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Playoffs, scandals, plus the NFL and the Cardinals
98 Plays1 year ago
The MLB playoffs are in Full Swing the Mel tucker scandal at Michigan State. can the Bears get the first two draft picks? and more questionable comments from Cardinal manger Oliver Marmol!
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Transcript
Introduction and Preview of Topics
00:00:00
Speaker
Well, welcome back. I took a couple weeks off for some personal business and to get back to writing some regular articles for Gateway City Sports. But we have some NFL news, some NCAA football, baseball news, and of course we'll talk a little bit about the Cardinals. And I have a few scheduling announcements. So come on up and bring your koozie and we're going to talk some sports. You've got to get it done. This is Gateway City Sports.
Talking Sports on the Bleachers with Don Glenn
00:00:30
Speaker
The rumors are true. 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. Grab a seat, top a cold one, and let's talk some sports. See, that sounds kind of interesting. Gentlemen, start your engines.
Football Game Analysis and NFL Draft Speculations
00:01:10
Speaker
Gromo on the shotgun, here's a snap, Gromo looking, dumps it off right to that. Interceptions! Interceptions are goal-lined by Woodson! And there is your Gallagher! Cool, a quiet red stance, arms out over the place. Deckford from the threat. The one-hand hit. A plant, and there it goes! Redfield!
00:01:58
Speaker
Playoffs? Don't talk about it. Playoffs? You kidding me? Playoffs? Are you crying? There's no crying! There's no crying in baseball! You don't understand, I could have had a collage.
00:02:22
Speaker
I could have been a contender. I could have been somebody. Holy cow! Hey, Dad?
00:03:05
Speaker
Hey, as I said, welcome back. I want to remind you that talking sports on the bleachers is a proud part of gateway city sports and the gateway city sports.com. Check out gateway city sports for your articles and podcasts on sports in and around the st. Louis five state area.
00:03:22
Speaker
Check it out again on gateway city sports dot com. All right. Like I said, got a lot of things to talk about this week. So we're going to start with the NFL. Um, there's an early race for the first round draft pick for this next year as the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears seem to be looking to claim that spot. I mean, they're both Oh, and for starting the season and.
00:03:48
Speaker
Here's the interesting thing. If the Bears happen to get the number one pick, they already have Carolina's first round pick. So if Carolina and Chicago, which are currently 0 and 4 each team, if they remain with the same record, Chicago would have the first pick in the draft and the second
00:04:16
Speaker
pick in the draft. It will only be the third time in NFL history that it would have happened. The first time was 1958 when the Bears had two first-round picks and drafted quarterback King Hill and half-back John David Crow. Then again it happened in 1992. This time the Indianapolis Colts had the first two picks and drafted defensive lineman Steve Empson and linebacker Quinton Corat with picks one and two.
00:04:47
Speaker
So how possible is this? I mean, the Bears have lost 14 games in a row dating back to last year. Now, if you talk to many Bears fans, they already know. If there's a way possible, the Bears are going to screw this up. It's going to happen. They're going to go on a winning streak, win three games and get knocked and not have a first game. It's going to happen. Just bank on that. But if they should get the top two picks, and it's possible, I guess,
00:05:16
Speaker
The common thought is that they're going to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. Now, the interesting thing is this would officially put to end the Justin Fields era in Chi-town or at least put it into big question marks. You know, Fields has been around the league three years. Last year was his first full year. Went 192 of 318 for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns.
00:05:45
Speaker
He only had a passer rating of 86.8. Now he did run for 1100 yards as a quarterback. And that's one of his, that's one of his bright spots or one of the good things about it. He's a good, he doesn't have to just scramble. He can run for effect. He can run and get that five yards, six yards, eight yards that he needs sometimes here and there. I mean, he did have eight rushing touchdowns last year.
00:06:10
Speaker
The fans, at least the ones I've talked to in, uh, you know, bears fans, they feel underwhelmed with fields. They've, they don't think he's done enough. And I have to say 86% passer rating. That's, you know, you're in the NFL and you're trying to win. Um, and 86% is ain't going to do it many times. Uh, now is all of that his fault? Well, I don't know.
00:06:39
Speaker
I mean, you look at it. Last week they played the Broncos, a team that allowed 70 points the week before to Miami. And they shut the Bears down only allowing seven points in the second half while they turned around and riddled the Chicago defense for 24 points, 17 in the fourth quarter. That included a fumble recovery and return for touchdown by the Bronco defense. I mean, you can't.
00:07:09
Speaker
blame it all on fields because if the defense is putting him in a bad situation where he has to score, where they have to start passing, I just don't know that you can put it all on fields, but he definitely has to set up, take a lot of it on.
00:07:30
Speaker
Uh, and you know, if he is, or if they do go for Caleb Williams, um, I'm sure trade for fields and there's going to be teams that'll want him. And there may be teams that he'll fill, he'll fill in with better. I mean, you just don't know. So we'll see what happens with that. Next up, the Bears face the Washington commanders. Commanders are a lot better team than people are giving them credit for. Yeah, they did kind of lose big to the bills, but they gave Philly all they wanted. Sam Howe. Yeah. He's been up and down as a quarterback.
00:08:01
Speaker
but you look at it and they're playing with a little bit of purpose over there in Washington. The commanders are coming in, you know, they're hot and bothered because they just got lost to Philly and I can see the Bears are going to be 0-5 after next week. And if they do go 0-5, it's going to get very ugly in Chicago. I got this feeling. Not that it already isn't, but it's going to get uglier maybe.
NFL Team Performances and Challenges
00:08:27
Speaker
For Packer fans this season, the question has been,
00:08:31
Speaker
What will it be like post Aaron Rodgers? Well, the jury is still out for most people, I think. I mean, seriously, you've only really had four games to judge. And, you know, Jordan Love has had his games and Jordan Love has not had his games. In his first two games, I think people thought, okay, we're not missing a beat here. I mean, they did only go one and one in his first two games, but he was a combined 29 to 52.
00:08:57
Speaker
396 yards, six touchdowns and zero picks. Okay. Uh, now the last two games have not quite been as good for the young man. Um, and the sick versus the saints and the, and the Packers or the lions, excuse me, the Packers are one-on-one or one-on-one of those two games and love was 45 out of 80 for 505 yards, but only two touchdowns and three picks.
00:09:25
Speaker
Now he did add two rushing touchdowns to that total. So again, jury may still be out on whether he is the answer to the loss of Aaron Rodgers. Now he's not getting a lot of help in some respects though either because in the last game against the Lions, he was sacked five times. I mean, the offensive line looked like Swiss cheese.
00:09:49
Speaker
Five sacks in one game is two more sacks and they had the first three games combined. And they've had a couple of players missing. Aaron Jones has been out. Christian Watson's been out. Now, one bright spot has been Romeo Dobbs, turning in some really good numbers. But, you know, really he has not had that much help. So we'll see. On the Monday night, the Packers take on the Las Vegas Raiders in Vegas.
00:10:18
Speaker
and right now the Packers are favored by two we'll see how that plays out you know and as much as the Packers are adjusting to the life of that Aaron Rodgers now so are the Jets now you're asking me how well the Jets traded for Rodgers everybody knows that and Rodgers has played so far one the one series he played the first series Torres Achilles he's out for the season I mean you can't make it up folks
00:10:45
Speaker
it it happened and uh... i'm sorry i'm laughing but it's just it it is kind of humorous to me that they do that they go after they get this guy and then all of a sudden gone in indians i think somebody put out the meme on face but gone in sixty seconds you know uh... reference the uh... the movie the action movie uh... but uh... now the new quarterback for the jet is zach wilson who is own three
00:11:14
Speaker
72 out of 123 for 712 yards, four touchdowns, four picks. It is reported Rogers is out for the season. However, Rogers has said that things are moving along quicker and that he might just get back. We'll see if the team doctors are right or if Dr. Rogers is right.
00:11:36
Speaker
A couple of surprising teams going on right now. I mentioned the Detroit Lions earlier. They're also the San Francisco 49ers. Now, Detroit opened up beating the Chiefs in week one. Lost to the Falcons, I mean, actually got dominated by the Falcons in week two. Turnaround week three, they solidly beat Green Bay. Jared Goff is playing well, 91 of 31.
00:12:06
Speaker
1029 yards, six touchdowns, three picks. He's got a 98.4% passer rating. They've got David Montgomery running the ball about 90 yards a game. The defense has recorded 13 sacks, 22 tackles for loss. And with the favorable schedule they have, I mean, they've got teams coming up like Carolina, like Las Vegas, like Denver, the Saints.
00:12:29
Speaker
And along with two games against the Bears, I mean, you got to figure at least one of those is the win. The Bears might get lucky on one game there.
00:12:38
Speaker
So, you know, I'm looking at it and saying, you know, eight wins for the Lions, uh, is a very safe bet. Probably going to get 10 could be even 12 wins. I mean, they're, if they, if they can keep the momentum going, uh, they're in a division that they could easily win the, uh, the central division, uh, north division, whatever it is. I don't remember anymore. Uh, North division. That's what it is. If they win the North, um,
00:13:04
Speaker
That's kind of a surprise, because last year, people thought Detroit was on their way with Jared Goff, and they were getting some pieces in place. And I don't think a lot of people had him figured right now coming up and being ready to go. But it looks like that they are. The 49ers, they're now 4-0. And I know they played the Steelers, Rams, Giants, and the Arizona Cardinals. OK, so it's not a real big what you would call statement that they're 4-0.
00:13:34
Speaker
They haven't scored less than 30 points. Brock Purdy so far, 81 of 112, five touchdowns, no picks, and a quarterback rating of 115-4. Yeah, 115-4. And that's, you know, this is not bad for Mr. Irrelevant of the 2022 NFL Draft. And for those that don't want to know what I mean by Mr. Irrelevant,
00:13:58
Speaker
He was the, the last pick of the draft in the NFL is always being referred to as Mr. Irrelevant because usually not doesn't show up and, you know, doesn't play. And, you know, um, and in 2022, uh, Brock Purdy was the last pick in the draft. He was Mr. Irrelevant. So don't sleep on those guys. I can tell you that.
00:14:21
Speaker
Also for the 49ers, Christian McCaffrey is averaging about 115 yards a game with six touchdowns. The defense is only allowing 14 points a game. They've got nine sacks, 16 tackles for loss. Their schedule's not overly tough. It is a little challenging. They got a few games in there that could be nail biters. We'll see how far they can go. Right now they're on a roll. I wouldn't count them out.
Promotions and Controversies in Sports
00:14:46
Speaker
Next up, I want to talk a little NCAA football right after I tell you about stress free carbine.
00:14:51
Speaker
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00:15:18
Speaker
573-259-1306. Tell them Don Glenn sent you from Talking Sports on the Bleachers. That number again 573-259-1306. Okay, last week Russ Robinson and I talked on the NCAA report about Mel Tucker at that time who had just been suspended as the University of Minnesota head coach. Well,
00:15:48
Speaker
He was fired for cause in a statement released from university. He said he was fired for his admitted and undisputed behaviors in which have brought public disrespect, contempt and ridicule upon the university and constitute a material breach of his agreement and moral purpitude. Now the complaint and what this whole thing is, it dates back to complaint filed by Brenda Tyler,
00:16:18
Speaker
who's a rape survivor and sexual assault awareness speaker. She claims that Tucker in a phone call to her masturbated during the phone call. Don't ask me how she knew. I don't want to know. Now, Tucker claimed that, yes, he did, but it was consensual phone sex. Again, folks, you cannot make this stuff up, okay?
00:16:47
Speaker
Um, so by firing Tucker though, right now and firing him for cause the university is not obligated to pay him anything of the $79 million left on his contract. And I'm assuming that would include even his buyout because all contracts have a buyout of some kind. So, uh, you know, there's that now in a letter from his attorneys on Monday, Tucker called the proposed termination unjustified for several reasons.
00:17:17
Speaker
In a separate statement, Tucker said about MSU, they does not care about my rights, the truth, or its future liability for policing its employees' private lives. Harlan Barnett, who has been named the acting head coach, who was named acting head coach, is now the interim head coach. We'll see if he is considered for the job after the season's over. I think that's when they're going to make their little announcement on that.
00:17:47
Speaker
So far, without Tucker, Michigan State is 0-2 and outscored 72-16. And I think I may have made a mistake or said it was the Minnesota. He's the Michigan State head coach.
00:18:02
Speaker
I apologize for that mistake because P.J. Fleck is at Minnesota. He's having his own problems, but we can get to that at another date and time. As far as who could replace, if it's not going to be Barnett in the future, who could replace him next year as head coach?
00:18:21
Speaker
Mike Elko of Duke has been mentioned. The Blue Devils are 4-1 this season, especially with an opening win versus then number 9 Clemson. They've outscored opponents 163-56 this season. Last year the Blue Devils were 9-4 and beat USUCF 30-13 in the military bowl.
00:18:47
Speaker
Uh, Smart Stoops from Kentucky is another name being mentioned about, uh, 11 years as the head man of the Wildcat Stoops is 79 and 50, 71 and 59. And he's, he's been around a few different schools. Uh, Charlie Huff of Marshall is another name he does have experience in the big 10 is, uh, he was a running back coach. Um, and I forget what you would, where he was at, but it was a two between 2014 somewhere in there, 2017, uh, that area.
00:19:17
Speaker
Willie Fritz from Tulane, who's been a head coach at many different stops, Blinn College, Central Missouri, Sam Houston State, and Georgia Southern. In 2016, he took over Tulane and has a 201 on 115 record.
00:19:36
Speaker
4-1 in bowl games. Jason Candle of Polito has also been mentioned. Lance Leopold from Kansas and Chris Klaman from Kansas State have also been mentioned as well. Coordinators that some people are talking about, Sharom Moore from Michigan, Sean Lewis, former Kent State head coach,
00:20:01
Speaker
Now, an assistant with Colorado, Brian Hartline from Ohio State, and Matt House, the defensive coordinator for LSU. Now, House is also a former Michigan State alum. So, you know, there could be a connection there. No timetable's been given and nobody's really been discussing, you know. So, you know, you can pretty much figure it's going to be after the season when they do this. But, you know, the big 10. I mean, what's going on here, folks? The big 10.
00:20:32
Speaker
You've got Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern suspended and then fired due to hazing and other supposed racial problems. The baseball coach at Northwestern fired for sexual harassment. You've got, as I reported earlier, he's not really in trouble, but there's been questions around PJ Fleck up at Minnesota.
00:21:01
Speaker
And now you've got Mel Tucker. I remember a few years ago, I was talking with Russ about this last week. I remember a few years ago, Illinois had their own issue with Tim Beckman. He was fired for supposedly
00:21:21
Speaker
I don't know, rough handling of his players or mishandling something of that nature. I don't know what it was, but it forced him to play hurt and things of that nature. At least that was the claims. You know, so what's going on in the Big Ten? And you can go back a few more years before that.
00:21:39
Speaker
with the whole Penn State thing. This is not looking good for the Big Ten in that respect. You know, Russ and I, like they talked about it. You know, this thing with Tucker, I mean, that's not necessarily a school thing, per se. It was more personal. But still, it does reflect. I mean, you know, it has to. Gotta look at it that way. Some interesting matchups in the NCAA this week.
00:22:08
Speaker
Number one Georgia 5-0 takes on number 20 Kentucky also 5-0 in an SEC matchup. Now neither team is what you would call a rough schedule so far. Now Kentucky did though have beat up on number 22 Florida last week and while Georgia had to withstand a challenge from an unranked Auburn squad. So I'm thinking this ought to be a pretty good game to watch folks.
00:22:32
Speaker
Uh, number three, Texas squares off against number 12, Oklahoma, a big 12 match up that next year is going to be an SEC matchup. Uh, both teams come in with that game with five and old records. Number four, Ohio state squares off against unranked, but a very hot Maryland team. Mike Lockley's got that squad really playing good football. Uh, both teams are undefeated. They can put points up on the board and have stout defenses. This actually should be a good game.
00:23:01
Speaker
Oregon faces number number seven Oregon faces number eight Washington Both teams undefeated to and are to the top three teams In the Pac-12 both are five and oh and quite As much with the Texas Oklahoma both of them will be in a different conference next year number 21 Missouri five and oh now how often do we get to say that and
00:23:29
Speaker
Missouri football ranked and they're 5-0. How many times have we, has anybody been able to say that? I don't know. Uh, but anyway, uh, they host number 23 LSU who's three and two. And if Mizzou could win that game, they could knock LSU out of the top 25 and, you know, get themselves inside the top 20. Nice little feather in their cap if they can do it.
00:23:57
Speaker
Number 10 Notre Dame is five and one and they're at number 25 and undefeated Louisville five and oh That could be a good game I I don't know that much about Louisville Notre Dame has been pretty good. So but again, you know We'll see how this plays out Now most of you know, I'm based in central, Illinois and I am an ally and I fan and I do report on Illinois and
00:24:23
Speaker
And this season hasn't been a good one for the Orange and Blue. After getting shellacked by Purdue last week, they're hoping they can get the ship right at it in Nebraska versus Nebraska on Friday at home, which just a couple days ago,
00:24:39
Speaker
They had a fire memorial stadium. I think there was just some equipment that got caught on fire, so it didn't really damage the stadium. But there's been some jokes about that, obviously. If you want more of my thoughts on Illinois, check out my new bi-monthly column, Champagne Dreams at gatewaycitiesports.com. I'll get back to the show in just a minute, but first I want to tell you about hydration multiplication from Liquid IV. Now, whether you're playing sports, working out in the gym,
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Speaker
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00:28:43
Speaker
All right.
MLB Playoff Updates and Analysis
00:28:44
Speaker
Well, the MLB playoffs have started and, uh, started yesterday. Uh, today is Wednesday. So they started yesterday. Um, and now, uh, we already have four eliminations. Tampa Bay has been eliminated by the Texas Rangers, uh, shut them out for nothing on Tuesday, seven to one today. The Rangers take on the Orioles in the next round.
00:29:09
Speaker
Toronto Blue Jays have also been eliminated as the Minnesota Twins took them down in two straight games. Three to one yesterday, two to nothing today. The Twins now face the Astros. Diamondbacks eliminated the Brewers winning six to three yesterday and five to two today. They did come from behind in that one tonight as I saw. Next up for the Diamondbacks is the Dodgers.
00:29:37
Speaker
The Phillies eliminated the Marlins 41 on Tuesdays, 7 to 1 tonight, setting them up for a meeting against the Braves. All games are scheduled for Saturday the 7th. Now I saw something and I had to check this out. You know, all this talk of teams needing to spend money having superstars and these huge payrolls. I mean, come on. Do they really need that? Everybody says, yeah, you can't win unless you're spending money. Well, not exactly true. Okay.
00:30:06
Speaker
Let me give you some insights here. The top three teams in payroll this year were the Mets, 343.6 million, the Yankees at 276 million, and the Padres, 253.7 million. None of them made the playoffs. None. Not one. As a matter of fact, five teams in the top 10 in payroll failed to make the playoffs.
00:30:33
Speaker
Now the other two were the number 17 Astros at 237 million and the Angels, they're number nine at 230 million, 230.5 million dollars. Now to be fair, you know, obviously there were some things that spent money that made it in, you know, Rangers, Phillies, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Braves, all have payrolls exceeding 200 million dollars. But after those guys, the next highest payroll in the playoffs was the Twins, 156 million.
00:31:03
Speaker
followed by Milwaukee at 125 million. Four teams in the bottom third of the ML of MLB payroll made the playoffs. Number 21, Arizona, Diamondbacks who are moving on into the next round. The number 22 was the Miami Marlins. 27th was Tampa Bay and 28th was the 100 win American league, East champion, Baltimore Orioles.
00:31:32
Speaker
No, I had to say that again. The American league East champion who won a hundred games, the Baltimore Orioles spent less than $76 million in payroll. True fact. True fact. I'm not making it up. So all this just goes to prove you do not need huge payrolls to win. Not saying you don't need to spend money. You need to get some guys.
00:31:58
Speaker
And if a guy is going to cost a little bit, he costs. But make sure you're getting the right guys. Make sure you're getting the team that fits. Make sure you're getting guys that are going to be there. Because the Mets, $343 million. And most of it was in pitching. I mean, they had Verlander, Scherzer, Quintana.
00:32:21
Speaker
And you know, Quintana barely pitched this year. I think Verlander started the season late. Scherzer was a, a bust. I mean, you can spend the money and look at the Padres, what they've spent over the last few years and acquiring talent, you know, Soto and Machado, these guys, where are they at? Where are they at?
00:32:50
Speaker
fourth place in the West. I'm just saying, okay? As my daughter is fond of it, I'm just saying, okay? In some other baseball news, the attendance at the first game between Rangers and Rays drew the smallest postseason crowd since game nine of the 1919 World Series, excluding of course the 2020 pandemic year.
00:33:18
Speaker
But 19,704 fans showed up. Today's game was not much better. They drew just a little over 20,000, 20,198. Now, frankly, the Rays have been having attendance problem for years. The stadium in St. Petersburg, many say it's hard to get to. The area also has a high retiree population.
00:33:45
Speaker
Uh, the raise only average about 17, well only average this year, 17,781 fans. Uh, now this is a team though. If you think about it, this team has made the playoffs four straight years and they're only drawing 17,000 fans. Uh, what's wrong with this picture? They're a good organization. They're a good ball club and they don't draw. How? Why?
00:34:10
Speaker
Only three other teams drew less, the Kansas City Royals at 16,136, Miami at 14,355 and Oakland at just a little over 10,000. Hell, last place Colorado drew 32,000 a game and the Rays win 90, can't even draw 20. I guess there's something wrong with this picture.
00:34:37
Speaker
And with all that, the Rays want to build a brand new stadium. Guess where? Pretty much as close to where they're at now. I mean, if you're already having a problem with that, with the location you got, I don't know. It's supposed to be some sort of beautification project or revamping project of the, I can't remember what the name of the district is, but it's a rundown area that they're trying to renovate a little bit and make a
00:35:06
Speaker
Pretty spot, I guess, if you want to. Now with all of this, like I said, they plan to build that new stadium. It's going to be $1.2 billion with a 30,000 seat capacity. The current arrangement is at the reasonable front half the cost with St. Pete and Pinellas County picking up the rest of the cost. Now color me just a little crazy here, but if you can't draw 20,000 fans where you're at and the team is performing as good as they are,
00:35:37
Speaker
Just what good is a new stadium going to do that's pretty much in the same location as the old one? I'm not seeing the logic here. You know, the thought was that maybe they were going to move and you saw cities lining up like Portland and Montreal and Nashville and Charlotte.
00:35:56
Speaker
Uh, but it doesn't seem like those moving is on the mind of the, of the, of the, uh, raise management. So I don't know. We'll see what goes on. You know, another thing that struck me though, the Marlins drew less than Tampa. So what does that really say about Florida and major league baseball?
00:36:17
Speaker
I mean, they love the spring, I mean, the spring training is, you know, all the stadiums are full. I've seen, and, you know, fans flock to the spring training sites, you know, them and the teams come North. You got two teams down there looking to, looking to have, uh, fans and nobody wants to show up. Yeah. They like baseball in March, but you know, once it gets to the season, okay, we don't need it no more. I mean, it's crazy. It's just flat crazy.
00:36:46
Speaker
I don't know what the answer is to that. Um, you know, I guess that people are talking different places and there's going to be talking expansion in a couple of years. And, you know, like I said, I've mentioned the team, the cities I mentioned, like Orlando also, you know, if Miami and Tampa are having problems, how are you going to put a team in Orlando? Why would you put a team in Orlando?
00:37:11
Speaker
I mean, and I've always wondered why the Gulf Coast doesn't have much more in terms of baseball. In Florida, you've got St. Pete, and pretty much that's it. There's no other Gulf Coast team. And granted, I understand that it may be hard for
00:37:34
Speaker
areas in Mississippi or Alabama along the coast to build a baseball franchise type thing. But you've got Louisiana, you've got New Orleans right there. I don't know. It's been always kind of strange to me. Just kind of like the Northwest. I mean, you've got Seattle and that's pretty much it. And nobody else up there. So Portland could be a good idea. I don't know. We'll see what happens with that.
00:38:03
Speaker
Yeah, a new stadium for a team that's only drawn 17,000 fans. And I don't know. I'm logic is escaping me on that one, but you know, the thing that's crazy, not having the right insurance to protect you and your family. That's where the Sean Wiley group and all state comes in. They know the importance of keeping you protected. The Wiley group has two locations in Festus and Arnold to serve you.
00:38:30
Speaker
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00:38:50
Speaker
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00:39:20
Speaker
Sean Wylie at Allstate.com. That's S-E-A-N-W-I-L-E-Y at Allstate.com. And discuss your coverage options. And remember, you're in good hands with Allstate. Okay, let's finish up with the Cardinals. Manager, I still don't like saying that name, but Manager Oliver Marmole,
00:39:47
Speaker
made a pretty curious statement on Sunday after the, uh, after the game, he was asked by Derek Gould of the post-dispatch about what is the first step to ensure the team can compete in 2024. Now Marmo's answer was that, and this is a quote, he wanted a clubhouse full of guys that has one thing on their minds and that is not themselves.
00:40:15
Speaker
He also later added that they were going to weed those players out. Now, obviously he didn't go into detail or name names. That would even have been more stupid than he, than he's been known to be in the past. So at least he didn't do that. But what does the comment mean? Who's he talking about? Is he talking about O'Neill? Orman? Nukebar? Carlson? Contreras?
00:40:47
Speaker
I mean, is he talking about guys that are hurt all the time, you know, like a, like a Carlson, like an O'Neill? Uh, can he be talking about Michael's or Aaron Notto who always seem to, when they're asked about the, how the team, how bad the team is performing, you know, they all, and this is personally, I don't think this is a problem. I think I like this, but when they say this, because I think it shows that they're
00:41:16
Speaker
very committed. But they interject themselves by saying, for us to hit better, like Aaron Otto, for us to score, I need to hit better. For Michael, it was for us to win, I need to pitch better. Obviously, they're taking the brunt of everything on themselves and don't have to, because they're not the only ones that have any issues. But is that what he's talking about? Is that what he's calling selfish?
00:41:45
Speaker
uh... you know we you know i go back to the title in the old thing with with the whole dust up about the you know uh... not hustling around third base and whatnot you know well in and that's been documented that you know tyler was coming off an injury it was wet uh... did you really want to try and screw the hamstring up again i mean not that did not that it helped him he got hurt anyway uh... like i said is it cause cause carlson's always hurt
00:42:13
Speaker
The thing is, he's never, to me, he's never really looked like he was sold on Carlson. I mean, look at how he's used him. Here, there, not really, you know, the only time you use him at any kind of great length is if somebody was hurt or out. You know, he, I think he had his mind, Carlson was going to be the fourth outfielder. And, you know, I don't know if that's good, bad or indifferent.
00:42:42
Speaker
But maybe he thought Carlson didn't like that. Is it Wilson Gendreras? You know, the issue they had with Wilson earlier. Again, I'm not a Wilson Gendreras fan. Don't color me that, but I can't really see where he's being overly selfish about anything.
00:43:07
Speaker
I mean, now this next name is a stretch. It's a bigger stretch than the Aaron Otto Michaelis. Jordan Walker. They sent him down to fix his swing. He went into the more launch angle. When he went down, he suffered. He struggled. Average dropped. I mean, he was hitting $1.75 at one point.
00:43:31
Speaker
And then he turned it around. Bang. And they brought him back up. And I think it was interview Jim Hayes they had with him. They asked him about coming back up and what he learned to apply down in the minors. And he said, well, they wanted me to do this and hit the ball with the more up. And he says, that just wasn't my swing. He said, so I went back. He said, I had trouble with it. So I went back to the way I swing.
00:43:56
Speaker
And I'm just putting a little better position on the ball and swinging like I used to. He said, I figured if that would either bring me back up or they'll just keep me down. Are they talking about that? I don't know. I mean, because if you look at Walker, I mean, it's not really trying to belabor the point, but if you look at Walker, his home runs, I mean, they're almost laser beam ropes.
00:44:25
Speaker
You know, they're not a lot of hype. They don't get really high up into this thing. And it's not like the majestic fly balls of Aeronado or Goldie or Gorman. They go high up in there and they just keep carrying, carrying, carrying. I mean, walkers mostly go out on a, I mean, they're so hard hit, they're out in like two seconds. It's gone. So,
00:44:51
Speaker
You know, I don't know. I just don't know what, what Marmos is thinking there. You know, I want to get back to Contreras for a second though. And this kind of goes along the whole line of it. You know, Brad Thompson indicated in her interview that he thought the Cardinals plan on using Contreras as a corner outfielder next season. And I'm, I'm trying to figure out what Brad's smoking.
00:45:21
Speaker
Because yeah, okay. You guys know I'm not a contrarian. I've mentioned that it's well documented. I don't think he was the right move. I still don't think he was the right move. If you want to talk to me about that. Fantastic. I'll give you a way to contact me later. And at the end of the show, please do please contact me. Let me know what you think. But I just don't think he was the right guy for the job, but by the same token,
00:45:50
Speaker
I don't think they've actually treated him fair either, in a lot of respects. Some of it he brought on himself, and some of it is because we're spoiled. We're spoiled.
00:46:06
Speaker
We had Yachty Molina for 19 years. Five years before that, we had Mike Matheny. You know, we had Tom Pagnazzi in there for 10 years, and he was off and on as the full-time catcher, backup catcher, but he was there. He was solid. You go back to Tonya Payne, and then back to the 70s, 80s, Ted Simmons. We've been spoiling the catcher. We've had that leader. Wilson Contreras has not presented himself as leader, which I think has caused a lot of his own problems.
00:46:37
Speaker
But, you know, putting him in the outfield? I mean, I know the guy doesn't catch 100 games a year. He never has. He doesn't catch 100 games a year. But to put him in the outfield, I mean, are you truly serious? If you just want him there for his bat, then DH the guy. DH the guy, Kerry Kisner, and Herrera as your catchers, and leave it at that.
00:47:06
Speaker
There's been no sense to play him in the outfield. There are catchers who do move on and play different positions or other positions. Mostly it's the infield, third base, first base. Craig Busial played second base.
00:47:20
Speaker
You know, but the only catch I can really remember that played a lot of outfield was Gary Carter. He played about 300 games in the outfield out of his 2100 games. But yeah, it just doesn't happen. And especially when the guy's 30 some odd years old. I mean, Contreras is 30 be 31, I think next year.
00:47:40
Speaker
I just don't see him moving to the outfield on a regular basis or even a part-time basis. Now, maybe an emergency situation, guy gets injured, you don't have a replacement, you can throw him out there, you know, okay, I can see that. I just don't think it's gonna happen as a regular occurrence, if you will. So, you know, now the Cardinals,
00:48:06
Speaker
You know, a lot of talk has been made about Moe's, we are going to get three pitchers. Yeah. Well, good luck with that. In the first place, I do not believe in any instance and Moe's going to prove it to me, but I do not believe in any way, shape or form that, that the Cardinals are going to go out and get top free agent pitchers or trade for a top pitcher.
00:48:36
Speaker
In one year and three picture three of them in one year. I just don't think it's gonna happen. I don't see it happening It's not most track record Now I did have an article you can find on gateway city sports comm On five free agent pictures. I thought they should target You know to go ahead and check that article out but the five were
00:49:06
Speaker
Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, and I can't remember if that's the first name, but Yamamoto, the Japanese pitcher.
00:49:19
Speaker
But go ahead and check that article out, gatewaycitiesports.com. But I think they're going to need some help in the bullpen. I can see them maybe going after a Josh Hader. I don't think they will, but I can see it. I think they will try to make a move toward Nola or Snell or Gray. I think one or two of those three are going to make a major move on whether they get them or not is another story. Trading wise, I'm not
00:49:47
Speaker
I don't know, I'm going to work on an article on that too, but I think trading wise, I think the target I would look at, there's three out there that I would take a look at trade wise. Obviously, Logan Gilbert out of Seattle, I would definitely take a look at him. The other ones, Dylan Cease, I would definitely take a look at Dylan Cease to see if maybe there can be something done there. And Zach Wheeler.
00:50:15
Speaker
Decent number five guy. I mean, I know we've got maps. Okay, and Matt could actually be your number five. Wheeler could be your number four. So there's some guys there. I don't think you need to go out and get three top pitchers. I think Michaelis is a solid, a solid three. So if you can pick up a top end guy, like a Snell, a Gray, and then get a number two guy, say like a Montgomery, you know, get Montgomery back in the fold, or bring in a Nola,
00:50:46
Speaker
Uh, and you know, then you get a number four, you can get a guy, um, like a Wheeler or somebody in that respect. Uh, some people have brought up, uh, Trevor Bauer's name now that he's been pretty much cleared of, of any wrongdoing. I don't know. I think there's still a little too much. Distractional baggage, if you will. Uh, but he's obviously somebody you, you, I think every team should kick the tires on it.
00:51:14
Speaker
and say, okay, you know, here's the deal. Um, we'll sign you for this, but keep your mouth shut. We don't need you to retry everything that you went through the last two or three years. Yeah. Media is going to ask for it. So, you know, that's going to be the problem in and above itself, but yeah, you can look at, you can look at him.
00:51:41
Speaker
So, you know, there's a number of guys out there I think. Any one of them can help the rotation.
00:51:49
Speaker
But you are going to need somebody top a top guy at least for that rotation. You're gonna need a snow You're gonna need a gray somebody like that Bullpen wise they could pick up a good bullpen piece. I think it's fairly solid with Halsey Romero and Gallegos But it never hurts to pick up somebody else. It never hurts to get that veteran in there and
00:52:12
Speaker
Because that's one thing that that bullpen does lack is a good solid veteran presence And there's a couple three of those guys around as well. So we'll see what happens with that So anyway I Want to remind you I'm gonna be checking out here shortly. Yeah, but first I want to get some
00:52:36
Speaker
Scheduling points out of the way, you know, and first thing is I'm gonna try an effort a Roundtable about the Cardinals possibly next week. I've already got one guest confirmed and JD half run and I'm hoping to get one or one or two others if I can and then two weeks down the road for all my ally and I listeners I want you to tune into this one and
00:53:03
Speaker
Dion Thomas, friend of the show and a Lion Eye legend, will be here to talk a little Lion Eye Hoops. So, I want to remind you, check out GatewayCitySports.com for your articles, not only from me, but Russ Robinson, Brian Swope, Gene Bonds. Tune in to the other podcasts, like the team of rivals with Ron Nuddle, Pete Geddes, and Elliot Dewey. The two for three with our moose, Mike Stevenson.
00:53:30
Speaker
and the derrick king sport show with the one and only derrick king that's that gateway city sports dot com now if you want to contact the show comment on anything leave a question uh... whatever you want uh... you can uh... leave a comment where you get your podcast on google podcast apple cop podcast spotify or you can contact me and the show directly on twitter you can find the show at
00:54:00
Speaker
T-S-O-T-B-G-C-S or you can email the show T-S-O-T-B dot G-C-S at gmail dot com. Let me know what you think, have any questions, comments, love to hear them from you. Alright folks, so until next time, have fun, stay safe, and we're going to see you again when we're talking sports on the bleachers. Good night everybody.