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S2 E22 Pujols reaches 700
89 Plays2 years ago
Pujols winds up with more than just 700 Home Runs. The NFL and concussions, a Second Big Ten coach gets fired and the Redbirds are in the post season
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Talking Sports on the Bleachers'
00:00:06
Speaker
Pay attention, son. This is for your own good. This is Gateway City Sports. The rumors are true. What the hell's going on out here?
Albert Pujols' 700 Home Runs & Cardinals Update
00:00:18
Speaker
This is Talking Sports on the Bleachers with Don Glenn. A confident young man. A superb athlete. A look at the sports issues of the day. Gee, that sounds kind of interesting. Grab a seat, pop a cold one, and let's talk some sports.
00:00:34
Speaker
You've got to get it done. Hey folks, big news. Albert gets his 700, but Cardinals' Clemson division. The U of I did something it hasn't done in 20 years, and we have a new addition to the Gateway City Sports family. I told you it was coming.
Listener Engagement Invitation
00:00:54
Speaker
Hey, so throw down the seat cushion, pop a top, and we gonna talk some sports.
00:01:04
Speaker
Holy cow! Packers crowd the line of scrimmage, one on the shotgun, here's the snap, Romo looking it up to the right side, and her spender! Her spender is a goal line by Woodson! And there is your dagger!
00:01:32
Speaker
Come on, start your engine! The British young Cinderella, he's coming out of nowhere, he's got about 350 yards, he's got to be here in about 500 yards, don't you think?
00:01:57
Speaker
he's got a vehicle dad oh he got all of that one are you crying that's not crying that's not crying
00:02:20
Speaker
I won't bow bone! I won't bow bone! Get that old man! You say I bow bone! Come here, bro! Nobody can beat me! You tell him what I say! And you say, I'm gonna kill him! Nobody can stop me! You say I bow bone! And I'm coming after him! You tell him! Playoffs? Don't talk about them. Playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs?
00:02:57
Speaker
Hey, dad? You want to have a catch? I'd like that. Welcome back sports
Gateway City Sports Offerings
00:03:16
Speaker
fans. This is Talking Sports on the Bleachers and I am your host Don Glenn. Well, Talking Sports on the Bleachers is a proud part of Gateway City Sports.
00:03:25
Speaker
And at Gateway City Sports, you'll find articles, blogs, and sports content that involves the sports in and around the St. Louis bi-state area. You can also find other podcasts, like for Cubs and Cardinal fans, you like that little back and forth you guys always do? Well, then you need to listen to the team of rivals with Ron Nuddle, Pete Gettys, and Elliott Dewey. You also have the Derek King Sports Show with Derek King and announcing the newest addition to the lineup,
00:03:55
Speaker
We welcome that's the winner podcast to our group with host Ryan Jenkins and Josh Brown. I've had a chance to listen to those, the couple of their shows and man, they do a great job. So we're happy to have them on board. Uh, maybe one of these days I'll be able to get a couple of them on here and we can do some talking. Uh, so check out gateway city sports.com.
00:04:19
Speaker
All right. So let's get into this. I'm going to get into Albert and the Cardinals in a little bit, but I want to touch a little bit on the NFL, uh, some other baseball, then the Alina, then we'll get to Albert and the Cardinals. Well, all eyes on the NFL right now are focused on the Miami Dolphins and it, they should be right now. I mean, uh, the situation revolving around quarterback to, uh,
00:04:41
Speaker
Tagovilio Viola. I, I'm going to, like I said, I butchered a lame name the last times. I'm just going to call him Tua.
Tua Tagovailoa Concussion Controversy
00:04:48
Speaker
Uh, head coach Mike McDaniel announced that two will not be available when the dolphins square off against the jets in week five. Two was of course injured in the, uh, teams last game versus the Cincinnati Bengals on a vicious tackle by Bengals defensive tackle Josh Tupua. Uh, now this was four days after he'd been shoved to the ground by linebacker Matt Milano.
00:05:11
Speaker
in the Buffalo game and Hit the back of his head or appeared to hit the back of his head on the turf And it was a little bit slow getting up and then he kind of stumbled as he was walking off the field you know most thought that time he had suffered a concussion and
00:05:31
Speaker
Uh, he was checked out by the team's physician on, uh, and an unaffiliated neuro trauma consultant or a UFC has been, uh, decimated by the players association. Uh, he was cleared by both and he was deemed fit to play. Um, and he finished the game and they won the game. Now did they miss something? You know, to a claim, the reason that he stumbled was due to a flare up on an earlier back injury. Um,
00:05:58
Speaker
And video of the game does show that in the first quarter, on the quarterback's sneak, he got up very slowly and was grabbing his back as he went off the field. So take that for what it's worth. You know, it could be a back injury. I'm not a doctor. I never even played one on TV, so I've got no clue. But now personally though, if it were me, even if it were a case of just aggravating a back injury,
00:06:28
Speaker
I'm not sure I would have said, yeah, you're fit to play, go back in and play. I think I may have held it just because of the back injury, let alone the possibility that it might have had a concussion. Now the NFLPA has terminated that UFC that examined to according to multiple reports, the NFL and the Players Association have reached an agreement that will change the concussion protocol and will immediately disqualify from the game a player who shows
00:06:58
Speaker
as they are labeling it, gross motor instability. That has yet to really be completely defined, but it's also going to be regardless of reason. So it can be if he's having a back problem, if it's whatever the case may be, he's automatically out.
00:07:19
Speaker
So they've really got to get some definitions nailed down on that one, but they've got the idea formulated now that it's got to finalize it and make all the wording so that it's right. Now, the dolphins have not put Tua on the IL, or IR, excuse me, and they don't have a timetable for his return either.
00:07:42
Speaker
There's also no conclusion yet with the NFL and the Players Association joint investigation into the incident. A personal note here, concussions can be tricky. My daughter had a concussion during a softball game when she was in high school. The coaching staff followed all the protocols. They did the on the field testing. They were doing everything that they were supposed to be doing.
00:08:09
Speaker
Uh, and she cleared fine. She had no dizziness, no headaches, no sensitivity to light. And it was a daytime game. Um, but after the game was over and she got on four hours later, uh, we had to take her to the emergency room cause she started, emergency room cause she started developing sensitivity to light, had massive headache. Uh, and then it was fine, but she had had a low grade, uh, concussion. Uh, so snot signs may not have shown up right away. Uh, but you would have thought.
00:08:38
Speaker
that within the four days between the Sunday game and the Thursday game that some signs would have shown up. So it's still not real clear whether he had a concussion in week three or not. So we'll keep an eye on that and eventually they'll let us know what's going on. Now last Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints played in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Vikings vs. Saints London Recap
00:09:07
Speaker
The Vikings won 28-25. Kirk Cousins was 25-38 for 273 yards and a touchdown and one pick. Justin Jefferson had 10 receptions, 147 yards for the Vikings, also had a rushing touchdown. Adam Phelan caught 8 passes for 73 yards. The big man for the game was kicker Greg Joseph, who's 5-5 in field goals, including a 46-yarder. For the same thing, the adult one was 20-28.
00:09:37
Speaker
for 236 yards and a touchdown. The Saints had rushing touchdowns from Latavius Murray and Tyson Hill. And unlike cousins who had most of his receptions by two players, Andy Dalton kind of spread his around as he had at least five players are getting three catches or more. Chris Olave was the only receiver getting a touchdown on four catches for 67 yards.
00:10:06
Speaker
The NFL does visit London again this week as the New York Giants are like on a lock horns with the Green Bay Packers. And that actually ought to be a pretty good game. I'm thinking, you know, so really good representation of American football in Ditto, London town.
Aaron Judge's Home Run Record
00:10:25
Speaker
Alrighty, in baseball on Tuesday, October 4th, Aaron Judge became the American League single season home run champion
00:10:33
Speaker
as he hit number 62 in Texas in the second game of a double header on a 1-1 count off Rangers opener Jesus Tinoco. He joins Barry Bonds, who had 73, Mark Maguire, who had 70 and 65, Sami Soso had 64 and 61, Roger Maris, who had 61,
00:10:55
Speaker
and Babe Ruth, who had 60 as the only players in the game to hit 60 or more home runs in a single season. Now, whether you want to recognize Bonds, McGuire and Sosa, and if that, if you don't want to, that is totally your business and that's a discussion we can have for another day. Uh, but I do find it very interesting that only three American league players have done, have hit 60 or more home runs and all three were Yankees.
00:11:24
Speaker
at the time it happened. Ruth hit 60 in 1927 as a Yankee, Maris hit 61 in 1961 as a Yankee, and now Judge hits in 2023 as a Yankee. It's also interesting that if you look at it, Judge
00:11:48
Speaker
beat Maris' record 61 years after he hit 61 home runs in 1961. So those of you people who are numerologists, let me know what that means, okay? Just email the show or talk the show and let me know what that means. Now speaking of home run chases and Babe Ruth,
Celebrating Albert Pujols' 700th Home Run
00:12:15
Speaker
Albert Pujols is the newest member of the 700 Club, belting home runs 699 and 700 in LA against the Dodgers. He had 699 off the lefty, Andrew Haney on a one and two count, I think, yeah, one ball, two strike count with a runner on in the third inning. And then he had 700 off right-hander Phil Bickford in game, in the fourth inning with two runners on.
00:12:45
Speaker
Now since then he has hit a home run 7 0 1, 7 0 2, and now 7 0 3, he just hit that a couple of days ago. Um, and a funny story on this one here, my wife and I took my youngest daughter to the ball game Saturday on October 1st. Um, and, um, after he hit 6 0 1 or 7 0 1, and she was, she was hoping for 7 0 2. She wanted to watch him at 7 0 2. And, um,
00:13:13
Speaker
when we got there, and of course he did have a double, drove in a couple runs, and he didn't get a home run that game, St. Louis won the game, and as we left, my daughter looked and she goes, if Albert gets 702 tomorrow, I will be mad. So when Albert did hit 702 the next day, I get this text, and it says, he got 702 from my daughter, and it was followed by another text that said, angered, L-O-L.
00:13:43
Speaker
So now one thing he did when he hit 702, he did something else he accomplished that day and that same day was he tied Babe Ruth for second all time on the RBI list with 2,214. Now the next day he hit the home run 703 and passed Babe Ruth. He's since added two more RBIs.
00:14:06
Speaker
And he now finishes his career regular season RBI total at 2,218. Hank Aaron is the all-time leader at 2,297. So I don't think we're going to see Albert try to come back to take that. I think he's going to be happy to where he's at. He also joined another very exclusive club I found out when he hit the 700.
00:14:36
Speaker
He is the only the second, I kept this, only the second player in MLB history to have 700 home runs and 3000 hits. The other guy, some dude named Hank Aaron. I mean, that's some rare company in need. Now, you know, it did kind of suck a little bit when he hit 7, 699 and 700 in LA.
00:15:06
Speaker
Um, especially because, well, you know, the game wasn't on Valley Sports. So Dan McLaughlin, which everybody in the world wanted Dan McLaughlin, well, not in the world, but in the St. Louis sports world, wanted Dan McLaughlin to make that call. They wanted Danny, Danny Mac to make the historic call. And, uh, but Apple TV did the game. So Valley Sports couldn't do the game. Um,
00:15:35
Speaker
But they did put Danny Mac in the radio booth. And he was to do the fourth inning. And he, when it came time for Albert's at bat, he stepped aside and gave the call to John Rooney, the Cardinals' radio voice. And that is the total, that's total selflessness right there.
00:15:59
Speaker
That is the mark of a true top pro and just a class act in Dan McLaughlin. And I really think that that was just fantastic that he did that. And if you haven't heard John Rooney's call, I've got it here. So we're going to play it now. With the widespread stance, arms out over the plate. Beckford from the stretch.
00:16:29
Speaker
The 1-1 pitch. A swing, and there it goes! Left field, way back! That's home run number 700! Two holes hits a three-run homer, and he hits 699 and 700 at Dodger Stadium on September 23rd, 2022. 8.23 PM Pacific Time.
00:17:08
Speaker
Every Cardinal is out of the dugout, congratulating Albert Kulho. The Dodgers are on the top step, clapping for their former teammate and friend who they honored before the game today. Everybody in the ballpark is standing. What a great moment, a Hollywood moment here in LA. And Albert has been writing Hollywood moments all summer long, and you can add this one to the list. 700 home runs.
00:17:38
Speaker
for the great Albert Poole. A team meeting in front of the Cardinal dugout hugs all over the place for Albert Poole as he celebrates 700 career home runs. Barry Bonds 762, Hank Aaron 755, Babe Ruth 714, Albert Poole 700.
00:18:07
Speaker
Danny, thank you for allowing me to make the call. I was more nervous on $6.99 than I was for that one. You nailed both of them. But thank you. You nailed them. Albert Pujols. And there are more memories to come, guys. You got it. And now it's Goldie following that. Good luck. There's a strike at the knees. What a moment. Great call, John. So well done. Great swing by Albert Pujols. He lofted too.
00:18:37
Speaker
into the Southern California nights. I mean, he killed them. That was just a great call. And of course, the other two voices here were Ricky Horton and Dan McLaughlin. And, you know, again, being the true professional he is, you know, when Rooney gave him the line to get back in and he just jumped right back in as
00:19:06
Speaker
just like nothing had ever happened. And I mean, so, but just, there was a, just a very, very good, I love that call. Yeah. And we've, you know, we, as Cardinal fans, we've heard a lot of great, great calls from some fantastic announcers.
00:19:25
Speaker
Harry Carey's call on Stan Musial's 3000th base hit. Jack Buck with Lou Brock's stolen base and McGuire's home run.
00:19:41
Speaker
Of course, the Ozzy Smith, go crazy folks, go crazy. And then one of my favorites was Mike Shannon's call of the two grand slams in one inning by Fernando Tatis. That'd be Fernando Tatis.
00:20:00
Speaker
Senior junior wasn't born yet or he was a kid then one the other But anyway, but yeah, we we have we've been we've been kind of spoiled in singing those with some really really fine announcers and you know kudos to all of them And I think
00:20:18
Speaker
Rudy and Horton do a very good job in the radio booth. Danny Mack, and I don't care who he's partnered with. I mean, whether it's Brad Thompson, whether it's Jimmy Edmonds. He just is a class act, and St.
Managerial Changes in MLB
00:20:38
Speaker
Louis is just very lucky to have him. We'll have all our play-by-play voices, if you will.
00:20:48
Speaker
Okay, on a little bit of a different note, the Chicago White Sox announced that Tony La Russa will not manage the team the rest of the year. La Russa has been undergoing testing and treatment for a heart condition. And on Monday, La Russa did announce he was retiring for the second time.
00:21:10
Speaker
Also Don Mattingly is out as manager of the Miami Marlins and the Marlins now join the Angels, Rangers, Blue Jays, Phillies, White Sox in looking for a new manager. And in a breaking story, as I was literally writing copy for this, for this pod a day or so ago, the Kansas City Royals parted ways with former Cardinals player and skipper Mike Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred. So a lot of coaching vacancies.
00:21:41
Speaker
I might suggest to a couple of these teams, Mike Shilt, just a suggestion, guys. And I'll tell you what, something else I think too is with all these openings, I think you're going to see Skip Schumacher get a lot of attention as well. So just be prepared, Cardinal fans. We may lose a coach or two.
00:22:06
Speaker
Uh, well the wild card round starts Friday, October 7th and in the National League, it'll be the Phillies traveling to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals and the winner gets the Atlanta Braves and the best of five on October 11th. The Padres traveled to the Big Apple to take on the Mets and the winner gets the Dodgers. Now in the American league, Seattle plays in Toronto and the winner taking on the Yankees while Tampa Bay plays in Cleveland and the winner gets the Astros.
00:22:32
Speaker
All wild card round games will be on ESPN or I think ESPN2 and ABC. There still wasn't working a couple that out I think. And then the Divisional Series will either be on FOX, FS1 or TBS. Same for the League Championship Series. Now the World Series will be only on FOX. So there is your check, as they say, check your local listings for times in your area.
00:23:01
Speaker
Uh, so now that everything is set, teams can stress out a less about the last game and more about what's coming up with a playoffs. You know, but one thing is not stressful. That's buying a car from fifth street motors at fifth street motors located 2044 Rose Lane in Pacific, Missouri, only about 10 miles from six flags. They will help you find a vehicle you need no matter what brand.
00:23:28
Speaker
Fifth Street Motors believes in giving you the best price on a pre-owned vehicle that will fit your budget. Forgive brands that are not a call today at 573-259-1306. Again, that's 573-259-1306. And tell them Gateway City Sports and Talking Sports on the Bleachers sent you. May not get you a discount, but at least, you know, they know where you heard it. Okay, time to talk a little NCAA football.
00:23:58
Speaker
focus a little bit on the Big Ten today. I know I think we're going to do that a little bit tomorrow or next time too, but I just want to kind of focus on the Big Ten because there's a lot of few things happening. First of all, second Big Ten coach was let go. Of course, after a big loss, the University of Wisconsin Fire Coach Paul Christ
00:24:27
Speaker
one day after the Badgers lost to Illinois 34 to 10 in Madison. And the Illini showed complete dominance, especially in the third quarter, outscoring the Badgers 17 to nothing and controlling a time of possession 12 minutes to three. Illinois held the Badgers a total of two rushing yards for the game. Now this follows a 30 point drubbing they took at the, that Wisconsin took at the hands of Ohio State. They've lost back to back games by wide margins.
00:24:57
Speaker
Um, and then of course, if you add in the non-conference loss, home game loss, that is to Washington state, you know, um, it, I think the Badger, uh, administration Wisconsin administration decided that, uh, Paul's just not getting it done. So he is now.
00:25:19
Speaker
on the unemployment line. Now the bad loss made the Badgers 0 and 2 in the Big 10 last place in the West Division. And if Wisconsin can rebound here, they are the only one game behind rest of the Big 10 because everybody else in the West Division is one and one. And now they have two games coming up on the schedule, which are very winnable and can put themselves right back in it as long as maybe, you know, as long as some other teams beat up on each other.
00:25:49
Speaker
Um, they have Northwestern coming up, uh, and Michigan state. Now Northwestern is one and four, one and one in the big 10 West Michigan state is two and three. Oh, and two in the big 10 East. Uh, and neither team has put up much of a defensive fight. So far Northwestern has given up 124 points and Michigan state 113, but by the same token, so is Wisconsin. They've given up 110.
00:26:13
Speaker
So, it could be interesting. Now in the West Division, there are three teams that have given up 50 points or less so far this year. Illinois, 42. Minnesota, 44. And Iowa, 50. Now in conference play, Minnesota has only given up 27 points. Illinois has given up 33 and Iowa, 37. The reason I mention this is because Illinois' next two games are against, you guessed it, Iowa and Minnesota.
00:26:43
Speaker
Um, so could very well separate a few teams, uh, in that little stretch there. Um, Illinois plays host to Iowa while Minnesota has the week off and then they come to, uh, now of course, now Minnesota just lost to Purdue as well. So they're going to come in after a week off from a loss to Purdue and Illinois is going to have a game again, a game against Iowa. Um, now both games are going to be in champagne.
00:27:14
Speaker
So a little bit of an edge for Illinois there. And if they can win those two games, that just puts them in the driver's seat completely for the Big Ten East because they really don't have much. I mean, they got one tough game in
Big Ten Football Updates
00:27:32
Speaker
the West Division Cup, which is Michigan. They've got Purdue. And I believe we got Michigan State. So if they can get by,
00:27:43
Speaker
If they can win both of those two games against Iowa and Minnesota, which right now is their chief competition in the West, they could be very well be looking at their first Big 10 West title. Now in the East Division, it's shaping up to be a three horse race with number two Ohio State, number four Michigan, and number 10 Penn State. All of them are 5-0, 2-0 in the Big 10. And all three have shown themselves to be very good defensively, as expected, Ohio State and Michigan are
00:28:14
Speaker
Juggernauts on the offensive side though. Penn State not as much. And two of the three have winnable games this next week as Ohio travels to Michigan State and Michigan travels to Indiana. Now Penn State has the week off. And we're going to find out how good, well they're going to need that week off actually because after they have their week off they face number four Michigan in Ann Arbor.
00:28:43
Speaker
and then they have home games versus Minnesota and number two Ohio State. So they've got a three week stretch there that's not really, it's gonna be rough for them. Now Penn State is up to the task. They can play spoiler roll on either Ohio State or Michigan or both and make their run into the college football playoffs a little bit tougher than they thought. So this is gonna be,
00:29:13
Speaker
you know, next couple of weeks are going to be pretty, pretty interesting in the big 10. Um, one other thing I know here with, with UCLA and USC coming in in 2024, I was kind of looking at the big 10 just to see how they, cause it's going to get a reshape. I mean, there's just no two ways about it. Yeah. They're going to have to reshape and redo the divisions. Um, you know, so if they go north, south, then you're looking at a Michigan, Michigan state, Wisconsin, Northwestern Iowa, uh, probably Nebraska.
00:29:42
Speaker
or, well, Iowa, excuse me, Minnesota, and then probably Nebraska and Penn State would be going north, which would leave UCLA, USC, Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, Rutgers, and Maryland to the south. I mean, it's kind of a pretty fine line when you're talking Maryland, Ohio State, Purdue, you know, Nebraska, it's kind of a, you know, interesting dividing line.
00:30:07
Speaker
We'll see how that works out if they do it that way. Now, if they go more of an east-west, then you've got, you know, a completely different scenario of, again, splitting some hairs and keeping the divisions would kind of stay the way they are now. You would add USC, UCLA to the west.
00:30:35
Speaker
Uh, and then you would take one team and probably would end up being Northwestern would end up in the East. Um, now there's also the talk that the big 10 could be taking shots at a couple more teams in the Pac-12 like Oregon, Washington, maybe Stanford. And there's been renewed calls, um, by fan base, fan bases all over the big 10 of getting Notre Dame into the big 10.
00:31:05
Speaker
Uh, that can shake things up as well as well. We'll have to see what transpires and how this affects the landscape. Of course, uh, I think UCLA and USC aren't coming into the big 10 until 24. So we've got another year or two to see what else they add. Now adding more teams at a conference and future expansion, uh, is just the big 10 protecting itself from the SCC. And as the SCC has brought in more teams, you know, like I said, they're getting Texas and Oklahoma.
00:31:37
Speaker
There's talk of them trying to woo some Pac-10 teams so they can get a little bit of a West Coast feel. So getting another team or two for the Big Ten right now, that's just really good insurance. Just like you need insurance, because we all know how important it is to stay protected. That's why you need Allstate. The Wiley Group has two locations in Festus and Arnold to serve you.
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Speaker
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Speaker
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Cardinals' Playoff Pitching Strategy
00:33:03
Speaker
I'm going to finish up talking about the Cardinals here.
00:33:07
Speaker
Uh, now as I've already gone over the pool holes and what he's done and met been the playoffs and what's happening there. Um, but a lot of the postseason discussion has been talking about the pitching and in particular, Adam Wainwright. Um, if you'd have asked me two months ago, let's say, I would have said no doubt in anybody's mind, Adam Wainwright is getting game one of whatever playoff series that's that
00:33:36
Speaker
the Cardinals end up starting in because at that time there was, you know, we was either going to be the number three or the number two seed. And I've been handed down. I mean, there's been no doubt, no question about it. But lately, in his last four or five starts, I think it is,
00:34:01
Speaker
He's just not the pitcher, he's what? It's been described by he and Ali Marmal, the Cardinal Manager, as a dead arm phase or something of that nature. And Wainwright knows, he knows that he doesn't have it. I mean, the last game of the regular season that he pitched in, I would have been the October 2nd game at Bush,
00:34:29
Speaker
you know, four and two thirds innings and they had to pull it. Um, now it was kind of cool. They pulled him and Yachty and outward all at the same time and they all walked off a field together, but it was a little bit of a, oh, moment, uh, for fans and for Wainwright himself. And he knows, like I said,
00:34:54
Speaker
Um, he even said in the postgame, in, in, in, in the, uh, postgame interview, he said, uh, uh, if you've read it, uh, is it right now to here? Here it is. I got the quote now that I had to look for it. Um, so right now I'm not so sure. Um, and Wayne Wright isn't sure himself, as he said, uh, after his last outing, uh, which was again, was October 2nd, he says, I went from probably.
00:35:24
Speaker
No doubt pitching game one to maybe not pitching at all. Now in his last six games, he's gone to 28 and two thirds innings, giving up 44 hits and 23 earned runs. Um, you know, that's something regular season. You can kind of get by with that on a game here and a game there, but you're not going to get to buy with that in, in the playoffs. That's just not going to work. Um, so I think, you know, way around himself is not going to be upset if he's not game one starter.
00:35:54
Speaker
fans might be, you know, the sentimental fans I should say might be, but the fans that are knowledgeable about the game are going to realize you can't have him starting a game and turning it into a bullpen game, because that's what it would end up being. If you have to pull him after three innings,
00:36:20
Speaker
You know, now you're going to use four or five, maybe six pictures out of the bullpen. Um, and you know, hopefully you win that game because you really don't have much left in the next two games as far as your bullpen goes. So, you know, I think what you're going to see, I mean, Jordan miles will be on, um, six days rest.
00:36:42
Speaker
Uh, they just pitched Quintana. I think they moved him up in the rotation a little bit, uh, pitched him early this week so they could have him as on full rest for game two. Uh, and then you have also got Miles Michaels standing by ready to go. Um, they haven't announced that yet as what the, as what it will be, but we'll see what happens. Um, um, yeah, now.
00:37:05
Speaker
If you could, Wayne Wright would probably end up being in the bullpen and you know, you could, like I said, you could use him as an opener, you know, say have him go out there and pitch, pitch the first inning or two as an opener just to
00:37:22
Speaker
have him on the field and then bring in, you know, somebody like Montgomery or Palante Woodford, who both have done fantastic in a long, long relief role, Hudson. So you've got some options there. If you do want to do that, I don't know if Marvel will do it. I really don't. And if I was the manager, I'm not sure I would either.
00:37:49
Speaker
because, you know, this isn't, this isn't just a regular game. This is your first game of playoffs. And, you know, that's the one, if you're going to win, if you have to win any game of playoffs besides the last one, it's the first one because you set the tone when you win that first one. And, uh, so I think that's what's going to have to happen. Now you also need to look at the bullpen makeup.
00:38:09
Speaker
You know, cause like I said, with rotations, I think the rotation is going to be Montgomery, Mile, Michaelis, and Quintana. Um, and just whatever route format, their rotation they give them. Um, but the bullpen, you got to take a look at too. I mean, you've got Hell's End and Gallegos for the back end. Jordan Hicks pitched pretty well the other day yesterday, uh, and, uh, had a score of this inning. Um, so actually tonight, I shouldn't say Wednesday night.
00:38:40
Speaker
So I think he's certainly in the mix for the back end or something of that nature. Then you also have Woodford, Palente, as I mentioned before, Stratton, to build around. And what you can put around then, you've got Wayne, you've got Matt, you've got JJ Romero, Zach Thompson, Jack Flaherty.
00:38:59
Speaker
I would think flarity is a definite possibility for the bullpen. I think Wayne knows a possibility for the bullpen. Matts, I think, would be a good one. And Scranton, so I don't know how many bullpen arms they're going to carry. Three-game series, they might carry more than you think.
00:39:21
Speaker
uh... but i just don't know uh... they also have guys like to brera packing not madam at libator uh... although i don't think you'll see libator and wild card series concerning pitch the last game of the season uh... and i really might i'm not sure you would see hudson uh... either because uh... he pitched the day before or uh... tuesday uh... and he went six innings so uh... you may not see him there uh... but i i i
00:39:51
Speaker
I'm not worried about the pitching really. I really am not because I really like the way Marmal has managed the staff and the combo of Yadi and Kizner seems to have been on the same page all the way around with all the pitchers so the pitching I'm not that concerned with. I mean I've got concerns because you know the other day Gallegos gave up a few walks and
00:40:21
Speaker
Romero's had his issues from time to time. So, you know, there, there is reason to be somewhat concerned, but I'm not quite as concerned with the pitching as I am say the offense, uh, because, uh, you know, one time triple can candidate Paul Goldschmidt, uh, fell off almost looked like he fell off a cliff really, uh, cooled off down big ways in 30 and 30 days.
Cardinals' Offensive Concerns
00:40:46
Speaker
He dropped his average 14 points, his on-base percentage 13 points, his flaky percentage was down 39 points. And his last home run was September 7th versus Washington. Paul DeYoung in his last 30 games, he's 125-210-143 with 24 strikeouts and 56 at-bath. Now an interesting note here, Philly has already named their first two starters.
00:41:10
Speaker
for the wild card series in the Wheeler and Nola and Paul DeYoung is the only player that has a home run off both of those guys. So take that one for what it's worth. I don't know if it's worth starting him or if it's worth carrying on the bench. He's not going to be a really fearsome bench bat to most pitchers and
00:41:40
Speaker
You know, the only issue is going to be that you, if you don't carry him in the playoffs, you are pretty much stuck with Tommy Edmund in short. Now, Donovan can play short, but I don't think you want him playing there on any kind of a, you know, thing. I think it should be Tommy Edmund all three games.
00:41:58
Speaker
And Donovan should be playing a second unless Gorman's there and then have Gorman play second. But I don't know that the young is a bench bat. I can't see him as the guy you're going to live and die on the hill with, so to speak, as the starting shortstop.
00:42:22
Speaker
So we'll have to see how that goes. Now, on some offensive Bryce Pozzo, you look at Brendan Donovan. Now, he's not hitting numbers-wise what people would want to see. I mean, 233, 385, 397. But in the month of September, he was a catalyst of sorts in many games. You know, getting on with walks, having a timely hit here and there. And I think that's going to be key in the playoffs to have a table setter like him.
00:42:52
Speaker
like Edmond against left-handers. Now one area of concern that I thought we wouldn't have, which I don't know why I thought that, but I did, was the outfield. And up until the trade deadline, and even after the trade deadline when the trader baited, I was still pretty confident that we had a solid outfield going out there. But now you've got O'Neill with the
00:43:22
Speaker
seems to be a lingering hamstring issue he can't get rid of. Dylan Carlson has been very inconsistent, you know, and trending down actually in the last couple, three weeks. But now hitting wise, Corey Dickerson has been rock steady since coming back from injury. And prior to the all-star break, he was hitting a 202, 256, 319 with five doubles, three home runs, 15 RBI.
00:43:51
Speaker
After the All-Star break, he's hitting 315, 333, 457, 12 doubles, three home runs, 21 RBIs. Not a big, big slugger, although I'll tell you what, that home run, he hit October 1st, that grand slam. He hit that just below and to the left of where I was sitting.
00:44:17
Speaker
When he hit it, you knew it was gone. That was it. But, you know, they've got Alec Burleson, Ben Deluzio.
00:44:29
Speaker
But neither of those two set the world on fire. Not to be fair, between the two of them, they've only got 58, 68 at bats. I think it's 68 at bats. Deluzio's hitting 150, 292, 200, and Burleson is 188, 264, 271. Burleson does have a home run in three RBIs, and Deluzio has no homers and no RBIs.
00:44:56
Speaker
I don't know if you're not gonna, I don't think you're gonna put those guys in the outfield. I think it's, you've gotta look at
00:45:03
Speaker
who your other options are. And I think Lars Newt Barr definitely is going to be a starting outfielder for the wild guard series. He had a little bit of a slow when he first came in the beginning of the season. Got sent down, he came back. And he's going well, but he did cool off in the month of September. But going into the playoffs, he's only hitting 228, 344, 48,
00:45:31
Speaker
with 14 round trippers and 40 RBIs. But he's still playing very good defense. He made a couple of throws this last week. They were just awesome. He's got good speed. I think he's going to have to be in the outfield, either in center field or right field. I think Carlson, he and Carlson, they flip back and forth.
00:45:57
Speaker
Dickerson will be your left fielder. You might see Dickerson go to right and Newt Barr in the left. You could even see, and again, this is all going to depend on what they do with Paul DeYoung and Tommy Edmonds.
00:46:16
Speaker
But I could even envision seeing Brendan Donovan, who has played the outfield. I could see Donovan, say, in right field, Newt Barr in left, Carlson in center, or Newt Barr center, Carlson right, and Donovan in left. But after that, like I said, the other person you've got really is
00:46:44
Speaker
Juan Yepes or Tommy Edmond if you want to take Edmond off a second base or take Edmond off a shortstop. So I'm just, you know, the outfield is the one place where I've got a concern. Outfield and shortstop as far as how we're going to be able to navigate that. Now,
00:47:07
Speaker
Let's see here. Gorman. Yeah. I was going to say, but I was going to talk about Gorman. Um, you know, he down in the minor and they sent him down because he was struggling. I don't know if they bring him back. Uh, but like I said, again, it's all going to depend on what they decide with, with, with the polity on. Uh, I can't, like I said, I for the life of me, can't really find a solid reason to bring him on the roster.
00:47:31
Speaker
But then again, I can't find a really 100% iron clad reason to keep him off of it either. With the issues that we've got in the outfield, you might need Edmund for the outfield.
00:47:42
Speaker
Uh, now, you know, Donovan can play short, but he's not as accomplished as, uh, DeYoung or, uh, Edmund. So, uh, you know, I, it just kind of makes me glad I'm not the manager right now. That's for sure. Yeah. The playoffs, like I said, they start Friday in
Cardinals vs. Phillies Playoff Preview
00:48:01
Speaker
St. Louis and Redbirds hosting the Phillies. Uh, now during their regular season, the Phillies did win four out of the seven meetings between the two teams and Swarber can be a load.
00:48:11
Speaker
But in a three game series of bush even with the issues I've already talked about I do kind of like our chances I Even like our chances in the in the nationally playoff as a whole now I'm not saying we're gonna be in the fall classic or even the NLCS but on the other hand It would not surprise me at all if If we did if we if we made it to the NLCS or the the World Series
00:48:41
Speaker
Uh, so, you know, that's, we're going to have to find out what's going on. So we'll see what happens with that. Uh, all right. Um, you know, I think I've talked long enough for y'all. Uh, next week I'm going to try and have Russ Robinson, uh, AK uncle Frank. And, uh, we're going to talk a little NCAA football, kind of a mid season report card, if you will, on Illinois, the big 10, Missouri, and the SEC. And of course we'll probably do some talking about the cards and the playoffs. Uh,
00:49:11
Speaker
If you like the show, you can find us, uh, tell your friends, find us on Spotify, Apple podcast, Google podcast, anywhere you get your podcast. Uh, you can check out the show's website, talking sports hyphen O T B hyphen GCS dot on podium.com. Uh, you can check the show out on Twitter.
00:49:35
Speaker
T-S-O-T-B-G-C-S and let us know, let me know what you think about it. Kind of changed my opening today, the newer opening thing. Hopefully you like that. And I may still be playing with that a little bit now that I've got John Ruiz Paul. I may throw that one in there as well at some point. So anyway, until next time, I want y'all to stay safe, have fun,
00:50:06
Speaker
And we will talk to you next time when we talk courts on the police.