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Back here today for another episode of Four Clueless Dudes. Flying solo today. Everybody's working. Privilege of being retired. I am kind of working on the side. I am JB, head coach for my local high school, which uh you know we've been practicing here for a couple of weeks now and getting ready to kick the season off Monday with varsity guys have their first game, and ours will be a week later. But kind of want to touch on uh MLB. Major League Baseball. Opening seasons tonight. Looks like Yankees and the the Giants play. Uh not a big fan of either one of those teams. I do like Aaron Judzo. He's a hell of a baseball player. Uh Kansas C Royals fan, so I'm hoping they do well this year. Uh a lot of their players were uh, or let's say the Royals were well represented in the World Baseball Classic with uh several teams, so uh yeah. A couple of them, I think, actually won the WBC there. Salvatore, and I think there was another one on there, not for sure, but uh yeah, just interesting to see how things go this year. It looks like a lot of rookies that are making the uh uh Major League rosters this year. So I think JJ Weatherhope for St. Louis will be on the main roster and be to see if he plays anywhere. I know he was drafted as a shortstop, but you know, he may have to play some uh second base since they uh traded their second baseman to the uh Seattle Mariners, which you know I'm not uh Cardinals are not my favorite team, but that was kind of a dumb move. But they might be down for a couple of years, so we'll see what happens with them. Uh don't really know who will win it. I mean, shit, probably the Dodgers or the Yankees are probably, or the uh Blue Jays are probably the odds-on favorites. Uh it just seems like the uh Dodgers and the Yankees load up every year because they got the most money. Uh now rumor out there is Scoobyl's having a terrible year with Detroit. Or if they're not in the playoffs, come trade deadline that he'll be a Dodger, which, you know, I don't know. They just uh seem like those two teams a lot of times get the best players and uh yeah, it just seems like they corner the market. I don't know. I got the most money, the biggest uh uh medium outlet markets, I guess. Uh interested to see how the uh kid from Southridge, Colson Montgomery, how he does, you know, his I think it's his first full year in the major leagues. I know when he got called up last year, he struggled for a little bit, and then he just went on a friggin' tear. So be interested to see how they do. Uh what kind of injuries, you know, creep up in the uh first couple of weeks of the season there. Seems like every time they do the World Baseball Classic, you have some pretty significant injuries because those guys don't, you know, get the uh reps they need, throwing and you know, just everything else that goes along with the kind of spring training, kind of how we're doing it. It's just been interesting to see how our varsity coach how he uh gets those kids up to ready to, you know, the especially the pitchers only, ready to start a game and throw 65 pitches. And you know, it's been kind of interesting to see that. Uh, you know, he is a warmer catcher at IU. Uh he was a hitting coach in the in uh Evansville Otters, you know, a uh professional independent team. So he was there for several years. He was in the Reds organization for a little bit. You know, he's been an assistant coach, head coach, you know, all over the United States. So interested to see how it goes. You know, his wife is from the area. I think that's kind of why maybe they came back here. So I don't know, but he's a good coach. No nonsense. Hasn't had time to mellow out yet. Well, that'll come with age. So uh we got one of the uh varsity assistants who've been the head coach uh for the past 15 years, up until 2022. I think that was his last year, and he retired. I mean, as far as being a head coach, but he'd been on staff there since uh I think maybe late 90s, early 2000s, so he'd been a long time. So wow. Couple of good teams uh you know, kind of get on our high school. You know, we uh uh come out ranked preseason eighth in the state. Uh we've had some injuries that uh, you know, now it's kind of muddied the waters on what people are gonna start and what the JB has. And you know, got any freshmen or sophomores that might play up, who knows? It's gonna be uh, you know, an interesting season. How you know how healthy people can stay, it's gonna be crazy. So just amazing how one person getting hurt can uh just change the whole dynamic of your team, and now we got two people out. So that's gonna make it even more interesting. So uh yeah, so Major League Baseball, back to that. I just you know I can't wait. I mean, you know, just love baseball, always loved baseball, been an umpire for 20 plus years, and now I'm gonna step into the dugout, and so it's gonna be a little bit different. Uh I'm kind of we can look at the game in two different ways. I know the rules inside and out and how the umpires think, and so it's gonna be it's gonna be interesting this year to see how that goes. Uh we went to a game last night at a local college, uh University of Southern Indiana, uh, played ball state. Coach took the kids down there, and you know, there were several other teams, you know. Actually, our the opponent for the JV for the my bad, the varsity. First game of the year coming up on Monday, they were there too. There were some uh local high school kids up from the team that they play ball state, so uh Delta High School and some other ones were there. So it's just kind of cool to see the inter the interaction between our team and the the team from Delta. Just it was pretty cool. I mean, you know, to see that, you know. Hope they can put that passion on the field this year, too, because uh they're gonna need it. Kind of like the Royals from the 2014-2015 season. Uh next man up, keep the line moving. Uh so it's gonna be manufactured runs. It might be hitting runs, bunts, stolen bases. Who knows what it's gonna be? Each game may be different. We'll say the varsity where I'm at, they have four solid pitchers. Uh got a couple solid pitchers on the the JB team, so we'll see how that goes. Uh so the MLB, you know, anybody reading this, you know, give me your predictions this year. Uh I just think until somebody can catch up with the Dodgers, they're gonna win it again. I mean, they got the best player, they got the best player in the world, you know, on that team showhey, and looks like he's fully healed, and he's gonna pitch uh, you know, every four or five days, and he's gonna be hitting every day in the DH spot, leading off, probably hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases again, who knows? Uh and their pitching corps uh just stacked with uh some of the people they have here, Otani and Tyler Glass now, and uh oh I can't think of that kid's name that uh come up with the Tampa Bay Rays. Can't remember, and then they traded him to uh San Diego. Now they're too with the Dodgers. Uh seems like he came over to the Dodgers and uh started pitching really well. So uh yeah, so they're pretty stacked, so we'll see what happens. I do like Shohei. I hate the Dodgers with a passion, but I do like Shohei. Uh so we'll see what happens. Don't think he's the greatest Japanese baseball player just because he pitched and hits. I think each row is probably the best. Uh he probably could have pitched if he wanted to. Uh he probably could have hit 40 home runs if he wanted to and drove in 130, but uh he didn't do that. He did what the team needed. He was a leadoff guy and get on base about every time. If he had a two or three hopper in the infield, you wasn't throwing him out, you know, until later in his career when he slowed down. But my opinion, he's still the greatest Japanese-born player ever, Ichiro. You know, until somebody comes in and wins rookie of the year and MVP in the same season, he's the best. Uh, you know, even though he wasn't technically a rookie, he played in the uh, you know, the Japanese baseball for years, and so did Shohei. You know, he technically wasn't a rookie. It's just not like he was 18 years old and got drafted by an MLB team and came to the United States playing the MLB. So, you know, there was some baseball experience. You know, Japan maybe teach the games a little different, but still got to see the ball, hit the ball, field the ball, throw the ball. So sometimes the fundamentals don't change. That's why I've been trying to intergrain into our players there. That uh me personally, I think the most important fundamental is a cutoff man. Uh, because you can win a game, lose a game just by overthrowing the uh cutoff man. Some of these guys don't know how to get in position, they don't realize, you know, uh who's the cutoff depending on where balls hit. Uh again, they're young. So we have several freshmen that are you know gonna play JV. We don't have a freshman team, and you know, uh you know, several sophomores, maybe a couple freshmen, are gonna get moved up. So just the fundamentals of the game and been trying to hammer it into their head and things like that. So uh so it's been interesting to say I think they enjoyed that game going there last night and seeing that and see how a uh yeah, they're not a major caller, they're a D1. You know, they moved up from Division II several years ago, which they were Division II Powerhouse, won a couple of Division II national championships. So, you know, they they they are good. Uh so of course you move up, you get better players, got more money that you can give them, more NIL money, which you know I think that's kind of hurt college sports, especially football and basketball. Now you pay these guys to come and they don't, I don't know if they necessarily play as hard, but uh there's no incentive anymore in coming and showing your wares in the NCAA to get drafted by you know professionals because uh hell you're already making more than some of them make. So transfer portal, I think that's just bullshit. They need to get rid of that. You know, you got guys that are 27 years old and in their seventh year of college, and they graduated three years ago and they're already married, got three kids, and uh they're making millions off NIL. Uh so sorry to get on a little tangent on that, but it just that's kind of crazy how it's run sports. Uh so yeah, MLB opening night. So it'll be interesting to see how the season goes. I hope my Royals uh do very well this year. They got a pretty good team. Uh so yeah, we'll see how it goes. It'd be a dream to see the Royals and the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, and the Royals win, and then the Royals go on to win the World Series, kind of like they did in 2015. Uh almost did it in 2014, had a guy on third base and just couldn't get him in. Alright, you guys have a good day. Uh, you want to respond on this? Tell me who you think's gonna win the uh World Series. I know it's it's early in the season, you know. Injuries and a lot of things can dictate that, but just early preseason prediction. I just think the Dodgers, until somebody beats them, uh, it's probably the hands on favorite. But hoping my Royals do good. So, peace out, have a good day. Uh we try to get these guys together this weekend and do it. I mean, our last couple of really hard practices are up, and then we start games, and maybe it'll back off a little bit. Have a good one.