2 Guys Talking Baseball
Dallas Danger and Brian Logan discuss the game of baseball. Two fans, two personalities, Two Guys!
2 Guys Talking Baseball
Episode 45
Baseball's middle innings are proving to be the downfall of many promising teams this season. Despite solid starting pitching and reliable closers, clubs like the Braves and Orioles are struggling to bridge that crucial gap, turning potential wins into frustrating losses. This vulnerability raises significant questions about roster construction and bullpen management as we move deeper into the season.
Former Dodgers prospect Gavin Lux has found his stride with the Cincinnati Reds, batting over .300 and thriving in a lower-pressure environment. His comments about having more fun than since high school reflect not a criticism of his former team, but rather the mental freedom that comes with escaping the spotlight of a perennial contender. The Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong continues his meteoric rise, combining Gold Glove-caliber defense with an explosive offensive game that saw him become the first player in Cubs history to record at least six home runs and six stolen bases over a 13-game stretch.
The Dodgers remain baseball's most complete organization despite battling injuries. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has silenced critics with his sub-1.00 ERA and NL Pitcher of the Month award, while Shohei Ohtani stands as the only major leaguer with double-digit home runs and stolen bases. Perhaps most telling is how veterans like Teoscar Hernandez mentor young talents such as Andy Pages, creating an environment where player development continues even at the major league level. Meanwhile, the Colorado Rockies are challenging the 2023 White Sox for the title of worst team in MLB history, sparking discussions about implementing a salary minimum rather than a cap to ensure competitive integrity.
Join us next week as we continue tracking these developing storylines and explore how they might impact trade deadline decisions and playoff races as summer approaches. Which surprising performances will sustain, and which early-season struggles will deepen into full-blown crises? Subscribe now and never miss an episode of baseball's most engaging analysis.
Hello again and welcome inside the Three Crows studios in Morristown, Tennessee. This is Two Guys Talking Baseball. My name is Dallas Danger, of course, and I am joined, as always, by my best friend and colleague, the man we have come to know simply as the Sea Lion, Brian Logan.
Speaker 2:It's a great week for baseball, and it really has been. There has been all kinds of games going on. Some excitement is in the air, some losing is in the air, but then a lot of winning also. People getting fired, people getting fired, cats and dogs living together.
Speaker 1:It's out of control. A monkey-type sandwich. Yeah, we've been—there's a lot to talk about today. You know, derek Shelton, the Pirates manager, has been fired and replaced. Brett Boone is the new hitting coach in Texas, even though he has no coaching experience. We're not going to talk about any of that, but, brian, let's get started outside of your regular viewing. Uh, what did you watch on your off day?
Speaker 2:I've watched, uh, gosh, I've watched the braves. I have watched, uh, the orioles. Um, I didn't catch any of the Rays this go-round. Yeah, but the Braves are trying. I mean, they're filled in a team, they're out there.
Speaker 1:They're up to third place in the standings. They're still under .500, but they're up to third place yeah so they're playing a little bit better than before.
Speaker 2:Now the Orioles are not playing well at all.
Speaker 1:No, the Orioles are a disaster right now. That lack of pitching has just doomed them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they just can't get it going. They can't produce enough runs. It's just bad all the way around, which is contrary to what we said a few weeks ago, because they were looking pretty good.
Speaker 1:Well, they started off hot on opening day, hitting the ball everywhere, hitting it out of the ballpark. It looked really good. But again, if you've got to score 12 runs a game, you're going to lose a lot of ball games, A lot, a lot. Yeah, but they look good in that orange, don't they?
Speaker 2:Hey man, I think if they wore that orange every day they'd play better. They're a 500 club, at least in that orange yeah.
Speaker 1:What are you noticing with the Braves?
Speaker 2:What's going on with the braves, the, their pitching? Yeah, I don't think that the pitching's up to snuff. Uh, I think when they go to the bullpen, it's they can't keep up with generating the run. It's the run differential between going to the middle relievers. Yeah, they can't. They can't sustain it. Yeah, to say it very astutely, yeah, right on, but it's just, they need better pitching. Yeah, same story as everywhere else they just can't. Opening pitching is not bad, right, but those middle innings, they can't hold it.
Speaker 1:A lot of teams do seem to lose games there in the middle innings.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's that middle relief. You get your closer and then you got your starter. It's that. It's that little bit in between.
Speaker 1:It's so important and that's where most of these clubs are going wrong yeah, yeah, you got to hold that line in between the starters and the in the, the, the, your best relievers. You gotta, you gotta. I don't know, man, I guess I'm spoiled. The dodgers have a group of closers and up-and-comers and they're piecing it together pretty good, but we'll, we'll talk plenty about.
Speaker 2:The cubs are kind of piecing it together pretty good too, um, you know, with their bullpen considering you know everything's going on, yeah they're also scoring enough runs to overcome. Oh yeah, that most of the time yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, they're doing, they're doing pretty well so all right, well, let's get uh well.
Speaker 1:So I have not been able and I've mentioned this uh recently here on the show I've not been able to watch as much as I would like, with my new schedule but I did. So we didn't do an episode last week. If you were with us two weeks ago, you know that's because my partner, jen, had her graduation ceremony. So we spent a couple days in Kentucky and the night before graduation, when we stayed in the hotel, I found a replay of the Cardinals at the Reds, because we, we were, we were in Kentucky, so they had the Reds uh channel and uh, we, we.
Speaker 1:We weren't really paying close attention but we, we had that on you know as we were, you know, dicking off in the hotel room and talking and whatever. And my one big takeaway was that Gavin Lux has turned into a pretty solid little major league hitter. Yeah, still not seeing the power numbers that we saw when he broke out in the minors and was the minor league player of the year, but man, he's batting over 300. Last time I checked he's getting on base at a high rate and and I think he you know he was quoted and a lot of dodger fans didn't like this, but he was quoted saying that he hasn't had this much fun since he was playing in high school. Yeah, but you gotta, you know, I don't think that was a dig at the Dodgers. I mean, he won two World Series there. He had a lot of success. I don't think he's saying, well, I didn't have any fun with the Dodgers.
Speaker 1:From the time he was a high schooler in Wisconsin, there was a lot of pressure on him. Then he gets drafted by the Dodgers. He's one of the top prospects in baseball, was the top prospect in baseball for a while. Then he comes up to the majors and he's on this mega team that's winning every year, trying to win the World Series every year and now he kind of goes to this low-pressure situation. The Reds are playing good ball. They're kind of sitting right outside of the playoff picture as it sits right now, but they're within shouting distance. If they get real hot they could sneak their way in.
Speaker 1:If somebody else falls off and I think he's just again and I said this when he got traded to Cincinnati I think the relationship between him and his new manager, terry Francona, is going to be really good. I think they're going to mesh and I think that's part of why I mean, and the pressure's off now and I think mentally he's able to go up to the plate and do what he does and just get on base and contribute. And he also goes to a team that doesn't have a lot of guys that have won two rings, so he can take what he learned in LA, he can take what he picked up from those experiences and being around some of those other veterans when he was first getting established at the big league level and he can apply that to his new team and help other guys and, and and again, contribute to them winning some ball games.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, I think he can contribute a lot there and he brings a lot of experience and that that can't be nothing but good.
Speaker 1:In that regard, yeah, and again, he was the top prospect in baseball, the minor league player of the year, not that long ago. So we know the talent is there and it's just good to see Gavin, you know, finding success and being happy, having fun playing the game. I've always been a big Gavin Lux guy. You know he was highly criticized at times when he was with the Dodgers and you know a lot of people wanted him replaced at every turn. Any time he struggled at all and you know I just think the standard's higher with the Dodgers and I think he was so concerned with meeting that standard, maybe a little more than he was concerned with just going to the plate and being himself. Yeah, you know.
Speaker 1:And now he's playing some different positions and you know that was something with the dodgers. He, you know there was a just like a microscope on him anytime they tried him at third base or out in the outfield. You know there's there's the famous incident where he ran into the wall at dodger stadium chasing a ball and they took tape and made the outline of him on the wall.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but yeah, man, I'm happy for Gavin. I knew it would be a good fit. I just had a good feeling from the word go with that and it turns out that that so far has absolutely been the case. So you know, we had a good time in Kentucky and watched a little baseball and that was my big takeaway was Gavin Lux is having a pretty good start to the season.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I mean the Reds are. I think that they're going to give us a run, I think, before it's over with, the Reds are going to come up a little bit. I don't think they're going to take the division, but I think they're going to be right there. Second, third place.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, they're firmly in second place right now and I think those head-to-head games between the Cubs and the Reds are going to be really important as far as you know, because here's the thing with the Cubs not only are the Cubs trying to win the division, I think the Cubs have a really good shot at being one of the top two records and getting a buy in the first round yeah, I agree, I think they're playing good enough to where that's possible, and the difference in that could very well be the head-to-head games with with teams like the reds yeah, reds cardinals, the ones in that division yeah, absolutely, you know, can they?
Speaker 1:can they beat the teams in their division brewers, yeah you, yeah, a lot of pesky teams in that NL Central for sure, yeah, so, anyways, let's talk about the Cubs, brian. Things still going really, really well.
Speaker 2:PCA still looking great. And if he's not getting on base and stealing second, he's throwing them out from the outfield. He's not getting on base and stealing, second he's throwing them out from the outfield. Watched him gun one down day before yesterday, I think. Yes, today's Friday, right, yes, wednesday. Threw the guy out from the warning track straight, just a strike from the warning track. They initially called the guy safe and then on the replay he got him, yeah, just threw his ass out, yeah. And then he's playing. You know he's putting up Otani numbers. You know not home runs, but I mean you know RBI's batting in but he's still hitting pretty. You know he's hitting some dingers here and there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, he's doing great. So he's doing awesome. He's doing great. And I read a really great article at some point over the last two weeks and I apologize to whoever wrote it because I don't remember who you are, but it basically was making the case that we are not going to be able to appreciate, or I guess that PCA's defense is not being appreciated at the level it should be, because he is so good that he is making these remarkable plays look routine, yeah.
Speaker 2:Did you see? The clip of the game was well out of hand. It was this week I don't remember which game, but it was this week and he goes to dive for the ball because it's late in the game and he, he misses it by 10 feet. And so they interviewed him the next day and he, like what happened? And he's taking it all seriously? Yeah, well, I meant to do that. What happened was I was figuring the angle with the wind and if I had just had a little more wind I could have flown over there. I mean, he's giving this great interview and t-mac is looking at him like you're an idiot yeah but it was just so.
Speaker 2:And then finally he breaks up at the end and he was like no, I went a little early on that dive. Yeah, yeah, but he's just, he's just happy playing man and it's it's fun to watch him great fit for the cubs man.
Speaker 1:He just embodies the, the, the, the identity of of that team, and the, the history and the culture there, and I just, you know, uh, I hope that I hope we, we we talked a few weeks ago about they were initially talking about an extension. He didn't want to talk during the, during the season was what we were, what we were kind of hearing, right, uh, I hope that deal gets done, though, because I, I, I think he belongs there, yeah, and I know that would make you very happy, extremely happy. Um, they, they, they've, they've treated him like a star. Oh, without a doubt, you know, give, giving him the, giving him the, the, the lower number, and and, um, and he's playing like a star.
Speaker 2:Absolutely he had said in that interview. After the dive, he said that he hadn't dove all game, so he had decided on the next play, no matter where it was. He was just going to dive. It just so happened to be hit to him, which would have been hilarious. I think it was the. The big loss. Yeah, that we'll talk about here in a minute. I'm pretty sure it was that game, because it just got out of control, right, um. But yeah, he's just doing such a great job. I love him. I just I absolutely love him and we need him. But, uh, I don't know. You probably don't know this, but they've been asking about how he's taken some mentorship from Hap.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:I don't think they like each other. Interesting. When they asked him, are you getting any help from Hap or is he giving you any lessons? He had this look on his face like you know that son of a bitch. And then they almost hit each other this week and they almost ran together. That happened. And then you know Hap just gives him these glares during the game that I just don't. I mean, I don't know. They're saying that they get along Right, but I ain't buying it.
Speaker 1:I don't think they like each other at all At all, but they play good together.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, it's working. So when this story breaks that they don't like each other? You heard it here first. Yeah, that I gleaned. That's a nice word. Yeah, that is a good word. I gleaned that from the situation. Very nice.
Speaker 1:Very nice, very nice. I have a stat here on PCA.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:From Megan Montemurro, a great Cubs writer. I don't remember which paper, but one of the papers in Chicago, yeah, and there was a 13-game stretch where PCA was the first player in Cubs history to record at least six home runs and at least six stolen bases over a 13-game stretch. And in that 13-game stretch he had 13 extra base hits, a 1,332 OPS and a 920 slugging percentage and in that span that led the major leagues in all of those categories. Yeah, I mean mean what more you ask from him? Well, and then you, then you, you factor in the, you know, the defense and and and and the energy.
Speaker 1:I mean he brings an energy to the game that I think has really benefited this cubs team yeah, the, uh, the who's the coach for the brewers?
Speaker 2:um, it's on the tip of my tongue too and I can't figure it out. Murphy, pat, murphy, yeah, pat murphy said to uh craig council, uh, last week he said, yeah, that, uh, that kid with the blue hair and the other kid with the big feet, they sure can't hit the ball yeah, yeah, I saw that. I saw that that's good stuff yeah, so he's the kid with the blue hair, because he had blue hair the first week with stars in it. So you know I loved it because I'm all about the stars.
Speaker 2:And yeah, he just makes the game fun.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's great and should be an all-star. Yeah, 100%, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Working his way towards a gold glove too.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I mean I think he's already. I mean he would have to fall off drastically. I think the rest of the year to not win a gold glove.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, I think most of the voters on that have probably already decided who they're picking anyway. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean, you know the old joke that water covers two-thirds of the earth and PCA covers the other third, and that's just about damn near true. Yeah, he, he can cover some ground. He sure can. He is so fast and like that, that adds back to him making it look effortless because he is so quick. Yeah. So you know there should the other day that he there was a shot between him and right field should have been in the gap, should have been too. He just hustled over there and snatched it, yeah, and just like it was nothing, didn't even have to dive for it, no, and the best thing is he'll turn, he'll acknowledge the crowd and thank them, because you know the, the bleacher bums are really on them out there, yeah, and they cheer big, but he doesn't. He doesn't show emotion, like I mean smiles, but he doesn't.
Speaker 1:You know, he acts like he's been there before when he makes these catches right and that's so good too yeah, well, that tells you the level of confidence he has in his abilities and the fact that he knows that there's not a lot of guys that can make the plays he's making. No, not at all. I mean that play you're talking about. I think it had like a 20 some percent.
Speaker 1:Yeah, catch probability, yes yes and and he, I mean, it wasn't even a dive and that was. That was sort of the crux of that article I read was like guys can make that play, but they're diving for it and making these amazing looking catches. Well, pca just ran it down and got under, darted over there do yeah, whoosh got it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, crazy, just just unbelievable I'm not saying he's quick, but he can be in bed before when he turns the lights out. He can be in bed before it gets dark. Yeah, that's that's how quick that's cool, papa bell, don't you forget it.
Speaker 1:Shout out Satchel Paige, the late, great Satchel Paige. So anyways, PCA's not the only cubby who's doing some things. What about Carson Kelly?
Speaker 2:Carson Kelly is just. He wasn't supposed to be there.
Speaker 1:Well, he's the backup. They signed him to be the backup to.
Speaker 2:Amaya. Yeah, and he's got a spot platooning with Amaya and he just keeps hitting these home runs and driving runs in and he is just playing incredible ball.
Speaker 1:You know we've got the first team of the month. As April has passed and we're into May, Carson Kelly was the catcher of the month. Yeah, Unbelievable.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and again, I mean, he's not supposed to be there. That's the. You know, I'm not even supposed to be here today. Yeah, yeah, that he, he wasn't. He was supposed to be the backup guy in case somebody got hurt, right, you know which is the okay, we'll give you a shot, but you're not gonna play, sure? And now he's out there playing.
Speaker 1:You know, every other day uh, you know I did when they, when they made that signing, I did raise an eyebrow and go that's, that's a pretty good get. Yeah, because as far as backup catchers go, carson kelly has been in the upper echelon for a while. You know, um, he's going to give you value. You know, once, twice a week just giving your starter a rest, good pinch hit option if you need a right-handed bat off the bench or whatever. Yeah, just unbelievable what this whole Cubs team has done so far, playing together. Yeah, and at what point do we stop going? Well, they've done this before. They've won April before. At what point do we go? No, this team is here and they're legit. I mean, I guess the starting pitching injuries could get a little alarming. You know Imanaga's been a little roughed up. I don't know that it's anything super serious no it's just leg cramps.
Speaker 2:He needs some more.
Speaker 1:Uh, gatorade and I think you know something I read and this was a very good point. Um, you know, was um that he's never dealt with lower body injuries in his career before, so there's no precedent for his timeline on these things. Yeah, so it might be a little slower than somebody who's dealt with it multiple times or even once in their career, who knows what it feels like to come out of it and be healthy again and trust it. So maybe a slow burn getting him healthy, but I think this cubs team can afford to take their time and focus on having him healthy when the games are going to start mattering yeah, in a few months I don't think.
Speaker 2:if what they're telling us is true, that it's just cramps, then that is a hydration problem which can easily be fixed in three or four days. He's on the 15-day injury list, so I can't see him not being done at the end of the 15 days ready to roll?
Speaker 1:Yeah, but are they?
Speaker 2:telling us everything.
Speaker 1:Sure, and that's what you always have to wonder. Yeah, you know, with any team, but you know, I mean like if Dave Roberts is telling you that you just might as well not believe it. Yeah, Because it's always the case with the Dodgers they're not going to tell you anything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you know I cramp up over here. Sometimes I'm playing so hard. Yeah, I mean I'm playing, I'm in the game over here and sometimes my finger cramps up and I can't hit the buttons.
Speaker 1:I will say, Brian, as far as podcast co-hosts go, you are the definition of work. Harder, not smarter.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, thank you. Hey, wait a minute.
Speaker 1:So you wanted to touch on the run differential the Cubs have when Aminaga pitches.
Speaker 2:For some reason they can come out and make eight runs or seven runs or 15 runs until he pitches. Yeah, he's that guy for the Cubs right now and they can't generate any runs. They get like one. I mean they could have, I mean these numbers off the top of my head, 30-some points that week, right Runs that week, and you know. Then they get him one.
Speaker 1:Right, and he's a guy that I think most of the time you score three to five runs, you're going to win the ball game. Mm-hmm, because he's going to get you deep into the game, give you a chance to win. They just can't do it. Yeah, they just can't do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just weird, it is weird, it's very weird on how they can't generate when he's pitching. Yeah, and I feel sorry for him because he pitches his heart out. He does carry them into the later innings, but you know, for whatever reason, they just can't seem to get the runs across. I'm going to pull up Imanaga's numbers. Yeah, do that. Do that. That's good. And he's so getting into the team culture and happy to be there. He bought in from moment one, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:And I just love him to death you want to talk about. You know we mentioned PCA and what he brings to the Cubs and how he fits that identity Show to Imanaga at the introductory press conference showed why it was such a good fit.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and started singing. I love it when he sings, yeah he's great. He is, he really is.
Speaker 1:Great personality and fits the Cubs overall personality.
Speaker 2:Have you noticed his tan? No, he has an impeccable tan. It's amazing how dark he is. I mean, it's just wild. I mean it's a great tan. Like I'm jealous. I wish I had that tan. Yeah, you know. So. Yeah, he's got that going for him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so 282 ERA so far this year Pretty stinking good. Sub three ERA ERA so far this year pretty stinking good. Sub-3 ERA Three wins and two losses. To your point about maybe not getting him the runs that they need to. Let me see here.
Speaker 2:Is there a stat that shows how many times he was not factored into the decision?
Speaker 1:Well, he has five decisions and eight starts, so three times he's not factored in.
Speaker 2:Okay, so five games.
Speaker 1:They've not produced enough, right, sure to get the win for him yeah yeah, um, 142 era plus, which means he's 42 percent better than the league average pitcher. Yeah, uh, which is better than his number from last year when he was an all-star, uh, which it was 138. So, um, yeah, pretty, pretty stinking good uh, did you know he led the league in strikeouts to walks last year? Yeah, I mean just just really uh, really impressive uh, fifth in cy young last year, fourth in the rookie of the year, um, just Year.
Speaker 2:Just a foundational piece for the Cubs moving forward. I mean, that's why he's our number one guy, our number one pitcher. Yeah, you know, and our pitching, our starting pitchers, I mean, watch walking down the street, we're liable to trip and fall and lose a pitcher.
Speaker 1:That's one of the downpoles. The cubs, to me, are going to be one of the more interesting teams at the deadline. Yeah, for that very reason, you know, do the cubs make a big run for um sandy alcantara from the marlins, who you know? We've talked about him a lot as a potential starting pitcher. That could make a difference for somebody at the deadline. He has been abysmal so far this year. Yeah, just, I mean I think I'll pull it up, but I think his ERA is like in the sixes.
Speaker 2:I mean he's been awful. He's not played very well, has he? No, which has been. That's why I don't think that trade's going to happen now. Yeah, he come back. Didn't he come back from Tommy John's?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And so that's still tough, you know hard to recoup.
Speaker 1:And he's just not what he used to be. Well, I gave him a little cushion. His ERA this year is 842. Ooh, ooh.
Speaker 2:Pretty sure I could rack up 841.
Speaker 1:Negative war player. He's a negative war player which is never good. Era plus Okay, so ERA plus he's pretty bad 53. Yeah, he's half as good as the bet. As an average player yeah, which is wild, because he's been above average every season of his career so far well, that's the question too, then.
Speaker 2:Is he just playing normal, and he was so good before, or has he really gotten that bad?
Speaker 1:I, there's got to be some kind of lingering something going on there. Um, I mean, his fip, which is sort of your expected era, is 588, which is not great, but it's a lot better than 842, yeah, and he is on a bad team, yeah. So I still think if the Marlins are motivated to move him, they will. Yeah, and somebody will snatch him up and see if there's something in the tank there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I just don't think it's going to be the Cubs.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm fascinated by the Cubs at the deadline. What are they going to do? Yeah, I'm fascinated by the Cubs at the deadline. What are they going to do? They're almost going to have to go get a top-line starter, if one is out there at a reasonable price, I agree with that.
Speaker 2:They need another starter because Steele is out yeah.
Speaker 1:And you know if Imanaga is healthy, he's your number one, he's your game one guy. Can you trust Matthew Boyd, jamison Tyon in that game two spot, I think you can, boyd, he looks good.
Speaker 1:He's been really good this year and that's another one that when I saw that signing I said you know what? I think that's a good fit. I think you know, because under the radar last year, matthew Boyd had a really good year. I mean, he's got a sub-3 ERA too 275 so far this year, era plus let's take a look at that 146. So he's technically been better than Imanaga, yeah. So, yeah, maybe Matthew Boyd is, I don't know, maybe they don't go get a starter, I don't know, it's going to be, it's going to be really, really interesting.
Speaker 2:Or do they try to get one and fail again because you know they're not good at making trades?
Speaker 1:Well, you know that that's the thing is. The last couple of years we've talked a lot about the effort and trying to make these deals and trying to put things together and it not coming to fruition. But they pulled off the Kyle Tucker trade. Yeah, they did trade for PCA, that's true, and you know that's looking like a total bargain at this point. Yes, the Mets are kicking themselves over that trade. Yeah, um, yeah, man, uh, the cubs are things for the most part going very well for the cubs? But uh, there was one game in the last week that you wanted to talk about where things did not go well.
Speaker 2:So we were down one to nothing. I think it was one to nothing. We came back, we scored five runs, uh, then they got up. We were winning five, three. We get down to the uh ninth inning and they uh tied up. We go into extras, ghostman on second, and then everybody on the team got two hits. Everybody just annihilated them, yeah, and we ended up losing 14-5. Yeah, and it was just anything. Could anything could go wrong. It went wrong. You know pitchers, a button goes down and the pitcher can't come up with it and when he should have stayed on the mound, uh, third base, uh balls going fair, that should have been foul. I mean just everything. Home runs, just anything you can imagine went wrong and we just gave it away. I think I texted you you did, they just gave it away yeah, there's cubs.
Speaker 1:you think you said they cubs their way to a loss, and that's the thing is. You know other teams that are in the playoff hunt are going to look at games like that as exploitation of weakness on the cubs roster. Yeah, because again, that bullpen a little shaky. Yeah, it was A little shaky. And that's another area where if there's good relievers on the market at the deadline, it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for the Cubs to go grab one.
Speaker 2:No, that's true too. I mean, you know that was was. The good thing about this loss was, is that that I had said was we won a couple games we shouldn't have, yeah, and so we lost this one that we should have won. So it kind of balances out. So that's how I reconciled it in my brain.
Speaker 1:Right, you know, don't dwell on it, because you know it's just the, the invert of what happened before well, that's baseball psychology to a tee, because those guys have to do that in order to show up the next day and not wear that loss yeah, yeah, because it was just horrible, horrible but overall going pretty well for the cup going very well and I and we're definitely in this thing.
Speaker 2:We got a great record. We still got a good pitching staff, we're scoring all kinds of runs and it's just been a pleasure to watch them play.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, the really exciting, fun team to watch. Um, you got anything else on the cubbies before we move on to the dodgers no, we can move on.
Speaker 2:Just go cubs, go man there you go.
Speaker 1:All right, well, things going pretty good for the dodgers, all things considered. The injuries are starting to pile up right, not just on the pitching side. But now we're putting out some lineups that kind of make you go well and not jumping too far ahead.
Speaker 2:But uh, the the night that the cubs lost in overtime or in extra innings, then the dodgers lost an extra inning. Right I was like, and I and I believe it was either the reds or the braves lost in extra innings. I think it was the reds, I'm not sure. Don't quote me on that one, but there were three teams that should have won those games and they just cocked it up at the end.
Speaker 1:Yeah, something was in the air that night. Yeah Well, the Dodgers despite all the injuries, tommy Edmond and Teoscar Hernandez, both on the injured list right now Best record in the majors, oh yeah, and it's just the Dodgers. We've talked about this so much, dodgers. We've talked about this so much, but they are such a well-oiled machine that they have found a way to coast to a really good record and make sure that they are as healthy as they can be in October. I think a lot of these IL stints if it was August, september, definitely October, these guys would be out there. The Tay Oscars and the Edmonds and those impact guys, yeah. But again, there's no reason for them to be out there when they can take 10 days, yeah, and feel good. You know, because Tay Oscar, the day after he went on the IL, they were like, oh, he's already feeling better, he's probably going to be back as soon as he's eligible to come off the IL.
Speaker 2:He was back last night.
Speaker 1:But why not give him that rest? Yeah, why not allow him to feel the best he can before you? You know, trot him back out there. Yoshinobu Yamamoto was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for April and very well deserved. I have not seen his numbers since his start last night, but last I saw still had a sub-one ERA which leads the majors 0-92, I think. Before last night's start, very impressive. Yeah, just has very quickly turned into everything he was supposed to be for the Dodgers. He was one of those guys know, he gets over 300 million and everybody's like, oh, he's never pitched an inning in the major leagues, and this and that and the other, and, and you know people that just don't understand that we have the ability now with technology, to view these players from Japan, from Korea, and compare what they do to people that are in the major leagues. Yeah, we have the ability to do that with these metrics and analytics and things like that, and Yamamoto so far is shutting those people up big time.
Speaker 1:Yeah he is Because he is an ace. He's getting deep into games still still still not taking regular rest. They're still getting him accustomed to the longer season and the higher innings count, so he's he's not pitching as regularly as as other major league starters. Uh, but I don't think that matters. Yeah, because again, you want this guy healthy in october, because you want your ace out there in game one yeah, absolutely end of discussion.
Speaker 1:yep, um, so, uh, that's been great to see, obviously, uh, you know, and again, I don't get to watch every day anymore, unfortunately, but, um, yamamoto starts are now appointment viewing for me. I make a point to watch those. Yeah, I do too, because that's just a real treat to watch him on the mound. Speaking of Teoscar Hernandez, I was watching the game at some point recently since the last time we did a podcast podcast and uh, andy pahez has looked amazing. Yeah, um, I'm, I'm gonna pull his, uh, pull his stuff up, but he has, uh, he has really delivered this year, coming to his own, playing a great center field and uh is just hitting the ball really well, yeah he's really doing great.
Speaker 1:He's really standing out in a field of standouts, yeah, and is earning his at-bats and earning his playing time in an environment where that is not easy to do for a second-year player. And here's the thing he was not bad as a rookie. Last year Was above average barely 101 ops plus but his ops plus this year so far is a 131. Yeah, he's, he's. He's almost a third better than the league average hitter, um, and again, defensive metrics are looking good in center field, um, but the broadcast, uh, that I was referring to, and the reason I segued with tay oscar was they sort of talked about the relationship between teo and andy paez.
Speaker 1:Okay, and teo has kind of taken paez under his wing and the broadcast seemed to believe that that had a lot to do with andy's success so far this season. And and and the uptick in those numbers and the consistency, um, and and that's great. That's what you want when you sign a veteran player like tay oscar and he brings so much to the table, he helps you win a world series and you bring him back on a longer extension. You want him doing things like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because at some point Teoscar is going to be gone and unless they trade him or something like that happens, andy Pius is still going to be in the outfield for the Dodgers, right. So love to see that, love to see the younger guys being taken under the wing of the of the more established star players. Um, and that's the difference for the Dodgers, I think, is a lot of teams have star players that are really good, but what are they doing beyond their own numbers to to help the team win? And Tay Oscar is a guy that not only comes up big in the big situations, one of the best players I've ever seen, with runners in scoring position. Yeah, you know, I watched a game too recently where every at-bat he came up with runners in scoring position and he delivered every time yeah, five at-bats or whatever it was. I mean just unbelievable scoring position. And he delivered every time yeah, five at bats or whatever it was. I mean just unbelievable, uh, just um, you know, and I and I, uh tay oscar, was the first guest of the season on mookie betts podcast and they talked about how teo embraces the pressure. He likes the pressure. He wants to come up with something on the line, with something to prove, with something to contribute, and if he can pass that down to Andy Pahez, that's going to elongate the window of this great Dodgers dynasty that they seem to be building. So love to see that.
Speaker 1:Shohei Otani man Still unreal, don't let him get hot. No, don't let him get hot because you know, and he quote-unquote, slumped, you know, the first three or four games after he took his two-game paternity list stay for the birth of his first child. You know, got like two hits in four games. You know very pedestrian and everybody's, you know, wanting to hit the panic button Right. Well, since then he's been godlike Only player in the major leagues with 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases so far. And we, you know, as of a couple days ago I think, he was on pace for 47 and 47. But he's ahead of his pace from last year. So he's going to pitch at some point and that's going to, I think, affect how he runs the bases. But I don't think it's completely out of the realm of possibility for him to get close to 50-50 again. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's Okay. Let's say he pitches, he does 50-50. How many strikeouts has he got to go with him?
Speaker 1:Well, that all depends on when he comes back, how they use him. You know, the Barbie cast covered this this week. Shout out to Jake and Jordan again, because they're just. You know, they just do what Brian and I do, but on a level that we can only dream of, and that's why I love them so much, one of the many reasons I love their show so much. They just do what Brian and I do, but on a level that we can only dream of, and that's why I love them so much, one of the many reasons I love their show so much.
Speaker 1:But Jake went down to Miami for the Dodgers series with the Marlins and they were talking about all this and it's starting to become a little bit more apparent that the best thing for the dodgers might not be shohei otani, the two-way player. Yeah, because he is so otherworldly as a hitter that you know, and they they sort of theorize too that in the in the postseason he might not be a traditional starter. But the dodgers have mentioned that they believe part of the reason that he injured the elbow, that he had to have surgery on, was the way he was used in the world baseball classic, where he came into pitch late in the game, in a high leverage situation after hitting the whole game, and he didn't have the full ramp up to a start Right. So they sort of theorized on the Barbie cast that he might be an opener in the postseason. You have a bullpen game but he gets the full starter ramp up and he gives you two innings.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe three if he's really dealing and the way the Dodgers do business. I don't think that's totally out of the picture. I don't as a possibility. No, I do too. So we'll see. You know I'm looking forward to seeing him pitch. Um, you know, brian and I had the the absolute pleasure of seeing him pitch live and in person a couple years ago.
Speaker 1:And again, the only game he got shellacked yeah got to the sixth inning and the Braves just jumped on him. It was wild. It was one of the. We were like what universe are we in? Yeah, it was crazy. Yeah, well, because the place had been so quiet the whole day, yeah, and then all of a sudden, in the sixth inning, the place just lights up with the chants and the crowds into it. Yeah, it was pretty cool.
Speaker 1:It was a cool experience to see, you know, and also to go see the impact he has on the road on the other side of the country from where he plays home games, because there were so many Otani jerseys, so many games. Um, because there were so many otani jerseys, so many, so many people, uh, of asian descent that I don't think would be at the ballpark otherwise. Um, and that's, you know, that's what, that's what earned him the 700 million dollar contract. Was that impact he has on a ball club beyond what he does on the field, which is worth every penny alone. Need I remind you, nobody's ever done 50-50 except him, right? But, man, we have talked a couple times already today about the honor and the privilege to watch certain things happen and certain players. We witness history every time we watch him play a game, and he could very well be an MVP again this year definitely heading towards it just really amazing.
Speaker 1:So don't let Shohei get hot, because he's just going to steal the MVP from everybody else absolutely um, oh, wow, we need to get moving a little bit.
Speaker 1:So last thing I want to mention on the Dodgers this week, ross Stripling chicken strip retires after a nine-year career. A beloved Dodger during his time in LA, just seemingly an amazing person, a great teammate have never heard anybody who played with him speak anything of him other than he was great to be around, and I just want to congratulate Chicken Strip on a great career, an underappreciated career, and I think a big moment for him was he got traded away before the Dodgers won the 2020 World Series, mostly because he believed he was a starter. The Dodgers didn't have a spot for him to start and the Dodgers are big on moving on from a guy. If that's the case, if you believe you're a starter and we can't make that a reality for you, we'll let you go somewhere where that can be a reality. Yeah, and after the World Series win, Dave Roberts shouted out Ross Stripling by name and basically said publicly in the ballpark on the microphone that this wouldn't have happened without him. Right, and I thought that was very big of Dave and says a lot to what Ross Stripley meant to the Dodgers, even though he moved on before the World Series was won in 2020. Right, so congrats on retirement.
Speaker 1:Chicken Strip, I hope you'll still be around. The game a little bit. I love his baskets, I bet you do Ha. All right, game a little bit. I love his baskets, I bet you do. All right.
Speaker 1:We have a new segment. We're debuting this episode and, brian, I am very excited about I know you are well. If you were with us for, uh, any any period of time last season, you heard us talk a lot about the lowly chicago white socks, who went on last season to become, by a lot of metrics, the worst team in major league history. They have some competition already, so we are going to start tracking this because right now, we believe or I believe, I believe, brian believes, so we believe that the colorado rockies of 2025 may dethrone the 2024 white socks as the worst team in major league history.
Speaker 1:Wow, okay. So last year on this day, the White Sox were 10-28, 14 games out of first place that's a 263 win percentage and they had a negative 88 run differential. Okay, that's pretty bad, really bad. The Rockies as it stands today Said hold my beer. The Rockies as it stands today are 6-31 for a 162 win percentage. They're 18.5 games out. Wow, we're not even two weeks into May and they're 18.5 games out. Of first place, their run differential is negative 109. They've been mathematically eliminated already.
Speaker 1:Oh my Lord. Now it doesn't help that their division is stacked. Yeah, there might be four playoff teams in that division. Yeah, as it sits right now, there's three. So yeah, the Rockies are giving last year's White Sox team a run for their damn money already.
Speaker 2:And didn't you say that you— here we go. When we last talked about the White Sox and I was putting over what a great feat this is, you were like no, and it'll never be done again. And I'm pretty sure you were like, yeah, this is the worst, it can never be any worse and it'll just be forgotten. Here we are. Next season season.
Speaker 1:the record is broken well, brian, I'm a I'm a bit of an optimist, okay, and I just couldn't imagine that it could get any worse. Yeah, much less the very next season. Right, if I said that, I'm not so sure that I said it, just like that, that's right, I said it, yeah this is it's bad, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Well, look.
Speaker 1:We are about to be at a point where the Players Association and the owners are going to be negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement, and there's a lot of things allegedly being talked about. That, you know, like a salary cap, has been a hot topic. I don't know how much the real people making the decisions are talking about that, but I think what would be a better option and this will never happen but what I would want to see way before a salary cap, because I think a salary cap ruins the game I do too Is a salary minimum. Yeah, a minimum salary. These teams are not interested in winning ballgames. Yeah, the Rockies don't seem interested in winning ballgames. The White Sox still don't seem interested in winning ballgames. The Pittsburgh Pirates, certainly. They just fired their manager and promoted another coach who's already in the organization. Yeah, what?
Speaker 2:kind of difference do you think that's going to make? It's going to be none. I mean it's, you know. Second burst same as the first.
Speaker 1:It's just, you're just scapegoating Derek Shelton, Mm-hmm, who you know and I don't follow the Pirates closely. I don't think Derek Shelton was. The problem. I don't think he was either is you guys are not putting, you're not setting your team up for success.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So you know. So, yeah, we're going to dunk on the Rockies all year long until they start winning some ball games.
Speaker 2:That's right, rockies. We got our eyes on you and we're going to keep it on there the whole season.
Speaker 1:And here's the thing If you play half your games at Coors Field and you can't dumb luck your way into more wins than six out of 37. Yeah, something's wrong. I know Something's bad wrong.
Speaker 2:Holy cow, you think we could coach a team and get more than six wins?
Speaker 1:Probably. I mean, are you kidding me? I mean, I don't know. You know who are we. We're just two yahoos who like watching. I think we could. You know, I don't know. You know who are we. We're just two yahoos who like watching. I think we could. You know, I don't know. It's a sad state of affairs and we're just going to try to spin it and have fun with it.
Speaker 2:You know I am undefeated as a girls' little league softball coach. You don't say Completely undefeated Won the championship the only year that we did it.
Speaker 1:I was a pretty damn good soccer coach back in the day, yeah.
Speaker 2:All my kids quit the first day. I made them run laps every time they dropped a ball. But I tell you what they came back for the next practice and they didn't drop any more balls. How old are these kids? Well, I had two teams. I had one, they were the little guys, so eight or nine, and then I had the little girls, and then they really hated running because their legs are so short. And I had the bigger girls, which were teenagers, right, which was ironic because I was a teenager too. Yeah, but I coached both teams. They both won all their games and won the championships. It was fantastic, yeah, but yeah, we ran them, ran them hard, yeah, yeah, both teams. They both won all their games and won the championships.
Speaker 1:It was fantastic, yeah, but yeah, we ran them, ran them hard yeah, yeah, I, I always ran the older kids hard, the, the, the 13, 14 range, uh, and I love coaching those kids because you could be competitive and you could, you could really push those kids and and try to make them better the little ones you know.
Speaker 2:They were so funny.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're a lot of fun, you know, and I got asked to do that as a favor and I wasn't super into it, but I did it. You know, we had a lot of fun. We had a lot of fun, my favorite moment from coaching the eight and nine-year-old kids and we're co-ed, so I had boys and girls. Um, I had this little kid named sammy and, uh, he was the textbook riddling kid and we were in the middle of a game and the way they set it up was the teams were on one side and the parents were all on the other side, which I loved because we were separated from them, didn't have to hear them, I could just do what I needed to do.
Speaker 1:Well, we're at halftime or whatever, and I'm trying to get the kids huddled up, which is, you know, a huge challenge with kids that age. Herding cats, herding cats and Sammy just starts sprinting across the field and I said, sammy, what are you doing? And he turns around and he goes. I got to go hug my dad and I said, okay, hustle, hustle. What am I going to say? No, you can't go hug your dad. Yes, go give your dad a hug and hustle back man, I would have made the dad run the lap.
Speaker 2:Excuse me, sammy, senior, I'm gonna need two, two laps from you for this all right.
Speaker 1:Last thing on the docket for us today. If you are a long-time listener of this show, you know we like talking about ballpark food. Love it all right. Austin wells, yankees catcher, big fan favorite, has really sort of overachieved in his short time with the Bronx Bombers. Well, austin Wells started an Instagram page where he rates burritos, burritos, and got a pretty nice little following right off the bat. Yankees fans are very devoted. They like him, so why not See what he thinks about burritos?
Speaker 1:So the team has allowed Austin Wells to taste three different burritos and the one he liked the best they put on the menu at the ballpark Yankee Stadium and they named it the Austin Wells Favorito. Yeah, see what they did there. I did. So this is a breakfast burrito that has scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, maple City fries, cheddar, jack cheese and chipotle aioli, and this thing has not been well received. So I first saw I caught wind of this because Jeff Nelson, who's a Yankees broadcaster, they're talking about this on the broadcast the second inning of a game. They bring this up for everybody in the booth to try, or at least for Jeff Nelson to try, and Jeff Nelson was quoted by saying glad it wasn't a flavor-ito, because it didn't have a lot of it Classic line and I thought, wow, that's pretty harsh. So, as I'm putting the show together today, right, I get, I get all this.
Speaker 1:I get all this on the format okay and I and I'm like, okay, we're done, and I send it off to brian and I, immediately, as soon as I send it to brian, I said wait, I don't know how much this thing costs. How much does it cost? So we'll get there. So I google to find the price and there's a new york times article reviewing this. This burrito 12.28 pretty stinking good for ballpark food, right. Right, you know, mean we were talking about $80 hot dog towers two weeks ago, I mean, and $40 16-inch hot dog or whatever. Yes, so 1228, not bad. Except they say that it's tiny and not remotely close to being filling, so it's basically a snack for 1228. Yeah, that's not cool. They buried this menu item. They compared it to McDonald's breakfast, they compared it to the Fairfield Inn breakfast. So, brian, with all that said, is the Austin Wells Favorito a buy? No, you're just going to trust all these.
Speaker 2:I'm going to trust all these people, all these New York media people. Yeah, because I don't want to eat eggs at the ballpark. I don't want any eggs to come from the ballpark. Why not? It doesn't seem like a good place that can fix a good egg.
Speaker 1:Here's the thing.
Speaker 2:At that price point. I'm trying it, yeah, but then again, I mean, we've had fried bologna sandwiches at ballparks before.
Speaker 1:Amazing, they were great. One of the best ballpark meals I've ever had yeah, so you know rest.
Speaker 2:Rest in peace to the prince, the princeton whistle pig I mean, when you described it, it uh, it sounded good in theory, yeah, but then I guess in practical application it didn't come to fruition.
Speaker 1:Okay, this might be the most Brian thing I've ever said on this podcast. I think this all might be a conspiracy to get attention on it.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, wow. And you don't believe in conspiracy theory?
Speaker 1:Not usually yeah, I can usually logic my way out of a good conspiracy.
Speaker 2:Well see, there's only one way to find out. We got to take 13 bucks and go down there and try it well, it'd be going up there well, way up there depends where we start from.
Speaker 1:Well, we're not starting from canada, pal. Let's go to toronto, just so we can move down to get to Yankee Stadium.
Speaker 2:Why not?
Speaker 1:Why not Again at that price point? I'm going to give it a try.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's an affordable thing. Here's where you get in trouble is if you like it and they are tiny. Now you've got to buy three of them, yeah.
Speaker 1:Now you're like $40 into this thing, right, but three burritos for $40 or one hot dog for 40 well, that's true, that's true you know, I mean I just the price point gets me in.
Speaker 1:Okay, because again I want to. I don't want to just trust these people, because I don't know these, these new york times writers and I don't know jeff nelson, yeah, and I'm not saying they're bad people or they're dishonest, that that's whatever you know, I just don't know them, so I'm skeptical of their opinion. And and at a ballpark we're under 13 bucks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm giving it a try, okay, I'm giving it a try, do you get to take anything home with it? No, it's just the food. Just the heartburn, just the food.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just the heartburn.
Speaker 2:Okay, all right. Well, if they would put it in a commemorative cup, I think it's a sell all day, as I heard Jim Cornette say one time it's been a long time since those eggs were up a chicken's ass, oh my. All right, I believe we've done our time today we have. It's been a great quick day, but it's. We got a lot in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we had a lot to talk about today and, uh, I'm sure we're gonna have a lot to talk about next time. I believe we will have an episode next week. Good, my schedule will allow for a new episode next week um be a little earlier in the week, but that's okay. Uh, brian, you got anything else to get off your chest today?
Speaker 2:Let's see what do I want to discuss before I go. So let's back up to the Dodgers real quick just for a second Go ahead, because I've been thinking this the whole time.
Speaker 2:So supposedly Otani Betts and half of Freddie has been in a slump, supposedly, and they've not been, but supposedly they haven't been putting up the numbers. Okay, boy, that bottom of that lineup sure has been, and that's amazing that that lineup has kicked in the way that it has. Now I don't think they've been in a slump, but that's what the commentators were saying Freddie's hot as hell now. Right right, right, right.
Speaker 1:But what I'm saying is that whole lineup is cooking and that's a great thing and I just wanted to get that in. Yeah, no, it really is truly amazing the depth of that roster and organization. Yeah, james Altman, I'm a little surprised. I think there's just some things in his game that keep him from being a valuable trade piece. So they're hanging on to him as a depth, as a depth piece, and he's been tearing it up in triple a because that's what he does. But there were some metrics the strikeout numbers, chase rate, some of that stuff didn't look great, right. Well, tao goes on the injured list, altman goes up. A lot of people are skeptical and you see the lineup and you go oof, here we go. First game he hits a home run at the big league level. Yeah, didn't slow him down a bit.
Speaker 2:Just amazing it is. It's a juggernaut over there.
Speaker 1:And here's the thing. There's a lot of major league teams some that we have talked about today where James Altman would play every day.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And again, the standard is different with the Dodgers. Yes, the standard is different. And here's the thing If James Altman ever does get traded or moves on when he reaches free agency, he and here's the thing If James Altman ever does get traded or moves on when he reaches free agency, he's going to go somewhere and contribute, just like Gavin Lux. Absolutely, because just because you're not a star with the Dodgers doesn't mean you can't go somewhere else and be a star Right, learn their way of things.
Speaker 1:Or at least an everyday player, when you're not an everyday player with the Dodgers, I agree we might be on a collision course to an october matchup between the dodgers and the cubs. Man, yeah, I hope so. It looks more and more likely every day. Talk about a win-win.
Speaker 2:Wow, yeah, that'd be some great podcasting we'll have to put some plexiglass between us I was gonna say we may only speak to each other on the podcast if that happens, I don't know.
Speaker 1:We've been pretty good, yeah, when they've played in the past, yeah, but but the podcast, if that happens, I don't know. We've been pretty good, yeah, when they've played in the past, yeah, but but the podcast has never seen a cubs dodgers playoff series. Right, so right, you know something happens.
Speaker 2:Somebody gets beamed, they erupt in a bench clear and then all of a sudden on the podcast, we're just punching each other in the face. Great times, great times.
Speaker 1:So stay tuned for that possibility. Uh, months down the road, but uh, but yeah, I guess that'll do it for us this week. Thanks as always for listening. Thanks as always to pirate flag radio for putting up with our shenanigans in the middle of their uh their world each and every day. We're so happy to be a part of that group and uh plan on being a part of it for a long time.
Speaker 1:So, uh, I don't know if, if you if you're a pirate flag radio listener and you don't want to hear about baseball, you know. I don't know what to tell you because come.
Speaker 2:Come back in an hour and a half yeah, just just just just.
Speaker 1:Come back in a little bit, we'll be back to. We'll be back to doom metal soon, don't worry. All right, well, we'll be back next week with more shenanigans and more baseball and more whatever the hell else we come up with. So until then, for Brian, I'm Dallas.
Speaker 2:We'll see you at the ballpark.
