Wisconsin Sports on the go with Trag
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Wisconsin Sports on the go with Trag
Honoring Bob Uecker, Brewers' Season Strategies, and NFL Playoff Predictions – Wisconsin Sports on the Go
How we doing everybody and welcome into Wisconsin. Sports on the go with Trage. I'm your host, trage, it is a Friday here in the state of Wisconsin. We made it to the weekend. It's telling me next week is supposed to be just blistery cold out there. So I can't wait. I can't wait for the cold. It's like you get out of it for a couple days, you get some 30s and then all of a sudden it's just like boom, there you go. Global warming is not real. That's what they keep. This weather keeps telling me right now. I'm just joking, just joking for everybody out there. I'm just joking. I don't know, but I know it's cold right now. So we got lots to get into tonight. Aaron, how are we doing on this Friday?
Speaker 3:Yeah, not too bad. A lot going on over here, but yeah, not too bad, honestly it's. You know we'll round the corner in the Monday with the college you know national championship, which I think gets forgotten about already just because of the timing of it. But that's kind of unfortunate just because it's like that's the last college game. But hey, we got the NFL playoffs rocking and rolling. And then I mean, as you know, we'll talk baseball tonight, not for the best reasons, but we'll try and keep it high spirits, as who we will talk about would would want us to. And, and speaking of that, you know we just, you know, before you know, pitchers and catchers will report. So just kind of like a weird time in sports right now. But um, not complaining, you know, not complaining.
Speaker 2:No, not complaining at all, and you know it, it's just a crappy, crappy week, that's all that it was. Um, you know, they always ask you those little things that you do in life and you're like where were you when this, you know, this happened, or this happened, or this happened? It's like where was I when bob uker passed away? Like when, when I found out and it I was, honestly I was working I was standing in the middle of a cow barn and I was getting my uncles calling me and I'm like I can't answer the phone'm busy right now. And then all of a sudden my wife's texting me and she's like did you see this, did you see this? And I'm like I can't open up links right now, so I have no idea what's going on. And then, like half an hour later, I walk out, look at my phone and I'm like you have got to be kidding. Like no way, like no way, no way. This is the truth of 90.
Speaker 2:And when I like I didn't think you know, I didn't know Bob, right, I didn't know Bob personally, like neither one of us did, we didn't know Bob personally, but I don't know when I heard that, like I just sat there and like we were my, my coworker and I, we were driving to the next farm we were going to and I'm just kind of just in my own world, just you know, driving, just driving, not saying a word, and he's not much of a baseball fan, he's not, he's not much of a baseball fan at all, like, doesn't know much about baseball, I mean. But sorry, he tries, he tries to talk to me about it, but he doesn't, I mean he doesn't talk baseball. And he turns and he looks at me and he goes this is a crappy day, that's all it says, and that's just. That tells you how much he meant to the state of Wisconsin, not just baseball fans, but to the state of Wisconsin. I mean, it was just when I tell you something could devastate you like that. That was devastation at its finest. Like he was a friend, without knowing that he was your friend and I think he knew that he wanted you to know that in your worst times, in your best times, he was your friend and I think he knew that he wanted you to know that in your worst times, in your best times, he was your friend. He was there.
Speaker 2:You turned on the radio, whether it was during the workday, or it was on the weekends, or you're out on the boat or whatever you were doing. You just turned on the radio and there was Bob and he made spring feel like summer and he made summer feel amazing and it's just a voice that I don't think is ever going to be replaced. I don't, and I was sitting there and I was listening to his calls and some of the calls that he made, some of the big moments and everything like that right, robin Yount breaking records and the walk-off home runs that the Brewers have had over the years. Ryan Braun with a walk-off there put the Brewers in the playoffs, christian Yelich and Braun going back-to-back. His last call that he ever had of a home run was Jackson Churio hitting a grand slam against the Cardinals. That's mind-boggling. I mean you're talking about the youngest baseball players in the game right now and Bob Uecker getting to call that and just the amount of calls that he's had over the years that were just breathtaking. I mean just breathtaking Like he made the game of baseball fun, he made it come to life and that's. That's the thing that you can't replace in the game these days. You can't, I mean you. You turned on a baseball game and I tell you what you couldn't tell if the Brewers were down 20 to nothing or if they were winning 20 to nothing, like you didn't know, because it was Bob. It was just always Bob, giving you the best that he had, every single day.
Speaker 2:Then you find out that back in 2023, he was diagnosed with cancer. He came to games after getting therapy. Come to games and he'd still call him. Just the drive that he had, the passion nobody would have you. I couldn't have told you that. I could not have told you that for two years this guy has been battling lung cancer. I could not have told you that. It's just unreal what he was able to do. The mic came on, he sat behind that mic and the lights came on and he was just bob. The rest of it was done. You wouldn't have known it and they don't make them like that anymore. They don't like Bob was a different kind of dude and I I know I know we're going to get long winded with that, but I mean that was.
Speaker 2:And then you hear some of the the Jeff Levering talk about him and Lane Grindle, and you know you listen back to Christian Yelich and I remember last year when I heard and we said it right here on the show because I listened back to the show we did on I believe it was October 4th of 2024. I listened back to that show and it was after the Brewers lost that playoff game and that was the day I had you listen to Jeff Levering on the final radio call. That day and I told you point blank that day I said I don't know if Bob Euchre is going to call another baseball game. It just felt that way. It just felt, when Jeff Levering was signing off, that there was something up. Because you hear announcers get into the emotions, they get emotional, they ride it out with the team, they get emotional. But the way Jeff was that day, that was different. You felt something different. Like you felt heartbroken because the Brewers just lost, but that was different. You felt something different. Like you felt heartbroken because the Brewers just lost, but you knew that they're coming back the next year. Like you didn't, you didn't think anything about it, but when I listened back to Jeff, I listened back to it. Today I listened back to that same video and of the other guy I can't remember who posted it on Twitter when I saw it, but he recorded his radio technically and it was of that Jeff Levin signing off and when you heard Jeff talk it was just like heartbreak. But now you look back and it's like it's for a different reason. It was for a different reason there. So, yeah, we want to remember Bob today. We want to remember Bob Anybody who is in the comment section tonight or is watching another show or wants to hit the text in line.
Speaker 2:I don't have it up there. I completely forgot about it there. We got text in line right below us there. If you want to text the number, give us your best Bob Euker stories. If you met him, let us know how you met him, what was going on, what was the circumstances when you saw him, everything like that. We'd love to hear your stories about him. We did miss our first mark. We want to do something special tonight. We want to give facts and everything about bob, some stories, and that we were going to do the three minute mark because bob buecher has three home runs against future hall of famers when he was playing the game. So aaron missed the three minute mark. But let's hit the first one here. What do you got for me for your first fact or story about bob buecher there um, yeah, there's.
Speaker 3:So I mean there's so many ways we could go with this because, like, like, the special thing about him, I mean obviously, you think about the movie he played in. I kind of want to just get into the TV series just a little bit, only because this is such a like, it's just a funny comparison, right, he appeared in more episodes of Mr Belvedere 118 episodes of that show, so talk about a personality, right, spins it off to a TV show, then the game, then then games for the Braves in three seasons. So you know he appears in 10 more episodes than he appears in in, you know, 10 less games per se for the Braves. So just like a guy that I mean that's like transcendent, right, like you think of, like, kind of I don't want to make straight comparisons, right, but like John Madden, right, like just bigger than the game, like you know, I mean there's guys that just and like johnny carson, calling him mr baseball, like johnny carson, the guy the the nightly host nowadays don't even hold it.
Speaker 3:Like johnny carson ran late night like he's the reason why those guys he paved the way for everybody else, really. So johnny carson calling you know, uh, bill, that mr baseball, like that's or I'm sorry Bob, mr Baseball, that's, that's huge, like that's, like that's a huge. Like Johnny Carson tips or tips his cap, like then you've made it. You know what I mean, because Johnny and Bob like made him laugh. You know he got invited to the show more than 100 times it's another little fact there but he made him laugh Like few people could, because Johnny Carson could make anybody laugh, but not not just anybody could make Johnny Carson laugh, so Bob can make anybody laugh.
Speaker 2:Your worst days, your best days, he can make you laugh. If you were having a bad day. You turn on the radio. You listen to Bob tell a story about his past. It just it made you laugh. You couldn't help but smile and be happy when you're listening to Bob Uecker on the radio there. So we do have another one. I'm sorry we're going to double up here because we got a little long with our opening there, but nine, the jersey number nine for Bob Uecker there. So, aaron, what do you got for that nine-minute mark? What do you got for that fact or story about Bob there?
Speaker 3:So this is another like weird one. But he got as many hits in the made, in the big leads, as Danny Ainge uh played. So he played as many 1042 NBA games as Danny Ainge like hits. It's a weird comparison, but it like lines up with the exact amount of. It's just weird, right, like it's one of those number facts I'll get you some better ones but that was just like weird, right.
Speaker 3:Um, and he started like kind of give you another one, that's a little bit better. I don't love that one. But he, uh, he started the game as like he started playing baseball as a pitcher, like that was where. But then obviously he, he transcends transitions into a catcher, in which you know that's how he paved his way in the major leagues. But he often said like I wanted to be a pitcher, like if he, if it were up to him, if he could say, you know, god, give me all the talent to be a pitcher, I think that's where he would have ended up. And like, just interesting, because you go from pitcher to catcher, it's like that cohesiveness you know, like if you're a catcher, maybe you want to be a pitcher of your pitcher, you want to be a catcher.
Speaker 2:So the easiest way to catch a knuckleball just wait for it to stop rolling. That's what Bob would always tell you the easiest way to stop it all in there. So we want to. You know, like I said before, we're not the. You know, we didn't know Bob. You got all these other shows out there, people who knew Bob and they were able him in the best stinking way. We know how. And we want to talk about Brewer baseball because that's what he wants. He wants us to think about what this Brewers team is going to do this upcoming season to. I maybe just maybe bring a World Series back to the city of Milwaukee. Maybe, just maybe. Right, that's what he wants us to focus on. So that's what we're going to do. I know he's sitting in the front row up there and he's like let's go, let's get this, let's get this city a World Series there.
Speaker 2:I'm going to be honest with you, and I tweeted this out the other day. I said I don't give an F what you have to do, mark Ananasio, I don't care if you got to make trades, I don't care if you have to spend some money, I don't care what you got to do. You got to go. Field me a team to win a World Series. Go field me a team to give a fighting shot. Just go do it. I, I don't know what more you need. The city is gonna back you like no other. The city is gonna back you like no other at this point. The state is gonna back you like no other. They, the state, was lost. I'll be honest. They were lost with this news, like devastated, like it was, almost like the whole thing could have shut down and nobody knew what's happening there. So I'm looking at at now. I'm like Mark, go do something for me, get this team a world series of some sort. So I'm looking at this thing right now.
Speaker 2:And we had some questions we posted out there. We had some questions about what we think this team is going to do or needs to do going into this upcoming season there. So I want to dive into this a little bit today here. So, what's the infield? This was number one question. I got there. What's the middle infield going to look like in our eyes? What are we? What do we think the middle infield is going to look like for the brewers there? So do we believe I? I guess this would be the first one, because I guess it's a double up question, because we had another question about that one. Do we believe the brewers are going to go out and grab a third bas? That would be my biggest question, because that's going to answer all of our questions.
Speaker 2:We don't know right now, because right now you look at the roster it's like okay, you have Monasterio, you cannot rely on Dunn, you can't rely on Oliver Dunn to be your third baseman. Again, those two are probably. Monasterio is a nice guy, he's a utility guy, though he's not an everyday third baseman. Joy ortiz could be an everyday third baseman. I did see that shortstop cooper pratt is going to be at spring training. He's young yet I I don't even know. I was just going to look that up quick. How old is cooper pratt there? Aaron, do you know off top of your head?
Speaker 3:um, I do not, let me see let's see here they drafted um 20, 20, okay, he's 20.
Speaker 2:He's 20 there. Last season spent some time with biloxi he was, so he's up in the double a system already. Last season there and you're looking at this year he's invited to spring training non-roster invite. I don't think he's going to get an opening day roster spot but it is exciting to see him already up there. It is really exciting to see him up there.
Speaker 2:So cooper pratt's probably not starting out at the big league level. They do have a couple other prospects down there, like uh brock wilkin, uh bovie I. I don't think either one of them is going to start at the big league level. They're all too young yet. They need developing. So you're practically down to the.
Speaker 2:You know your middle infield, my assumption where I would go. Bryce Durang, second base, like that's where I'm rolling right now. Bryce Durang, second base I don't think okay, you move him over to short, but then you open up a hole at second base Because there ain't nobody better at second base defensively in the game, in my opinion, than Bryce Durant. That dude is all over the place. The second base he's a. He's a gold Glover for a reason Like that is Bryce Durant is the best second baseman defensively. So I'm not moving them off there. Because if I mean, if you pitch it right, if you look at it right, you can get ground balls going over. That way, bryce Durant is going to fulfill that spot. So I look over at shortstop, then that means joey ortiz slides over, so now he's your shortstop.
Speaker 2:They did out who is that guy? They just signed up there, aaron. I forget his name, slips my mind. They just traded for him, got him from the yankees in that deal with, uh, nesser cortez, I believe. Let's see here who is. He's a utility. He's like a.
Speaker 2:I think he's a third base, second baseman, caleb durbin. Caleb durbin durbin was his name, the one thing when I remember writing up on durbin when we're talking about it when they got him, he's got uh, not as strong of an arm. His, his arm is not as strong, so you put him over at third base. The only thing that worries me then is, defensively, the arm coming across the diamond. That's the thing that worries me. The bat you're gonna people are gonna hate him because they hate sal sometimes for this, but durbin's bat, he's not a hard contact guy.
Speaker 2:He, he puts the ball in, play a bolt load. He's exactly like sal frelick. Exactly like sal frelick. Frelick puts the ball in play, it's just if it's gonna be a a little like dribbler or if it's gonna be a piss missile. And he, they do. Both. Those guys are not piss missile hitters Like, they are little dribblers. That's where they roll it. So I don't know.
Speaker 2:You know they talked about even a guy like Sal Frelick going over to third base. We talked about it last spring. They, he saw a time over there. I don't want to lose Sal in the outfield though, though. So who do we got left for free agents for third baseman? What do we got left out there? I know alex bregman's out there, but unless if mark ananasio is listening and he just listened to me yell about spending money I got a good feeling we're probably not gonna see a guy like, uh, alex bregman coming to town there. I I don't know if I would want. I think bregman I like bregman, don't get me, but I don't know if he's past. What Bregman was? Bregman used to be that big power threat, that big bopper in that lineup, and I think he's kind of I don't want to say went downhill, but I don't like Bregman as much as I did with him.
Speaker 3:It's what you're going to pay for him. I still like what he can bring to the table. He's still probably the best free agent as far as like, just upside, like what he could potentially do for you. It's just he's going to come at like by far the highest price tag, I think just because of I know, you know, if you're a good GM, you pay for, you know forward, you know progression, like what's he going to do in the next, next, if they sign him to a three or four year, but he's going to command the money just because of what he's already done. That's, that's the problem with him. Like he's in that middle ground. You don't know what you're. You know, when the Yankees got Josh Donaldson, it was like what are you getting? And then they, you know they saw he was a he's a buck 80 Josh Donaldson, not the MVP Josh Donaldson. So not saying Bregman would be that.
Speaker 2:But I know you had mentioned Mark Moncada before you on Mocada outside of that, though, I don't hate Moncada, I don't hate that deal.
Speaker 3:There's a lot. I don't know, though, that that list is is kind of stale.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. That is like bare bones list right there of third base options. It's not pretty. It's not because patrick wisdom he's gone. We went through that. He went over to japan so he's already signed up over there. Nikki lopez uh, I don't like that one. Moncada. What is his market value, I wonder? I wonder if sport track let me see his market value, where they have him kind of listed out right now. One point is calculated market value right now is 1.5. 1.5 mil, that's cheap. That's cheap, that's a cheap deal right there.
Speaker 2:And Maikada, I mean you look at him last season the numbers are kind of eh, for him he batted 275, but that was only a 40 at-bats, so he didn't really play last season there. Look at him over the years. The home runs are average. 2019, he had 25, but after that he was kind of average across the board. The batting average was he hovers. Last season, 275, like I said, but that was limited. 2023, he batted 260 in 92 games. 11 bombs You're not getting a lot of bombs out of Mankata, but like the switch hitter, I like, I like his ability to switch it 29 years.
Speaker 3:He's not ancient at 29 years old no, no, and it's a cheap contract.
Speaker 2:the upside if he stays healthy, the upside's there with him. I don't hate that move, I don't hate the mood for mancada. But outside, I mean, what else do you have to pick through there? You have Nicky Lopez, you have Jace Peterson. You already experienced that. And do you want to get Brian Anderson back? We already had Brian Anderson. People were pissed off when we got him the first time. I mean, why would you want him back a second time there? And then I mean you could possibly? I mean, do we have some shortstops that could maybe? Let's see, you got Eureka Hernandez, garrett Hampson's out there, paul DeYoung, but he's older and he's old. I would take Jose Iglesias from the Mets. He was batting like 300 last season.
Speaker 3:Can he play? Third, though I don't know if I've ever seen him Like, he's like one of those like locked in shortst's actually listed as a short.
Speaker 2:He's listed as a third baseman.
Speaker 3:That's great I mean maybe he played third.
Speaker 2:He had to have because, uh, what's his name? Uh, francisco lador, was that shortstop? So, jose oh yeah either he played second base or he's second maybe.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I feel well, no because mcneil played over there yeah, he had, so it had to have been.
Speaker 2:He had to have been third base he's. I mean his market value right now is at 1.7. I don't think he's going to be around that, but he's listed at 1.7 not horrible I don't hate that. I mean you could dip into the shortstop pool and try to move guys around. Brandon cofferd's retired so he doesn't count anymore what?
Speaker 3:What happened to Luis Urias? I know Ramon Urias on the Orioles, but Luis Urias, the brother of Ramon, he was on the Brewers back a couple years ago but man, he fell. I mean that guy, he can't scratch more than four home runs now.
Speaker 2:He was never. He's what I'm praying that Joey Ortiz doesn't turn into. He was never. He never got over that hump. He never got over that hump with the Brewers he would. He had some success and then it was just like he just never got over that hump. I don't know what it was, but he just never was there. So I don't know. I mean I didn't hate him, I liked Urias, but he had a weird, weird batting stance and it just it never took off. Never took off for him there.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, outside of that, I mean, the third base pool is pretty bare. So if you're looking for any, any help, I mean you're basically going to look at a different position and try to fit them in somewhere like, uh, I mean, if you want to spend money, hung sung kim, uh, brandon drewry's out there. He's a little bit older, but he's out there right now. I mean, you're kind of, if're the Brewers, you're looking for a rental. I'll be honest with you as much as I hate rentals because I really do I hate rentals with a passion. But we're talking about Cooper Pratt. We're talking about Cooper Pratt with that potential to be up at the bigs at some point here. Brock Wilkin, we're talking now, who are going to be able to fill into that spot. So in I mean, I'm looking at guys and I know age. We don't want to get too too old or too old up there, but you could get a guy like let's just say, I don't know who we just talking about there, for.
Speaker 3:I'll say one name there. I mean shoulda coulda woulda. I wish they would have went and got Gio Urshela, though I shoulda coulda woulda. I wish they would've went and got Gio Urshela, though. I mean he's solid, I've always been like that. Where did he end up? Oakland, on a one-year deal for $6 million? I mean, the guy hit $250 last year in a league that you know I know I wanted him, I would've. I mean, what's his career average here? We got $273 career average in nine years, that's not bad at all.
Speaker 3:Shoulda coulda woulda. I don't want to insult the injury, but he's one of those guys that completely gets lost in the shuffle of just no one knows about that guy, he just disappears, I think you have to do something, you have to.
Speaker 2:If you're the Brewers I don't think you can live with. I think you can put Joey Ortiz in shortstop, don't get me wrong. And I think Bryce Durant can stay those shortstop, don't get me wrong, and I think bryce duran can stay, like those two will be fine. But I don't think you can live if you have a third baseman of andrew monasterio, oliver dunn, like random dudes just trying to fill spots over there at third base. I don't. I don't think durbin's gonna be that guy. He's a utility guy, he's a fill-in guy, not an everyday guy. You need to get an everyday guy who's gonna give you a little bit of thump. I don't know if the Brewers are going to be able to rely on thump. I think it's going to be a lot of speed. We're going to use speed and contact to beat you. Thump is going to come at times, but it's going to be a lot of speed and contact to beat you out there.
Speaker 3:I mean this is like being advantageous, obviously. Like you bring up Ha Sung Kim, like if you slide Joey Ortiz to third, which when he came up with the Orioles he was playing third and short, like I know he can play third, that's not, he's a defensive like pretty darn good defensive player at either position. So if you could, if you just move Ortiz to third to fill that third base, because you know the free I don't love that free agent pull. And even if you brought in Iglesias to play, I like Iglesias. I've just seen him at short. A lot more I don't know.
Speaker 3:I mean if he can play third, whatever. But you know you bring in like Iglesias, you bring in even Paul DeJong. I mean he's older but he's not, he's solid. You know what I mean. Like it's a consistent. You know what you're going to get. Probably it's not like a guy that like Urias we brought up I mean the guy's now hitting one ninth it's like don't even bother, right. But I mean there's some guys. I'd almost move Ortiz to third if you can bring in the right shortstop there. I don't know if you can.
Speaker 1:Obviously.
Speaker 3:Adamas just getting out of there is what's causing this.
Speaker 2:It's a big void, right? Because our next question that we got is going to be who's going to replace oh, and I got one. We got one texted now Sal. We got one question. We got one about Sal moving into third base.
Speaker 2:I don't hate Sal at third base, I just hate Sal leaving the outfield. I just hate the thought of wasting Sal's because that dude is a. I mean, I think that he could be a gold glove winner just about every year If you put them out there like watching. He is a master out there in right field and I just my worry is you move Sal to third base and you lose that right fielder. That's, that's my big worry. I know you got Jackson Cheerurio. I know you got Perkins Hopefully Mitchell stays healthy and you got Mitchell out there. You got Yelich.
Speaker 2:But how do you replace Sal in the outfield? That dude, I mean, he ran into a freaking great in the wall and broke his hip and then still played in the playoff series against the Mets. He is just a different kind of ball player. He's a hard-nosed dude. I can't remember what Pat Murphy said about him. He always would joke with him that he would be out of the league so fast that he'd ask him every day if he was studying still so he can get a different degree, so he can move on. And he just he don't. Pat always toys with him like that and basically tells him like he stinks and everything like that. But he knows like he loves Sal. Sal is just great in the outfield. So I don't disagree, like Sal could play third base. I just hate losing Sal in the outfield like that. That would be my one worry. But.
Speaker 1:But it does fix.
Speaker 2:It does fix your problem it does. I mean you, you like Sal already. If he has the range, if he has the ability to play third base, you move Ortiz over to short. You keep Sal in the lineup, you keep Matt third base, you put Mitchell out in center field, you put Jackson Churio in left and you put, or you put, garrett Mitchell in right field. You put jack centurio and left and you put, or you put garrett mitchell in right field. You put blake perkins in center and you throw um jack centurio and left and then you have christian yelich be your dh and then hoskins at first, terang ortiz and um salad third base.
Speaker 2:Or of course contraria is catching and I mean it fixes your problem in house. Like it fixes your problem 100. I. Just my one thing, okay, is like you have one group of brewer fans and you have another group brewer fans. One group says you have to get a power hitting third baseman. The other one says let's move sal over there. So it's like what? Which one do you want? You want the power. Like I don't think the brewers are going to be built off of power this year. I I really don't. I think the brewer is where they're at right now.
Speaker 2:Hoskinskins is gonna hit you like 25 to 30. I really think he's gonna be 25 to 30. Yelich, if his back's healthy 25 25 in that 25 range. Contreras around 25. Sal, I think. Garrett Mitchell, if he stays healthy he could be 20 to 25. I really do like that dude's got some pop in that bat. He could be 20 25. But Terang Ortiz, sal Blake Perkins, jackson Churio, that dude could probably hit 25. I'll go 25 with him too. 25 to 30. So you're going to have some hope. You don't have that Prince Fielder, you don't have him. You have Reese Hoskins but you don't have that guaranteed power threat like we had with Gary Sanchez last year where he's a power hitter. You don't have that power hitter but you have dudes who can hit home runs.
Speaker 2:But I think where the Brewers' offense is going to come from is that ability to fly around the bases and put the ball in play, like we just mentioned there with Durbin and Sal Frelick. I believe Durbin would have actually been near the bottom in the league in hard contact last year if he would have qualified. So, like he doesn't put the ball in play hard, but he puts the ball in play, I think his swing rate or when contact in the zone, when the ball was in the zone, how often he made contact with a swing was like 90 plus 90%. So I mean the dude, when he swings the bat, when it's in the zone, the zone he swings, he's putting that baby in play, like that's just how it is. But like it's the question of, is he going to give you that hard contact? So I mean, you're not playing on a fence then of some brewer fans worry, hey, we're not going to have a lot of power, but I don't think we're going to. Anyways, I don't think we are. I think if you sign up, a guy like joan micata or you know how we were talking about j Iglesias there Like Jose Iglesias isn't going to hit you bombs but he's going to get on base, like he's going to get on base for you. Last year he batted 300 with the Mets there, like he was an on-base machine. I think that's where the Brewers are going to thrive is traffic on the base paths putting pressure on pitchers. That's where they were last year. That's where they're going to be this year.
Speaker 2:Willie Adamas had a boatload of RBIs. He was over 100. He had a bunch of home runs. I will like he's. He was your dude, now it's going to be who steps up to be that dude? Right, and I think Christian Yelich, in a healthy season he could be that guy. He could be that guy again for you. He can be that clutch hitter.
Speaker 2:Reese Hoskins is going to get you some RBIs. William Contreras gonna be by committee. I really do. I think it's gonna be by committee that they replace Willie's bat. I don't know if you just replace a hundred and some RBIs, unless if you go out and get one soda, like, unless you go out and get one soda, it's hard to replace a hundred, some RBIs. But I think you can do it with what you got, what you got in house, because you think the young guys not well, younger guys, right, sal Terang, ortiz, mitchell, turrio, perkins those guys are going to be able to rip some RBIs for you. Now are they going to be like 100? No, but they're going to add up. They'll rack up there.
Speaker 2:And then Yelich, contreras, hoskins, hoskins has got to have a bounce back year. If Hoskins has a bounce back year for the Brewers. I like where they're sitting. I really do. I like where they're sitting with that one there. So, aaron, we'll hit it. Oh, we got four minutes. We got four minutes before we got to hit our next fact. We got four minutes before we got to hit our next fact there, so we're going to keep it. We're going to keep it here for a second there.
Speaker 3:Can I ask you real quick, what were the brewers? I didn't get to see it. I should say what were they paying? Adamas, like 20? Wasn't it like around 20 mil, 18 mil, something like that? I'd have to double check back.
Speaker 2:I don't remember. I don't remember what Willie's contract was.
Speaker 3:I should have looked it up first, because I have a point about Bregman then.
Speaker 2:It wasn't. I don't know if it was 20, I'm not 100 sure, but I don't think it was 20. Um, let me see when william davis's contract with the brewers ended, when he signed. Okay, that doesn't help me out seven year oh no, that's not it. Can we look back on this list? Here I'm back. Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh, he's making 12. He had a one-year contract with the Brewers because he was in arbitration and he was making 12. Well, 12.
Speaker 1:12 and a quarter he's making 12 and a quarter with the Brewers.
Speaker 2:Year before that he was making 8.7. Year before that 4.6. So he really wasn't making much. 2021, he was making $590,000 with the Tampa Bay. Ranks before he came to the Brewers.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I was going to say real quick, just because I'm thinking like if the Brewers are spending $18,000. Because I just tapped into what Alex Bregman is trying to get between $25,000 and $30,000. I was thinking if Adonis was like $18,000 to $20,000, you spend a little bit more Just because we talk about the Packers. You know, receiver by committee, you didn't like that. If you're applying that same thing here, like you know RBIs by committee or you know run production by committee, you know it's hard to do that as a. I'm not saying they can't do it, I'm just saying if you brought in Bregman it would make things a lot easier. But yeah, I guess they're probably going to be too far apart. I keep seeing there's a couple teams that are real close to the talks with him and I haven't seen the Brewers get brought up. I was just thinking that would fit. Like okay, you lose Adonis, you plug in. You know what I mean. Like production for production right there, if he pans out the way he has been playing there for.
Speaker 2:Bregman, the way he has been playing there for, uh, the way that the brewers operate is hope for production. That's the way that we operate is hope for production, but they do. I I know they have money to spend now because they got that fan duel contract. They're gonna get the luxury tax money there. They're gonna have money to spend. It's just a question of will they spend that money? Because now they have a little bit and I really think I don't think they're gonna spend a metric boatload on anybody, but I think that they will spend some money, like on a Yohan Mankata, like an average third baseman who can just come in and fill a spot and you hope for the best, right?
Speaker 2:Mankata's got the ability to hit a boatload of home runs. I mentioned it there in a couple of years ago, I think it was 2019. He had 25. So I mean he's got the ability to hit you a bunch of home runs there. Let's see, I had it up there a second ago. Yeah, 2019, 25 home runs. So we know the guy can hit bombs, like he can get hot, he can get going. It's just a matter of what he does and hitting in a friendly ballpark like Miller Park I almost said Miller Park there, right American Family Field, like the Brewers have, it's a friendly ballpark, right Going to some friendly places around the NL Central and such. He could be a guy where you could see him go for that. I mean 20 mark there. So maybe a guy like Yohan Maikata.
Speaker 2:I don't hate that move, I don't hate the Sal. I don't hate the Sal. I'm just saying like, bring it in a bat, bring it in a guy, a switch hitter. Oh, there we go. We got one across text in line telling us how much willie made. Thank you, thank you out there for telling us. Uh, yeah, sometimes we're delayed on here so people like hear us talk and then they you know sometimes it's delayed going across there, but thank you for sending us that contract there. But yeah, 12.25, there was the contract for willie.
Speaker 2:We want to get to another fact here, because bob euchre was born january 26th of 1934. And if you actually look at his baseball cards, they got it wrong on the back there. He said he was born in 1935. I just saw that before. I was looking that up and apparently they got it wrong on the back of his baseball cards all the way up until 2014 when they finally corrected it there. So that's kind of funny there. But so, bob U euchre, uh, we got a little uh little time here for another one here, aaron, so what do you got for me?
Speaker 3:um, so you know, you mentioned it already like for the state of wisconsin. He's so big, so, um, I mean he, he, uh, he graduated from milwaukee tech high school, uh, and was an exceptional high school athlete there, um, and he grew up watching the brewers play at old Borchert Field. I want to say that's maybe that's the right way to say it, I don't know but you know, growing up like he's one of you guys, you know what I mean. Like that, just that kind of rings true, you know, and hits you in the heartstrings a little bit more.
Speaker 3:It's not like this guy was like a transplant from LA or something you know like la or something you know like nothing against that, but like he's like I mean, he's homegrown, right, he's homegrown growing up watching the brewers. Obviously didn't play for him, but like it, you can't control that. But then to to return back to the brewers as a broadcaster, like that's just, that's cool. I mean you hear stories about like derrick jeter right, I, I always want to be the yankee shortstop turns into the yankee shortstop. Like that's just when that happens, and it's one of your own, that's, that's just awesome. You know, like that's, he's one of he's one of your own, that's. That's all you can really say he is.
Speaker 2:Every time I hear one of these, it's like this guy, I believe he, uh, I I saw one earlier today. Um, when he was in the military. They asked him uh, you know, it was any of them, ball players, right? And they asked him if he was ball. The military they asked him you know, was that even ballplayers, right? And they asked him if he was a ballplayer. And he said yeah, and he told them that he played for Marquette, marquette University. Marquette University doesn't have a baseball team, but that's what he told the guys that he went to Marquette because he didn't play college ball. So he's like yeah, I went to Marquette, so that was pretty awesome there. When he said that, but yeah, bob Uecker, just a stand-up guy, stand-up guy all the time. He was awesome.
Speaker 2:So let's get back to the Brewers. Let's get back to the Brewers here for a minute. My guess is we got another one about closers for the Brewers who's going to close down games? Because we know Devin Williams is with the Yankees now. So who's going to close down games? And the question was will it be McGill or who's it going to be right? And I think it's going to be. I think it's going to be McGill? I do.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't be surprised, though, if they tried like a closer by committee kind of thing, where McGill was your main guy but you did see a guy like maybe like Abner Uribe, come in there and close down some games. Or, if you wanted a lefty, brian Hudson, come in there and try to close down some games for you Like feeling the game right. Pat Murphy's a big. He's not an analytical guy, he's a I'm feeling the game kind of guy. He's an old baseball player. He's an old guy, right, he feels the game differently. He feels it. He goes for the feel of the game. So it wouldn't surprise me to see a guy like pat go with more of a closer by committee. Until he figures it out, I think trevor mcgill is going to be the guy, but I could see him being a closer by committee kind of guy. What do you think, aaron? I mean, do they go with trevor mcgill or do you think it's more of a closer by committee? How do you think they roll it?
Speaker 3:I feel like it's mcgill. Um, like you said, they might sprinkle in Uribe. I mean I've seen other teams, like you know, let's say, five nights out of seven they'll use McGill and then maybe Uribe two nights of the week. I mean I'm looking here, brewers finished the season just behind the Guardians as the second-best bullpen in baseball. So I mean, you know, and the fact that Devin Williams was out, you know bits and pieces of that season last year. I mean, yeah, it's easy, he's great when he's on, but like not to not that insult injury, but that that playoff, like giving up that home run, is like I mean he was never there in the playoffs, and when he was there in the playoffs he blew games.
Speaker 2:So it's like, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:You know, I'm not saying you don't miss him, but like you know when, when the lights were on for him to kind of get rock, like that, you see what you can do, you know, you see what you can do without him and I think, you know, I think they'll hold their own. I'm you know it's hard to replace one single guy like that sometimes, but who knows, I mean mcgill might, might have a standout season and like I expect, I expect the Brewers to, you know, basically tread waters very well even without them, like I, just the way they're run, they're like the Rays. To me they're the NL Rays, like they always have a bullpen, it's just guaranteed.
Speaker 2:They find pitchers and I know Jacob Mizorowski and Craig Yoho. Those are two other guys who got invites to spring training there. Jacob Mizorowski is the flamethrower. He's got invited there, so he could be a. I could see him being a bullpen first guy, like the way Corbin Burns came into the Brewers rotation was went to the bullpen first, worked his way in. Jacob Mizorowski is starting pitcher, but I could see him coming to the bullpen first and then working his way into the starting rotation, maybe next year, like I could see that being his route there. So kind of like a 2018 corbin burns kind of route. I wouldn't hate that. So we see him. Greg yoho is out there too, so you got some experience there. Uh, we do have one across the text in line.
Speaker 2:I think your rebate needs more experience. Wouldn't put him in a close game. I, yeah, I would agree. I, your rebate's got stuff.
Speaker 2:It's just a matter of if he can keep his fists to himself and, you know, not try to pick fights with everybody. That would be a big start. That'd be a starter there. He closes games down, but he closes them down in the wrong way, that's for sure. So I mean, yeah, uribe definitely needs some time out there. But I don't hate the thought of Uribe potentially getting shots at closing down games. But yeah, it's going to be getting him into games again, right?
Speaker 2:I don't know if he ever did service suspension. I know he was suspended. He got hurt. I don't know if he ever served his suspension because then he was down in the minors and I'm pretty sure he got hurt down there. So I don't know if when he comes back, he has to serve his suspension at the, because you have to serve it at the big league level, so you have to be up there to serve it. I don't know if he ever served his suspension because I don't think they ever brought him back. So it's going to be kind of a wait, and I think wait and see with your rebate, because I think he's going to be suspended first before he can actually get out there in game action.
Speaker 2:So, um, yeah, the bullpen I it's going to be. I think the bullpen will be good, I do. Uh, brian hudson coming back, you're gonna have trevor mcgill, jared caning, out there. He was fantastic. I mean you talk about before, like the Brewers figuring out guys, like making them work, and that's what we saw with Brian Hudson and Jared Koenig, those two who knew where they were before they came to the Brewers. And when they came to the Brewers they were two of the best bullpen pitchers in the game. So it's like, what did they do to fix those guys? I don't know, but it was impressive. So you got those two guys, you're going to have Trevor McGill, you're going to have Uribe Pajams Paguero, you're going to have all those guys back. And then I know we have one guy who texts in a lot on the show here. He hates DL Hall. We had him talking about him last time we were on here, but you got DL Hall, you're going to have Aaron Ashby.
Speaker 2:I mean it depends how the starting rotation you got brought nester cortez. Now you have freddie peralta. If brandon woodruff, when he's ready to go, you're gonna have him. You're gonna have tobias myers, you're gonna have, I mean, you're gonna have a plethora of pitchers. You are, you're gonna have a lot of pitchers to be able to work through there.
Speaker 2:Uh, when, oh, his name slips ahead. Or robert gasser, when he comes back from injury. It won't be for the first, like two months of the year, I think he's going to be out yet but when he comes back you're going to have his potential. I know Wade Miley said he wants to come back to the Brewers. I don't know if the Brewers are going to bring him back, but I know he wants to come back. So you have Wade Miley's name floating around there. You have a lot of pitchers. You have a lot of pitchers to be able to work through there and see who you want to put in. Those guys, the guys who don't make the rotation, like an Aaron Savali or other guys they're going to fill into the bullpen. So who fills into that bullpen role is going to be a good question there.
Speaker 2:I can't. I I'm excited. I'm excited to see this pitching staff, I'm excited to see the young guys because Paul Skeens had a fantastic year last year. Like I don't want to take away from what Paul Skeens did by any means, but like Tobias Myers, if you actually look at his stats, he wasn't the flamethrower, he wasn't this hot commodity like Paul Skeens was. But if you look at his stats from August on, tobias Myers was just as good, if not better, than Paul Skeens down that stretch. So like I am excited to see Tobias Myers in a full season where he's feeling good. Like talk about perseverance of a pitcher.
Speaker 2:Tobias Myers goes from he was in, was in, he's gonna, he's in the bullpen or no, he's in starting rotation, went to the bullpen, got canned, went down, came back up to the brewers, went back to the starting rotation and just figured it out. Like it was just they were moving him around trying to find spots he would work and then they brought him back up and he just filled in, was dynamic. So I mean it was just awesome there, eric, can you look up? We got a question there about Brandon Woodruff. Is he medically cleared? I don't know if he's completely medically cleared. Yet I thought that when I last heard Matt Arnold talk about it, they said he was on pace. They said he was on a good pace. I don't know if he's going to be medically cleared for the start of the season, but I know he's going to be back next year I don't know when. I don't know when he's going to be able to get back to it.
Speaker 3:I thought he was throwing flat ground, though uh, he is not medically currently not medically clear is what I'm saying is he throwing yet?
Speaker 2:does it say that he's throwing yet or no?
Speaker 3:uh, let me see this from january 7th.
Speaker 3:Let me see so we're cool I mean that's, that's fairly recent there with a brand right um, he said I'm I going to be pretty candid with you. I know we talked a little bit during the season, but I'm in a different place. Oh, this is talking about how he feels with Milwaukee there. I honestly can't answer that question. In relation to pitching right now I'm preparing to go pitch whether? Oh, so I guess he's wait. Let me see. I'm preparing to go pitch whether? Oh, so I guess he's wait. Let me see. I'm preparing to go pitch. Whether that's in New York, the site of Milwaukee's opening, okay, so he doesn't know yet. So I guess he's throwing a little bit. But he let me see, oh wait, here we go. His shoulder declined to cooperate. I just wasn't ready. I couldn't do it. Now I look back on that. Gosh, that wasn't three months ago Now look where I am and I've made so much progress. He's trending in the right direction.
Speaker 3:Long story short it's a little kind of weird there. But he doesn't know if he'll be ready by opening. It sounds like definitely not spring training but, maybe opening day is the advantageous, Maybe miss a month of the season, like the advantageous, you know. Maybe maybe miss a month of the season, you know what I mean. Like that's just kind of a guess as how he's talking about it but I was opening for opening weekend.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would rush him, I would get him back. When he gets back, you don't need him for opening day, you don't need them for the first month. Like, let him get back when, when, if you can have it to a point where you're in a good spot, say winning the division by 10 games, and you're like the freaking calvary's not here yet, and then here comes riding in robert gasser and brandon woodruff to add to a rotation that's already pitching well, like that's, that's as good as making a die. Like sometimes get. Like, look at the lions right now. Right, I know I'm crossing over, but look at the lions.
Speaker 2:Like sometimes a even a what's even better than a trade at like the trade deadline or something is getting the boys back right, getting the dudes back in the clubhouse, and that would be Brandon Woodruff, that'd be getting Robert Gasser back, whoever it is getting them back, getting them healthy, keeping them there right. And that's where I think, if you can get him back within the first couple months and get him settled in, you're going to be flying. You will be flying. Then you have a starting rotation to persevere up until then, which I mean brought in nestor cortez to kind of fortify that you get brandon woodruff back. Then after that I mean, wow, like that is, that's as good as any trade you're gonna make at the trade deadline is. Getting a guy like if brandon woodruff's on and you get him back at the trade deadline, you basically won the trade deadline. Like that is 100 the truth. So I mean I, I'm not, he, he'll be back.
Speaker 2:He'll be back probably in the first couple months, is my guess if he's if he's already saying like, hey, I'm maybe probably not ready for opening day, but thinking around, that time he's back within the first couple months at least. And then robert gasser comes back a couple months in. I like where the brews are at starting, rotation wise. So it should be pretty nice to see, uh, those two back. Um, this is a question that I had, that I got and I don't know. So the Brewers have Jefferson Quarrel, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, one of the top prospects in the Brewers' farm system. They're the catcher, jefferson Quarrel, coming up. Daryl, you have William Contreras up at the big league level. What do you do? What do you do? What do you do like, do you and this is my question like do you, do you try to look at the upside of jefferson cuero and try to fit him in, or do you extend william contraris for a long-term deal? Because if you extend william contraris for a long-term deal, you're basically saying all right, jefferson Cuero, we're going to trade you. He's done, he's gone, he's your number one prospect. You're not keeping him around.
Speaker 2:If you're going to keep William Contreras around, so it's a question of then who do you move on from? Do you go with the youth? Do you go with the young guy and go with a small contract where you can control the contract? Right, like a Jackson Churrio contract where it's $80 million? Right, that contract could be the biggest steal ever if he continues to produce like he is.
Speaker 2:Do you test it out with Jefferson Quirrell? I mean, they've seen a lot, they know a lot. He was injured last season there but he's coming back, probably going to see some time at the big league level. If you like what you see when you get up there and he's through, he's throwing guys out like we saw last year in spring training. If he's chucking guys out, if he's playing good defensively and you're like this guy can hit well for me, do you move on and save yourself a buck off of william contraris. Do you try to trade him? Like I, I don't know. Like it seems so crazy right to even think about that. Like, do you even think about that? But at the same time you've got a plethora of catchers. You've got to move on from somebody. And if it's the young guy or if it's William Contreras, who do you move on from?
Speaker 3:Here's the thing I'll look at it from, and on no means do I want to be insulting towards the Brewers. They're a small market. They're going to try and maximize. They're going to try and use William Contreras until because we already talked about how they were what like $900,000 short, or like 1.1 million short on what like? He wanted this like 6.5 and they wanted to do like 5.6.
Speaker 2:Right, it was something like that yeah, they want to do 5.6 and I think he wants 6.4 or something stupid.
Speaker 3:That's, yeah, like it's within a million dollars, like and and they're like not budging. So that tells me that they're gonna they going to ruffle his feathers per se. You know what I mean. Like they're going to say, you know what, we got this kid coming behind you. Cause you know, I think the Orioles are doing the same thing with Adley Rutschman right now. They have a kid coming right through the minor leagues. He's like third in their prospect pool, but he's like, eh, we're not going to extend you, we're not going to give you like $3, $4 million deal. We're going to see like, hey, can we navigate our way through until, maybe, the trade deadline. Honestly, like, if Contreras gets dealt at the deadline, I wouldn't be surprised. You know what I mean.
Speaker 3:Like I don't love that if I'm taking ownership of the brewers, I'm I'm locking contreras up because he's a known commodity, he's an, he's an all-star, he's one of the best catchers. Baseball, you know, like that's something you don't mess around with because prospects are cool. But what if he doesn't produce right, like there's no guarantee. You have pretty much a proven commodity in contreras at the major league level. I just think the brewers are small market and they operate as so. So they're going to.
Speaker 3:You know, try and trade him when his his trade values. I mean, if they traded him this off season, you know that would have been like coming off the year. I'm not saying he can't have that year again, it's just he had a great year. So it's like I think the way they're going to go is get rid of Contreras, go with the younger guy. But if I'm the Brewers, I sign the younger guy. I maybe trade the prospect because we don't know what he's going to be, and then go get yourself maybe a third baseman, a short, whatever the team needs at the time. But you have a. What I'm trying to get, you have a proven guy can produce at the major league level, all-star level. You can produce at the major league level, all-star level. You just I'm not saying, not saying the guy coming through the minors isn't going to be good, but it's, it's big shoes. You want to risk it? It's a risk, it's definitely a risk?
Speaker 2:yeah, do you want to risk it? That's the question. And how do you? How do you? How do you like figure it out though, like you, you can't if you right now. How do you give jefferson cuero time at the big league level to be able to figure out? Maybe he's better, right, maybe if you brought Jefferson Cuero up somehow, some way. I wanted to look at what is. Can you bring up Jefferson Cuero's batting stats? I want to see what he hit down in the minors. How do you figure out how good Jefferson Cuero is, with him being blocked by William Contreras from getting playing time? Honestly, you can't see him at the big league level. You can only see him at the minors.
Speaker 2:And I remember I was talking with Gary Varshow, dalton Varshow's dad. I was talking with him on an interview here on the show and he told me, like, if you're a good pitcher, you're already out of the minors, so you don't know how good hitters are until you see them in the bigs, because you can get away with a lot of crap when you're in the minor league system versus when you get to the big league level. And I took that true when I saw, like Joey Weimer, he was fantastic. The minors got up, the bigs couldn't hit Keston here at down to the minors. He was like the Barry bonds in the minors.
Speaker 2:But he got up to the big and hit and it's like, okay, where does the difference there? So it's like, how do you know what jefferson cuero is? Besides, when you watch him you're like yeah, he's got a good. I mean, his swing looks smooth and he can throw guys out and he's got this and he's got that and he looks good. But when he gets to the bigs, is he that guy? It's like how do you know that if you have this road block in front of him? So I mean, what was he? What was he batting down there in the minors? So 2022.
Speaker 3:So 2022, a and high A I guess this is what this means. But at A he's hitting 278 with six home runs, 43 RBIs in 75 games. Then in high A he's hitting 20 games small sample size but 313 with four home runs and 14 RBIs. So the power was like almost identical in like 50 less games. Um, at a higher level. So I mean trending the right way. Um, I never love like coming off an injury for a pretty much a whole season there. Um, like I think he he's probably gonna need more time. But um, like, he played in one game at triple a. Um, yeah, didn't record a. I mean even getting that back, so I don't know if he was a pinch runner.
Speaker 2:No, he was uh god, did he come in? He think he walked, or something yeah, he did.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a thousand on base, yeah he hurt himself running the bases down there so you never got to see him. It's just and I got one across texan line. You can't necessarily compare those stats, minors first, majors, we agree. Like you can't necessarily compare those stats, minors versus majors, we agree, like you can't. So how do you know what you have? And Jefferson Cuero could be the next, like next dog of catchers in the big leagues, but you'll never know. How will you know? Like you won't know until you see him get consistent time at the big league level? And how do you do that if you say like hey, contreras, you want to play first base for us, like I was gonna say, move you over to first base.
Speaker 2:But then contreras is such a good catcher now. It's like, why do you want to waste his talents over there? First base now, because he's such a good it's. It's tough. That is tough unless, if you like, move contreras to okay the agent hypothetical world.
Speaker 2:You bring cuero up. You have cuero be the backup to Contreras, contreras DHs. Cuero catches. We see what he's got. You see what he's got over an extended period. Maybe you give go 50-50 with Yelich and Contreras, right, or you have Hoskins who works in there too, but you have those three. Those are your majority DH guys, those are your DH guys. And then you have Cuero fill in there and he's your catcher on those off days. Like that's the only way you're gonna be able to find out. Because right now, like um, like you were saying there that stupid arbitration case with contraris he his projected salary 7.6, he wants 6.5. The brewers filed at 5.6. Why can't you just meet him 0.9? Why can't you just meet him at 6.5 and just call it a day, just move on. Like I don't get it sometimes he deserves like he's a guy, he's not a guy.
Speaker 2:That's like yeah, piss me off and maybe they piss him off anyways and he wants to leave, like that could be the corbin burns kind of thing. We had one texter say, uh, do we believe it's gonna be like a burns kind of thing? Like, yep, there it is, but he's arbitration this year, 2026, 2027, he's arbitration and then he's a free agent in 2028. I'm gonna be honest with you, if you're not gonna extend them in the next, you want to get a haul for a guy. You give him with a bigger deal, right, you got to have a lot of years left on the contract next year, following year, you got him this year. I'm bringing jefferson cuero up and like we were just talking giving him some time there in that backup catcher's role, but he's getting time when contraris is dh, in which I don't know if they'd be like we say, like 25% of the time, give Contreras time off, keep his bat in line up 25% of the time, see what you got, see what you have in Jefferson Quarrel, and then you can answer all your questions Most of them hopefully with that. So I mean that's kind of where we're at there. Um, we got another one across here.
Speaker 2:Do the brewers have a backup catcher since Sanchez left. Yes, eric Hayes is still on the Brewers, so they still pace. I don't hate Hayes. I think the Brewers have a problem right now with too many good catchers. I think they do. I think they have a problem with too many good catchers. I thought Eric Hayes had some big moments last year. He's not an everyday guy but he's good bat like he's a solid bat off the bench. He's solid there. Uh, contreras, good bat. I don't know if Contreras would be okay with playing first base. If you can get Contreras to transfer over to first base and you could pay him to be a first baseman and have the bat that he does, I'd dig it. I'd dig that. That'd be awesome.
Speaker 3:But I don't know.
Speaker 2:Reese DH. Yeah, and you only have Reese for a year, so when Reese is gone, then Cont can't just move everybody to first base. They tried that with ryan braun. Did not work out so well, so we got that there. Uh, we did. We missed one. Aaron, son of a gun, we missed when they're talking. We were gonna hit one at 50. For the ring of honor for bob euchre. There, we were gonna hit one at 50. Uh, let's go with the 50 fact or story here. Aaron, what do you got for me?
Speaker 3:So he showed up in the same wrestling extravaganza as Andre the Giant, hulk Hogan, gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura. So talking about some legendary wrestlers, right, just like stuff you wouldn't think about. Like who is Bob Uecker to be at that, but sure you know why not he's there. But like who is Bob Euker to be at that, but sure you know why not he's there, and it's just like that's, that's just hilarious. You know, like that's gotta love it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's awesome, that dude is awesome. Like he just fit in with the most random crowds. And you know, I I heard I can't, I wasn't Bill Michaels who's talking about it he said that they they went to a golf course in Cleveland and they were, they were walking up and there was a group standing outside like suits and ties and everything, but they're waiting to see Bob. And Bob said the most like I don't know if it what he said, it was most like like it wasn't racist, but it was like a comment that only if, if he would have said, if somebody else would have said it, it would not have gone across. Well, but he said it and this group of guys just started busting out laughing and they were just laughing, laughing and I mean they they just came up afterwards, shook his hand, you know, got into pictures with them and everything like that. But they just said, I mean, anybody else would have said it wouldn't have thought it was funny. But since bob said it was funny, he just had that way to make anybody laugh with the craziest of things too, and he's quick-witted, always would come up with the craziest things too. So he was awesome there. We did have one across text in line.
Speaker 2:Don't put Contreras at first base. It's a waste of talent. We know it's a waste of talent. That's what we said. We know it's a waste of talent. But what do you do with Jefferson Cuero? He's your number one prospect. Do you just let him down there to die? You stay down there, brother.
Speaker 3:There's no way they move. I feel like one of those guys gets moved it has to.
Speaker 2:Otherwise you make a move, you trade him. You trade away with somebody you have to. I just don't see how you leave Jefferson Cuero down there and you don't know what he is Like. Of Jefferson Cuero down there and you don't know what he is Like, I said he could be the best player that you've had a catcher ever. Like you don't know, you have no idea and like you said, you don't know. So you want to go with the proven guy or you want to go with what could be, I don't know right. What if they never gave Jackson Churio that shot? They were like, oh yeah, we got Perkins, we got Yellich. What's the Sleep Jackson Cheerio down in the minors? What if they said that last year we wouldn't know right, but he put it on tape, he put the talent out there. Now look at him. He's a phenom. Like he could be the best player in baseball. We don't know yet Last season at times he was. He was the best player in it's. It's tough. Like that's the tough decision that guy's got to make there.
Speaker 2:And, like you said, small market team, if jefferson cuero can come up to the bigs and hit you 270, can you imagine the haul you could get for william contraris. Honestly, can you imagine the haul you could get? You could get your third basement of the future. You could get pitching prospects galore. And I know we don't want to think about that. I know we don't want to think about that at all because I don't want to get rid of Contreras. I love Contreras, I do.
Speaker 2:But when you're a small market team, you got to think small market. And when you're small market, you got to make moves like this. This is the crappy part about being a Brewer baseball fan you get young guys, they get good. You got to move on from them. They didn't want to get rid of Willie Adamasas, they didn't but they couldn't afford his contract, not with doing everything else. They couldn't afford him, so they had to move on. And now you're at this hole at shortstop.
Speaker 2:So it's like you're small market, you got to find ways and this is the way. This is a way that you're like ah well, this is what we got to do. We got to do this to make it happen. So I like and we got one text here that jefferson cuero needs time at AAA. Yes, I agree. Like I'm not saying that we bring this guy up day one, like we're not bringing him up day one but we're saying is, at some point here you got to bring him up and you got to see what he's about. You do because you're going to have the question of, like we just mentioned there, with William Contreras, his contract. That's only going to get bigger. Like this year at 6.5 is what William wants, right, he's projected at what, what'd I say 7.6. Next year it's going to be a boatload bigger. We were talking about William Thomas's contract before. Year to year Look 2022 to 2023, he raised it 4 million and then from 2023 to 2024, he went up another 4 million. So you imagine William Contreras' contract is just going to keep going up in the next two years before he becomes a free agent.
Speaker 2:When do you think about making that move? Why do you think about seeing what jefferson cuero is about? I think you have to, sooner rather than later, to know what you're going to do when that time comes. Do you make the extension? Because if you extend contreras past what the 2026 season, 2026, 2027 do a past 2027? He's going to be a free agent in 2028 when he's 30.
Speaker 2:If you extend him past that, then it's like what's the point of Jefferson Quero. He's just sitting there, he's just a road, he's just basically there. He's just, I mean, a decoy, like what are you ever going to use them? So it's like, well, you got to make that. Where we're at right now with that situation, see what, see what you can see what the Brewers muster up I don't know Right Small market, you got to make moves. So we'll see what they do. We got one for a Brantley Gilbert down there. How do you think churro will do hitting stats this season? Aaron, we will do this again because we're going to do the over under batting stats for this year. What did he end up hitting last season?
Speaker 3:275, 21 bombs, 79 RPIs, 22 stolen bags.
Speaker 2:Excuse me, give me plus 30 stolen bases, give me 25 home runs. Okay, here, aaron, I'll do it for you, I'll do it for you, we'll do it. If he's going to increase, let's do it that way. Will he be plus minus? What did you tell me? The plus minus the batting average? What was it? 275, you said 275 last year. Yeah what are we going? Plus minus the batting average of 275. Where do you think he's gonna be?
Speaker 3:I like to. Like you know, I saw bobby witt increase. I saw gunner henderson increase, like all these we're talking, you know younger. I saw Bobby Witt increase. I saw Gunnar Henderson increase, Like all these we're talking, you know younger star players in the league right, and you put Jackson Cherry in that category. Now obviously I think both guys got. I mean I know both guys' power numbers have gotten better. I always do worry that whole like there's more tape out on him. But I think maybe you see that in year three right, maybe the third year you're starting to see like okay, that now they really know his weakness. So I I think it gets better. I think he ends up 280 to 285. Give me like between those thresholds there we're taking the over there.
Speaker 2:You got her every time and I I looked up his stats and I said it last year. I say you look at jackson and look at every stop he's made. Single A started out slow, got hot. Double A started out slow, got hot. Triple A started out slow, got hot. Big leagues definitely started out slow, got hot, got majorly hot. That average went fast. Right, I'm right there with you. I think he's going to be plus. I think he's going to be over that 275 mark that he hit this last season there for the Brewers. So I like the over with Jackson Churio there. Let's go RBIs. Let's go RBIs Plus or minus 79. So you had 79 RBIs Plus or minus. I like the over. I like the over.
Speaker 3:Give me like 85 to 90 RBIs for Jackson Churio, I like that I'm a little worried without Adamas in that lineup, just kind of changing things up a little. You know cause he's like that guy you can't really like. If you pitch around him then Chury you know it like plays into other guys. But I am a little bit bullish on Chury, so I'll go over to I just. I think that's that might play into if he goes under. I think that's like not the biggest, like that's one of the bigger reasons. Like I just feel like that's one of those things in baseball like you take one so one so out of the yankees lineup. I know it's completely different, but like maybe you see guys have different numbers right. Like it's just one of those like cause and effect things. But I still, I still, because of the talent, the raw talent he has right now, we'll go over okay, where do we think he bats in the lineup?
Speaker 2:because we had one across the texan line. That said depends where they place him in the lineup. I'm going with the two spot. I'm going to two spot. I think I think that's pat murphy loves bryce terang leading off. I think he goes with jack centurio in the two spot. I think contraris is that's Pat Murphy loves Bryce Terang leading off. I think he goes with Jackson Churio on the two spot. I think Contreras is your three and I think Hoskins is your four.
Speaker 2:It's so weird, cause Yelich is in there too. Maybe they lead off with Jackson Churio, maybe Churio leads off and they move Yelich into the two and Terang slots in it like the five. It's hard to think of Jelich down there unless if they put Jelich in three, contreras in four. I like that better. Okay, I'm going to take that back. Terang in my one spot, jackson Churrio in my two. Give me Jelich three, contreras four. Give me Hoskins five. He's still in the power spot. He's still in the power spot's, still in a power spot. Contreras is kind of a power hitter too. I like the four and five with Contreras and Hoskins there. Plus, knowing the Brewers, they don't really understand what a cleanup hitter is, because Craig Council used to have like freaking Sal Frelek used to bat cleanup at times like it's like what is this dude doing?
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, no, I get it. I'm looking back. I mean this is a random day last year, right, but July 21st 2024 against the Twins. There they had Terang, leadoff, contreras number two, adamas three, frelick four, hoskins five, joey Ortiz six, garrett Mitchell seven, churio eight and Hasse nine. But I like your last one because what? What terran can steal you some bags, right, yeah?
Speaker 3:as far as you know I mean. So, you know, get your. I know he doesn't hit for the best average in the world, this net, but he can get on base, right, he can get on base, he can get you to, he can steal, but he's a stolen by his threat, right. And then, yeah, cheerio hitting right behind him, speed, you know, has some pop. He's just a good like solid hitter, solid hitter. And yeah, I think, I mean I think you could even bat Reese cleanup, maybe a LH3 Reese cleanup, but that's like tomato, tomato.
Speaker 1:Like.
Speaker 3:I'd mess around with that a little bit throughout the year, especially when Reese is like. When Reese is like full tilt, Reese, it's like dang, you know what I mean. So like if you can have him up on cleanup while he's like on a hot streak, I would do that nine times out of ten, because if you can just get those guys up before him on base, he's going to knock them in. Like when he's in a dry spell, maybe bump him down to six and seven because he's going to do that. He's a streaky hitter. But um, yeah, I like your last assessment the best, I think well, I got one now.
Speaker 2:So the uh, they're wondering what the lineup's gonna look like now. He has to mitchell at six. So I would go to rang at one, trio at two, yell at three, contraris four, hoskins five. I would take mitchell at six. I would. I think mitch, like I said before, he's got a lot of power threat. He's got a lot of power threat, he's got the ability to put the ball in play and he's got some speed. So I like him at the six spot there. Then I would take, I would say, give me Joey Ortiz in the seven, give me in my eight spot. We would have it's going to be depending on who's playing where, but I think you're going to have Blake Perkins at center. So I'm going to take give me Sal Frelick in my eighth spot and then give me Blake Perkins in my ninth and then Yelich will be my DH and that's how I'll roll it there. So I mean, I think that's a fairly darn good lineup. I would take that to war against just about anybody. With what? They got speed, they got power, they got contact. There's some stars mixed in there. They got some stars mixed in there.
Speaker 2:If yelich gives you a productive year like he was last year. I mean he's batting 300 before he got hurt. I mean, if you get a productive year out of yelich in a three spot, you get another year, like they did with churrio, and contraris continues to hit like he is and h Hoskins has a bounce back year. Watch out for that lineup. That is a dangerous if Hoskins hits. Right, if Hoskins can hit, that's a dangerous middle of the lineup with Contreras and Yelich and Hoskins, and then to add in Bryce Terang and Jackson Churio in there too, with a way that we know that Churio can hit, that's a dangerous lineup right there. And you might not have the star power of the phillies and the dodgers, right, but you have some good hitters mixed in there, so that'd be a deadly lineup.
Speaker 2:So I mean, I like, I like where the bros are at lineup wise. I think you can add bats. I really do, uh, but this was the last question. Um, oh, we got perkins will play one out of four days. Give that guy up. He's a fill-in. I get it all right, I get it, but guess what, he's the best center fielder in all baseball when he plays.
Speaker 2:So I enough said, like the dude defensively, he's a dog if, if he hits me 200 and plays the defense that he does, we'll make it up somewhere else. We'll make it up somewhere else. Like I don't know, you cannot watch the tape of blake perkins playing center field and deny he is the best defensive center fielder in baseball. Like you can't like watching him, watching him play the field, glide back to baseballs back there, make the easy. He makes everything look easy in that outfield. I trust him more than anybody else in that outfield. So, yeah, one out of four days, I'm not.
Speaker 2:I'm not saying that you wrong, that yes, there's better hitters. Like, don't get me wrong, there's better hitters, but defensively you can't beat them. That'd be like saying if we had Terang batting 200, that we're not gonna play Terang out there, like Terang's gonna play second base, he's a dog. So I'm putting Blake Perkins out in center just because I don't need him to be my MVP. I don't need him to be my best shooter on my team. I need him to be a defensive presence. I need him to be the best defender that I know that he can be. So I'm like I get what people say when they hate Perkins just because of his bat. Get it. But to say I wouldn't say he's a fill-in, I wouldn't. I would say the dude's a dynamic outfielder. Dynamic outfielder like I don't know. Aaron, you watch, so I've made you watch clips of them and I made you look up stats. So I'm like that dude's the best center fielder in baseball. When he plays defensively he's the best center fielder in baseball I mean, yeah, he's definitely.
Speaker 3:I. I can't speak. I don't want to be like inaccurate and say he's like he is, he's not, but he's in the conversation, like I can from my from my vantage.
Speaker 2:He didn't have the games last year, I think to make it in the Gold Glove conversation.
Speaker 3:I mean, yeah, he's a finalist. So, that being said, like he's no slouch, right, like I'm not going to say it, like I can't, because even you know the guy from the Rockies. I mean when's the last time I watched the Rockies? Right, I don't.
Speaker 2:I think he's like very good oh yeah, they're dynamic, but like there's just guys I'm trying to think you know off the top of my head um yeah oh, uh, uh, shoot.
Speaker 3:I can't. He can't hit for crap either. He was on the Rays and then the Blue Jays. Kiermaier, kiermaier he's a dog on like one of the best center fielders probably in this generation.
Speaker 2:He's like a Sal Frelick. He definitely is. He's like a Sal Frelick kind of dude, like he just lay it all out?
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, just those like Mullins. You know you talk about Perkins, you talk about the guy from the Rockies there, like he's in the conversation right, like, and I'll have to go back and watch some more. My goal is to watch some more Brewers baseball this year anyway, just to get up to more speed there. But and I love baseball so, like you know, the more the better catch him when I can, but I definitely take your word for it. I mean I'm looking at his stats, looking at the fact that he is a gold glove finalist. No slouch, you know what I mean. So you can make the case. Hey, he's worth it. On defense, his defense makes up for the not-so-great average, the not-so-great offense.
Speaker 3:Like Kiermaier has never been a guy that can hit or a guy that can rake. He's not a guy that. But I mean he started on the Jays or on the Rays. I should say Started on the Jays for a while. I don't know if he's still there. But yeah, I mean you can make the case, or at least you know maybe five out of seven games, like that type of deal. There's a. You know if you can. Yeah, like, look at Kiermaier last season If you can. Yeah like. Look at Kiermaier last season, you know Toronto and the Dodgers hit a buck 97 with five home runs. Like that ain't giving you much.
Speaker 2:Here's the point into perspective of Blake Perkins 300 put outs one air, yeah 300 put outs one air.
Speaker 3:I'd love to see the guy on the run Like how. You know what I mean. How's the guy on the run?
Speaker 2:I mean I don't have the complete metrics in front of me Cause I don't want to go deep diving right now but I get what people say when they're like the dude can't hit. Sure, he can't hit. Last year I believe his batting average was probably around I don't know Probably 200. Like it wasn. I'm not saying he bad 240, last year he batted 240. Like he had, I mean, 43 RBIs. At one point he was one of the better hitters in the lineup. And I get what people say, Like he doesn't have a bat to write home about.
Speaker 2:But you show me a lineup out there that they have nine dudes who bat over like two 50, every dude bats over two 50. Some guys are out there strictly for their defense. Like that is why they're out there and that's why blake perkins is out there for his defense. They don't put him at the top of the lineup and say like I'm expecting you to get me some hits here, I'm expecting you to rip off some rbis, like he's in there for his defense and that's what you got to do. Sometimes you have guys who are just defenders exactly no, exactly what, how many?
Speaker 3:because I want to compare them real quick. How many games did he play last year?
Speaker 2:He played in 121 games.
Speaker 3:Okay, and let me see Fielding percentage. You got that.
Speaker 2:Fielding percentage for him 997. He's almost perfect out in the field.
Speaker 3:Look at people dissing on this guy. That is why, and just how many put out, I'll give you. I got doyle's stats here from the, from the rockies uh, what do you got for doyle? You got, you got put outs on on. Uh, that's the only other thing I wanted to just mention, yeah put outs was 300, assists were seven, I believe seven.
Speaker 2:Okay, he had two double plays.
Speaker 3:There's a case to me. I mean so doyle had a good many more opportunities, right. So he played in 149 games, so 20 plus games, right. But yeah, I mean doyle did make four errors on the season. He has a fielding percentage of 991, so not not nearly as good, honestly. Um, and he's got, he's got eight assists, so he's got one more assist. But a lot more games played um and put outs 426. So I mean tomatoes to you know, tomatoes to the mottos there.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I mean, all I'm saying is like 997 is.
Speaker 3:Is video game numbers? Is video game numbers?
Speaker 2:and brenton doyle hit what 260? I mean he ain't that much better than Blake Perkins. So like, come on now. Come on, I get it. I get the hate for his batting. I get the hate for his batting, but I mean he's not. Are you expecting him? Like, do you want the whole lineup to hit 300? Like, you're not going to get that.
Speaker 2:Like, if you get me a lockdown defender out there in center field who could run down everything and bring back as many home runs as he did, like there's like a freaking 10 minute video on him bringing back home runs and it's a long bit, like it's a long video and a lot of clips. Like that's how good he is out in center field. So I I mean, yes, I wish he had a higher batting average. Maybe he does, Maybe he turns it around this year. But I mean, if you want defense, give me Blake Perkins. Like, just give me Blake Perkins, and that's my dude. Like, if you give me an outfield of Blake Perkins, Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick, good luck getting a ball down in the outfield with them guys. So we got a couple couple cross text in line here. Uh, brandley gilbert says do you?
Speaker 1:think we'll ever see anything close to nvp. Yelich, yeah, I mean last year.
Speaker 2:He was last year, yeah, I agree, last year up until he got hurt. So, yeah, I I do think he's got the capability. I think it was about staying healthy and keeping that back right, because when your back ain't right and you're trying to hit, it ain't gonna end well, like you're feeling it with every swing. So, yeah, I think we could I really do. The hard part is nowadays you have to deal with shoya otani and the dude. Just I mean, well, for some reason people still throw him dead red down the middle. But that's besides the point. Like, sometimes I'm like, okay, shoya otani's a great hitter, don't get me wrong, I, I, he's a great hitter, but I see the pitches that some of these guys are throwing to him. I'm like, why are you challenging him high? Why are you challenging him high and dead red? Like, why, like, why, and like throwing a sinker or like throwing some crappy changeup and you leave it hang. Like what is Joey Otani going to do with that? Like, sometimes I watch it. I'm like, yeah, you're, there's a reason why he's batting 300, has got this many bombs. Like I'm watching guys throw to him there. Uh, we got another one here. Uh, perkins is good in the field, but can he get a better batting average? I, I hope so. Like I'm not saying that, like I don't wish he had a better batting average, I'm just saying that at sometimes you gotta sacrifice offense for defense, right? Sometimes Sometimes you just gotta. And I tell you what nobody can deny me that if the game was on the line and you needed somebody out in the outfield, you wouldn't want Blake Perkins, you wouldn't want him, like that dude's a dog, and if he stays like that in the outfield I'd take him night in and night out. The Brewers did. They did make a move. We did see the Brewers sign Elvin Rodriguez to a one-year deal, club option for 2026 with Milwaukee. There pitch 26. Uh, he had he's 26 pitch last season in Tokyo, went one and one with a 1.80 ERA set one save, 32 games, one start at 1.16 whip pitch with Detroit, tampa Bay at one point short time. Went overseas, went to Tokyo, had a decent year16 whip pitched with Detroit, tampa Bay at one point short time. Went overseas, went to Tokyo, had a decent year. They're bringing him back. We'll see what he does here with the Brewers. Just a little tidbit, just a little signing there we do have to get.
Speaker 2:I'm going to double up on the ads here real fast. I'm going to double up on the ads because we've got to get to our sponsors here. We have gone long with the Brewers tonight here, real fast, we're going to come back. We got one more Bob Uecker fact to get to for the 89th minute. I think that's like an hour and 29 minutes. So we're going to get to that Bob Uecker fact here. To end it here. We're going to get to our ads. We're going to come back. I want to preview that game. I hate to get out of the Brewers because we've had it was an awesome Brewers talk tonight here. But I want to get to the Badgers game with USC Cause. I want to preview that game here real fast. Badgers take it on USC tomorrow. I want to get to that game quick. We'll see what time we have left. We'll get more brewer talk, more Bob Euker facts there. So we'll be back on the other side.
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Speaker 1:Marshfield Motor Speedway, located three miles outside of Marshfield on County Road H. Tons of family fun for all ages, Great food, great drinks, great racing. I cannot think of a better way to spend a summer day or night than down at the track. Next is Sports Scene in Marshfield, Wisconsin, located at the Marshfield Mall. Get down there and see, Al, he has everything you need, from sports cards, memorabilia, jerseys, model stock cars. He's got it all. Sports Scene in Marshfield. And then we have Peggy Sue Bestlick, Century 21. Do you want to find your dream home or maybe looking to sell your current property? Let Peggy Sue Bestlick at Century 21 help you with all of your housing or property needs you know what I always tell you aaron, new year, buy, sell, get rid of that clunker.
Speaker 2:That's what you got to do. Call peggy sue. So I know it was a little weird. There. We had to double up our ads. We completely spaced on them tonight there. I know sorry, we spaced out on tonight here. We got so long with the brewers. It's been a. It was a great talk. That was a great brewer talk. That was a great brewer talk. There. We got lots in depth. I mean not many people even thinking about the brewers this time of year and we just went in depth. Like it's middle of the season, we're ready to rock and roll, like that's awesome and it's close. I mean, it's getting close.
Speaker 2:Brewer baseball is right around the corner. Their catchers, pitchers and catchers will report there soon enough. So I want to get to the badgers usc. We got to get to our nfl picks for this weekend here. We got to talk about that eagles and everything like that.
Speaker 2:So quickly let's get to the Badgers versus USC here. So Badgers going in taking on USC. That'll be tomorrow there. I just lost my cab. I had it wide open and I lost it. That'll be a two o'clock start there on Big Ten Network coming up tomorrow there from USC. So that's going to be out there in California, the Gallon Center out there in USC. It's so weird to think that they're sending teams out to Cal. I know, bless everybody in California, the firefighters and everything like that, like prayers to everything that's happening out there. But it's so weird to see games happening out there right now, like to think about the tragedy that's been out there so far. And then it's like there's a game going on Like it's it's. It's different, it definitely is, but the Badgers heading out there, they got that West Coast swing coming up taking on USC to start it here. And then UCLA USC right now they're 11-6, 3-3 in conference play right now. Right now, if you look at this all-time season series between Wisconsin and USC, it's tied 2-2. So they've only faced each other four times in program history and they're 2-2 right now against USC.
Speaker 2:There Some notable wins for USC and they've two and two right now against USC. There some notable wins for USC, and they've been as of late. They got a big win against number 13 Illinois. That was in Illinois. They won that game 82 to 72. We know how good Illinois is. Usc went into Illinois got a win, so that's a big win for them. And then against Iowa they won 99 to 89 there.
Speaker 2:But the losses are what stand out and it was a struggle to start this year for USC. They lost to Michigan 85 to 74, lost to Indiana 82 to 69, lost to Oregon 68 to 60. Lost to New Mexico, lost to St Mary's they only scored 36 points against St Mary's. And then they lost to Cal 71 to 66. So a lot of losses there to be talked about for USC, a slow start to the season for them.
Speaker 2:But they got some good players on this team. I mean Desmond uh Claude, the guard, 16 points per game right now. He's four rebounds, four assists, 50 from the field not a bad shooting percentage at all for him there and 30 from downtown. So he's been shooting the ball pretty darn well on the season there. He leads him in scoring. Looking at the next guy up there, chibuzo ugba I don't know how to say his name there, except for Chabuzo Ogbo or something like that. All right, 12 points a game, 4.5 rebounds, 41% from the field, 39% from downtown there for Chabuzo. There, and then Yates Williams and Thomas they're all about 10 points a game right there. So a pretty balanced scoring attack all the way across for USC. I mean, look at the points per game there Desmond Kazma with 16, and then Chibuzo with 12, and then Yates and Williams and Thomas, all with 10 points a game. So I mean pretty balanced across the board.
Speaker 2:They're scoring for this team. They like to find, they like to use cutters, they like to. That ball's got to be moving. It's like we talk about Wisconsin, right, that ball's got to be moving. They're scoring it. They thrive off of ball. Movement is the biggest thing, so ball movement is the biggest thing. So if you can slow down that basketball, you slow down USC in this one.
Speaker 2:Some of the team stats to go over for USC 77 points per game. They allow about 71 points per game. You look at the Badgers they score over 80 plus per game there. So you're putting that in perspective. What can the Badgers offense do against the defense? For USC that's held teams.
Speaker 2:71 points per game on the season. There they're about 48% from the field, 34% from three, 74% from the field, 34% from three, 74% from the free throw line there. 11.6 turnovers per game there About six steals a game. About three blocks per game, 16 assists, like I was talking about with the ball movement there. They rely heavily on that basketball moving around and creating open shots out of that. So that's 16 assists per game definitely shows that. And they get about 17.7 fouls per game. So they foul a good amount. They foul a good amount there. So the Badgers you know what the Badgers love to do. They love to get to the free throw line. This team in USC loves to foul, so those two things could work out in the Badgers' favor there.
Speaker 2:Keys to the game for me here. So I'll hit my keys real fast here. The Badgers they got to get in the paint. They got to own the paint. They got to win the paint. Right, we always talk about every game. They got to win the paint there.
Speaker 2:Use the size advantage. Biggest guys walking out there for USC about 6'10". They're about 6'10", you never know. Right, you get those skewed asterisks in there. They're about 6'10". So your biggest guys walking out at 6'10".
Speaker 2:Badgers got to use their size advantage Ut talked about in that last game against Ohio State. They went away from Crowell. Crowell's being huge as of late here. Utilize the big fella, you will win this basketball game. Work it inside out. That's the biggest thing. Work it inside out. Crowell's got to be big time. You'll be just fine in this one. Here.
Speaker 2:You got to control the glass, like I was just talking about owning the paint, controlling the glass. Win the rebounding battle. Limit the offensive rebounds in this game. Ohio State in that second half was able to get a lot of offensive rebounds against Badgers. Badgers have got to clean up the glass in this game here and clean up that offensive glass. So those are some of the things I'm watching for. Limit the turnovers. Limit the turnovers. Six steals, a game for USC. They want to get after you. They want to turn you over. How are you going to lose this game? You play sloppy. Control the basketball in this game here. Limit them turnovers, you'll be just fine.
Speaker 2:Get to the rim and win at the foul line. That's what I was just mentioning there with the follow 17.7, a game close to the top of the big 10,. Get to the free throw line in this game and win it from the free throw line. That's. It seems like such a stupid thing, right? You shouldn't have to rely on free throws. Guess what, when you shoot them at a high percentage, you shoot it well and you get 20 plus, you'll free throw line. Control it there, get your guards going downhill, work yourself towards the rim.
Speaker 2:Utilize the depth. Utilize the depth in this one. I want to see carter gilmore get some minutes. I want to see him put up some shots. I want to see kamari mcgee out there, jack janicki, xavier amos I want to see those guys get minutes and I want to see him put up big minutes and put up big numbers for you. That's going to be huge. Just get bench scoring right. The badgers years past, even this year, they get bench scoring, but it's limited, right. I want to see the badgers get some. I want to see the badgers get some extended minutes from that bench there and I want to see them be able to knock down some shots. So that's what I'm watching for on this one here.
Speaker 2:Don't settle for bad shots. Late in that game against ohio state, they were settling. They weren't working in the post. They're playing iso basketball that crap iso basketball that I was talking about. The ball's glued to the perimeter. Work for good shots. Don't take bad shots in this one.
Speaker 2:Turn up that tempo defensively. Usc turns the basketball over 11.6 times per game there. Right, almost 12. Turn usc over. Utilize what you can get after them defensively. Turn that baby up there and force some turnovers. Deter those passing lanes. Right, I said, when usc is at their best they get all them assists. 16 assists per game, that's a boatload of assists. You got to be able to slow them down there to turn those passing lanes. Try to cut them off there. Their best when they're moving the basketball, take that away from be in front, stop the penetration, stop the kickouts. You'll be just fine in this game.
Speaker 2:So big game coming up for the badgers here to start out this west coast swing that they got coming up here with uh us, then UCLA coming up early next week there. So a couple of big games out there on the West Coast there. Usc, I mean not highly thought about in the Big Ten right now, but Michigan just lost to Minnesota last night there on a buzzer beater. If nobody saw that Minnesota won on a buzzer beater against Michigan there. So we know nobody's untouchable anymore, right, nobody's untouchable. Michigan was undefeated. They went into Minnesota, minnesota, I didn't really have much of a prayer in that game. They were Owen six and conference play. Pull off the wind, right, anything can happen to big 10, especially on the road. So when you're going on the road, the big 10, you got to control the little things, free throws, rebounding the little things in those games that can win you those big games, right. So this is a big game for the badgers here. To get it right, start out right on the west coast there, go to ucla, pick up a win and then come back home and face nebraska, because for some reason nebraska worries me just because of connor assijan coming back. I just that just worries me. Connor assijan coming back there. He might light us on fire, like that's just my worry with connor assijan there. So we're just about at the 89 minute mark.
Speaker 2:I believe I was right in thinking 89 meant an hour 29. So we're gonna get to our next fact or story here in just a second. I want to get, we're gonna pick our games real fast here. We're at the end right hour 30s are in. We're at the end of the show here, but I want to get to our picks here for the weekend. So, aaron, let's get to our last. Hold on, we got seven six. We got six seconds there. We're going to throw in. Our 89th minute is going to be because Major League the movie came out in 1989.
Speaker 2:So Bob Uecker was that movie. I got to be honest with you. He was that movie Before you get to your factor. I had one. Jonathan LeCroy once asked Bob Uecker Let me see if I can find that one. I wrote it down here somewhere in my notebook of notes here. Jonathan LeCroy asked Bob about Major League and how he enjoyed filming it. He said that he ad-libbed his lines and never watched it after. He was serious. I love that movie, I absolutely love that movie and Bob Uecker makes that movie. Like, honestly, like, imagine it, imagine the movie Major League without Bob Uecker. Honestly, like you just throw some Joe Steele in there, it doesn't.
Speaker 2:It really doesn't Like when Major League 2, when Mishiro Tanaka is out there and he knocks himself out cold for the second time this week. You know some people say that he's, you know, playing hard. I just think he's trying to get out of the game or something like that. Like Bob Uecker just brought that movie to life and I don't. I'm going to watch Major League this weekend. I'm going to watch them both. I'm going to watch both movies, like he made those movies. So, aaron, in our 89th minute of the show here, what do you got for our last fact story of Bob Uecker for the day here?
Speaker 3:Yeah, they're, like you know, probably missed the mark on some of them just because, like you know, there's so many.
Speaker 2:It's so hard to pick the best ones.
Speaker 3:I kind of just try to pick some interesting like just outside of baseball, even because we know, you know he's Mr Baseball but he showed up in the same Miller Lite commercials as Rodney Dangerfield, john Madden, dick Buckus, bubba Smith, george Steinbrenner, Red Orbach, tom Heisselman a bunch of guys right, like literally Boop Pal, another Oriole player back from his era.
Speaker 3:Like a bunch of guys right, just a bunch of legendary guys. I mean you're talking John Madden, you're talking like just big company and like you know some, some guys on the east coast like they don't know, hey, miller Lite's Milwaukee, but like you know, if you, if you know, you know, right, so like just the fact that he represented like Miller Lite too, that's a big deal. Like that's, you know you're talking like once again you're tying into America, baseball, baseball, miller Lite, milwaukee, like Wisconsin, like it all just kind of like goes together. So the fact that he was like kind of you know, miller Lite's ambassador for a little bit Pretty cool stuff, like you know it ties into the whole acting thing. Like he can, he's a you know, he's a Swiss Army knife, the guy can do it all.
Speaker 2:So there's the Tuba incident to um the two by incident that he didn't get to play for the car so he played for the Cardinals and he didn't get to play in the fall classic and he insisted it was because they iced them out because of the tuba incident. So there was a uh, there were three Dixie bands playing the outfield during batting practice before one of the games in. Euchre had donned a tuba and used it to shag fly balls so he was running around the tuba shagging fly balls out there and uh management didn't appreciate the show so euchre was slapped with a 260 bill for the dented tuba there. So they said he said they iced him out of the world series of fall classic there, but I mean technically wasn't part of the team that uh went to the world series there for the cardinals. So that's just awesome.
Speaker 2:And yeah, I did have the story there about the the baseball card. Um, I did not believe it, but every one of his baseball cards had the wrong birthday on the back of it. Up until 2014 they all said that he was born in 1935. So this article that I was reading it, just it made sure that you knew that. It said that he was born in 1935 and he never cared to fix the mistake until 2014, when he finally set the record straight on his 80th birthday, when he told everybody that he was born in 1934 and not 1935 there. So that that's just awesome. That's just like it took that long. And then they finally like yeah, you guys have gotten it wrong for years upon years now. So that's just that's just like it took that long. And then they finally like yeah, you guys have gotten it wrong for years upon years now.
Speaker 3:So that's just, that's absolutely hilarious, did you? Did you see where he said, uh, like about how, in 1965, he's like my baseball card came out and he's like I knew my career was over because there was no picture on it. Like that's just, that's such a euchre. Like that's once again just his humor is, you know, top notch, like being a good sport about it, but it's like dang, they really left my picture. Like that's, that is a little slap in the face, right, it's like man, I think he always posed left handed in his baseball cards too.
Speaker 2:I'm pretty darn sure if you look it up. I think he, I think he always posed left handed, because I think Jonathan Lucroy did the same thing, because that's what Bob did. So he did the same thing because that's what Bob did. So he did the same thing that Bob did is he'd always pose like he was a left-handed hitter.
Speaker 3:I think that I swear. That's what I.
Speaker 2:What Lucroy, yeah, yeah yeah one of his things there that that was awesome, like just uh, and Lucroy would just kind of copied him and just like took it that same way. Um, but they I did see one of uh, I just wanted to put it out there. But I did see carlos gomez talking about bob buecher and early in his days in milwaukee, like carlos gomez was lost, like he didn't know what to do, like he was struggling and he was sucking and he didn't know what to do. And bob was one of the first ones who came into that locker room, put his hand on his shoulder and said you're gonna be all right, you're gonna be all right, you're gonna start, you're gonna be all right, you're going to be all right, you're going to start, you're going to be all right. And he was.
Speaker 2:And we all know what Carlos Gomez kind of turned into with the Brewers there. I mean awesome, awesome center fielder, awesome player, and never an all-star player. Well, he was an all-star but never an over-the-top hitter or anything like that. But Bob Uecker I mean that's the fact that he had.
Speaker 2:they said that they actually he brought, they brought him into the locker room to talk to players, like during slumps and stuff like that, like they'd bring a locker too right yeah, locker, he would come down and like when they were in slumps or anything like that, he would come down and you know he would talk to the players and he'd get him riled up and get him all fiery again and everything like that and tell him he was gonna be okay and like we'll be fine and like he was just the heart and soul of that team and everybody knew him, everybody loved him and he talked to everybody and you know, talked to freddie. Him and freddie had a good relationship and I mean that clubhouse, just they loved him. And I know my one, buddy, he was down there at a brewery game and he said he saw bob uker roll up in his corvette, like he had a corvette. He saw him. He said he saw him roll up in the jet black corvette, almost run into somebody, and then he kept going and he'd always he'd park in the stadium and everything like that. But he rolls through and almost hit somebody on the way through there, like buddy, I mean rolled that jet black corvette. He was pretty darn awesome in that way there.
Speaker 2:But, aaron, let's get. Let's get to our picks. Let's get to our picks quick. We'll wrap it up for the day here. Um, let's start out. In the afc we got the saturday games. Uh, chiefs and texans. I think the texans keep it close. I think they keep it close. I don't think it's. It says eight and a half. I don't think. I really don't think. Can't see chiefs blow them out. I'm gonna take the chiefs to win it, but I think it's gonna be closer. I like the texans defense.
Speaker 3:I think they can turn guys over I, I do and I like, I'm, I'm, I'm on the fence on if they'll blow them out, or like to me it's a coin toss like it's splitting hairs because I'm like, ah man, the Chiefs coming off a week of rust like my home's, like fresh. But I do hear what you're saying. I think the Chiefs win. I'm not sure by how much. I would be cautious to bet like Chiefs spread, but I, I think the. I mean, hey, you called the Texans last week. That was a great. I think you were the only one, yeah.
Speaker 2:I won the picks last week. I won the picks last week. Yeah, there you go, I think it came down to the commanders, I was the only one to pick the commanders to win, and then my wife picked the Vikings to win and we all picked the Rams, so she was the only one who could have beat me after that and the Vikings lost, so I got the win.
Speaker 2:I got the win off of that oh crap, I got to get the picks in there. Brantley, if you're still out there in the comments section, you can pick the games along with us. Anybody in the comments section.
Speaker 3:if you want to pick the games with us here, pick them with us. I'm with you, though I think Chiefs win. I don't know about how much, but the Chiefs win.
Speaker 2:Okay, okay. So we both got the Chiefs winning that first game there. Let's stick AFC. Well, no, let's go to the other Saturday game. I'm pretty sure we got Lions and Commanders. That's the other Saturday game there. So who do we got Lions, commanders, no-transcript. And if anybody wants a game where they go for it on fourth down every single time, it's going to be this one.
Speaker 3:Yeah, both teams. I'm with you Once again talking about a team coming off a bye there. Detroit probably needed it more than anybody coming off a bye there. Detroit probably needed it more than anybody you had talked about so much there with the injuries and stuff like that. I think they I'm not going to say they pummel them, but I don't think Washington really, in the end, is close, to be honest with you, I just think Detroit at home this is going to be that place is going to be rocking there. What Ford Field, I think they call it there. Yeah, give me the Lions, I think somewhat call it there.
Speaker 2:So, um, yeah, give me the lions, like I think, somewhat easily there All right, all right, lions in that one Next up, let's go flip it back over to. We'll stay in the NFC Brantley.
Speaker 3:There, what's the?
Speaker 2:show Brantley come in.
Speaker 3:Yeah, he said what's the shout out for? And I was you and I'll just, hey, do the picks with us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we got the picks, Brantley. We're asking you what you want to do with the picks there. Oh, I can't see his comment coming in. I don't know what's going on now. I don't know what's going on, but tell me what he picks. Tell me your picks there, brantley. Who do you got? We got Chiefs and Lions already done. We got. Who do you got in the Lions and Commanders? That's what we're trying to figure out, right?
Speaker 3:now. Oh there he's coming in.
Speaker 2:Yeah he Got it. Now the comments are coming across on my end. Now I'm seeing them. Give me your picks, brantley, who do you got? We didn't have John John's not in here tonight. I was going to tell him that he lost, just like his Oregon Ducks lost. Exactly exactly, got to, got to. We'll let brantley catch up there. He's got the lions and the chiefs 100. There we go, all right, all right. So we got lions and we got chiefs 100. Next up we have, oh, let's see, here we got eagles and rams and I I told you the other night, aaron, I was watching a different show over there on integrity sports and they're like this is gonna be an epic blowout.
Speaker 2:The rams can't keep up with the freaking eagles, blah, blah, blah. Guess what? They said that about the packers too, and the eagles look like trash against the packers. I'm just kidding. They won the football game, right, and I heard I can't remember what espn announcer or what espn analyst was the other day, but I was maybe on fox and he's like you're just nuts if you think that the uh e Eagles offense didn't play a good game. They won by multiple scores against Packers.
Speaker 2:And I'm like what Are you serious right now, like if you think that was a good performance by the Eagles offense, I'm sorry Like that was not an epic performance, that was not an epic performance whatsoever. So I mean I don't want to discredit them here because I thought the eagles they were the better team. I think they're the better team than the packers and by all means yes, but like they did not play a good game and the packers played a semi-decent game and didn't shoot themselves in the foot. Man, oh man, like come on, um, I don't think. Okay, I think the eagles win this game. I think the eagles win. I don't think they blow the Rams out. I really don't. Like you have Matt Stafford, you have Nakua. I get that they ran for and this was the argument that I got from the Philly fans the other day.
Speaker 2:I was talking about is they were like oh yeah, you know, saquon went for a boatload of yards. The first time they saw him I was like this is a different game. The first time the packers played the eagles, aj brown went off and davante smith had a good game. Guess what happened? The second game, not so much. Jalen hurts was coming back. I'm injured. I get that he had a concussion. He was coming back, but like they did not look good and the eagles defense looked good, don't be wrong, the eagles defense looked good. So I'm saying I think philly wins it, but I think it's close. I, I think it's close there, I think it's definitely they're laying six and a half on philly right now.
Speaker 2:I don't like that. I I'd give them three. I'd give them three like I'm. I think philly can win, like I think philly will win.
Speaker 3:But I, the rams, are not a pushover team and you know, I know their defense doesn't look great, but they have some playmakers on that defense, so I'm gonna go philly, but I would say it's a close ball game there I, I hear you, I'm not and I'm not trying to be philly front runner now, because now I'm gonna sound like it right, but the only reason I say that is three to five inches of snow, 33 degrees there in philly yeah, but I said that about the 49ers coming into Lambeau when they played Aaron Rodgers and guess what.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but the 49ers won.
Speaker 3:Sam Fran is like they do get some cold, like, hey, they're playing in SoFi every week. So give me the fact that the Rams are like, oh man, like you know, playing a nice in SoFi, you know climate-controlled environment, I just think that's going to throw them off of it. I don't know Matt Stafford, dude, matt Stafford, I know, but he played inside in Detroit too. So I'm not saying he can't do it, I know, I know. I think it's the like I'm used to this, I'm used to this, I'm used to this. And then boom, give effect. I agree, while their play's in effect only because of that, like I think the spread's like right, where I feel like they'll get them at, I think seven's fair, I I could even see seven to ten in this I. I just feel like they're gonna do enough.
Speaker 3:I am a little bit worried with, uh, nicobe dean going down. Um, excuse me, a big reason why that defensive front gets pressure is nicobe dean this year, um, towards acl against the Packers there last week. So not great. And I am a little bit worried about the Rams front. You know you talk about the, the Rams defense being like so so it definitely. You know it has its strengths and weaknesses, but their front is a strength. But I do think. I think the Eagles will do enough. This to me screams is this going to be an ugly game? I just feel like neither offense will really get rolling that well because of the weather. I'm worried that they're going to load the box and limit Saquon drastically. So I would almost look at this as like I don't know if Saquon gets a monster game here, but I think the Eagles win by 7-10. I just think they make enough plays defensively and it's probably a somewhat low, low scoring game, I think.
Speaker 2:I think I mean I just feel like that I gotta, yeah, I well, yeah, I agree, I don't think it's gonna be a blowout, I really don't. I don't think the eagles run away with this game. I think the rams keep it close. I do. I think the rams keep it. I gotta pick a different one here. I gotta pick somebody different here, because everybody my wife, she's chiming in now, she wants in on the picks. She said chief sly is eagles and bills, so she took all the all the top seeds there. Brantley, who do you got? He's telling us over here dan campbell, he doesn't like, uh, he doesn't like something about the eagles or something I don't know.
Speaker 1:But brantley, who do?
Speaker 2:you got? Who do you got eagles and rams? Who do you got eagles and rams?
Speaker 3:who's brantley a? Isn't he a Patriots fan, right? No, he's a.
Speaker 2:Vikings fan.
Speaker 2:Oh man, he's got he's like the Packer fans right now. We got no say in the boat right now. What's going on out there? I'm going to. I got to go back. I got to go back here. I got to pick a different game here. Nobody's expecting.
Speaker 2:Give me the Rams, wow. Give me the Rams. Give me the Rams, give me the Rams, go into Philly and just blow it open. Right, if and this is what I'm going to say, this is what I'm going to say I get the weather, I get the weather, I do.
Speaker 2:But if Philly comes out and they play another game like they did on the game against the Packers, if they play another game like that, matt Stafford of that offense ain't going to blink. They ain't going to blink Like they'll be just fine in a game like that. I know the secondary played all right. I know they played all right, but they also don't have playmakers like Puka, nakula and Cooper Cup out there. So if Philly plays like they did against Green Bay, if they come out flat like that and they play like they did against Green Bay, I don't put it against the Rams to win that football game. I don't. I really don't. I think they can adjust. I think they can adjust to what's happened. Tyrone Williams is not an over-the-top back, but he's a good enough back. I'm going to take the Rams. That's my upset, and anybody out there who's like this guy's an idiot because he's, like you know, picking the Rams. I'm just doing it because I got to be different. I got to be different because otherwise nobody's going to win this.
Speaker 3:I thought you'd go Baltimore. For sure, I really I thought you'd go.
Speaker 2:No, my other one is going to be commanders over lions. That was going to. I don't like the like. Ravens over Bills isn't a cool upset, like last week. I picked the Texans to beat the Chargers Like. I saw that as an upset. I picked that, I saw it as an upset.
Speaker 3:I picked the Commanders over the. Now you're scaring me because you called that, so now you're getting bad juju over here.
Speaker 2:Give me all of them, give me the Texans over the Chiefs, give me the Command or the Eagles Just say screw it.
Speaker 3:I mean, hey, all but the Eagles. But that would be fun. Hey, that would be fun. Oh my goodness that would be, chaos.
Speaker 2:Brantley's got the Eagles. Brantley's got the Eagles there, I see that one. Now he's got the Eagles because I think they run Saquon more than they did their last game. Then they will win. And Matt is good but he chokes sometimes. Yeah well, matt Stafford's a dog. Leave him alone.
Speaker 3:He is Nothing but respect for that guy.
Speaker 2:That dude is a dog. I hate when people are like Mahomes is the first one to do this and Mahomes is the first one to flip a sidearm. It's like watch prime Matthew Stafford. If you watch Rodgers and Matthew Stafford in their prime, it's like this has happened before guys stafford in their prime. It's like this has happened before guys like this.
Speaker 2:I know mahomes is a generational quarterback and I know he's fantastic. Like don't get me wrong, he's a great quarterback, but like mass stafford was slinging that baby sidearm long before, long before, and aaron rogers was dropping dimes in the corner of the end zone long before. It's like you know, I get mahomes is fantastic, but like mass stafford, he's a dog. He's still a great quarterback, so that's gonna be. I think that's gonna be a heck of a game. I really do. I think that could be a heck of a game there. I don't think it's a blowout. I know I was listening, like I said, to that show the other night there and they were like oh, it's gonna be 31 to 14, philly. And I'm like whoa, like there's, there's overconfidence and there's overconfidence, brother. Like that's, that's rough. And then they're like commanders are gonna get completely torched by the lions and I'm like maybe right, but if jane daniels got a dog in the fight, he's got a dog in the fight. Like jane daniels can ball out with the best of them. As eagle fans right. Five touchdowns, multiple interceptions still on the football game like jane daniels can ball out with the best of them. So like I don't put it.
Speaker 2:I honestly I know cj stroud can ball, like I know he can ball. I know that texans don't have a lot of weapons, but you got joe mixon. You got joe mixon back there, you got nico collins. Cj stroud can ball it out. That defense is good. Like I wouldn't put past all four of these games to be tight and to be very good contest. I wouldn't. I really wouldn't. I know the chiefs got some playmakers, I know they ball out, but like the texans got a good defense and I know they can put up points with joe mixon and cj stroud, if he gets hot commanders, jane daniels can get hot. Look at the rams with puka nakua and matthew stafford. Like I I would not put past any of these games to be like close, like be good games I, yeah, no, I just gotta, I gotta say something to brantley there.
Speaker 3:I mean, hey, we're, we're avenging your. Uh, I, you know, I'm sorry you have sam donald. Uh, I I tried to tell you all year that that was gonna come crashing down at some point. Uh, the one playoff game he gets you to, you know, craps the bed for you, like right.
Speaker 2:But I don't know, I don't know if I can blame that on Sam Like that.
Speaker 2:How do you draw up? I mean, I love Kevin O'Connell, I do, but when I'm watching the Rams just constantly bring freaking heat after heat and he's getting blindsided and I know you have to be aware of when to get rid of the football and I know he wasn't aware on some of the picks and are some of them. You know he got sacked a couple of times and he wasn't aware of the pocket and everything like that. Like it wasn't I'm not saying it wasn't, some of it wasn't his fault, but like the Rams were, just they took what, what was it? A week earlier the lions did what Aaron Glenn did against them. They, them, they took what he did and just did it again like it's all they did. They were like I'm gonna throw this all at you and make you win it. And they shut down this.
Speaker 2:I mean the receiving core for the vikings, justin jefferson, was blanketed. Addison was blanketed. It's like it just didn't look the same as what you would have saw in the offensive line. I mean they had I can't remember it was a cam robinson. Is that freaking? Uh, was he a tackle or is he at guard? I can't remember where he was at, but he's. I mean the Jacksonville Jaguars, basically let you have them. For a reason, like he was bad and we saw that in that game, like it was just I don't know, like I I'm not saying Sam Darnold play a good game, I'm not but like it just looked bad on all facets, like that line looked bad.
Speaker 3:They shut down the run game. It was just that was ugly. Oh, I was just trying to say to brantley I mean we're a vet, like if we take the rams out you should be, because they'd be. I mean that's how I look at it, like yeah, if the packers if the packers would have beat us last week. Um well, I don't know, I don't mind. See, I don't have a hatred towards the rams, I'm just like, whatever I.
Speaker 2:I don't hate the Eagles, but that one fan kind of made me a sour taste for the Eagles right now. Like after he did that I was like for all Philly fans I'm sorry but go Rams, like I don't know that guy, just he left us like a bad taste in my mouth. I don't, I don't want to hate, I don't hate all Philly fans, like I don't hate you, like you're like he. He made me hate Philly for a while. Like that was just uncalled for bullcrap and everything like that.
Speaker 2:And I know I saw he did a formal apology and everything it's like, of course, now, I did yeah too little, too late, brother, you got fired and yeah, you know basically, yeah, your whole life is screwed because you couldn't figure out how to shut up, like sorry, like I don't know, like, it's not that deep man there's.
Speaker 3:players aren't going to get you a new job. Let's put it that way.
Speaker 2:No, nobody really cares at this point. Here you effed up and now you got to live with it and that story is out there forever. So, like good luck getting another hospitality job, because that's not very hospitable of you in the Philly stadium there to try and get Packer fans back. So, but at least the Philly, the Philadelphia Eagles, made right by the fan. I know they're planning to send some Packer gear over to her and everything like that. So I mean at least at least the Eagles made it right, or well, at least trying to make it right there. And that fan is banned for life and like should be. Like that was just terrible, that is absolutely terrible. So get those people out of anywhere near a stadium. So, um, we do have our last game here.
Speaker 2:Uh, let's see, here we got my wife said, the bills, brandley, who do you got bills and ravens. I'm gonna take the bills. I think the bills finally do it. I think this is a dog fight. I think it's like this is gonna be a josh allen lead the bills down the field late in the game and win it kind of game, I think. I think it's like this is going to be a Josh Allen lead the Bills down the field late in the game and win it kind of game I think. I think it's going to be Ravens take the lead, bills go down and win it. I think that's what we're going to see here.
Speaker 3:This is. This is, I mean, to me this is the game of the weekend. It's a tough one, honestly. I I know Baltimore played a pretty crappy Steelers team that looked, checked out at least half the game. Josh will wipe the fly. I don't know if I see that, I just don't know.
Speaker 2:I like that one. I like the confidence. I like that he's an angry Vikings fan. Now he doesn't care, he's just telling it like screw off.
Speaker 3:That's fair. I don't ever trust Lamar in the playoffs completely and I don't want to go away from that. It is surprising Ravens are favored on the road. That is quite surprising. So Vegas thinks something of that. I do think the Bills too. But this is I mean this is the first time we've seen the Ravens with Derrick Henry right, like you know, outside of this year. You know he's had Odell, he's had, you know he's had running backs right, mark Ingram, the list goes on and on and on and on. But Derrick Henry is a different. He's a different animal that guy is. I would have been fine if the Eagles got Derrick Henry over Saquon, like that's how much I do think of of Derek Henry always have.
Speaker 3:If Josh, if Josh Allen doesn't win this game, sean McDermott's can't. He has to be like I'm not saying it's going to be McDermott's fault, but I mean, if they don't win this game, I think bills. But this is like you said, I think this might even be the last second field goal type drive Like this is, like you know, think this might even be a last second field goal type drive like this is, like you know, 10 seconds left, eight seconds left, they bang a 40 something yarder to win it. Um, didn't look at the weather out there, but I mean both teams can play in the in the elements, but hopefully it'll be some, some chaos, right, some crazy wind, some snow, like why not? Buffalo is just the. That's a place on its Like, that just has its own zip, like it's just away from civilization and people jumping off buses and breaking tables, probably breaking their back in the process, you know, but that's what they do out there. They live for this type of stuff.
Speaker 2:So the only possible way that somebody doesn't tie for first place is if I win. If the Rams beat Philly, I win. If the Rams lose to Philly and everything else, it doesn't even matter, Because if everything else is a win or a loss, everybody else is the same. Chiefs, Lions, Eagles.
Speaker 3:I almost want to take Baltimore just for that.
Speaker 2:See, that's why I took the Rams. I was like screw it In the one game that I think if the Eagles came out flat or something stupid, like they did against the Packers, I'm like the Rams could take advantage. The Rams could be a team to take advantage. I really thought commanders I was like pondering commanders over lions, cause I'm like the lions defense, the thing with the lions defense that nobody thinks about and they're like Aaron Glenn is this great defensive coordinator, which I think he is. I think he is, but the one thing their pass defense sucks. They suck in the secondary. Jane daniels can light you up. So what could happen there? Jane daniels could light up that secondary, which could make it a high scoring, high flying. Maybe dan camel makes a stupid decision and I can see the commanders pulling up.
Speaker 2:Like I think all these games could be very good games, like I really do. Like I think all these matchups could be very close, just because there's a lot of variables that play. Like I said, commanders versus commanders, versus a terrible pass defense, rams versus a pretty good defense in the Eagles. But they have a lot of playmakers on that. I know they have a lot of playmakers on a defense for the Eagles, but there's a lot of playmakers on that offense and the defense for the Rams has stepped up. I mean the Bills, ravens, chiefs, texans. If Texans play defense, I mean their defense looks like they did last week or in a couple other wins that they've had when they played the Lions and they picked off Jared Goff four or five times. I mean Patrick Mahomes throws picks, you could see it. So it's like all these games could be good games.
Speaker 3:What percent chance do you give the Rams? Because that's the closest spread on paper. That's the closest like I'd say I'd say the, the bills and ravens.
Speaker 2:I would give like a if for me why I picked the bills. I'm like 51 and 49, like I think that game could go either direction. I, how do you, realistically you, I don't do you factor weather in, because the ravens play in cold weather too. Do you factor weather? You can't like Ravens play in cold weather too, do you factor?
Speaker 3:weather. You can't.
Speaker 2:I know there's going to be a lot of snow, more in the playoffs. Maybe this is what I'm going to say If there's a lot of snow, who's?
Speaker 3:got the better run game Ravens Yep by far.
Speaker 2:By far. I know Josh Allen can run and I know James Cook is good. I know Josh Allen can run it. I know James Cook is good. I know he can. He's not great but he's good. James Cook can get you some yards. But if you want to go run game to run game, who's going to win it? Derrick Henry, like Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson, you can't beat it. So it's like that's where I would draw. The line is where could it become close? I think the run game in Buffalo, because it's by snow, it might be slippery, it might be a slick, yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm seeing around. I mean this is at night, I don't know when they're considering at? No, not really so. Between 20 and 10 degrees, so anywhere in between their chance of snow, but no accumulation, so okay. But Wendy, 15 to 25 mile per hour wins. So okay, 25 mile per hour.
Speaker 2:Winds, okay, something. Yeah, it could affect it. It could affect it there. So we'll see. I mean a lot of good games coming up this weekend here. We got the NFL playoffs kicking off. We know the college football playoff coming up or the championship coming up on Monday. There, it's such a weird. You know, what you should have done is put it on Saturday. You should have. Yep, I've always put it on saturday.
Speaker 2:I know that the one seeds for, uh, for the nfl play that, put like, put like one of the nfl games on it new and and then put the other game on at like 3, 30 and then give me the college football playoff at seven. Perfect, perfect, all that build up for a college football game. Then, right, I monday is such a weird time, it's such a weird time to think I'm gonna watch college football on a monday. Right, it's so stupid, like you're not. The nfl is sundays, college football saturdays.
Speaker 3:Make it saturday, I don't care what you gotta do, make it even if it was tonight, even if it was a friday night, it's, you're seeing, monday, like I remember the national championship when they had it in.
Speaker 2:What was it in Arizona for basketball? It started at like 8 o'clock at night. Here it's like the game's. I mean it's 10 o'clock by the time you guys hit the second half. I don't want to watch that, I don't know. It's just stupid to me there. But, aaron, we're way over the hour 30 mark tonight here.
Speaker 2:But we had a lot of good talk, a lot of good Brewer talk there. I mean just a devastating news that we got the other day there, and I mean Brewer baseball. I just don't, it's never going to be the same. It won't be the same. But we persevere, we move on. I know, jeff, I love Jeff levering. I love Jeff levering on the radio. I love Lane Grindle.
Speaker 2:I know, know, they're gonna do their darndest to uh to put together a good radio broadcast for the brewer game. So I mean we we wait and see on that one there. We wait and see on that one. But again, I mean rest in peace to the greatest broadcaster, the icon, the greatest person in wisconsin sports, that's what I gotta say. The greatest person in wisconsin sports and maybe all baseball, maybe all baseball there, cause it just it sucks. Yeah, it really does. It sucks for the state of Wisconsin there, but we'll move on, we'll get through it. We have, we have the memories. We have the memories, we have the calls, we have everything in between there of the great Bob there.
Speaker 2:So, aaron, I mean, that's aboutc. We got the nfl playoffs. We got it's a heck of a weekend. It's a heck of a weekend sat or sunday. We're going to come back here. We're going to talk the brian gutekens press conference, because he did speak on a couple days ago there. I want to get to the brian gutekens recap of the season. Essentially they're talking about what he had to say to some of the players and what he thinks coming forward there. We got a a little bit more. I mean, there's more to talk about in that Matt LaFleur press conference there so we might get some more questions that he answered. And there we got lots to get to on Sunday. Here we're going to recap that game Wisconsin and USC. We're going to look ahead to UCLA. Holy crap, we got a lot to get to there on Sunday. So with that, for Aaron and myself, this this has been Wisconsin Sports on the go with Trage. Thank you all for tuning in. We'll catch you guys back here on Sunday, but until then see ya.