Around the Bases: Pop Culture and Sports Podcast
Around the Bases: Pop Culture and Sports Podcast
Around the Bases 2.13: Mets, Cubs, Survivor, the Floor and Million Dollar Secrets: Your Weekly Fix
Baseball's early season storylines take center stage as we dive into the surprising standings across MLB. The Cubs have bounced back from their Japan trip to post a respectable 5-4 record, while the Mets sit at .500 amid their typical early-season adjustments. We're particularly fascinated by the statistical anomaly of the Padres starting 7-0 yet still trailing the 8-0 Dodgers, creating the bizarre situation where a team with zero losses sits in second place!
The "torpedo bat" controversy has baseball fans buzzing, and we break down this innovation that's making headlines. Despite some pointing fingers at the Yankees, we explore how this technology isn't actually new and why it's natural for batting equipment to finally see innovation after pitchers have benefited from technological advances for years. As Terry Francona wisely noted, "It's more the magician, not the wand."
Young MLB talent is cashing in with massive extensions, with 21-year-old Jackson Merrill securing $135 million from the Padres despite barely having major league experience. We discuss the risk-reward calculation from both team and player perspectives, and why these deals can be win-wins even when they seem team-friendly.
Reality TV captures our attention with Netflix's addictive "Million Dollar Secret," which brilliantly combines elements from previous hit shows while maintaining its own unique identity. Meanwhile, Survivor delivered one of its most touching moments ever when Joe compassionately helped Eva, who is on the autism spectrum, through a challenging moment – demonstrating that even in competitive settings, human decency shines through.
Want to join our conversation about sports, pop culture, and everything in between? Subscribe now and let us know what you think about these early season baseball developments or the reality shows we're obsessing over!
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Welcome to Around the Bases, the pop culture and sports podcast, with your host, carlos Imar, and I'm Tim Sternberg. Hit it, nick. Here we are with another awesome week of around the bases, the pop culture and sports podcast. Charlie, how you doing, buddy? I'm doing great. How are you doing? I'm doing great, buddy. I went up to new york for the last shoot for this commercial campaign that I'm in had a great time. Um, as a result, you and I are haven't been up to date because we released an episode last week that was a little delayed, so we haven't been up to date on. So, if you're listening to us, thank you, by the way, but also we do understand that deal or no deal, island already happened last week, but we had recorded that before it happened.
Speaker 1:So yeah that a little magic of, of maybe I shouldn't say that, but the magic of the podcast you doing good, buddy, I'm doing great.
Speaker 2:You got to. You got to go to see your team play in person a regular season game, so yes, you did, you, you, you.
Speaker 1:You flew to arizona, um, and you saw the them play the diamondbacks and you're going to today, as this show airs, to see them at Wrigley Field, right?
Speaker 2:I'm actually not going to the home opener. No. I was at the domestic opener in Arizona, and then we also went to the second game.
Speaker 1:Did you negotiate that with your partner? Is that he?
Speaker 2:got the opener. Yes, yes, I already felt like I got the opener. Not that you don't want to right, exactly, I felt it would be fair, so, so you're going to saturday's game uh sunday sunday okay, is there a giveaway? Uh, I don't believe there is one on sunday, but there's. Uh, there's a magnet schedule tomorrow that my I'll get one from my rep, so it's okay who?
Speaker 1:who are they playing? Who they opening up with?
Speaker 2:they are playing the undefeated san diego padres wait, are they undefeated? Padres are seven and oh in second place wait.
Speaker 1:So the dodgers and the padres are seven and oh the dodgers are.
Speaker 2:Dodgers are eight. No, don't forget, they played in those two in tokyo I want to forget that yeah, wow, isn't that wow, wow.
Speaker 1:To have a team that is uh seven and oh in second place, it's quite something. Um, yeah, yeah and and uh how the cubs doing the cubs are doing pretty damn good cubs are five and two since they got to the United States, 5-4 overall.
Speaker 2:That's pretty awesome. Pretty happy about that, considering they're 4 in. Arizona 4 against the A's and the 2 against the Dodgers in Japan, so to be 5-4 after an 0-2 start. I think most Cubs would have signed up for that ahead of time.
Speaker 1:Buddy, I feel like it's deja vu, but not quite. But the mets, uh, do not have a winning record currently they do not have a losing record they do not. It's not like last year, where it was all doom and gloom going into april um you know some fans listen, dude.
Speaker 1:Oh, I know, and we talked about how crazy the mets fan base is. I love you guys, but my god, we're an emotional bunch. Um, but, dude, I so you mentioned this a few minutes ago. I did see them here in miami play the marlins. I went to the third, the rubber game, of the three game series against the marlins.
Speaker 1:The mets won and took the series oh wait, before I get to that, I was gonna say um, uh, first of all, it's the last. It was the last away game before the home opener which is happening today. We are playing the blue jays hi davis schneider, we want to win. Sorry, buddy, um, but I will say that it wasn't looking good in the beginning of the game and, uh, by the time I was on the road in miami because I do leave the game early a little bit and I know the purist hate that I'm sorry, but if you fight miami traffic, I did. Still took me two and a half hours to get home, or whatever it was um, we were losing until a certain polar bear, I'm telling you I was so happy he was re-signed.
Speaker 1:It's, it's it. Listen, it's not a fluke. Peter lonzo does this. He he's like fuck that. He's like I want this game to win, I want this team to win, fuck that we're gonna hit a home run. And that's exactly what he did. He is I. I am overjoyed that we re-signed him. It was an important signing. Yes, he might not be as as powerful as aaron judge sometimes but you know anybody except for shohei right, but you know what.
Speaker 1:And maybe kyle tucker, I'll tell you right, exactly, I agree, kyle tucker, mr cub, um, not as certainly banks, but you know, maybe Kyle Tucker Right, exactly, I agree, kyle Tucker, mr Cub, not a certainy banks, but you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:He could be Mr Cub 2.0.
Speaker 1:But you know I will take Pete Alonzo any day over almost all of those. I mean, I love Kyle Tucker. I hope you guys actually sign him. So you know, I'm very pleased that we won the game and we did win the series and that was a kind of good way to go home and uh and uh to city field and face the blue jays which, um, I'm kind of excited that that would be our first series of the year. It's always, you know, since the last couple years, it's funny how we're facing an american league team to start the season.
Speaker 2:It's just always so odd today. I know we've already played an al team as well so you have and, and we're, and.
Speaker 1:Next our next, uh, our next road trip. We're going to oakland, like you, and we're playing the a's at the spring training facility that wasn't a spring training yeah, we're, um, I will. It'll probably be until they go to Vegas. I'll keep saying Oakland, but yes, our team is going to Sacramento to play in the AAA stadium. That is over there.
Speaker 2:Cubs did pretty well hitting in that park. I think your year lineup will like that park as well.
Speaker 1:I have to say I think so too. I have to say watching the Rays play steinbrenner field in tampa. It makes it, has it, because I've just experienced it. It has it still feels like spring training, like watching it.
Speaker 2:It feels like spring training cars in the background, going over the highway, and not only that.
Speaker 1:They I don't know if you saw this on we were members of this, of a facebook group. They're still doing the lineups like it's spring training. On the the handwritten line yeah I kind of it's kind of charming. I like that. I I don't know what I I might have to get out to tampa to see a game there.
Speaker 1:I I've never done the spring training um, I do love the fact that the Rays covered up almost all of the Yankee signage and the Yankees are coming to town to play as the away team in their own spring training facility soon, which is going to be interesting. Yeah, and going back real quick to the Marlins Mets, the Marlins opened up the roof, thank you, thank you, it was. There is something, and you know this from going to Wrigley all the time almost. There's something about watching baseball in the open air, the sunlight, the. You can hear the crack of the bat better. It's just magical Airplanes flying over seeing downtown Miami. It is, you know, it is a beautiful sight in Miami to watch a ball game.
Speaker 1:When they close the roof. It could be anywhere else in the country and it's generic and boring and all that stuff. It is not fun. I know people are like oh, the roof is closed. The only positive is it's nice and air-conditioned and I love that. But it was really sweet to see the roof opened. It's a rarity, it's not, it doesn't happen often, but when it does, that I was telling.
Speaker 2:Erica. So would you say, your luck factored into that a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe my timing a little strategy. No, it's my luck, but you know it's funny. You mentioned that because I think I was telling erica I think in all the years that marlins park opened in 2012 and all the years it's been open, I think I've been to an open roof maybe three times, and one of those times was the all-star game and 17, so wow, yeah, so one of two other times yeah, mean, and the All-Star game was in the middle of.
Speaker 2:July.
Speaker 1:And it was your Mets, my Mets, and you know I was sitting there rooting, I was yelling go Mets to Soto, soto. We were in left field and right behind Soto and it was just a good, it was fun, it was a good day. And you know what? What can you do for $10 a ticket? Welcome to Miami. Yeah, that's nice, that's Miami, I mean, and the whole.
Speaker 1:I was talking because you know we're all Mets fans there. Basically I call it Citi Field South. The dude next to me is a Mets fan, so you know I talk to people and we were talking and I'm like listen, do you ever see Citi Field with the open deck like that? And he's like no, basically there was nobody up in the upper level seats at all and it's kind of sad, you know, for a baseball fan like us to see that, because I want to see the sport thrive and you know, in Miami I want to see it thrive.
Speaker 1:I remember very well going 97 to the World Series and it was electric at Joe Robbie Stadium, which is now Hard rock stadium, with the dolphins play. That's where the Marlins used to play, the Florida Marlins used to play, and I missed that part, you know I I missed that I was rooting against the Indians and rooting for the Marlins, and yeah. So what are your so? How? How are you feeling, because I've been talking a lot. How? How are you feeling, because I've been talking a lot. How do you?
Speaker 2:feel the season's been going. I mean it's a great start to the baseball season. Honestly, it's been exciting. We've got so many different talking points, Maybe a certain torpedo.
Speaker 1:Can we talk about that? What the freaking bat? What is going on with the?
Speaker 2:Yankees? Well, first of all, it's not the Yankees. They have a couple players using it.
Speaker 1:Oh, you're being nice.
Speaker 2:I'm not being nice, I'm being honest. Everyone's jumping on the Yankees because they saw that and you hate the Yankees.
Speaker 1:So for you to defend the Yankees. You're an honest guy.
Speaker 2:I'm not really defending them, I'm just defending the situation, because the first game of the season the Yankees scored four runs and nobody said peep. Why wasn't everybody talking about the first game? That's why and then you know, they Judge hit three of those homers. Judge is clearly not using the torpedo bat. So, to be fair, I'm surprised it's taken this long in major league baseball for any sort of innovation to bats, If you think about it it's like the most important piece of equipment in the game and it's never changed.
Speaker 2:They got all sorts of things for pitchers revolutionizing spin rate, you know a million things. It's about time the hitters got something.
Speaker 1:So I was going to ask you. It's my understanding, and torpedo bats have been around a long time. They're not really a new thing I mean they're just being used now in the major league more prevalently. Yes, yeah, but they've. It's not like all of a sudden. You know, there was a scientist over the winter and it's like I'm going to invent the torpedo bat, I'm going to go ahead and put it together. That's not what happened.
Speaker 2:In fact, the guy who invented them is currently employed by the Marlins. Did you know that?
Speaker 1:I do know that. Yes, I would like to see some magic happening with the Marlins.
Speaker 2:Yeah, dansby, swanson and Nico are the two Cubs that have used it a little bit. Dansby's hit a homer with it, ansberry love him. Nico hasn't? I mean, there's some guys that know. Is Lindor one of them who's using it too?
Speaker 1:I think so.
Speaker 2:He started slow. A few guys are doing pretty poorly with it, but that's just baseball. I think Harry Francona said it. Well, he said they asked Francona about it and he said I think it's more of the magician, not the wand.
Speaker 1:It is. I agree with that. The wand is a tool. It's like you know, you can't not everyone can fix. Can fix a sink or a car. I mean anybody can take a, take a a screwdriver and try to unscrew something. It doesn't mean that it's going to be effective. I agree with that. Um, I I speaking of Lindor. I mean he's off to a really rough start for the season, but that's not unusual, lindor gets into patches, People freak out and we'll be talking.
Speaker 2:maybe a month, maybe less. He'll be his normal Lindor self. He'll have had a big two-homer game, big clutch hand.
Speaker 1:I'm not worried.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Lindor will be just fine, and we know this.
Speaker 1:The Mets typically start off slow, so it's not a surprise.
Speaker 2:And just for some perspective, the Mets, who Lindor started slow, are still 3-3. One of their rivals is 0-7.
Speaker 1:Thank you for mentioning that. I need you to mention that. Thank you. Wait, wait, wait so would that be the bravos?
Speaker 2:that would be, which means the mets are already three and a half games, four in the loss column up and we're 10 days into the season dude, I read something that says no team that's ever started zero and seven went on to win the world series I like that yep and it's been like 42 years since um, what's going on with the braves?
Speaker 1:is it the? The injuries? You think it's, I think it's just they started against the padres and the dodgers, their first seven I mean it was yeah to your point.
Speaker 2:Let's not forget that within the next anywhere from two weeks to two months, they're going to be adding acuna, strider and murphy. So they'll add some pieces I'm not, you know listen a really interesting stat that I saw, which is current odds right now. So this I thought was worth. So the padres are seven and, oh, padres are 7-0. Okay, the Braves are 0-7. What do you think the current odds are for each team to win their respective division? San Diego 7 wins, 0 losses. Braves 0-7.
Speaker 1:I think San Diego actually doesn't have greatest odds because their division has the Dodgers and the Dodgers are 8-0.
Speaker 2:To sort of put that in perspective, if you, if you want to take a guess at the numbers, or yeah, tell me, I have no. The braves at oh and seven are given a 33 chance to win the east one and three. The the Padres at seven and oh are given a 5% chance, one in 20.
Speaker 1:Isn't that crazy. What's the percentage on the Phillies and the Mets?
Speaker 2:Um, you know this was. The tweet was just targeted at the two teams that were seven and oh, and oh and seven.
Speaker 1:Cause if they're 33, then I would say the Phillies and the Mets are also 33.
Speaker 2:I mean yeah, probably pretty close to it, because you'll probably have the Marlins at 0 and the Nationals at like half a percent. Yes, honestly, it's probably pretty close to 1-3 each.
Speaker 1:I know it's early.
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe 35% Phillies, 30 Mets, who knows?
Speaker 1:I have to give credit.
Speaker 2:I mean, the Marlins have started off surprisingly not as bad as I thought they would have, and so have the White Sox. Um, the Marlins are three and one against, yeah, but the Mets.
Speaker 1:Mets knocked him down a peg, but Mets had to knock down those mighty Marlins mind you, the mighty Marlins played the Pittsburgh Pirates to start the season, but uh, um, yeah, the Pirates all of a sudden have won a game now that they didn't.
Speaker 2:the Mighty Marlins played the Pittsburgh Pirates to start the season. They did. Yeah, the Pirates all of a sudden have won a game now that they didn't play the Marlins.
Speaker 1:Wait, did Skeens start that game? Skeens did start that game. Yeah, that's a saying. And Sandy, so the rumors now I'm hearing too is Sandy Alcantara. The Mets are really pushing for him. Mets players want him on the team.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they saw him pitch first-hand against them.
Speaker 1:But here's the thing I don't know how prone the Marlins would be to trade them to another team.
Speaker 2:Within a division trade. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And I don't want to call them division rivals.
Speaker 2:Hey, but the Marlins, you know, love to save and steve cohen likes to spend it, so from that sherman loves to get it.
Speaker 1:Yes, um, you're right, a couple million in cash and, uh, a scrub prospect or two okay, I have to bring this up, you know, because we had an interesting conversation with our buddy, nicholas Pepin, through text, although our buddy Nicholas didn't really say much about it. The conversation was more between you and I, and I want to bring this up because there's been a graphic. You know what I'm talking about.
Speaker 2:There's been a graphic circling around that has gotten my friend Charlie white, irritated with an incredibly misleading graphic uh, it got charlie quite.
Speaker 1:I haven't seen you this irritated. You are usually an even keel guy. You were pissed at this graphic this did not make you happy.
Speaker 2:Like the fifth different time, I have received a text about this same graphic so let me share.
Speaker 1:Oh my god, let me set it up. I need to set up how I how this happened. So you know me. I am not the statistics guy like charlie. Charlie knows all this stuff and I don't think as logically as you do. I will admit that. Um, so I send him innocently. I didn't know it was going to start like an explosion.
Speaker 1:Not really, but um, but I sent innocently, I sent Charlie this text and I'm like, oh, she, and it was basically, it's a chart, a misleading chart. I will preface it for you Um, it's a misleading chart of the amount of revenue the team gets per the amount of payroll, um, and a percentage of payroll to revenue of each team. And of course, the Miami Marlins are at the bottom of the list. And I said when I sent it I'm like, yeah, bruce Sherman, one of the cheapest owners in baseball, but look at that percentage and he is still making buck. Where Charlie replied that correct me if I'm wrong that the chart doesn't include operational costs, like how much what it takes to run a team.
Speaker 2:Ballpark operations international scouting.
Speaker 1:So the Mets are at the top at 90%.
Speaker 2:It doesn't include about 12 things.
Speaker 1:It doesn't include about 12 things. So my question to you and we didn't get into this in text and, by the way, nick, this is a normal conversation Charlie and I have, so we're all right. But at the top of the list on this misleading graphic payroll and revenue 90%. If I'm figuring in baseball operations like you, and I don't know what that number is, cohen has to be losing money on the operation, right, oh for?
Speaker 2:sure? Yeah, they said that with the first season cone on the mats, he lost over 100 million dollars, something I believe was the which, to him, is nothing I have to promise right drop in the bucket right, but still.
Speaker 1:I mean he's losing money um so interesting.
Speaker 2:The interesting one that is there is using the Braves as an example, because they're a publicly owned team, so their records are available. So, for example, this chart's very available if you're listening and care to look at it. But the Braves were 17th on the chart. Okay, they're listed at $510 million for revenue. And they're listed at $510 million for revenue and they're listed at $235 million for payroll. So, according to this chart, 46.1% of their payroll goes against the revenue, essentially. But the Braves Baseball Operations Department's budget was $500 million, yet this chart, according to the chart, they're only listing it at $235 million. So essentially they're leaving out $265 million of it. And that's just one team. Obviously, the Marlins probably have a much lower you know ballpark operations. They probably spend less in scouting and that part was 100% accurate. But the point was that, like them alone, you can see that the Braves 510 divided by 235 for 46.1% really should have been about 510 divided by 500 for like 1%.
Speaker 1:So the Braves are losing money too on the operation.
Speaker 2:it seems there's also probably money that they're making that's not on this list as well. There's more to it than just revenue.
Speaker 1:Because their payroll is not exactly. I mean, one of the things they're known for is being able to sign players within a reasonable Lock them up young, they do a great job identifying their own young talent.
Speaker 2:And actually that's a perfect segue into. We've seen a number of this week alone a couple young players getting those similar long extensions jackson merrill crochet crochet was the first one about a week ago. He's a little older though because he was about to be a free agent. But, um, jack jackson merrill of san diego, and then the red sox signed, uh, christian campbell, back-to-back days, you had guys getting some big deal. Kettle martin signede, signed as well, but he's older, so not quite the same. Three big contracts were told out in a two-day span.
Speaker 1:Thinking the Mets might want to at some point make a move with Vientos to do something like that.
Speaker 2:Cubs fans are talking about the same thing with maybe PCA or Shaw, so it's a hot trend right now.
Speaker 1:Pca it makes the same thing with maybe pca or shaw, so it's it's a hot trend right now it's pca, a lot of sense for both sides, you know, and not because there's a risk being taken by both sides at that point that a player could get hurt could bust right versus they can also get huge guaranteed money, so it could be a win for both sides.
Speaker 2:In some cases a lot of people seem to have been a little upset. They thought jackson merrill maybe took a little heavier of a team-friendly deal than he should have to maybe hurt the market for future players. But, like, if you're a guy like merrill, I mean how are you going to turn down? 135 million dollars when you've made barely a couple million in your career.
Speaker 1:So how old is the kid? Like 20 yeah, uh, he might be 21 my god, you're, if you, if you, and you're the again. If you take that money and invest it in the right way, you're set for life, like you. I mean, you're set for life anyway, but my god meryl's 21 21 years old. He'll never have to work again april 19th, he turns 22.
Speaker 1:He'll marry a nice girl and settle down and have a wonderful life. At the end of the day, I know that at the end of the day, if juan soto signed for 600 million dollars, it was still would have been, you know right, he wouldn't have a relative right and and at 100 million.
Speaker 1:Listen, if you said right now, hey, tim, I'm gonna give you 100 million, okay, you know what I mean. Like what, um, but yeah, good for the kid, good for the kid to make that money for it and good for the team to take a chance on that kid to invest. I think Bobby Witt Jr did something similar, right.
Speaker 2:He signed a massive deal, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a much bigger deal. But still, I mean it was smarter to Royals to lock him up, because I think he would have been a monster in free agency and he's not anywhere near free agency yet. He signed Witt was the same year as Adlai Rushman, so you know there's a couple of years left in that contract, I believe. Yeah For free agency, yeah. So I mean I'm excited for baseball, bro. I hope the Cubs it's alive and kicking. The Cubs kick butt, the Mets kick butt and we just keep going.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's a good start to the baseball season.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. Speaking of good starts, you had paid attention and said hey, Tim, you got to check out this new show on Netflix called Million Dollar Secret, and we're not going to get into spoilers.
Speaker 2:We're going to make some general kind of comments yes, it's still pretty new.
Speaker 1:Um, I find it it's like the cross between the trust, the mole and claim to fame a little, I see fame, yeah, I you know that, traders, because you got kind of like the round table.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you have you have the the butler guy.
Speaker 1:I don't know what he. You're the little traitors because you got kind of like the round table, yeah, and you have the butler guy. I don't know what he is, but the guy that's in the Mm-hmm, the British guy, that challenge with the heads, and it's in the last three episodes.
Speaker 2:With the water balloons.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that reminded me of Claim to Fame a little bit.
Speaker 2:It kind of seemed like that was a familiar the whole concept of the trophy room reminds me of claim to fame, where they go and find clues yes, very much so. Instead of bottles, there is a, a british guy telling them yeah, honestly, we watched it pretty quickly both, so they dropped the first three episodes last Wednesday and then the new three, and both times we did not really have any intention of watching all three. And it's like, wow, this is we. Before we knew it, we had finished all three of them.
Speaker 1:I don't. I don't know about you. I will say this Netflix has a great way of showing a reality show. Shine like it's a movie, almost like you're watching a reality show. Shine Like it's a movie, almost like you're watching a reality show, but it's like you're watching. I don't know if you feel this way too. You're watching a movie. They did it with the mole and they're doing it with the trust, and they did it with the trust and they're doing it with this, where you're watching it, and it's almost like these are characters and not actual, real people playing a game does that make sense?
Speaker 1:it does, it does I mean the setup, the, everything is beautiful it really is.
Speaker 2:Yeah, honestly, and it's, it's entertaining they. I think they'd had a pretty good job, uh, with the casting of this one.
Speaker 1:There's there's some people.
Speaker 2:There's some people you want to kind of root against. You kind of always want a little bit of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there is some I'll say you know went out spoiling quite emotional people, yeah, and some that you know, one in particular towards the end got eliminated. That was pretty even keeled until that person got eliminated and then he got really emotional. You know probably what I'm talking about by just saying that, um, I think that kind of was his downfall, because he became, it's like he unflustered, he unraveled right away. Um, but uh, yeah, it's a good show. I, I, I highly recommend, charlie highly recommends and we will be talking about it next week.
Speaker 2:If you like that kind of genre of show, I think it's up that alley, but you have to like that kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like the secret kind of moley, kind of claim to fame-y guess who this person is. So you have the object of the show is, one person is randomly selected as the millionaire has a million dollars in a box and the other players have to guess who that millionaire is. One thing I will say again, not spoiling it, but I'm not quite sure know who the millionaire is and keep the millionaire in the show until it becomes time to eliminate them, and then you get the money. You understand, like it's a little wonky, yeah, uh, I don't know I I that's the only. If I was to make like a criticism of it, it's the only criticism Like why would you want to get the millionaire out?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you're talking about. As far as their own gameplay goes, they, they, they even discussed that at one point in one of the votes. Uh, we, we can get into more detail next time. They do definitely discuss the merits of do we want to actually get the millionaire out or not? Especially if the millionaire isn't the one who they're on to, then that one doesn't want. You know, keep the people that they're suspicious of longer.
Speaker 1:So and there is a point and I don't think this is really spoiling it there is a point where the others know who the millionaire is, because something happens and they still want to get that person out my one thing is I wish that the so.
Speaker 2:Another thing that basically the millionaire has this quote-unquote agenda where they can do something successfully if they get an advantage, or if they're unsuccessful they get a disadvantage my thing with that is some of them are.
Speaker 2:They're just slightly too obvious yeah, there were a couple of them where for sure they weren't going to attempt to do them. But there were a couple where I was like I'm surprised this person attempted to do it, because it seemed like that would be way too suspicious of behavior and one of those comes back to bite a person. That's how they figure it out yeah, I won't mention.
Speaker 1:I won't mention who or anything, but I will say so one of the agenda items and I won't say what happens either. But one of the agenda items is the millionaire has to get other people to scream, and so the millionaire gets them to scream, but then later on in the trophy room they find out that the person is related to a horror movie and then they go just sitting on a silver platter.
Speaker 1:And when I, when I heard that, I'm like, oh shit, he's done, like he's done, I mean my god, and I don't think that's fair. Necessarily it was, but you know, here's the thing yes, but you then get a penalty if you don't. So it's really not your choice yeah, true, but my thing is, if you agree, to do it if no one's on you, what's the big deal?
Speaker 2:if you get one vote on you, you know what I mean a hundred percent, but I think you know I.
Speaker 1:I think one flaw would be if you agree to do it and you don't do it, then you get the penalty. But if you should write, forced into a situation where you just make, or just make them less, more subtle, less easy to spot, like screaming like on the mall the people on the other veranda were like oh, that's so obvious were like oh, that's so obvious.
Speaker 1:There was one person recording a confessional and you could see this person go during the confessional because he can hear them scream outside, that's how loud it was um, so yeah, we highly recommend uh, million dollar secrets and we will be talking about that coming up. Well, we must talk about this and then from one confessional to another.
Speaker 2:Survivor oh, you want to kind of go into what happened it was, uh, it was a very interesting post-merge, very interesting post-merge can I ask a question?
Speaker 1:real quick before you get into it can I ask a question real quick before you get into it? So I'm I'm, you know I'm new to survivor last couple of seasons. And why do they still call it the merge meal when only one person merges?
Speaker 2:at that point that's true. That's a good point. Um, I think it's just because the merge is still happening in the episode, so it's the moment in which it happens, and then the team that won still is participating in the merge meal. They just not all six might not necessarily make it through, but at least five of them at the minimum. So I do see your point though.
Speaker 1:But I just wanted to ask that question.
Speaker 2:Go for it, go go but yeah, it started off with the first challenge where they it was to your point. It was basically they got split up randomly in teams that drew for teams, which sai gets the draw of automatic pass into round two, which means she's, which means she got to do that without getting muddy like crazy, and this was by far one of the muddiest things I've ever seen.
Speaker 2:Every single one of them was just drenched, so bad. But the winning team advanced and the losing team didn't, so everybody on the winning team got the meal, but then they competed within that group plus Cy for individual immunity.
Speaker 1:Where were they?
Speaker 2:Kyle won and I don't know if you saw I can't remember who put it out there but it's the second time they've had one of these and someone named Kyle has won it each time. Was that two seasons time they've had one of these and someone named kyle has won it each time?
Speaker 1:was that two seasons ago? They did this, yeah, and kyle won. I I was watching at that point, but yes, I remember that.
Speaker 2:That's why I brought it up, because I knew you would have seen it then again, kyle won.
Speaker 1:Like how many? How many in a row?
Speaker 2:yeah, five of them, four of them.
Speaker 1:Oh my god, uh, hold on one second. I think my microphone just went out there. We go all right, yeah, so continue.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry yeah, so kyle. So kyle won, which then led to some immediately well, who are we going to vote for? Because 13 people is quite a lot of votes, quite a lot that a lot, a lot, a lot.
Speaker 1:And, uh, there was some concern about one person over the other. Um, I will say this my, my, my, my. I was surprised that say escaped again. Um, I was. This is the right word. I had she. I will say this she's quite annoying and irritating and obnoxious.
Speaker 2:There's always a couple like that on every season.
Speaker 1:I find her quite annoying and I would want to get rid of her, um, you know why I think she's not long for it.
Speaker 2:She's gonna be one of the next ones here's what irritates me, bro.
Speaker 1:So they get back from the reward, from the meal, and she's literally laying on a hammock with her hands back, relaxing and going yeah, we had this and we had this, and we had this the edit was freaking phenomenal on that by the way that was funny, I agree funny um it's chocolate cake
Speaker 1:and she's, and they're just and they look at the, you look at the players listening like, like the high rolls, yeah, and I'm like, I'm sitting there going. Will you shut up, will you stop? Will you be quiet, because this is not good for you. Um, her social game isn't exactly the best, I will say yeah, the whole.
Speaker 2:The whole episode started with them talking about the previous vote and she could not understand logic and she's getting all mad, but cedric saved her yes, cedric, if you looked at the end of the of the show when they showed the vote, cedric saved her.
Speaker 1:He, he again. He voted for the.
Speaker 2:I mean he had the only. You can only tell one person, otherwise they would know, and without that she goes home but cedric gets one vote and it's from say she voted for cedric.
Speaker 1:Um, can we go back real quick? We, we didn't talk about this last week. So there was we were talking about in the previews. Uh, jeff was crying and crying. Yes, um, in the challenge last week. Eva, right, yeah, eva had a difficult time in the challenge because she is on the spectrum, she has autism and she was having a very difficult time with that particular challenge. And Joe, I believe. Yes, she has a good relationship with him.
Speaker 1:From their original tribe Literally took her in his arms and calmed her down and I will say I legit almost shed a tear. Like I am working with kids with special needs, I work a lot with kids on the spectrum and when I saw that and I saw just the compassion and joe to help her, like that, I like this dude. I don't care what he does going forward in this season. He's golden for me because he is a freaking rock star.
Speaker 2:Jeff even noticed the moment and allowed it, Cause usually that cause they're on different teams at this moment.
Speaker 1:I, just I and I will say I've never seen something that special on the show, like that. And for those of you, if you don't understand it, it's if you're on the spectrum, sometimes stimuli it's very hard to deal with. There's a lot, almost like you think about being in a room and is like 15 million airplanes flying over and you can't think straight. That's kind of you know, a similar thought and that's what was going. I don't know for sure, I don't want to quote her, but something like that was probably going on and that's why joe kind of grabbed her head and tried to refocus her. And he didn't have to do that. He didn't have to out himself as being her friend and potentially hurt his game. He did it because he's a decent human being and you know what we need to have more of that, and he went to help.
Speaker 1:And you know what, at the end of the day it's, it's. I mean, I love the show. It's just a TV show and if you can show that compassion that this world needs more of on a show like this and model for kids maybe on a show like this and model for kids, maybe watching the show, to say, hey, this is how a man is and how a decent human being is and treating another human being Damn, that's a win in my book.
Speaker 2:I don't care, definitely, he's definitely going to be a fan favorite and probably got himself on another season in the future.
Speaker 1:I need to see him on 50. I know that he's not in the rumors, but my God, I mean on 50. I know that he's not in the rumors, but my god, I mean, yeah, right now the, the person from the season that's on the rumor mill, say and say, of course, because why not? Oh man, oh man, so yeah, um. So I think it's a pretty decent season.
Speaker 2:I again you know I said this a couple episodes ago I don't think it's as good as last season, but yeah, well, now that now that we finally have a third, a big 13 and they're gonna have to start cannibalizing, it could end up because, honestly, a lot of the bigger threats this episode kind of seem to be forming groups together. So if it goes that way and they are able to kind of pick them off, kind of like old school it could end up being a battle for like the last six, seven people.
Speaker 2:So the fact that you still have like David and Kyle and like a lot of the strong players are still left, they haven't really taken a huge shot at someone yet.
Speaker 1:So what do you think of the secret duo? You like the people that are kind of totally under their radar, and I forget their names.
Speaker 2:It's Kyle and somebody. Yeah, I forgot her name, but yeah, that's a good one.
Speaker 1:No one's expecting.
Speaker 2:Natalie from a few seasons back.
Speaker 1:Yes, I know who you're talking about. Yes, um, it's, it's interesting, it's, it's, it's it. There's definitely, yeah, there's definitely a familiarity there. Um, and jeff did hint at the beginning of this season that it is a season of duos, and I get exactly what he's saying, because even joe as well, and cedric didn't say for better or for worse.
Speaker 1:I mean, I think that's still going to be a story. Honestly, Cedric I don't know if Cedric has the emotional capacity to go much further in the game. He has a hard time with it, it seems.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I still feel like there's more bigger fish to fry, so to speak. I feel like cedric is safe. Another, at least another couple weeks, couple votes, because people want to say out, and then you also have those huge targets. Eventually they're gonna have to go for some of the big ones like david and kyle, and I think the biggest right now on the show is David.
Speaker 1:Honestly, his social game is right on par.
Speaker 2:I see him going far, he's a favorite yeah.
Speaker 1:I mean, I see him going far David.
Speaker 2:Kyle Joe Eva, there are a lot of good players. Even honestly, you know who's playing a super good game. That like I mean, people know about him, but like is Mitch. Yeah, I love Mitch, it just playing a really good game, like even the challenge where they were like throwing the sandbags and landing. He nailed all of them for his own team.
Speaker 1:He's been doing really well with the puzzles oh, I think he goes to top five easily yeah, I think he goes far to win the game too yeah, I think he goes far. I think I think you might even see him in fire making I. I think he goes far. I think he the way they're editing it, it seems like he is. It's going to be David Mitch, eva possibly or Joe, one of the two.
Speaker 2:One of the two is going to go out early, I feel, and one is going to kind of go far If they all really are true to their word and want to play a game of honor and integrity, like they've all been saying. There's six or seven of them strong. That could be the final. Maybe not the final six, because you know they might not win every time or someone might play an idol, but out of that group of six or seven, three or four of them should probably be in the final five. I'd yeah be pretty surprised if they weren't yeah, it's a pretty.
Speaker 1:I find it's a pretty predictable season. I don't think it's like I don't think there are going to be any dark horses. I think it's going to play out kind of how we expect it to, um, and I I kind of feel like say, it's going to last a little longer than we would think.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, it's just almost interesting it's interesting with a few of the advantages out there that most players know about, which Psy knew none of and got all that information today, so she was a little surprised by it. But the fact that a bunch of that's out there and known, but there's also a couple that are unknown Maybe one week when they feel confident that they're flushing out one of these things, someone uses something that they're unaware of and it could cause some chaos.
Speaker 1:So boom, exactly. It's like oh, um, what's that? And? But that makes the greatest tv, though, when that happens, right, I love that, you know. It's like oh, I love those tribal councils where everyone's like kind of doing whiplash because they're moving their head so much they don't know what's going on like tonight's tribal.
Speaker 2:I'm sure they always do it, so it's more shocking and how he'd pick them perfectly. But by the first eight votes, five of them were for sai and everybody was like, oh, she's definitely going home. And then all of a sudden, the last five votes in a row are charity. So charity.
Speaker 1:Uh, I. It was interesting because a lot of them went to tribal for the first time, so they were voting for the first time. One literally took the marker and it flipped out of their hand. It was like they were kids on Christmas Day. I can imagine a Survivor fan being there for the first time and going you know, like you can see it, one person.
Speaker 2:it was their first time at tribal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think one was like why is this shaped like a pineapple? Or something like, yeah, I forget what they said. Um, yeah, it's good, it's cool, like I. I that would be a bucket thing, you know, I mean the bugs and everything else are a little bit to deal with. But you know to to vote on survivor, I mean my god, and to have a have your torch and who knows, you never know what will happen in the future. Um, so, yeah, so charity was voted out. Um, once again say saves it for another day.
Speaker 1:I do predict the beginning of the next episode there's going to be a little bit of drama going back to camp, possibly because it doesn't take things well and I think I think a lot of the people that voted the five that voted say I think are were pretty blindsided, mitch included.
Speaker 2:I think he's going to be a little. We'll see how he plays that one oh yeah, we'll see.
Speaker 1:We'll see how it goes um, speaking of playing things and and strategy, and let's talk about the floor.
Speaker 2:Um, uh, so there was a lot of turnover in the episode, a lot a lot and I felt you had people playing multiple times, even though they were picked, and then went back and then picked again.
Speaker 1:And I felt bad for that dude who won so many duels and didn't even get a cash in.
Speaker 2:I know, see, that's where, right before it happened, we got to that point again where this is what I said, what my thought was yeah, at that moment he had 29 pieces of the floor. The odds were in his favor that the randomizer was going to pick one that was next to him and any one of them that was touching him, no matter what was going to play, because it was a new category for him. He hadn't that time.
Speaker 1:I said that to Erica. I'm like there's 20.
Speaker 2:K on the line. So, knowing that, why?
Speaker 1:would you pick the one you want to play the most? Thank you, I said that to Erica. I'm like there's, you're all going to pick any there. Y's suck dude. What are you doing?
Speaker 2:And the only caveat I had was if he felt his own category would be that one, he'd pick. But there's no way that would have been it. There's no way. There was 29 other choices.
Speaker 1:And there was one you like better. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:That was that one, I thought he kind of shot himself in the foot again.
Speaker 1:That was a butthead move. I'm sorry that was a butthead move to do that. You don't do that. I just think if you're in it that long he didn't have time to study his new category.
Speaker 2:There was a small chance that he would get unpicked. I think the greater chance of controlling what you want to play made the more sense there. But we weren't, we're not, we weren't there under those bright lights.
Speaker 1:We've been under some bright lights, but not those so I was wondering during the episode if he would make a pathway to brian to try to like have a monopoly on the floor. Um, brian, brian was picked by someone I I mean adjacent, and Brian was smart. Brian won his duel and did the smart thing. I said to Eric I go, you really won $110,000. You go back to the floor and you let people come after you because you're not the biggest fish?
Speaker 2:He's not the biggest fish. Yeah, he's playing with house money at this moment.
Speaker 1:Totally agree.
Speaker 2:So you, totally, you're like all all right, come on, try to get through another night and then study again exactly, and and he.
Speaker 1:The reason why we haven't seen brian in a couple episodes is because he's not the biggest fish anymore right, that's what you want money exactly win the money early, get a lot of floor, but then let somebody else kind of start taking control and then all of a sudden you don't have the winning amount of floor anymore. But that's okay, Cause you won some money and you let other people take the hit and that's kind of what Brian's doing. I Brian. I predict Brian will probably go to the finale Um, the way it's working out.
Speaker 2:Um, there are some new squares that are still adjacent to him on the right on the edge, so we'll see how that plays out, but he's a very good player, uh, yes, yes, I mean. One other thing we have to mention on this episode of the floor which you gave me a warning, and even with the warning I had a, just an audible gasp. I'm sorry, if you live in the united states and you do not know who jackie robinson is, what are you doing on a game show about trivia? I'm sorry, but no dude that was. That is unacceptable.
Speaker 1:So the category was game changers, and these are people that made by the way, which is an inference clue in itself. These are people that made a difference somehow in their fields or in life, in pop culture, etc. So people like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr and, um, abby Hoffman, these are, these are names that are and I'm a history guy these are synonymous with, like, major events that have Harvey Milk that have happened and and, and forwarding and advancing social cause. So when they showed, like you said, when they showed the picture of jackie robinson, what does she do pass?
Speaker 2:what I gasped what now?
Speaker 1:I understand it being before your time, but the image of jackie robinson is cemented in pop culture. His baseball card, for god's sakes, is one of the most collected. 1952 tops is one of the most collected. Even his rookie card because rookie was like 48 is one of the most collected baseball cards that there is. Um, because 50, by the way, just real quick for collectors, 1952 tops is the first year that tops came out with baseball cards. Prior to that we had bowman in 1951, which was mickey mantel's first baseball card. But I will say that image, I wear it on a shirt sometimes, uh, but just in general. The movie 42 happened a couple years ago with chadwick bozeman rest in peace which is one of my favorite baseball movies. There's so many references in history and pop culture to jackie every single.
Speaker 2:I'm a major league baseball team with the number 42 retired right how the entire league wearing only 42 for a whole jackie robinson day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean and and and and I, we, we like we're fans of baseballism and and homage and they have shirt stutter. I mean, if there's references all over the place, it is. I was along with your audible gasp. I was a little kind of disgusted that she didn't know it. I was a little upset, um, I don't know like. It just really innately bothered me because there were.
Speaker 2:There were a few answers in the episode that people did not know, but that one was the one was.
Speaker 1:I don't know the color barrier in baseball. Like I understand you don't know. I even understand if you don't know who mickey mantel is, which I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't not you, but a person in general. Um, there's several baseball players that kind of transcend the sport. I will, I can kind of name them at jackie robinson, roberto clemente, mickey mantel, babe, ruth, luke garrig. I mean, there are players that should be recognizable to almost anyone, even modern players, like ken griffey jr and pete rose and and even mike trout. I mean, there's players that people just know who they are.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, wow, that's all I can say is wow um jackie, who's one of my favorite baseball players ever, who, unfortunately, I think I was a year old when he passed away um, he's so important to the sport, like so, so, not just the sport, but to the country, just so important. Well, you know, listen, you know I get on a baseball soapbox like you do, buddy I just was, wow, yeah, um, and I would argue honestly, I and I'll probably get some hate out there I, I I'd argue jackie robinson's more important to the sport than any player that's ever played the sport.
Speaker 2:Quite, I don't think you got much hate for that, I think that no, I mean, you know the right answer babe, ruth purist out there and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:But babe was great too, but for other reasons. Um, yeah, oof, um. So yeah, we love jackie um speed. When's jackie robinson's ace up? It's in April, right.
Speaker 2:It is. It's in April, April 17th I think, Right around there. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, love it. Thanks to you, I spent some money and bought some Jackie Robinson stuff that I can't wait to wear. I can never pass up a Jackie Robinson shirt. Yeah, love it. All right, so the floor is continuing. We Love it All right, so the floor is continuing. We love it. We'll see where it goes and anything else you want to discuss.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just be a few episodes left there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, anything else you want to discuss I?
Speaker 2:think we covered it yeah.
Speaker 1:I think so too. Sorry about the sort box buddy.
Speaker 2:No, it's all right, it needed to be done. We got the Mets and the Cubs home openers tomorrow, today, tomorrow, whatever you want to look at it. So let's keep.
Speaker 1:let's keep winning some series, one game at a time one game at a time and, uh, hopefully, the Cubs and the Mets have a winning season, so much so that we face each other in the NLCS. How about that? How about that? This has been Around the Bases the pop culture and sports podcast with your host.
Speaker 2:Charlie.
Speaker 1:Seymour and I'm Tim Sternberg. Until next week, go Cubs and go Mets. Bye everybody, bye everybody. Music.
