Utah Jazz Trade Kessler! Darryn Peterson Rookie Predictions, Ohtani vs Rushing round 2, MLB Draft

🏀 Utah Jazz TRADE Walker Kessler?!
Trade rumors continue to heat up as the Jazz reshape their roster. Is Kessler on the move? We'll discuss the latest NBA trade rumors, possible landing spots, and what it means for Utah's future.

⭐ Darryn Peterson Rookie Predictions
Future NBA star Darryn Peterson is one of the most anticipated young prospects. We're making bold predictions about his rookie season, NBA ceiling, player comparisons, and long-term impact.

⚾ Shohei Ohtani vs. Dalton Rushing – Round 2
Can the Dodgers' top prospect challenge baseball's biggest superstar once again? We'll recap the latest Ohtani vs. Rushing matchup, key moments, and what it means moving forward.

📋 MLB Draft Shake-Up
The MLB Draft is taking unexpected turns! We'll cover the biggest risers, surprise selections, draft rumors, and which teams are winning the future.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:06

You are looking live here at DNA HQ here in beautiful Salt Lake City, Utah. My name is Darren. That is AJ. What is going on, my friend?

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Not much, buddy. Not much. Just uh just admiring the beautiful world as it is today.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

So beautiful. So great. It is. So great. Absolutely love it. Absolutely love it. It's gorgeous outside. Lots to talk about today on the Utah Jazz. Obviously, we're going to start there with a lot of information dropping literally over the over today and you know, leave it up for the Jazz to screw up our notes, you know, right before the show. So that's always great. That's standard business too. Yeah. And then in Major League Baseball, we have some stuff to talk about, the draft overhaul, uh, more fun with Dalton Rushing and all that stuff. But yeah, um, it's gonna be a good time, man. Gonna be a good time. What do you say we get into it? Let's do it.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Before we get into the content, we'd like to encourage you to join the conversation in the comments down below. While you're down there, consider subscribing to Utah Jazz DNA. Smash that like button for your boy Darren.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

That's right. All right, man. Let's go ahead and get into it. Before we jump into it, let's go ahead and first of all a reminder, folks, if you're watching this uh on YouTube on Utah Jazz DNA. After the fact, we live stream this show every Wednesday evening at 8 30 mountain time. Um so if you're watching this on Utah Jazz DNA, uh, this is something we do as a live stream on DNA Sports Recap, our main channel, uh, every Wednesday. So be feel free to join us for that.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

All right, let's go ahead and jump on into it again, folks. If you're watching this live, uh, please feel free to jump into the chat. We want to hear from you folks. We got a lot of stuff to talk about. Uh, we're gonna get into it here. Uh Greg Hawkins, did you guys see the cup score today? I did not. I didn't know. I did not either, actually. We'll get into that. He's got a welcome back, AJ, right there. Thanks, buddy. Both so happy to have AJ back. It just felt weird not having you here, man. I know, but you did such a great job on the video. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

I was so excited. I appreciate that. Yeah, you did great work.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

I appreciate that. We got a comment here from uh McKinley Cutler joining us live again. Uh great to see you again, buddy. Uh, and while we're talking jazz, which is always nice, good to have you there. Uh let's say I'm not gonna say that I like the Kessler trade. Uh, was really looking forward to watching this team uh with him on it, but I do think that is the right decision from the front office. Um and we'll definitely get into that. We'll definitely get into more of this, uh, especially after seeing the Jalen Brown trade, the jazz got a haul for Kessler. Yeah, we'll get into that. We got some great conversation coming up on it. We do, we do. Um also I'm here live today. Absolutely, and we're excited to have you here, man. Appreciate it, appreciate it. Yeah, again, folks, jump into the chat. We're gonna talk with you guys, interact live. That's the whole point of doing this show live is to get a chance to chat with you guys individually and you know, like real time, not posting our show an hour after we record it, unlike some Utah Jazz content providers. Just saying. Weird, not saying, I'm just saying. Um, all right, let's go ahead and get into it, man. Let's get into our first subject of the day. Now, let's let's talk about it, dude. Let's talk about the Utah Jazz and the trade of Walker Kessler. Now, remember, AJ, I mentioned this on an episode a while ago. It wasn't that long ago. Two, three weeks ago. Well, before this, before this him being the th that this team being the threat, yeah, that I mentioned, I said Lakers fans out there that watch our channel, because I know there's a bunch of them, right?

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Of course.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

But the Lakers will never be as bad as they are right now.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:36

Simply because the Dodgers ownership and Dodgers front office are coming in and they're gonna change things and run things the Dodger way. So that team is never gonna be as bad as they are right now. And yeah, they made the right moves, man. They made the right moves, and like I mentioned before, we've talked about it before. Uh, drop some room, um, you know, leave it up to this team to drop news and ruin hours of research that we talk about when it comes to this show, right? Uh so the Utah Jazz have traded Walker Kessler, AJ. Uh the trade, uh, they traded him to the team that I, like you mentioned, I have been reporting for several weeks now was the main threat to sign him in restricted free agency, the LA Lakers. This was a four-year deal with the fourth year being a player option with an annual AAV of an average, average annual value of 32 million. So basically 4 million more than what we offered him uh originally. The Jazz got back two first round picks um and two first round uh pick swaps for this player for Walker Kessler. Um okay, maybe the Jazz didn't want to pay that price, right? Maybe that was too high for him. You know, great. So where are we gonna replace that production with? You know, he was easily top three defensive rim protection in the league. Easily top three. When he's healthy, there's probably not three players in this league that's better at rim defending than Walker Kessler, right? I would agree. And you aren't improving in that space for less than 32 million a year. You're not gonna get that one for less. Um, we got on record on this channel saying that this team was originally built around Walker Kessler. This is something you brought up. Uh relatively did a whole video on it, too. Did a whole video on it. A whole video.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

Yeah, and then I got comments on it today. People like LOLing the whole video.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

I'm just like, Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

I'm like, hey, this one didn't age well.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

Yeah. So we went on record saying that that this team was built around him. Um, not matching this shows me that we're simply just back to the same old jazz doing the same old thing that we've seen this team do for the last three years. What'd they do uh two years ago, AJ, when they were not winning games and they at the change deadline what they do? They traded for all-star forward uh John Collins.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Right.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Why would you do that if you're not trying to win games? Okay, fine. Then they go ahead and try and lose last last season from the beginning of the season, which is great. So we actually tried to lose from the beginning of the season last year, but we also did a midseason trade to get uh triple J on the team. Also, doesn't make a whole lot of sense. This team kept doing moves like that where it made it seem like they were going to be making a push, not in not only just in that season, but for the future. Now they take one of those future cornerstorm pieces, let him walk for four million dollars more a year than what the jazz willn pay him. And I've had people come at me and say, okay, well, you know, his production's not worth you know 32 million a year. I would we did that last week where we broke down who's making more than Walker Kessler at the center position. And it's just tough for Jazz fans to realize that the cost of the talent in the NBA has gone up. Yeah, and even though he's coming off of an injured year, I would be surprised if the Jazz didn't make him sit longer than he was supposed to. I'm pretty sure he would have came back last year because he wanted to prove it a little more on his on his contract year. But yeah, man, I am not thrilled with this move. And this team was ready to roll, ready to push the chips all in the middle with their core pieces ready to go, ready to start winning basketball games. AJ, the sky is falling. You are the optimist on this show. So tell me why this wasn't a mistake and the angels didn't just shit the bet here.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

I mean, I gotta be honest though. I mean, when I first saw this, I was upset too. You know what I mean? Like, I the first thing I thought was, why and this can't be true. Like that was it. When I saw the shams, like when I saw the shams update come out, I was like, there's no way. And you know, I mean, my question is why do you trade a guy that you've been so publicly vocal about? He is a cornerstone of this team. And and then my next question is why do you let him go for $32 million a year? Right? Like you just offered him 28. I mean, it's easy enough to match that. And I mean, that was honestly less than I was thinking he would get, right? Like, I honestly thought he would be in the mid to high 30s. That was gonna be the offer sheet we were gonna have to match to retain Kessler, right? Like, because it was it was just reported a few days ago, mid to high thirties. He had multiple offers at mid to high thirties.

SPEAKER_00 8:02

Tony Jones of the Athletic, yep.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

Yeah, so um, yeah, I mean, I don't know. I'm and I I thought that was too high. I I thought 35 to 38 was probably too high. Um, because as much as I love Walker, like we do got to keep in mind he hasn't played a full season, right? He has injuries, and and the only thing you can look to see is that he is an injury prone player, right? And I I think some of them were jazz induced, you know. What and if you're listening on the air on the on the podcast, that those are air quotes, right? Like, I think there is some some injury history that was that was just what this team needed to get to the position they were trying to get to as far as draft capital. Right. Um but I think the jazz had decided that they weren't going to sign him unless he accepted their offer, right? I think as soon as he declined, the Jazz made the decision that they were going to get something in return for Walker. Um, and when all the media was asking, and they're saying, you know, that the jazz just did their job, they played their cards close to the chest, said, No, he's he's a centerpiece, we're gonna keep him because what you have to do and what you cannot do is get nothing in return for him as a restricted free agent. Right. You know what I mean? You can't do that. So if you're a jazz fan, be happy we got something for him. Because the worst thing the jazz could have done in this situation is just let him go on a restricted free agent contract and not matched. Right. That was an option though, right? Yeah. Absolutely. So this this this was not a bad deal for the Jazz, right? You you clear his overrequested salary off the books. He was he was not worth 35 to 38, like I thought, right? Is he worth 32? Maybe that's right in the range of, like you said, centers that are kind of around his production. Um, and you get back two first-round unprotected draft picks, you get two first-round pick swaps, and you move an injury-prone player who is now asking for a ton of money. A ton of money. So the Jazz have now replenished their draft capital, you get a massive mid-level trade exception for the sign-in trade, which is half of his salary on the first year he takes for the Lakers. That's a $20 million mid-lever player exception. That gives you the space to go out and sign somebody. So it's not a bad move. And as much as I thought Walker was a huge part of this team, and and I think it was built around Walker's defensive presence, I just I think the Jazz had to do something. They weren't gonna pay him what he was gonna ask, right? They they're not paying him $30 to $33 million a year. So why? Because you've already you're already paying Walker, you're already paying Laurie Markin and JJJ almost 90 million a year. You're gonna pay your front court $130 million a year.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

We talked about this literally a couple weeks ago when we said the Jazz are willing to go into the second ape second apron for this team.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

And I think they were. I just don't think they're I just don't think they're going to do it this year. I think it'll be next year. They had to prepare because if Keontae has the season, everyone hopes he has, and the Jazz are trying to win. The thing is, is when the Jazz are trying to win, Keontae George is going to be a lot more productive. Keontae George a lot more productive means they're going to have to pay him a lot more, right? You've got Darren Peterson on a rookie scale contract, you've got two guys that are making $45 million a year in your front court already, that you've got on contract for another couple years. You've got to find some relief in there somewhere. And if you're not going to find the relief, you've got to figure out a way that you can keep this team afloat.

SPEAKER_00 11:41

Yeah. Someone needs to check uh AJ's bank account to see if he's got a check from SCG. I'm just saying that. Uh, we'll get to I'm the eternal optimist, man.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

My job was to find the reason not to be upset about it. Fair enough. Fair enough.

SPEAKER_00 11:53

I'm gonna start here with Greg Hawkins' comment because honestly, man, you you're what you said there didn't actually make me feel any better. Because what a lot of that was a lot of corporate spin. That's exactly what the jazz would say. Um, quit being cheap, Ryan, and pay the luxury tax and compete for once in your life. Um, probably the best. That's gonna be the comment of the show.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

And I love it. I love the all caps too. Thanks, Greg.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

That is the comment of the show right there. We're gonna hit a few of these here as well. Uh got another comment from McKinley. Uh, I would like to mention that according to most reports, Kessler got offers in the high 30s, yep, and the Lakers were getting desperate, and we're accordingly, uh accordingly to some reports, we're gonna offer the max. Uh, the lack the Lakers got Kessler on this contract because the Lakers and the Jazz agreed to a sign-in trade. Yes. So just like your point, they reached out to the Lakers and they said, okay, what are you wanting to pay Kessler? You know, and we're basically they worked the deal together to get Kessler on the contract. I think you're right. The only reason why he agreed to pay less than mid to high thirties was because of the control that he got. Two years with a player option after after the fourth year, so he can re-enter in still his prime and enter free agency when the salary cap is going to be ridiculous. Yep. Uh, and he could make you know 50, 60 million a year, you know.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:07

Uh, depending on how well he plays.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

Depending on how well he plays. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah. Are we quiving over eight million dollars? What a bushwhack organization is that what kind of what bushwhack organization is this? Uh and then uh I am the real deal. Can I get your opinion on who the Heat should go after? Uh well, I think they already went after quite a bit. Um, I mean they got Giannis. Yeah, it depends. Like they're gonna need to pair him with something, so I kind of get I kind of get what he's talking about there. Um, if it wasn't for the fact that uh Jalen Brown got traded to the Celtics, I believe is who we ended up with. Jalen Brown. Yeah. No, it's not that self, it's the 76ers. Sorry, 76ers. He went from the Celtics to the 76ers. Um, gosh, what a what a team that's gonna be, man. What a team that's gonna be. Um, all right, so let's start here. Let's start with what they got back, right? Let's go ahead and talk about that. Okay. Four picks. Okay, first of all, let's take this pick swaps, get rid of them. Okay, those don't count. Automatically, that's a wash. They disagree with them automatically being like, let me let me explain why. Okay. The pick swaps come during this contract time frame. Who's got the better draft, whoever's got the better position in the draft between the Utah Jazz and the Lakers, right? And that's going to be while Walker Kessler, Austin Reeves, and Luca are all under contract.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

That draft pick is not gonna suck. It's not gonna be high, it's going to be low. The Utah Jazz, also their pick, not gonna suck.

SPEAKER_01 14:36

But what you're forgetting is that the NBA just redid the draft lottery, right?

SPEAKER_00 14:40

But it the point is is it's going to be the better of the two, right? But it's but it's flattened now.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

So they can still make a play-in team and still have a chance to get a higher pick than the Jazz. Yes, but you're you're arguing over fourth to fifth place in the in the lottery to do. I agree, but it's still a first-round pick, and you're bettering your pick no matter where it lands. That's fair, but it's not gonna be by astronaut astronomical numbers. But with the jazz's terrible draft luck and the Lakers' excellent draft luck over the years. You know, let's not get to open that door. You know what I mean though? The fact is the Lakers have always had great draft luck.

SPEAKER_00 15:13

My point is that these two draft swaps are not as gonna be as valuable as you think because the Jazz are gonna be good, because the Jazz were gonna be good uh with Walker Kessler on the team, without Darren Peterson on the team. I think the Jazz were already gonna be a good team.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Now you basically just swatch talent for talent. Unfortunately, we're gonna be uh substantially less of a defensive quality team. We're gonna be a substantially better offensive team. So all we did was switch which way on the pendulum we swing. And then again, these draft picks are gonna be so close together, the percentages aren't gonna change that much. Yeah, because they're gonna be in the same pool. So the draft percentages to land a higher pick are gonna be in the same pool. They're gonna be not in the top three, they're most likely not even gonna be in the top ten. Our la our options are gonna be more towards the lower option because the Jazz aren't gonna be that the Jazz aren't gonna be a bad team. The Lakers aren't gonna be a bad team. So where these picks are gonna land are gonna be pretty close together. So the odds aren't gonna change that much. What if Luka Donka gets hurt?

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Luka Donkic gets hurt either one of those years. That's a whole lot of what if, dude. I I understand that. He's never shown history of but that Lakers don't that that Lakers pick without Luka Donkic or Walker Kessler, because we know Walker Kessler gets hurt. Now, now what are they? Okay, now what do those pick swaps look like?

SPEAKER_00 16:30

The Kessler injury again is not is a lot more jazz causing than I think people realize. You know, I'm willing to show I'm I'm guaranteeing that player wanted to come back before the end of the year last year. And I agree. And I think the jazz were like, hold up, no, wait a minute. If it took a coin flip for us to have better odds than Sacramento, and it would have fallen down to ninth or whatever it was. So the fact that we got that close for screwing that up, you know, if Kessler came back, done deal, we would have lost it, right? Yeah. Now let's take the other two draft picks, right? Only one of those is actually good because one of them falls when, again, those three players are under contract for the Lakers.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

So again, you're hoping that the Jazz at some point in three years are going to have a bad enough team that they're going to be worse than the Utah Jazz and we can move up and have draft quality. Two things. One, I hate that because I'm done with playing draft picks and getting draft capital back for this team. We've done that dance for four years now and we're done. I'm done. So jazz fans are done playing draft capital. I agree. We have a top four draft capital stash right now. We don't need more. We need to compete now, not that. The only other one of those picks falls after Lucas contract's up, Kessler's contract's up, and Austin Reefs' contract's up. So only one of those picks falls outside of that ranch. And who knows what the Lakers are going to do. Again, this is a team run by the front office of the Dodgers. You think they're going to just rebuild? No, they're not going to. The Dodgers did not rebuild, they reloaded. The Lakers are going to do the same thing. So I would argue not only are only three of those picks not really that great, the one that we have that we're going to hope for, the Jazz aren't the Lakers are not going to be a bad team that year either. So while we got a lot of picks for it, I honestly don't think the haul is really worth the squeeze of what we gave up, especially since we're arguing over, like Greg said, $8 million. It doesn't make me feel better about it. Second, this is an odd tangent. When between the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers, who's supposed to have most white people starting on that team? That's supposed to be our thing. Lakers are going to win next year. There's all white guys. That's our thing. We talked about that's why they wouldn't go after Austin Reeves. They don't want to have that, you know, that that whole thing. And oh, it's just anyway, AJ. And the other thing, the other main thing that I want to talk about when I think this is not a good deal for the Utah Jazz. And here's the main thing is that I am just really disappointed, AJ. I really wanted to see what the Jazz could do with that size against this West.

SPEAKER_02 19:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

What Walker Kessler, Larry Markinen, and um Triple J could do against a Wemby team. What that lineup can do against OKC. We had the defense to take down the Spurs. We had the offensive shooting the size to take down OKC. We don't anymore. That's gone.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

Yeah. So the best thing about draft capital, and I and I get it, is if you're going to use those draft picks, yeah, draft capital sucks. But let me tell you what other teams that have players that we might want want in return. It's draft capital. And the angels know that these picks in six, seven years don't do us a ton of good right now because jazz fans want to win right now. But teams that are in rebuilding and or going to be in rebuilding, guess what they're going to want? Draft Capital. So the Jazz's job now is to go out there and find a player that can do what they need to do and send back a ton of what? Diraft Capital. That's how you win now. AJ.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

We've had this conversation on this show. I know. The Utah Jazz do not get the players they want to trade for.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

I no, they get the player, they can get some players they want to trade for, right? That's the only way they're going to get them is trade. And the thing is that they just gave up a bunch of draft capital to get JJJ.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

Right. JJJ is a great ad. What I'm talking about is they're going to have to give up a boatload of draft capital for a player who's then going to block the trade. Just like they have done year over year. Drew Holliday, Kevin Love, who eventually said how much he loved it here. You know, the trades get blocked from the Utah Jazz all the time. They don't want to come here. And what you're telling me is now we're going to trade draft capital for to replace. I'm saying that's what the Jazz need to do.

SPEAKER_01 21:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

With just draft capital. Who are you going to trade that's going to replace uh third level third best rimmed protection in the NBA? Who are you going to trade for? Where's that going to come from? Who's got it?

SPEAKER_01 21:10

Rudy Gobert.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Not going to happen. I mean, I agree, but yeah, Minnesota's not going to give up the only reason why they've been a playoff contender for the last three seasons. You know, Rudy Gobert got him in the playoffs. Ant's a great offensive playoff player, but without Rudy, you know, that team's not getting that team's not making as far as they do, especially now they have LaMelo ball or whatever the ball kid is. You know, can you imagine? Like Ant already is serviceable on defense, but LaMelo is does not play defense. And then you take Rudy off that team.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

They're not even a borderline playoff team anymore.

SPEAKER_00 21:42

Yeah. So like that's not happening. They're not getting Rudy. Uh you know, who are they gonna get? Like, where do you fix this hole that was taken care of for this team? Yeah. The Jazz had a unique opportunity to represent to put something out there that said, look, it doesn't matter what you throw at us, we can beat you. Yeah. And now they have that anymore. I agree. It's it's I agree. I don't I don't know where the I don't know where the silver lining is on this one.

SPEAKER_01 22:07

Yeah I think the silver lining is we have a ton of young talent. We are still long. I mean as long no but they did just add um Jackson Haynes who's a seven footer right not a fantastic defensive player but he's still long you add another seven footer to the to the roster right who starts over who's get gets more minutes him or flip um I think it depends who you got running the guard right yeah because Haynes is more of like a rim runner flip's more of a three point shooter six at flips at what six ten yeah he's more so haynes is a little bit taller but haynes is also a lot more athletic right like I mean he can just jump out of the gym for a seven foot guy like it's freakish right so I think it kind of depends on what schemes you're running offensively to who's gonna get more minutes if you're trying to spread a team out like if you're playing Rudy Gobert you know I mean someone that's down around down around the rim you're you're not gonna play Jackson Haynes down there you're gonna you're gonna play Kyle Filipowski in that situation because he can shoot it so I don't know I think it's pretty situational but it's a ton of comments ton of comments thank you guys we love it man I love it on the real deal coming in here uh Sharif Cooper eight points two assists three rebounds 51% from three 38% from three andre drebbing backup center um I I think the heat are in tough shape I think adding Giannis was was their big swing I don't know if they have enough to kind of keep and what they gave up yeah I mean I don't know how well Bam and him are gonna play together. I that that was my first thought when I saw the heat trade was how do him and Bam really work. I mean Bam shoots a little more than Giannis does but they're they're both they both play a very similar role in that heat team I'll I'll be really I'm excited to see where the heat go with this.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

I am too I like what they're doing there. I like we said there was two places he was going to end up it was either New York Brooklyn or Miami so not surprising that's pretty much what everybody else was saying too yeah uh we got McKinley jumping in here. I mean I'm not gonna say I need to worry about Ryan's pocketbook but with the second apron rules the jazz are needing to re-sign Keontae I think they can't have a bad con bad contracts on the books. Here's my thing about that I don't think the jazz have showed any interest front office wise in signing anybody ahead of restrictive free agency I don't think that's what the ancients are doing. I think in the jazz the jazz front office are saying like look you need to prove it you need to prove it before your contract year and you need to be able to prove it for multiple years. Keonta George isn't getting a contract extension specifically for that reason. They're like you know what you got to prove it and you've done it what for one year?

SPEAKER_01 24:45

He wouldn't be eligible for a contract extension until next year. Well I'm saying is he's on restricted free agency next year right no I think he's I think next year is his first year they can negotiate.

SPEAKER_00 24:56

Yeah this year is his first year they can negotiate on a contract extension his restricting free agency is next season. Oh okay so if you're gonna extend him and buy out his restricted free agency yeah it's gonna be this year.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

Yeah okay I got you so um so but maybe that's the thing maybe they're looking to sign Keontae this year to an extension.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

That is my if so if that happens are you still upset about the walker yeah yeah I am AJ yeah I am okay fair enough you're replacing the the payroll with what we already have on the roster fair enough like yeah um I'm also going I I will also say that I'm very it's very different opinion uh of this trade than the jazz doing nothing with these holds on them for a long term and they don't pay Keontae. Yeah yeah so yeah I don't know man it would that make me feel better maybe maybe not I just don't think the jazz are really holding on to any player man I think the angel angels just simply will say the right thing in the press conference but outside of that everybody's tradable yeah nobody's nobody's untouchable nobody's safe except for Dick I love this comment from Greg maybe he could afford a Kessler contract if he purchased fewer flat brim hats great point great point I'd love to see his collection that would be pretty interesting.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

The Utah Jazz are the Pittsburgh Pirates of the NBA without the history so close dude so close Cleveland Guardians actually uh that's actually straight from Carmelone's mouth actually and the Lakers have had a chance to do something really funny all the cream team is starting line up white starting line yeah it's that's what we just talked about so I think it's pretty funny.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

Yeah absolutely love the comments guys keep them coming man that's awesome yes thank you guys we're not done talking jazz basketball but yeah let us know what your thoughts are in the comments down below when it comes to the trade for Walker Kessler honestly AJ and here's my optimistic side okay I got here's my silver lining on all this yeah what this trade tells me and with the Jackson Haynes signing tells me is that this team is not done.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

That that is a hundred percent where I'm at I don't they're there they're not done yet this is not the roster the only reason they acquired this draft capital is because they have something else that they're trying to do.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

Yeah that is exactly right I don't think they needed it to make this move this roster that we're looking at right now is not gonna be the one uh that's entering camp in October I don't think so and you guys mark our words I don't think the Jets are done yet. Exactly do you still want to hold hold foot on your 50 wins prediction? Are you still strong on that?

SPEAKER_01 27:26

Um are you backing on I I at this moment right now I'm gonna take it to 45 wins back it up back we're gonna back it up to 45 without Walker it it is a different story dude. It totally is it for sure is you know what I mean I still think the Jazz are a fringe playoff team I think they they have they have a good chance but I will stand on 50 depending on what they do with this offseason.

SPEAKER_00 27:51

Okay. So you're walking it back from where it is right now.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

From where it is right this minute. But you reserve the option to change I reserve I do reserve the right to to uh negate my my reversal okay I like it I like it.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

Um yeah all right AJ so tell me something AJ yeah tell me if this sounds familiar okay I'm ready the Utah Jazz draft a hot guard that everybody had their eye on who everybody thinks is going to be uh entertaining to watch and then he immediately before he spends a day on an NBA court sends a massive Adidas contract.

SPEAKER_01 28:25

Tell me if you've heard this before I have heard this before.

SPEAKER_00 28:27

Yeah yeah absolutely pretty interesting it's funny because um we're obviously talking about the new rookie Darren Peterson yeah before we get into it I do want to talk about that we're gonna talk about that a little bit but before we because we weren't here I want to get your reactions on the jazz drafting Darren Peterson.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

I am ecstatic about Darren Peterson I think that this was he was the best fit for the jazz no doubt about it. I mean we've said that in multiple videos for multiple weeks now I think I mean if if if the Wizards were going to make a funky move and decide to move on Peterson it's because he was the best you know there was there's a lot of rumors about that I think he is the most offensively talented player in this draft I think he has the highest ceiling in this draft I think Dibanza has a higher floor. I think he starts out higher than Peterson does but I think Peterson has the ability to be a better player at some point than than AJ Dibanza does. I agree. So I I love this pickup I think he is exactly what the jazz needed and they needed to pair next to Keontae George. I think their skill sets align perfectly um this is this is a dream come true for jazz fans right this is exactly what you needed when you get him off the floor you've got a true point guard and Isaiah Collier that that can come in and move that Keontae you know move Keontae to the kind of two guard slot let Isaiah run it you know as the as the defense on us confuse him keep the defense on like this is the perfect scenario for the jazz Darren Peterson is he could really really be the guy that that we were needing to kind of take this team to the next level so um all the hype around him I I just hope a little bit of it comes true and he just comes out to to kind of be the kid that that we need him to be and and take this team to the next level. So um yeah I love it. I'm I'm so excited I could talk for another 30 minutes about how excited I am about Darren Peterson but um we do we do have a show that we have somewhat talked about so um right into it yeah yeah so um yeah I mean the Jazz the Jazz look like they could be competing for a playoff spot right in the in the next year and and it is exciting but you know I I wonder what a successful rookie season looks like for Darren Peterson right I mean you you you look at it and who you know to your point who's the last rookie that we had that had a breakout season went and and then went on to go to become an NBA all-star it's the same answer as your um who signs a massive Adidas deal before they oh interesting okay yeah so okay and the correct answer is Donovan Mitchell so in his rookie season Donovan averaged 20 and a half points a game 3.7 rebounds 3.7 assists and he played in 79 regular seasons while starting 71 of them so averaging 20 points as a rookie is very difficult. It it was not as difficult for Donovan because of the team that he was on. He he did not have the talent that Darren Peterson currently has around him right it's going to be much more difficult for Darren to average even close to 20 with Laurie Mark and Keontae George triple J on the roster those guys are all going to get buckets they're going to demand the basketball their vets they're they're gonna be dependent on to score to make this team successful but I think that if Darren Peterson can his successful season in my in my opinion looks like 15 points per game three rebounds a game and five assists if he can get those kind of benchmark numbers and then he also has to play in 65 games this year. 65 games is where that sweet spot is um I think that'll kind of show he's the guy that we are hoping he was going to be.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Gotcha. Gotcha yeah what do you think? Uh so I did a comparison again what we're talking about here is uh a prediction on um how Darren Pearson's gonna play his rookie season yeah so I did a comparison on a freshman stats uh that he had at Kansas versus other NBA players currently in the league. Yeah uh this comparison I found best fit was Devin Booker. Uh Devin Booker they are they were statistically while you know some are better matches statistically like uh Malik Monk um he was you know more of a high volume scorer versus focusing you know mainly focusing with outside shooting uh the other one that came up on the list was uh Jalen Brown who was another who also was another uh great pick but wasn't as good a shooter as as um Darren Peterson's gonna be um plus um you know when it comes to that he his stats were a lot closer to DP'cause because he was on a stacked rook stacked team in in Kentucky but overall the playstyle is the same elite three tier shooting on this player uh and then at the basket at the rim you know mid-range and three that's what Darren Peterson brings to this team so Devin Darren sorry Devin Booker is the rookie that I think best pairs with um with Darren Peterson based off of coming into the NBA yeah what were what was Devin Booker's rookie stats 13 points 13.8 points per game 2.5 rebounds per game 2.6 assists per game 42% field goal percentage 34% from three now I expect him to have a little bit better uh shooting from uh especially from three because Darren Peterson is just ridiculously smooth probably one of the best shots I've ever seen coming out of college and uh I think he's actually going to be at 18 points per game five rebounds per game four assists per game 1.5 steals shooting 46% from the field and 38% from three uh which I think is interesting because that is coming into a team that already like you mentioned has a bunch of talent on this team I think he could have easily averaged 20 points a game last season if he was on this team last year but given where the Jazz are this year how well Keonta did and like you mentioned uh the rest of the floor the rest of the team that we have um I think that's going to uh allow him to um perform better than what Devin Booker did but also um not perform at the level that I would that I would say he would be at because of the fact he's on a better team.

SPEAKER_01 34:35

And it it's really interesting though because when I when I made my numbers I was thinking the five assists was because he has such good scores around him right he's gonna have you know Keontae shooting it Larry shooting it you know triple J to you know throw a bounce pass into but I think one of those key stats that I that I really like where you're at on is the rebounding to to for him to be a five rebounds we just lost a ton of rebounding in Walker Kessler and triple J is not known as a fantastic rebounder. Laurie Markin is on a fantastic rebound and two guys that are close to seven foot should be much better. So we've relied a lot on Walker to get the offensive boards um so I think we're gonna need him to be closer to that five rebounds for this team to to kind of take that step.

SPEAKER_00 35:15

Absolutely absolutely nice AJ to what we're gonna talk about next uh which is what the Utah Jazz look like as far as lineups go with Darren Peterson on the lineup. Now this has changed drastically since we originally talked about this idea.

SPEAKER_01 35:30

Yeah yeah and that's funny because we talked about this idea yesterday yeah so let's go ahead and run run it down.

SPEAKER_00 35:35

So okay so I think this is what the jazz starting line is going to be since we found out about the Walker Kessler training. I think it's gonna be uh Key at the one Darren Peterson at the two you're gonna have uh Laurie Mark at the three triple J at the four and we're gonna have Nurkic at the five to start that's what I think is gonna happen.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

And I disagree I think that the Jazz will I think they will move Ace into the starting rotation. I think you're going to see triple J at the five Laurie at the four ace at the three and then key and DP at the one two and I know you hate this idea because of triple jackson's production I don't hate the idea I'm just telling it's not going to happen.

SPEAKER_00 36:20

If the jazz do it then it was a waste of a trade for triple J in the first place. Right because he is the his worst production on the Grizzlies was when he was playing as center. He's actually gone on record saying he does not like playing center.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

Right.

SPEAKER_00 36:34

This guy is a power forward yeah he is a roaming help the help their help the helper defensive type player that's why he's not a very good rebounder is because he's always looking for the block in the offensive boards that's what he's good at right so yes I while I see that's probably gonna be a case if the jazz do that that's gonna be a huge step back because again he was not he's not here he's not happy to be here because he's a five he's happy to be here because he was going to get to be a power forward which is where he was the best at in Memphis yeah no I mean I I I totally see that and I I I think that I you know and it's funny because some of our content some of our context was the Nurkic contract extension and how does it impact Walker Kessler right that was originally what we were going to talk about in this segment.

SPEAKER_01 37:22

Right and and it was like you know is Nurkic going to be the guy that replaces Kessler if the Kessler contract doesn't work now we know Kessler's out of the picture. Right. We know that Nurkic is still here um we had some great minutes we got he he's a he's a very you know he's a vet guy he does the right things he makes good passes he's a much better passer than Walker Kessler ever was yeah he sets good screens he you know he doesn't shoot the three ball great not that you need that from a five but I wonder if if that will be his expectation the problem is is Nurk's not a great shot blocker.

SPEAKER_00 37:59

No but nobody on no nobody on this team really is right besides triple J.

SPEAKER_01 38:04

Right not the five though he's not good at the risk not he's just not a great shot blocker at the five yeah so I don't know it's gonna be really interesting to see and and the thing is is there's this is this just reinforces the fact of what we were just saying there's got to be something else happening. Right right because you didn't bring triple J here to be a five no you you just didn't that's not where he's strong at you need a rim protector I mean even somebody that's a mild like we're talking even if it's freaking Brooke Lopez right just a big seven foot guy that just stands there and is just in the way but he understands that's his task. Yeah it's definitely not Jackson Haynes.

SPEAKER_00 38:42

That's definitely not the no no Jackson Jackson Haynes is not yeah he's not the guy okay so let me clarify on on why I think Nurkic is a good starter. Let me clarify on this it's not he's going to be I do think he's gonna start for the Utah Jazz. I don't think he spends the most minutes on the team at the five position.

SPEAKER_01 39:00

Right.

SPEAKER_00 39:01

I think it's gonna be more uh by committee at the five spot right I think we're gonna see a lot of flip I think we're gonna see a lot of Nurkic I think we're gonna see a lot I mean obviously Jackson Haynes going to be in there for a little bit of it and I even do see him having to play more of that roaming five if the jazz want to put out anything like a a death type lineup right um that I know that some jazz com some jazz commenters think that we're actually going to be we're gonna have which I don't think we're actually going to have but if we want to do a five out you know that's gonna be a possibility right I mean so and you got to look at who's playing in the West though how many teams do you need a true five against San Antonio and OKC OKC Denver right those three yeah that you that you need a true big guy that that's a shot blocker right maybe maybe Denver I mean yeah Jokic plays out quite a bit I guess you might say but but triple J can handle him in the perimeter yeah so absolutely so I mean I think you know matchup wise I think he would dominate him not key I think uh I think ace would dominate him on the defensive end if he played if he wants to play defense I think Ace would dominate him on the defensive end.

SPEAKER_01 40:08

Yeah anyway sorry yeah I just I I like it because there's there's so many matchups that we have some options with we still need a true rim protector. I I I agree with you completely. And who is that guy? I don't know yet.

SPEAKER_00 40:22

Unless the philosophy is to completely change what the Jazz were actually going to do in the first place. And and maybe that's the case. And in that case then it's a lot more that oh let's see what we can do. Okay then let's pivot last minute like and that's the thing that I think the angels have done ever since they came in since Ryan brought him in is like okay let's let's see what we have with these guys. Okay, wow we're doing really well uh but let's go ahead and trade up trade everybody at the deadline and let's go for a high draft pick because we don't think we're gonna make it the postseason. Yeah and then let's go ahead and try it again next year we're gonna start with a bunch of players we're still winning too much okay now we really need a tank let's trade away all of our talent and then this was the first year we're like okay let's start the year bad and end the year bad. Yeah right and now that they're like okay well now Kessler is too much money we can't have him okay so let's let him walk okay now what are we gonna do? Now they're gonna have to try and pivot again. I think there's no long term they keep saying we're gonna build this team towards a long term and prolonged window of contention versus winning now. All I'm seeing is pivot moves based off of what's going on.

SPEAKER_01 41:23

Yeah and it's weird because it's not it's not 90 degree pivots it's just like a couple degrees at a time that they it's like they can't figure out the path they're trying to go to yeah it's like they have an end game in mind and they have a couple paths but they can't really choose which paths they want to take so they're making minute changes.

SPEAKER_00 41:37

Yeah and then like I just I don't know to me it's a little like I said the only saving grace the only silver lining is is that this is perfect for a situation where the Jazz are not done. So we'll have to see what happens there. Yep absolutely I got a couple of comments here we want to hit real quick. We got uh DP Ace KG all starting this upcoming season with Nurkis Triple J and Haynes rotating until the trade deadline uh we're gonna when we get Jared Allen to become on the team and we'll be in the playoffs 100%. Jared Allen interesting choice I don't know is why defensive play I don't know what you'd have to do to get him though like what are you gonna have to do to get him and get it you know I don't know is that what they need is that what Cleveland needs I mean Allen is Allen still with Cleveland Garrett Allen who am I who am I thinking of no I think I mean I know he played for Cleveland I can't remember if he's with Cleveland or the Nets oh right right right right okay I'm thinking of I'm thinking of uh but maybe he went from the Nets to Cleveland I don't watch the Eastern Conference so oh man can you imagine if the jazz were in the Eastern Conference this is this is a googleable fact yeah let's go look it up Kessler will be uh really good with Luca yeah he needs a lob threat and that's what exactly what he is he's a defensive rim protector who is great at the pick and roll and drop and and like dropped down into he is currently with the Cavs. Okay yeah I thought so okay yeah I thought it was I could have sworn it was there but you know but yeah I mean it's the east who's paying attention at six foot nine he is I mean he's a great he's got a seven seven foot six wings yeah I was gonna say his reach is a lot better than that yeah absolutely I don't know we want to hear from you folks let's know what your thoughts are in the comments down below as a reminder folks if you're watching this on our live stream um you know please feel free to comment in the when we're talking here live we'd love it if you're listening to this on the podcast after the fact or watching this on Utah GIS DNA we do this live on our main channel DNA sports recap every Wednesday evening uh is where we shoot this live and and we engage with you folks in the live stream so be sure to join us every Wednesday night be great uh come on guys I love Walker Kessler but he hasn't shown the reliability as a player uh going forward for 32 million a year I'd rather take the assets and and a Lari package to go for Joker next season. Hey if if that's the move this year I'm all for it.

SPEAKER_01 43:57

Yeah yeah I'm all for it Joker's gonna be Joker's gonna be super max contract, though.

SPEAKER_00 44:04

Yeah, I wouldn't even I if he could do a trade now, like I would I would I would be all right all over that. Yeah. See the problem is with Kessler, the injury thing, how much of that was Jazz injury versus yeah, you know, the act him being actually injury prone. I the Sabonis, like he did he hyperextended that guy's elbow in that in that dirty play, the start of last season on like the second game of the year, and that was dirty. I don't care, you can argue with me all you want. Yeah, uh that was a dirty play.

SPEAKER_01 44:29

You do got to wonder if the if the nuggets window's closed though. Oh, I oh it is. You know what I mean? Like they they kind of they made their run, won a championship, traded away some key pieces. I mean, they've still got you know Joker and um Murray Murray, which which are a great pairing, but you know, at one point, at what point do the nuggets go into rebuild mode? And at that point, guess what you need to go into rebuild mode? Draft Capital, draft capital. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 44:54

There you go. I like it. I love it. I love it. I like it. Absolutely tooper 85, 89, 83. You you you brought it in, honey. Great point, buddy. Absolutely. Yeah, no, thanks for joining us, by the way. That's awesome. Um, yeah, see, I would love that. Um, that makes sense because again, but again, not rim protection. No, good point.

SPEAKER_01 45:12

Yeah, you're you at that point, you're like, we're gonna outscore everybody. Maybe that's the move. We're just gonna beat everybody 150 to 140.

SPEAKER_00 45:20

Maybe that's the move, you know. Maybe you're just jacking up 93s a game. I don't know. But yeah, you're not beating, you're not gonna beat the size of OKC, and especially not with San Antonio. Yeah, and that's what the Jazz had. And yeah, that was a unique, that was a unique plan of attack for the best in the West.

SPEAKER_02 45:37

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

So, and now we've lost it. So, I'm really curious to see what they do. Um, see here. Love the show, guys. Jazz will be fun to watch this year, finally. Yeah, totally agree. I agree. Wow, today was a little bit of a step back. Well, still excited for the future. Yeah, still super excited for Darren Peterson to be on this team. And I'll always be the optimist to cheer you back up, buddy. Don't you worry. Yeah, didn't do it this week, but that's okay. Hey, that's all right. I'm still optimistic whether you want to I want to start a hashtag for Jazz. Hashtag future statue for Darren Peterson.

SPEAKER_01 46:07

Oh, that would be cool. Yeah, because I think he's I might make a good thumbnail for a video too. Yeah, so I'm just saying, I'm just saying, if you played this card right. I've remembered. I have a video that I want to do on Darren Peterson and Keontae Jordan. Stay tuned. Stay tuned.

SPEAKER_00 46:21

They're part of the same agency, and that's one of the big talking points for why I thought he was gonna come here. So we'll talk about that. Um, once again, folks, uh, thank you all. Uh, if you're watching this on Utah Jazz DNA after after the fact, uh, please feel free to jump in the comments, let us know what you think about everything we talked about today. Uh, Darren Peterson being part of this team, what the Lions are gonna look like, uh, what are your predictions for him as a rookie for the Jazz this year, and you know, everything as far as the Walker Kessler trade. Let us know what your thoughts are in the comments down below. We would love to hear from you. Yes. Let's uh go ahead and pivot over and talk a little bit about Major League Baseball.

SPEAKER_01 46:55

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_00 47:03

But first, before we get into the content, folks, we'd like to encourage you to join the conversation in the comments down below. While you're down there, consider subscribing to Major League DNA and make sure you smash that like button for your boy AJ right over there. Do it. All right, man. So let's go ahead and jump and talk a little bit about Major League Baseball. As a get as a reminder, folks, you are watching this on Major League DNA. We do this live every Wednesday evening. Make sure you jump into our main channel, DNA Sports Recap, 8 30 mountain time to join us live so we can interact with you in the comments. Yes. Um, I do want to hit a couple comments here right off the grip here. Uh, where was that one? Um, here it is. Yep, unred. There you go. Uh sorry, Jazz. Sorry, I know where the Jazz said, but the Cubs beat the Padres 23 to 3. Wow, that's an ass whipping. Yeah. Uh first of all, uh, Greg, I want to thank your Cubs for doing such a bang up job of keep pushing keep pushing those Padres down in uh relevance in the in the uh Yeah, my Braves didn't help you at all, dude. No, no, they didn't.

SPEAKER_01 47:58

They went in there and got swept, and I was there for one of them.

SPEAKER_00 48:01

Yeah, that's tough. That's tough. Um, but yeah, so we want to hear from you folks. Let us know where your thoughts are in the comments down below. Please interact with us live here uh in the show if you're joining us live. And again, if you're listening to this on the podcast after the fact, leave us a rate and review. We'd love to hear from you. Check us out at UtahJazz, um, sorry, Major League DNA uh on YouTube if you're listening to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 48:19

But if you're listening on the podcast, we do do it live every Wednesday, 8 30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

SPEAKER_00 48:26

Yeah.

unknown 48:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:28

Couldn't have said it better myself. Yeah. Tune on in. Exactly. Exactly. All right. So let's go ahead and jump into our first con uh conversation, AJ, which is gonna be around the proposed changes to the MLB draft. Yeah. Uh so this is gonna be kind of a hot topic. This is something that's been going on for the last couple weeks. I wanted to wait until you got back before I actually talked about it. I actually mentioned on the show last week that we're gonna talk about it. So here it is. Let's talk about the draft overhaul. Okay. Okay. I'm gonna bring it down here for you. So, first, no more drafting high school players. Yep. Absolutely done. Players will have to attend college or another approved developmental program before becoming draft eligible. This is also cutting MLB draft down from 20 rounds to 12 rounds. Fewer players uh would be selected each year, and then uh also replacing international uh free agency with an international draft and raising the signing age from 16 to 18 for international, um international players. So this uh standardizes the signing bonus, uh standardizing center signing bonuses and restricting uh the draft bonus pools as well. Uh the ownership is making these changes because they feel it would improve player development and create more consistent systems and also bringing international players in more aligned with how things operate for the U.S. side as well. Um, and again, key thing on this one making a college game a little bit more exciting. So the top talent's not leaving right out of high school. Yeah. Uh the players union is arguing uh that these will reduce opportunities and earning potential for amateur players, and hundreds of players won't even get drafted every year because there are no longer a chance for them to be drafted in the later rounds. If adopted, uh big the biggest impact for would be college basketball, sorry, college baseball would be become the primary path for major league baseball players. Uh so that just like they much like how it's done in college football, college basketball, and other sports. Um, the ownership main reason, man, let's get this down to what it is, the nuts and crannies of it. It's gonna be base basically about money. Absolutely, right? So, why are the owners doing this? They're doing this because it's gonna save them average an average of 120 to 300 million dollars per season. That's a lot of money. That is a lot of money.

SPEAKER_01 50:48

Yeah, and I I kind of wonder why it's taking the MLB so long to even consider this one. And and I get it, obviously, the players association, they're saying we need to get more players with money in their pockets. Let's, you know, we want a wider pool of talent to select from, you know, let us do our job as far as evaluating talent at a younger age, um, and then give these guys opportunity to make money early and and and gather them up early. But I mean, the NBA, they they changed this role in 2005, right? And the in the 2005 CBA, um, the role went into effect for the 20 2006 NBA draft, and it it gave teams an extra year to kind of evaluate talent and maturity. That's the biggest part of it, right? Because when you're drafting players directly out of high school, you don't know who they're gonna be as a person. You don't know who they're going to be, you know, how their body's gonna develop over a year. Like a lot happens from that high school year to that first college year. Um, so it's kind of surprising that it's taking them so long to kind of realize that. I mean, that's a big decision to to sign somebody to a life-changing contract. And then the NFL rule, I mean, they have their there is obviously even more stringent, right? Players must be three years removed from high school and already used up, either used up their college eligibility or graduated um to be qualified for uh to to enter the NFL draft. So I just think this is really gonna improve the level of talent heading into college. I mean, that's that's the big thing, is you know this deal has something to do with the sport of college baseball. Because now you're gonna produce a lot more talented guys into college baseball, making it a much better product on the field than college baseball.

SPEAKER_00 52:24

Yeah, because basically what the ownerships in baseball is doing is they're passing the buck. They're passing it, absolutely. Now instead of us having to pay players in the minor league, paying for all their minor league contracts and all the supporting staff and all that for them to develop in the minor leagues. Now we're like, hey, college teams, NIL money.

SPEAKER_01 52:39

You you develop them with your NIL money, you you gather this. And but the thing is, is unless you make this change, you're never going to have enough talent in college baseball that it's worth it to do.

SPEAKER_00 52:49

Right. Well, in baseball, it's kind of been that's kind of been like the whole thing, though, because you have a player that can go in the draft and he can decide not to go and go into college instead.

SPEAKER_02 52:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 52:58

Right. So it's kind of been again, tradition. Baseball, it's always been about tradition. While I don't think the players are gonna agree to this, I 100% agree with you that I think that's the change that needs to be made in major league baseball. Yeah, it it kind of sucks for players, it kind of sucks for how baseball works and and for minor league baseball. This kind of really does suck because I I can see us cutting a few more leagues, right? And going just to single A, double A, triple A in the majors. I can see like those teams and those leagues getting thinner on players because the best college players are gonna be going straight into the pros. Yeah. Not spending a whole bunch of time in single A, double A, triple A.

SPEAKER_01 53:38

But I think that's almost how it should be, though. I mean, I agree, and you don't want to see leagues get cut out, but you should have guys that go play a couple years in college, and then when they get drafted out of college, they go play minor league baseball or they go straight to the pros, right? Right. The thing is, is it's still gonna be a really wide talent pool. I mean, it's still gonna be massive because now you're gonna have a bunch of guys that excel at the college level to get a chance to either go to a minor league team or sign a major league contract. So all you're doing is concentrating the talent more into college baseball, which should help grow the sport in college baseball where teams have NIL money and team, you know, I mean you're able to pay players at the college level. Now, this doesn't necessarily work up until NIL.

SPEAKER_00 54:25

Right.

SPEAKER_01 54:25

You know what I mean? It just didn't because you before you couldn't go to college and get paid. No, now you can go to college and get paid.

SPEAKER_00 54:31

Yeah, now you're gonna stay in college for two years versus leaving after one because you exactly because you're gonna make five million as a pitcher in college than you would making eight hundred and fifty dollars on a player minimum playing a ball in exactly Tulsa, Oklahoma.

SPEAKER_01 54:46

So now you're going to see players getting paid at a college level, which is already happening, right? So it it it didn't make sense until NIL came about. And now that it's here, it does make sense. And and I think it's a cool opportunity for college baseball to to kind of grow, and you're gonna see players you know going to schools that can pay them, and and those games should be a lot more fun to watch because you're gonna have a lot more talented players going to college.

SPEAKER_00 55:10

Agree. So I agree. Now, typically we are the we are on the usually the player side for almost everything. And I know the players and the players union don't like this, but I think in this case, I think we're kind of united on this one that yeah, this would make the college game much more exciting. College football, fun to watch. College basketball, fun to watch, great to watch.

SPEAKER_01 55:28

But college baseball, who wastes their time?

SPEAKER_00 55:30

Yeah, unless you're an alumni and unless you love baseball, you're not watching college baseball.

SPEAKER_01 55:34

No, no, because there's there's not enough like actual talent that's that you're gonna see in the major leagues. It's not in colleges. Who is la who won the college world series last year? Texas AM.

SPEAKER_00 55:46

No idea, couldn't tell you. You might be right.

SPEAKER_01 55:47

He might be right. I don't know. I'm I'm wrong. I have no idea. Who knows? But but the other the other part of this that I really want to talk about was the international age entry from 16 to 18. Dude, this this is madness that you can draft international players at 16. And and the problem is, is you have all these situations with big league advance where guys are paying 10% of their salaries because they're signing contracts.

SPEAKER_00 56:10

We'll link it somewhere.

SPEAKER_01 56:11

Yeah, we can put it somewhere. Um, but you got kids that are 16, 17 years old signing contracts and not realizing what they're getting into. You know what I mean? Because they're 16 and 17 years old, represented by agents that they just have no idea. You know what I mean? And then then they get they they end up going big time. Like uh some of these rules needed to be overhauled, dude.

SPEAKER_00 56:33

That's all there is to it. Absolutely 100% agree. And I think Tammy Price, friend of the friend of the channel, Tammy Price has which is probably the best comment to segue into our next conversation that we're gonna have. Uh, Tammy Price, friend of the channel, thinks I think it's a good idea, gives them time to mature, and lol, some of them need it.

SPEAKER_01 56:52

Yes, yes, yes, they do. And and and this is awesome because you know what? We saw something you don't see happen very often on the field for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Darren. Oh, really? What is it? Yeah, yeah. I mean, Shohei Otani, I don't know if you've heard of him, you know, face of baseball, multiple-time MVP, maybe greatest two-way player we've ever seen of all time. He kind of found himself in a little bit of a situation with his rookie catcher Dalton Rushing. I don't know if you recall this, but um, during Otani's start against the Twins, you know, those two kind of crossed up on a couple pitch selections, disagreed on some some sequencing. I mean, and even when as far as disagreeing on whether pitches should be challenged against ABS. Right. So, and the worst part of that was it cost of Dodgers a run. Right. Right, because you know, in the in the pitch sequencing, Otani thought one way, rushing thought another, um, ends up missing a pitch, goes by him, twins end up scoring, which happened uh in earlier in the uh another at bat there, too.

SPEAKER_00 57:52

Yeah, so in in that instance, in defense of Dalton Rushing, which is probably the only time I'm gonna say this, in defense of Dalton Rushing, I think the pitch comm when he was saying slider or or something else, I think the comm in his ear was saying fastball. Yeah. Because Dalton was expecting fastball and it wasn't a fastball.

SPEAKER_01 58:12

It was not a fastball. No, because that thing cut back in towards a right-handed hitter.

SPEAKER_00 58:15

Yeah, from a right-handed pitcher, yeah, and then just kind of went away from him. Wait, like that happened twice.

SPEAKER_01 58:20

Otani pitches right side, yep. He does pitch right, huh?

SPEAKER_00 58:23

Yeah, yeah. So he's throwing right-handed. Uh um Dalton Rush, he's expecting a fastball, and then it just kind of yeah, it broke in. Broke in. He had no chance. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 58:31

So it's just like he's thinking here, outside that way, and yeah, so and 22 inches of horizontal break, you have no chance at catching that at 98 miles an hour. It's not that. At that point, you wear it, even if you are the problem. And he did. I mean, to be clear, he really not on the field, he didn't. No, not on the field, but after in the postgame, he did, though. Okay. In the post-game, he owned it great, right? He he he accepted responsibility for, I mean, all the communication issues, um, emphasized he had to be better. Um, and he, you know, he wanted to work on his chemistry with Otani because obviously that is a process. You know what I mean? You don't just go in there and catch a guy that is as good as Otani and just know exactly what he's gonna do. But the O but but the rushing ERA with Otani and the Will Smith ERA with Otani are much different items for a reason.

SPEAKER_02 59:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 59:17

So I got a couple of questions, and it's do we need to be worried about rushing Otani on a on a Dodgers team that is very much expected to compete for another World Series? Okay, that's the first question. The second one is how many rookie catchers can you name on anybody else's favorite team? Because this guy's been in the headlines for a bunch of reasons.

SPEAKER_00 59:38

Not a rookie catcher, because there are rookie catchers you can name. It's backup catchers. Backup, yeah, okay, backup catchers. Backup catchers is what you're what we're actually talking about here.

SPEAKER_01 59:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 59:46

But yeah, okay, to you to your first question, um, do we need to worry about it? Um, yeah, I think we they just pushed Otani's start from starting tonight to starting the next series, specifically so they don't have to start Dalton Rushing, they could start um a different catcher. So let me go ahead and go into that, right? So the second question you mentioned, so yes, we do have to worry about it. I think that's the correct answer. Yes, we do need to worry about it. Okay. Will Smith cannot get back faster. Um, and there's also Thomas.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:14

Is Smith hurt? Is that why Rushing's catching? Okay. Yes. Neck problem.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:17

I was not aware of that actually. Yeah, neck problem. That's why he's he's in there. Should be back uh before the all-star break, but we'll we'll see. Uh, but yeah, to answer your second question is none of them, AJ. Um, unless you unless they are on your team or they're on your Christmas card list. Um, you do not know the backup catcher's name on any baseball team that you're not following.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:36

Correct.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:36

Do you know who Chucky Robinson is? I do not. Chucky Robinson is the backup for Dalton Rushing right now. FYI, guys a legend. Let me talk about this first. Okay. Chucky Robinson, he played for the Bees last year. Uh-huh. My old man and I got to watch him for uh up close. Uh he single-handedly won a game for the Bees. Really? He hit the two-run go-ahead double in the game, and he also gunned down two players after that. They were trying to steal from first to second, gunned them both out. So they never had a runner-in-scoring position after he hit his two-run double. So you know what that tells me? The catcher singly handedly single-handedly won that game for the Bees.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:15

Um, so he came up, he went up to the A's, got released, came to the Dodgers, made a couple starts, got released, became a brave last year, got released, and was picked back up again by the Dodgers this year. Um, so yeah, Chucky Robinson. Yeah, you don't know his name because you're not supposed to know his name, AJ.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:33

Um, so yeah, he uh he put it best actually. Uh he was actually asked what his job was and why he was here, and he mentioned that he's here to do whatever he can to support the pitchers. He's here for the pitching staff and do whatever he can to support them. Um, anything else that he does on the offensive side is just a bonus. Also worth noting that he was really excited to be a Dodger because his grandfather was a Brooklyn Dodger fan, which is super cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:56

That is super cool.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:57

But that's my point, AJ. When you're the backup catcher, you're supposed to be seen, not heard. And this guy has done everything wrong on that side. Josh Donaldson, which happens to be a guy who has gotten in trouble for running his mouth a few times in baseball, um, said on his Get It Done podcast, which by the way, if you're gonna chance to watch it, really great. It's got Russell Martin on it, former Dodger catcher, best relief pitcher in baseball, um, on there, and some guy that's in the media, I can't remember his name. I'm sorry, I feel bad because he's a nice guy, but I don't remember his name. Anyway, he said it best when he said that um he said you need to do something in this league, and you wouldn't necessarily catch some heat um from showing up your pitcher on the mound, and you wouldn't necessarily catch some heat as much. But right now, Dalton Rushing is not that guy. He said if he was on that team, what he would do is make him ride in the bathroom the entire bus ride to the airport, uh, which would be an hour and a half uh from Dodger Stadium to the airport, by the way, after a Dodger game. Um, yeah, man. Um with that, I you know, I don't care if you're Will Smith or Yogi Frickin' Barra, right? You try and show up Otani or argue with him at all, even if it is Otani's fault, and I will personally drive you to the shadow realm myself. Directly to the shadow realm, huh? You are banned to the shadow realm. Dalton Russian, you get one shot. One shot. And if you do this kind of crap again, I'm okay with everything you did before, right? We did a previous video in Dalton Russian. Check it out. We'll link it somewhere down somewhere. Um, yeah, we talked about his antics about running into a player at second base, calling somebody fat for outrunning him on a on gunning them down, you know, and then accusing the Rockies of cheating somehow, like all that stuff. You could forgive all that. That's rookie stuff. Again, you're the backup catcher, keep your mouth shut, just take care of the pitchers and do not show them up. And if it's show hey, O'Tani, that you think you can show up, dude. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:57

Head to the bench, buddy. Absolutely. To the end of the bench.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:00

I, you know, good luck at OKC, dude. You know, because you'll be on the trade block and you'll be catching for whoever uh for the Rockies next year. Watch what you're doing, man. You know, and O'Cani did uh forgive him apparently after the fact there was some reports that he did forgive him, but Otani was not okay in his post-game interview. He said, We're not on the same same page, we need to be able to pivot in game, and we just need to work harder to get on that. That is about as close as you're gonna get to Oshani Otani calling you out in a press conference. Yeah, you're not gonna get any closer to that. Don Rushing got that. And then you have Chucky Robinson, they're intentionally pushing back O'Tani's start so Chucky Robinson can catch for him versus Dalton Rushing. Yeah, dude, not smart, not smart. It's actually kind of funny because that actually brings me up to another point on this. Uh the Donaldson um made a point on this. Uh, this is a expect to see more of this kind of stuff coming from minor league minor league players coming into major league baseball. Expect to see more of it. You know why?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:59

Why?

SPEAKER_00 1:04:59

They got rid of the hazing rules in baseball. No more rookie hazing. No more, hey rookie, you're gonna carry all the bags to the team bus. You know, now they're doing coffee runs in uniform when they're shak when they're in Chicago. But no more rookie hazing, no more sending them out to do stuff, no making them dress in you know uh female superhero uh outfits on bus tours. You know, none of that rookie hazing, that's all gone. Uh, which by the way started was actually banned because it was originally brought to Rob Manfred by a friend of the channel, Trevor Bauer. A friend of the channel, Trevor Bauer. Trevor Bauer's the first one to bring it up, and then after he brought up with Manfred Man Rob Manford, it's been banned. Wow. Yeah. So Donaldson, always you know, not known as a guy who's turned the other cheek on a lot of things, but the fact that he remembers that and he knows and he's saying this, you know, that tells you how bad it is. So yeah, Dalton Rushing, not a good look, Brady. If you were putting up 30 home runs, you I'm playing better. I mean, he's playing better recently. He did have a great start. And keep me wrong. And I love this comment from Greg Hawkins that we got here. LOL poor Shohei. Boo-hoo. Yeah, like even it doesn't matter. Like, your fifth starter on your rotation should never be challenged on and saying, No, you're wrong. That's down. You know, you should always wear it as the catcher. Regardless, so you are the starting catcher, backup catcher. You're there to protect the players. And you're the only player that the team that the everybody watching the screen can see.

unknown 1:06:35

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:35

Everybody else you're seeing the back of. So extra attention to that. So yeah, well, I get that to the point, Greg. You know, there's a little bit more to that. Yeah. So we'll see. We'll see. Um yeah, good times, man. Good times.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:48

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:48

Absolutely love it. And yeah, you gotta love the fact that the Dodgers actually their backup catcher. Uh it's it's spoiled riches, man. He would be the starting catcher on 25 other baseball teams right now. Um so and he's the backup for the Dodgers. So, you know, it's it's something to whine about, sure. But to Greg's point, you know, it's you know, this wine is, you know, it's it's like complaining about things you don't need, don't anybody else wouldn't complain about. Um, he's messed up a handful of times. Go easy on the poor guy. Uh he's gotten plenty of chances, man. And yeah, when you run your mouth on Shoei Otani, that's just that's just not good. I think that's a that's a row too far for sure. My concern is it will cost uh Dodgers a key game. Otani wasn't pitching perfect, but it was the bad chemistry. Teams with good chemistry win most of the time. Absolutely, absolutely fair point, Tammy. Friend of the channel.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:39

Yeah, chemistry's got to be your big concern there.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:41

Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. We want to hear from you folks. Let us know where your thoughts are in the Dalton Russian conversation down below. Uh, let's go ahead and get into the last conversation we want to talk about uh this week, AJ, which uh dude, we need to get into this one, man. Like this run that the Phillies are on, man, watch out for the Phillies, dude. Have you been seeing that the run lately, AJ?

SPEAKER_01 1:08:02

Unfortunately, yes. Yes, I have. I am a Braves fan, so yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:06

They are 7-3 in their last 10. Uh their starting rotation has an ERA of 2.5 for the month of June. Kyle Schwarber, who was off to a slow start. Remember, we talked about that him earlier this season. Uh, he's now leading Major League Baseball on home runs with 30 uh at the time of recording, which by the way, franchise record. Uh nobody in Philly's history has gotten to 30 home runs by the end of June, uh, other than uh Kyle Schwarber.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:32

That's pretty impressive.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:34

They are firmly right now in the wildcard standings uh behind Greg Hawkins' teams, the Cubs, who have the first spot. Uh they are two games ahead of everybody, two and a half games ahead of everybody else in the wild card. Um, the Phillies are two games uh up in the wild card standings. Um right now, AJ, the Phillies are only two and a half games back in the NL East at the time of recording.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:58

Yeah, three games at the time of recording. The Braves won today.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:01

Okay, so three games at the time of recording. Yeah. Um which by the way, AJ, is down from 9.5 games from June 1st.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:10

Yes. So at a month's time, they went Yeah, we we had a lot of we had a lot of bad things happen, and and and the Phillies just kind of had a lot of good things happen, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:20

I mean they just they just kind of kept running. I mean, the Braves have really, really struggled offensively in the last 20 games. Uh, they've only scored 64 runs while going 7 and 13. So, I mean, they were shut out in two of those games. They only scored run one run in four of those games. Um Braves pitching at some rough outings. Uh, you're you are battling some injuries, and that's that's everybody is, right? But you know, you lose Ronald Acuna Jr., Sean Murphy. Um, you know, pitching wise, you lose Spencer Streider, Robert Suarez. Uh, it's just it was just a rough month, you know. Rough rough month to play watching this team really after watching them and thinking this could be such a great season to be a Braves fan, and then and then watching this last month, it was just it was really tough. Um, but there is one thing that I told you I figured out before the show, I told you I'd figured out what happened. All right. The Braves got back. Well, back a player that they put into the starting lineup at the beginning of June, and that's like their last roughly 20 games, right? Okay. His name is Haas Young Kim.

unknown 1:10:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:23

So this is this is the this is it, dude. They started Haas Young Kim in the majority of the games over the last 20, 25 games, and they've played horribly. He is currently hitting.068 with three RBIs and five hits in like 27 attempts. If not more. Okay. This dude is horrible. He is on the absolute worst hitting slump that I have ever seen a hitter. Dude, every time he gets up, it's just like okay, well, we're out of the inning. You know what I mean? Two on, two out. Kim's up, he's gonna fly out. And guess what he does? He flies out. Nice. It's been horrible. So today it's been announced that the Braves are taking him out of the starting lineup. Guess what happened with the Braves today?

SPEAKER_00 1:11:16

They won a game.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:17

They scored six runs or five runs and won a game. Okay. And how was the spot that they replaced him with? Who they played uh Jorge Mateo. Okay, and Mateo did what? Mateo played great. I mean, he I think he was like one for three, which I mean isn't fantastic. Into like a fielder's choice, he had a he had a strikeout, fielder's choice, and then he hit a single in the eighth, but scored a run.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:37

He must have walked then too.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:38

Yeah, he probably had to walk in there something. But but Mateo's a great short. He's he's been really, really good on the defensive end, and he's been DHing a bunch of times because of how good he's been hitting the ball. And so you're just sitting him on the bench and putting in Kim.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:53

For defensive purposes.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:54

For defensive purposes, but his offense is so horrible that it's it costing you runs in so many situations.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:02

So the solution is to go sit him. Sit him, send him back to wherever he's from. Solution is to take a step back defensively at shortstop. I don't know if Mateo's and then greatly increase your offensive. Offense. Absolutely. I love it. I love it. Point of correction, AJ, that you're still 2.5 games back. Even after the win today? Yeah, because the Philadelphia Phillies won two. Oh, they won two. Yeah. Okay, fair enough.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:27

2.5. I did not watch the Phillies score, I only watched the Braves.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:32

You want to hear? Um, okay, so so that bring that begs the question, AJ. From what we've seen, they had they were the best team in baseball. All for the majority of the start of the season.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:45

From like yeah, two weeks in to first to hit 20 wins, first to hit 30 wins, first to hit 40 wins, like yeah, but after that, it changed.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:53

Yeah, yeah. Like pretty drastically.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:56

Pretty drastically. Then the they hit 40 and they were they were stopped there, man.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:59

Yeah. First team to hit 50 wins was the Dodgers. And the Braves have 50 today. So yeah, congratulations, buddy. Thank you. I am so happy.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:05

Thank you. I'm really happy too.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:07

Yeah. So the quite that begs the question, AJ. Did the Atlanta Braves peak too early?

SPEAKER_01 1:13:13

Um, I don't think it's I think getting out to a hot start is always always a fun thing to watch for for Braves fans. Um too early. I mean, it's yet to see, right? I would I would much rather them play poorly right now, get into a few game winning streak, put together some good games, going into All-Star Break, come out of All-Star Break, rested, and and then just keep winning. You know what I mean? Like, so I'd much rather have them, if they're gonna lose a bunch of games, do it now versus in a month and a half.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:45

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:46

So too early, no, I don't think so. I think I think the Braves, um, I think they'll get it back together. Hopefully, get Strider back after um All-Star Break. And you know, that'll that'll straighten out some things. They their their bullpen's been great. I mean, they've had uh, I mean, DDR Fuentes has been great. I mean, he's I I want to say this is his first year in the big leagues. He's been really good at the bullpen. I mean, obviously they got Rocciel Iglesias, Dylan Lee. Both those guys should probably be on an all-star roster at some point. Um, Dylan Lee was really good tonight. Uh, they brought Iglesias in to you know to close out the ninth, and it was three up, three down. I mean, I think he's leading the lead in Lee, leading the league in saves right now. So they they've they've got a lot of really good pieces. You know, the starting pitching kind of struggled, um, but getting Spencer Strider back obviously helps that. It's never gonna hurt it. Um, you know, and in that last that that that last game that he played, uh, when he came out and his fastball was sitting around 95-96, that's not good.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:47

No, no. Here's here's kind of what I want to say when it comes to this piece. Two things. One, I'm gonna take it back to the Dodgers for an example for an example on this one. Right now, because of Greg Hawkins Cubs, um, the Dodgers now have an 11-game lead in their division.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:09

You're gonna wonder what the problems the Dodgers have always had over this last run of them winning the division is that they don't play any meaningful games down the stretch. In both years that they won the World Series in back-to-back years, Dodgers back-to-back champs, still champs, uh, they are winning these by less than the division by less than five games each time.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:32

One time they actually didn't even have the best record um in the West, sorry, in the National League, so they had to play a wild card round, right? Which is dangerous. They had to do that last year. So I would say the Braves don't want to be because on May 22nd, they had a 10 and a half game lead in the division. You don't want that.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:51

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:52

You don't you don't want that to be too much? You don't want them to have no meaningful games. Trust me, coming from a guy who's had his team have a double digit lead at the end of the year and then gets swept in the first round. Yeah. Granted, the Dodgers were starting.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:05

Like the games need to start meaning something.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:07

Like you need to see that there's somebody chasing you. You can't turn it on in September and expect to win the World Series. Yeah. Two, the NL East is kind of cursed, man. From last couple of years, whoever won the division typically doesn't go far. Yeah. Both times the Braves have won their division, they lost to the Phillies. Yeah. When the Phillies won the division and had a commanding lead in the division, the Braves didn't make the playoffs, they had that heartbreaking loss against the Dodgers in the first round. Yeah. First round. So I don't really know if you want to have a commanding lead in your division in the NL East.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:40

You know, even when the Mets won the division, they lost to the Dodgers in pretty embarrassing fashion. So it's kind of like, I don't know, man. I think you want to play meaningful baseball down the route, down the lane. Did they peak too early? No, I think they had a lot of fun, like you mentioned, a lot of fun to watch this team in the beginning of the season, which coming off of a bad year, you want to have that. You want to re-engage your fan base. And again, you want the teams to you want the games to manage. So mat matter down the road. So is this the end all be all dooms for the Braves? Did they peak too early? I think honestly, it doesn't even matter if they did. Because as long as the games matter going into October and September is all that really matters.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:15

Yep, absolutely. And especially if you can get healthy. You know what I mean? You get Spencer Schwellenbach back, you get Spencer Strider back. Uh, your starting pitching rotation looks um serviceable at best. Uh at worst. You know what I mean? Like between some of the guys that they have coming back, the bullpen's been great. Um, as long as they can just keep chugging along and winning games and being in a position to play meaningful baseball, I think the Braves will be just fine.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:39

Yeah, we want to hear from you folks. Let us know what your thoughts are in the comments down below. Yeah, AJ. It has finally happened, AJ. It happened. We have made a few comments on this situation on the channel over the last few years. And man, that finally happened. Battle of the Muncies happened in West Sacramento, AJ. Yep. Battle of the Muncie's. Both the A's and the Dodgers, for those of you who don't know, have a Max Muncie on the team. Uh, we mentioned this in a previous video. Um, we will link that somewhere around here. Um, but not only do they both of these guys have the same name, but both of these guys for the first time played on the same field as each other, playing the same position third base. Not only that, AJ, they have the same name. They both play third, but they also, to your point, mentioned this earlier, they bat in the same position in the lineup as well.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:30

Those lineup cards had to be so crazy.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:32

It's like, yeah. Both players were also drafted by the A's, and both of them have the same birth date. What are the odds? Only in baseball, my friend.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:42

Only in baseball. This what do you call it? You've you've mentioned a bunch of time. It's like the most I can't remember what you've said it so many times. I wish I wish it'd come to my it should be on a t-shirt. You know, it probably should, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:55

Yeah, how can you not be rheumatic about baseball? Yeah, name that quote. It came from Moneyball, which was when Brad Pitt was the general manager for the Oakland A's. Boom. So it's like all full circle, man. Full circle.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:07

Full circle.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:08

Yeah, it was awesome, man. Uh, Max Muncy for the A's did have a good, they actually statistically had a good first game that was pretty much almost identical. I wouldn't say I'd say single and a walk is not as good as a home run and a single and a walk. Um, but yeah, I think it was really funny because Max Muncy from the A's first hit was a hit towards Max Muncey at third base, and it actually hit off third base and went into the outfield. That's how he got his hit by hitting it right at Max Muncie, which is kind of interesting. So Max Muncy did not let that be deterred because then his next at bat, his first at bat um against the A's for that after Max Muncie's hit was a bomb, a moonshot to right center field. And yeah, so it was a great, it was great. It's been a fun series to watch the Dodgers play in Sacramento. Uh Show Otani's hitting bombs, Max Muncy's hitting bombs, Miguel Rojas hitting bombs, Dalton Rushing, and Kyle Tucker both hit home runs in that game. We got back-to-back games. Nice. Sorry, back to back in one game in uh in that series. So it's been fun to watch the Dodgers play a minor league team in a minor league ballpark.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:09

Yeah. Speaking of the Dodgers, though, would what about you? What do you think about Dave Roberts becoming the fastest manager to a thousand wins? Doing it in 1,606 games.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:20

That is so cool, man. Yeah. I mean, a lot of people are gonna downplay the fact that he became uh a manager to win a thousand games so quickly, like, oh, of course he's managing the Dodgers. Who wouldn't? Ask the ask the Mets that. Ask the Yankees, ask the Padres, ask all these other teams that have had higher payrolls than the Dodgers, how easy it is to win right now. Some would argue that the Mets actually have a higher payroll than the Dodgers do right now. If you count deferrals, the Mets technically pay more money, and they just fired their manager, right? Yeah, yeah, they sure did.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:51

Yeah, because they they were not starting out great.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:53

No, so we'll see how that one ends. But like, yeah, dude, it's I think it's super cool. And thank you very much to the San Diego Padres. We got to thank them, AJ. You know why?

SPEAKER_02 1:21:02

Why?

SPEAKER_00 1:21:03

Because when he finished his career, paying career, he was a padre. He became the bench coach for like two or three years for the Padres. And when it came time for them to hire a manager, they didn't even bother interviewing Dave Roberts for the position. Really? Uh even though he was a bench coach, even though he was a bench coach for that team.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:23

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:23

But the Dodgers interviewed him, and you know, they rest is history. Exactly. Literally won the division almost every year except for one year since. So you gotta love it, man. I'm glad you brought that up. Um, another manager, AJ Hinch, bang bang, uh, got to a thousand wins um the other day too against uh for the Tigers. Uh, but obviously there's an asterisk there. Um, some people out there uh you know what I'm talking about. Um yeah, lovely story, man. I think that's awesome. Um we want to hear from you folks. Let us know where your thoughts are in the comments down below. Uh, as a reminder, folks, you're watching this on DNA Sports Recap. Uh, sorry, not DNA sports recap. If you're watching this on Major League DNA, we have this show every Wednesday. We do it live every Wednesday evening at 8:30 Mountain Time. So if you want to join us live, please do so. Jump in the chat, let us know what you think about what we're talking about. We'd love to have you live.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:12

Yes, please do. And if you're watching on YouTube on one of our short videos, just know it is available as a podcast wherever you get your audio.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:19

With all that said, my name is Darren. That is AJ, and this has been an episode of the DNA sports recap. Till next time.