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MLB ⚾ Baseball Trade Deadline + Pennant Race Preview
21 Plays4 months ago
🔥 BALL & BUDS 💯 MLB ⚾ Baseball Trade Deadline + Pennant Race Preview ft. M. Wheby & Amul "The Agilist" (@AM23Photography) + Lion Reece Penn (@TheWreckRoom) debate on MLB!
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#sports #mlb #baseball #mlbbaseball #mlbnews #mlbplayoffs #mlbtradedeadline
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Transcript
Introduction and Technical Issues
00:00:01
Speaker
He's with the millions.
00:00:24
Speaker
toeto toe release the flow created by this micro life camera git low Action packed back to bag and back in fact this monster will grow y'all better let him know Man with the master plan and you have no need to know You can't prepare now get ready for the show
00:00:47
Speaker
yo yo yo what up friends welcome back another episode of ball and buds unfortunately my facebook is not uh not letting me share it to everybody it's only sharing to myself so that's not good But I'll try to get that figured out.
Promotions and Guest Introductions
00:01:02
Speaker
In the meantime, welcome in, everybody.
00:01:04
Speaker
Yes, we are back. Make sure that you are subscribed to Ball & Buds, B-A-L-L-A-N-D-B-U-D-S on YouTube. Make sure you hit that like button, whether watching now or on the replay. We are back for a huge deadline, trade deadline talk.
00:01:21
Speaker
Major League Baseball's trade deadline was tonight. And as you see, I got some of my friends here with me. Got another one joining in just a few minutes. ah First of all, as always, every baseball show I've ever done, he's always been with me. My brother, Michael Weeby. What's good, brother?
00:01:41
Speaker
What's happening, to man? I'm good, my friend. Thank you for joining us. And another good friend of mine here in the jump from the rec room. So y'all make sure you subscribe to the rec room on YouTube, please.
00:01:53
Speaker
He is the lion, Reese Penn. What's good, brother? What is going on, boys? Yes, sir. Excited to talk some baseball. Go ahead and promote anything you want to promote there.
00:02:04
Speaker
I know I just said your channel. Do you have anything else? No, that's pretty good. Sox Nation, baby. actually Well, yeah. Hey, we might as well get started and talk. I really don't like how we're not on on Facebook. That doesn't make me happy, but whatever.
MLB Trade Deadline Overview
00:02:19
Speaker
right. So let's go ahead and get this started. Yeah. So baseball's trade deadline was today. Fast, furious. We've got all of our teams on here that, you know, did or did not make the maneuvers that they should have made today. So first of all, since we last talked right before the all-star break, I do want to get your thoughts before we actually get into the trade deadline of things.
00:02:40
Speaker
of how you felt the All-Star game break was, especially with that home run derby sort of format that ended the All-Star game. Mike, what you think about that? it was It was long.
00:02:53
Speaker
ah hate that I hate the trade deadline or the but All-Star break in baseball. It feels like it's like two weeks long. There's nothing else on. There's no – all that was out there was like WNBA basketball. I going to say, hey, hey, don't not sully the WNBA. Yeah, there was – oh man struggling the best sports league in the world was in full swing my friend now yeah come on now i think i think i watched like espn the ocho like for hours and hours and so i don't want to do that again espn the ocho is great what do you think uh reese yeah like him it's it's definitely long the home run derby was dope it kind of
00:03:33
Speaker
that That was a pretty good show, actually. I thought they did that well this year. But, yeah, the game's long. It is what it is. The weekend's long. And if they're not playing for home field anymore again, it's just another game.
00:03:45
Speaker
they're not They're not even trying. So it's the question I get. i totally get. I'm not going out there to get hurt either. yeah but that's – yeah, i mean, that's definitely the thing too, though, is once they took away that stipulation, they – they once they gave up that stipulation, it became another All-Star game, just like all the other leagues, right? Where it's like, okay, we're just coming here to kind of show out for the fans, but it doesn't really mean anything in the long run. Now I will tell you, being there in person, it was an amazing game. The atmosphere was electric. Everybody in there was great. Now I agree. I think that the –
00:04:27
Speaker
The home run derby to kind of like end it was a little long, a little kind of boring since we have been there for three hours, four hours already until Swerber went three bombs in a row. And that was pretty much the excitement of it.
00:04:43
Speaker
So after that ninth inning, they.
00:04:48
Speaker
After that ninth inning, they kind of died down a little bit. You know what I mean? But overall, it was a really good event. I enjoyed it, and you know, being there live especially.
Team-Specific Trade Analyses
00:04:59
Speaker
They did a really awesome Hank Aaron tribute too. so Did you you get to maneuver around like the little, like the bar area they have out there in front of the stadium?
00:05:09
Speaker
I did. Yeah. Yeah. We went and checked that out. We went to the fan fest. had that yeah no, it was very, as much as I hate the Braves being a Mets fan, it was a very nice stadium. The area around the stadium has a lot of bars and places to go hang out. Did you, did you have to take the the nature hike to get there where you park in the garages and then travel over all the bridges and you feel like you're walking through Narnia to to get there and
00:05:39
Speaker
It's To go to the Fan Fest, we had to go over that pedestrian bridge. Going over these bridges, walking over the highway. And, yeah, it's wild. Like, what is this? so Why are we doing all this? But the control was good. And I actually got down behind home plate for eighth and ninth inning. I took my press pass with me.
00:05:57
Speaker
And I was just walking down and they were like, hey, sure, you can't go there. i was like, oh, I'm pressed. They're like, OK. And they just let me go through a walk right down behind home plate for the night. It was fucking amazing.
00:06:07
Speaker
But anyways, all right, cool. Again, thank you, everybody, for tuning in. We are talking baseball here today. So let's go ahead and get into the trade deadline, gentlemen. First of all, I'll go ahead and we will start kind of from the beginning.
00:06:23
Speaker
of when trades actually started going kind of last week. So i'm going to go from kind of older to newer and just go through the major trades that we saw within the past week. So first of all, um one that really went under the radar, but I do want to talk about not because the teams are good themselves, but it is like the Pittsburgh Pirates to always get rid of their players, which is going to lead me to a Paul Skeen's question here in a second. But trading Brian Hayes, who is either the second or third best defensive third baseman in the league.
00:06:55
Speaker
um I know you're out of it. I know you're never in it. But if you keep giving up on these players, what's to say Paul Skeens isn't next? What do you think about that, Reese?
00:07:06
Speaker
I mean, they gave away part of that pitching staff, too. They just dealt Falter. I think he went to Detroit. You know what mean? So they're just getting rid of it. I mean, obviously, they're doing what they always do. They're constantly in a rebuild, even though they're never seeming to build to anything except for another rebuild, which is weird to me.
00:07:20
Speaker
Skeens is definitely gone once that contract comes up. There's, they're going to give them 800 million to be on a team. That's never going to place better than fourth. There's just no way they do that. That was, I was waiting for a,
00:07:32
Speaker
Cabron Hades was the one player I was like, please God, just don't let him go to Tampa. Because a guy like that would go to Tampa and he did 50 home runs and hit 325. Dude's got all the tools and somehow he still stinks.
00:07:45
Speaker
I know he plays a great third base, but watching him hit is, oh my God, it's painful, man. It's like sometimes some of the swings I see, it it looks like if I was up there, try the guy offensively, if you see can only play half the game, you can't play any of the game. So...
00:08:03
Speaker
No, and you're not wrong about that. His hitting is atrocious. He's definitely not a good hitter. But it is does pay to have a good defensive third baseman since third baseman was the hardest.
00:08:17
Speaker
Obviously, they call it the hot corner for a reason. so I need my i want my third baseman to hit, though. I need big... a big burly dude that just grabbed that has a cannon arm and mashes home runs like don't need ozzie smith at third base i don't need someone that's hitting two or one ozzie smith or at third base that's tough does not work for me God bless. I'm sorry, Ozzie. You didn't deserve those shots here today. um Look at the numbers. though I mean, if you look up their offensive numbers. Now, put those two people in your head.
00:08:51
Speaker
Have them stand next to each other in your head. And their offensive numbers look the exact same. they were both They're both like 215 hitters. it's Yeah. Yeah. But Ozzie will be always one of the greatest defensive shortstops of all time. I think we can all agree on that.
00:09:08
Speaker
All right, cool. um Well, how about we move into this next one? This was a big one for our rivals here, with my rivals here in the division. The Philadelphia Phillies really needed to shore up their bullpen.
00:09:21
Speaker
And they went ahead and got Jahan Duran from the Minnesota Twins. And so, again, they really needed someone to come in and kind of shore up that bullpen for them. And that is a huge piece, not to mention he's only 27 and under team control for the next two years. So go ahead, Reece, start us off. What do you think about this one?
00:09:45
Speaker
I like the moves. The Phillies did a few little things that they kind of needed to do. I mean, they also added hey had or Harrison Bader in the outfield, so it gave them some depth there. But like you said, they needed bullpen help. And I feel like a lot of teams are obviously going for this whole pitching wins kind of like mantra this year. If you notice, most of the moves were bullpen arms, were starters. Not a lot of bats really moved hands this year. It was definitely geared to pitching, and I love that shit. so And that's a great point that you bring up and something that we're going to continue to see going forward, Weeby, is that with the pitchers now not going longer than four five innings, it used to always be, okay, if you have those frontline three starters in the playoffs, that's really all you need to get you through to the World Series.
00:10:29
Speaker
Now it's more about how good is your bullpen? going to be to be able to stretch from that starter to the ninth inning. What do you say to that? I think that that Duran is the best.
00:10:40
Speaker
The Duran pickups, I think, is the best pickup of the whole trade deadline. It was exactly what they needed. They didn't ah they didn't go out and do anything crazy. They didn't go. You know, go overboard. They got exactly what they needed.
00:10:55
Speaker
You know, if not the best, the second best closer in the game who has team control past this year is still young. ah I love that move. they They did not go crazy. They got exactly what they wanted. They had a target on them and they got them.
00:11:10
Speaker
So, yeah, good on Yeah, no, I mean, hey, it's a really good pickup for them that again is gonna shore up that bullpen for them. So let me bring in my brother Amul who's arrived for us. Called up a pinch hitter to join the team. What's up my brother? Hi gents, how's it going? How's it going? What's going on? Hey, what's up? What's going on?
00:11:33
Speaker
Fellow Red Sox fans, we're
Red Sox and Orioles Trade Reflections
00:11:35
Speaker
goingnna put them there at the bottom. That's okay. No, that's fine. That's fine. That's okay. What do you think about the Duran pickup for the Phillies?
00:11:44
Speaker
Just a spoiler, before I get into Duran for the Phillies, Lyon and I will actually be taking over as GM for the Red Sox come next week.
00:11:54
Speaker
Interesting. So, yes. Absolutely. Um, that's low will be fired. No, uh, I thought that Duran, uh, yeah, yes. You and I can talk about that in a minute, but yes, Duran to the Phillies was actually, I thought it was first.
00:12:11
Speaker
I didn't think the twins were going to sell off so many people, but secondly, Duran was like, okay, like he's a really good arm. And I think that's strengthens the, the, the Phillies bullpen, but also I think that kind of puts, I mean, to sort of steer it back to the rivalry that you guys have with the with the Phillies. It's just going to come down to August and September. i don't know how many games you guys got left against each other, but ah it's going to be a dogfight.
00:12:43
Speaker
It's be fight. It's going dog fight. I believe we have nine games left, three series left against them, but don't quote me on that. I could be wrong. Actually, no, i think we played them two series in April, so we've had two. May the force be with you. Seriously, may the force be with you.
00:12:56
Speaker
Dude, I'm not looking forward to that dog fight going down the stretch with the Phillies at all. Like, look, in when we all know it, I'm a Mets fan. I don't think I need to say this and the crowd doesn't know.
00:13:07
Speaker
The Mets have a proclivity. for and What an amazing word by a Puerto Rican on the live. Thank you, Josh. Love that. Love that. um They have a proclivity to fucking blow the division every September when they actually have a lead.
00:13:22
Speaker
So I can't even trust my own team to hold a lead and we you don't have, our lead is tenuous at best over the Philadelphia a Phillies right now. So, um all right, let's move it into another huge move. We were just talking about this one, Mike.
00:13:35
Speaker
I'm going to start with you on this one. Eugenio Suarez going back home to the Mariners where he hit 53 home runs. in two years there in 2022, 2023. How do you feel about Eugenio Suarez, the best third baseman on the market, going to be there? The best pickup this year, Guy Baha, top of this.
00:13:59
Speaker
I like it. I think it's good. But he was already there. i don't know. I don't like the, was there, which happened again. i was there. You let me go.
00:14:11
Speaker
Then you go back and get me, foreshadowing to, Carlos Correa, but um yeah, that mean, they went out and got two big bats. The whole West, the West really, they were dogfight just today. Like they were all, yeah they were all matching each other. Texas, Houston, that they, Seattle, they all, they were going at it today. So yeah, Suarez, good pickup, nice bat. it's It's an improvement for sure.
00:14:36
Speaker
So was Naylor at first base. They didn't need pitching. They needed bats. So we'll just see if Suarez can perform. I mean, last time he was there, he hit what, 22 home runs or something like that. So I don't know. Let's see if he can perform better this time.
00:14:51
Speaker
Yeah, and and just to shit on the the Red Sox a little bit here, they were rumored to be trading, since i have two of y'all in here, they were rumored to want to trade for Suarez only to try to move him to first base.
00:15:05
Speaker
Can we stop with this bullshit, Red Sox? Get players at their proper positions and play them in their proper damn positions. Stop trying to superstars to move off their – but It's 2025, bro. Positionless baseball.
00:15:19
Speaker
Just like the NBA, you know? You can everyone. You can move everyone and but you can move anyone at every time. We got case c trying down in the minor leagues trying to get him to take him. taking reps at first base, um Kristen Campbell.
00:15:33
Speaker
so I just see Mookie Betts crying about it in l L.A., right? Superstar guy who can play wherever you need to play. Mookie Betts, only the nicest, most affable guy ever who's not going to say good. With that paycheck, I'm not complaining.
00:15:46
Speaker
Yeah. yeah So,
Mariners and Padres Trade Impacts
00:15:48
Speaker
anyways, how do you feel about Suarez there recently? but I like him. Like I said, he's definitely a great bat. He's a better player than he was when he was there before. I mean, you're just seeing it this year. He's coming into his own these last couple of years here, and I think he's made a turn. And they weren't as good.
00:16:04
Speaker
They didn't have Cal Raleigh doing what he's doing. They didn't have J-Rod. We already know they had the pitching. They a top five ERA in baseball coming in. Now they've got a bunch of guys who can match the damn ball, too.
00:16:15
Speaker
Unless you're skeins or school ball, you don't want to see that lineup coming into your town right now. Yeah. I mean, they were already right there fighting. i had them as a contender just like a month ago when we talked about like contenders and all that stuff.
00:16:27
Speaker
I thought they were legit then. I really think they're legit now. All right. um well What are your thoughts on on that pickup? They've always been a sentimental favorite. Go to Seattle, catch a game, enjoy the 90s hip hop, eat a chocolate, cricket.
00:16:40
Speaker
um it's It's really, you know, yes, you should. um It'll be like when we're in Boy Scouts, when we're in Boy Scouts, when we're in kids. But um in all seriousness, no, I liked Seattle before.
00:16:53
Speaker
I've sort of liked Seattle for a while now. And even when they've had a lull just because you always want to root for an underdog. So to get Suarez, ah that might put them over the top, I think. And we'll see how they do down the stretch, especially if their pitching holds up.
00:17:10
Speaker
They should be yeah there should be contenders and in the playoffs. I'm checking the standings out right now, and they are five games behind the Astros right now. um both Both going about 500 to pass 10 games.
00:17:24
Speaker
I'm sure they have a bunch of series left against each other. So they have that now. That's just these just the standings, obviously. I don't think the Astros are going to be their problem.
00:17:36
Speaker
I've been saying it all year. Texas is going to be ah real problem here. It's going to start right now. so That is a dogfight well coming down the pipe. thats all right there it happened Both 57. They've got to have almost the same record.
00:17:52
Speaker
They're yeah their one game back. They're one game back of them. yeah No, they're not anymore. They're exactly the same. Those top four pitchers, the starters. Oh, they're they're tied up. Okay. They like a game back last night. Okay. Yeah. But it's, it's the wild West. It's going to be fun coming down the stretch. and All three teams are good. It's going to awesome.
00:18:10
Speaker
And they start tonight. They play at 940. So each other tonight. Yeah. They play each other night. Well, there you go. yeah Hey, Rangers won the last series. So seattle our Seattle will be trying to get this one back.
00:18:23
Speaker
Well, Jacob deGrom, as much as I hate that he left us, he is back in full form. All the met old Mets pitchers. Max Scherzer is back in full form. Let's talk about the Blue Jays. What a great segue by myself. I'll pat myself on the back for that.
00:18:35
Speaker
Max Scherzer, the warrior god, is back in full form. And now they went out and picked up Shane Bieber. Now, we do know that Shane Bieber is coming back from Tommy John, hasn't pitched in a year and a half, but he is supposed to return in the next two weeks. Can everybody see my face?
00:18:55
Speaker
He said Shane Bieber like that was supposed to mean something to anyone. Wait a second. What is it, 2021? Shane Bieber? Shane Bieber hasn't meant anything to anyone in like three or four years. That's what I'm saying. What the fuck? He Let me know when they sign Barry Zito too. I'll really start worrying.
Mets' Strategic Moves
00:19:15
Speaker
What the hell is going on here, Shane Fever? That's hilarious. All right. you know fuck it We'll move on. All right. Moving on. Mason Miller, right-handed relief pitcher. We're going to talk a lot of relievers in this session.
00:19:29
Speaker
Mason Miller was traded to the Padres to only give them more of the superest bullpen of all Super Bowl pens that I've ever seen in my life. How do we feel about the Padres beefing up that bullpen to the maximum? Let's start with that.
00:19:44
Speaker
You know they're going move him to starting role next year. I'm just going to say that right off right now. I was watching and MLB Network right after, and they're already talking about moving him. So in the short term. we get out information today my friend goodjo in the in I always do. In the short in the short term, and and are the Padres a contender? Are they going to fold in August?
00:20:04
Speaker
Like, you know, i wonder about that. ah They've got a good bullpen. Great. That's fantastic. Do something with it. um i don't think they I don't think they're slam Diego as much as they used to be.
00:20:16
Speaker
So, you know, we'll see how things play out in the long run. But, you know, ah and it it impresses me. But, you know, they didn't give up Cs.
00:20:28
Speaker
So we'll see how things shake out. Yeah, that surprised me. I thought they were going to deal with Seas for real. thought we were going to get him, James. Yeah, I thought we were going to get Seas at some point. really thought we were going get him, we'll talk about that later. They're only three games behind Dodgers, but they're also on a five-game winning streak having just swept my New York Mets.
00:20:51
Speaker
Reese, how do you feel about the Padres? I mean, they already had the number one saves guy in the league at closer. So it wasn't like a super need. I assume Mason's the setup guy now.
00:21:02
Speaker
So they just kind of locked in the back end that that bullpen. They were in a dogfight and they were in until the last second last year against l LA. They're going to be there again. I mean, they're just, they're loaded, man. Jarvis looked really good the other night. He looks like he's back to form. And if he starts pitching good, ah yeah, they're as good as anyone.
00:21:19
Speaker
And I don't i don't get the Mason Miller thing, right? Mason Miller throws 104, and he's 3.5 ERA. And he's got a three five era and all the Coulon. 3.76, actually. So, yeah, it's not good. He's got 1.5 ERA, and no one blinks an eye when a lefty who's pitched in 50 games and has a minuscule 1.something ERA gets traded. No one cares.
00:21:44
Speaker
But you trade the number three. Just say Tyler Rodgers, man. Yeah, just say Tyler Rodgers. It's okay. Yeah. Yeah. Most Rogers brothers, actually. you know i you don't have to do the subliminals. We could just name guys out, bro. didn't understand I don't get it. I don't get the Mason Miller love. that I wish I could throw 104. That'd be cool.
00:22:04
Speaker
but Maybe you can. i don't know. I would probably have a 375 ERA, too. You can probably would, yeah. If if he was throwing 105, Amul, he would not be here sitting with us on this program right
Casual TV Series Discussion
00:22:16
Speaker
now. We go way back. We go into it everywhere.
00:22:19
Speaker
you know A man throwing 105? Nah, man, he's going to be in the major leagues somehow. In fairness, too, while his ERA's little inflated last year, last year it was in the low twos, and he's still very, very young. So, I mean, i don't think it's a bad move.
00:22:36
Speaker
No, it's also about controllables. and they've got It's also about controllables, too. Like, he isn't he a controllable piece through, like, 2030? So, you know, if they want to move him maybe again, if AJ Preller goes, okay, well, I'm going to go out and try to, I don't know.
00:22:51
Speaker
and Don't knock me, Omar. But, like, if he tries to go, hey, let me go try to get Soto again and offer up Miller. Like, I know that trade's not going to work. But like, you know, he can do that. He has the, you know, if he's like decided to go get Shohei, which is not going happen ever. Well, something that you said is really point pertinent right there. And that is that he has four years left of club control.
00:23:17
Speaker
yeah you don't You don't see that nowadays. You don't see that nowadays. Like you said, you've got pitchers that are only going four innings. I remember when pitchers used to go six or seven.
00:23:27
Speaker
You can't do that anymore. um And in two seasons an A's a ace closer, he has nailed down 89% his saves, forty eight or fifty four Okay, here's a here's a question for you guys, if you don't mind if if you guys don't mind.
00:23:43
Speaker
If he continues at this pace, no matter what team he plays for, if he continues to be a closer, will his stats eclipse Mariano's? Or be equal to, Mariano. I know you're a Red Sox fan, but don't you ever bring some disrespect like that to the group.
00:24:02
Speaker
There's no one even close to walking into the breath. We won't have to worry about that in our lifetimes. Also, how many of these guys still want harden five? How many of them go without having one or two Tommy Jones?
00:24:14
Speaker
no Very good point. Very good point. Everybody's getting Tommy John. I think it was you, Reese, that said last time you might as well just break their arm off the bat. do it Automatically. Everyone comes back stronger now. Put the rods in there, yeah.
00:24:28
Speaker
That's great. I don't like it, but it's great. All right, David Bednar was traded to the Yankees. I mean, this was a reliever gold rush going on today. David Bednar traded to the Yankees to bolster their bullpen. The two-time all-star reliever is under team control. Again, we keep talking about this through next year.
00:24:49
Speaker
Weeby, what do you think about this one? It's good move. They needed him. I mean, it gives them a chance. um I don't think they're as good as Boston still, but it mean gives them a chance. um So, especially if Judge is going. If Judge is going there,
00:25:03
Speaker
They're gonna need more than David Bednar to make things right. So- Cue Tom Petty's free falling for us, please. Yes. Yes. yet he lose I mean, it's not good. And it's also not good that that and Jake Bird wear their pickups on the chain to the line. But Reese, do you feel? I know you're probably shit all over them, but go ahead. No, listen, listen. This was different than the Padres who already had a pretty good closer and really didn't need the back end bullpen out. This is a team that was in dire need.
00:25:37
Speaker
of a closer. I mean, let's be honest, Devin Miller, there's an APB out with the NYPD. They're all looking for that guy in New York. He just hasn't been good this year at all. His ERA is over five.
00:25:49
Speaker
They needed someone that could close the door at the back end that that game. if they had the lead. Now with Aaron Judge now in the aisle, I said if he ever gets hurt, they're free falling and that team is on its way.
00:26:00
Speaker
A third baseman from Colorado isn't going to save them today. I promise you it's over for them, but it was a good move if they could get a lead. Like I said, if Judge can come back. Damn, forgot all about McMahon. They did trade for Ryan McMahon. It's because he's sitting too busy and he's not very good.
00:26:14
Speaker
That's why you forgot about it. Yeah. Like the Rockies were willing to let him go for nothing because he's not that good. Right. I mean, listen, they had no choice. Volpe was making errors all over the damn field. Like he couldn't feel the damn thing. So I understood they needed it. But let's be honest, the guy's hitting 225.
00:26:33
Speaker
And now he's going to New York. More press, more pressure, more everything. I don't think he's going to make it worse. Hopefully he's not going to boot the ball like Mopey did. you know He's got 30 RBIs this year. like He isn't a difference maker. He's just a body that hopefully doesn't but you know boot the ball all over the field like Andrew was.
00:26:51
Speaker
At least one of the teams who needed a ah third baseman in New York went did something at least. Right. so at least they're At least they're trying. Yeah. Amul, go ahead. Other Red Sox fans, shit on the Yankees.
00:27:03
Speaker
I mean, I do i have to? do i Do you want me to kick them while they're down? They're free-falling. they're they' they're but I mean, go to a game for like 25 bucks in about two weeks. Like, you're going to have a blast.
00:27:17
Speaker
ah Take the trade up, you know? no you're in Asheville, so like, you know, just – you know what I mean. No, let's be completely honest. They still are a game and a half above your Red Sox. They are, – We're coming back from injury. We just got Bragg's back. We just got like, like Giolito's pitching well, Brian Bello's pitching well. They're going into their injuries.
00:27:39
Speaker
Yeah. Watch the fall. watch Just watch it. this This is like a trade rack. You can't look away from. That's the way the Yankees, that's the way August is going to be for the Yankees. When Aaron Judge comes back, he's coming back to a third place team about five games out. Watch. oh I would say seven.
00:27:54
Speaker
I would say seven. I'm being nice. from me just so away I'm not being nice. There's no need to be nice. um But, yeah, I mean, just, yeah, wait wait about a month and then go to a Yankees game for $25. You'll be happy.
00:28:09
Speaker
let's talk quickly Let's talk about ah some other AL people that we – actually, we just talked about them earlier, Mike. You mentioned them. ah well We're going to start with you on this. Merrill Kelly.
00:28:22
Speaker
Trade it to the Rangers. Holy cannolis. This is a great pickup to pair with DeGrom and Evoldi and give you those top three starters. What do you think? This is this is who I think the Red Sox – I mean, the Red Sox should have gotten, like, anybody and everybody.
00:28:38
Speaker
But, like – This is what Weeby was talking about earlier where the Rangers were coming. Like that's going to be the biggest thing, but the the issue that the Mariners are going have because Merrill Kelly is great.
00:28:50
Speaker
And I understand what the Dimebacks are doing. They're trying to, you know, basically say, okay, we're not in it this year. Let's try to you know, play for the future. But Kelly has a chance now because the Rangers are good.
00:29:04
Speaker
So we'll see how things shake out. That combo of getting Kelly and then getting the lights out lefty that I just talked about earlier, Danny Coulomb. They got a shut down lefty that can pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen in America. What a day for them.
00:29:20
Speaker
Yeah. wow Wow. Reese, what do you think? It's a great answer, Dan. I mean, obviously the Mariners get the bats, so what are you going to do? You start getting the arms because that's how you can bat great bats.
00:29:31
Speaker
at At the end of the day, pitching wins, i like what the Rangers are doing. And they were my pick to win that division when the year started. And, I mean, it's going to be a fight all the way to the end. I love it. All right, cool. There you go. Well, Weeby, we're going to move to your account for a moment.
00:29:45
Speaker
Your Baltimore Orioles made a couple of trades today, one including my meds that get to in just a couple of trades. Well, I mean, I'm talking about just big names. I'm not going to name every damn trade you do. I live about like two miles from their AAA stadium.
00:30:02
Speaker
And I feel like I just saw the entire Baltimore Orioles, what they're going to look like next week. They traded the whole team. And I'm sure they were trying to trade more players and they just couldn't, couldn't dump them because they've got like three or four more players on one year deals. It was There was a fire sale, man.
00:30:19
Speaker
But we got about 15 different players back. So, you know, every you're just rolling the dice when yeah when you make these trades. So we traded some okay players for some lottery tickets.
00:30:32
Speaker
What are you going to do? So let me put this to all of you as a two-part question then because I'm just naming two people that were traded. One I'm naming because we talked about him in our last episode, Ryan O'Hearn.
00:30:45
Speaker
And Ramon Lariano were traded to the Padres, which really, really shores up the Padres bench depth there. So that's a really good pickup. Then they traded Cedric Mullins, obviously, to my New York Mets, which the Mets really needed.
00:31:03
Speaker
a center fielder with the hopes and we talked about this before the show started uh we beat that his bat will come back into play now obviously defense matters too so he provides those uh metrics as well but mike uh will you tell us how you feel about uh orioles and what they did today in terms of those i've heard cedric mullins and the mets fans are going to love him too i know you look at the numbers and you're like man this doesn't this doesn't look like the guy that was a 30 30 guy a couple years ago and and he's not um But he plays a phenomenal center field.
00:31:34
Speaker
He's got a noodle of an arm, but he he gets to everything. And he finds half his body over the wall with the ball in his glove, a lot more than you'd expect. It seems like every week he's robbing a home run from someone.
00:31:47
Speaker
He does all the little things well, right? He steals bases good. He takes extra bases. He's a phenomenal bunter. um Like he does he does all these little things really, really well.
00:31:59
Speaker
um so he's he's a good he's a good player you guys will will like having him he's definitely an upgrade for from what you guys had out there before for sure yeah tyrone taylor and and mc jeff mcneil are not getting it done put him in the lineup every day him seventh eighth so you can turn the lineup over and you'll be golden there you go reese what did you think about the orioles deals today Yeah, it definitely was a ah fire sale, like you said. O'Hearn going to the Padres is a low-key, really good move for them. I mean, obviously, they made a lot of moves. They always seemed to be active. I told you they were going to be active, and they once again were.
00:32:33
Speaker
Cedric Mullins is Sleepy a good pick. I've been saying for weeks the Mets needed in an outfielder for real. This is a guy who's a great clubhouse guy. Like, he's set up top. He makes every freaking catch you can think of. I mean, it seems like every week he's on a dun-dun-dun-dun-dun.
00:32:49
Speaker
you know so he does his thing he hits dingers he's a great clubhouse guy i think that that's a really good pickup for a team that definitely needed an outfielder so but yeah i don't the orioles obviously have given up they're they're done they know it was over after the at the end of april you looked up and you went how did how did this happen it's already over so right this is a team that was there last year and i don't know what happened it just changed really quick it's 40 40 year old pictures happen yeah if Yeah, there you go. What are your thoughts on this?
00:33:21
Speaker
The Orioles. On the Orioles? Either one of those trades overall, whatever you think. I will echo the thoughts that that the other gents have have have already mentioned. Mullins is a good center fielder. He will catch everything you throw to him, even balls that you want to throw to him when you go to Citi Field. Like, you know, – it's He's just a really good pickup.
00:33:47
Speaker
The Ryan Hearn pick to the pods hurts me because we needed a first baseman. I know you haven't gotten to the Red Sox yet, but he's a good bench guy, but but he changed his arm angle like for his batting stance.
00:34:01
Speaker
And so he isn't, like when he swings, he isn't looking down as as often as he used to be. Now his bat is more straight. And so he's able to connect.
00:34:15
Speaker
he's able His contact and power has picked up. So as a result of that, you're you're you know the pod's got a really good piece. um you know The O's,
00:34:27
Speaker
You know, and it's going to be weird going to the Sox-O's game later on this month or later on in August. It's going to be weird because it'll just be and goes down now But one good offseason and that team could be right back where they were last year.
00:34:41
Speaker
So it's yeah, it's how do you feel, Mike, about that fall off? The Orioles came from years of and I saw i saw it before the season was coming. I didn't think it would be this quick or this. You did say that. but when I looked at that starting rotation at the beginning of the year when Grayson Rodriguez got hurt and it was Charlie Morton and.
00:35:00
Speaker
Big pick up from the Tigers today, Charlie Morton, baby. Charlie, big game. Yeah. Yeah. yeah yeah whole starting The whole starting pitching, you look at it and you're like, who who pitches in the playoff game?
00:35:12
Speaker
you look at it and you're like, this is not is an unserious team. Like, whoever built this team, they were unserious about winning a playoff game if you walk into the season with this pitching rotation.
00:35:24
Speaker
So – um I don't know, it never it never felt like it took off for it to feel bad about crashing on Yeah, I mean, that's true. Although, I mean, we're a W. If we had a goal season, we could be right there again. so Because I remember last year when we talked, i had the or we both had Orioles as a sleeper, you know, World Series contender team last year. And this year, you were you did say correctly that you thought they weren't going I, on the other hand, had them as another sleeper contender because I thought that they would continue. But, yeah, you were completely right about that.
00:35:56
Speaker
um So, let's move into more of the AL East then because I do want to talk Red Sox and Reigns. um So the Tampa Bay Rays made a sneaky good pickup getting Griffin Jacks from the Twins.
00:36:10
Speaker
Amu, we're going to start with you on this one. How do you feel that helps the Rays going down the stretch? And by the way, only game and half by the Yankees. Well, by the I thought it was, it shows that the Rays actually want to be in contention, that they're not selling off parts.
00:36:27
Speaker
um I thought they would. I thought they'd be sellers. And now they got a good setup, man. They to give up Taj Bradley for it, for him. And he's just another, it's, i again, i I will reference and MLB Network because I was watching that after work. Like,
00:36:44
Speaker
it's It's relief pitcher Palooza out there this year. So ah he's a good – he's a decent guy. I think throws 100. And, ah you know, hopefully he'll go far with the Rays or do well. They got a good core.
00:37:01
Speaker
I really like Chandler Simpson. Like I wish we had a Chandler Simpson. Yeah. I wish most teams had a Chandler Simpson, but you can't replicate people. We got one in AA, and I'm just waiting.
00:37:13
Speaker
but Yeah, yeah. And, you know, it's it's it's one of those things. i mean, i and don't really like the Rays all that much, but, you know, I wish them well, except for when they're playing this on.
00:37:25
Speaker
Reece, how do you feel about the Rays and what they did there? I feel like everyone's saying the Rays aren't sellers. They are selling. They're selling bull crap to their fans if you're telling me Griffin Jacks was a legitimate freaking move.
00:37:37
Speaker
What is that? the guy's 1-5 with a 4-5 ERA. Come on now. He's still a good person. All of a sudden puts the Rays back in the conversation. like They're done just like the Orioles. i don't even want to talk about it. I never said this with a back in the conversation. I just said...
00:37:55
Speaker
You know, I just hope they'd be okay. The fact that it's a talking point. Who the heck is Griffin Jacks? but they treated They traded my guy Joe Cowboy too. Jose Caballero.
00:38:06
Speaker
Thanks, champ. I appreciate you backing me up. i yeah I love watching that dude play. And they traded him and I was like, oh good. Get him out of my division. Go. That dude was menace. Shout out champ Ross. Thank you tuning in my brother. Hey champ runs a boxing group. If you like boxing, it's a free predictions group. You can win some money. Let me know if you want to get it.
00:38:26
Speaker
All right, moving on now, let's talk about those red socks then. Look, you know what? Look, he has potential. Jax has potential. Griffin Jax wasn't training for no reason. Steven Matz is a reliever of what we're talking about that got moved, and that was us.
00:38:43
Speaker
If you ever besmirch the great name of Steven Matz from Long Island, New York, who the Mets drafted, I will be so upset. I love you some Steven Matz. Anyways, so, right, let's move it on to these Red Sox. going to start with you since we have it all day, Reese, because I know you're there in the middle. but a new This is your your Red Sox here.
00:39:03
Speaker
We talked about all the players we thought they were going to trade for, even so far as they were going to get the Twins closer Joe Ryan, and all they came lot away with was a little Dusty May. I know his name is Dustin, but i like calling him Dusty.
00:39:17
Speaker
Dusty May, how do you feel about your Red Sox? That's right. Listen, I told you, I've already thought that we were a contender at the time when no one thought we were. And then we won the eight straight and all of a sudden people started listening to me. But this is one of the deeper lineups in baseball. I am so ecstatic that Jaron Duran is still on that team right out of today. I really thought he was going to get moved. He doesn't.
00:39:40
Speaker
That guy's pure havoc. He's phenomenal to have on your team in every kind of way um steven mats is a legit bullpen guy this is a guy with a low threes era he's a left-hander i love that move we already had a really good bullpen it's not like we really lack you know top six in the league and bullpen era chapman's having a really good year he's still throwing the ball you know electric so i don't mind him at the back end and yeah i'm perfectly fine we did i liked it is may starting for is he going to be in the rotation for you guys or in the bullpen That's a good question. It's going to depend on what they do with Fitz, I think. that's The stuff bananas.
00:40:15
Speaker
Not just the hair. The stuff is bananas, too. Yeah, he just needs to put it together. I mean, he's had potential. We know the potential he has. It says per Jeff Paxson that he's going to be a starter.
00:40:27
Speaker
Okay. okay Amul, this is also your account. What do you think about your Red Sox trade? down do i do i Do I crush that? You have to? No, you don't.
00:40:39
Speaker
um Or do i do I play along with with Reese's positivity? Look, I agree with what what Reese is saying. that Yes, okay, we you know we won. We ran off eight straight. We basically fired Davey Martinez.
00:40:55
Speaker
ah and And what's his name? Also fired. um I think did it on Moore. I'll be honest. A reliever is great. Dustin May is fabulous.
00:41:07
Speaker
Where was the first baseman? um i'm I'm not like over the moon about it, but you know, we needed a first baseman. We needed somebody with some help. And you know, if we could, ah I'm going to go ahead and say it. You okay?
00:41:23
Speaker
You all right over there? Okay. ah
00:41:28
Speaker
He's just waiting to jump back or clap back. If we would have traded Matsusaka for – sorry. sorry Here is it. I know. I'm sorry.
00:41:40
Speaker
If someone took Daisuke for anybody, good on you. No, I wouldn't. I mean, if would have traded Yoshida, like i have this thing where I don't want there to be too many, like, you know, we've got I don't want a rotating DH.
00:41:54
Speaker
I realize what they're trying to do, but, and yes, we've got a good bullpen, even though I still don't understand why Bernardino is our opener from time to time. It makes no sense to me.
00:42:06
Speaker
But, you know, it's a good, decent team. ah Do I wish that we had a legit... you know that that Kristen Campbell was up and he was hitting better? Absolutely. Do I wish that Yoshida had found a, and you know we were able to trade him for someone better? I'm glad that ter that the story is actually hidden because I wanted him gone. or if you read any of my tweets, I wanted him gone earlier in the season.
00:42:32
Speaker
He was struggling, but he has definitely turned it around. He's found some kind of groove right now. Yeah, yeah. So now let's keep Trevor. But like, I don't know, I need this team. I need the front office to stop investing in Liverpool.
00:42:48
Speaker
Stop it. He has so many different investments. have sullied. You've gone too far, my friend.
00:42:59
Speaker
The European Soccer League? Listen, listen. If you're going to trade Devers and then you're not going to trade Devers,
00:43:10
Speaker
Unbelievable, this guy. That wasn't what I meant. You know it I just think they need to pour more money into the socks is all I think. That's what I think. That's what they need to do. I think they have their hands in too many pots.
00:43:23
Speaker
spending too many money elsewhere on other stupid teams, and they need be focused on their New England spot. I mean, you guys can help us. Are any of y'all flying JetBlue? Exactly, because y'all don't care. Because y'all don't care. I'm flying JetBlue. I'm flying JetBlue to Boston now.
00:43:40
Speaker
That's why JetBlue to Boston now. mike how do you feel about the Red Sox at the trade deadline? Man, I thought – I know you guys said it earlier, but I thought O'Hearn was the the unlock for them, man. With the way that right field line, that little corner down there on right field that's like 114 feet away or whatever it is, I felt like he was the unlock, man. He would just be able to pull balls right down that little corner and – i I mean, listen, of course you wish you could make every move. Like, I would have loved Joe Ryan from Minnesota, I mean, to just solidify that rotation and have a bunch of stars at the top. I really thought he was, like, the perfect player for you guys. ah
00:44:15
Speaker
there the There was probably a tax, though, you know, the interdivision trade tax where, you know. I feel like we were already really good, and who did we lose? Like, we got a couple guys, and who did we lose? lose anything.
00:44:26
Speaker
That's what I mean. So why why couldn't we make this run here? Yeah. we The Padres gave up their number four and number six prospects and four other guys together. We lost a prospect that we got back in the Devers trade. That's it, I think.
00:44:40
Speaker
We lost tips. That's all we lost. That's all i think. Correct me if I'm wrong, Beast, but I think that's all we want. Yeah, no, that's it. They didn't have a bad deadline, but they didn't get worse. Yeah, that's how I feel. I feel like we got a little better in the pitching staff, pitching which championships, and the lineup's just going to get into its groove. Breggs is back. We didn't have him for a big part of the year. People forget that. Like, he's there.
00:45:01
Speaker
Story obviously has found something. He's starting to hit the ball. Can you stay healthy? yeah and right as and the roman And the Roman Empire has arrived with Roman Anthony.
00:45:13
Speaker
so I was going to say, he's starting to hit the ball. And Jaron Durant at some point is going to turn in into last year's Jaron Durant. i'm telling you. We need to extend him. We need to extend him. Seriously, because otherwise we're going to lose them in the offseason. And that's going to be...
00:45:28
Speaker
just i mean i thought we were going to trade him. I'm so glad he's staying. know. I'm so glad he's staying too. But we need to sign him if he's going to be our engine moving forward. Like – he's the glue right now wouldn't you agree for sure but that's become like the red sox thing now i don't know when this started but we don't keep our guys anymore i remember when we had like the same guys forever man it was the same lineup every year was manny david it was all those guys coming back and it's like now like who's safe like since the mookie thing like they're just dumping anybody every year just to get rid of money yeah
00:46:02
Speaker
More or less. yeah I'm afraid to get a Raffaella jersey because of it. Only throwbacks are what you should get at this point because players – I just checked my closet the other day, and I got a Syndergaard and DeGrom, and I'm fucking pissed.
00:46:15
Speaker
Wow. Bro, I told you I just saw Syndergaard pitching in the minors over here at Sound Stadium. He got lit up. He got up. He gave up five dingers to a minor team. I was like, yeah, over for this man.
00:46:30
Speaker
Padres are really going for it, and no doubt. Yeah, we talked about them earlier stacking up that bullpen. Obviously, the lineup is still there with everybody. Machado, Tatis, elsewhere. They sweat the Mets. So, yeah, they're going for it. So, I know I just talked about Griffin Jack to the Rays. So, I know you all didn't like that.
00:46:45
Speaker
May I raise you an Adrian Hauser being traded from the White Sox to the Rays? no okay Do you have to? it's pretty so You mean he got called up is what you mean. He got called up to the major league.
00:47:02
Speaker
He was in Chicago. He wasn't playing major league baseball games. He should join the minor the major leagues. And, you know, he just, yeah.
00:47:13
Speaker
So he's now playing at a minor league park, as it were. Crickets. Crickets. Are you trying to find the right sound over there? I did. I just found it. It took me three tries, but I found it. um Okay.
00:47:26
Speaker
Now, moving on. Another thing I forgot about, though, and I want to bring this up because we did talk about um Suarez to the Mariners. Josh Naylor, very early on, about a week ago, was traded yeah to the Mariners as well.
00:47:41
Speaker
Amul, start us off on this one. What do you think?
00:47:46
Speaker
Naylor's got some thump. I mean, i don't know the numbers offhand, but um I know the other guys will probably chip in with the numbers. But he's got some thump. 12-thumpers. Yeah. and well He only has 12-thumpers. Yeah.
00:47:59
Speaker
i think I believe it's 12. I think it's 12. Kind of low. Right now, yeah. For a first baseman. It's kind of low, but if if he actually does pretty – I mean, he's in Seattle. He's good player. yeah he is he's a good player.
00:48:14
Speaker
He's a good player. And um I would – I think that the Mariners are – he's going to do well out in Seattle. I think he's going to. With him and Suarez and the rally out there,
00:48:26
Speaker
the rally out there the The Mariners are going to be fine. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Mariners make a deep run. I would not. and i Only because they're a sentimental favorite for me.
00:48:37
Speaker
so Reese, what do you think about that? I love the Josh Nuttpick. I told you that they definitely solidified that lineup into something really potent. I mean, you guys say he only has 12 home runs, but he has 60 ribbies. I mean, he's on pace to definitely go into triple figures. He's hitting 290.
00:48:54
Speaker
That's super respectable when the league average right now is something like 245 or 250.
00:49:00
Speaker
That's what I'm saying. I mean, so he's up there at that. He's a left-handed bat. You know you need lefties. He plays first. But, yeah, I love the move for them. I think he's just another good pickup. right Mike?
00:49:12
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think he's – I've said it a couple times here. He's a good player. i mean, he's better than what they had. um do i Do I think he's getting him as the CeCe Sabathia trade for the Brewers? No. not But, I mean, he's better than what they had. Go get him.
00:49:27
Speaker
Yeah. And we're coming right back. Oh, go ahead. No, go ahead. I was just – go ahead No, go ahead. What did you I was going to say he's a good Mississauga guy.
00:49:39
Speaker
So, I mean, oh hopefully he'll be able to recapture his form that he had with the Indians last year when he was an all-star. So, yeah at least for them. I mean, all right like I said, 290-12 homers, 60 ribbies. Like, he's not having a bad year. Like, this guy. is that avenue actually He's bad year. Especially at first base. that the First base has been, like, the most thin position in baseball. There just aren't a lot of good first basemen having good offensive years right now. So, that's a very good point.
00:50:05
Speaker
All right, cool. Well, Mike, we're coming to you. Brewers send Nestor Cortez to the Padres. We talked about the Padres loading up. Champ just talked about him, which is why I wanted to bring this up. That's a good starter if he can capture his form now.
00:50:19
Speaker
I know struggling a little bit in his two appearances this season with a 9 ERA. but You're talking about Nestor Cortez? Yes. With the weird lineup used to pitch for the Yankees?
00:50:31
Speaker
Yes. but Okay, because that guy stinks.
00:50:36
Speaker
well i don't I don't understand why people are making even – I mean, that guy's not – he's not good. So I hope he gets better as a person and figures out how to get it all together again. I don't know if he's hurt or if he got divorced or whatever's going on.
00:50:51
Speaker
But that guy, it's not a needle mover. It's not – pass. Now, very weirdly, right, they traded him away, Reese. I'm coming to you. They traded him away.
00:51:02
Speaker
And then they went ahead and traded the Diamondbacks for Shelby Miller and Jordan Montgomery. Do the Brewers, who do the Brewers think they are, is my question to you.
00:51:15
Speaker
They are in first place. I'm up the Cubs by one game, I must say. By one game, I still have the Cubs winning that division. I've had them all year. The Brewers just don't really move me. I mean, again, like he said, these moves, you keep bringing these guys up. Like, I don't understand any of these moves. Like, who is Nestor Cortez? He had like a semi-decent year two years ago.
00:51:35
Speaker
I mean, he's been hurt. He struggled. Is he already nine? What is that? His whip is two? Like, that's insane to me. I've never heard of that before. That's great. All right, Amul, we're coming to you. What do you think? You're going to love this. Dave Matthews. Dave Matthews made it as a song called Cortez the Killer.
00:51:57
Speaker
Hold on. Nestor Cortez is not a killer. He ain't that good. I could get a hit off him. You could get a hit off him. My sister could get a hit off him. He is just not that good. You know, he's just not that good.
00:52:12
Speaker
facts. My niece is going to get a hit off him. Dan Cortez could get a hit off him. Dan Cortez. Not Dan. Dan and Dave from the Olympics. and like the night And thanks to Omar, we're talking about this trash. So he is the Angel Reese of baseball. We're just talking about him for no damn reason at all. No, we got a Dan Cortez mention. I am so happy we brought that up.
00:52:36
Speaker
Did Kwon get moved? No, he didn't. Kwon didn't get moved. Ryan didn't get moved. Kwon moved in his mind. Kwon got moved in his mind. he He moved himself from the living room to the to the kitchen is what happened.
00:52:48
Speaker
He didn't get moved. All right, cool. Well, let's go ahead. Reese, we're coming to you. On this one, with I'm surprised Omar hasn't brought up Yastrzemski. I was going to go to Yastrzemski next, you bum.
00:53:00
Speaker
I was waiting for you to bring him bring him up too. Can you just decided to replay the what I had before? Yeah. All right. Mike said, you know, to that.
00:53:11
Speaker
So we will go to ah Red Sox fans who actually, the the great Yastrzemski actually played for the Red Sox. What do we think about Mike, the the grandson?
00:53:26
Speaker
You want to take this first or should I? Me? Me? He's like, I don't really want to talk about you at all. mean, listen. All the potential in the world for this kid, but it hasn't amounted into really anything. Like, he he makes some decent catches. I'll give him that.
00:53:43
Speaker
um He had a good year a couple years. mean, he's hitting 230. He has eight home runs. like He's not anything significant. You know how there's that stat went above replacement player? He is a replacement player.
00:53:54
Speaker
He's the replacement player. He's a baseball player. I mean, ah good for him. He's going be in the league 10 years. He's going to get that insurance. He's made some scratch. But, man, good for him.
00:54:06
Speaker
But he is a replacement player. He's the ah shadowy figure that you put up when you say wins above replacement. He's the John Doe of the baseball world. I mean, listen, that's that's who he is.
00:54:19
Speaker
He's the guy who, you know, he's not a kid anymore, so he can't go to baseball stadiums and get his passport stamped. But this is what he does. He gets traded to different teams so he can play.
00:54:30
Speaker
You know, he's going to be a Royals player this year. Who's he going to play for next year? You know, how many made that trade? I don't know. They just did. It just feels like a throwaway trade to me. It really does.
00:54:44
Speaker
but Maybe it's because I've been spending a lot of time in Ohio recently, but like what are Midwest teams doing this year? Those are the two. That one and the Correa one are the ones that really – Hey, what a great set one. I was just going to Correa. Houston Astros received Carlos Correa from the Minnesota Twins for and also $33 million depending on the contract.
00:55:05
Speaker
ah In exchange for Matt Nikoluski, Mike, you brought this up. Go ahead. What do you think about Carlos Correa going home to Houston? yeah didn't i don't I need someone to explain it to me.
00:55:17
Speaker
I need the GM to explain to me, like, why do we do this? They just traded for a third for their starting third baseman at, like, midnight that same day, right? They made a trade. They got Ramon Urias, and they said he's going to play third base the rest of the year.
00:55:33
Speaker
And then – They went and got Correa, which they still, $33 million dollars is not putting much of a grant in that contract, right? They still have to pay a lot of money for him.
00:55:45
Speaker
It didn't mean shit to that contract. And he is not the same player that he was. I mean, it didn't make any sense to me, but.
00:55:56
Speaker
All right. We'll talk about it.
00:55:59
Speaker
um I mean, sentimental move. Maybe it does something for the locker room, for the morale of the team. You know, maybe it's like some kind of war cry around him. don't know, because obviously they do love the guy. He played there. He wanted chance to put there.
00:56:12
Speaker
But like you said, he's not the same guy. He's not the Carl's credit that, like, scares anyone. But respectable. I mean, he's hitting almost 270. You know, he's got a few dingers, some RBIs. He almost has 100 hits. And he's pretty good in defense at short. You know, he can definitely – he's rangy at the very least. Wow.
00:56:27
Speaker
I mean, it's it's again, it's not a serious move. It definitely doesn't keep up with what Seattle and Texas did in that division, but it gives them another guy. All right. Well, Amur, what do you think about it?
00:56:39
Speaker
I mean, I heard that, again, this is me watching MLB Network, but, like, afterwards, like, apparently he met with the owner, the the Twins owner, and said, hey, if you're going to trade me anywhere, trade me to the Astros.
00:56:52
Speaker
And apparently Altuve was part of this as well, meaning that he, you know, tried to convince Astros, the Astros front office to trade for Correa. So it's totally a a homer, a totally a sentimental move.
00:57:06
Speaker
Right. That's how I kind of felt it. It's a morale thing. Where they play. Yeah. where Where he plays, whether he's coming off the bench or starting, I don't think that's even been decided yet. But,
00:57:21
Speaker
Like, it is what it is. I'm more concerned for the Twins. I know we're probably not going to talk about them all that much. But, like, who are they going to field tonight? Like, are they just calling up their AAA team, their their farm team at this point?
00:57:34
Speaker
um You know, I thought they had a good team once. I guess they don't anymore. It's going to be mostly buzz players. Yeah, yeah mostly.
00:57:46
Speaker
Mike, I think we got to get you out of here, right? got to get out of here. Okay, so go ahead give us your final thoughts, trade deadline, preview for the next month until we get together again. the The last thing before I go.
00:57:58
Speaker
The team I thought that did the best was also the team that pissed me off the most, and that was the Mets. They rebuilt that bullpen. You want to about my Mets? Let's go. Let's talk about one. But you wait. that They rebuilt their whole bullpen in like two weeks, which is almost impossible, and it looks great on paper.
00:58:15
Speaker
And then they didn't go get a third baseman. All they needed was a third baseman. ah just They just needed to get a third baseman, and they would have been fine. Agreed. I don't get It makes no sense to me. That's another one where anybody, the Astros wouldn't get two third basemen for no reason.
00:58:36
Speaker
They couldn't get one. They couldn't get anybody to play third base. It reminds me of like, remember last year when the Yankees went into the season without a center fielder? They just didn't have one on the roster.
00:58:46
Speaker
And you're like, what are they going to do? Yeah. But yeah, Mets was a good one. Very funny. That'll be talked about later when you're in the playoffs and you need a hit and you see Brett Beatty or one of those Vientos or one of these guys has to come up in and a playoff at bat that you need a hit in. And instead of having Nolan Arenado, you're Ronnie Mauricio's swinging a bat that weighs as much as his torso. So...
00:59:17
Speaker
All right. That's it for me, guys. I got to run. Thanks, so Appreciate it. Gentlemen, good to see you. Take care. thank you so much to my brother, Mike Wiebe. Love you, bro. I've known that kid, man. We've known each other since we were like five years old or something. Anyway, shout out to him.
00:59:32
Speaker
What's good with everybody else? We're going to keep it moving. I like talking baseball, so let's keep talking. Reese, how do you feel about my Mets? And I got a couple things to add. We traded for Taylor Rodgers. Not Taylor, Tyler Rodgers.
00:59:43
Speaker
but not the the bra Both brothers got traded again, though, which is crazy. He's getting traded every year. um not Y'all got the better looking one though. So so he's a submariner.
00:59:55
Speaker
But my problem is we gave up Jose Butto, Blake Tidwell, and ah who was the other one? oh God bless. I can't remember off the top head. Anyways, two top 20 prospects and Jose Butto, who was a great reliever. So the funniest part about this story, I look at my notifications and I see Mets trade, Jose trade for...
01:00:19
Speaker
you know, Tyler Rogers for Jose Butto. And it was like, you know, when you slide down your notifications and you only get like the half notification, I thought that was it. So I was like, damn, I wouldn't have given up Butto for Rogers. I like Butto. I was like, man, that's a, but you I don't like that. you Next thing I know, 15 minutes later, I'm walking away.
01:00:39
Speaker
I look at the whole thing and see, we gave up two fucking prospects too. What is happening right now? What do you think about the Mets at the deadline, stacking up that bullpen, getting Cedric Mullins going for it?
01:00:50
Speaker
I mean, yeah, they made the moves that they had to make. They got a lot better and they needed to because I thought the Phillies are still the better team in that division, regardless of what the standings say. um Boutreau, I mean, again, you're talking prospects. These aren't for sure things. What is for sure is that Tyler Rogers has a sub-2 180 ERA in the major leagues.
01:01:09
Speaker
He's been one of the best relievers in baseball. Obviously, all that weird submarine duck stuff just is is tough to hit when you can get it going right the way this guy has it going right now. So... I love that. And I told you, I've been saying, I mean, week after week after week, the Mets have to answer the outfield, especially center field. They have to figure that out if they're going to make any kind of run in the playoffs and they got the perfect guy for the perfect price. So, I mean, they're one of the teams I liked most at the deadline for sure.
01:01:38
Speaker
I love what we did. And i'd love to pick up Mullins. Mullins was the one I wanted all along. I know Luis Robert was there too, and I would have taken him. But Mullins was the really the one I wanted, especially for his clubhouse presence, because we we have a lot of good guys in our clubhouse and we need to keep that kind of, you know, core goodness going on in order to make sure that we don't have any Tomfoolery going on. What a word, Tomfoolery. You look like you committed to Tomfoolery today at work. What did you have going on?
01:02:06
Speaker
I commit Tomfoolery on a regular basis. You know this. um the The Mets ah the the mets are are one of my winners, too. um My question to you, and you can't answer this, only your team can.
01:02:20
Speaker
Can you guys hold off the Phillies? Because if you can, then congrats. you're gonna That isn't going to help. But you you showing off your hat right now isn't going help. But can the Mets, who are a half game up, actually hold out ah hold off the Phillies?
01:02:37
Speaker
And if they can't, that's the question that they they that takes them into August. After that, can they sustain, you know can they actually ah when the you know win series against the wild card?
01:02:51
Speaker
Because you never know. um So it's it's on them. They gotta you know they got a good bullpen and you know they they made some moves. They got Mullins.
01:03:01
Speaker
They got a defensive catcher, which is great. um They got this year's version. of Jackie Bradley Jr. So, you know, um yes, I went there.
01:03:12
Speaker
Don't be surprised, Reece. Don't be surprised. Don't be kind to the host. We both know what the truth is, and the truth is, can the Mets hold off the Marlins for that second spot in that division and to make a wild card? It's the Mets, guys. They're going to figure out a way to just implode on such a biblical degree. was...
01:03:32
Speaker
I'm rezzed Omar enough about his bets. I was giving him a break. I know I shouldn't be kind to those. Get the fuck out of here. Or you know what? If the Mets are playing the Nationals and all, you gotta watch out to make sure the Nationals don't win the series. Get the fuck out of here.
01:03:46
Speaker
Get the fuck out the get the f but put the fuck out of here with that so it's not goingnna be invited back that's what's gonna happen but kind of fuck at get some money and get the fuck out of but let me get the fuck out Yeah, it's early. I mean, come on. The Marlins are only nine back of them now. We've seen them blow nine in a couple weeks, so a months? Make-believe she was pipping me out. Oh, no, Omar.
01:04:17
Speaker
I don't know how I'd man. so we i like Get the fuck out of here. No, we hear it. We hear it we're just We're just wondering if this is turning into, like, we we're wondering if this is going to turn into a Sopranos podcast here.
01:04:31
Speaker
that's which should we cover some of the Should we cover some of the episodes while we're at it? Maybe. Hot cake? I did not watch The Sopranos. Hot cake. Really? Wow. Why? And two?
01:04:44
Speaker
I'm not much... Bro, you could argue the Sopranos is the reason for all this like TV stuff you see now and apps and stuff like that. like They proved that TV could be better than movies, man. They... They really set the model for the way things are now. Why do you think Zero Day was so successful you know when it came out on Netflix?
01:05:02
Speaker
like If you're a shows guy, Omar, you have to respect The Sopranos because they were at the beginning of shows. I'm totally not a shows guy. like I do not watch series. They take way too much time. It's too much of an investment.
01:05:14
Speaker
I'm not trying to watch five seasons of fucking... 20 hours of video. That's 100 hours of my life i have to spend. First off, not everyone makes it five. like That's a good show. yeah stuff That's true. That's the other thing. I can't even do that. like All the series I have watched, The Wire, Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, these are all five seasons and under.
01:05:35
Speaker
The Walking Dead I started watching. Sons of Anarchy is seven seasons. Sons of Anarchy is seven seasons. Anarchy is seven. It's probably the longest one I watched then. um But yeah, i didn't I'm not really a serious person. I don't like having to invest that much into something. I'm much more about movies and sports where it's over after two hours and I have like a final conclusion. Movies aren't even two hours anymore. I went to the Fantastic Four movie and it was a buck 30. Are you mad at that? I don't want to stay at the theater for two hours anyways.
01:06:06
Speaker
It could have been 2.15. You know, i'm okay with it. That's the great thing about shows. Oh, a lot of times episodes are between 30 minutes to an hour. Yes. And you can just watch like one and then wait three, four days, watch another one.
01:06:19
Speaker
Why do I want to do that? Or what you do is you wait, or you just wait a few weeks, and then you can watch the whole series. like you watch so jesus You want me to binge watch 10 hours of a 12-episode series? Listen, you say you don't want to waste time, but you'll sit for three hours and watch a Mets game hoping and they win. You want to talk about wasting time? Where's life? I wouldn't do it.
01:06:44
Speaker
Get the fuck out of here. Listen, listen. Get the fuck out here. Listen, I understand where Omo's coming from, and this is me not just being nice to O's, but I watch Sox games sometimes, and I just have it on as background noise because, you know, you know. We know where where they are. They're either going to win or they're going lose. It's a very binary type of result.
01:07:02
Speaker
Well, we'll see what happens. Look, I'm not going to lie. I am a Mets fan. I know the shit that we go through every year, and I know, and as I mentioned at the top of the program, Every time we get close to the playoffs and sniff with a lead the September, we
Mets' Playoff History and Predictions
01:07:16
Speaker
blow it. So I'm not counting anything on the Mets to do anything positive until it actually happens.
01:07:23
Speaker
Why do you think they blow it? we're We're going to turn this into Dr. Katz for a second. Why do you think they blow it?
01:07:31
Speaker
Come sit on our couch. now There is a... in In the leaves that we have blown within the past decade, which I can remember specifically, I remember we blew one to the Phillies and two to the Braves.
01:07:43
Speaker
So those three times we blew these seven, nine game division leads. have been a combination of offense going completely non-existent when you don't need it to, and horrible managerial decisions made down the stretch.
01:07:58
Speaker
I love Buck Showalter, but he made some really bad decisions when we were in the playoffs a couple years ago. So managerial, and look, Carlos Mendoza is a rookie manager.
01:08:10
Speaker
So not I'm kind of worried about what he may do if he makes the playoffs for the first time. That being said, let's go ahead and move it into our second half. preview pennant race preview here before we get y'all out of here for the night thank y'all for tuning in really appreciate it make sure you subscribe to ball and budge B-A-L-L-A-N-D-B-U-D-S on YouTube as well. Make sure you subscribe to the Rec Room on YouTube as well. The Lion Reese Penn giving you his updates every week there. And as well, my brother Amul hit him up on AM Photography 23 on Instagram.
01:08:41
Speaker
Follow his amazing photography. AM 23 photography, but that works. I got it backwards. All right. So any final thoughts on the trade deadline, Reese? Any other things I didn't bring up that you wanted to mention?
01:08:57
Speaker
No, I think you hit all the big ones. I mean, no one else really of any kind of significance really went anywhere. Yeah,
01:09:06
Speaker
yeah pretty much everything stayed the same. I mean, I think some teams definitely got better and some teams definitely got worse. Okay, Amul. Relief Palooza. You basically hit everything. Wow. This was the year of the relief pitcher.
01:09:22
Speaker
And i'm so, Amul, you weren't on earlier. But I made this point at the top of the show that the reason we are seeing this now is because in the past, as we talked about little earlier, we used to have the pitching going
Evolving Baseball Strategies
01:09:36
Speaker
6, 7, 8.
01:09:36
Speaker
Now you have to have the bullpen. What are your thoughts? I mean, I think it's a stamina thing. It might be longevity. It might be just the way things are going.
01:09:47
Speaker
But, like, pitchers should still be going at least 6. If they're not going 6, there's something wrong from a conditioning standpoint, I think. And that's why you have like a full bullpen. Correct me. Feel free to course correct me or, you know, tell me I'm wrong.
01:10:02
Speaker
But I just feel like I went to a Sox game, not this year, but two years ago, last year, or something like that. Bernardino was the opener when it was supposed to be like Garrett Whitlock or something. This is back when they were, but they had Whitlock as a starter.
01:10:16
Speaker
And I was like, why is Bernardino like starting? That makes no sense to me. He's a middle reliever. Come to find out he was a ah you know he was an opener.
01:10:27
Speaker
they were This is back when they were using but Alex Cora was using openers. So, I mean, it is what it is. It sucks. But hopefully the pendulum swings the other way, honestly.
01:10:38
Speaker
Because I'd like to see pitchers go six innings again or seven. Oh, man. i I am pining, Reese. Pining for the days. of the pitcher.
01:10:50
Speaker
You have a fucking complete game. Hey, and I feel that, but you guys act like Garrett Crochet ain't going seven innings pretty much all his time. He does. No, he does. Garrett Crochet goes seven. I'm talking about the other pitchers out there. Yeah, he leads the league innings. Yeah, he's definitely a guy. Tariq still goes long in the game. The majority the pitchers.
01:11:08
Speaker
I think everyone's scared, man. You see Ohanti and guys like this going down. You see all these injuries happen. And now these guys are investing these $400, $500 million dollars contracts in pitchers and stuff. and And they're looking to protect them now. And I think if it means shorter innings and more bullpen, going to see a lot of teams start adding bullpen help like this.
AL and NL Teams Standings Overview
01:11:25
Speaker
Or guys that are like cross guys, those like long reliever starter guys. Yeah. So we'll see how things shake out. All right, cool. Well, let's take a quick look at the standings here.
01:11:36
Speaker
Starting in the American League. I'm just going go through the standings. Y'all stop me when you have something to add. Let's start in the American League East. The Blue Jays are leading that division with a record.
01:11:49
Speaker
record Three and a half games above the Yankees and five games above y'all's beloved Red Sox. All three teams are basically 500 over the past 10 games. The Red Sox are six and four. The other two are five and five.
01:12:05
Speaker
um How do we feel about that division? Any thoughts on the AL Easton? I think it's a good thing that the Jays are in first place because it will help alleviate some of the Canadian tariffs that we're about to put on that contract and will allow us to. How do bring tariffs into this?
01:12:27
Speaker
You know how my mind operates. But, you know, good for them. Congrats to them. This is their, you know, this is their World Series, I suppose. This is their championship.
01:12:38
Speaker
Okay. That's all I got. Reese, what are your thoughts on your American League list? Well, you're gonna say i'm biased, but I'm dead serious. I think we're winning that division. I think we have been hotter team of all those teams going in with the Yankees losing Aaron Judge now for some time. i think we alleviate them, and it's just basically us and the Blue Jays for a little while until he comes back.
01:12:59
Speaker
I think, like I said, we're the most – I think ready to win right now team. We have the least questions of any of those teams you just mentioned, and you're going to see it in the second half for sure.
01:13:10
Speaker
right. We're going to, we're about to make a run. Sox about to make a run. yeah I'm not going lie with y'all. I do agree with you that the Yankees are on the free fall and do think the Red Sox are going to pass them until at least Aaron judge gets back. I do think the Yankees still have a chance to make the playoffs for the blue Jays.
01:13:24
Speaker
I don't agree. I don't think that the Blue Jays are going to falter. I think the Blue Jays are, you know, one of the sneakier, stronger teams that people are not talking about. And you're five games behind the Blue Jays. Granted, we have two months left, but, you know, it's gonna it's not going to be as easy as I believe y'all think it. It sounds like y'all think it is going to be. Moving on to the AL Central, the Tigers are 64-46 as well, matching the Blue Jays with the best record in the league.
01:13:53
Speaker
um The Guardians, are nine games behind in the Royals, nine and a half. So they really only have a chance in the wild card, not a chance to actually win that division. I don't believe the Tigers have been way too good.
01:14:06
Speaker
um They are on a four-game winning streak as well. But over the past 10 games, the Royals are 7-3, guarding 6-4. So both at least positive records there. Any thoughts on the AL Central, gentlemen?
01:14:23
Speaker
Go ahead. It's the Tigers to lose. It's the Tigers division to lose. I think they'll win it. I do. um Based out of, based off of like, I'm sorry, but you know, Mike used or Yastrzemski not going to move the needle for the Royals, the guardians. Okay. What did they do? They traded Shane Bieber um and the twins don't have a team anymore.
01:14:50
Speaker
So like it's, it's basically going to be the Tigers and you know everyone else um you know good luck to them they're gonna be in the i don't know you're not gonna get a long time from al central this year i don't think all right reese what think I mean, he's absolutely correct. It's the Tigers to lose, and it's going to take something catastrophic to happen, to like Scoobs or something like that. it's They're not just going to lose this thing on their own. They are the clear-cut best team in that division. But watch the Royals.
01:15:22
Speaker
They haven't played really that well all year. They have one of the most dynamic players in the game in Bobby Witt. They added Falter, which I think fell under the radar. He's from Pittsburgh, so no one thinks about their pitching staff, but they actually had a really good pitching staff before they started disassembling it today.
01:15:38
Speaker
And Falter is a guy with a low three ZRA who's just get your quality starts. And they add another pitcher to a team that already had a top five rotation in the league. if those bats get going in any kind of way and i think bobby witt will carry a lot of that weight but i think they have a chance to at least make a run i don't think they can beat the tigers barring anything crazy but wild card be careful Holler at your Bobby Witt, baby.
01:16:03
Speaker
That's my MVP pick of the season. And everybody laughed at me a few weeks ago when I reiterated that he was still my pick because everybody was like Aaron Judge. And I was like, well, what happens if Aaron Judge gets hurt?
01:16:16
Speaker
And don't think – I'm not saying I called that because I don't want to be that guy. It's Cal Raleigh, though. Come on. He plays catcher. It's Cal Raleigh. He plays catcher. Don't, don't drop, don't act like you just seen James. Don't, don't, bro. Keep your you know, don't do that. Don't do that. Hey, does Cal Raleigh get the 60 home runs?
01:16:38
Speaker
Yes. He's at 40 now. Low 60s, but yes, he just gets to like 60, 61. I think so too. I would say 62 or 63. not? The American League record is 63. Yeah. We haven't seen that. I would say 65.
01:16:53
Speaker
yeah we had a blue i would say maguire Was that the last time we saw 60 home runs? Yeah. No, Aaron no aaron Judge had 63. Oh, that's right. That's why he has the American League record. That's the American League record. You're right. You're right.
01:17:06
Speaker
But there haven't been many of them, and he's going to do it at catcher. If Aaron Judge misses enough time, it's Cal Rally. I'm sorry. There's no way. like I think Judge is going to miss it. I think they might end up – if Judge doesn't come back in like two weeks, I think they're shutting him down the rest of the season.
01:17:24
Speaker
Wow. Wow. If they do that and then it's over for them, they miss the playoffs. ah Maybe. I don't know. I don't know. I'm guessing. I'm guessing. It depends on how many games the Yankees lose.
01:17:39
Speaker
that's what That's what I'm basing my prediction off of. If the Yankees start losing games and they start backsliding, if they listen to a lot of Tom Petty, then...
01:17:51
Speaker
you know, it's going to interesting. If he's out of a month, they have to find a way to win 15 games still without him. Otherwise, they're in all kinds of trouble. They have to go at least 500. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. They've got to go like 14 and 14 in a month without him to survive. If they plummet, if they're like, you know, 10 and 18 or something like that, then they're done. Then, like you said, they may shut him down for the year.
01:18:19
Speaker
It'll all depend on how they look without him. Right. If that were to happen, right. If they if they go like 10 and 20 or not 10 and 20, not playing 30 games, but if they go 10 and 15. Right. Something like that. Shut them down. okay Especially if the Blue Jays and Red Sox are winning in that time, then it's just, yeah, it's over.
01:18:37
Speaker
Yeah. right. All right. Let's move it into the AL West. The Houston Astros are 62 and 47. They have a five game lead above the aforementioned Mariners.
01:18:48
Speaker
and a five-game lead above the Rangers, who we talked about earlier. Now, in the past 10 games, the Rangers are 7-3, while the Astros and Mariners are both below or at 500.
01:18:59
Speaker
five hundred How do we feel about the AL West, gentlemen, whoever wants? The Rangers have been the hottest team since pretty much around just before the break. I mean, they've just been storming back. Remember, they were kind of like down in that division. They were like floating with the Angels. They were, yeah. I was making fun of them at the beginning of the season. I was i was too, because at the beginning of the year, I picked them to win this division, and they looked terrible the first half of the year, basically. They just weren't good. They couldn't get it together.
01:19:28
Speaker
Now, DeGrom is having a throwback DeGrom season. He looks like New York Mets, Jason DeGrom, and that's big for them. But they added a couple other guys now. you know, they had more bullpen help. I think the Rangers are going be right there. Seattle obviously has all those mashers. They're going to be right there.
01:19:46
Speaker
And Houston's still just as good. And then now they get Correa. And like you said, if it's and if it's a morale boost, if it's a camaraderie boost, and these guys just all of a sudden like rally around him, then they're still really good.
01:19:57
Speaker
All those teams have really good top of the rotation stuff and bullpens now. And so it's going to come down and who gets the big hits when they matter. It's going to be the funnest division in baseball down stretch.
01:20:09
Speaker
It's going to absolutely be the most fun division. I will say this, though, with the Astros. Bang ah but ah bang foul poles, not trash cans. um That's an old throwback. I'm sorry. I had to say it.
01:20:21
Speaker
I prefer seeing the Mariners and Rangers winning this, as in you know the Rangers could win it or the Mariners go 1 and 1A. I think whoever doesn't win it ah is going to be the – going to grab wild card spot. I don't – I think they – I mean, the Astros are good, but I'm wondering if they're going to get – they're 5 and 5 in their last 10. So – so i you know i would love for them to to free fall just because i would too i mean everyone's tired of the astros they've been on top of the al for a while now it's old they've been cheating like we're just we're just tired of them and okay great usually you traded for correa that doesn't mean you're automatically entitled to go to the world series um so we'll see how things shake out man the a's are 15 games back
01:21:12
Speaker
yeah The Angels have surprisingly been respectable. I give a lot of shout-outs to the Angels. The Angels are coming back. What happened to the Angels? They're a competitive baseball team this year. Mike Trout is healthy again.
01:21:25
Speaker
That's that what happened. Yeah, that is a big part of it, but their pitching's been good, and getting Kikuchi from the Blue Jays last offseason or this past offseason was... Kikuchi. We need to use a Kikuchi.
01:21:39
Speaker
You're going to clown that man's name, bro. Great joke that was. I joke you gonna this i think i think Trout, I mean, I'm going to say it, and I'm probably going to get some flash for it, but I think Trout should finish his career elsewhere, especially if he wants to win. Yes, yes, I said it No, it's not. How is it crazy?
01:22:01
Speaker
i was going to say, come on. aren go The Angels aren't going to win a World Series. They're not. We've seen Cincinnati Reds, Ken Griffey Jr. How is Mike Trout playing for a different team crazy?
01:22:13
Speaker
I mean, that's a really good point, though. That's really good point. We did see Ken Griffey get traded. Cincinnati Reds, Ken Griffey Jr. Come on, man. and And Trout deserves a ring. I'm sorry. trout I'm not saying that Trout should go ring chasing.
01:22:29
Speaker
I'm not saying that. What I am saying is he should sign with a team that he wants to sign with, wants to play for, and go get a ring. That's it. Like in the next three, two, or five years. New York Mets Willie Mays. Come on, bro. You're going to say this is all right. That's true. That's true.
01:22:46
Speaker
Who the fuck trades Willie Mays? Who the fuck trades Willie Mays, Giants? Listen, did you see him on the Mets, though? Where are you, Giants fan? Did you see him on the Mets, though? You can see why they traded him.
01:23:01
Speaker
That was a fall from grace his time in the past. He was, it was what, 42, 43? I read his book, 24. And like he was like really, really old when he played for Mets. Yeah, couldn't get around in fastball, couldn't catch the ball. It was just bad. I mean, we were earlier, we were talking about, ah what's his name? um Mullins having a noodle of an arm.
01:23:24
Speaker
Mays later on in life. had a noodle of an arm. He said so himself in his book. So, like, you know, it's just, we've seen it before. Don't be, you know, don't be saying that Trout shouldn't, Trout deserves to to his happy ending is all ah is all I'm going to say. i mean He deserves to play for a contender. Get him to a contender. Get him to a can do a contender.
01:23:48
Speaker
And get your pieces. It can it can be beneficial for everyone. We all deserve a happy ending. You just got to find the right massage bar.
01:23:56
Speaker
I'm just saying he paid his dues. He stayed there, bro. He could have left a lot sooner. yeah ah You know the politicians be getting their massage. Don't even act like that. Why do you think I was doing this and hiding my laugh? That's okay, man. Let's move on to the National League. National League Central because I want to save the West and East for last.
01:24:15
Speaker
The Brewers are 64-44 with a one-game lead over the Cubs and a 7.5-game lead over the Reds. I think we can – even with the Reds being five games above 500 – They may be in the wild card, but they're definitely not going to win the division.
01:24:29
Speaker
ah Brewers and Cubs are both hovering around 500 the last 10 games. What do we think about this AL Central?
01:24:38
Speaker
Well, the NL Central. Go ahead. Yeah. NL Central. My bad. I mean, I've told you from day one I thought it was the Cubs. I still think it's – yeah, I still think that it's the Cubs. How did the Brewers get a game above the Cubs? What the fuck did I miss? I don't remember. They still got Christian Yellich, I think.
01:24:55
Speaker
They still got Yellich, I think. He was actually doing really well, actually Yeah. Go ahead, we should continue. i mean I mean, they got the other Rogers brother. They got that utility man from Minnesota.
01:25:06
Speaker
You know, um they already had the better pitching staff. I think the better line. I just think they're going to be better. I just don't. What did the Brewers really do? who did they go get that that really impresses you? You know, Nestor Cortez.
01:25:18
Speaker
Jordan Montgomery and Shelby Miller. think
01:25:23
Speaker
Yeah, decent pitchers. Jordan's okay. Shelby's okay. But they're both to they both hover over 500. Just be happy Mackenzie Doerr is still in the capital, right?
01:25:37
Speaker
hes Yeah, for sure. I'm just saying, my only thing is that Jordan Montgomery's ERA is like six. So it's like yeah he's not pitching well this year. He's not. I don't think so.
01:25:49
Speaker
I think the Cubs will win the NL Central. I think the Reds will get at least – I mean, it sounds – I wasn't going to say this before. you had had me on earlier in the season, I wasn't going to say anything about the Reds. But it feels like the Reds now that they're, you know, 5-5 in their last 10 and only 7.5 back, they could easily sneak into the wild card and get another wild card spot.
01:26:09
Speaker
ah Okay. it's a I mean, if the Brewers are wild card number two, that's cool too. That's fine. Like, it is what it is. you know The NL is wide open. There's a lot of teams around that 56, 57, 55 game win totals like in that area. So, I mean, there's a lot of teams that are definitely still in this thing for sure.
01:26:29
Speaker
Well, if we're looking at the playoff picture for certain, you're looking at these are your six top top teams, all over 60 wins. Mets, Phillies, Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, Padres, all over 60 wins.
01:26:42
Speaker
All the teams in the NL have 60 wins. The teams you're talking about, though, are your Reds, Cardinals, Giants, Diamondbacks, and Marlins, which are all from 50 55 wins.
01:26:55
Speaker
That's my point, is you have all those teams kind of clustered in, and those teams, one of those teams could make that, couldn't I know, listen, yeah teams like the Marlins are are surprisingly around 500, and you're like, they're technically not out of it. like The and NL is kind of open like that, and that's why those teams are going to be the fun teams. like you said You mentioned the six that have the 60 wins, but...
01:27:17
Speaker
It's those teams at the bottom that arere going to fight for those last playoff or wildcard spots. of the agreement And that's also attributed to the fact that we also have an extra playoff spot now, too. Right, gentlemen? Right. There's six. Yes, that's true. There's six.
01:27:29
Speaker
I mean, the Marlins come for a wildcard team. Yeah. Yeah, the Marlins come marching back, they're going to be wearing their 93 uniforms. I think that's one of their throwbacks this year. That's a uniform in baseball, period. There's no better uniform. I was there. I lived there during that time. There isn't a Dolph or uniform in baseball, period.
01:27:50
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. No, i agree. i agree. It was a dope uniform. But, like, you kind of want to see him get in just for that reason. um Maybe. We'll see. um Maybe that's why they held on to Sandy Alconca.
01:28:05
Speaker
Well, yeah, you don't want it because you feel like your blood pressure is going to go through the roof. That's something you've got to work through, sir. but um Let's work through it. Let's go into my NL East then. You've got my NL Mets 62 and 47. They are a half game above the Phillies 61 and 47.
01:28:23
Speaker
The Mets are 7-3 over their last 10, so they've been playing good at aside from getting swept by the Padres. The Phillies are 5-5 in their last 10. How do we feel about this NLE? We just talked about the Marlins. They're there, but they're nine games behind.
01:28:39
Speaker
It's the Mets and the Phillies. That's it. That's that. That's I mean, if the Mets can hold on, then, you know, excellent. Congrats. You won a spot in the playoffs.
01:28:50
Speaker
I will say this, even though you didn't discuss it, i will go ahead and put this out there. And I thought about this after the the trades that the Nats made today. They will not be competitive until 2039 or 2040. Just my thought.
01:29:01
Speaker
thirty nine or twenty forty just my thoughts Just my thought. I mean, we knew that when they got into all that salary cap trouble and they had to dump all the big, kind like we knew they were headed to this.
01:29:13
Speaker
They were going to have to build from within for a long time. Yeah. other thing is the Nationals spoiled the D.C. area a lot because the Nationals should have never been good to begin with.
01:29:25
Speaker
The Nationals, first of all, were an expansion team that used to be the Washington Senators way back in the day. And then the Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals when they took them away from Montreal.
01:29:36
Speaker
Only for the learners, some of the worst owners in sports, to run that franchise into the ground when they lucked into Juan Soto, Steven Strasburg, Bryce Harper, and all the other, Max Scherzer and all the other Nationals.
01:29:55
Speaker
that helped them to get to the point where they can win that world championship. The Nationals should have never won a world championship with the way their organization is run. A lot of those guys were top five picks, Bryson, Strasburg, and all those guys. yeah when you get It's hard to miss on number ones. I mean, you can, but in baseball, usually the number one guys are as good as you think they're going to be. like Take Billy Bean out of it, I guess. but No, but I mean, listen.
01:30:23
Speaker
What were we talking about? The NL East? The NL East. Listen, all jokes aside, like I said, the Mets definitely made some moves to put them in a place where you would think they will compete down the wire with the Philadelphia Phillies. I just think the Phillies are too good. I thought the Phillies were the best team in that division to start.
01:30:42
Speaker
This freaking guy has a ball sitting in the front. Okay, don't know what's going on here. He's doing his little John impressions or something. This isn't going to help move the needle on the back. It's Mr. Met. It's Mr. Met.
01:30:54
Speaker
It's the spring training. is the best spring training ever. The fact that you have to literally explain the hat shows why it Yeah, of us knew who that was. were like, who's the baseball with a face on it? Yeah, what are you doing? He's going to get his mascot suit.
01:31:09
Speaker
Yeah, he's going to his mascot suit. Fun fact, since we're in here, Omar did wear a mascot suit for a little while um in college, just, you know, while he's here left us to run a show.
01:31:22
Speaker
Those are not true. Those facts are true. Oh, he's going to get their other spring training hat. This is the spring training away. no, no. minute no This is the all-star game. Oh, the batting practice. Oh, it's the all-star game. Yeah, it's home run derby hat or whatever. Yeah. He wasn't even at the derby.
01:31:38
Speaker
That guy was eating hot chicken down in ah downtown Atlanta when the derby. was at Magic City having orange pepper wings because they call me orange pepper O now at Magic City.
01:31:48
Speaker
they do They do not. we They do They do. You can go ask Roxy and you can have you can ask Savannah. i lived in atlanta I lived in Atlanta for a year. They will call you anything just to make sure that you give them a good tip.
01:32:03
Speaker
so No one in the world will ever have this hat. This is a one-of-a-kind hat. No one in the world will ever have this hat. Why? First of all, it's an all-star hat, so very hard to get. You had to have VIP to be able to get these in the area.
01:32:16
Speaker
Second of all, New Era was doing three patches, and they were only doing one for every hat. Because I had press pass on, they gave me two. No one will ever have this match hat. This is one of one in the whole entire world. Unless you get murdered and someone steals your hat. Okay. You know what? That's fucking up. happened? told or Or if your, what is it?
01:32:41
Speaker
If your head gets too big, yeah because you yeah then you've got to go get another hat, you know? You underlined me on the screen. How about that? don't know what happened. Yeah, what happened to you? I don't know what happened. You left us to run your show. But anyway, now we're talking.
01:32:59
Speaker
So any final thoughts, gentlemen, before we get out of here for the evening? How do we feel? We'll get together again in another the month. But how do we feel about okay the pennant race and things like that?
01:33:10
Speaker
Anyone? It's going to be a fun, fun month, I guess. and I was going to say, yeah the I think the same teams are still the same teams. They just got a little bit better. But I don't think like any team that we didn't have competing this year all of a sudden jumped into it. And I don't think any team that we had competing like fell out of it. Like it's the teams that we liked. And it's just a question of which ones moves pan out a little better.
01:33:32
Speaker
Yeah. The Rockies are Rockies and Pirates are rushing to get wild card spot. So I mean, if the Pirates don't do anything, they're goingnna trade paul skikenes and that's just I would hate to be a fan of the Pirates or a team like that where it's just like you get these good players, and like the Nationals, and you can't hold on to them because you don't want to pay.
01:33:55
Speaker
Bro, they lost two starters and a closer this week. I'm like, oh my Paul Skeens has to be looking around in that bullpen like, who the hell pitches for this team anymore? Ryan. Well, Paul Skeens and Libby Dunn have decided they are not staying in Pittsburgh, I don't think.
01:34:11
Speaker
They're like, okay, let's see if we go to l L.A. Let's see if we can orchestrate a move to New York. Where can Libby Dunn get her acting career on? Listen, she's the only reason I can't ever feel bad for that guy. Like, that guy could be playing in Mexico, and he's still dating Libby Dunn, so he's fine. Don't worry, boys. Although, if he were to go play in Mexico, Libby Dunn probably wouldn't be dating him anymore. but you better get married before that happens That's all I know.
01:34:34
Speaker
Yeah, that's where you get sent after the divorce, Trevor Bauer. You can also look at the other one. You can also look at Libby Dunn isn't that much of a superstar anymore now that she's not in college. She's not playing sports. She has like 7 million IG followers. the fuck? What? I don't care if she has shit. She's an influencer. She's an influencer now.
01:34:55
Speaker
Yeah, that's more than some of the pro athletes that we know know. Is she on IG?
Social Media and Content Creator Shoutouts
01:35:00
Speaker
I mean, is she OnlyFans? Then she ain't making no money. I don't know. You tell us. Go ahead and Google it right now on OnlyFans. I've never been on OnlyFans, sir.
01:35:09
Speaker
How many times have I am not on OnlyFans, sir. I have never. I have never and would never. Okay. you roe but you science Yeah, she has seven million. Like, that's crazy. Like, she's not an athlete. Like, bro, off just being gorgeous.
01:35:29
Speaker
No, she's a model. And and I guess she won a little bit in gymnastics, you know. Well, that was what she was famous for, though, was a gymnastics? Yeah, that's what she was famous for. Well, yeah, in her beard. You're funny guy, bro. Whatever, shut Yeah, that's not what she was famous for. Tell me her scores at the last competition. Go ahead, tell me the scores, bro. Without looking at 100, a team, a team, a fucking team.
01:35:57
Speaker
That's a good point, bro. Nobody has those scores offhand. Yeah, you all know who Livy Dunn is. She's not famous for that. Can anyone give me the quote? Can anyone give me the quote? Where was that from?
01:36:11
Speaker
A teen, a teen, a fucking teen. Oh God, I know the movie. I forgot this. Football movie, football movie. Oh, Varsity Blues.
01:36:22
Speaker
Varsity Blues. Big old fat budge guy saw his, they saw the teacher at the strip club and he was like, she's a teen, a teen, a fucking teen. Okay, bonus points to you When did it come out?
01:36:38
Speaker
ninety three 93, Varsity Blues came out. I believe that 93. No, I don't think it was 93. No, it was 97. It was 97. Yeah. High school. Yeah. We're high school.
01:36:49
Speaker
You're right. You were in high school. All right. Well, cool. Thank you, brothers. I really appreciate And we thank everybody for tuning in. That's been watching today. Again, make sure you subscribe to ball and buds. B A L L A N D B U D S handy QR code up there up top.
01:37:04
Speaker
Go there. I'll take you to our link tree. That's our YouTube, Instagram, so on and so forth. As well, please go to Instagram. Follow my brother Amul's photography account at am23photography. Man, this team takes the greatest photos. They're awesome to look at. Y'all make sure you support him in it as well. Please tap in with the rec room.
01:37:23
Speaker
Lion Reese Penn giving you those unfiltered opinions all day long on the sports world. I love watching them. So y'all make sure you subscribe at the rec room on YouTube.
01:37:35
Speaker
Final thoughts, my friends. Reeves, what do you got? thank and I can't wait for the second half. Let's see how these things go in the fruition, man. more Let's see how the second half goes. I'm a little scared to find out what happens after I drop the 25th anniversary column in August. We'll see what happens after that. looking forward it.
01:37:55
Speaker
Yeah, that's going to be long. And, you know, um see Omar for all your movie trivia needs. um That's all I really got. Catch me next next Monday night. I will be on with Jersey Boy MJ on his baseball show on IOW Sports Network. And then Tuesday I'll have the Professor's Seminole Mente. Yes, Reese?
01:38:16
Speaker
The three of us meeting in Boston for the parade. We're calling it now.
01:38:21
Speaker
Not unless it's a Celtics parade. It better be a Celtics parade. That's the only parade I've been to. I think it'll be a, since you like Steven Matz, I think we should get you a Steven Matz jersey is what we should do. A Red Sox jersey so you can wear it. I mean, there are worse things you can do. You could get me a Tom Shady jersey.
01:38:40
Speaker
what's your What's your size again? Text us, let me know what your size is. Text us, let us know what your size is, and we'll go from there. Whatever. Patriots will always be cheaters. Cheaters, never win. I'm in a Mats jersey. I'm in a Mats jersey, not a Pats jersey. know. I don't care. Anytime New England is brought up, I am going to feel the need to shit on Tom Shady and Bill Belichick. Doesn't Brady own the the Raiders now? Doesn't he have like a partial stake in your team?
01:39:08
Speaker
Yeah. They cheated. They cheated for every one of the Super Bowls. Every single one. Starting with the tuck rule. Starting with the tuck rule, which was the worst call in the history of the NFL.
01:39:20
Speaker
And the bane of my existence. should we Should we leave you to your emotional support? Reece, stay on. Hey, Reece, stay on with me when we get off in the green room. Or more you can, too, if you want.
01:39:33
Speaker
But Reece, I'm going to ask you a question. All right, y'all. Thank you for tuning in. Appreciate it. We'll see y'all next time.
01:39:46
Speaker
stars.
01:39:50
Speaker
That world heavyweight flow Championship belt Wrapped around my waist yo I got that rip flare faking flow Slam you on the page That's why they call me street pro Create heat on beat flow Like Jordan after the second time He three-feated folks Get ready, set, let's go Fight toe to toe Release the flow Created by this micro Lights, camera, get low Action packed, back to back In fact this mind still will grow Y'all better let them know Man with the master playing and you have no need to know You can't prepare, now get ready for the show