second once in a while. , But that would be another team that I could see that needs help at the top of the lineup and, , and can actually slide everybody else down a little bit. So you'd have TJ Friedl and , Luis Arráez , and then you'd get down to the Elly De La Cruz and the rest of the lineup after that.

[00:06:21] Mm-hmm. Those are two teams I think that could, you know, 'cause it, I don't see him going to one of the major markets, right? I don't see him with the Dodgers, don't see him with the Blue Jays, don't see him with the Yankees. So it's gonna be one of those middle tier teams that is trying to take that next step forward. For 26. 

[00:06:39] Mark Corbett: , Again, be really interested to see where him and a lot of the other folks are going to land. Who is really on the top of your radar right now? 

[00:06:46] Mat Germain: Alex Bregman. I think a lot of chips are gonna fall in place once he signs. And the last that we heard is, uh, the D-Backs were checking in on him. Uh, it doesn't mean that he's gonna sign there by any [00:07:00] means, but, um, you know, there's a lot of fits for Alex Bregman that change.

[00:07:04] The whole scope. It affects Brendan Donovan's, uh, trade market. It affects Brandon Lowe's trade market because a lot of people see Alex Bregman now as a second baseman, more so than a third baseman. Then again, he could go back to the Astros, right? The Astros could then flip people around and start moving things, um, as well, or use Esoc Parade as a trade chip if they were to bring Alex Bregman back aboard.

[00:07:29] So I really don't know where he lands now. A lot of people say the Red Sox and going back to the Red Sox makes, makes the most sense. I don't know it, it could happen for sure. Um, but I think Alex Bregman is the guy that will be the next big domino that sets off a whole bunch of other things. 'cause if Kyle Tucker saw signs today, that doesn't really set off fireworks.

[00:07:52] Be beyond among the outfield, you know, free agent market. People are pretty settled with what they have aboard [00:08:00] generally. So. The, the second base position seems to be the one that there's a log jam of players waiting to get unlocked and, and spread around the MLB. As soon as, one of the one or two more dominoes fall because you, Jorge Polanco going to the Mets.

[00:08:17] That was one of those second base, you know, pieces that, that needed to fall before the rest of them went as well. 

[00:08:28] Mark Corbett: I haven't paid as much attention to all this and what's been happening this past week. I've been looking at the World Baseball Classic, and we could talk a little bit about that, about that, but I think there's still a lot more we need to say as far as what's happening with the, uh, the hot stove right now.

[00:08:43] I mean, some of these we expected to see right away, and other ones are more like instead of a hot stove, somebody putting on a slow cooker. And I don't know when that's all gonna happen, but, uh, let's see. Da da. 

[00:08:56] Mat Germain: There is one that fell that, that I think will, uh, will [00:09:00] impact, , I thought Bo Bichette would've been a great addition for the Braves and, and they decided to, I think he may be asking for too many -years, , and that they weren't comfortable with it.

[00:09:11] The Alex Anthopoulos has famously had a, um, a rule with the Blue Jays that he wouldn't sign anybody above five years. Mm. That was his max. Um. I don't know if that still applies today, but I do know that Ha-Seong Kim was re-signed by them. Now he did very well for them in the, in a short stretch, but both him and Danny Jansen signing this week I thought was just, yeah, that's a lot of money for what we saw of them with the race.

[00:09:38] Mark Corbett: Yeah, because 

[00:09:39] Mat Germain: Danny Janssen was maybe one of the worst performers for the raise. For this money that they were paying him and Hasam Kim. I mean, you know, he, he came in so late and had so many issues getting going that it's hard to tell what he's really capable of. We know the talent is there, we know the person's great, et cetera.

[00:09:58] But, uh, what does it do for Bo [00:10:00] Bichette? Market now. Now that you scratch the Braves off, what is he able to draw out of other teams? Now a lot of people are trying to say that Anthony Volpe could be on his way out of New York and he may have worn out his welcome. Now, I don't know if that's true 'cause a lot of the issues he had were based on health concerns.

[00:10:22] Having said that, how serious long-term are those health concerns? So is the shoulder issue something that's going to be, you know, something that hampers the, the Yankees long term? Because when you look at the Yankees system, it's not very strong in the infield beyond what they have at the major league level.

[00:10:42] So they're not really in a position to. Ignore the shortstop position altogether. Right? So could they bring in Bo Bichette and then, , that would set off fireworks in the AL East big time if they were to sign Bo. And then you're staring at a game with Vladdy on [00:11:00] one side and Bo on the other, geez, one of them on the evil empire, Whew! there'd be a lot of feelings thrown around.

[00:11:09] Mark Corbett: I'm looking forward to seeing how, what all is gonna come up. Totally in the AL East. To me it's always been most promising and we call it the AL Beast for a reason and they have achieved so much. Last year we taught before expectations for the O's was great, at least on my part, and it just did not come together.

[00:11:30] Um, Alonso is a, a piece that is encouraging for a lot of OS fans right now. And, um, seems like they're looking to expand that we're not, there's gonna be more of a team around him than just that with those changes. So I'm not sure what that's going to be. I, I actually invited, , Nathan Andrews from Full Count Chaos Podcast, who lively, very lively individual talk about the OS because, it seemed like they had such promise from looking at [00:12:00] them.

[00:12:00] At the beginning of 2025, looking at that roster, but delivered so little. But the rumor is that they're gonna be spending some money. We'll see how that plays out. 

[00:12:10] Mat Germain: Yeah, they really need to amp up their pitching a little bit more to starting pitching. I mean, uh, but I even had another intriguing one with them, uh, because what if they were to bring in Cody Bellinger?

[00:12:21] Oh wow. What, what if Cody Bellinger looks at what's going on with Pete Lonzo, the young crew, and he decides to sign on. Like, what if they did something crazy like that? I mean, that would be insane because it would set up their outfield to the point where, um. You know, they, they amp things up, but it would also open up the, the opportunities for dh, uh, for a lot of things to move around and give them a lot more seasoning than.

[00:12:49] Than they've ever had, I think in recent times. So it's, it's one of those intriguing ones. I doubt they go there. I think they're gonna be concentrated on starting pitching, but who do they bring in? I kind [00:13:00] of threw around Max Scherzer, you know, same kind of deal as what he did with the, with the Blue Jays.

[00:13:05] But does he eat up? Playing time that could go to somebody younger. You know, a lot of people think that he's washed up, but we saw in the fi in the World Series that he really isn't, it's just a matter of you have to measure, you know, what you're gonna get out of the tank. The tank's just not as, as many litres in it as there used to be.

[00:13:26] So, or, or I should say, was it leaders or, yeah.

[00:13:34] The Canadian is coming out in me. Uh, geez. So the, um, the, the, I don't know the, the Orioles, you're right. Like they are an intriguing team because they do have, the potential, the ceiling of all those players on board is just so tremendous that you think that it, any day it could explode. And this could be the year that we actually see them get back into the playoffs, but.

[00:13:58] They have a lot of, [00:14:00] of changing parts. Sometimes you get bitten by that a little bit where people need some time to form and group and kind of get going as a, as a new group. Um, so it's hard to say exactly how, exactly how it'll gel. Pete Alonso's putting a lot of pressure on himself to perform now that he's.

[00:14:17] Mets, you know, he tore off the bandaid. He was, he was so, having such a hard time with that for a long time and, and not wanting to leave. 'cause he was so comfortable. He is happy. He loved the fans. I get it. That's, it's huge. So we don't know what we're going to see out of him, uh, next year. Uh. I don't know which starting picture would fit best there, to be quite honest.

[00:14:39] Like I've gone through the list of free agents and, you know, Zach Eflin had to stay there didn't seem to be extremely popular from the fans when you talk to them, you know, because of the ups and downs and the injuries and everything else. It's not that they don't like him personally, he's just, it's one of those things where, you know, fans remember the, the latest and greatest that they [00:15:00] see.

[00:15:00] Um. So, yeah, I don't know who ends up being their signing, uh, and I don't know for how many years. That's the other big thing, but yeah. Who do you think they'll, they could go for on the starting pitcher side? 

[00:15:14] Mark Corbett: Oh, geez, Matt, I am, I, I have nothing to offer tonight. I apologize, dude. Um, 

[00:15:21] Mat Germain: I'll, I'll throw one note at you.

[00:15:23] Okay. Please. Tyler Marley he had a lot of success with. Uh, the Texas Rangers had some health issues recently that kind of mitigated how many innings he could throw last year, but he still kind of brought it on, you know, through the year enough that you can see. Okay. A little bit like the Charlie Morton years, right?

[00:15:43] Yeah. Where he could actually go down and then come back up and, and perform at the highest of levels, like for the fir. Um, sorry for the, um, second half of, um, uh. 2025, he only threw nine innings, so he had health concerns. [00:16:00] But the first half, when you're looking at the numbers, he had a two 14 average against and a 2 82 on base percentage.

[00:16:07] , In terms of the Rangers winning that World Series mm-hmm. He was a part of it, uh, I think Or did he get there afterwards? I 

[00:16:16] Mark Corbett: can't remember, you 

[00:16:17] Mat Germain: know, 

[00:16:17] Mark Corbett: I don't know, but you, I'd have to check on that. There's, to me, when you're looking at starting pitchers, it's interesting when you see how many of the seasoned pitchers that are out there who are free agents and have yet to retire, whether it be Chris Bassett, you know, whether we're looking at Mad Max out there, mad Max, Scherzer, um, those sort of folks, and then.

[00:16:38] I'm still seeing, uh, you know, who's, who's still out there that I thought might have, uh, you were looking for a starting picture. Um, who else do we had on here? Zach Eflin. Yeah. And, uh, Justin Verlander. Justin, I mean, my gosh, 43 years of age. Still kicking it around out there.

[00:16:57] Mat Germain: The other interesting one, I mean, you could go [00:17:00] big, so the, the Orioles would be best served.

[00:17:03] By bringing in somebody like Ranger Suarez or Bra, uh, Framber Valdez. 

[00:17:08] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. One of 

[00:17:09] Mat Germain: those two, because then you're pushing everybody else down to the level that they probably should be at and, and you kind of get that whole, okay. If you go into, uh, the wild card because you didn't make the top of the year division or whatever, then you know who would be your top.

[00:17:29] Three pitchers. That's essentially what you're trying to line up is to have three really strong options to make it through, you know, get your two wins and move on. So, you know, ranger Square is Fremberg Valdez. If they get one of those two, they're contenders. Yeah. If not, they might be still pretenders until the, you know, they can change it up.

[00:17:52] They can change it up on the way to the, uh, the trade deadline. 'cause there's always like, it's not like the beginning of the season, your, your roster, it's [00:18:00] fixed. So they have a long time to kind of sort that out. And we all know spring training can lead to a lot of injuries. So it might be the smarter option in a lot of cases is to get who's fresh, who's looking good, who's switched on and make that investment and that jump at that point.

[00:18:17] I'll throw another one at you though. Mark What? And, and somebody threw that out at me today that I really liked. Just as a thought. I don't know what is health status actually is, but Justin Verlander going back to the Detroit Tigers. Hmm. For some reason that just seems to, yeah, like it, it would give him that panache that kind of says, you know what if they make it into the playoffs again Yeah.

[00:18:41] And they kind of go through things. He would have that presence and, and like Max Scherzer, I think he would just relax everybody around him and kind of say, you know what, uh, why not both? You can bring Max and Justin. Not split starts. They can piggyback. Right. Or whatever. But [00:19:00] it would be fun to see them back on the, on the Tigers and finishing off their careers with a team that they would, they were on for quite a period of time.

[00:19:06] So, um, yeah, Justin Verlander at the Tigers, that's one of my favorite recent, uh, suggestions. 

[00:19:14] Mark Corbett: I would like to see the impact that, that would make it the, the box office too. I mean, as far as people coming through, turning the turns styles there. To people who've loved the, the city who've loved the team, uh, they would just have to make a big increase. You and I have talked about sport. We talked about like, we love to see Longoria come and have his last professional days here at, uh, with the Rays. I think that would've even spiked, you know, more attendance. But, uh. That didn't happen that way, so, ah, gosh. I 

[00:19:47] Mat Germain: don't know. Yeah. And that leads into the, uh, the confirmed WBC uh, participants.

[00:19:56] Oh, I guess which are starting to come out now. And I don't know if you know, if you have a [00:20:00] good grip on who's actually going to take part. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:20:05] Mark Corbett: It, it is, it's evolving rather quickly, you know, trying to see who's gonna be where with the, these teams and it's

[00:20:12] i'll get here. Just a moment. Gimme a moment. Here we go. All right. I always enjoy looking to see how many people are actually from that country that were born in the country they're representing. And you know, the Australia for instance, if you look at there, you're gonna see virtually everyone's there from Australia, uh, New Zealand, there's one from New Zealand.

[00:20:36] And, but you, you know, you look at the gas from the US and find out where they are. Well. A lot of people forget that, uh, you know, Freddy Freeman, he's from Canada, he's gonna be on Team Canada. Mm-hmm. But, uh, let's see who else is on there. You, you know this probably better than I, I mean, you look at Team Canada and I'm, I'm looking across here now, virtually all the names.

[00:20:57] Are people who were born in Canada. 

[00:20:59] Mat Germain: [00:21:00] Vladdy Guerrero Jr. broke Canada's heart by deciding to play for the Dominican Republic, but he always said that he will play for both at some point in time. So he said he always wanted to wear the Dominican Republic, uh, you know, sweater and, and or uniform one time, at least in the WBC.

[00:21:18] And, and it'll be interesting to see, you know, when 2029 comes around, does he decide to. Flip the switch and go to Canada and then, um, I think it's great when, when you have the opportunity to do both. Uh, you know, I, I think some people who think that just because you wore one jersey, that's it, that's all you get to wear for the rest of your life.

[00:21:38] Uh, but you know, that's not the case. And it's kind of fun to be able to say that. Like for example, let's say Randy Rosana, who's worn the jersey for Team Mexico, decides one year to go back to the Cuban side because things get sorted out politically or 

[00:21:55] Mark Corbett: you know, Remont. But yeah, go ahead. 

[00:21:57] Mat Germain: Yeah. But that could happen, right?

[00:21:59] . So [00:22:00] the, the interesting part though, to me is we've seen in the past, like , the stars kind of shy away from it and not really, um, see the, the entire best team, , that you would imagine would come from that country. And it, like we said before, I think. In recent weeks, team USA has something to prove.

[00:22:20] Mark Corbett: Oh yeah. So to me, 

[00:22:21] Mat Germain: that's the team that I've been looking at to see, okay, well who's gonna show up? Like who's actually gonna, you know, decide to put their hand up and wear to the jersey and risk their 2026 season. As a result by showing up to that tournament. 'cause really that's what happens. Edwin Diaz famously, you know, blew out his leg when, when he was jumping up and down, celebrating.

[00:22:44] Um, so you have, uh, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Turang, Gunnar Henderson, Will Smith, uh, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow Armstrong, Bobby Witt Jr. Cal Raleigh, , Aaron Judge, and Paul Skenes all on team USA. [00:23:00] Yeah, when you look at 

[00:23:01] Mark Corbett: that, 

[00:23:01] Mat Germain: no, go ahead. Yeah, that's, I mean, you can't do much better than that with your team USA. 

[00:23:08] Mark Corbett: No, you can't, but.

[00:23:10] We, and one thing you recognize in Major League baseball is you're going to find a lot of names, Latin names, you know, whether, uh, Hispanic or Latin or, um, you're going to find, oh, just for Grinch and Cables. If we looked at the Dominican Republic team right now, who we have, we got how many players from that are on US teams, uh, in Major League Baseball.

[00:23:33] You got Sandy Alcántara. You got Diego Castillo, you got Genesis Cabrera. Oh, who else? Real quickly here we got, geez. Manice are gonna play 

[00:23:43] Mat Germain: in the WBC. 

[00:23:44] Yeah. Yeah. Fernando 

[00:23:46] Tatis Jr. You've got Vladdy Guerrero Jr. You've got, uh, Manny Machado. Uh, 

[00:23:52] Mark Corbett: yeah. Uh, you know who else is appearing on there? Wander. Franco's name appears there too.

Correction: Wander Franco is not scheduled to be on the 2026 World Baseball Classic Dominican Republic team as stated in the show by Mark

[00:23:57] Really? Yes. I'm looking [00:24:00] here at the MLB World Baseball Classic Roster for the Dominican Republic. And there they have infielders. You got Adamis, you got Candelaria, you got Kanu, you got devs, you got Franco, you got Machado, Katel, Marte, Jeremy Pena, and uh, Jean Segura. But there's Franco. It is like, I haven't heard anything about this, but there he is appearing on it.

[00:24:21] And so does, is that a different wander, Franco? No, that's him. 

[00:24:25] Mat Germain: I don't think there's two. 

[00:24:27] Mark Corbett: There's that number five there by his name too. 

[00:24:30] Mat Germain: Oh man. 

[00:24:31] Mark Corbett: Yeah, 

[00:24:32] Mat Germain: that happens. Like how can he, he can't even come to the US. Like how would that even work? You know, legally speaking. 

[00:24:42] Mark Corbett: Yeah. So 

[00:24:43] Mat Germain: Juan Soto is another big name that's going to be for that team.

[00:24:46] Elly De La Cruz. Jeremy Pena, uh, you know, I think Jeremy Pena will be the starting shortstop. It's not gonna be Wander Franco. No. Oscar, I could tell is another big player on that Team 

[00:24:58] Mark Corbett: Teoscar Hernandez. [00:25:00] 

[00:25:00] Mat Germain: Right. So they, they're loaded. Um, the, but the question with all these teams, like we, I mentioned Paul Skeens before, is which pitchers are gonna put themselves, you know, on the line with this, because we've seen a lot of hiccups with pitchers and that's normally what we'll sort out, you know, winning teams.

[00:25:19] We saw the Japanese basically run the table because they had Shohei Ohtani, they had all their top pitchers ready and willing and able to. Perform at that, uh, that tournament. So I don't, I haven't seen, I don't, I don't think they've decided, uh, the entire pitching staff for team USA and the Dominican Republic and how those compare to what the Japanese will probably put up.

[00:25:46] Uh, a lot of people forget , the Japanese, , season. Has a different timing than, Major League baseball. Mm-hmm. And they are on a different tempo. So they're more used to this [00:26:00] kind of delay. The, the kind of training that you would need to do in order to ramp up for this kind of.

[00:26:05] Event. So to me, they always seem to have a little bit of an unfair advantage when it comes to the timing of the WBC. Uh, I'm not gonna say that it's official because you still have to perform, you still have to go in the field, you still, but baseball's always been the timing. You know, sport and if your timing is just a smidgen off when you're talking about balls and, uh, strikes and, and timing being, you know, a, a quarter of an inch, an eighth of an inch, you need to be zoned in to, to perform, you know, at that level.

[00:26:36] So, uh, yeah, we'll see if the US or Dominican Republic can actually come out on top this time. 

[00:26:43] Mark Corbett: Yeah, and, coming back to what you were saying about Japan and as far as their season. It's also interesting to see they are one of the four locations, one of the, the, uh, of where all these teams are gonna be playing and.

[00:26:57] Those pools, Tokyo is [00:27:00] there, but it's interesting, the other three pool sites are all associated with the United States. We got, uh, San Juan, Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States. You've got Houston Texas, and of course you've got Miami and here in Florida. So it's interesting as far as that kind of travel, uh, it's, we definitely have got an impact there, but I wanted to address.

[00:27:24] Travel. I'm gonna go back to when my brother Chris and I went to Williamsport for the Little League World Series and there, you know, it was like a microcosm of what World Baseball Classic could be like. It could be as far as young players like that. Obviously they're gonna be mostly coming from their country of origin, not having played any place else, but this past year.

[00:27:50] There's, you have the Little League World Series, and then prior to that you had the Senior League World Series. The senior leagues. It's not like a senior in high school, it just means to [00:28:00] getting past the first, uh, I think past 12, I believe. But anyway, Venezuela had a team that was going to be in the Senior League World Series, but due to travel restrictions put in by the administration of the United States, the team was not able to come.

[00:28:19] Now as the Little League World Series, which came after that. There was enough time that there was, uh, I guess administration put in some sort of waiver allowing that to happen. But again, it was so restricted about how late that came in. While they were able to get the Venezuelan little league team to actually play here, they were not able to get necessarily visas and everything else to get the parents.

[00:28:47] To be able to come. And what happened because of that was, was a little bit magical. And that is the families and friends and supporters of Venezuela came out there at [00:29:00] Williamsport. No, even though the parents couldn't make it there, there was a lot of people who, some who had no idea or affiliation with that team, they were there to support, support all those young people.

[00:29:12] Well, I bring all this up because here we are coming up with a World Baseball Classic and Venezuela is one of the teams that's going to be participating with this. At least we hope so. And I don't know how that's gonna be. 'cause I mean, if I'm looking at Venezuela's roster right now, a couple things to think about, Matt, just hear me out.

[00:29:30] First one is travel. Are they going to need to travel to Venezuela to, you know, work together? Or is it they gonna come somewhere here in the us? I don't know. Two. Let's look at some of the MLB players that are there. Jose Alvarado, you know, he's far as pitching. Uh, pardon me. There's several pitchers from there.

[00:29:50] There's, uh, also if you look at catcher, you got Robinson Serino, so, oh, we have, and of course, Salvador Perez, uh, Jose Altuve, as far as in [00:30:00] infielder, I was mentioning Luis Arraez earlier. He's there, uh, Andrea Jimenez, um, Luis Regnifo, I can't never say. Right. Say it for me. Matt Luis Fel. And, um. Laboratories, uh, Al Fielders, Ronald Acuna Jr.

[00:30:16] David Peralta, Anthony Santander, uh, dh. Miguel Cabrera. I mean, my gosh, man, this is almost a who's who of some great players in the game right now, today at the Major League baseball level. Now, are they going to be able to play. And are they gonna be able to even come together to, to meet before they do play in the us?

[00:30:38] I don't know. That's, that's in the, uh, hands of politicians, which is, you know where I am on that. I'm not going to get up on the high horse too much. But what I'm saying folks, is that. These people are not going to be any kind of threat to the United States. And one thing we hope to always do with sports is rise above politics and [00:31:00] difference of, uh, opinions on things.

[00:31:02] The, the only challenge to be is pulling for your own dag on team. And I'm not sure how this is gonna play out. Matt, 

[00:31:10] Mat Germain: I'm I, as far as I know, and I don't, I don't. I don't pretend to pay attention to all the local, each, American city and, and what's going on in every single, uh, jurisdiction, but because I know they're all different, right?

[00:31:26] Different states treated differently, different cities treated differently, but, but I don't think the. The ones who are there with the right paperwork, with the legality of it are supposed to be targeted by the authorities that be. Now we all know that you go through a border, you can get one agent that treats you a certain way, you get another agent that treats you a completely different way.

[00:31:50] Mark Corbett: Yep. 

[00:31:50] Mat Germain: The, the thing about the WBCI believe, is that more than likely they'll be traveling in large groups with some sort of [00:32:00] coordination and paperwork and this and that, and everything kind of squared away before the team even takes off or arrives. So I don't think there would be any hiccups in this case.

[00:32:10] Yeah. I'm worried about their fans, to be honest. Mm-hmm. What that means in terms of. Targeted, um, appearances by ICE and others, right? Like those are the things that, so you're, you're the Venezuelan team. You make it in, you play the game, you're playing the game, and all half your fans are missing because, you know, they're, they're too afraid to show up to the game.

[00:32:34] Uh, I think that's the sad truth of, um, of the events that you're going to see if they do play in the US and, um. Yeah, I, I can't believe in 2025 that this is the kind of thing we're talking about. It's like being transported back in time to when Jackie Robinson was breaking the color barrier. Yep. And you're kind of going through this whole thing over again.

[00:32:58] Like, what are we doing? [00:33:00] Like this is just, you know, those baseball players are not. Setting political policy down in Venezuela, they're not responsible for any of it, right? They're, they're just playing the game that we love and, uh, and should be allowed to do it in front of their own fans. Um, yeah. And, and the WBC is supposed to be as simple of that, of, of the world coming together, of challenging each other to play at your best for a certain period of time so that a winner can be called.

[00:33:29] And we get some great highlights and moments out of it. That's all it's supposed to be about. 

[00:33:34] Mark Corbett: Exactly. And I'm, that's what I'm hoping is gonna bring together this. The other thing I wanted to mention about, you were talking about the, uh, a player blowing out a leg, jumping up and down, whether something like that happens, it's like, oh my gosh, did they hurt themselves the rest the season?

[00:33:49] I used to feel that way too. About, uh, well, the All-Star games, it's like, oh yeah, do I want my top player in there, in the All-Star game, possibly getting injured and then not [00:34:00] being available the rest of the season. So I understand those fears. Um, but it's, it's, it's also interesting this year because if I understand this correctly, spring training is having to start.

[00:34:13] You know, pitchers and catchers reports having to start about a week early this year, because what's happening is because of the World Baseball Classic, it's going to actually run and coincide in part during spring training time. Now, I believe it's March 2nd is when the, uh. Geez, when some of the exhibition games begin.

[00:34:36] Mm-hmm. And I know here in Florida, I'm looking forward to going to some of those. I mean, you know, they're gonna have some of 'em playing over at the George Steinbrenner Stadium over here in Tampa. And the, I, I can only wonder what, well, Peter Lasso, there's actually a, well of the teams gonna be playing down in and, uh, Sarasota at Ed Smith Stadium, which is where the Baltimore Orioles are.

[00:34:58] I, I, I don't know what will. [00:35:00] Well, Pete already be, uh, he'd probably be team USA may not be able to appear there for, uh, for all that. So it's going to be interesting to see how all that syncs up, players who are with Major League Baseball and how they roll in with the, uh, the spring training as well. But I've definitely wanted get some of these games here in the US and Florida specifically, uh, with, uh.

[00:35:22] Because, man, I tell you, Matt, the tickets. The tickets are crazy. I'm looking at Ticketmaster and some of these others. I know we're looking at, you know, third party or whatever with the tickets, and they're insane. I mean, some of 'em are simple, you know, maybe less than a hundred dollars other ones if you go to Tokyo, well, good lord, nobody can afford tickets in Tokyo, at least not me.

[00:35:44] Mat Germain: So I was looking at the tickets, let's say. You and 24 of your best friends wanna get a executive suite. It's $940. Or somewhere there's about, so it ends up being somewhere around, uh, for 25 people [00:36:00] total. It ends up being about 40 bucks a piece. 

[00:36:02] Mark Corbett: Yeah, 

[00:36:03] Mat Germain: somewhere there's about, right. And they only give you two parking spots, so you gotta dry something big.

[00:36:09] Mark Corbett: Port a limo with that. Right? Come on. That's right. Geez. But, 

[00:36:12] Mat Germain: but that's, that's how you should do it if you're going to WBC is go with a large group, you know, split the costs and uh, and work it from there. But having somebody organize that is the hardest part as an adult. Um, but if you're a large family and you're looking for a good Christmas gift that gets everybody together, that would be one that that could probably work well for you.

[00:36:34] But I would say also the, the timing of it that you're talking about that impacts the smaller teams most. And I'll tell you why. Let's say you're Team Canada, right? And a lot of your players that you're looking at bringing in are AAA slash Quad a slash fighting for play for roster spots. They're gonna be gun shy about.

[00:36:53] Signing on with Team Canada because they're gonna be saying, I'm battling for my career right now. Like I want spring training is the [00:37:00] time that I can shine. I can get playing time, right? I can do whatever. Now if the team says, we're already sending you down. Go ahead play. You know? Then the player will have to weigh that accordingly.

[00:37:14] Um, you know, they may wanna say, no, no, no, you haven't seen the best of me yet and I still want to try. Or they may say, okay. But a lot of these smaller teams depend on a lot of those players to actually show up, um, for them to do a half decent job. So I think we saw some guys like Harry Ford Play for Great Britain, uh, Travis Bun.

[00:37:35] Uh. I can't remember his last name. One of the top draft picks is gonna play for Australia next year. Ah, uh, or this year. Um, you have, uh. I don't know so many different stars like Trey Cruz, do you remember Jose Cruz Jr. That played for the, uh, blue Jays? 

[00:37:54] Mark Corbett: Yeah, he was out 

[00:37:54] Mat Germain: fielder. His son is playing for Team Canada, I think as a shortstop.[00:38:00] 

[00:38:00] Uh, so he's one of those guys that'd be fighting for a, a roster spot with the Tigers. But you know, he is. Probably the best shortstop Canada will ever have had at the tournament, uh, if he does end up making the team and, and signing on to play. So there, there's, you know, a lot of good talents that we're gonna see in this tournament.

[00:38:22] You know, are sacrificing a little bit of a glimpse. Now, having said that, the team is more than likely going to watch their performance at the WBC. 

[00:38:30] Mark Corbett: Oh yeah. 

[00:38:31] Mat Germain: So, you know, if you want to per, you know, show that you've got what it takes, it's not a bad stage to do it on Mark. No, 

[00:38:39] Mark Corbett: no, no, no, no. Not at all. It's, uh, it's a great place to showcase and I'm, I'm glad there's, we're gonna see a lot of big star names there too, you know, whether it be, uh, Freddie Freeman with Canada, you know, Kyle Schwarber with the in Mike Trout, with the us whoever, uh, I mean, you look to Japan, you got Yu Darvish.

[00:38:59] I know [00:39:00] he's there. And don't forget Lars Nootbar. I believe he's there too. 

[00:39:04] Mat Germain: There you go. T Italy's an interesting one to look through all the names too. Uh, it's always funny 'cause you know they have some ancestry with Italy, right? Yeah. Most of them, like you can tell just from the name, like, uh, Maroons is one that ended up there.

[00:39:21] He was with the Ray for a bit. I think he's with the Mariners now. But yeah, you look through the list of names and it's funny to see. Who ends up where, and, and I think Kevin Pilar ended up playing for Israel. Um, there's a, anyways, the, the stories are fun and, and a lot of times you end up watching it going, what?

[00:39:41] Like, Randy r is playing for Mexico with these greatest, and then you're like, okay, well this is interesting. So, uh, I'm, I'm curious. See who the highlight guys are. 

[00:39:52] Mark Corbett: I like the idea though, as far as you're talking about Vladdy Jr. And, and why he's gonna be doing this to Dominican Republic. It'd be nice to see him with Canada [00:40:00] too.

[00:40:00] And I like what you're saying as far as Randy Arozarena, you know, who's from , Cuba , and who's, uh, but who's made Mexico, his his home country these days. But I'm, I'd like to see one day if things turn out right in ca in Cuba that, um, that Randy would be there.

[00:40:17] So it is neat to see these folks, you know, represent their country of choice or where they're at today. It's really some interesting folks. But see, I love that Nonetheless. I said I do love seeing ours. Lars Newbar's name on, uh. On, uh, Japan, 

[00:40:35] Mat Germain: you know, who kicks it off? The WBC. 

[00:40:38] Mark Corbett: Let's see. It's, it's actually in Tokyo.

[00:40:41] I know that much. Hang on. Yeah, 

[00:40:42] Mat Germain: it's, uh, it's Chinese Taipei against Australia and they're playing at the Tokyo Dome on March the fourth. 

[00:40:51] Mark Corbett: Right. So, 

[00:40:51] Mat Germain: uh, it's gonna be an interesting kickoff to, uh. To start seeing the, the whole tournament. [00:41:00] But like you said, a lot of the sites being in different locations, you know, it provides some, uh, different time zones.

[00:41:06] So you might be able to catch a game because it's early in the morning, you flick it on and boom, it's, you know, you wake up to baseball or, uh, you go to, before you go to bed, the game might be starting. So it's gonna be interesting to see all the different timings for, for each one of these games. 

[00:41:23] Mark Corbett: I know.

[00:41:24] Looking at just, um. What's happening with the exhibition games here? In Florida. I mean there's, there's some really good stuff going. Let's see, here we go. Hmm. You know, Atlanta Braves, you're gonna be facing Columbia if we're looking like March 3rd and March 4th for the exhibition games. Red Sox versus Puerto Rico, blue Jays versus Canada, which is kind of interesting in itself.

[00:41:49] Uh, the Yankees versus Panama, Pittsburgh, pirates versus Columbia, the Twins versus Puerto Rico, the Phillies versus Canada. Again, on the next day. Detroit Tigers versus [00:42:00] Panama and the Braves versus Panama, uh, Columbia. So you can see all of these teams playing well at JetBlue Park or George Steinbrenner field, uh, Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.

[00:42:11] I mean, there's all these different ways to enjoy the game and, you know, if, if you're cheap like me, if you can probably get in for. For less than 30 bucks on some of these exhibition games. So it's a lot of fun things to see. 

[00:42:25] Mat Germain: Travis Bazzana is the guy that I was talking about, and he'll be playing with Liam Hendriks and Curtis Mead, , on Team Australia giving them like three legit, major leaguers, , to call their own on this tournament.

[00:42:38] Mm-hmm. So. Travis Bazzana is one of those rare talents that, uh, you know, from a small country, uh, it means a lot to them to see it on the world stage. Uh, so even though they're not gonna win, you know, much of anything, I don't think in terms of, uh, the Australian team altogether. Um, you're talking about one of the guys that was so highly [00:43:00] thought of that, uh, that a lot of people had, um, you know, going first, first overall from.

[00:43:06] Way before the draft actually happened. Uh, baseball America, MLB Pipeline, everybody loved this guy. He's from Sydney, Australia. The guardians ended up se selecting him first overall. Um, and so, you know, you're talking about a talent that's, that's going to create a lot of baseball buzz in a country that needs it.

[00:43:31] Um. You know, you think about, um, Joey Vato and we're talking about Freddie Freeman, right? Right. Larry Walker was one of the first ones that I can remember with Team Canada that, that sort of puts that stamp and says, you know what? This country belongs. In this sport. 

[00:43:49] Mark Corbett: Yep. 

[00:43:49] Mat Germain: And, I am a prime example of that.

[00:43:52] Larry Walker joined Major League Baseball without even, you know, but not major league baseball. But he got drafted without even knowing really what the game was all [00:44:00] about. He was just an athlete and they banked on the ath athleticism to show up and, and they were right. So Travis Bana could mean a lot of things, and I know a lot of players you talk to today that come from Canada will point to Larry Walker as an inspiration, as a reason why they played the sport and, and something that was infectious after the fact.

[00:44:20] Right? So Travis Bana and the World Baseball Classic feeds that, right? Mm-hmm. It kind of. That's why it's so special and so awesome and I hope that baseball can also get in the Olympics and stay there and, and kind of do the same thing for girls baseball and, you know, the whole gamut. Why not? 

[00:44:40] Mark Corbett: Why not indeed?

[00:44:42] Yeah. Uh, major League baseball has spread its wings. I mean, it's, uh. With all its involvement with the World Baseball Classic, with, uh, supporting Kim Ng and what they're gonna be doing with women's softball and to some degree also with the Women's Pro Baseball League (WPBL), their, uh, their [00:45:00] expansion into so many different things.

[00:45:01] I am curious to see what the future holds and what Rob Manfred brings down the chimney. So I don't know what's next. 

[00:45:09] Mat Germain: I want to go back to what something you said before about Wander Franco, though, because the WBC, he may or may not play. You know, we can only control certain parts of that. Right? Right. And I mean, major League baseball or, or America can only control so much because not all the games are played there.

[00:45:26] So if they play somewhere else, he may end up playing. But the bigger question is for the Rays, what does it mean if he doesn't get convicted again? Right. And that's only happening in June. And we have a president in place in the United States that has given pardons to a wide variety of backgrounds. 

[00:45:47] Mark Corbett: Oh 

[00:45:47] Mat Germain: Lord.

[00:45:47] Right? Do you really think he's going to stand in the way of somebody who has been accused of doing exactly what he has been accused of doing? Is he going to stand in the way [00:46:00] of that? And I don't think he will. So that would mean the rays are kind of stuck in a bind where they either need to pay a player to do nothing.

[00:46:08] Oh my gosh. Or they pay a player and bring him back aboard and bite that bullet. And I mean, you're biting a, I mean, you're essentially poisoning an entire team. Regardless of how it goes. Yeah. Right. Because the fans will be in an uproar. The, a lot of the players will be in uproar. Remember the rays had an issue with some of the players not, not wanting to wear the, uh.

[00:46:36] LGBTQ uh, gear. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And it was three or four or five of them that got banded together and they had like some sort of union, we will not comply, or whatever you want to call it. I'm sorry, you can't have 

[00:46:48] Mark Corbett: a union. I'm sorry. Yeah, 

[00:46:50] Mat Germain: exactly. So, so now you're gonna have that kind of like. There's, it's a no-win situation.

[00:46:57] The only win situation is that he gets convicted and [00:47:00] you don't have to worry about it. Otherwise, it becomes a major headache as long as this president is in place. 

[00:47:06] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I, I don't think he'll pay attention to it unless somebody throws a few Bitcoins his way and then he'll make a decision on something like that.

[00:47:15] But, uh, it, it did blow my mind just seeing his face there and I thought, Hmm, wonder if somebody's thought this through? 

[00:47:23] Mat Germain: But all I'm saying is somebody that welcomes Andrew Tate into the country and invites him over for dinner, we'll probably do the same for Wanda Franco. That's all I'm saying. 

[00:47:32] Mark Corbett: True, true, true.

[00:47:33] True. Oh, oh boy. Well, on that Christmas note,

[00:47:39] bad news, 

[00:47:40] Mat Germain: stalking. 

[00:47:41] Mark Corbett: Oh yeah. What kind of stalking is that again? I, I'm, 

[00:47:45] Mat Germain: it's a lump of coal mark. It's a lump of coal. Okay. A lump of something. All 

[00:47:50] Mark Corbett: right. Oh, okay. Let's see what now, just, just for pure insanity and I'll, I'll put this up. There is a, alright. [00:48:00] Beer pong games. We know about that. I'm not gonna do that for, peanut butter. Ping pong. No. Yeah. Yeah. And it's, it's much like you do, I guess as far as trying to get a ball into a beer, I gotta see this, I have to put it up online later. But you've got basic little squares of peanut butter, I guess, bread, and where the ball stops and hits, and I guess you give a certain amount of points for each one of those.

[00:48:27] Oh, another thing, as long as I'm being silly, I found my, my next fun quiz show to watch. And, uh, it's from the Great Britain there. I believe it's called Pointless. 

[00:48:41] Mat Germain: Okay. 

[00:48:42] Mark Corbett: And you'll, I love this. It's so, you have five teams of two people each, and they're up there. They have to guess.

[00:48:50] On the question, there's two parts. So like one of 'em would be, uh, okay. Name, um, name countries with six [00:49:00] letters, six letter countries. And as long as you get it right, that's one thing. So that's one. So I'm, I say, I say, okay, uh, Canada, it's a country with six letters. Yep. And then so they have measurement. Oh yes, there we do have, we've asked a hundred people and here's what they said.

[00:49:16] And Canada was one of the correct answers. Okay, now we're gonna see out of those a hundred, how many of 'em actually said it, and it goes down and can pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. And then it gets down to say, oh, only 10 people said this. And the, the thing of it is you really want to find something that it's, that is qualified.

[00:49:36] As lowest. So a guy said, Bruna or you know, somebody else, Uganda, and, and, and so you're getting down maybe five, six or 10. So the objective is one, get a correct answer, and then two, find the least popular is a response. 

[00:49:52] Mat Germain: So that's the walking a fine line. Oh yeah. 

[00:49:55] Mark Corbett: Wow. So if you don't get it right, because one lady, um, so she said [00:50:00] for her country, she said Africa.

[00:50:01] It's. Sorry lady, since you, you get a hundred points. So the thing is, I have as few points as any, so since the wrong answer gets you a hundred right off the bat, but it's called Pointless. And look it up on YouTube. It's, it's kind of fun and it's become my new thing to watch. It's, uh, I'm gonna look it up.

[00:50:21] Mat Germain: Yeah. Yeah. That, that sounds interesting. Yeah. 

[00:50:24] Mark Corbett: Looking forward to the holidays, like I said, getting together with family and all that and, um, thinking of, still haven't finished out figuring all the travel where I'm gonna go for the games this upcoming year, but trying to get 'em all done before July or August.

[00:50:39] 'cause don't wanna be outdoors in that. Eat. 

[00:50:43] Mat Germain: So one of the things that we always try to do is, is try, you know, a different food, a different event, a different craft, a different whatever, that we try to add something new so that each season isn't, you know, too stale. 

[00:50:57] . 

[00:50:57] Like for instance, this year, instead of doing, um.[00:51:00] 

[00:51:00] Um, usually we do, uh, what are those Advent calendars? 

[00:51:03] Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Uh, but 

[00:51:04] Mat Germain: they're getting crazy in prices. I don't know about you, but I'm looking at the prices and I'm like, whoa. And, and like my daughters are teenagers and they're looking at, well, I want the Advent calendar from this store. And you look at it and it's like a hundred dollars for an advent calendar.

[00:51:18] And I'm like, okay, you get four of those and you're up 400 bucks. Just, uh, I'm sorry, but I can't do it. So no. So I got them. These, uh, they're canvases and they're paint by numbers basically, and they're, they're actually Christmas settings. So one of the things that we noticed this year is we don't have a lot of, like, I don't go out and buy, you know, they, I know some people have this where they swap out all their, you know, for the season.

[00:51:45] So they'll have paintings up that are just for spring. They'll have paintings up that's just for summer. They'll have anyways. So we don't have any for, for or many anyways for. For winter. So I was like, okay, well I'll get them those, and then they can paint them. And then that [00:52:00] from now on, when Christmas comes around, it'll become one of the things we put up.

[00:52:04] So there's a usefulness to it. Right? So that's one thing that I like this year. And we also tried the German Christmas cake. And I'm not going to name it because I, I can't say the name. I wouldn't have the right accent, but if you wanna look it up, the German Christmas cake, it's. Excellent. Like, I really enjoyed it.

[00:52:21] Mm. We had a good bakery here that made it, and I just came across it when we were doing, uh, I was taking my daughter to a basketball tournament. And, , picked it up. We had it. It was a nice, pleasant surprise looking at it. My wife didn't even want to eat it. I had to warm it up for her, give her a coffee, give her to give it to her on the side, and then she, she ate it and, and then she said it's one of her favorite things now, uh, that she wants to try again.

[00:52:46] So trying the new things meck, it's always a pleasant surprise when it works out. 

[00:52:52] Mark Corbett: The German Christmas cake. And I like that too with the Advent Calendar, et cetera. And having, well, you know, it is personal. It's part of your family now. [00:53:00] It's not just something you picked up in a store and paid money for. I, I always liked that means it's, it's a child.

[00:53:05] I remember making advent calendars and that sort of thing, and it was like once I started seeing other people create these things. As far as to sell, it's like, eh, no, not so much. Anyway. Well, I'm glad it sounds like everything's going good with the Germain family. Getting ready for the holidays, my friend.

[00:53:23] And, um, I'm, I can't wait for it to come. That's all I can say. Can't wait for it. Absolutely. 

[00:53:29] Mat Germain: Yep. How much coffee do you drink? Christmas morning, mark. 

[00:53:33] Mark Corbett: Oh, Lord. As much as Santa will put, allow me to have, I tell you that much. It's, uh. Gotta get rolling right away. Gotta keep the eyeballs going. But in truth, with all the, all the folks, all the games, everything else, the energy is there.

[00:53:46] So should be a lot of fun. That's all I got my friend. You got any other things else to share? 

[00:53:54] Mat Germain: No, I, uh, I think the last week, , before Christmas, usually there's not too many big [00:54:00] signings, but I'm hoping we get, , in the next four or five days, at least one or two to talk about and kind of set things in in place.

[00:54:08] But I, more than anything, we talked about, a little bit about, you know, some tiny little political things today. Uh, I am hoping that things start moving towards the better and not the worst. Yeah. And if that happens, I'll be more than content. 

[00:54:21] Mark Corbett: Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. That's a great place to start and have a, have some optimism here in the future.

[00:54:27] There's a few things that are, a few people are speaking that I'm, I'm looking for mos more positivity and looking for more action in that positive direction. So Matt, thank you once again, my friend. It's always a pleasure speaking with you and, and sharing, uh, sharing these holiday ideas about Christmas and about baseball.

[00:54:45] So. Say, uh, hello to your family for me and . Look forward to talking weekend real soon, buddy. 

[00:54:51] Mat Germain: You as well. Thank you very much.