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Episode 34 - 2024 MLB Playoff Preview + Regular Season Awards
34 Plays1 year ago
A Zach-less pod where Mac and Josh talk the 2024 MLB Postseason. The boys create their own brackets and explain the reasons behind their wild takes before making even wilder takes on the regular season awards. Zach leaves his notes for Mac and Josh to ponder how drunk he was when he sent them. Tune in for a raw UNEDITED episode of championship where the boys predict the ultimate champion of the 2024 season.
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Transcript
Yankees' Playoff Prospects
00:00:02
Mac
Towards the night before the playoffs, when all through the Bronx, this year it's poppin' much more than car honks. Yankee Stadium's empty, not because the team failed, but because we have home field, the season's holy grail. Unfortunately poor Rizzo has hurt his poor finger, but hopefully many more years of Juan Soto will linger. Will this be the year the Yankees win number 2-8, or will there be an even longer wait?
00:00:25
Mac
We know Judge will get Cheers, Clay Holmes will get Booze, but now I have for all of you some good and bad news.
Playoff Predictions and Previews
00:00:33
Mac
Bad news? You have our preview for another year, but the good news is Zachary is not here.
00:00:39
Mac
What's up everybody?
00:00:40
zachster189
Oh my god, I love it.
00:00:41
Mac
well That was a very quickly written ah Introduction for our second playoff preview of championship robust with Mac and Josh no Zach today Zach is somewhere in Switzerland right now enjoying himself very much So he's got it a lot better than us right now, but welcome.
Hurricane Impact on Games
00:01:00
Mac
We are here um We just found out the Mets and the Braves will be advancing through this very weird doubleheader thing that took place due to the hurricane and
00:01:12
Mac
um And the Diamondbacks got eliminated after pretty much not being able to get out of their own way.
00:01:16
zachster189
Some more excellent planning by Rob Manfred.
00:01:17
Mac
So don't feel bad for them. Yup.
00:01:20
zachster189
Just forgetting there was a hurricane and forcing two teams to play on the Monday right before playoffs. Just genius.
00:01:26
Mac
Pretty atrocious. We'll see where the implications kind of come from there. um but We're going to cover brackets today. um We're going to cover awards today.
Legacy of Pete Rose
00:01:34
Mac
And I just want to kind of send a quick shout out because about half an hour before we started this podcast, we found out about the passing of Pete Rose.
00:01:42
Mac
um Definitely brought him up quite a few times in here.
00:01:42
zachster189
Really sad.
00:01:45
Mac
um Wondering kind of the implications as to where that's gonna go with um His legacy and the Hall of Fame and whether or not that's gonna change anything but it's kind of weird this year like we've had a lot of sports figures pass and You know some controversial ones too.
00:02:01
Mac
Like we had OJ Simpson die. We have Pete Rose die obviously very different forms of But I'm saying in general just some kind of weird figures, you know, like
00:02:06
zachster189
I was gonna say, I don't know. I don't know what's the same thing.
00:02:13
Mac
you know, their legacy is kind of a question.
Hall of Fame Debate: Pete Rose
00:02:15
Mac
But um in terms of Pete Rose, um you have a guy who is definitely someone who's, I guess, a tragic figure through baseball history, because of just how, you know, differently this all could have been going from so beloved and being Charlie Hussle to all of a sudden becoming this pariah and becoming this almost cult following leader for years where the people who love Pete Rose, love Pete Rose, the people who are against Pete Rose always stayed against Pete Rose and your opinion kind of never changed. And you know it's just a legacy that didn't have to be the way that it was is I guess just kind of the way I think about it.
00:02:58
zachster189
very true. I kind of just hope that this is you know, they're kicking the pants they need to just put them in the hall of fame.
00:03:04
Mac
See, I don't know if that just makes it worse. Like I've heard opinions that, you know, put him in the Hall of Fame the day he dies. Cause it's a lifetime suspension and the lifetime suspension was served.
00:03:14
Mac
I never really bought into that, but I just.
00:03:18
zachster189
I mean, that's one way to look at it. That's not particularly why I say it.
Analyzing Playoff Matchups
00:03:21
zachster189
But
00:03:22
Mac
Yeah, I just don't get into that. And plus like you have Shula show Jackson who's been waiting for so long. And I think if you put one in, you kind of have to put in the other.
00:03:30
zachster189
Yeah, I mean, I will be using the business of putting cheaters and David Ortiz is in so yeah.
00:03:37
Mac
Yeah, that's fair.
00:03:38
zachster189
What's the difference?
00:03:39
Mac
No comment there. You're absolutely right. um but i mean we've Obviously, it's a debate for another day as to who should be put in and all that, but um but definitely just wanted to kind of shout out Pete Rose there and shout out to Kembe Mutombo as well, who passed away this morning um in his late 50s due to brain cancer.
00:03:46
zachster189
Yeah.
00:04:01
Mac
Definitely, you know, a complete ambassador for the NBA through the entire world. Um, obviously got sick recently and passed on, but, um, thoughts and prayers definitely to the Mutombo family and the Rose family there.
00:04:15
zachster189
Absolutely.
00:04:15
Mac
Um, but moving into the playoff preview, Josh, I'll kind of let you take it from here and where you want to go with it.
00:04:22
zachster189
Yeah, yeah, let's get into that.
00:04:23
Mac
follow
00:04:28
zachster189
Wild postseason this year already with game 160, 161 to 162 with the Mets and the Braves, with the fantastic playing by Manfred, as we mentioned already, you know, easily could have played those games on a neutral site right before the hurricane, during the hurricane or whatever.
00:04:45
zachster189
um Um, and chose to pretend that the weather wasn't going to be a problem. And you know, now both of these teams are kind of, you know, short handed because they had to play a game.
00:04:56
zachster189
They don't get that extra day's rest. They had to throw pictures. They didn't want to throw the day before the post-season starts. Kind of ridiculous in my opinion, but I guess it is what it is.
00:05:05
Mac
You know this Sounds good to me
00:05:06
zachster189
And, and you know, you want to win. This is what it takes. Um, Anyway, that being said, I think let's start in the American League. Start with the wildcard games, yeah? So, first matchup, the 3 seed, Houston Astros, 6 seed, Detroit Tigers. Any thoughts?
00:05:25
Mac
Yeah, so when it comes to this, the Tigers are such a great story.
Astros vs. Tigers Predictions
00:05:31
Mac
um They obviously traded away Jack Flaherty and no one really thought they were going to get this far.
00:05:37
Mac
um Everyone kind of saw them. You know, people were talking about trading Tara Scubel and, you know, just kind of blowing it up and now here they are.
00:05:42
zachster189
Yep.
00:05:44
Mac
um With that being said, I think they're going to get trounced.
00:05:47
zachster189
Yeah, really.
00:05:48
Mac
I think they're going to get crushed. um The Astros just had the playoff experience. I think they're just too good the ah outside of school. You have guys who play up experience on the Astros. I think they win the one game that's Google pitches, and I think they take it in four games.
Royals vs. Orioles Analysis
00:06:08
zachster189
Well, that's a that's interesting, because isn't it a best of three?
00:06:14
Mac
Yeah, three out of five, right?
00:06:15
zachster189
No, two out of three.
00:06:17
Mac
Oh, it's 2 out of 3.
00:06:18
zachster189
Well, cards two out of three.
00:06:19
Mac
And cut, good start.
00:06:23
zachster189
Yeah, so. All right, run it back. What do we think now?
00:06:27
Mac
Run it back, what do you think now? Yeah, um, Ash was in 3, I meant, I apologize.
00:06:32
zachster189
and Okay. All right, so I'm going to read off what Jackie says.
00:06:35
Mac
New format, screw me up.
00:06:37
zachster189
I'm going to read off what Zachy says here because he gave us our, his, ah his ideas. So I'm going to read this one off. He wrote, I had to try taking this. They're on fire right now and they have some of the best pitching in baseball. You think school ball gets you a game alone. ah So now they just got to win one of the next two, especially what you're done, not a hundred percent. I think this is your Houston blows it out early.
00:07:01
Mac
Yeah, that sounds about right.
00:07:05
zachster189
Um, and I, I kind of agree with them. And that regard, I mean, game one is going to be Valdez for a school bowl. And I don't think any, I don't think Houston really has much past Valdez anymore.
00:07:19
Mac
I mean, you have Verlander.
00:07:21
zachster189
Yeah. Verlander has been hot trash.
00:07:25
Mac
Yeah, but he has the experience in terms of like in October baseball. It's not gonna get to the World Series, I don't trust him, but I trust him now.
00:07:30
zachster189
That's, that's a, that's a good point. That's a good point, but I don't know. I don't really trust him with the way he's been playing. I mean, he's been, he hasn't been bad. He's been really bad.
00:07:40
zachster189
Like, like that's how, that's how bad it is. So I just don't, I don't think they have, I don't think they have what it takes. I think this is your Houston falls. And I think the Tigers
Astros' Playoff Contention
00:07:51
Mac
You guys are both going
00:07:51
zachster189
are, I think the Tigers are hot, man.
00:07:54
zachster189
The Tigers had a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs in the beginning of August.
00:07:56
Mac
Wow.
00:08:01
zachster189
like eight weeks ago, less than that.
00:08:05
zachster189
And here they are. Yeah, I mean, they can't cheat this year.
00:08:05
Mac
Yeah, there's the Astros.
00:08:09
Mac
Yeah, they can. They'll find a way. They're the Astros.
00:08:13
zachster189
I don't know. I don't think the AL West was that was that good that they made it. So it doesn't, I don't know, I still got tires.
00:08:24
Mac
I don't know. I mean, I understand you're not 100% but he still had a great season. Altuve had a solid year. It's just in terms of the Tigers, who do they have that has the playoff experience that you trust?
00:08:37
zachster189
No one, they literally have no one.
00:08:38
Mac
Right. I don't buy it. And these teams that usually come in on miracles, yeah every once in a while you have a team that you know pops off and goes far.
00:08:48
Mac
I just don't see it. I think this is reminding me a lot of the Orioles from last year.
00:08:55
zachster189
I guess. Yeah, but I, but on the Orioles had the pitching that the Tigers have. They have the best pitcher in baseball.
00:09:06
Mac
And what else?
00:09:06
zachster189
You have to hope the guys can go up there and and when you and when you won game and then you just got to win one out of two.
00:09:11
Mac
Well, as I said before, like the I had the series wrong because I was thinking of the ALDS, but I think he wins one game, but that's so close yet so far. You still got to win two more.
00:09:21
Mac
You still got to win one more.
00:09:22
zachster189
That's true.
00:09:22
Mac
You still got to win two total.
00:09:24
zachster189
That's true. I still go Tigers.
00:09:28
Mac
Fair enough.
00:09:29
zachster189
All right, so next series, Orioles, Royals.
Kansas City vs. Orioles: Pitching Edge
00:09:33
zachster189
I'll read Zachy's off first for this one. He wrote, this is tough, but he goes Kansas City. So he doesn't trust the RO's bullpen at all whatsoever. And he knows Casey has a doesn't have a great offense, but they have a good rotation.
00:09:47
Mac
Yeah, I've gone back and forth on this one. The Orioles were, I believe, they were my preseason pick to win the title. I don't know if they were yours also, or to win the AL rather.
00:09:59
zachster189
I think I did say Baltimore, if I recall correctly.
00:09:59
Mac
Were they yours also? Yeah. And I'm kind of recanting on that now because they've kind of proven that they're flawed, very flawed. But I just can't go against them for this.
00:10:14
Mac
We're talking two out of three. Eileen Baltimore winning in three But I could definitely see Kansas City pulling it off. Like I said, this is kind of a coin flip one um I think the royals had the better rotation.
00:10:29
Mac
I think the royals have the better bullpen And I think when we picked that we also run the assumption that Kyle Bradish was gonna be healthy And I don't think we expected the Yankees to have the regular season record that they did we I I thought the Orioles weren't gonna be in this situation some
00:10:43
zachster189
Or i have a lot of had a lot of pitching injuries.
00:10:46
Mac
Yeah. And two losses are gone.
00:10:47
zachster189
Losing losing Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez is out and he's not gonna pitch in the playoffs either. It's tough.
00:10:54
Mac
Yeah, but I'm i'm leaning Baltimore in five and not five in three. I keep saying five for some reason, but I keep Baltimore in three. Um, I just don't think the Royals are ready either. And I usually go with the teams that I trust more.
00:11:08
zachster189
i Yeah, I can't believe I'm gonna say this but i I have to agree with what's a key on this one um Yeah, I think that The Royals have the better pitching by far here I think that my my honest guess would be that Baltimore was the first game and then they dropped the second game and then Kansas City blows the absolute doors off of them in the third game and proves that they're the frauds and
00:11:08
Mac
seven um Really?
00:11:36
Mac
That'd be interesting. I mean, I would i would love to see it. i
00:11:38
zachster189
I just don't think i don't think with Baltimore's health situation as far as pitching goes that they that they can handle Casey. Casey's pitching is too good.
Mets and Braves Series Predictions
00:11:49
zachster189
It's the same Baltimore team last year that didn't show up.
00:11:52
Mac
I think it's also wishful thinking. Part of me would rather face Baltimore than Kansas City.
00:11:58
zachster189
I would also rather face Baltimore.
00:12:00
Mac
Even though we've struggled against Baltimore this entire year, I just think that there's been enough time where we can kind of measure them up. And like I said, they're flawed when they're w rough, they're rough. And I think that that could help the Yankees out.
00:12:14
zachster189
Yeah, and we all know the Yankees issue in the postseason is surprisingly not pitching that the bats suddenly go away.
00:12:19
Mac
I know it's amazing.
00:12:23
Mac
Yeah, but that should be interesting this year, considering we have negative bullpen. And now honestly, that Cortez injury is going to be huge, but we'll talk about that when we get to the Yankees.
00:12:31
zachster189
Yeah. OK, so I think that covers the A.L. wildcard games. So why don't we talk about the NL Wildcard, which is a lot a lot wilder.
00:12:42
zachster189
So first one here is the Mets and the Brewers.
00:12:43
Mac
ah Yeah.
00:12:47
zachster189
I'll start ah start on this one, I think.
00:12:48
Mac
Go for it.
00:12:50
zachster189
and ah Despite all the things I keep saying about the Mets or the team of Destiny and and all this ah kind of ridiculous stuff about them, I think that they will conquer their demons and beat the Brewers.
00:13:03
zachster189
I think the brewer, I honestly do not, can't believe how far the brewers are because you look at that team on paper and it's just, it, I i don't know, man, nothing, nothing stands out to me about this team, but they're where they are. And I think the Mets are hot and this is, this is their shot.
00:13:23
Mac
The one thing that sticks out to me with the Brewers is their defense across the board. I believe they got the team gold glove last year, but didn't have a single gold glove winner. And that really didn't change this year either.
00:13:33
zachster189
They are a good defensive team.
00:13:36
Mac
But I do agree with you. I'm going Mets here and I think it's going to be a sweep.
00:13:41
zachster189
Yeah, I wouldn't i wouldn to be surprised. I mean, the Mets, oddly enough, have gotten in pretty good pitching. And it really is a question of, will their hitters show up or not? And I think, Lindor is going to show up.
00:13:52
zachster189
The question is, does anybody else show up with them? And I think i think they will.
00:13:55
Mac
Yeah. Lindor was ready to roll. I think Iglesias will be ready to roll. And then from there, you know, I think the the Mets lineup is better than the Brewers lineup. I think the Mets pitching is better than the Brewers pitching beyond Peralta.
00:14:08
Mac
And I don't see any issue with the Mets here. The only problem with the Mets is the issue of travel.
00:14:14
zachster189
Mm hmm.
00:14:15
Mac
How much is that going to impact them?
00:14:17
zachster189
Star.
00:14:18
Mac
And I think that's going to be the same thing with the Braves. I don't think it's going to impact the message because I think that they're so resilient as it is. And Lindor is showing the leadership that we talked about in the last episode. And I don't think he's going to let that happen.
00:14:31
zachster189
No, definitely not.
00:14:35
zachster189
All right. Well, it seems we are on the same page here. And even Zacky who wrote this on Monday morning before the ah double header was played, he said that he thought whoever plays the Brewers will be able to upset them. So he said he was going to pick the underdog. Doesn't matter who it is. So he is also going to the Mets and we're all on the same page here.
Astros vs. Guardians Outcome
00:14:52
Mac
Yeah, I would agree.
00:14:54
zachster189
um So your next matchup is the Braves and the Padres.
00:15:01
Mac
You want to start or you want me?
00:15:02
zachster189
Uh, I will start here. I think, uh, the Braves are cooked. It is over a punter is going to beat them in two games. Not even close. I don't, I don't think there should even be a debate.
00:15:13
Mac
So I have a little bias here, obviously, as a partial owner of the Atlanta Braves.
00:15:17
zachster189
not Jesus Christ.
00:15:18
Mac
And um I have to say, I agree with you here. I don't think there's a question.
00:15:24
zachster189
Really?
00:15:24
Mac
I think the travel affects them. I think the Padres rosters is too good. Like they're so talented on paper. I remember picking them, I think last year to win the World Series of the NL.
00:15:35
Mac
And that hasn't really changed since then they've gotten Louisa Rise, who I know is polarizing, but um but I don't think that's going to hurt them at all. And I just see them as being the more talented team right now, considering everything.
00:15:50
Mac
And the other factor now is that now they don't have Chris Sale.
00:15:53
zachster189
Yeah, no Chris Sale.
00:15:54
Mac
which we didn't get to talk about, but he was scratched today with the back spasms, and that's gonna kill them.
00:16:00
zachster189
And he's officially not gonna pitch in the wild card series. They already said that.
00:16:04
Mac
So when I wrote this, I had Padres in three, but I'm changing that to Padres in two, knowing that.
00:16:12
zachster189
I, the Braves might be able to sneak one out, but I, I still highly doubt it.
00:16:17
Mac
I think the travel hits, and they honestly didn't look that great today.
00:16:22
zachster189
You know what? They have so many injuries, they're missing so many guys. I just don't think that they they don't have the pitching and their hitting is not as good as it was. You you have to go up against one of the better, if not the best rotation in baseball and the Padres. I just i don't think they have a shot. Doesn't matter who the Padres start in any of the two or three games. The Braves don't have a guy that's better than them.
00:16:47
Mac
Yep. Don't worry.
00:16:50
zachster189
And Zaki had no thoughts on this one.
00:16:53
Mac
Sounds about right.
00:16:54
zachster189
So yeah, he kind of just didn't write anything.
00:16:55
Mac
Sorry, Zach.
00:16:58
Mac
didn't
00:16:58
zachster189
Oh, actually, actually. So he, said okay. So then for the next series, he said Padres. So I guess he's assuming whoever plays the Padres, beats the Padres. So he says Padres as well.
00:17:05
Mac
Yeah, oh, that makes sense, yeah. Yep.
00:17:09
zachster189
Okay. So let's go back to the AL and we have the number two seed Indians. I mean the guardians. Sorry.
00:17:17
Mac
i
00:17:20
zachster189
The guardians coming off of there by. to play the winner of the Tigers or the Astros. So you have Astros here, and and I have Tigers and Zach has Tigers.
00:17:26
Mac
I have Astros, you have Tigers.
00:17:29
zachster189
So since you're the odd man out here, why don't you tell us what you think?
00:17:33
Mac
Yeah, I'm going to really be the odd man out here. I'm taking the Astros.
00:17:36
zachster189
Oh, Jesus.
00:17:37
Mac
I'm creating the Astros in five games.
00:17:39
zachster189
In five games, okay.
00:17:40
Mac
I hate this. I don't want this to happen. But again, I trust the teams with the playoff experience. I usually tend to go with those teams um because they're less likely to choke and the Ashros are my pick here. um Basically everything I said before kind of holds true. The Guardians have a little more experience than the Tigers do, um but I just don't see, just the idea of the name factor and the history, I just don't buy into them. I think they're routinely chokers and I'm going with the Ashros.
00:18:16
zachster189
I think you're out of your mind, but, uh, you know, that's, that's, that's a, that's a you thing. Uh, so, uh, I'll read Zach is off first. So Zach wrote Cleveland versus Detroit. He said he's going to pick Detroit again.
00:18:27
zachster189
It's going to pick the upset.
00:18:28
Mac
What?
00:18:29
zachster189
Uh, I'm reading this word for word here.
00:18:31
Mac
It shows you I didn't read his, I did not read his thoughts.
00:18:32
zachster189
Pitching is looking pitching. I, I, I know. I, cause I knew you would have, you would have freaked out.
00:18:37
Mac
Yeah, no, I was so focused on his awards that we'll get to later that I didn't even get to read this.
00:18:38
zachster189
Uh, Oh yeah. That. Yeah, the awards was something else, but this is pretty good, too. So he wrote, pitching is looking too good right now. Tigers have a six and seven record against the Guardians this year, and half of those games were played before they got hot. Honestly, it's a valid reason. I, however, think that that is not going to cut it, and the Guardians are going to beat them in four games. They just have superior pitching as far as depth goes. They do not have a school ball, obviously, but you're not going to see him until
00:19:10
zachster189
game two or three. um And at that point, the series might already be over.
00:19:16
Mac
Now with the rule changes, ALDS is still three out of five, right?
00:19:20
zachster189
Yes, it should be.
00:19:23
Mac
So you have them in four.
00:19:25
zachster189
And four. Yeah, that's what I said.
00:19:25
Mac
Okay.
00:19:26
zachster189
And four.
00:19:26
Mac
Yeah, I'm only one. Got it.
00:19:27
zachster189
Yeah.
00:19:27
Mac
I just wanted to make sure.
00:19:29
zachster189
um Yeah, I don't know. Speaking of that, in four and in five games, I don't understand why they didn't make the LDS seven games.
Expanding Playoffs Debate
00:19:39
Mac
Yeah, it just feels like it just makes more sense.
00:19:39
zachster189
I, that doesn't really make, if they're so, they're so like, Oh, we need more games. We need more money. I just make that a best of seven. I don't, I don't particularly understand that.
00:19:45
Mac
Yeah.
00:19:48
Mac
I think the focus is more on expanding the playoffs to have more teams in it so that they could have more markets and more stadiums.
00:19:51
zachster189
Yeah, that's true. And that's, that's the stupidest thing ever. That's the most ridiculous thing ever.
00:19:56
Mac
I think that was the priority.
00:19:56
zachster189
But that's, that's a story for another day.
00:19:57
Mac
And I i don't think the idea itself is terrible. I think the format's terrible and I think it's confusing as well.
00:20:00
zachster189
I hate the idea. No, I hate. No, there should not be more teams. You don't need 160 to gain. If you want, if you want to have an expanded playoffs and cut the season down to a hundred games.
00:20:09
Mac
But if you think about all the other sports,
00:20:09
zachster189
and then And then you give guys extra rest. You don't have to worry about guys not playing, guys getting hurt. You know you really want to worry about injuries. Cut the season down to 100 games.
00:20:17
Mac
Yeah, but in hockey, so then what about hockey where half the teams get in and basketball, who are the half the teams get in?
00:20:18
zachster189
Maybe you'll see Tommy John go down.
00:20:22
zachster189
And they play way less games. They play way less games.
00:20:26
Mac
Yeah, but you're still, it's a different kind of sample size. It's still, you're still having half the teams get in.
00:20:33
zachster189
I just don't. I don't like playing 162 games. And I just let everybody in. yeah What's the point of that?
00:20:39
Mac
Yeah, I can get I understand the point. It's just I, I like the idea of having it be a little more Wild Wild West kind of thing.
00:20:49
zachster189
Yeah. I don't know. I don't i don't think a team that's going to win 100 games and 160 games season deserves to be bounced in the first round because they play the one team that got hot.
00:21:02
Mac
See, I have a fun idea, but it'll never work.
00:21:02
zachster189
That, that you know, that, well, it's the thing is that you're going to run, you're going to run to these teams that are have that have losing records, making the playoffs, that that's where I draw the line. And then you're going to run into that problem as you start having a, you know, a 16 team and it'll be.
00:21:16
zachster189
because they play so many games. You're gonna run to a team that has 75 wins and they're gonna be the team that has 100 just because it's a five game series or a three game series, which is ridiculous.
00:21:17
Mac
Yeah, I admit that looks cool.
00:21:27
Mac
See, I have a thought for other sports and it's probably not the time to do it, but I'm gonna do it quick anyway, but the idea that there's seven teams that clinch playoff spots during the season in each league or conference.
00:21:38
Mac
And then the final eight, in the case of baseball, would duke it out in a single elimination tournament to get the eighth spot. I think that would be fun.
00:21:44
zachster189
That's nuts.
00:21:45
Mac
I think that would be a lot of fun.
00:21:46
zachster189
That's nuts.
00:21:46
Mac
Like picture the Pittsburgh Pirates winning four games at the end of the playoffs. I think that'd be so much fun.
00:21:51
zachster189
That's absolutely nuts. I think you're out of your mind.
00:21:53
Mac
Why not? I think it's great. We have a tall tournament, everything has fallen, and it's great.
00:21:56
zachster189
Okay, moving on.
00:21:59
zachster189
and Okay, whatever you say, I'm gonna move on here. Number one seed, New York Yankees against the winner of the Royals and the Orioles.
Yankees AL Playoff Outlook
00:22:07
Mac
So Orioles for me So Wishful thinking about the Orioles beating the Royals because I said I'd rather face the Orioles kind of you know devil, you know, I Have the Yankees beating them.
00:22:09
zachster189
The Orioles for you and Royals for Zaki and I. So I again, you are the odd man out here. So you go first.
00:22:26
Mac
I have them winning in five Considering three out of five they they go through the full series.
00:22:29
zachster189
Alright.
00:22:32
Mac
I think it's on and off um I think the Orioles start out hot because the Yankees are gonna have a little curve because they're gonna have more rest um We're all gonna be killing Boone and Cashman after two games and I think similar to um When Girardi was getting killed.
00:22:39
zachster189
Two games.
00:22:49
zachster189
Alright.
00:22:50
Mac
I think we're gonna come back and win five.
00:22:55
zachster189
i um i Would have to agree the Yankees will win in five games against the Royals however um Royals definitely have better pitching but if I were recall correctly the Yankees beat the crap out of them the last time they played them like absolutely Demolish them like 30 runs in three games something like that They're not gonna repeat that but I think in a five game set the Yankees will win three games ah Zaki has
00:22:56
Mac
I
00:23:08
Mac
yeah
00:23:12
Mac
Yeah.
00:23:20
Mac
And what's Zaki have?
00:23:24
zachster189
quote, I take the Yankees here.
00:23:27
Mac
I take the Yankees here.
00:23:28
zachster189
That's it. That's all your own. No analysis, just that.
00:23:30
Mac
All right.
00:23:32
zachster189
um Yeah.
00:23:32
Mac
Goodbye, Zaki.
00:23:33
zachster189
All right. Great. Well done. Very good job. Very good job, Zaki, as usual, with fantastic research.
00:23:36
Mac
Right in. Yes, good job, buddy.
00:23:40
zachster189
Um, let's, let's, let's finish up the AL here. Uh, and we'll just go the winners. So, uh, why don't, why don't you just tell, tell us who's winning between the Yankees and the Astros?
00:23:54
zachster189
I, I don't think I like the answer. Whatever answer you give here, I'm not going to like.
00:23:56
Mac
You don't. You don't. You don't.
Astros vs. Yankees ALCS Predictions
00:24:00
Mac
Uh, death taxes and the Astros kicking our butts. Astros and six.
00:24:04
zachster189
Okay. So you telling me, you telling me the Astros are going to go to the world series.
00:24:05
Mac
I hate it.
00:24:10
Mac
Yes, because they're going to bang, bang on the trash cans. I 100% think the Astros are bringing the World Series.
00:24:12
zachster189
i wow I think you have lost your mind.
00:24:14
Mac
No question about it.
00:24:18
Mac
I think the American league is weak. I don't think the Yankees bullpen is good enough to make the World Series on its own. I think somebody is going to beat them.
00:24:24
zachster189
Yeah, he's bullpen is fine.
00:24:26
Mac
And I don't think it's Baltimore. I don't think it's Kansas City.
00:24:28
zachster189
But the problem is that we have an Eric Boone.
00:24:29
Mac
I don't think it's Cleveland. I think it's, you know, just by process of elimination, it wound up being Houston because the AL just feels so weak to me this year. And I just don't think the Yankees are good enough to make the World Series based on the way the roster is constructed.
00:24:44
zachster189
Okay, I don't disagree with that statement. I just, I don't know if it's Houston that would beat them.
00:24:51
Mac
So you have the Guardians beating them, I'm assuming that.
00:24:52
zachster189
I do have the Guardians beating them, yes. And then the Yankees scraped by the by the skin of their teeth last year when they played them in the ALDS.
00:25:00
Mac
Yeah.
00:25:02
zachster189
And I don't think they can do that again. I really don't. I think Cleveland is better than they were last year. and the Yankees are pitching wise, just as bad, their bullpen is worse.
00:25:15
Mac
Yep.
00:25:16
zachster189
Um, and their bats are the wild cards. They always are. It depends on who's going to show up and who's not.
00:25:23
Mac
I think that's another team that just could have been so helped if they just had their ace.
00:25:30
zachster189
Oh, of course.
00:25:31
Mac
And they I think if they had Bieber, they probably would have been my pick, but I just don't see it.
00:25:31
zachster189
Absolutely.
00:25:37
zachster189
Yeah, I know that it wouldn't be a question if they had beaver, but I still think they're a solid team and they have the belief and they got the JRAM.
00:25:39
Mac
Yeah.
00:25:46
Mac
Fair enough.
00:25:48
Mac
Yeah, I honestly out of all these teams, I would prefer Cleveland to win over any non Yankee team in the American League because I think Jose Ramirez deserves to get some national love.
00:25:58
Mac
And I think that would be good for baseball to kind of get him because he's been the Mike Mussina of hitters for so long, just constantly second and third and MVP voting, constantly not looked at on the same level as Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout and all these guys.
00:26:05
zachster189
Oh yeah.
00:26:15
Mac
But he's been doing it for about 10 years. of being really, really good.
00:26:21
zachster189
Yep.
00:26:22
Mac
And I mean, I know we made a World Series um with the against the Chicago Cubs, but I think now that it's clearly his team, that would actually be a very nice story.
00:26:34
Mac
I just don't see it happening.
00:26:37
Mac
But having Classy helps.
00:26:41
zachster189
I just like to say, because I unrelated, I was just looking at the ah times and days for the games. The fact that Detroit and Houston are playing at two 30 on a Tuesday when it's school over as Valdez is absolutely disgusting.
00:26:56
zachster189
And the league should be i that is just stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life. You're gonna have the two of the premier players in baseball go against each other and are playing at two 30 on a Tuesday.
00:27:06
Mac
Why aren't kids watching baseball anymore?
00:27:08
zachster189
Yeah, I mean, ridiculous. That should be the game that's playing at night.
00:27:11
Mac
Yeah, 100%. But hundred percent but they'd they'd rather market the big name teams that the fans are going to watch anyway.
00:27:13
zachster189
You're gonna watch, you're gonna watch the Padres, you know, beat the absolute living crap out of the Braves. I just, Jesus.
00:27:22
zachster189
I mean, isn't Houston a big name team still?
00:27:23
Mac
march Yeah, but they know that they'll be marketing Houston for a while in November.
00:27:24
zachster189
I don't know, but I don't know.
00:27:29
zachster189
That's true. Well, ah no, that's not true.
00:27:31
Mac
Yeah, and it is true. It is true.
00:27:33
zachster189
They know they're gonna be marketing Houston i don't know about for a while in November part.
00:27:38
Mac
I was accepting the inevitability.
00:27:40
zachster189
Well, You do that. Anyway, moving on.
00:27:45
zachster189
Uh, so the number two seed Phillies, again, is the winner of the Braves growers. And we all said Braves. Let me read off what Zeki poo has said.
00:27:56
zachster189
He said, I mean, we know the answer to this question already. He said he's taking the Phillies because, you know, he Bruce Metz.
00:28:00
Mac
Wait, doesn't Phileas play the winner of Brewer's Mets?
00:28:03
zachster189
What did I say?
00:28:04
Mac
Yep.
00:28:04
zachster189
Bruce Braves. I went, I met Bruce Metz.
00:28:05
Mac
You said Podge and Graves, but yeah, I guess you...
00:28:07
zachster189
Uh, Brewers Mets, uh, Phillies.
00:28:09
Mac
Yes.
00:28:10
zachster189
We all know what Zach is going to say. He takes the Phillies over both. Even the Mets, the Wheeler, Nola combo is great. And as long as you don't throw Suarez out there, they should be fine. But we already know who's going to pick the Phillies because he is a Phillies fan.
00:28:21
Mac
What a shock.
00:28:22
zachster189
Uh, and honestly, I can't disagree with them.
00:28:25
Mac
I can't either.
00:28:26
zachster189
Hi.
00:28:26
Mac
This is... this is
00:28:27
zachster189
You're going to have, uh, arrested Wheeler and a arrested Nola. You're probably going to win the first two games of the series.
Mets' Playoff Journey Analysis
00:28:33
Mac
the The Mets had a heck of a season and I think it's an admirable exit here. I think they lose in four but I think it's just they this is where their fun run ends, but it's a very fun season.
00:28:40
zachster189
I would agree.
00:28:47
Mac
Honestly, maybe the most fun Mets season Even since you know, I'd say since the World Series year, but maybe even longer than that It was just a fun year and a resilient year
00:28:57
zachster189
Yeah, it was a wild year when they were ready to kill everybody in the beginning of the season and then Jose Iglesias, you know, became a pop superstar.
00:29:08
Mac
And then you have Grimace.
00:29:10
zachster189
and Grimace, obviously.
00:29:10
Mac
Some questions, we'll keep on throwing out the first pitch.
00:29:14
zachster189
Oh, we love that.
00:29:15
Mac
Yeah. On camp day.
00:29:18
zachster189
Oh, yeah, that's just fantastic marketing.
00:29:21
Mac
Yeah.
00:29:22
zachster189
ah Yeah, that's all we're gonna say on that.
00:29:23
Mac
Hold on. Yeah, we're not going any further than that.
00:29:25
zachster189
Anyway, anyway, moving on. First, ah first overall seed, Dodgers, playing the winner of the Braves and Padres.
00:29:34
Mac
I'm going to be the odd man out again.
00:29:36
zachster189
You're gonna be the odd man out here.
00:29:38
Mac
You go first.
00:29:39
zachster189
Uh, I want to go first. Yeah, I think the Padres win this.
00:29:43
Mac
Yeah, no, I don't.
00:29:44
zachster189
I really, I, I think LA is pitching is atrocious.
00:29:45
Mac
I don't.
00:29:48
zachster189
It's terrible. It is. It is so bad. It is so bad.
00:29:52
Mac
I know, but I think their hitting is just too good.
00:29:53
zachster189
Um, they're, they're hitting, they're hitting is great.
00:29:55
Mac
They can win games 9-8.
00:29:58
zachster189
They could absolutely win games nine eight, but I think pottery scratches one out in five.
00:30:02
Mac
I just think the hitting is too good. and It's going to come down to what Dylan C shows up.
00:30:07
zachster189
That's true.
00:30:08
Mac
the Dylan Cease with the 1.5 ERA through two months or the Dylan Cease that gets shelled and puts too many guys on base.
00:30:14
zachster189
That's true.
00:30:16
Mac
And if you have that, I mean, you Darvish, Joe Musgrove, like they got the starters, but I i just think that's good hitting.
00:30:21
zachster189
It got four strong artists.
00:30:24
Mac
though I think the Dodgers hitters are better than the Padres pitchers, and I think that's just what it comes down to.
00:30:32
zachster189
That's a respectable answer.
00:30:32
Mac
I have Dodgers in five.
00:30:34
zachster189
Okay. And Zachy says he takes the Padres. He said, Cease and King have had great ears and the Dodgers pitching is hurting.
00:30:38
Mac
I'm sure of course it is.
00:30:43
zachster189
Basically the same thing I said.
00:30:44
Mac
It's so funny. Zach wrote in this giant text in this giant bio, right? He didn't have to write a word. I could have told you every single pick he was going to make.
00:30:53
zachster189
Oh, I mean, yeah, obviously.
00:30:54
Mac
Every single one.
00:30:55
zachster189
ah The only one that surprises me is the last one.
00:30:59
Mac
Yeah.
00:30:59
zachster189
um but then again But then again, it doesn't surprise me because he's overcompensating.
00:31:03
Mac
Yeah, you're saying, as in the last one, you're saying like the last game of the season, correct?
00:31:05
zachster189
World series, yeah.
00:31:07
Mac
Yup, okay. Yup, I agree.
00:31:09
zachster189
All right, so now we have the NLCS. So you you you can go first on this one.
00:31:17
Mac
So NLCS, so Phillies versus Dodgers.
00:31:19
zachster189
Philly's Dodgers, yeah, that's you.
00:31:21
Mac
This is a dogfight, man. This is a lot of fun. um The Phillies have made the World Series the last two years, right?
00:31:30
zachster189
Mm-hmm Okay Dodgers and seven All right.
00:31:31
Mac
It ain't happening again. Dodgers in seven.
00:31:38
zachster189
I Yeah, I cannot stand watching another aff Phillies postseason run just in general um And I don't think that they're gonna beat the Padres I really don't I Really don't I think this is the year the Padres make it all the way to the World Series and they beat the Phillies in six and
00:31:59
Mac
That's what's in.
00:32:00
zachster189
That's what's in, baby.
00:32:01
Mac
You're killing it, wow, okay.
00:32:03
zachster189
And then we already know what Zaki packed. He didn't even give us an explanation. He just said Philly's.
00:32:07
Mac
Yeah, Philly's because I love them, and they're my friends.
00:32:10
zachster189
And we um I skipped over it. ah He said Yankees would beat the Tigers in the ALCS.
00:32:18
Mac
So he's the only one of the three of us that picked the Yankees to go to the World Series, and I think that's just a clear overcompensation for the fact that he's not a tree Yankee fan anymore.
00:32:21
zachster189
Yeah. Overconversation, yeah. Yeah, so he so he has a Yankees Phillies World Series, which is his absolute ah either his heaven or his nightmare. I don't really know which ah
World Series Outcome Predictions
00:32:32
Mac
I think he's the way up to seven. He's going to act like he's seven.
00:32:33
zachster189
he's going to be the guy that he's going to be.
00:32:35
zachster189
He's going to be the guy I chose up at the stadium that's got like the half Yankee jersey and the half Phillies jersey and then like changes it between innings.
00:32:42
Mac
No, just come to this Girardi jersey, because then you can just go to the Yankee jersey.
00:32:44
zachster189
Oh, you're right right. Absolutely. Good point. Good point. um But he says, he said, quote, I'm sticking consistent to my preseason picks and calling for a 2009 World Series rematch s smiley face.
00:32:58
Mac
Smiley.
00:32:58
zachster189
No, no, no idea who's who's going when I just want to go. We will pick the Yankees to win because I'm delusional.
00:33:08
Mac
He didn't even commit.
00:33:10
zachster189
He said, he said, no, he didn't even commit, but it's an overcount it's an overcompensation.
00:33:12
Mac
but Some of those awards you committed to.
00:33:14
zachster189
It's an overcompensation.
00:33:15
Mac
Yeah, it's definitely an overcompensation.
00:33:16
zachster189
Absolute overcompensation.
00:33:16
Mac
That's the way we're gonna, that's the way we turn this. This is great.
00:33:18
zachster189
Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, so he's picking the Yankee world series because he is quote delusional, AKA overcompensating.
00:33:26
Mac
That sounds about right.
00:33:26
zachster189
Um, I'll, I'll hop in here. Cause I have, uh, I have an Indians. Guardians, sorry, I don't know why I keep saying that.
00:33:32
Mac
audience
00:33:35
Mac
audience like
00:33:35
zachster189
Guardians, Guardians, Padres, which I don't think anybody would have predicted ever happening. And when I look at this, I go, why did I predict that? But I am. Guardians, Padres, and I think that Stephen Vote leads the Guardians to the promised land in his first year as a manager, and they win the World Series in seven games.
00:33:55
Mac
Who do you have as World Series MVP?
00:33:55
zachster189
I think, I think, World Series MVP, I think the answer to that question is pretty obvious, it's J-Ram.
00:34:01
Mac
Fair enough. I like it. I do like that World Series. like I'd be happy watching that World Series. That'd be fun.
00:34:08
zachster189
I'd be happy because I wouldn't particularly care who won and I could just enjoy some baseball.
00:34:13
Mac
So now I have a rematch for Astros Dodgers.
00:34:18
zachster189
Yeah.
00:34:19
Mac
And I think this is the year the Dodgers get revenge on the Astros and the Dodgers win in six.
00:34:24
zachster189
Alright.
00:34:25
Mac
And my World Series MVP is who else? Because I think Rob Manfred will, you know, really, really enjoy the thought of this show. Hey, Otani, it's going to have to be.
00:34:33
zachster189
Of course, of course. I mean, it has to be after he got caught betting. I mean, his translator got caught betting.
00:34:42
zachster189
All right, so we had three.
00:34:44
Mac
That was perfect.
00:34:45
zachster189
So we had three widely different playoff pictures with three completely different World Series match ups and three different World Series winners.
00:34:54
Mac
All right, so it's spread out.
00:34:55
zachster189
OK, so we had Guardians.
00:34:56
Mac
That's good. Parity.
Wildcard Outcomes and Playoff Pathways
00:34:59
zachster189
We had Dodgers and we had Yankees.
00:35:04
Mac
Yup.
00:35:04
zachster189
Alright, so somehow all three of us are gonna be wrong.
00:35:08
Mac
Yup, oh, 100%.
00:35:09
zachster189
Absolutely. it's not Not even a question about it.
00:35:11
Mac
No doubt. Uh, Zach's World Series MVP. Who do we think it is, Stanton?
00:35:16
zachster189
Yeah, absolutely Stan, yeah.
00:35:19
Mac
Brett Gardner comes back from the dead with a steel chair.
00:35:20
zachster189
100%. Yeah, he he is going to love that.
00:35:25
Mac
We're going to call Zach's World Series MVP Brett Gardner.
00:35:27
zachster189
Absolutely. the hitman.
00:35:30
Mac
Works for me. Let Brett bang.
00:35:32
zachster189
Let breath bang. All right. So now we've now we've spent half an hour on the playoffs. Let's talk about the 2024 season and hand out some awards.
00:35:43
zachster189
All right.
00:35:44
Mac
Yeah.
00:35:46
zachster189
So let's start.
00:35:46
Mac
What's your first one?
00:35:49
zachster189
I would start with the third site. Okay.
00:35:52
Mac
Start with saying, OK, I like that.
00:35:53
zachster189
Let's Zion.
00:35:55
Mac
So are we doing it five to one or first, second or fourth, fifth?
00:36:00
zachster189
So I only did three for Cy Young here.
00:36:02
Mac
OK.
00:36:04
zachster189
Um, I did 10 for MVP, but I did three for Cy Young and three for rookie of the year.
00:36:09
Mac
Sounds good.
00:36:10
zachster189
So give me American league Cy Young two, three, two, one.
00:36:17
Mac
Okay. Number three, I have Seth Lugo.
00:36:21
zachster189
Cef Lugo.
00:36:24
Mac
I would never have predicted that, but every time I threw him on MLB TV, he was having a hell of a start.
00:36:24
zachster189
Interesting.
00:36:31
Mac
Eight innings up and just produced. I i know, it's just so fitting.
00:36:35
zachster189
Can't believe the Mets got rid of them. It really is.
00:36:39
Mac
Number two, I mentioned his name earlier, I have a manual class A.
00:36:44
zachster189
Good pick.
00:36:44
Mac
Um, just an absolute dominant closer season. And the number one is the obvious schoolable, um, honorable mentions. I had Corbin burns four and from Breveld as five really wanted to work whole Reagan's and Logan Gilbert in there, but the Cy Young was actually pretty strong in the American league this year.
00:37:01
zachster189
It was. It was. And I'm i'm ah almost almost identical to you. ah My difference is I had burns of three.
00:37:10
Mac
I originally had burns at three and I changed them right before we started. and
00:37:13
zachster189
But Luo is a good choice. And then Class A, obviously, you know, that's one of the most dominant seasons as a closer or you'll ever see. um And in school, we'll win the triple crown. yeah You'd be insane to not choose him.
00:37:24
Mac
Yeah, you gotta to go school ball here.
00:37:26
zachster189
um And Zach, he had school for his A.L. Cy Young. I think, you know, you can't obviously cannot vote against that.
00:37:33
Mac
Yeah, that's a no-brainer.
00:37:34
zachster189
All right. So N.L. Cy Young, I'll go first on this one. Three, two, one in third place. I have showed him an hour ago. I think he had a fantastic, fantastic season.
00:37:44
Mac
Ooh. Ooh.
00:37:48
zachster189
Uh, he was absolutely incredible.
00:37:49
Mac
Wow.
00:37:50
zachster189
Lights out in a very, in the beginning of the year. And although he, not that he struggled, but it wasn't as great in the second half of the year, but the guy was still incredible. And I mean, he won the Cubs record with, when he was on the mound, the Cubs record without him on the mound is is staggering.
00:38:06
Mac
His ERA, his whip, and his ERA plus are all incredible across the board.
00:38:06
zachster189
I mean, he.
00:38:10
Mac
He has an ERA plus of like 137.
00:38:13
zachster189
I mean, the guy for a guy that tops out at like 93, his fastball is fastpos untouchable, which is wild.
00:38:16
Mac
Yup. He just knows how to place it.
00:38:21
zachster189
ah Yeah, his his placement was great. i I thought he had a fantastic season, and he nobody talked about him because all they want to talk about is Yamamoto. Imanago is better, hands down.
00:38:35
Mac
Yeah, 100%, but everyone wanted to go for that Yamamoto.
00:38:36
zachster189
um
00:38:37
Mac
Yamamoto did have a solid season. He just got hurt.
00:38:40
zachster189
Yeah, no, I agree with that.
00:38:40
Mac
He's not getting Cy Young votes, but...
00:38:42
zachster189
But I don't think it was talking enough talked about enough how good eminaga was this year Well, he
00:38:46
Mac
It was so weird, because everyone was talking about him in like April and May-ish, and he was like in the top like two, three of Cy Young odds, and then he just fell right off the map for some reason.
Cy Young Award Predictions
00:38:56
Mac
know ah I know, but then all of a sudden,
00:38:56
zachster189
didn't give a he didn't give a run his first like eight star to some like ridiculous thing And then as soon as you have a run like no one cared
00:39:04
Mac
Exactly and then but he never really changed. He was consistently great throughout the year I never really understood why his odds dropped the way they did But I'll let you continue.
00:39:11
zachster189
I don't know either.
00:39:13
Mac
I'm sorry. I just had to talk about him and I'll go a little bit
00:39:16
zachster189
Yeah, so after him, I think I had Zach Wheeler. Absolutely fantastic year. One of the most dominant pitchers in baseball. I don't think anybody can refute that. And then first place, obviously, the other Triple Crown winner, Chris Sale.
00:39:31
Mac
Yeah, that's easy. I mean, we agree on the top two. I do have it a little bit different than you'd be on there. Um, so number five, I, I remember texting you this morning saying I have a controversial guy at number five.
00:39:43
Mac
My number five was showed a Minaga. I didn't expect you to have him that high.
00:39:47
zachster189
All right.
00:39:47
Mac
So no, no real controversy there anymore. Um, but I think he definitely should have gotten more love than he did. Um, he has a whip of 1.0 to one in 29 games.
00:39:59
Mac
That's incredible.
00:40:00
zachster189
Yeah.
00:40:01
Mac
On ERA of 2.91 for some reason his war is only 3.1 I'm guessing because the strikeout numbers aren't super high, but like you said 93 mile an hour festival. He's getting guys out.
00:40:12
Mac
That's what matters to me Yeah, so I guess that's probably why his war is down But it just I still think he had a great season number four I actually have a guy that you got to see quite a bit and that's hunter green um I know that he
00:40:12
zachster189
Yeah, he's not really a strikeout pitcher, per se.
00:40:22
zachster189
yeah
00:40:29
zachster189
Green and very very great year underrated player Led the lead the league and throwing up on the mound Which is wild
00:40:32
Mac
I know he had some injury problems toward the end. He started 26 games. Yeah, Leggeling throwing up on the mound. ah He actually has a lower ERA and a lower whip than Shoda. But a less game sample size, he pitched 20 less innings than in a Minaga.
00:40:46
Mac
But he was a guy that when he was on the mound, i I wanted to make sure that I watched. So I wanted to credit him here. I think the injury is probably going to take him out of getting a top five Cy Young finish in the real voting, which is a shame because I think he had a great year.
00:41:03
Mac
Number three, I have Paul Skeens. I know that's going to be controversial. He's actually third in Cy Young odds right now, though. So Vegas agrees with me.
00:41:09
zachster189
i Is he even qualified?
00:41:13
Mac
Yeah, there's no ah pure limit because he threw more and he's in class A.
00:41:19
zachster189
Yeah, I guess.
00:41:21
Mac
And he has a six war.
00:41:22
zachster189
He's not qualified for the ERA title though. so i don't
00:41:26
Mac
Yeah, I know, but to be fair, he has double the war showed him in Aga. And a lower whip and a lower area, obviously in small sample size, but still. But I don't think it's being talked about enough.
00:41:36
Mac
And we're going to talk about rookie of the year. But now that I have him here, The guy had an ERA under two and a whip under one.
00:41:40
zachster189
Oh, we're gonna talk about working with you, you're alright.
00:41:46
Mac
He pitched 23 games. Let's say he pitched two-thirds of the year. We're talking about mid to late July. How many guys who started in April had an ERA under two and a whip under one in mid to late July?
00:41:59
zachster189
Yeah, you're not gonna see that.
00:42:00
Mac
Maybe one.
00:42:03
zachster189
Ridiculous.
00:42:04
Mac
Not many. he's He had a ridiculous season.
00:42:06
zachster189
Oh yeah.
00:42:06
Mac
And the fact that he's in the conversation is, you know, best pitcher in baseball since he's come up. You know, him, Scooble and Sale are really the three. I think he has to get some credit here in the voting.
00:42:17
Mac
And number two and one, I match you Wheeler and Sale. Very tough honorable mentions, but when you look at their um run prevention and all that, i I couldn't find a spot for Logan Webb as much as I really wanted to because I think he's had a great season.
00:42:30
zachster189
Yeah.
00:42:31
Mac
And then also Dylan Cease. um I wasn't super high on putting Dylan Cease in until I compared him to Logan Webb and they're pretty identical, so I think it's fair to have them both out.
00:42:42
zachster189
Yeah, I mean, what about a good season? I don't think he has Cy Young season though.
00:42:45
Mac
Yeah, he's actually fifth in Cy Young Odds right now, as of a couple days ago. I think Emanaga deserves it more. I think Hunter Green deserves it more.
00:42:54
zachster189
i would I would agree, but they're not a big name player, so...
00:42:59
Mac
Yeah.
00:42:59
zachster189
They're not gonna get talked about enough.
00:43:01
Mac
I'm assuming Zach had sale, right?
00:43:03
zachster189
Zach at sale with, in parentheses, Wheeler as a close second, because, you know, of course.
00:43:06
Mac
Of course, because he has to mention that to accuse his silly friends.
00:43:07
zachster189
Yeah, he has to mention, he has to mention he's a Phillies fan. um Okay, so and MVP and I know that we have 10 guys all right one to ten here Okay, do you want to go first or should I go first or do you want to swap on on either on which one?
00:43:18
Mac
yup Yup.
00:43:22
Mac
um
00:43:25
Mac
You can go first for one, I'll go first for the other, but do you want to go reverse order?
00:43:27
zachster189
All right, I think we should go reverse order i think that'll be fun.
00:43:32
Mac
I agree, too. Do you want to go back and forth with it?
00:43:35
zachster189
Oh I kind of I kind of like that, but I also think would be confusing
00:43:35
Mac
Or that'd be too confusing.
00:43:39
Mac
All right, let's do that. go We'll do the ah reverse order. You start.
00:43:44
zachster189
Okay. ALRNL.
00:43:46
Mac
Start AL, I guess.
00:43:48
zachster189
All right. ALMPP.
AL MVP Predictions
00:43:51
zachster189
Uh, so I'll just say that Zach had ALMPP as judge, obviously.
00:43:57
Mac
Right.
00:43:58
zachster189
So for me, number 10, Emmanuel Class A.
00:44:03
Mac
Okay.
00:44:04
zachster189
Number nine, Gunnar Henderson.
00:44:07
Mac
ka Okay.
00:44:07
zachster189
Number eight, Brent Rooker. Number seven, Yvonne Alvarez.
00:44:10
Mac
Okay.
00:44:13
zachster189
Number six, Jose Ramirez.
00:44:15
Mac
Okay.
00:44:16
zachster189
Number five, Vlad Guerrero Jr.
00:44:17
Mac
Okay. Okay.
00:44:20
zachster189
Number four, Juan Soto. Number three, Tariq Scubel. Number two, Bobby Wick Jr. and number one, Aaron Judge.
00:44:30
Mac
I just realized in my original list, I forgot Juan Soto, so I'm changing that quickly right now.
00:44:32
zachster189
Ooh, how do you forget Juan Soto, my friend?
00:44:35
Mac
i I had him listed and I don't know what happened. I think I might've had him on the wrong list for something else and just moved to him. I have so many lists that I get confused. um But yeah, um I think that's solid.
00:44:46
zachster189
Thoughts, thoughts, initial thoughts, impressions?
00:44:50
Mac
I think you have Jose Ramirez low.
00:44:53
zachster189
I considered that, but then I look at the stats of other players, especially like Guerrero, who I don't think anybody spoke about this year, grew it like 320.
00:44:53
Mac
All right, well.
00:45:03
Mac
Well we, I believe we have nine of the same.
00:45:07
zachster189
Oh, that's that's pretty good.
00:45:08
Mac
Unless it's someone I miss. Did you have, um, Scuble in there? I'm assuming yes.
00:45:11
zachster189
I did, yes, number three.
00:45:12
Mac
Yeah. Okay, yeah, you have him higher than me, but I have him on my list. Um, it was just hard for me to kind of move Asayang, like ah a pitching guy up in the rankings, unless it's like, obvious, even though he had a great year.
00:45:25
zachster189
I mean, he won a triple crown.
00:45:27
Mac
I know he did. i that's That's a good pick. i'm not I have no real argument against it. I just have him a little bit lower. But I do have him in my 10.
00:45:38
zachster189
All right. All right. Hit me with yours.
00:45:41
Mac
um All right, here we go. Number 10, I actually also have a manual class A.
00:45:45
zachster189
All right.
00:45:46
Mac
So we both kind of were in the same thought there. ah Number 9, I have Brent Rooker.
00:45:50
zachster189
OK.
00:45:51
Mac
Number 8, this is where we differed. You had Jordan Alvarez. I have Jaron Duran.
00:45:56
zachster189
Sharon Duran, that's not a bad pick. I debated having him attend and then I said, no class, I deserves it more.
00:46:02
Mac
I mean, it's tricky because the team stinks, but you talk about guy with an 8.7 war, 1991 hits, um led the league in doubles and triples and had a 129 OPS plus.
00:46:04
zachster189
It's true.
00:46:13
zachster189
He had a fantastic season.
00:46:14
Mac
That's a stickier. So I had to kind of credit that. Number seven, I have Gunnar Henderson. The defense kind of gave me pause of putting him any higher, but great season.
00:46:25
zachster189
Okay.
00:46:26
Mac
And he also kind of fell off a little bit you know after the summer.
00:46:29
zachster189
You did.
00:46:30
Mac
Liguero Jr., I have six. I actually did have him five. um Upon further consideration last minute, I actually moved Scubel up to five.
00:46:39
zachster189
Okay.
00:46:40
Mac
So I have Guerrero six. Originally I had Scubel at eight, but then decided to move him up because you're right. And then number four, I have Juan Soto. Number three, I have Jose Ramirez. Number two, I have Bobby Witt Jr. And number one, I have Aaron Judge.
00:46:52
zachster189
Okay. All right. I can get behind that.
00:46:55
Mac
So we're we're very similar. We just kind of shuffled our orders. But um I definitely wanted to give some love to Jose Ramirez because the guy has just been so great for so long and not saying that Soto hasn't been obviously, but the fact that Jose Ramirez basically is the pure no doubt leader of that team.
00:47:13
Mac
And I understand we've talked about like what most valuable really means and is, you know, what does the award really go to?
00:47:19
zachster189
Yeah.
00:47:19
Mac
But I did want to credit that. And we're talking about a guy who's had four top five MVP finishes, six top 10 MVP finishes. And I wanted to kind of help bump them up a little bit there.
00:47:29
zachster189
Okay. All right. you yeah you know Pushing your own personal reasons. that's We love to say it. Just like a writer in the VWA.
00:47:37
Mac
Oh, believe me, if anything, I'd be pushing my personal reasons for Soto. because i i would If I was a BBWA writer, I would immediately lose my voting privileges, because I'd be like, yo, I'll vote for you first place if you'll sign with the Yankees for 10 years.
00:47:47
zachster189
I think we all know that you would have to kill somebody to lose your voting privileges. And honestly, at that point, you probably still wouldn't.
00:47:52
Mac
Or you you just sell your vote to Deadspin.
00:47:54
zachster189
That's true. That's true. Good point. Good point. Okay, so how about the NL? This one's best one's on you.
00:48:01
Mac
This one's...
NL MVP Debate
00:48:02
Mac
y wu I understand why you passed this one on to me.
00:48:03
zachster189
Yeah, one this one got got really hazy.
00:48:06
zachster189
but Really hazy really fast.
00:48:06
Mac
This is going to be so you're going to laugh at me for some of these.
00:48:09
Mac
um
00:48:09
zachster189
i Probably not, because I'll probably have some of them.
00:48:12
Mac
This is so number 10 is going to be interesting, but I'm doing it anyway.
00:48:16
zachster189
Okay.
00:48:16
Mac
um Number 10, I have Matt Chapman.
00:48:18
zachster189
Oh. Oh. Oh.
00:48:20
Mac
Yeah, I know it's it's bad.
00:48:22
zachster189
o Oh no.
00:48:23
Mac
I know it's bad.
00:48:30
Mac
Oh, I know. it's It's a rough group. And I sent you a list of like 16 guys I considered. I picked him 10th.
00:48:36
zachster189
Yeah. Okay.
00:48:37
Mac
So I did think about a lot of different people.
00:48:39
zachster189
Okay. All right. Keep going.
00:48:41
Mac
We'll talk about, ah we'll talk about gold gloves later, but I have him as gold glove defense and the leader of that Giants team.
00:48:47
zachster189
Okay.
00:48:47
Mac
Number nine, I have Zach Wheeler.
00:48:49
zachster189
Oh, okay. All right.
00:48:51
Mac
Number eight, I have Mookie Betts.
00:48:53
zachster189
Okay.
00:48:53
Mac
Would be higher if he played longer.
00:48:54
zachster189
Okay.
00:48:55
Mac
Number seven, I have Bryce Harper.
00:48:56
zachster189
All right.
00:48:58
Mac
Number six, I have Chris Sale.
00:49:00
zachster189
Okay. All right.
00:49:00
Mac
and you definitely have them higher based on where you had school.
00:49:02
zachster189
ah this Is this true? I do. Yes.
00:49:04
Mac
You definitely did, but I'm going with these five anyway.
00:49:05
zachster189
Absolutely.
00:49:07
Mac
Number five, I have Elle de la Cruz.
00:49:09
zachster189
Okay.
00:49:10
Mac
I think he deserves it. I will stand by that pick.
00:49:12
zachster189
Okay. Interesting.
00:49:13
Mac
Number four, I have Marcelo Zuna.
00:49:15
zachster189
Okay.
00:49:16
Mac
Number three, I have Cattell Marte.
00:49:17
zachster189
All right.
00:49:19
Mac
Number two, I have Francisco Lindor.
00:49:20
zachster189
I figured that.
00:49:21
Mac
And number one, I have Shoie Otani.
00:49:23
zachster189
Excellent. All right. ah And we know that Zaki has Shohei Otani and then put in parentheses, Sai.
00:49:30
Mac
Yeah.
00:49:30
zachster189
He is clearly a very big Otani fan, even bigger than me.
00:49:34
Mac
Yeah.
00:49:34
zachster189
ah Okay, so my list...
00:49:35
Mac
Die hard or something. He's signed because he's so relieved that he won again.
00:49:38
zachster189
Yeah, okay. So my list is wildly different than yours, especially on the bottom.
00:49:42
Mac
Really? Oh, we got a debate. Let's go.
00:49:45
zachster189
ah Um, so I'm gonna start out with number 10, uh, Louisa Ryas.
00:49:48
Mac
Shorty Minaga.
00:49:51
Mac
Really? lee
00:49:52
zachster189
I could not, I could not not put her eyes. Um, he, he, uh, he, he won the batting title.
00:49:56
Mac
I put that in my list for you as bait.
00:50:01
zachster189
Uh, his, uh, slugging is abysmal and makes me want to th throw up in my mouth, but he won the batting title. So I guess I have to put him in there.
00:50:11
Mac
Yeah, he had a D. Strange Gordon, John Segura kind of season.
00:50:14
zachster189
Yeah. Well, man, D word can run at least.
00:50:19
Mac
Fair.
00:50:20
zachster189
Um, yeah. Anyway, number nine, I have college warber number.
00:50:25
Mac
That I did think about him.
00:50:27
zachster189
you see A lot of home runs as a lot of RBI is, uh, number, uh, number eight, I had Manny Machado.
00:50:36
Mac
Okay.
00:50:36
zachster189
Number seven, I have Freddie Freeman. Number six, number six I have Bryce Harper.
00:50:40
Mac
Not bad.
00:50:43
zachster189
Number five, I have Marcelo Zuna. Number four, I have Francisco Lindor.
00:50:45
Mac
Uh, when door at four is ridiculously low, I'm sorry.
00:50:48
zachster189
Number three, I have Chris Sale. Number two, Cattell Marte. And number one, Shoyo Tani.
00:50:56
zachster189
Correct. The correct statement. and see See, the thing the thing about Lindor I have is that as I was looking through the numbers that Lindor has, Lindor and Teasker Hernandez have almost identical numbers at the plate.
00:51:11
zachster189
Almost identical. Teasker Hernandez should not be on anybody's and NL MVP radar at all period.
00:51:14
Mac
Yeah.
00:51:17
zachster189
And if you have him on your MVP radar, you're a moron.
00:51:20
Mac
Who shouldn't be on your MVP radar?
00:51:21
zachster189
Teasker Hernandez.
00:51:23
Mac
Yeah, no.
00:51:24
zachster189
His offensive numbers and Lindor's offensive numbers are almost identical. Almost identical.
00:51:31
Mac
But he's also the fourth best hitter on his own team. Lindor carried the Mets.
00:51:37
zachster189
I'm not saying he didn't, but I cannot. I cannot put a guy that high with numbers that not mediocre, but they're not, they're not MVP level numbers. Sorry. Whether he carried a team or not, they're just not MVP level numbers.
00:51:57
Mac
Not but that's not what it's all about though.
00:51:59
zachster189
I mean, we don't know what and MVP means anyway.
00:51:59
Mac
There's more to it than that There's a lot more to it than that I guess
00:52:02
zachster189
Oh, Tony won MVP on a team that won 12 games.
00:52:09
zachster189
Oh, I wouldn't, uh, I don't know. Depends on what your definition of MVP is. Is it most valuable player? Is it a best player? Whatever you want to call it. The league calls it best player. I would not consider Lendor the best player.
00:52:28
Mac
I'll let it go.
00:52:29
zachster189
All right. If you say so.
00:52:30
Mac
because we've We beat this dead horse last time, so.
00:52:32
zachster189
We had, we did beat his dead horse last time. Okay. Anyway, how about AL rookie of the year? You got a top three for that.
00:52:38
Mac
Yeah, I got three.
00:52:39
zachster189
All right. Want to hit me with it?
00:52:40
Mac
Number three, Austin Wells.
00:52:42
zachster189
Austin Wells. Love to say it.
00:52:45
Mac
Number two, Colton Kouser.
00:52:46
zachster189
Golden cows are.
00:52:47
Mac
And number one, Louise Heal.
00:52:49
zachster189
Excellent. I have the first two, the same. Gil number one. Actually that's not true. I lied. I changed my rating. I have a Colton cows are at three. I have white Langford at two and Luis Gil at one.
AL Rookie of the Year Contenders
00:53:02
Mac
Why at life are you still on that one?
00:53:04
zachster189
I was not on it until I went and I looked at the stats as I was preparing for this and I said, why is it not being talked enough? ah He's not being talked. He has better numbers than Kowser, like by a lot.
00:53:17
zachster189
um ands that's like Kowser was being talked about as like a few-wind winner. I don't particularly understand that.
00:53:22
Mac
Yeah, I didn't really get that either, but the odds have changed since and heal's the favorite now.
00:53:22
zachster189
um
00:53:26
zachster189
as he As he should be, um but I mean the odds a couple weeks ago that Wells could have won and Wells ah decided to go like over a hundred in the last month of the season. So that's why he dropped out of my rankings.
00:53:37
Mac
Yeah, he definitely dropped, but I had to keep him in the top three.
00:53:41
zachster189
Okay. Um, and, uh, for as Zaki, he wrote, gotta be Cowser clearly did not do his research.
00:53:50
Mac
Nope.
00:53:50
zachster189
And when we got to the NL. We'll understand why.
00:53:52
Mac
Yeah, definitely not.
00:53:52
zachster189
Uh, and actually rookie of the year, I have my top three, uh, number three, Jackson Merrill, number two, Shoto Emanaga. And number one, I agree with you, Mikey. It's pole schemes.
00:54:03
Mac
It has to be Paul Skeins.
00:54:05
zachster189
Has to be pole schemes. Cannot be.
00:54:09
Mac
Yeah, I mean, like I've already gone into it, but like a guy who has an ERA under two, a whip under one, and was in a conversation to be the best pitcher in baseball since he's been there. It's insane.
00:54:25
zachster189
Absolutely. a He wins it hands down.
NL Rookie of the Year Comparison
00:54:28
zachster189
Shouldn't even be a question um I'm gonna read this one off. I know that you already read this and I I wish I wish I wish I wish we could have gotten this reaction live But I'm gonna read off what Zach wrote here um He wrote and I'm reading this word for word Jackson Merrill if you pick schemes here, you're an idiot.
00:54:41
Mac
I know. I almost wish I didn't read it.
00:54:51
zachster189
I'm sorry.
00:54:53
Mac
What?
00:54:54
zachster189
I He's been up for about half the year, and Merrill's played 156 games. He hit 290 and had 24 home runs. ah Zaki, you might have to hand in your ah Phillies fan card and change to a Padres fan, because that is the worst statement I've ever heard.
00:55:03
Mac
Okay.
00:55:13
zachster189
Just wow. Absolutely wow. ah
00:55:17
Mac
Yeah, no.
00:55:18
zachster189
Jack Sommerl had a great year. Do not get me wrong.
00:55:20
Mac
Yeah, this is not a shot at Jackson Merrill.
00:55:20
zachster189
We had a great year. um But he is not Pauline's.
00:55:24
Mac
No. I should have been having a second for my rookie year.
00:55:26
zachster189
But I guess i guess according to Zach, we're we're both idiots. um Wow.
00:55:30
Mac
Yeah, I mean, I like, and don't get it wrong, we have our differences in the playoffs, but like a lot of them, I understand the argument. I, I, and look, Jackson Merrill had a great year, but if you're going for rookie of the year simply on games played, to me, rookie of the year is about who is Who showed that they're going to be a future star?
00:55:48
Mac
Jackson Merrell had a very good season. Is he a future star? That remains to be seen. Paul Skeens is a star now.
00:55:56
zachster189
yeah i just i just i well yeah um wow what was what was your ranking by the way all throw yeah so we had the same ranking and then there's good old zachie poo nope
00:55:56
Mac
Show to Emanaga is a star now.
00:56:05
Mac
Yeah, just no. Zach, this is rough, buddy. Merrell 3, Emanaga 2, Skeens 1.
00:56:17
Mac
Yeah. And Emenaga is not really high on the rookie of the year ratings either, but, um, Maryland skiing is the two that are like twice up.
00:56:24
zachster189
Yeah. Uh, so, uh, yeah, I don't know. I feel like we should keep roasting him for this one, but, uh, yeah, that hurts. That hurts my head. Um, anyway, let's, uh, let's keep going to the manager of the year.
00:56:34
Mac
Yeah.
00:56:38
zachster189
I think we have different, I think we all have different names here. Uh, so I'll read Zach's first for the American league. He has AJ Hinch. Uh, he said, can we all agree he's a good manager now, despite the trash cans?
00:56:51
Mac
Why are you standing up for Astros bro?
00:56:51
zachster189
No.
00:56:52
Mac
Are you a Yankee fan or not?
00:56:53
zachster189
Uh, yeah, I don't, I don't know.
00:56:54
Mac
What are you doing?
00:56:55
zachster189
I don't know what he's doing here, but no, no, I cannot. I cannot in good conscience vote for that.
Manager of the Year Highlights
00:57:00
zachster189
Uh, yeah, he, yeah, he did a good job getting the Tigers where they are, but, uh, yeah, I'm not, I can't vote for that. Sorry. Nope.
00:57:05
zachster189
Absolutely not. Uh, my manager of the year would be, Steve would vote first year as a manager. He's done a really what good job with the, with the Guardians.
00:57:12
Mac
um I'm splitting the difference with both of you. I have Hinch 2nd and I have Volt 3rd.
00:57:17
zachster189
Okay.
00:57:18
Mac
I have Mac Quattro number 1 for the Royals.
00:57:21
zachster189
That's a, that's a good answer too.
00:57:23
Mac
Yeah, and i don't I think any of those could have been fair.
00:57:27
zachster189
I think any of those except for AJ Hinch, but I think all the writers don't have the same bias we do.
00:57:34
Mac
Yeah, 100%.
00:57:36
zachster189
All right. So National League, Zach has Carlos Mendoza said, I think he's great and underrated. I can agree with that, but I'm going to go with Pat Murphy for the growers because again, you look at that team on paper, they are nothing special and they dominate it for most of the year.
00:57:53
Mac
I have Murphy's second. I have Mendoza first. I share with Zaki there.
00:57:59
zachster189
All right, not too shabby.
00:58:01
Mac
And I have Mike Schulte third, by the way.
00:58:03
zachster189
All right, not too shabby, not too shabby. So now we're gonna go off the deep end here, because that's how we like to do things. We did not get answers from Zaki on this, because we kind of did not give him time to look this up.
00:58:14
zachster189
And I think Mac and I spent too much time looking at this stuff. We are going to predict the gold gloves and silver sluggers, because we're lunatics. So what would you like to start off first, gold glove or silver slugger?
00:58:26
Mac
Um, why would you silver sluggers? Because I feel what well, do you want to get the comic out of the way first?
00:58:31
zachster189
the or the white what way
00:58:35
Mac
um Do you want to get the comedy out of the way then with my horrible go glove pics?
00:58:38
zachster189
Oh, I mean, yeah, let's do that.
00:58:41
Mac
Or do you want that to end?
00:58:41
zachster189
Let's do multiple and know let's do that end yeah let's do silver sluggers. Let's do silver sluggers. Let's start at catcher. Okay.
00:58:49
Mac
Okay.
00:58:50
zachster189
I'll give you, I'll go American League National League. So American League, Zali Perez from the Royals, nationally willing to try us in breweries.
00:58:58
Mac
I agree with Contreras, I have Cowrally.
00:59:01
zachster189
Call rally. That's it's a good option too. I cannot vote for a guy that hit 220. Sorry.
00:59:07
Mac
Sorry, for a second I thought we were doing Gold Gloves, we were doing Silver Sluggers first, got it?
00:59:10
zachster189
Silver slugger.
00:59:10
Mac
So yes, I have Raleigh for both actually.
00:59:12
zachster189
Really? Okay. Well, interesting.
00:59:13
Mac
Yeah, that's why I got confused.
00:59:15
zachster189
Well, I still can't vote for a guy that hit 220. Sorry.
00:59:18
Mac
Fair enough.
00:59:19
zachster189
First base, I think this one's pretty simple. Black Arrow Jr.
00:59:23
Mac
Yeah.
00:59:24
zachster189
and Bryce Harper.
00:59:25
Mac
I agree with both.
00:59:26
zachster189
Absolutely.
00:59:26
Mac
Very easy.
00:59:26
zachster189
Second base, I got Jose Altuve and Cattell Marte.
00:59:30
Mac
We agree again.
00:59:31
zachster189
Absolutely. Third base, Jay Ram and Manny Machado.
00:59:34
Mac
I agree with Jayram. I went different than Manny Machado.
00:59:38
zachster189
Who'd you I'm probably, oh, I already know who you have because we said it already, Matt Chapman.
00:59:39
Mac
You're going to laugh.
00:59:43
Mac
No.
00:59:45
zachster189
No.
00:59:46
Mac
I have him for Gold Glove.
00:59:49
zachster189
Who?
00:59:49
Mac
Not for, not for Silver Slugger.
00:59:50
zachster189
who's Who's a better hitter at third base in the National League?
00:59:54
Mac
So Manny Machado has a 325 on base. The person I picked has a 324.
01:00:01
zachster189
Okay.
01:00:01
Mac
Manny Machado has a 472 slugging, and the guy I picked has a 520.
01:00:06
zachster189
Okay.
01:00:07
Mac
Manny Machado has a 797 OPS. The guy I picked has a 844.
01:00:11
zachster189
Who?
01:00:12
Mac
Manny Machado has a 3.2 war. The guy I picked has a 3.4. Ladies and gentlemen, your third baseman silver slugger for the National League is Mark Vientos.
01:00:20
zachster189
Oh, that's interesting. Peck.
01:00:23
Mac
i i'm I'm going there. Well, PS plus 120 to 137. He's been great.
01:00:30
zachster189
He has been great. I that honestly did not even cross my mind.
01:00:35
Mac
Right?
01:00:38
zachster189
Interesting. Very interesting. I
01:00:47
zachster189
The only thing I question is the games played is a little low for my taste.
01:00:54
Mac
110 versus 150.
01:00:54
zachster189
um
01:00:57
Mac
Okay. Yeah, fair.
01:00:58
zachster189
So that's why I would say Machado, but I'm not really upset with Epic.
01:01:04
Mac
I i figured like it it sounded weird and that we get laughed at, but it was great.
01:01:09
zachster189
It is weird. I'm not laughing. I just, the games played bothers me a little bit, but stats wise, that's not a bad pick.
01:01:18
Mac
Fair enough.
01:01:19
zachster189
All right. Moving on. Short stop. Bobby Wood Jr. Francis Kolendor.
01:01:24
Mac
I agree with both.
01:01:25
zachster189
Left field. I think the outfield thing is where it gets a little hazy. I have Steven, I have Steven Kwon.
01:01:28
Mac
Yeah, it's you as outfields. I did three outfielders.
01:01:31
zachster189
Okay. I did, I did by position.
01:01:33
Mac
Oh, OK.
01:01:33
zachster189
I have Steven Kwon in left field and Tasker Hernandez. Tasker Hernandez.
01:01:39
Mac
OK, so I guess I'll do my three outfields together. You do your three outfields together.
01:01:42
zachster189
Okay. So I have Aaron judge and Jackson Merrell and then Juan Soto and say Azuki, right?
01:01:48
Mac
So, a bunch of similarities. I have Judge and Soto for the AL.
Designated Hitter Choices
01:01:52
Mac
I have Hernandez and Merrill in the NL. We have one that differs in each. I have Anthony Santander in the AL and Juris and Prof on the NL, but we did it differently.
01:01:59
zachster189
Yeah, both both right fielders.
01:02:01
Mac
Yeah.
01:02:03
zachster189
All right, not bad, not bad. And then for DHs, I have Yordan Alvarez and Ottani, obviously. like
01:02:09
Mac
I did Brent Rooker over Alvarez.
01:02:11
zachster189
I heavily consider that, and I really wanted to. And then when I really looked at the numbers, Alvarez, this was just a better player.
01:02:20
Mac
Fair enough. um I have nothing against that one. I just feel like I wanted to throw the A's a of bone somewhere.
01:02:26
zachster189
That's what I was thinking when I was doing it. And then when you really look at the numbers, it's just Alvarez was just significantly better.
01:02:34
Mac
But to be fair, Alvarez also has better hitters around them.
01:02:36
zachster189
That's also a good point.
01:02:38
Mac
Brooker's doing all this and nobody like with Makes me feel angel ears.
01:02:39
zachster189
He's got the ah Lawrence Butler.
01:02:42
Mac
Yeah, and Shay.
01:02:44
zachster189
And Lingoliers, yeah. um OK.
01:02:49
Mac
Be a pretty good.
01:02:50
zachster189
Now it's time for some straight up comedy.
01:02:51
Mac
Now this is bad.
01:02:52
zachster189
This is hilarious.
01:02:54
Mac
I didn't even know how to like figure out how to vote for this, to be honest
Defensive Metrics Debate
01:02:57
Mac
with you.
01:02:57
zachster189
So I, I, I dug pretty deep into defensive run saves and now it's above average.
01:02:57
Mac
When you build this up, like, let's just do it.
01:03:04
zachster189
Um, yeah, good luck.
01:03:05
Mac
Right. This is bad.
01:03:07
zachster189
Uh, um, let's start with pitcher.
01:03:08
Mac
This is really bad.
01:03:09
zachster189
Cause I think this is the hardest one to do. Uh, I just, I, I really, I just got, I gotta know what you picked here.
01:03:11
Mac
This is the easiest.
01:03:16
Mac
And l LA did Ranger Suarez.
01:03:17
zachster189
Okay.
01:03:18
Mac
LA did Jose Barrios.
01:03:19
zachster189
Okay. I picked two completely different guys and I don't, I don't have no idea how to really judge this one.
01:03:22
Mac
Good start.
01:03:24
zachster189
I just picked the guys that had the highest defensive run saved and it's BB for the guardians and Irving for the nationals.
01:03:32
Mac
Fair enough.
01:03:32
zachster189
So I have no idea how they really picked that. I don't know how you judge a pitcher's defensive metrics. So I just went by. That's the road saves. Anyway, catchers.
01:03:42
Mac
Yep.
01:03:43
zachster189
Uh, you said you had Cal rally. I had Cal rally.
01:03:45
Mac
There we go.
01:03:46
zachster189
And then for an actually guy had Patrick Bailey from the giants.
01:03:49
Mac
I agree.
01:03:50
zachster189
I think he had a really, really good defensive year. Excellent pitch for him. Doesn't make a lot of errors. Got a pretty good arm.
01:03:56
Mac
Yup.
01:03:56
zachster189
Had go ahead a very good season behind the plate and hit very well for about a month and then did nothing after that.
01:03:58
Mac
I'm right there with you on that.
01:04:03
Mac
I also vaguely considered Yasmani Grandal just because, um, how often Paulskeens would get calls off the plate, but I went Patrick Bailey.
01:04:10
zachster189
yeah That's kind of funny. Um, all right. So first base, I have Carlos Santana from twins and Bryce Harper from Phillies.
01:04:17
Mac
I agree.
Player Picks for Bases and Outfielders
01:04:20
Mac
I went Christian Walker. I know the game's played as well, but.
01:04:23
zachster189
Close, very close.
01:04:25
Mac
Yeah, I've been Christian Walker.
01:04:27
zachster189
I was, I got to admit, I was ah quite shocked as I was going through the metrics and still Carlos Santana. So high, I don't think he's ever, he's never won of old love. That's for sure. Um, but his.
01:04:37
Mac
He's mentioned that he's that that's been a goal of his though.
01:04:40
zachster189
Yeah but his metrics were fantastic this year and like they're far and away better than everybody else like in both leagues.
01:04:44
Mac
Yeah.
01:04:47
zachster189
All right. So moving on second base I have Andre Jimenez from the Guardians and Nico Horner from the Cubs.
01:04:55
Mac
I agree with Jimenez. I went with Bryce Tarang from the Brewers.
01:04:58
zachster189
That's also a great choice. I was very torn between order and terrain. Uh, third base.
01:05:03
Mac
Not good.
01:05:04
zachster189
I have Bregman from the Astros and Chapman from the giants.
01:05:07
Mac
We agree.
01:05:08
zachster189
I, I, I'm not a huge Matt Chapman fan, but he does play some very good defense. Uh, shortstop.
01:05:14
Mac
Yeah, right.
01:05:15
zachster189
Yeah. Uh, shortstop. I have Bobby with junior and Dan's be Swanson.
01:05:20
Mac
I agree with Bobby Witt. um I went for Francisco Lindor in the NL.
01:05:23
zachster189
I know you're going to do that. Uh, Lindor is, uh, not that he had a bad at season at all, so ever, but Swanson's metrics were better.
01:05:32
Mac
Yeah, I can see that.
01:05:34
zachster189
Um, despite being a biz multiplate.
01:05:37
Mac
Yup.
01:05:38
zachster189
Uh, so I assume you have three outfielders again.
01:05:41
Mac
Yep.
01:05:42
zachster189
All right. So I'll go through mine. I have left field is cold encounter.
Utility Player Discussion
01:05:45
zachster189
And Laura Scarlett L. Jr. center field, I pose a Siri and Jacob young from the nationals was the best fielder in the entire major league baseball.
01:05:54
Mac
I looked at him.
01:05:54
zachster189
I, I did not even know that man existed. And then in right field, uh, Red Sox rookie, we'll hear a break and sell for Alec from growers.
01:06:05
Mac
Frolic's the only one that we had that was the same.
01:06:07
zachster189
Really? Okay.
01:06:09
Mac
So AL, I went Steven Kwon, Dalton Varsho, Jaren Duran.
01:06:14
zachster189
So Varsho is hard for me because he played, he never really played a position.
01:06:19
Mac
Yeah, but this year he did.
01:06:19
zachster189
Um, not really. He kind of played, out he kind of played all three outfield spots.
01:06:26
Mac
Oh, because I went pure outfielder, you're right.
01:06:28
zachster189
Uh, so they, but they do have, and I didn't think of this until literally just right now that they do have like that utility player, uh, Varsho, they do it based on position. So I assume Varsho would qualify as a utility player, right?
01:06:43
Mac
Yeah, I would say that I thought about that, but I did a different utility guy, and you're gonna laugh at that one.
01:06:47
zachster189
I honestly totally forgot utility was a thing, so hit me with that.
01:06:50
Mac
Well, I'll do the NL outfielders first. Ian Hap, Jackson Churio, and Sal Froelich.
01:06:55
zachster189
OK, yeah.
01:06:57
Mac
And then...
01:06:57
zachster189
So yeah, Cherro was another one who I thought who who played better. He played as good of defense, if not a little better than Frelick, but he played a lot of left field um and then some right field. it it was It was very split, so it was hard to give them one position over another.
01:07:12
Mac
And for utility, i I'm going to be honest, I'm purely based on reputation.
01:07:17
zachster189
Okay.
01:07:18
Mac
So for the NL at least, the AL, you're going to laugh.
01:07:22
zachster189
Okay.
World Series Predictions Reflection
01:07:24
Mac
um Well, actually I messed up because for some reason I wrote him in his NL when he's not. But um I went with House on Kim for NL.
01:07:34
zachster189
Yeah, I'm gonna laugh.
01:07:36
Mac
Yeah, it just felt right and then for some reason I think because I I forgot that he got traded to Pittsburgh at the end of the year But I originally wrote Isaiah kind of fluff it in for my utility because of his numbers Yeah, it's not gonna be so that wouldn't be something he would actually win now that I realized that he got traded but that was who I had there that was gonna be the comic relief and
01:07:49
zachster189
Yeah, I mean, you know, when he's not playing shortstop, he's not bad.
01:08:01
zachster189
Yeah. Okay. I, you know, that's, I cannot stand the man. I think he was a horribly Yankee. Um, I mean, the fans beat them up a little in hindsight, the fans beat them up a little little harder than they should have, but, uh, you know, it wasn't his fault that, uh, you know, the dynamic duo of Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone decided that he was a shortstop despite being a third baseman after trading away the shortstop, despite being a third baseman that was actually able to hit the ball.
01:08:25
Mac
Yep.
01:08:32
Mac
Yeah, I think that, in terms of, that's why I thought utility would be perfect for him though, because he bounces. so But it's weird that I, it's weird that I thought that he, I wrote him in his A.L.
01:08:37
zachster189
Yeah, no, that's a, that's good.
01:08:42
Mac
when I just saw him play per in person like two days ago for the Pirates.
01:08:47
zachster189
Yeah, that's wild.
01:08:47
Mac
So I don't know what I was doing there, but I guess I was just looking at numbers and went with it.
01:08:49
zachster189
I, I also forgot he got traded.
01:08:53
Mac
Oh, you know why? Because when I did stat head, I filtered by American League. And I just went with the name.
01:08:58
zachster189
ah
01:08:59
Mac
That's why.
01:09:02
Mac
That makes sense. But since you didn't do utility either, I guess there's no harm done.
01:09:03
zachster189
Yeah. Yeah, I totally, totally forgot utility was even a thing. This is what the second year they've been doing that.
01:09:11
Mac
Yeah, second or third, I think.
01:09:13
zachster189
Yeah.
01:09:15
Mac
That's still new.
01:09:15
zachster189
Anyway, I think that just about wraps it up. So are you got any closing thoughts?
01:09:23
Mac
Um, I hope that I'm dead wrong about my world series prediction. I don't think I will be and Zach.
01:09:29
zachster189
Me too. I hope Zach is right. Uh, first time in his life. Uh, I he's probably glad we have that.
01:09:34
Mac
Yeah, Zach, I hope you're right about that. But judging from your.
01:09:37
zachster189
Uh, we have that in, in, in writing or, uh, you know, live forever that I said, I hope he's right.
01:09:42
Mac
You know, overcompensating for the Philly fandom and um I'm very insulted by his take about schemes being that we're idiots for thinking schemes, but I just don't know what to say about that.
01:09:45
zachster189
yeah Yeah.
01:09:52
zachster189
yeah gri Yeah.
01:09:55
Mac
But that's why my intro was the good news.
Fantasy Baseball Championship and Sign Off
01:09:58
zachster189
Yeah. Uh, you know, for me, closing thoughts. Uh, I'm also glad that we have it on record that I said, uh, school bowl was going to have a breakout year because he was fantastic and he won triple crown.
01:10:08
zachster189
So thank you for letting me say that out loud and have that forever etched in history that I said that.
01:10:14
Mac
So we we have the 1-1 on our takes now in terms of like the big take that wound up bringing true you at Scooble. I had the Rangers.
01:10:21
zachster189
Yeah. Um, and then, uh, you know, i congrats to Zachy on losing to me in fantasy baseball championships.
01:10:30
Mac
Yeah.
01:10:30
zachster189
Uh, fantastic. I just want to throw that one out there. I know he's going to love to hear that.
01:10:34
Mac
I'll take my bronze medal.
01:10:35
zachster189
ah You will take your bronze medal. Uh, very well done. Very well done, sir.
01:10:38
Mac
we I didn't lose to people who didn't pay attention. That's good. I did the bare minimum.
01:10:42
zachster189
That's excellent. Excellent. Definitely love to see that. Um, but yeah, that's, that's all I got to say. If you have nothing else to say, um, you know, thank you for watching.
01:10:52
zachster189
And from these two idiots who voted for Paul Skeins and said not Jackson Merrill, uh, we will catch you guys in the next world series breakdown.
01:10:56
Mac
Yup.
01:11:01
zachster189
And maybe we'll have some post-season, uh, post-season antics talk about.
01:11:05
Mac
I look forward to my next introduction where I'm going nuts about clay homes.
01:11:09
zachster189
Absolutely. Oh, absolutely. It's going to happen. No doubt about it.
01:11:11
Mac
Yup. But, what's that everybody?
01:11:13
zachster189
All right, peace out.