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Episode 37 - 1931 World Series and Free Agency Roundup
41 Plays10 months ago
The boys breakdown the 1931 World Series rematch between the Athletics and Phillies, and discuss the great playoff performances of Pepper Martin.
From Juan Soto to Christian Walker, the gang goes over all the big free agent signings so far this offseason.
Was the Yankees plan B good enough? Why are the Athletics spending money?
Find out on the latest episode of Championship or Bust!
https://x.com/TheCOBPodcast
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Transcript
Ichiro Suzuki's Hall of Fame Induction Controversy
00:00:04
Speaker
So breaking news to start the pod. Ichiro Suzuki will not be unanimous for the Hall of Fame. Alright, who was it? Who was it? Because they're gonna die. We don't know. 26 people actually.
00:00:19
Speaker
26 people did not vote for Ichiro. 26 people did not vote for Ichiro. 26 people should have their writing credentials taken away. Yeah. This is according to John Paul Hornstra of Newsweek, and I'm just going to read it directly. Longtime Japanese baseball reporter ja Jim Allen writing on jballen.com noted that Suzuki will become the seventh player ever inducted to the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame inducted on the first try.
00:00:41
Speaker
however 26 voters cast ballots without including Suzuki giving him only 92.6% support in his only if appearance on the Japanese ballot He will not receive unanimous induction into the Japanese Hall of Fame He's actually gonna get a higher percentage of votes in the Cooperstown ballot So yeah, okay i yeah i all right like You pulled the old switcheroo on us here. Yes, I did. I hate you That's precisely what I did. But ah how did this even happen? i still Because I'm sure they're mad that he went to America. ah I mean, it's simply that and because you know how old these writers are. it that They do the same stuff to the players in America. Oh, you treated me bad that one time. I'm not going to vote for you now.
00:01:24
Speaker
The apparently it wasn't that it was to give votes to more like less deserving but less supported players. Okay, what I'm reading that is that is actually even stupider and I and i go back to my original statement 26 people need to have the writing credentials taken away. Yeah, he's still the best Japanese player ever. So I don't know what their argument is.
00:01:43
Speaker
I just, I can't get over that. But in five days, uh, by the time this is dropped, we'll probably already know the results. Itro Suzuki is still unanimous with about 162 votes casted. Um, hopefully that continues, but to me, I don't think it matters much because clearly it doesn't matter in this ball of fame either.
1931 World Series Deep Dive
00:02:02
Speaker
So let's start with that.
00:02:04
Speaker
What's up, everybody? Welcome to another episode of Championship on Busses, back to Zach and Josh. Kind of an uneventful time in sports, aside from a couple things that drop today that we'll cover, um mostly somber news. But we're going to hit on the 1931 World Series today um between the Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. A lot of returning Hall of Famers, not a lot of new blood. But Josh, I'll let you get started.
00:02:30
Speaker
Yeah, that's it. 1931 World Series, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Athletics, a rematch of 1930. Series, athletics 1-4-2. The Cardinals had one single day-to-day player that was different in the 1931 lineup than the 1930 lineup, and that was, this is honestly a great name.
00:02:48
Speaker
the wild horse of the Osage, Pepper Martin, a 27-year-old rookie. Pepper Martin. ah This was the first World Series to feature a team with numbers on the back of the uniform. Ray. 31. About time. What world were they doing before that?
00:03:05
Speaker
How do you even know like who's playing? Who's it bad? Who's pitching? I just no idea I don't line up cards times when I have numbers on the back. I'm like 67 what number is that? I've never even seen that number on a field before It's crazy that they just popped up but fitting at one point in this career. He did wear number one. Yeah i like I also speaking of numbers, I want to ah totally off topic here, but I'd like to rant for a second. The number zero should never be worn on a field in sports ever. I just want to put that out there. who zero I hate that number. Who wears zero? Like Marcus Stroman wears zero. You see zero in football a lot. It's stupid.
00:03:47
Speaker
but What about when they have too many retired numbers and don't have enough? Yeah, I'm gonna say. What are we gonna do, decimals? Let's do triple digits. I believe that's i just don't i don't like the number zero. i think it's I think it really looks dumb. Does double zero look better? No. No, I think it actually looks worse. Double zero is the number you give the mascot.
00:04:09
Speaker
And you know what? That might actually fit for Marcus Strowman this year, so you know what? Give him zero. That's exactly fitting for Marcus Strowman. We'll get to that. Alright, anyway, 1931 World Series. Game one in St. Louis, so the Cardinals scored two early runs in the bottom of the first inning off of Lefty Grove, thanks to three consecutive singles, the last from Jim Bottomley that knocked in a run, and a double from Pepper Martin that scored another. In the top of the third, the athletes would strike back. The runners on first and second, Muhlhosz doubled home a run, back-to-back walks low to the bases, and pushed across the tying run before Jimmy Fox singled in two more.
00:04:44
Speaker
The athletics got two more insurance runs in the seventh inning on an Al Simmons two-run home run. Despite giving up 12 hits, three of which were to Pepper Martin, left the Grove limited to Cardinals to just two runs in the first inning, secured a 6-2 victory for the athletics in game one.
00:04:58
Speaker
Game 2 saw Bill Hallahan throw a 3-hit complete game shutout for the Cardinals. Pepper-Martin's 2 hits, 2 stolen bases, and 2 runs scored supplied all the offense the Cardinals needed. Martin doubled in the 2nd inning, stole 3rd, scored on a sack fly, and in the 7th he singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on a ground ball, and scored on a fielder's choice ground ball.
00:05:20
Speaker
In game three, spit bowl of Burley Grimes threw a two-hitter for the Cardinals and even a two-run single of his own off of Lefty Grove in the fourth inning. He had a shutout going with two outs in the ninth inning before giving up a two-run home run to Al Simmons, where the Cardinals back him up with three other runs, thanks to a Jimmy Wilson single, Charlie Gilbert sack fly, and it should bottomly double, and they end up winning the game five to two.
00:05:43
Speaker
In Game 4, George Earnshauer throws a two-hit shutout for the Athletics, walking one batter and striking out eight. The Athletics got out to an early lead, scoring the bottom of the first on an Al Simmons RBI double, and added two more runs in the sixth on a Jimmy Fox homer and a Jimmy Dykes RBI single. The two hits that the Cardinals did have while for Earnshauer were both Pepper Martin.
00:06:04
Speaker
Now with the series tied in game five, the Cardinals would jump out to an early one-nothing lead on a Pepper Martin sack fly in the first inning. The game would stay this way until the sixth inning when Martin hit a two-run home run to make it three-nothing. The A's would scratch cross one in the seventh on a Bing Miller RBI ground out, but the Cardinals would get that run back on, you guessed it, a Pepper Martin RBI single, and then they would tack on another run in the ninth on a Charlie Gilbert RBI single. The Cardinals would win the game 5-1 backed by Pepper Marden's 3-hit 4 RBI day. Now game 6 was a pitcher's duel until the 5th hitting when the athletics just completely broke the game open with 4 runs. An error and a walk started at the rally followed by a Dib Williams RBI single, 2 more walks and a Mickey Cochran single and another walk scored 3 more runs.
00:06:54
Speaker
The Cardinals would get back a run in the sixth on a Frankie first single. The athletics would put up another four spot in the seventh, a lead off single, a bunt to move over to runner, and Al Simmons' single pushed across the first run of the inning for a single, a hit by pitch, and another walk scored another run. And to top it off, an error allowed the last two runs to score. Lefty grove through a five hitter giving up just one run to tie the series is forcing a game seven. Now game seven, so the Cardinals strike first.
00:07:23
Speaker
Two singles and a bunt got runners on second and third and a wild pitch pushed across the first run. ah And a strike three wild pitched pushed across another. So two runs on two wild pitches. Great way to start a game. George Watkins would hit a two run homer in a third to extend the Cardinals lead to four to nothing.
00:07:41
Speaker
Burley Grimes pitched into the ninth inning but ended up getting into trouble and surrendered surrender two runs on a Doc Cramer bases loaded 2 RBI single. Bill Hallahan would come in to get the last out, getting the save, completing the World Series victory for the Cardinals.
00:07:56
Speaker
Now, I think this stat is insane, I'm gonna read it to you. Despite going 0 for 6 in games 6 and 7, there was no World Series MVP, but Pepper Martin surely would have won. He hit 500 in the series. He was 12 for 24. And he went 0 for 6 in games 6 and 7. That's not- I mean, he was 12 for 18 in the first 5 games in the series. Oh man. That's wild. Yeah, that's insane. That's a hell of a series. That's a rookie.
00:08:27
Speaker
How come I've never heard of this guy before? Because that was the that was this was his career. That was the only thing he ever did in his whole career. Not so fast on that.
00:08:38
Speaker
Well, that's a notable when I was going to do Hall of Famers today because there are no new Hall of Famers. I was going to do an issue Hall of Famer game with Pepper Martin um in our opinion. I went through and honestly, it's not there. It's not close enough for me to even ask you guys. But he had a really solid like three to four year peak.
00:08:58
Speaker
So he played 13 years. He played 45 games prior to this season, um, over the course of that 28, 19 30. So this was a Josh at his rookie year. Um, he played 123 games that season. He hit 300 on the season, uh, the 124 hits, 75 runs batted in, but he did finish over the course of his career with a top five MVP finished two top 10 MVP finishes for all star teams, led the league and stolen basis three times, but his career stats are low.
00:09:28
Speaker
1227 hits 59 home runs 501 RBI's But I'm sorry that there. I don't know if I don't think there should be even be a but that Yeah, he doesn't have any numbers his war is low I mean the guy had a respectable career, but okay. I would even this is not even like the whole very good these fly you fly went only be career that's why we're not having the debate but i just wanted to point out some pepper martin and stats like overall in the career because i think it is fitting so he did play one game in the 1928 world series we obviously didn't make any mention of him because he actually didn't even have an at bat or a plate appearance i guess he was a pinch runner in it but in the two series and he's going to come up again in 1934
00:10:08
Speaker
He dominated. um He had a career 60 plate appearances, and he had 23 hits in those 60 plate appearances. He has a 418 batting average in the World Series over the course of 14 games. um He had 500 in the series, and he had 355 three years later. So he was known as a World Series guy. He had a 1.103 OPS.
00:10:31
Speaker
over 15 World Series games in three seasons. Um, not get this guy in the playoffs because regular season numbers don't jump off the page at you. So because I'm guessing it's because of this that he was on 14 BBWA ballots and he actually peaked at 17.3%.
00:10:47
Speaker
in 1958. He finished above several current Hall of Famers, including Wade Hoyt, including Eparixi, Goose Gosselin, Bobby Doar, Hiney Manouche. Guys, we've talked about Jesse Haynes, who was in the series as well, Lloyd Wehner. He finished above all those guys. He finished less than 2% behind Joe Medwick, who's a clear Hall of Famer.
00:11:12
Speaker
Yeah, remember what I said before about writers needing to lose their credentials? I bring that one up again. Yeah, just an interesting little factoid. And it kind of shows you where the what the mindset of the whole thing was. We didn't have all these numbers, we didn't have all these stats, and quite frankly, no one cared. And, you know, part of me kind of misses that little nuance. Who who belongs in?
00:11:34
Speaker
these 10. Don't look at anything, just vote. There's something to that. Who matters? So I just wanted to kind of tie in. I mean, obviously we know the answers are no, but because Peppermurt was so relevant in the series and because we don't have any new Hall of Famers to talk about, I figured that was kind of a good way to kind of talk about his career a little bit. Going into the actual Hall of Famers,
00:11:54
Speaker
a lot of goodbyes on this, a lot of last World Series. So, Connie Mack, this is actually his last one. go um He lost the World Series, but he finishes with five championships, nine total pennants, and cement splices, top tier manager of all time. I have a number three. um While we're going into the players, oh, also shout out to umpire, Bill Clem. He's back again. No.
00:12:17
Speaker
always here what do you mean no there's like joe west level umpiring so um i did because i was off for a couple weeks of work i did expand my hall of fame list a little bit partially out of boredom and partially out of fixing some mistakes so my numbers might be a little different from previous episodes for any of the people that have been really following along with is the hall of famer Just wanted the to put that in. We have about 10 new inductees for the class of 2025. At some point, I'm sure we'll discuss them. But let's get to the new rankings and stuff now. Mickey Cochran, third world series appearance. He stays at two rings. ah He had a buck 60 with an OPS of 460, four for 25, four singles. He's the number 10 catcher behind Bill Dickey and Gabby Hartnett. I believe that's still the same.
00:13:01
Speaker
jimmy fox it's his third and final world series appearance so see you later jimmy stays at two rings he killed it hit 348 with the 961 ops 8 for 23 with a dinger three runs batted in and six walks on top of it so he reached base 14 times he's still the number three first baseman level four between albert puholtz and miguel cabura great lefty grove third and final world series appearance with him too he stays at two rings finished two and one with a 2.42 ERA so Josh has mentioned a lot of times really he was giving up hits but honestly the statistics weren't bad it's just rough times seven earned runs in 26 innings 16 to 2 strikeout to walk ratio I still have in level five number four between Randy Johnson Greg Maddox
00:13:44
Speaker
hey man a good starting pitch can get out of the jams and he puts himself in yup and's there's between a you know a good pitcher and a guy that's you know not going to in a league very long yeah Wait, wait, seventh and final World Series appearance for him as well. He stays at three rings. 0-1 with a 4.5 ERA, three runs in six innings. Only one strikeout, no walks, and he remains in the basement. No change for him.
00:14:08
Speaker
Al Simmons, third appearance, Josh mentioned him, he stays at two rings. Only played one game, went one for four with a double, and he's level one. I don't know if this rating changed, but he's number 10 right now, left field between Billy Williams and Tim Raines. Moving on to the winning Cardinals. Jim Bottomley.
00:14:27
Speaker
Say goodbye to him too. Fourth and final World Series appearance. This is his second ring. I said before, goodbye is our common theme. Four for 25, hit a buck 60. One double, two runs batted in, and he, even though he won, kind of walks out into a little bit of obscurity in this one. He remains in the basement.
00:14:45
Speaker
Frankie Frisch. He's not done yet. It's a 7th pennant. It's a 3rd ring. 259 batting average, 619 OPS, 7 for 27. Two doubles, a walk, a run batted in. A stolen base. I believe this is the same. Level 2, number 9, second base between Charlie Geringer and Ryan Sandberg.
00:15:04
Speaker
Um, the last three are still basement guys, but Burley Grimes, third appearance, first ring, 2-0, 2.04 ERA. Um, so he did solid, but he did give up a lot of walks. He had an 11 to 9 strikeout to walk ratio. One of the games he threw was a complete game. He remains in the basement, even though he was on a lot of winning teams. Chick Haffey. I gotta to give Grimes credit, man. He was 37 in the series. He threw pretty well for a 37-year-old. Oh, he did, and that's also probably part of why he got in.
00:15:31
Speaker
um because this was kind of some of his lasting images and the fact that he was playing winning baseball for showing he was kind of like Between him and weak wait, hoit they both were kind of like an Andy Pettit type Just on winning teams constantly and you always saw him when it mattered or always heard about him when it mattered whether you listened on the radio or read the papers or went to the games and I guess that's part of what Elevated those guys and her panic who maybe wouldn't have made it through a traditional not traditional, but nuanced measures, right? Um chick hefie I see why he's in but i've gone over him before fourth appearance second ring Six for 22 hit 273. He had five doubles and two runs batted in in the series. So he did well, uh, he remains in the basement and Jesse Haynes um If you count this one because he did not play I don't count this one, but I put him in anyway
00:16:23
Speaker
It would have been a second ring in four appearances. I don't count it again. I have him in the basement, and as a reminder, I still have him as the lowest starting pitcher in the Hall of Fame. So that is the Hall of Famers for this series. And Pepper Martin. Of course. go Go to the series, honestly. Yeah, I talk about Pepper Martin in this one. Yeah. That's all the series is known for. it Don't worry. When we talk about the Boston Marathon World Series, I'm 100% going to try to make a Hall of Fame case for Steve Pearce.
00:16:53
Speaker
oh God we didn't even make the ballot this year by the way. Oh my god. um with hope I'm gonna try I Don't want you to I'm gonna absolutely try. I I really don't I mean that's not gonna happen for about you know three calendar years by the time we get to that point, but well yeah Just know what's coming. We're gonna have a hard debate on Buster Posey's credentials for the ballot and I'm gonna make a strong case receive Pierce's Hall of Fame election and okay Okay. Sounds good. you Do you think we're you're we're just gonna, like, get people from Boston to, like, like us because of this? Yeah. Well, Mike already likes me. He hates you. Oh, well, yeah, I know that. I mean, are you just trying to, like, order him up or something? Like, are you asking him something soon? Like, what's going on? No, I mean, well, I told him that Andy Pettit's not a Hall of Famer, and he disagrees with me, so I figured I would throw him this phone, just don't disagree with me. That's nuts. Our one listener throwing bones all the time. That's what we gotta do. We gotta appease our our one fan.
00:17:49
Speaker
Yeah. i use her when like ah yeah yeah I wonder if our Aussie
Tribute to Bob Uecker
00:17:54
Speaker
is still listening. Hi. Shout out to Australia. I really appreciate you listening to us. We just reached out to us on Twitter. We'd love to hear from you, man. Yes. Or you are ma'am if, you know, I don't know. Love to hear from you.
00:18:10
Speaker
All right. With that, I'll jump into something on a more somber note. The day of recording this, Bob Euchre did pass away today. He's primarily known for being the broadcaster for the Brewers for over 50 years. I think it's 54. He was a player for the Brewers as well. And I know Mike had some good things to say about him. So go ahead.
00:18:31
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I first discovered Bob Euchre through major league. um I think a lot of people are he's probably discovered in that way as Harry Doyle just had some great one liners. You're just a bit outside, tried the corner and miss ball for Boral eight and that's ball 12. And one has loaded the bases on 12 straight pitches. Alco Serrano, he'll need a rocket up his ass to catch this one. um Just a collection of different just.
00:18:54
Speaker
one-line greatness that he had. And as an announcer, it was kind of the same way. I mean, if he wouldn't roast the player so much, he would roast himself mostly. um But he's kind of the last of a dying breed in terms of guys who just didn't take themselves too seriously, knew that they were there to have fun, loved genuinely loved the job. And I think we're kind of losing a little bit of that now. and Yeah, we were stuck with Michael K.
00:19:18
Speaker
What's wrong with Michael K? It's a different style. i I mean, I like Michael K, but he definitely has got something up his butt. Oh, he does. He's serious. He does. But that's why I found Euchre to be so refreshing. And I'm not saying all of them aren't like that. I know the Baltimore cruise kind of similar to that, but I'm hoping that a lot of people, especially now that Euchre is gone, kind of try to pay homage to that and kind of adapt that style. um But I would always like on a movie TV or we never try to find the Euchre games. He was such a great storyteller and it all came from Major League, which is all in Jess. And obviously I don't know if you've ever seen Major League, either one of you, but it's of course it's a classic. It's a classic. It's a great movie. And he really makes to me the movie. I always hit his comments were always my favorite part. I mean, that line just a bit outside. I mean, you hear that. Announcers all the time nowadays talk about it. Yeah, yeah.
00:20:13
Speaker
Yeah. And the sad thing is that really stinks is that his last memory being a diehard brewer guy, um, is the fact that he, his last game, he was still announcing he's 90 years old. He was still doing games. He called that Alonzo home run. God damn Pete Alonzo. That's terrible. And everything that came with it.
00:20:33
Speaker
and He played for a bunch of teams, actually. He played six years. ah Wasn't the best major leaguer. He hit 200 for his career. um But he was able to kind of make fun of himself. And like I said, he didn't take himself too seriously. He he was just there having fun. And that's what the game should still be all about. Even at 90 years old, he still had that childlike feel.
00:20:56
Speaker
for the game that is just so refreshing in this day and age where everything is so stat heard and, you know, everything's got to be structured you and all that. yeah He never it was just that old fashioned style that really stinks that he's gone. It's all it's you know, he lived a long life. God bless him. But it just stinks knowing that like and I knew he was sick, but he just still sounded so great on the call.
00:21:24
Speaker
that It just yeahmo ah it came as a surprise to me, even at 90 years old. but you on it will be most But God bless Bob Euchre, man. For sure. Yeah, God bless him. All right. On a different note, it's been a minute since we've had a roundup of free
Yankees' Offseason Moves and Strategy
00:21:43
Speaker
agents. Off season has been happening. We'll just start with the bang. Let's get it out the way. Have the 20 minute discussion. Juan Soto.
00:21:52
Speaker
15 recorded since one you know the last time we recorded the the i store up and scored a power play goal Great it's a great stat right a great stat. I mean is that the new danger? Is that the new danger Jones hasn't thrown a touchdown in MetLife Stadium since after your sword walls? Yeah, yes it is. Got it. We'll make it that way
00:22:23
Speaker
Juan Soto, man, 15 years, 765 million with the Mets. Escalators will bring that up to over 800. But the Yankees did try to match. I think their last offer was, what, 16 years? 760, I believe. So we can't fault Hal. He did try. He put his checkbook down. um But he did end up going with the Mets. What are your guys' reactions? I know it's been about a month now, but what are your thoughts?
00:22:51
Speaker
um Would you like to go first or should I? Josh, I'll let you go first because I've been talking the whole pod. um I would I would ah again like to say that the ah Juan Soto trade ah will go down as one of the worst trade. You <unk> let you go first. and I know that's why I asked because I didn't know if you want me to come. up Yeah, I'll let you leave so I can annihilate this guy. You know, again, you trade it you trade for Juan Soto and it is it is championship or bust and they did not win.
00:23:20
Speaker
And they made it though. You gave up, you gave up a lot of, a lot of pitching prospects. I mean, now you have max free. Do you really need them? no Maybe not. But, uh, you got one year out a long total and it didn't come up and it didn't come to anything. And not only that, but now your cross town rival, uh, is now going to sit there and laugh in your face for the next 15 years. Are they?
00:23:45
Speaker
Yeah, they are because there's a thing if this contract doesn't work out after three or four years Are they really gonna laugh in our face if they go ringless for 15 years? and They're stuck with this contract for 15 years and let's sodas 26, right? yeah Yeah, so let's say he starts having his decline at 32. They still have nine years of Top dollar bull look at what happened. Giancarlo Stanton
00:24:13
Speaker
Look at what happened with Albert Pujolts. Look at what happened with Josh Hamilton. Look at what happened with Jacobi Ellsbury. I don't think there's... Red Sox fans are probably like, oh yeah, Yankee fans are going to laugh at our faces. They're laughing at us right now.
00:24:27
Speaker
for sure. I mean, Jacoby Ellsbury was never that player though, to be fair. You know, he was never that guy. He had a good contract year and the Yankees happened to lose Cano that year and they needed some. Right. It was a panic move to start like after Cano and the Yankees, you could argue maybe have made a couple of those this year, but honestly, I like on paper what they've done. Yeah.
00:24:47
Speaker
It's a lot of, low aside from freed, it's a lot of low risk, high reward moves. I think Soto was a moderate risk move. You knew what you were getting into. You knew the risk. I think still looking back, the risk was worth the reward. hindsight is 2020. If everything aligned the way that it did, and this is the result, and we knew the result prior, I would have 100% done that move again. I mean, if Aaron Judge wasn't a dumpster fire in the playoffs, you probably, I'm not going to probably, but you have a legitimate chance in a world series. That's why. to game six that's exactly why i think i don't think it's a failure i honestly am you know at first when the news hit that night it stung um i remember getting ready for meetings and conferences i was up way later than i should have been um because you know just following the news
00:25:34
Speaker
and it stung but I even seen the money then it was like okay I'm like all right I can kind of live with this now the longer out we go and I see we got freed we got Devin Williams for nothing a bag of chips I mean we got Cody Bellinger who I didn't I'll admit I didn't really want him until I saw what the return was going to be this is another low-risk high reward move yeah i love I love the Bellinger, but the Bellinger move, honestly, because they traded a ham sandwich and a can of Coke away for him. He's a lefty pole guy that's going to do well in Yankee Stadium. And he can play about three or four different positions if you need to. And really, you know if they don't like Dominguez in the outfield so much,
00:26:28
Speaker
I mean, you got a guy who's, I don't know if I'd say he's a gold glove outfielder, but he's a pretty damn good one. He's a good outfielder. And then, and then, you know, if you really want to get a, I mean, they're probably gonna have to get another outfielder, but if you do get another outfielder, well, Belanger's gonna play first base. Yep. Especially now you've got a guy like Gulchmet, who is known to hit left-handed hitting, that Belanger can't. Belanger can hit right-handed pitch right Right.
00:26:54
Speaker
And I honestly like the Goldschmidt move. I mean, I know I knowing what he's going to be. I really hope that Yankee fans have low expectations and hope that we see them considering what we had at first base all year and going back home run if he gets you 20 homers and he gets to 52 60. I'm not mad at all.
00:27:10
Speaker
That's a hell of an upgrade. I'd just like to remind you that Yankees did not have a home run out of the first base position past the month of July. Right. You can't be upset. I mean, anything below average is good for that. But I think you have to realize also that Goldsman is not going to be playing every day. Goldsman will probably play 100 to 120 games, and Ben Rice will be playing the remaining. Can he play 18 to 20 games in October? that Yeah, that's the question. yeah That's what I need. Yeah.
00:27:39
Speaker
um Yeah, so I mean when we're looking at this, honestly, when we go back in retrospect, we lost Juan Soto, but we used the money we were gonna use to pay Juan Soto on these guys. We traded Michael King, Drew Thorpe, and a bunch of no names to get these four guys back. I can live with that. I can too. And you know how much, you know, you guys ragged me for a leaver's. Devin Williams is that dude though. He's really good.
00:28:03
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. Can I? I don't know if I can trust your words on this act. Yeah, we. but Yeah, I mean, William is the best closer in baseball. You know, so it's quick you can make a cast. Well, I was going to say, I will be network is the dumbest morons I have ever seen in my life. with That a manual class A was ranked fourth on that. list There was a guy in Cleveland's bullpen, a rookie who had worse numbers than Class A by a country mile that they ranked above him. that's Those morons at MLB Network should all be fired. Oh my god, dude, those guys need to take a long walk off a short pier. I've never seen such stupidity in my life, dude. It's so bad. like I mean, seriously, how do you write that? And then somebody looks at that and goes, yeah, I think that's a good idea.
00:28:52
Speaker
Wait, I mean what is wrong with you? Wait, i only I only saw the headline that Williams was one. I got the notification. I gotta see this list now. Kate Smith, I'm pretty sure that's his name, and was number two. He was another reliever in the Guardians bullpen. His ERA was like twice as high as Class A's. Okay, the Shredder has Reisel Iglesias at 10, Jeff Hoffman at 9, Kirby Yates at 8. That's a crime. Tanner Scott at 7, Edwin you said at 6, Mason Miller 5.
00:29:19
Speaker
Class A4, you're not kidding. Ryan Halsey III, I like Halsey, but he's not better than Class A. Kate Smith, that's- Kate Smith. Kate Smith. Dude, I just like- I mean, what were these people- what drugs were these people on? And nobody must have like ever gone and like fact- I mean, seriously, dude. How do you get hired at MLB Network? Because I could do a better job than these morons. Yeah, we could do a better job. Class A needs to be more or two. I mean, dude, it is like just- I don't- I cannot- Fathom that somebody put that down on paper and somebody else looked at that and went yeah, that's good. That's a good idea. Let's make a graphic. Oh My god, that's really bad combines a bunch of different formulas and stats Think everybody watch the games. Yeah watch the games I I Anyway back to back to the point that I was trying to make Before I went on that tirade Williams is the best closer in baseball
00:30:16
Speaker
I mean you can say only one about class A if William just played more than like 20 games last season because he was hurt. Dude have you seen this change up pitch that he throws? That might be the dirtiest pitch I've ever seen. It's like they call it a change up but it moves like a screwball.
00:30:34
Speaker
i but has the speed of the change if it's wild. It's absolutely nuts, and it's it's untouchable. I mean, it is, I wouldn't say on par, but it's it's it's it's up there with Rivera's cutter. like You know it's coming, and I still can't hit it. So, if I'm not mistaken, Josh, you sound pretty happy.
00:30:54
Speaker
I didn't say I wasn't happy. you know i I just said the smoto trade was terrible. i don't I just don't see how it is. you got I mean i mean are you understand they did not reach the goal. See, your logic to me is that...
00:31:08
Speaker
You're saying because they traded for soto that they were no no no no no no because they traded for Soto that they were willing to spend the money that they would have spent on Soto to spend on other things? That's the logic that you're that you're saying to me. so my logic was too My logic is a two-part question. Number one, did the Soto trade make us a better team in 2024? Yes. yeah Is the team currently constructed for 2025 a better team than we would have been in 2024 without one Soto?
00:31:35
Speaker
then it was a fine trade i won't say it was an amazing trade but it was not a failure either <unk> her in zero i like in than what we had before the one solo i'm with my good i think i think you're kind of i think you're connecting to ah two things that don't really go together but okay I don't see why but that know then we're talking about the future i mean i mean if you didn't have so purpose of having prospects and on your team is for an outlook for the future if our future outlook is better before now than it was trade. what good were those prospects in the first place but yeah but i don't Again, I don't think that if soda was on the team in 2024 or not, that doesn't, that doesn't mean it's mutually exclusive. The cash-in would have made the news that he did this year. I get that. So let me ask you this then. Do the Yankees make the world series last year without soda? No way in hell. No, most likely not. Thank you. It's not a failure. I agree. What did they win?
00:32:34
Speaker
you made it You were not going to beat at the Dodgers. You made it, and you had a shot. You made it, though. And you said. That's a loser mentality. No, that's a judge issue for not catching the fly ball. There's a lot more to it than judge missing a fly ball. Yes. yeah Honestly, I can't even pin it on.
00:32:51
Speaker
Listen this whole well, we did make it to the world series is is such a loser mentality. It hurts I'm not saying I'm not saying that's what makes it a success though I'm saying we're we're a better team than we would have been without them and we're a better team now than we were before that trade happened I don't I don't I don't disagree. I don't disagree with that statement, but I don't think that we're a better team now in 2025 than 2024 is mutually is is has anything to do with Juan Soto and See, I do, because I think if Juan Soto's not in the building, Steinbrenner is less likely to even try to spend on him. Right, i right. now your So your so your logic your logic is that the money that they would have spent on Soto was now used in 2025, and that Steinbrenner would not have spent the money if Soto was not part of the team in 2024. That's a logical advantage. And that's why the trade was successful, because it got Hal to open up his pocket, because he knew the fans weren't going to tolerate this. That's a stretch.
00:33:45
Speaker
That's a story. I think this, I think this motivated how, and I think it lit a fire under him. That was much needed that we haven't seen in. Yeah. He matched. He tried to match. Don't forget. He tried. I have no issue with how Steinbrunn on this. I had no issue with Brian cash on this. The other reason why I tried to avoid saying it's a failure and I've been very critical of Brian cash in both on and off pod.
00:34:07
Speaker
Implying that the trade is a failure implies that Brian Cashman would be a ding against Brian Cashman. I can't ding Brian Cashman on this. He went for it. He made the team better. He went for it. The main critique we've had toward Brian Cashman was that he's been so focused on the future. He saw an opportunity. He went for it. Did it work? No, but the repercussions that we've been told were going to happen really haven't happened.
00:34:31
Speaker
Well, Michael King had a great season. Okay. Is he going to have another great season like that? I don't know. He's having like a 60 RA somewhere chicago Chicago. Um, who else was even in the deal? No one of relevance. Those guys turned into Hall of Famers. Fine. I'll eat my words until then. I don't see why you don't go for the win now move. And clearly he had a great season. I mean, he finished starting the MVP voting for crisis. Yeah.
00:34:58
Speaker
he we We went for it for one season. Juan Soto on the face did significantly better than anybody else in that trade. So if we're looking at it as a Juan Soto vacuum. Just looking at the trade of who we received and who we gave up, the Yankees won the trade. Yeah, I agree. It's not a failure. It's not a raising success because we didn't win a title, but it's not a failure either. If you want to call it a B trade instead of an A trade, I can live with that.
00:35:27
Speaker
i' was not I'll give it a C. Okay, all right. That's enough. prescent strategy We're going to move on. Anybody want to pay their respects for Nestor? i
00:35:41
Speaker
Listen, listen, um, yeah, really, I mean, honestly, if he didn't do that stupid light kick crap, no, no one would have the mustache. No one would care. I mean, he was, he was a locker room guy and you know, that's great. And you know, now the Yankees locker room is going to be, uh, Cody Belanger getting on base and standing and grounding out. And then, and then Belanger getting mad and saying going, yeah, well I banged your wife.
00:36:07
Speaker
yeah yeah so I mean that's that's the Yankees clubhouse this year. Over under 12 and a half games until we have a Bellinger and Stanton fist fight. Oh my god. I was at the class. Oh I thought you were gonna say over under 12 games until the meme comes out. Oh no I'm saying 12 and a half games before they get in the full-fledged fight. That's so funny. I don't know I don't think that's gonna happen. That's all just kind of that vibe for me. I like him I'm excited and the game I didn't like it.
00:36:35
Speaker
What? I said they gave up nothing. Like we didn't even, Poteet didn't make the roster last year. It's a great move. That's the only thing I like about it was again, looking at a trade as who we received versus who we gave up. We won the trade. I'm happy. Welcome Cody Bellinger. I didn't want him though. I wouldn't have gone out of my way to get him though. Right. You want somebody else, but we can get to that in a minute. Um, let me ask you this, another question for y'all. The one thing about the freed contract I don't like is the eight years. I know. What did we think about that?
00:37:05
Speaker
You're not gonna get a guy like that with with why now we're less than six yeah seven. I know. She's unfortunate. These guys are trying to, you know, pay away for their future selves. Yeah. Lowest DRA in baseball since I think 2019 or since the COVID year. Um, I think you have to do it. Yeah. It does wreak a little bit of Rodan panic. No, not even that just the post Robinson Cano panic. Yes. Um, so if it doesn't pan out, he's going to be the butt of all jokes.
00:37:35
Speaker
But I think it had to try. And i like I said, it motivated how to open up a checkbook because I think the fans would have rioted if he didn't do anything. He had to recover. This was his zag. And I think honestly, they did a good job of zagging from plan A to plan B very quickly. They didn't sit and mope. They got who they needed to get. They filled in a lot of needs and probably spent less money than they would have in the Euro soda.
00:38:01
Speaker
Yeah. do it It's funny. I actually, in my notes for this, I wrote down, this is very reminiscent circa 2013, 2014. Yankees picked up. I was very McCann. McCann. Do we think this pivot is better than that one? And I think it's unequivocal. Yes. Yes. I was never a fan of the McCann move. Um, honestly, he wasn't bad at all. for the time I liked it. Just in a pan out. It just felt like an overpay at the time, but I'm, I really can't complain. Yeah.
00:38:28
Speaker
um I'm checking that max free number just to fact-check myself here. I'm going descending earn one average since 2019 on stat head right now um With a minimum of how many innings would you say would be solid for this? Not 200 eggs. That's not even like a thing anymore 200. I guess we'll say let's just say 300 innings over the course of five seasons um
00:38:51
Speaker
Oh, single seasons, what by my combined seasons. Just fixing my generator. Let's see. Bunch of relievers, bunch of relievers, and free. Yeah. Wow. I'm excited. He'll be a real number two, because you know Rodan is not. Yeah, I mean, Rodan's a joke. Yeah. All right. We'll continue. But yeah. Yeah. Yeah, a good one-two punch. For sure. For sure.
00:39:21
Speaker
The Mets do get better too. They also revamped their pitching staffs. We're going with Frankie Montas, which I actually don't hate this move. Really? Frankie Montas is complete trash. yeah i'm enjoy that one he's a number five guy he's you know he's been hurt yes yeah uh he's been dude he was he was bad i mean he was bad for the reds i guess bad the only thing he did was stay healthy last year that's literally the only thing he did and honestly if you thought he was bad for the reds he went to milwaukee and he was worse
00:39:52
Speaker
Yeah. He was bad. He had a bad year. He went 7-11 with a 4.84 ERA last year. All right, I retract my statement. And that was Milwaukee's big pickup, by the way. Who is a better pickup for the Mets besides Soto, Frankie Montas or Clay Holmes? I was just going to say that. Your revamped pitching staff is Frankie Montas. Disgusting.
00:40:18
Speaker
play homes to be a starter. Yeah. Oh boy. And re-signing Menea who actually, that's actually a great move. That is. That was a good move. But, and they did lose Severino, but that's another case. Like, yeah, i mean not I'm sorry guys. breaking Breaking news. The streak is over. The analyst have scored a power play goal. Oh, not age well already. Yikes.
00:40:39
Speaker
Usually it takes at least two weeks for the pod to be ready to be removed. That's true. I should point out today is January 16th. So this should get uploaded by about Valentine's Day. We'll know the baseball hall of fame, football hall of fame, and basketball hall of fame by the time. And we'll be debating the hockey hall of fame for the next episode. yeah ahha Um, okay. You're right. The clay home starter thing is interesting to me. I really don't know how that's going to work out at all, to be honest with you. This one reference projection. Yeah, that's yeah, it's terrible. ah Yeah. I just, I don't understand how.
00:41:18
Speaker
You know, I mean, this guy was a piss poor reliever for the Pirates. And then the Yankees got a hold of him and turned him into a, you know, a good reliever, but a, you know, oh completely volatile. You never know what's going to cut out out of the mound. And the Mets want to turn that into a starter. I just are I don't know, man. I mean, is the guy ever like been a multi inning reliever either? I don't think he ever has been. No.
00:41:42
Speaker
I don't, yeah, I don't know. He's not that good. It's very good. I mean, this this isn't like ah like a Seth Lugo or or a Michael King where it's like these guys were multi-inning relievers that became starters. Like that makes sense, at least. Holmes was a closer. Is there any chance that this was a chess move by Cohen to get Kano? Was Kano first or was Holmes first? Kano? What do you mean? You don't even Kano. Not Kano. Why am I saying Kano? Oh my God. Mon Soto. Jesus.
00:42:10
Speaker
Oh, so it was just moved to get one Soto. We're, you know, maybe Clay Holmes was like, Soto's one friend on the team and Cohen found out about it. He's like, yeah, we'll give your family a suite and we'll sign your one friend and he's like, okay.
Mets and Red Sox Strategy Analysis
00:42:25
Speaker
I would be, uh,
00:42:27
Speaker
I would shit a brick, as they say, if Clay Holmes was Soto's one friend. They say you didn't talk to anybody in free agency. Maybe Clay Holmes was the one accepting. Yeah, Aaron Judge, pick up the phone, Aaron Judge. What are we doing, guy? Oh no, I forgot. Soto changed his number. My bad, my bad. I forgot about that part.
00:42:46
Speaker
I wanted to bring this up to the alees is gonna get a little bit better at the Red Sox. I like the moves they've made They signed Walker Bueller Chapman I mean Chapman's Chapman but Bueller's a decent sign and they did trade for crochet. So they're looking pretty interesting, too Yeah, they are. I I'm still left a little cold with their lineup though.
00:43:06
Speaker
ah their lineup is is definitely is left to be desired but uh they're starting pitching is uh yeah kind of scary i mean you got you got crochet and crawford and uh bueller that's that's a that's a decent rotation and then i mean you have um what's his name hawk hoke i don't know how to say his name Tanner Hawk to a guy he had a great year to see if he can repeat that and and yeah back cut that out then you have and then you have your no your big not rookie but younger guy and Brian below that's supposed to be really good that hasn't
00:43:45
Speaker
really had a chance to get get us stuff together yet. Retsaka no very good. Yeah. Rotation. And the question is, can their bats do something? You know, are they gonna have guys come up from the miners? Are they gonna go sign somebody? I mean, you know, they signed. um What's his name? Yoshida? Is that his name? Masataki Yoshida? Yes. Yeah, and he's been a disaster.
00:44:11
Speaker
Yeah, I mean he's actually a player. yeah I mean, I guess I wouldn't say disaster, but he has not been he has not lived up to what he was supposed to be. He's a 285 hitter with a 111 OPS plus. Zach loves him. But he's a left-handed hitter in Fenway. Go figure. Yeah. Right.
00:44:31
Speaker
we'll see i'll see but again you know i don't know if the at leasts is actually better cause i think the orioles got worse very also still get worse corbin burns dipped to the other side of the country he went to arizona six years two hundred and seventy million dollars look at them i'll be I'll be damned if he ends up saying that full contract. The owner's going to put out a whiny piece of that. It's a big deal. And then he'll buy himself out and he'll be out of there. I think he has an opt-out set up already. i' I'll be stunned if he plays out that whole contract there. No way. That rotation is scary, though, too. It's really good. Yeah, they're all they're always interesting. I mean, I picked them. I think I picked them to win the World Series last year.
00:45:13
Speaker
Yeah. And that did not happen. Corbin Carroll actually played baseball for the first half of the year. Yeah, he had a great second half. What's the diamond match rotation now? It's Burns. Who's Galen? Burns Galen. Rumor is that Galen might go, though. They might rinse Galen half, then who else? Meryl Kelly. Meryl Kelly is hurt, but he's very good. Yeah, that's a good rotation, too. It is. And you have V-Rod, too.
00:45:42
Speaker
Yes. Over who had a rough season, but I mean, he's had good years. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he was a good like three, four starter, I guess. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not decent rotation, but you're right. Or he always got worse. Um, I'll just read some of the big free agent splashes and we can, you know, just give her a quick
MLB Team Roster Changes
00:46:00
Speaker
thoughts. Blake, snow Dodgers. Uh, I hate the Dodgers. I hate, I just hate it. I hate it. I hate it everywhere. I don't feel like having until 2035. Imagine your starting rotation being.
00:46:13
Speaker
um Yamamoto, Otani, Snell, Glassnow, Gosling, Trevor, ah not Trevor, Dustin May. And you have a 50-50 shot on signing Sasaki. Yeah. Yeah.
00:46:34
Speaker
ah and ahs for friends do fans I see Dodger fans all over freaking Twitter acts going man If we don't science is sake now that he's got he's down to one or two teams. I hate this team It's like are you on drugs guys? Yeah Get a grip so much 90s Yankee fans like you just want a world series and rip Huge you got better by the way, you also forgotten that Peace the likely chance that Clayton Karshow is gonna return on a cheap deal, right? I Well, Kershaw did say he doesn't want to retire. I can't see him anywhere else, I mean... Yeah, I mean, the Dodgers are probably talking to him like, retire. Yeah. But he wants to come back this year, so... You know what, honestly, they might just go, hey, would you be okay moving to the open? Yeah. I could see that for him. And that's up to him if that's what he wants to do or not.
00:47:27
Speaker
Is he close to a magic number mech? Does he have 3,000 already? Am I like blanking? ah He's close. He doesn't have 3,000 yet. um I think he's actually like within 100 though. That's why. it's secret round He's 32 away. oh So maybe you like do that and then you do the AROD treatment where you like get to 3,000, get out. That's what would do. yeah I mean, Frankie finished 21 shy of 3,000. No one gave him a shot this year. That's a shame.
00:47:55
Speaker
I think Kershaw played a little better when healthy than Greinke did that last year. But um'm I mean, he went 2 and 15 with a 5.06. So, I mean, 5.06, it wasn't all his fault. well I mean, Greinke is going to get into the hole either way. Yeah, I think he will. I mean, i the waste, and we'll I'm sure at the end, maybe we'll talk a little bit about the tracker right now, but Cece is doing so well that I think that'll really bode well for Greinke in four years. As he should. Yeah.
00:48:23
Speaker
They both should get in, but I think this will i think that'll help him a little bit more. If CeCe can kind of be a first ballot guy, which it looks like he's going to be, then I think, Greg, he'll be in the same boat. Yeah, I agree. We already touched on Burns. This was interesting to me. Kyle Tucker to the Cubs, Esau. I don't get it. Are they starting over? like I really don't know what to think about this.
00:48:48
Speaker
um I'm confused. I mean, I guess like they saw the big markets going nuts and maybe they said like, we got to get somebody in here. And if they think they can sign them a long term, I don't think it's a bad move for them. I mean, it's never a bad move to add a guy like Kyle Tucker to your team. But yeah, I'm more interested in why the Astros are selling really. Like, I guess they I have a funny feeling that something with this physical that they know about and they' they're moving off them. Because like why would you trade that guy even with a year left? I don't think the Astros are as strong as you think they are.
00:49:26
Speaker
Yeah, maybe. Is it Dana Brown still there? I mean, they don't want to. They didn't want to pay Bregman now to days getting older. You've really they don't have the staff that they had. I mean, you have two good pitchers and Alvarez and Tucker. That's it. That's that's really all they have. Are we paying you for defense? But I've not done any pain. It is not season. Yeah. Yeah. You had that rookie season rookie.
00:49:49
Speaker
Post is and has not yeah been not been able to recapture that you know we need ah I'm not gonna put this in the air oh god we need a Second baseman, I'm just gonna I'm just gonna say that just I know I we already have a second baseman DJ Lameo Well if they offered you out to pay for 68 cents on the dollar would know I would I'm sorry I can't I can't stop my kid. I can't do it I feel like that'd be the ultimate makeup. I Can't do I just can't I I don't want him on my team. Don't even speak that into existence. Yeah, I'm okay. Is it? Honestly, like if we're talking about, he would actually get booed at his home, at his home stadium. I honestly don't think he will. Yes, he would. You're really, I take you on drugs. You're a cheater, but you're our cheater now. You're a cheater, you stole an MVP from our franchise player. yeah And now you're going to help him win another one. Here you go. You're crazy. All 12 and ends well, win us a title and it's even.
00:50:49
Speaker
No. I'd like whatever you are having. The cheater comes to help us get a ring. No, I'm shutting it, but this isn't happening. He'd get blue more than Alex Rodriguez here. All right, next free agent, Zach, let's go. um but In return, the Ash shows do sign Christian Walker. I was upset about this. I did want him. That one's song. Yeah. Yeah, I wanted him. Me too. Loki with that money, that contract stung me more than losing soda.
00:51:12
Speaker
because it wasn't that much. and get into the asstertros It was like, oh, that would hurt. We should have gotten that one. I agree. We do lose Glaver to Detroit of all places, which was very interesting to me. Yes, Detroit is becoming the land of disastrous middle infielders of New York between hobby bias and Glaver Torres. You know, you're not wrong. I was thinking that.
00:51:35
Speaker
I don't understand. I honestly, I'm not gonna lie, I completely forgot he signed with the Tigers. I was so unaffected. it may Hey, you know what? It makes the Tigers a better team though. I think it does. With his 1.8 war, yeah. and Well, I mean, again, the question to me is, they had their second base with the future in Colt Keith.
00:51:55
Speaker
Where's he plan? Are you gonna teach him how to play third base so you can teach him how to play first base? It's a special Torkelson ah right first overall pick. Is he done? Is that it? Is they giving up? It's gonna be fun. Yeah and So yeah, I'm sorry. We're one on one ops plus and you make so many errors ah Goodbye Yeah, I'm not saying about Glaber being gone. I mean, we know, I mean, I don't know if you saw this one, but the Nationals offered him a contract and asked him to play third base. And he said, no, he would not play third base because he knows he can't defend. He is a second baseman and he will not play anywhere else. Maybe they decided to be a backup utility guy, you know, because he's so good defensively and can play the field. Glaber gets to choose where he wants to play. I'm surprised he didn't find a team where he'd go to. Honestly, no, you're not wrong. I don't get it.
00:52:46
Speaker
um So yeah, that was one. What else? Seve to the A's, the A's, you know, not Sacramento A's. The A's like to spend money. And my thought was, well, you know why? Because how else are you going to get guys to play at a minor league ballpark for a few years? I know. Yeah. Get minor league players. There you go. I think he's getting like 20 something million here. I'll call up Ray Navarette. Yeah, I'll call up Ray Navarette. I love it. That's great. That looks good.
00:53:16
Speaker
Um, him and Hooli, they re-signed Rooker too, right? So like a crazy deal? Yeah, they gave him a good amount of money. I mean, that was one that good for bren Rooker, dude. yeah Honestly, honestly, turned his career around, came a really good player. Uh, he'll never touch the field, but he'll hit the ball. Yes. Twitter annoyed me with that one. The guy had three years of team control. They were not giving him a bigger deal than that. He was not going to get a bigger deal at 33 years old as a DH. Why are we going nuts about this? He had to take that money. That was a good deal for both sides.
00:53:47
Speaker
for sure. Um, what else? I think I had some notable holdouts, which I did want to mention, right? Yeah, let's go pee first. Let's go pee first. Where do you guys think he signs? Oh, and also, I know the one island ducks. no I mean, I mean, dude, like we're gonna Sunday's I dude, I mean, Boris is like, he's screwing up or screwing. I mean, he is looking for this ridiculous contract that I mean, I didn't think that Alonzo would have a market. His market would be this bad, but I mean, Boris must be looking for something ridiculous. I think it was just an over bonus of first baseman that were on the market this year. And Santana went. I'm sure Zach had him on the list. ah Yeah, Christian Walker go. And honestly, if you have the choice between a shot at maybe getting Vlad Guerrero for a year or Peter Alonzo for five, I think I'm taking Vlad for one and starting over the next year.
00:54:40
Speaker
Yeah, I can't eat that. I like Alonso, and I think he's a good locker room kind of guy. And he's going to hit home runs for you. But he's also going to hit 220. And he can't play defense. His defense isn't that bad. I think that gets over- that gets over-exaggerated. He's no gold glover, but he's an average fielder. I'm going to go with the Toronto Blue Jays.
00:55:03
Speaker
really think i think they're going read one i think body gets moved and i think when vlati gets moved to a team that's actually going to sign him they signed pete alonzo on a discounted deal cause he he rejected i think like ah seventy million dollar deal from the mets recently I mean I I mean I saw today that they said
00:55:26
Speaker
What did they say that, um, the Mets have basically expected them to go sign or somewhere else because the Mets are not budging on their number as honestly good for them. Good for them. Yeah. I mean, when Billy Epler was the GM and they offered Pete, what, like seven for one 58 or something like that, you, that looks amazing now. Like he should take in that money and ran. Um, so I bet he feels like an idiot.
00:55:50
Speaker
but I mean, I think it just... but I mean, it's Boris, man. Yeah. He's not the first client. Right. And you know what? They might end up pulling a... ah You know, get doing a Snell deal where he gets like a one-year deal.
00:56:03
Speaker
or a two-year deal with an opt-out after one, and then tries again. But honestly, Boris hasn't had a bad off-season. It's just Alonzo's the outlier. He got the Soto money. He got the Burns money. He got Chapman a massive investment. I could have represented Soto and got that money. I could have. But what about that Matt Chapman contract extension? That's a good point. Corbin Burns got massive money when Josh might have called credit. We think Matt Chapman is overrated, but he's really not as bad as we say.
00:56:27
Speaker
I think Matt Chapman's good. I like Matt Chapman. I had him top 10 in my MVP this year, but he's not worth that money. no And Corbin Burns, we talked about you were scared of him. I like him, but I don't think I would have given him that. I agree.
00:56:42
Speaker
Um, for jim those are good deals of worse snow. so Yeah. Um, well, sorry, but I was talking about Pete. I do think we just mentioned Detroit. I think that could be a sleeper if they're interested because Torkelson isn't working out. They need someone to plug the hole. for No, no, no, no, no, no. No, they got too many infielders already. Yeah. No, they're not. They're definitely not doing that. Unfortunate.
00:57:05
Speaker
um This is from underdog and Joel Sherman Mets off repeat Alonzo with three years 68 to 70 million dollar deal That was rejected. I'm guessing Joel Sherman just didn't want to write the number 69 out and get all the Twitter comments fun um But yes 68 to 70 million dollar deal over three years. He rejected that Which I guess I would too considering but at this point, what are your other options? I know And Bregman to where do we think Bregman's going I honestly have no clue I Here come the Yankees. No, but no. there won't be I don't want him. I can't. If we can get him for cheap enough, what's the I get the alert the allergy to Astros cheaters. But like, come on, if we can get him cheap enough, why not? He just screams Chase Headley to me. Remember Chase Headley? I can't. He was a lot better than Chase. hit Oh, no, no. that That's a that's a very, very poor. No.
00:57:58
Speaker
But again, the thing with Bregman is that his underlying numbers absolutely 100 gazillion percent scream that within two years he's going to be complete and utter crap. That's why you give him a one-year, $20 million dollars deal. he's Give him a prove it. Give him a prove it. If no one else is offering him something, he might take it. Even a one-year, $25 million. What's the difference? You let Soto walk. You have a lot more money.
00:58:25
Speaker
Give me here for 25 million and star fresh. Why not? Yeah, I don't know who is signing him I wouldn't give him years. No, I give him one Absolutely not but one year for war baseball sign me up And Santander was another one everyone was talking about him he is yeah, yeah, I That's weird too. You're right. i mean I forgot all about him. Oh, you mean because it's another, yes, another two 20 hitter. Yeah. I mean, we he's not a fit for us, but I mean, he'll be a fit somewhere. Um, you know, 44 home runs, 44 home runs. Um, I know the giants have been spending. I feel like that's a ah team. I mean, they haven't had it. I don't think they've had a 30 home run guy in years.
00:59:18
Speaker
Yeah. When's the last 30 home run season? Matt Chapman hit 27 this year, and that was considered a lot. The Giants just need somebody to take their money. Pretty much. I'm going to run down the set head, actually, because I'm interested in that. Keep going. Carry on. and I think the Giants are hoping to get another one of the big Japanese free agents. Oh, right. What's the the Korean guy they got that got hurt?
00:59:44
Speaker
uh... chung hooley yes yes he played what twenty or thirty games and they got hurt yeah and they got hurt and missed the rest of the season i remember that unfortunate very unfortunate most of the holdouts i think i know so today for instance metz brought back winker like a few hours ago yeah i mean i mean i was left cold with that one who cares you really honestly who cares nobody He's a bench player. How do I sort this bitch? Oh, you know Hassan Kim. I think sign with the Dodgers. That's a pretty sneaky one. Wait what? The Japanese one. Oh I thought you meant the Padre. No the Japanese one. Yeah, they they're gonna use him as like a super utility. Yeah, that's not a bad signing. So since 2000 There have been 830 home run seasons for the San Francisco Giants and Seven of those eight seasons were either Barry Bonds or Jeff Kent
01:00:41
Speaker
That's so sad. They have not had a 30 home run hitter since bonds in 2004. Oh, man. Brandon Belt was the closest in 2021 with 29. That's why I think Sontan there's a fit there. I think they're desperate for home runs. I can see it. What else?
01:01:00
Speaker
Oh, I wanted not a signing, but ah a trade. I think the Gavin Lux trade to the rest. Oh, yes. I'm surprised that that even happened. I'm surprised the Reds went for that. Me too. I realize they don't really have a DH. So one of the one of the five infielders will probably end up DHing when they're not fielding. Speaking of Reds, did we talk about Jonathan India, Brady Singer? No, I was just going to say that. I don't know if we did. It's a big move for both teams. That's a great move for the Reds. And it's a head scratcher, in my opinion, for the Royals. What happened with Jonathan India? Nothing. They just don't need him.
01:01:37
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. True. Good point. And ah honestly, they would have traded India last year if Matt McLean had played a single inning. I mean, they had they had their, you know, their middle infield of the future with Dela Cruz and McLean and McLean got that shoulder surgery or whatever and missed the entire season. Yeah. I mean, the Yankees are rooming to be in on India. They they wanted him.
01:02:03
Speaker
Yankees weren't gonna give up a Brady singer for I was gonna say yeah Interesting from the Royals perspective because singer was real good last year. I don't I don't understand that from the Royals perspective I mean, I mean I guess I kind of do because they have They have good starting pitching and I guess I mean they had Lugo who is a surprise and they had um Reagan's and they signed They signed the resin was that them or is that Texas. I think I thought that was Texas okay nevermind that he was Laura's I was on a team I know who else is it was the rinses I have the rinses. Do you need singer no he's good now would it be good to have a top three of Lugo Reagan's and singer yes because are you going to guarantee that Lugo is gonna have another great year starting. I don't know yeah i wouldn't I wouldn't bank my money on that so i'm yeah.
01:03:00
Speaker
i' But you also look at that lineup and, you know... there's line-ups that strike fear in opponents' hearts and there's line-ups that make you laugh. And if you get past Bobby Witt and 49-year-old Salvador Perez, they're huge. What about Vinny P? What about P? What about Pascatina? Oh, dude, the Vinny Pascatina. The Pascwatch. I don't get it. I don't get it. You read the link in the talk, Grace Flies, and only played 130 games. Dude, there's so much. I don't get it, bro. I've talked to royals fans, and they're like, this guy is great.
01:03:35
Speaker
what You know number I had a big turn that was a Royals fan And he was and all you would do is tell me how great this guy was and how they couldn't wait for him to get back from injury And I was really love him. I was like what are loves I don't get it. I don't get I have hung out on a royal sweater. He's I mean he's He's like ah a slightly above average player I mean, I guess when everybody else on your team sucks, I guess that's, you know, that becomes good. But like, I don't, I don't really got it. Yeah.
01:04:06
Speaker
What else am I missing? Any other big ones? Oh, Evaldi with Texas. I like that. That's good for Texas. Yeah. ask good That's a good deal for both. ah Yeah. Ferlander. Oh, Ferlander with Giants. The Giants. Yeah. we're turning going upon our hands I hope so. I don't think you can. I hope not in the Giants. yeah True. Yeah.
01:04:31
Speaker
yeah Sure, they're still a free agent sure agent Louie arise and normal or not. I could get traded at some point. Yeah Yeah was go be Red Sox, yeah, oh They have said that are not I was willing to trade it the wave is no trade clause to go to other teams.
01:04:51
Speaker
oh wow good for him that one now we'll see how that one does no one wants him well i mean he's basically said he wants to win and that's the only but which which i don't know which if he wants to go to boss and that makes no sense so he has one team that he can wave it for pretty much got it um i think we talk adamas too with the giant seven-year yeah holy overpay why they need somebody to take their money How many home runs did he hit? Is that how desperate we are? He hit 32 home runs. There you go. And what was his average? 250. Oh. 250 hit her. I'll take that. I'll take that. First for the record, that would be tied. And actually, that would be the ninth highest home run season for a giant since 2000.
01:05:38
Speaker
And he'd be the four for individual players. He'd be the fourth highest home run hitter on the team. in a season I mean, honestly, though, based on how the national league goes, that that's that's top five MVP hitting 40 home runs and hitting 250 if one door was, ah you know, second runner up in MVP. He had a great season stop. He had a good
Nick Castellanos' MVP Controversy Discussion
01:05:54
Speaker
season. He was awesome.
01:05:56
Speaker
He had a very good season. Yeah, he's good. I watched him like 10 times in person. He was great. He was having a great year. Honestly, speaking of the Mets, can we talk about that podcast interview that Nick Castellanos had? Did you guys see that video I sent you guys? Yes, I did. Where Castellanos said that the National League MVP should not have been Joey Autani and it should have been Jose Angeles.
01:06:21
Speaker
because Because of all the OMG stuff and the Mets and like being a locker room guy. that i mean The Mets were a complete and utter dumpster fire before all that happened. And then they turned around and had a great season. Honestly, I can get behind it. Yeah, I mean, i sure.
01:06:37
Speaker
He was a meme in a meme season. And I think that that he will be there, even if he goes to another the team, he will be very fondly remembered for this season. I don't know what's honestly better with the Mets is O.M.G. Grimace or Hawk Toa. It just it just never. It's just one from one stupid meme that I cut this out again. But my answer would be Hawk Toa because it was on camp day. Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's great. Don't cut that out. Do not cut it out i leave that in.
01:07:06
Speaker
but I have to make that pick um but like honestly it's it's ridiculous but I mean Castellanos has a legitimate point he does being is that know the guy that was the most valuable to your team, that that made that team win. And I think you can make a legitimate case. I think you absolutely can if we're going with the literal definition, most valuable player. And it's not like Inglasius was bad on the field either. The guy had 300. He had a pretty good season. And he had a great defensive season. so He was very good defensive.
01:07:44
Speaker
get behind it. The only issue is the 85 games played. Honestly, if he played a full season, he probably would have gotten like a top 10 MVP finish. He could have.
Yankees' Rookie Struggles
01:07:55
Speaker
I think we covered most of the big free agent things. One last tidbit for Sherm. Gary Sanchez goes to Baltimore on a one year deal. gary you love him Yeah, I mean he will back up freshman and play, you know, 30 games behind the plate maybe. And he'll D.H., he'll D.H. a little. I mean, you know, the Orioles, after crying, they weren't hitting enough home runs, they decided to pull the fence in this year, which I think is absolutely hilarious. It is. um So maybe he'll hit a couple home runs. He was always an Orioles killer. He did hit a lot of balls in Camden. sure So who knows? Yeah.
01:08:34
Speaker
I mean, I don't I don't hate Gary like you did. Yeah, I hated him. I mean, also, Wells is starting to look like him. No, we'll see. We've got to give him a full full year. We'll see. I mean, you see, well, the stats in the playoffs. Well, he was he was he was his stats. He had that like one stretch of like 20 games where he was just on fire. And then the rest of the season was just a disaster. Yeah. He was he went from your finalist is a bad look for rookies. He. Yeah. I mean, he went from like have like having a legitimate chance of winning rookie of the year.
01:09:04
Speaker
to like, what are we doing here? yeah And the Yankees have put their faith in him, trading Trevino away for another ham sandwich and a can of Coke. Just kidding, some reliever I've never heard of that's supposed to be decent.
01:09:18
Speaker
Alright, well, I was gonna bring up the debate topic, and obviously this goes back on our conversation from a half an hour ago.
Memorable Rookie Performances in Playoffs
01:09:25
Speaker
ah hu You know, talking about Pepper Martin and his ridiculous rookie showing, I mean, does that bring up any other, you know, rookie showings in the playoffs? Does that bring any bells for you guys? oh Jeremy Pena. Jeremy Pena was one of them. That rung a bell for me. Gotta be my big one. 400 batting average in the World Series.
01:09:47
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, in recent memory for baseball, it's pania. And then it's Randy Rosarina. Yeah. was rain up the ro over ro arena It was honestly, in my opinion, better than pain is stretch. Yeah. I mean, he, all of a sudden you have Jeff pass and writing songs about him finish quick. Yeah. That's a good question. I'm really trying to think.
01:10:10
Speaker
I mean, if we're going really, really old and say Charlie Keller, which we'll get to actually very soon, um he hit 438, which is still the record for batting average in the wild World Series, had a 1.6 OPS. I'd put him up there for sure. Wasn't Corbin Carroll a rookie the year the DBACs made the World Series? Yes. Was he? Yes, he was. Oh, I'm an idiot.
01:10:40
Speaker
I have the pick right here. I mean, I guess maybe not playoffs, just rookie year in general. 1981, Fernando Valenzuela. Oh, yeah. That's a great one, too. Yeah. I can't believe I didn't think of that immediately. That's probably it. He didn't pitch right in the World Series, though. He had a 4 ERA. He only pitched one game, but they did win it, I guess, like not postseason performance. I'm just thinking rookie season in general, just like he swept the nation. Yeah, good point. You could also say Jeter in 96, right?
01:11:11
Speaker
Yeah. How are you doing the playoffs? Did he have like a homer in the game time? I want to go i go back to the Corbin Carl thing. Go home on the LCS. Corbin Carl should not be on anywhere near this list, just by the way. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought he was a rookie that year. He was a rookie, but he should not be on anywhere near this list. OK. OK. He hit 270. He hit 273. 18 hits, and only four of them were for extra bases. Pass. All right.
01:11:42
Speaker
This sounds a lot like Corbin Carroll in general, though. A lot of singles, a lot of solo maces. Yeah. He only stole five bases in 17 games. He knows to get on base in order to steal them. That's a good point. Miguel Cabrera, when the Marlins won, was he a rookie? What was that, 0-3-0-4? Good question. He was a rookie in 0-3.
01:12:09
Speaker
They won, though. Marlins beat the Yanks, no? He did. He hit a home run. He won 67 in the World Series. Oh, well, never mind. i'm with charlie yeah i' was thinking with Charlie Keller that I pulled that one out of my body. i think Charlie Keller is known as the greatest rookie pro season performance ever. Hitting four 38. That's what about him. He was overshadowed by so many great players. He honestly could have had a really good Hall of Fame case. He lost a year of his prime of military service. And then after that, he never really reached back to what he was. But he had a 43 war career and the first five years of it was 30 war.
01:12:46
Speaker
he was He had 30 more 26 and then lost the year for military service and then came back. Never only had one season above a three after that. Wow.
01:12:59
Speaker
I'm really using war a lot tonight. I hate myself. I think the only other one that I think and think of in recent history is the Cubs, 2015 Cubs, when they won. Oh, yeah. So Lair and Schwerber. Yeah. That's a good one. The two of them are really good. Wasn't Chris Bryant a Ryan? Ryan, too. Ryan, too. No, it was second year. It was second year. What about recent Hall of Fame ballot guy Dustin Pedroia? Wasn't he a rookie when they won an upset?
01:13:30
Speaker
Technically yeah by games. He started no six Play 31 games. I think he would qualify as a rookie no seven because he won rookie of the year and then playoffs He hit 278 when they fit the OPS Solid pole there. That's too bad. That's too bad You really got me thinking here It's a great question. I mean, I, I think of, uh, uh, moving on, moving on to hockey, uh, for a different sport. I mean, I look at, uh, Jake Encel and the penguins in 16, 17, uh, as the tide for the most, uh, points by a rookie in a playoff run. I'll be, he played six more games, but, uh, penguins won the cup that year. And then, uh, the Bruins when they won the cup in 20, 2010, 2011, Brad Marchand. Those are two that come to mind, uh, recently for me.
01:14:22
Speaker
Uh, basketball, I'd say Magic Johnson won a title his rookie year. Um, football, honestly, look out for Jayden Daniels. Who knows? Yeah. Yeah, could be. I mean, I didn't expect them to win that game. They, they went into Tampa, won that game. They have a matchup now with, uh, Detroit off of by the defense for Detroit. Is it really banged up?
01:14:51
Speaker
I think you can put up points. I don't know if they're going to win, but I think you can put up some points. That's a good pick. That's a good question. Great question. Thank you. I'm still thinking. Remember, you guys remember Michael Walker pitched great in that World Series? Michael Walker. Yeah, I was waiting for Michael Walker. You were going to remember that. We were talking about Royals before. Oh, is he still alive? Oh, is he still alive? Yeah, but now he's coming in. Oh, he's on the World Series, yeah. Yeah, he's kind of mid now.
01:15:19
Speaker
He had a 3.3 ERA last year for Kansas City. That's not bad. Never mind. yeah I saw him in April the year of the day that they gave Lidor the standing ovation. He was pitching against Severino. He was a guy that that got passed around a lot in our fantasy league.
Reflections and Future Episodes
01:15:31
Speaker
Yeah. Picked up off waivers a lot. Yeah. He won NLCS MVP in 2013. There you go. There you go. I look at these. They didn't win the World Series, is but yes, he won NLCS MVP. You know why I remember some of these? that The game bumped.
01:15:47
Speaker
you want Yeah, I know dude he I he won ah at the NLCS MVP and then was the complete disaster in the world series that year Well, that's why that's why I'm sure he's not really regarded in post yeah performance. But yes, he did win, you know, see some VP that year And it had a 70 array in the world series ouch Yeah, you know eight runs and nine innings Are we trying to call it on? Oh, yeah, sounds like Rodan is right. Yep But don't worry, he followed that up, finally getting back to the playoffs in 2014 by throw kind getting one out and giving up three runs. Sounds like Kershaw. Yup. You hate Kershaw, man. I hate his playoffs. I that you hate Overleavers, but you also hate Kershaw. He loves offense, but only singles. Yes. Only singles. Only singles.
01:16:44
Speaker
That one had me thinking, Jim, you really pulled some, some guys out of my memory I have not thought about in a while. You're welcome.
01:16:54
Speaker
All right. And that wraps up the longer episode of championship or bust. I'm impressed considering I went in saying we didn't have a ton of material tonight. But mean I'm not impressed, we haven't recorded a month and a half. Yeah, yeah I guess we still have a lot of stuff to talk, Loki. Yeah, let's not do that. Let's not do that again. But don't worry, 1932, we got a lot to talk about. And we recorded that one. That's one of the ones I've been waiting to do for a long time. And we will see you all then. See you later. Peace.