November 2, 2023 • 38 mins
The Texas Rangers have won the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Longtime MLB Insider Jon Paul Morosi joined Mike and Kerry to recap the Rangers epic win. And South Carolina coach Shane Beamer's family didn't invite him to Halloween because he's 2-6!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the best of the Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Greet Eggs, Welcome in our two of the program. Mike
Carmon alongside Carry Rhodes with you here and we're just
getting started here in thee tirerac dot Com Fox Sports
Radio Studios.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
And now it's.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Time to turn it over to our guy, Isaac glamoas
on as we've got some breaking news in our sporting universe.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Breaking news from Fox Sports.
Speaker 5 (00:55):
The Texas Rangers have just won their first World Series
championship in franchise history. They have just completed a five
nothing victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks as Josh Spores just
got the final out with a swinging strikeout to complete
(01:16):
Arizona's four games to one victory. Again The Texas Rangers
are the world champions of twenty twenty three, as they
just closed out the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games. No
announcement yet on who the series MVP is.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Going to be.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
We presume it's going to be Corey Seeger, but Marcus
Simeon with a two run home run finishing things off
there on the top of the ninth inning could be
a candidate as well.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Fellas Madness second straight night. We're able to go to
Ilo for breaking news on the show. Always love when
things are I mean mostly positive. I think Raiders fans
celebrated the news yesterday and certainly Texas Ranger fans in
Major League Baseball excitable A low and crowd. Where you
find Ilo, We're live from the tirerac dot Com studios.
(02:04):
Tirerac dot com will help you get there, an unmatched selection, fast,
free shipping, free road hazard protection and over ten thousand
recommended installers. Tire act dot com the way tire buying
should be. And I love that lasted bat here for
the Diamondbacks and in the bottom of the ninth and
the frame job attempted by the catcher. Yeah, just I'm
(02:26):
gonna hold it here get your photo opportunity. Let's go,
I got it and then Smith.
Speaker 6 (02:33):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
You know, while we did see Marte strikes out looking
to and the the back to back innings with strikeouts
standing dumbfounded as the umpire makes the gesture, we saw
the hugging, all the excitement, Adolas Garcia running out there.
Unfortunately wasn't able to participate in the last couple of games,
so hopefully he also doesn't jump into the freight too
(02:56):
much to uh.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Oh, yes, hurt even more. Man, he's going to dive in.
He's got time. Yeah, yeah, he's got time.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
But it's anyway he's sentiment middle linebackers.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
Yeah, he definitely can play on Sundays as well. But yeah, no,
it's nothing like seeing the team a bunch of grown
men after a hard, long season of ups and downs,
because it's part of it. You know. There was time
when Texas during the middle, during the back end of
the back the back end stretch of the season, they
(03:30):
were playing some of the worst baseball out there and
to kind of figure it out last day lose the division,
have to fly away, fly all the way out across
country to win that series. And just what they did
in this in this postseason man has been remarkable and
obviously a lot of really talented team, but yeah, was
the result they had to get it done. Is just
it's amazing. It's it's beautiful to see.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Folks look at the cash their tickets now in Las
Vegas fifty to one, long shot before the season, despite
all the spending and the additions. Yeah, and just looking
at the division. They ended up losing it, as you
said to the Astros, and a lot made a lot
back and forth between the GMS there about partying.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Celebrations, etc.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
And then they got to send them home and here
they are the first in franchise history. You know, pretty
exciting the last couple of games when you start bringing
out the Luminatis because there are a lot of characters. Now,
me as a baseball card collector obviously a baseball fan
all my life, yep. But guys like Fergie Jenkins, sure
he's remembered as a Cub long run as.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
A Texas ranger.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
When you can bring out Nolan Ryan and he looks
like it can still throw a fastball for you. And
Pudge Rodriguez, who now really does embody the Pudge Moniker.
But you know what, look he had a long run
in a Hall of Fame career. He leaned out in
those first couple of years after retirement, and then you
(04:53):
get on the banquet circuit a couple of times in
the meat get you. But here we are the Texas
Rangers are your baseball champions, and now we can go
and let's hear how it ended on Fox sixty third
season's Rangers series.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
You just let it breathe. I was like, we're still waiting,
but it's like a cut too. It's like a movie, right,
like the cut to now you hear the music, you
hear the am Beyonce sound cut to all these grown
men jumping up but down celebrating.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
It's no But if you're on television, which obviously Joe
Davis and John Smoltz were, you're just letting the picture
say the story exactly, as well as the fact that
you've got the crowd, huge noise. Again, owing to World Series,
Super Bowls, et cetera, there's a the corporate but certainly
(06:01):
enough Ranger fans to go in and make a ruckus here.
I didn't look at get in before Game five. I
gotta imagine if you were a Texas Rangers fan, and
you made your way to Arizona. You probably got yourself
at a little bit of a discount for Game five
and you're able to watch your team come away with
its first franchise World Series win. Job baal Morosi is
(06:23):
on the field right now, probably getting ready to be
doused with beer and or champagne or whatever else is
going on. He'll join us in a little bit. But
I mean five game World Series. We talked about wild cards,
We talk about the getting hot at the right time.
Rangers led the division a long stretch right and made
(06:44):
a couple of acquisitions bought in they did not pay
off as they hoped, But here we are anyway the
one that they did before the season and bringing Bruce
Bochi in as we talked about a little bit last
hour like vintage. You know, we can talk about analytics,
talk about the changing face of the game, all the
rules changes that you have to go through. And here
(07:06):
he pulled all the right strings, just as he did
all those years with the San Francisco Giants. YEP, and
now the Texas Rangers reigned supreme in the the baseball universe.
Corey Seeger another World Series win for him. Uh Love
Love's life in Arlington. We had the mister October graphics
from yesterday, right, all the comparisons game for game, RBI
(07:30):
for RBI with Reggie Jackson. So here we are on
November first, and we crown a champion.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
Yeah, man, it's it's it's a beautiful thing. I love
the new blood. I love guys getting a chance to
kind of cement their legacy once the playoff started. You know,
a lot of these guys have great numbers and obviously
paid really well playing professional baseball. But when you get
to October November and have a chance to, you know,
(07:58):
do the things that these guys have been doing on
a consistent basis, especially with the Rangers and who they
had to go through in the gauntlet that they had
to go through in this postseason to get there, and
then to beat your arch nemesis along the way and
get it done. It's it's just a beautiful thing. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
I think we always have the underdog stories, right, this
one fifty to one. Yeah, right, dismissed in the American
League because we talked about all those teams in the
Al East and waiting for them to make run. Because look,
there's always going to be wagers on the Yankees, kind
of like when people run to Vegas to escape the
Chicago winners. There's always a lot of early money placed
down the Cubs, right, it's usually throwing away. Yeah, I mean,
(08:36):
you know, as we look at this squad, rebuilding quickly
because that's what you can do also if you open
the pocket. Yes, you know, as our executive producer Justin
Prosper points out, i mean, look at their record the
last couple of years. I mean we're in the hundred
loss club. Yeah, I have no hope as a White
Sox fan because I'm part of that one hundred loss
club here in twenty twenty three. So I'm not expecting
(08:58):
turnarounds because they don't pay anybody anything. They tried to
go to the Braves model, and only one guy right
now is proven to have been worth any of that money,
and that's Lewis, Robert everybody else and it can't stay
on the field. But it's not about them. It's about
this team, this moment and the ability to turn things around.
And I think one of the things to me that's refreshing.
(09:19):
That's something you and I were talking a little bit
off air, carry is with all of the emphasis and
rule changes to go towards small ball to some degree,
get away from the three outcome at bats out of
the Rangers were predicated on three outcome at bats, and
that was my fear going in as Jason and I
(09:40):
had picked the series before it started, and he took
the Diamondbacks. Part of the reason looking that maybe a
little more depth that's starting pitching, but more so the
ability to not have a bunch of zeros up there
that you would manufacturer a run, maybe not have big innings,
but at least keep the pressure on, keep the Rangers
going to the bullpen, and just to add add on
(10:04):
a little bit here and there, and other than Game two,
where it was basically a conga line around the bases
behind the efforts of Merrill Kelly, we didn't see that.
We didn't see that opportunity, and we watched the Rangers
still being able to dial up big innings and use
the long ball, as evidenced by that Simian four hundred
and six foot blast that basically you know the line
(10:27):
from the Dark Knight rises and Bain goes. I didn't
know which was going to break first, your spirit or
your body in that moment, everything went for the era
of Arizona downa.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Everything's going on, But that's the beautiful part about sports
in general. Right, you get a chance to rewrite the narrative. Right.
I mean the Rangers coming into this postseason. The whole
big thing about them not being here right now in
this moment was their bullprint, their bullpen and how bad
it had been all year. And for them to come
in into this postseason and perform the way that they
(10:58):
performed was It's just crazy. That's what makes sports so great.
You can never fully tell the whole story until the
game start playing. And so to see these guys get
through it and continue to hit the ball like they
had for most of the year, but also pitch and
step up and pitch the way that they pitch, that's
why they're champions.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
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Debit Discover Bank member f d C and that's it.
We can jumble it all on the computer, and you
(11:37):
and I were talking about it because we're watching the
Bulls and the Mavericks, yah multiple screens.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
That's the beauty.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
It's a lot going on in studio experience. Keep the
head on a swivel. We've got Lakers and Clippers. Clippers
looking to extend their regular season dominance. I must always
point that out over the Lakers. But that's one of
the games that we had on. But we also had
the Bulls and the Mavericks, and you just asked the questions, like, man,
everything's so close, right, four point spread, three and a
(12:03):
half point spread, yet it's always on.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
It's like those.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Algorithms are as long as the board in front of us, right,
with a lot of code and a lot of variables
mixed therein. And we can do the same thing where
we talk about the aptitude and the ability and matchups, pitching, hitting,
All the sample sizes are great, but in the moment,
who gets it right. It's a matter of a game
(12:28):
of inches, right, we watch in the NFL a game
of inches between Hey, that's a great tackle. Verse, maybe
you get a little bump with the helmet, it's fifteen
yard penalty and the drive continues. Same thing with baseball.
Framing a pitch, maybe it's a ball, Maybe you get
strike three called, maybe you get an opportunity to get
(12:49):
a better swing because a guy misses his pitch just
that much.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
It's fight like what's becoming one of the best plays
in professional football now, throwing football. Because the defensive back
has its back turn. You can't gaze with a ball
if the receiver can, and so you just just run
back through. You just run back through him. It's like
one of those things where it's not a real skill,
but it's still no that's right.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Like we always say, it doesn't have to be pretty,
it just has to be close.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Two Balls, two strikes, Sports, kicks and fires.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
He struck him out looking it's over. It's over. The
Rangers have won the World Series.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
Ranger fans, you're not dreaming. After fifty two years in Texas,
sixty three years of the franchise, the wait is over.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Louisiana Hot Sauce, Texas Rangers Radio Network on the call.
That's it. Franchise wins its first World Series. He's fifty
two years. All eyes turned to Jerry Jones. Okay, that'll
be tomorrow. Tonight we go out live to Arizona. Talk
to our guy MLB network prognosticator for your Detroit Lions
(14:15):
and a legend. It's our guy, John Paul Morosi at
John Morosi where you find him on Twitter.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
JP.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
It's a final Bruce Bochie working his magic again.
Speaker 7 (14:25):
How are you, buddy, Bruce Bochie? He is going to
Hall of Fame for a reason, my friends. The creed
is being played certainly throughout the state of Texas and
probably further beyond than that. It is an extraordinary story,
the team that really when the postseason began, few people
outside of Fort Worth, in Dallas and Arlington probably gave
(14:47):
much of a chance to it. And again probably even
some Ranger fans were a little concern based on how
they ended the regular season. But they have a chance
to write their own script in October, and they do
it now on the first night of November, the first
ever championship in the history of that franchise.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
JP.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
If I can ask, what was the vibe like when
Gallen was dealing and that no hitter got to the
sixth inning.
Speaker 7 (15:12):
Well, I should be clear first I'm not actually in
the tonight, but but I that the the rather clinical
way in which he was pitching led me to believe
that the Dinadackxs weret to find a way to win
this game. And actually a short time ago, Mitch Garver
was saying on M'LB network a very good point. I
think about how he was describing the Gallon was so
(15:35):
far down in the zone and down below the zone
tonight to where I think the Ranger hitters just couldn't
couldn't square them up. But obviously zero hit through six innings,
so I think that it was a command performance by Gallon,
and I just think it was so unique that it
was a Q shot almost accidental base hit probably and
(15:57):
I ironically the least impressive hit that Cordy Seeger had
all World Series. That got it going in the seventh
and change the momentum, and then of course Evan Carter,
the twenty one year old follows and the momentum belonged
to the Rangers from there and Mitch Carver with a
huge hit, So I think for them it was a
matter of staying close and as impressive as the offense
(16:20):
was late for Texas. The MVP of tonight was Nate
Evaldi for being able to dance in and out of
trouble in the early innings, because the Diamondbacks very easily
could have been leading that game three nothing for nothing
by the middle innings by the time the Rangers offense
finally woke up, but they weren't because of how well
Evaldi pitched in traffic. And that is why you trust
(16:44):
a veteran starter. You think about the way that this
Rangers team has built and Auto last Garcia is an
amazing story in so many ways, and Josh Spores gets
the final outs. But you have to invest in the
right players if you want to win, and they brought
in some high character guys who are superstar level players
(17:05):
seeger Semion Evaldi come to mind. Obviously, Shures are injured
by the end of this World Series and Jacob de
Gram injured by the middle part of the season. But
you've got to credit the Rangers ownership in front office
for investing in talent, believing that they had the right
ingredients to win. And then you add in as a
final flourish the superstar free agents they have done that
(17:29):
and now they're World Series champs.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
JP. It's funny how baseball works, right We thought that
the gram and Sherz the maybe winning a World Series
and on another team, but winning it with the Rangers.
Ben Dealt being dealt midseason season. But I want to
talk more about the Rangers, man, and how how they
were able to flip the switch. I mean, I know
you've been around it a lot and seeing some miraculous
things throughout the postseason from from teams throughout the annals
(17:53):
of history. But to see the teams, you know, kind
of falter down the stretch and lose the division on
the last day, have to fly out East and win
a series there. But to get to this point right now,
how did they get this done?
Speaker 7 (18:06):
You know, Kerry, It's a great question, and I think
it starts with really good pitching early on in that
wild Card series to get momentum going again. And this
is a team that while you look at the Diamondbacks,
they had to go with a bullpen game in Game four.
They just didn't really have an option for example on
the Diamondbacks front. The Rangers had that success. They were
(18:27):
able to turn the momentum around because they had the
starting pitching to do. So you go back to the
very first playoff game they played this year. It was
against the Rays. Jordan Montgomery started. Rangers won that game
for nothing. The next game, Evaldi's on the Mounta. They
win that game seven to one. They gave up one
to run in two games in that round, both on
(18:49):
the road, and then of course they started the road
again against Baltimore. They were able to silence them as
well and keep things moving. It's the tempo and rhythm
that are created by your start. And then when you've
got superstars playing like superstars and putting quick points on
the board the way that Seeger has done and Garcia
(19:10):
and Semi in here lately, that's the formula. It's we
saw in this game today. And you can get to
a certain point in the playoffs by manufacturing runs and
keeping the line moving in many cases, and the Royals
won the World Series this way seven eight years ago.
But it's hard to do because you get a base
(19:32):
hit and then you wonder is this the time to steal?
And if it's not, then you're hoping that you can
string two or three hits together in an inning, and
it's hard to do. What you can do, though, is
when you get extra base hits or you take advantage
of a defensive miscue the way they did tonight and
then semi in it the two run homer. It's quick offense. Otherwise,
you're asking your hitters to string together three, four, five
(19:54):
hits in an inning and it's just hard to do that
against quality pitching at this time of year. So for me,
the essence of the Rangers is veteran, stable starting pitching
and then power bats. Garcia, who is not afraid of
the big moment. That goes back to that. I think
the way you grew up around the game, playing a
lot of high level international tournaments in Cuba international baseball,
(20:17):
growing up the stage was not too big for him.
And Seeger another guy who was around winning in the
playoffs at a very young age. With the Dodgers. It's
experience and talent and power and skill that's expensive, Carrie,
These are not cheap players to go out and sign.
And so this is a very powerful way as we
begin the conversation in the days ahead about free agency,
(20:41):
what's gonna happen next. Every agent is gonna unfold the
payroll of the Rangers and say listen, look at how
much these guys signed for. You want to win, you
want talent, you better pay for it. And that's part
of the story of the Texas Rangers.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Job Baum Morosi, our guest at John Rosie. Where you
find him on Twitter, MLB Network is where you see him.
You hear him with us breaking down Lions in Michigan football,
film and of course everything major League Baseball as we
commemorate the Rangers winning the World Series. Yeah, you mentioned it,
stringing hits along. I thought that was might have been
(21:16):
the undoing right when we talked about it starting the series.
You know, Carrie and I talking about a little bit tonight, JP,
But something you, I and Jason had talked about before was,
you know, to get him on, get him over, get
him in kind of the get away from the three
outcome world of Major League Baseball. And they sure had
plenty of opportunities. And I can't say enough about what
(21:37):
of ald he did. The stat line doesn't look great
other than the stat that mattered, the zero earned runs,
right what.
Speaker 7 (21:45):
And that's managing innings, that is that is something that
and this is an exact contrast to the way the
Diamondbacks felt they had to manage the game yesterday, and
of course yesterday they had the bullpen game. And as
soon as you bring in three or four or five
different relievers out of the pen, it only takes one.
(22:09):
And then to borrow the popular board game, it's it's
a jinga. All of a sudden, there you go and
the whole tower falls down. And that is that's the
issue with the bullpen game. Whereas Evaldi is a stable
pitcher who has been in the World Series before five
years ago one with the Red Sox. He is the
second best pitcher ever from Alvin Texas, which is no
(22:32):
criticism because number one is Nolan Ryan. So that's totally cool.
And so you give a guy with with the ability
to get deep in the game the chance to find
his way. The opposite, of course, is you go in,
you pull the reliever out, you bring the next guy
in and hope he's got his stuff, and if he doesn't,
(22:52):
you're in trouble. And that was the case the Dbacks
last night. The game got away early Arizona battle back.
They battled Evaldi throughout, but that was just the case
of a veteran pitcher having the ability to locate ninety
six mile hour fastball in the outside corner at different
times he was able to get to move on with
the fastball. I was just really impressed by his ability
to make big pitches at big times, and that is
(23:14):
a skill that has learned over many years in.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
This game, za P.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
I mean, obviously, fair enough, we're talking about a lot
about the Rangers. They just won the World Series. But
let's talk about the Diamondbacks a little bit, a little
a little bit of a surprise that they've made it
this far. Would you call it them being ahead of
the schedule a little bit here, or they got a
little lucky, or what do you feel about the Diamondbacks
from this point right now to even maybe next year.
Speaker 7 (23:40):
I had a schedule I think in a lot of
ways carry but with a lot of future ahead for
this group they've got, I think a lot of the
same pieces that you see with this team right now.
And yes it's a tough division. We expect the Padres
will probably find a way to be better, that Giants
will be better as well. The Dodgers are still the
Dodgers as far as I'm concerned. But you like this
(24:00):
young pitching and gallon to finish the World series with
a tremendous start for him today. That's a really nice
boost Brandon fought. We have seen I think a young
pitching star born Corbyn Carroll, what he did in the
NLCS along with Katel Marte. They're on that team for
a while, Christian Walker. They just at the end, I
think situational hitting failed them a little bit, that they
(24:22):
didn't really have that kind of an offense probably to
go swing for swing with a team like the Rangers
when they've got guys like Seeger and Garcia. Honestly, it
was an amazing win for them to beat the Phillies
the way that they did with all the stars that
Philadelphia has. But Carrie, I think it's a great story Arizona.
You know, if having played in Arizona, it's a great
(24:42):
sports area that they love their teams. It's a ballpark
that I think has needed a bit of love here
in recent years to bring it up to the major
League standard of being back to being one of the
best in the majors. And I just think that this
World Series, in this playoff run overall to shine a
light on what a great baseball town the Phoenix is.
The whole state is a great baseball state, and so
(25:03):
I think it was a proud moment I'm sure for
Arizona throughout with a really likable team and a great manager,
Tory Leavello. Again, he got that team passed some ball
clubs in Milwaukee and with the Dodgers and with the Phillies.
Each time, honestly, the other team was favored. So I
think it's just a tremendous feather in the cap of
(25:25):
Tory Levello and the Diamondbacks, and they were able to
get as far as they did. They probably lost to
a deeper team, to be honest with you, but the
future is really bright for the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers
that they've been the team to be in that league
and that division certainly for a long time. But they
had better watch out because this Diamondbacks team, I believe
is going to be back in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Yeah, plenty of moves to be made for the Dodgers
in hot stove and Prosper did say hey too soon
when you mentioned Seeger and winning with the Dodgers, and
my apologies. Yeah, but you know, he's only the second
World Series with multiple teams.
Speaker 7 (26:03):
It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Reggie Jackson.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
That's it.
Speaker 7 (26:05):
It's just it's extraordinary what he's been able to do.
And you know, we talked a bit last night about
the Hall of Fame conversation. It's an interesting one because
he's now been able to build that part of his legacy.
I think he still has five or six more years
of star level production before I can say yes, he's
definitely in, but the longevity is there. I think he
(26:28):
loves the game. You can just tell he brings a
certain stoicism in a good way about the way that
he plays and carries himself. He reminds me a lot.
I know, I've made the comparison of utterly Chase. He's
got a lot of that same way about him, where
he's very serious, loves the game, plays it hard, never
gives you anything in terms of he's not going to
(26:49):
bear his soul in an interview like last night when
Kenny asked him about how he was wincing around the bases.
Just gets it. He's really really good, even great. I
think any changed that day. I remember I was actually
in Texas covering that the day that Semeon and Seeger
signed with the Rangers, and it was two years ago
in my goodness, it has changed the franchise there ever
(27:11):
since all right, last one.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
For you, JP, we got plenty of time to talk
hot stove and the chaos that will be free agency
in trades brust Boche. With this title, he's tied with
Walter Alston and Joe Tory with four World Series wins
under his belt. Only Connie Mack, Joe McCarthy and Casey
Stangle with more.
Speaker 7 (27:32):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
See the greatest manager of the Model era.
Speaker 7 (27:37):
And that's an important distinction there modern era, because you know,
you look at and you compare him. Is he Is
he a full contemporary of Larusa and Tori because they
both had shortly remarkable career. It's it's hard for me
to necessarily put him ahead of Larusa. But obviously the
(27:57):
four World Series rings is unique, and I do think
that there's a very compelling argument that if you look
at it this way, the full wild Card era, so
from ninety five to now, I do think he's the
best manager of the wild Card here in terms of
what he's been able to achieve at the highest level.
(28:17):
Dusty Baker's got a claim to Certainly, Dusty got his
World Series ring, but at this time of year, winning
the biggest games there are to win. And I think
in every case, Mike, you think about those Giants teams,
maybe you would have said they were favored in twenty fourteen,
but they certainly weren't favored against Texas and ten. They
(28:37):
were not favored against the Tigers in twelve. And while
you may have said at this point by the time
they got to the World Series they were favored against
the Diamondbacks, at no point during the journey where you're saying, well,
it's inevitable the Rangers are going to win the World
Series or even make it there. So I think that
the way that he was able to get the most
out of his teams win when the playoffs began, he
(28:59):
never really had the team that people thought was gonna
win it all, and I think that that's the measure
of a great manager. He was just he was always
finding guys, whether it's Josh Fores on this team, whether
it's Travis e Chikawa on the team back in twenty
fourteen or Marco Scudrou in twelve Linseicom, he was as
bouncing them around to different roles. He just got the
(29:19):
most out of his personnel always and that, to me
is the mark of a great manager.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
John Balmerosi our guest MLB Network Jason smithschell with me,
Mike Harman, No Smith Tonight, Kerry Rhodes x NFL Pro
Bowler and all rookie team participate in our in his
stead tonight as we commemborate at the end of this
MLB season, it's only appropriate you get to exhale from
(29:45):
the on field of baseball while the Lions also have
a bye week, so you don't have to have prediction
this week.
Speaker 7 (29:51):
Right, So here's what I'll say though, just in case,
should I give it to you an hour or should
I wait for another time to convey it to you?
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Well, you want to yell.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
At justin about the chart coming up out there?
Speaker 7 (30:01):
All right, here we go, Here we go, And I'm
gonna have Carrie check my math on this, Okay, Carrie,
I want you to check my math, make sure that
I'm I'm mostly in a correct area here. But I'm
gonna say the Detroit Lions will defeat the Chargers by
a final score of twenty seven to seventeen.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Oh that's pretty good, Jackie, I like that, actually, Yeah,
twenty seven seventeen Yeah, the charges are definitely make a
mistake to give them that extra ext little cushion.
Speaker 7 (30:28):
Yeah, I think it's twenty seven to seventeen. It's almost
a similar actually, the sort of a similar margin by
which they beat the Raiders. Obviously, I understand it's been
quit the fallout since that game there on Monday evening
here in Michigan. But I like the way the Lions
are playing right now. The thing is they're able to
run the ball when they need to in golf. I
(30:49):
think that golf and Laporta combo's really gone well. So
I like what the Lions are doing right now. Detroit
is long overdue, Carrie. We mentioned this a lot long
over do for some good sports stories, and I think
the lines are gonna give us one here this fall JP.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
Yeah, they're playing really well, man. They're my second best
team in the NFC right now, and so to see
them step up to where they are right now and
to really buy into what Dan Campbell has those guys
brewing up over there, man, it's really special. It's really
exciting to see.
Speaker 7 (31:19):
I love it, Cary Well Kerry. When I hear from you,
I'm smiling here to hear my friend I feel even better.
So thank you, Thank you for affirming all the optism
that I've got right now. That means a lot.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
Now I got you back, JAP, the most positive guy
in media, it's our guy, John Paul Morosi. Thanks for
helping us cover this like a blanket all throughout the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
JP be sure to catch live editions of The Jason
Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern,
seven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
Welcome back in Jason Smith Show with Me Mike Harmon.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
No Jason Smith Tonight.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Carrie Rhodes NFL All Pro, All Rookie Team, musician, actor, analyst,
Legend with me tonight at Carrie twenty five Roads, where
you follow him on Twitter see all his latest greatest
Find me over at Swollendome for some dopey thing I said,
or some piece of music or television or film history
that I wanted you to remember on this date. Now,
(32:17):
we've got the Lakers and the Clippers coming down to
the wire. They're in a TV timeout one seventeen one fourteen,
eighteen point five seconds left. We'll get to that coming
up in about ten minutes. As we watch the dramatic
finish of that game. But earlier today, the news of
Bob Knight passing the legendary Indiana Texas Tech coach USA Basketball,
(32:41):
all of those things look a guy that you see
the word complicated. For a long time while he was
still in the coaching realm, it was embattled because he
fought with everybody. But what you can't argue with is success. Yeah,
the titles, the Olympics, the number of kids that graduated
(33:02):
through his program, through the year, all.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
Of that goes through.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Yes you've got incidents, Yes you've got some quotes that
leave you a little unnerved. I always just love the
fishing show that he had fishing and the golf show
that he did back in the day, and the golf
tips were some of the best. And our staff they
went through and they got all the curse words out,
(33:27):
because well, it's Bob Knight going to work on the
golf course to teach you how to improve your game.
Speaker 8 (33:34):
There's no place that better services my appetite than Pizza Hut.
Even after a bad round, if I have a chance
to smell the pizza, I'm hooked. It's just like I've
made three birdies. In a row. I'm into the parking
lot at the Pizza Hut, and my appetite is satisfied
pretty quickly when I'm there. Pizza Hut is the appetite.
(33:57):
What Jack Nicholas is the golf.
Speaker 4 (34:01):
So there you go there like he would do these reads.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
And if you go onto YouTube and go down that
rabbit hole tomorrow because it is as good as again,
you know, we can't we you literally can't even have
the next line without a bunch of curls. So like
every time he mishits like trying to demonstrate. Here I
am with my you know five iron you blankety blankety blank.
(34:24):
And his co host is a golf pro who's laughing
and chuckling. At times he just starts cursing because he's
really awkward alongside Bob.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
And things like that.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
Right, he just the simple reads he goes, that's a
bleep and bleep in Tony. It's like and you hear
someone yell, it's not Tony's being Emmy's TV. And some
of the others, like just promos for going to the grocery.
Here's what you should do. You go to the grocery
store and you get your wife a knife, steak to
cook for you.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Like, wait what I call it?
Speaker 4 (34:56):
These promos like and I go down that rabbit.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Hole in addition to some of the coaching quotes and
the back and forth, right intimidating at press conferences, and yeah,
that's exactly exactly what you know justin Prosberg, our Executi
producer in my ear, you know the the it's a
different mold, right, It's a different time. And even towards
the end of his run, you saw how differently things
(35:21):
were navigated during his time at Texas Tech versus Indiana
the fiefdom. For me, I had the one great interaction.
He always came to Northwestern and Indiana would roll in
and celebration. Right, we had some of the greats coming
through all the time, between he and Gene Katie and
and some others that would traverse the Big ten sidelines. Uh,
(35:41):
and usually pretty good with the student section and and
would you know, you know, smile and wave, especially when
they were drumming us. But one year, close game, wintry night,
and I had a basketball with me, like collecting autographs.
You know, I'm a kid whatever, and I have a basketball,
and I'm like, I'm gonna stay by the northwestern side.
(36:03):
There's like fifty boosters standing over by the Indiana locker room.
Sure enough, coach Knight comes out the northwestern side like
just keep walking and like does the whole thing where
he kind of draws up to beat us with this
big play at the end of the game, and he's like,
just keep going, signs the basketball and I get with him,
and I'm a human shield all the way out the
(36:24):
door to the bus. So he gets right past all
the boosters and he goes to get on the bus,
grabs me like to brace himself because it's you know,
slush on the ground. Whatever.
Speaker 4 (36:33):
He goes, thanks kid, I needed that.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
And he gets on the bus and you see all
these people coming running after us, trying to get that
that minute to shake his hand in glad hand.
Speaker 6 (36:43):
But for that night, he got away without having to
do it. That's one of my favorites. That's a that's
a great story. And I could see I could see
you doing that, Mike. I know you're you're a man
of the people and you care about It's.
Speaker 4 (36:58):
A good blocking aid right there.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
It Yeah, you're trying to think of you got to
clean it up because you can't use the words Coach
Night exactly.
Speaker 4 (37:10):
I'm gonna let that one go. But great story. I
want to talk about Coach Knight in the way that
you know, we talked about the good, bad and ugly, right,
let's talk about good back, good bad and ugly. This
Laker games crazy. I don't know how it ends up
in overtime.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
We'll get to overtime. That means we get free basketball
into the fourth hour of the show.
Speaker 4 (37:27):
Throwing me off, But Coach Knight man one of those
guys that you know, enigmatic obviously only I would think
from the from the outside of any program means he's
ever been at. But you know, even though with all
the complexities of him as a human being and all
the you know, the the outbursts that we saw and
all the things that happened around him, I think the
(37:49):
one thing about him which will always ring true is
that how how good of a coach he was. And
I think a lot of the antics kind of water
down what he did and did and what he minute
for the game. And I think we need to appreciate
that part of it as well.
Speaker 7 (38:03):
Well.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
When you go through and you look at a lot
of those squads, it's not like he was running around
with some of the talent necessarily that you would see
at Duke or what Kentucky or whatever. Became like he
molded guys into a team exactly. Godspeed.
Speaker 4 (38:19):
Bob Knight.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
Will continue to celebrate those clips, but we'll go back
into this Laker Clipper game.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
It's chaos. Oh my god.
Thanks for listening to the best of the Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us
live every weeknight from ten pm to two am Eastern
seven to eleven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find
your local station for The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon at Fox Sports Radio dot Com, or stream us
live every night on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
This is the best of the Jason Smith Show with
Mike Harmon on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Greet Eggs, Welcome in our two of the program. Mike
Carmon alongside Carry Rhodes with you here and we're just
getting started here in thee tirerac dot Com Fox Sports
Radio Studios.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
And now it's.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Time to turn it over to our guy, Isaac glamoas
on as we've got some breaking news in our sporting universe.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Breaking news from Fox Sports.
Speaker 5 (00:55):
The Texas Rangers have just won their first World Series
championship in franchise history. They have just completed a five
nothing victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks as Josh Spores just
got the final out with a swinging strikeout to complete
(01:16):
Arizona's four games to one victory. Again The Texas Rangers
are the world champions of twenty twenty three, as they
just closed out the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games. No
announcement yet on who the series MVP is.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Going to be.
Speaker 5 (01:35):
We presume it's going to be Corey Seeger, but Marcus
Simeon with a two run home run finishing things off
there on the top of the ninth inning could be
a candidate as well.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Fellas Madness second straight night. We're able to go to
Ilo for breaking news on the show. Always love when
things are I mean mostly positive. I think Raiders fans
celebrated the news yesterday and certainly Texas Ranger fans in
Major League Baseball excitable A low and crowd. Where you
find Ilo, We're live from the tirerac dot Com studios.
(02:04):
Tirerac dot com will help you get there, an unmatched selection, fast,
free shipping, free road hazard protection and over ten thousand
recommended installers. Tire act dot com the way tire buying
should be. And I love that lasted bat here for
the Diamondbacks and in the bottom of the ninth and
the frame job attempted by the catcher. Yeah, just I'm
(02:26):
gonna hold it here get your photo opportunity. Let's go,
I got it and then Smith.
Speaker 6 (02:33):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
You know, while we did see Marte strikes out looking
to and the the back to back innings with strikeouts
standing dumbfounded as the umpire makes the gesture, we saw
the hugging, all the excitement, Adolas Garcia running out there.
Unfortunately wasn't able to participate in the last couple of games,
so hopefully he also doesn't jump into the freight too
(02:56):
much to uh.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
Oh, yes, hurt even more. Man, he's going to dive in.
He's got time. Yeah, yeah, he's got time.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
But it's anyway he's sentiment middle linebackers.
Speaker 4 (03:07):
Yeah, he definitely can play on Sundays as well. But yeah, no,
it's nothing like seeing the team a bunch of grown
men after a hard, long season of ups and downs,
because it's part of it. You know. There was time
when Texas during the middle, during the back end of
the back the back end stretch of the season, they
(03:30):
were playing some of the worst baseball out there and
to kind of figure it out last day lose the division,
have to fly away, fly all the way out across
country to win that series. And just what they did
in this in this postseason man has been remarkable and
obviously a lot of really talented team, but yeah, was
the result they had to get it done. Is just
it's amazing. It's it's beautiful to see.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
Folks look at the cash their tickets now in Las
Vegas fifty to one, long shot before the season, despite
all the spending and the additions. Yeah, and just looking
at the division. They ended up losing it, as you
said to the Astros, and a lot made a lot
back and forth between the GMS there about partying.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
Celebrations, etc.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
And then they got to send them home and here
they are the first in franchise history. You know, pretty
exciting the last couple of games when you start bringing
out the Luminatis because there are a lot of characters. Now,
me as a baseball card collector obviously a baseball fan
all my life, yep. But guys like Fergie Jenkins, sure
he's remembered as a Cub long run as.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
A Texas ranger.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
When you can bring out Nolan Ryan and he looks
like it can still throw a fastball for you. And
Pudge Rodriguez, who now really does embody the Pudge Moniker.
But you know what, look he had a long run
in a Hall of Fame career. He leaned out in
those first couple of years after retirement, and then you
(04:53):
get on the banquet circuit a couple of times in
the meat get you. But here we are the Texas
Rangers are your baseball champions, and now we can go
and let's hear how it ended on Fox sixty third
season's Rangers series.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
You just let it breathe. I was like, we're still waiting,
but it's like a cut too. It's like a movie, right,
like the cut to now you hear the music, you
hear the am Beyonce sound cut to all these grown
men jumping up but down celebrating.
Speaker 3 (05:40):
It's no But if you're on television, which obviously Joe
Davis and John Smoltz were, you're just letting the picture
say the story exactly, as well as the fact that
you've got the crowd, huge noise. Again, owing to World Series,
Super Bowls, et cetera, there's a the corporate but certainly
(06:01):
enough Ranger fans to go in and make a ruckus here.
I didn't look at get in before Game five. I
gotta imagine if you were a Texas Rangers fan, and
you made your way to Arizona. You probably got yourself
at a little bit of a discount for Game five
and you're able to watch your team come away with
its first franchise World Series win. Job baal Morosi is
(06:23):
on the field right now, probably getting ready to be
doused with beer and or champagne or whatever else is
going on. He'll join us in a little bit. But
I mean five game World Series. We talked about wild cards,
We talk about the getting hot at the right time.
Rangers led the division a long stretch right and made
(06:44):
a couple of acquisitions bought in they did not pay
off as they hoped, But here we are anyway the
one that they did before the season and bringing Bruce
Bochi in as we talked about a little bit last
hour like vintage. You know, we can talk about analytics,
talk about the changing face of the game, all the
rules changes that you have to go through. And here
(07:06):
he pulled all the right strings, just as he did
all those years with the San Francisco Giants. YEP, and
now the Texas Rangers reigned supreme in the the baseball universe.
Corey Seeger another World Series win for him. Uh Love
Love's life in Arlington. We had the mister October graphics
from yesterday, right, all the comparisons game for game, RBI
(07:30):
for RBI with Reggie Jackson. So here we are on
November first, and we crown a champion.
Speaker 4 (07:37):
Yeah, man, it's it's it's a beautiful thing. I love
the new blood. I love guys getting a chance to
kind of cement their legacy once the playoff started. You know,
a lot of these guys have great numbers and obviously
paid really well playing professional baseball. But when you get
to October November and have a chance to, you know,
(07:58):
do the things that these guys have been doing on
a consistent basis, especially with the Rangers and who they
had to go through in the gauntlet that they had
to go through in this postseason to get there, and
then to beat your arch nemesis along the way and
get it done. It's it's just a beautiful thing. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
I think we always have the underdog stories, right, this
one fifty to one. Yeah, right, dismissed in the American
League because we talked about all those teams in the
Al East and waiting for them to make run. Because look,
there's always going to be wagers on the Yankees, kind
of like when people run to Vegas to escape the
Chicago winners. There's always a lot of early money placed
down the Cubs, right, it's usually throwing away. Yeah, I mean,
(08:36):
you know, as we look at this squad, rebuilding quickly
because that's what you can do also if you open
the pocket. Yes, you know, as our executive producer Justin
Prosper points out, i mean, look at their record the
last couple of years. I mean we're in the hundred
loss club. Yeah, I have no hope as a White
Sox fan because I'm part of that one hundred loss
club here in twenty twenty three. So I'm not expecting
(08:58):
turnarounds because they don't pay anybody anything. They tried to
go to the Braves model, and only one guy right
now is proven to have been worth any of that money,
and that's Lewis, Robert everybody else and it can't stay
on the field. But it's not about them. It's about
this team, this moment and the ability to turn things around.
And I think one of the things to me that's refreshing.
(09:19):
That's something you and I were talking a little bit
off air, carry is with all of the emphasis and
rule changes to go towards small ball to some degree,
get away from the three outcome at bats out of
the Rangers were predicated on three outcome at bats, and
that was my fear going in as Jason and I
(09:40):
had picked the series before it started, and he took
the Diamondbacks. Part of the reason looking that maybe a
little more depth that's starting pitching, but more so the
ability to not have a bunch of zeros up there
that you would manufacturer a run, maybe not have big innings,
but at least keep the pressure on, keep the Rangers
going to the bullpen, and just to add add on
(10:04):
a little bit here and there, and other than Game two,
where it was basically a conga line around the bases
behind the efforts of Merrill Kelly, we didn't see that.
We didn't see that opportunity, and we watched the Rangers
still being able to dial up big innings and use
the long ball, as evidenced by that Simian four hundred
and six foot blast that basically you know the line
(10:27):
from the Dark Knight rises and Bain goes. I didn't
know which was going to break first, your spirit or
your body in that moment, everything went for the era
of Arizona downa.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
Everything's going on, But that's the beautiful part about sports
in general. Right, you get a chance to rewrite the narrative. Right.
I mean the Rangers coming into this postseason. The whole
big thing about them not being here right now in
this moment was their bullprint, their bullpen and how bad
it had been all year. And for them to come
in into this postseason and perform the way that they
(10:58):
performed was It's just crazy. That's what makes sports so great.
You can never fully tell the whole story until the
game start playing. And so to see these guys get
through it and continue to hit the ball like they
had for most of the year, but also pitch and
step up and pitch the way that they pitch, that's
why they're champions.
Speaker 3 (11:16):
If you like using debit over credit, shouldn't you also
get rewarded? Well now you can with Discover cash Back
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Debit Discover Bank member f d C and that's it.
We can jumble it all on the computer, and you
(11:37):
and I were talking about it because we're watching the
Bulls and the Mavericks, yah multiple screens.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
That's the beauty.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
It's a lot going on in studio experience. Keep the
head on a swivel. We've got Lakers and Clippers. Clippers
looking to extend their regular season dominance. I must always
point that out over the Lakers. But that's one of
the games that we had on. But we also had
the Bulls and the Mavericks, and you just asked the questions, like, man,
everything's so close, right, four point spread, three and a
(12:03):
half point spread, yet it's always on.
Speaker 4 (12:05):
It's like those.
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Algorithms are as long as the board in front of us, right,
with a lot of code and a lot of variables
mixed therein. And we can do the same thing where
we talk about the aptitude and the ability and matchups, pitching, hitting,
All the sample sizes are great, but in the moment,
who gets it right. It's a matter of a game
(12:28):
of inches, right, we watch in the NFL a game
of inches between Hey, that's a great tackle. Verse, maybe
you get a little bump with the helmet, it's fifteen
yard penalty and the drive continues. Same thing with baseball.
Framing a pitch, maybe it's a ball, Maybe you get
strike three called, maybe you get an opportunity to get
(12:49):
a better swing because a guy misses his pitch just
that much.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
It's fight like what's becoming one of the best plays
in professional football now, throwing football. Because the defensive back
has its back turn. You can't gaze with a ball
if the receiver can, and so you just just run
back through. You just run back through him. It's like
one of those things where it's not a real skill,
but it's still no that's right.
Speaker 3 (13:15):
Like we always say, it doesn't have to be pretty,
it just has to be close.
Speaker 2 (13:20):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 4 (13:27):
Two Balls, two strikes, Sports, kicks and fires.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
He struck him out looking it's over. It's over. The
Rangers have won the World Series.
Speaker 5 (13:41):
Ranger fans, you're not dreaming. After fifty two years in Texas,
sixty three years of the franchise, the wait is over.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Louisiana Hot Sauce, Texas Rangers Radio Network on the call.
That's it. Franchise wins its first World Series. He's fifty
two years. All eyes turned to Jerry Jones. Okay, that'll
be tomorrow. Tonight we go out live to Arizona. Talk
to our guy MLB network prognosticator for your Detroit Lions
(14:15):
and a legend. It's our guy, John Paul Morosi at
John Morosi where you find him on Twitter.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
JP.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
It's a final Bruce Bochie working his magic again.
Speaker 7 (14:25):
How are you, buddy, Bruce Bochie? He is going to
Hall of Fame for a reason, my friends. The creed
is being played certainly throughout the state of Texas and
probably further beyond than that. It is an extraordinary story,
the team that really when the postseason began, few people
outside of Fort Worth, in Dallas and Arlington probably gave
(14:47):
much of a chance to it. And again probably even
some Ranger fans were a little concern based on how
they ended the regular season. But they have a chance
to write their own script in October, and they do
it now on the first night of November, the first
ever championship in the history of that franchise.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
JP.
Speaker 3 (15:05):
If I can ask, what was the vibe like when
Gallen was dealing and that no hitter got to the
sixth inning.
Speaker 7 (15:12):
Well, I should be clear first I'm not actually in
the tonight, but but I that the the rather clinical
way in which he was pitching led me to believe
that the Dinadackxs weret to find a way to win
this game. And actually a short time ago, Mitch Garver
was saying on M'LB network a very good point. I
think about how he was describing the Gallon was so
(15:35):
far down in the zone and down below the zone
tonight to where I think the Ranger hitters just couldn't
couldn't square them up. But obviously zero hit through six innings,
so I think that it was a command performance by Gallon,
and I just think it was so unique that it
was a Q shot almost accidental base hit probably and
(15:57):
I ironically the least impressive hit that Cordy Seeger had
all World Series. That got it going in the seventh
and change the momentum, and then of course Evan Carter,
the twenty one year old follows and the momentum belonged
to the Rangers from there and Mitch Carver with a
huge hit, So I think for them it was a
matter of staying close and as impressive as the offense
(16:20):
was late for Texas. The MVP of tonight was Nate
Evaldi for being able to dance in and out of
trouble in the early innings, because the Diamondbacks very easily
could have been leading that game three nothing for nothing
by the middle innings by the time the Rangers offense
finally woke up, but they weren't because of how well
Evaldi pitched in traffic. And that is why you trust
(16:44):
a veteran starter. You think about the way that this
Rangers team has built and Auto last Garcia is an
amazing story in so many ways, and Josh Spores gets
the final outs. But you have to invest in the
right players if you want to win, and they brought
in some high character guys who are superstar level players
(17:05):
seeger Semion Evaldi come to mind. Obviously, Shures are injured
by the end of this World Series and Jacob de
Gram injured by the middle part of the season. But
you've got to credit the Rangers ownership in front office
for investing in talent, believing that they had the right
ingredients to win. And then you add in as a
final flourish the superstar free agents they have done that
(17:29):
and now they're World Series champs.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
JP. It's funny how baseball works, right We thought that
the gram and Sherz the maybe winning a World Series
and on another team, but winning it with the Rangers.
Ben Dealt being dealt midseason season. But I want to
talk more about the Rangers, man, and how how they
were able to flip the switch. I mean, I know
you've been around it a lot and seeing some miraculous
things throughout the postseason from from teams throughout the annals
(17:53):
of history. But to see the teams, you know, kind
of falter down the stretch and lose the division on
the last day, have to fly out East and win
a series there. But to get to this point right now,
how did they get this done?
Speaker 7 (18:06):
You know, Kerry, It's a great question, and I think
it starts with really good pitching early on in that
wild Card series to get momentum going again. And this
is a team that while you look at the Diamondbacks,
they had to go with a bullpen game in Game four.
They just didn't really have an option for example on
the Diamondbacks front. The Rangers had that success. They were
(18:27):
able to turn the momentum around because they had the
starting pitching to do. So you go back to the
very first playoff game they played this year. It was
against the Rays. Jordan Montgomery started. Rangers won that game
for nothing. The next game, Evaldi's on the Mounta. They
win that game seven to one. They gave up one
to run in two games in that round, both on
(18:49):
the road, and then of course they started the road
again against Baltimore. They were able to silence them as
well and keep things moving. It's the tempo and rhythm
that are created by your start. And then when you've
got superstars playing like superstars and putting quick points on
the board the way that Seeger has done and Garcia
(19:10):
and Semi in here lately, that's the formula. It's we
saw in this game today. And you can get to
a certain point in the playoffs by manufacturing runs and
keeping the line moving in many cases, and the Royals
won the World Series this way seven eight years ago.
But it's hard to do because you get a base
(19:32):
hit and then you wonder is this the time to steal?
And if it's not, then you're hoping that you can
string two or three hits together in an inning, and
it's hard to do. What you can do, though, is
when you get extra base hits or you take advantage
of a defensive miscue the way they did tonight and
then semi in it the two run homer. It's quick offense. Otherwise,
you're asking your hitters to string together three, four, five
(19:54):
hits in an inning and it's just hard to do that
against quality pitching at this time of year. So for me,
the essence of the Rangers is veteran, stable starting pitching
and then power bats. Garcia, who is not afraid of
the big moment. That goes back to that. I think
the way you grew up around the game, playing a
lot of high level international tournaments in Cuba international baseball,
(20:17):
growing up the stage was not too big for him.
And Seeger another guy who was around winning in the
playoffs at a very young age. With the Dodgers. It's
experience and talent and power and skill that's expensive, Carrie,
These are not cheap players to go out and sign.
And so this is a very powerful way as we
begin the conversation in the days ahead about free agency,
(20:41):
what's gonna happen next. Every agent is gonna unfold the
payroll of the Rangers and say listen, look at how
much these guys signed for. You want to win, you
want talent, you better pay for it. And that's part
of the story of the Texas Rangers.
Speaker 3 (20:56):
Job Baum Morosi, our guest at John Rosie. Where you
find him on Twitter, MLB Network is where you see him.
You hear him with us breaking down Lions in Michigan football,
film and of course everything major League Baseball as we
commemorate the Rangers winning the World Series. Yeah, you mentioned it,
stringing hits along. I thought that was might have been
(21:16):
the undoing right when we talked about it starting the series.
You know, Carrie and I talking about a little bit tonight, JP,
But something you, I and Jason had talked about before was,
you know, to get him on, get him over, get
him in kind of the get away from the three
outcome world of Major League Baseball. And they sure had
plenty of opportunities. And I can't say enough about what
(21:37):
of ald he did. The stat line doesn't look great
other than the stat that mattered, the zero earned runs,
right what.
Speaker 7 (21:45):
And that's managing innings, that is that is something that
and this is an exact contrast to the way the
Diamondbacks felt they had to manage the game yesterday, and
of course yesterday they had the bullpen game. And as
soon as you bring in three or four or five
different relievers out of the pen, it only takes one.
(22:09):
And then to borrow the popular board game, it's it's
a jinga. All of a sudden, there you go and
the whole tower falls down. And that is that's the
issue with the bullpen game. Whereas Evaldi is a stable
pitcher who has been in the World Series before five
years ago one with the Red Sox. He is the
second best pitcher ever from Alvin Texas, which is no
(22:32):
criticism because number one is Nolan Ryan. So that's totally cool.
And so you give a guy with with the ability
to get deep in the game the chance to find
his way. The opposite, of course, is you go in,
you pull the reliever out, you bring the next guy
in and hope he's got his stuff, and if he doesn't,
(22:52):
you're in trouble. And that was the case the Dbacks
last night. The game got away early Arizona battle back.
They battled Evaldi throughout, but that was just the case
of a veteran pitcher having the ability to locate ninety
six mile hour fastball in the outside corner at different
times he was able to get to move on with
the fastball. I was just really impressed by his ability
to make big pitches at big times, and that is
(23:14):
a skill that has learned over many years in.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
This game, za P.
Speaker 4 (23:19):
I mean, obviously, fair enough, we're talking about a lot
about the Rangers. They just won the World Series. But
let's talk about the Diamondbacks a little bit, a little
a little bit of a surprise that they've made it
this far. Would you call it them being ahead of
the schedule a little bit here, or they got a
little lucky, or what do you feel about the Diamondbacks
from this point right now to even maybe next year.
Speaker 7 (23:40):
I had a schedule I think in a lot of
ways carry but with a lot of future ahead for
this group they've got, I think a lot of the
same pieces that you see with this team right now.
And yes it's a tough division. We expect the Padres
will probably find a way to be better, that Giants
will be better as well. The Dodgers are still the
Dodgers as far as I'm concerned. But you like this
(24:00):
young pitching and gallon to finish the World series with
a tremendous start for him today. That's a really nice
boost Brandon fought. We have seen I think a young
pitching star born Corbyn Carroll, what he did in the
NLCS along with Katel Marte. They're on that team for
a while, Christian Walker. They just at the end, I
think situational hitting failed them a little bit, that they
(24:22):
didn't really have that kind of an offense probably to
go swing for swing with a team like the Rangers
when they've got guys like Seeger and Garcia. Honestly, it
was an amazing win for them to beat the Phillies
the way that they did with all the stars that
Philadelphia has. But Carrie, I think it's a great story Arizona.
You know, if having played in Arizona, it's a great
(24:42):
sports area that they love their teams. It's a ballpark
that I think has needed a bit of love here
in recent years to bring it up to the major
League standard of being back to being one of the
best in the majors. And I just think that this
World Series, in this playoff run overall to shine a
light on what a great baseball town the Phoenix is.
The whole state is a great baseball state, and so
(25:03):
I think it was a proud moment I'm sure for
Arizona throughout with a really likable team and a great manager,
Tory Leavello. Again, he got that team passed some ball
clubs in Milwaukee and with the Dodgers and with the Phillies.
Each time, honestly, the other team was favored. So I
think it's just a tremendous feather in the cap of
(25:25):
Tory Levello and the Diamondbacks, and they were able to
get as far as they did. They probably lost to
a deeper team, to be honest with you, but the
future is really bright for the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers
that they've been the team to be in that league
and that division certainly for a long time. But they
had better watch out because this Diamondbacks team, I believe
is going to be back in twenty twenty four.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Yeah, plenty of moves to be made for the Dodgers
in hot stove and Prosper did say hey too soon
when you mentioned Seeger and winning with the Dodgers, and
my apologies. Yeah, but you know, he's only the second
World Series with multiple teams.
Speaker 7 (26:03):
It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Reggie Jackson.
Speaker 3 (26:05):
That's it.
Speaker 7 (26:05):
It's just it's extraordinary what he's been able to do.
And you know, we talked a bit last night about
the Hall of Fame conversation. It's an interesting one because
he's now been able to build that part of his legacy.
I think he still has five or six more years
of star level production before I can say yes, he's
definitely in, but the longevity is there. I think he
(26:28):
loves the game. You can just tell he brings a
certain stoicism in a good way about the way that
he plays and carries himself. He reminds me a lot.
I know, I've made the comparison of utterly Chase. He's
got a lot of that same way about him, where
he's very serious, loves the game, plays it hard, never
gives you anything in terms of he's not going to
(26:49):
bear his soul in an interview like last night when
Kenny asked him about how he was wincing around the bases.
Just gets it. He's really really good, even great. I
think any changed that day. I remember I was actually
in Texas covering that the day that Semeon and Seeger
signed with the Rangers, and it was two years ago
in my goodness, it has changed the franchise there ever
(27:11):
since all right, last one.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
For you, JP, we got plenty of time to talk
hot stove and the chaos that will be free agency
in trades brust Boche. With this title, he's tied with
Walter Alston and Joe Tory with four World Series wins
under his belt. Only Connie Mack, Joe McCarthy and Casey
Stangle with more.
Speaker 7 (27:32):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (27:33):
See the greatest manager of the Model era.
Speaker 7 (27:37):
And that's an important distinction there modern era, because you know,
you look at and you compare him. Is he Is
he a full contemporary of Larusa and Tori because they
both had shortly remarkable career. It's it's hard for me
to necessarily put him ahead of Larusa. But obviously the
(27:57):
four World Series rings is unique, and I do think
that there's a very compelling argument that if you look
at it this way, the full wild Card era, so
from ninety five to now, I do think he's the
best manager of the wild Card here in terms of
what he's been able to achieve at the highest level.
(28:17):
Dusty Baker's got a claim to Certainly, Dusty got his
World Series ring, but at this time of year, winning
the biggest games there are to win. And I think
in every case, Mike, you think about those Giants teams,
maybe you would have said they were favored in twenty fourteen,
but they certainly weren't favored against Texas and ten. They
(28:37):
were not favored against the Tigers in twelve. And while
you may have said at this point by the time
they got to the World Series they were favored against
the Diamondbacks, at no point during the journey where you're saying, well,
it's inevitable the Rangers are going to win the World
Series or even make it there. So I think that
the way that he was able to get the most
out of his teams win when the playoffs began, he
(28:59):
never really had the team that people thought was gonna
win it all, and I think that that's the measure
of a great manager. He was just he was always
finding guys, whether it's Josh Fores on this team, whether
it's Travis e Chikawa on the team back in twenty
fourteen or Marco Scudrou in twelve Linseicom, he was as
bouncing them around to different roles. He just got the
(29:19):
most out of his personnel always and that, to me
is the mark of a great manager.
Speaker 3 (29:25):
John Balmerosi our guest MLB Network Jason smithschell with me,
Mike Harman, No Smith Tonight, Kerry Rhodes x NFL Pro
Bowler and all rookie team participate in our in his
stead tonight as we commemborate at the end of this
MLB season, it's only appropriate you get to exhale from
(29:45):
the on field of baseball while the Lions also have
a bye week, so you don't have to have prediction
this week.
Speaker 7 (29:51):
Right, So here's what I'll say though, just in case,
should I give it to you an hour or should
I wait for another time to convey it to you?
Speaker 2 (29:57):
Well, you want to yell.
Speaker 4 (29:58):
At justin about the chart coming up out there?
Speaker 7 (30:01):
All right, here we go, Here we go, And I'm
gonna have Carrie check my math on this, Okay, Carrie,
I want you to check my math, make sure that
I'm I'm mostly in a correct area here. But I'm
gonna say the Detroit Lions will defeat the Chargers by
a final score of twenty seven to seventeen.
Speaker 4 (30:19):
Oh that's pretty good, Jackie, I like that, actually, Yeah,
twenty seven seventeen Yeah, the charges are definitely make a
mistake to give them that extra ext little cushion.
Speaker 7 (30:28):
Yeah, I think it's twenty seven to seventeen. It's almost
a similar actually, the sort of a similar margin by
which they beat the Raiders. Obviously, I understand it's been
quit the fallout since that game there on Monday evening
here in Michigan. But I like the way the Lions
are playing right now. The thing is they're able to
run the ball when they need to in golf. I
(30:49):
think that golf and Laporta combo's really gone well. So
I like what the Lions are doing right now. Detroit
is long overdue, Carrie. We mentioned this a lot long
over do for some good sports stories, and I think
the lines are gonna give us one here this fall JP.
Speaker 4 (31:05):
Yeah, they're playing really well, man. They're my second best
team in the NFC right now, and so to see
them step up to where they are right now and
to really buy into what Dan Campbell has those guys
brewing up over there, man, it's really special. It's really
exciting to see.
Speaker 7 (31:19):
I love it, Cary Well Kerry. When I hear from you,
I'm smiling here to hear my friend I feel even better.
So thank you, Thank you for affirming all the optism
that I've got right now. That means a lot.
Speaker 3 (31:29):
Now I got you back, JAP, the most positive guy
in media, it's our guy, John Paul Morosi. Thanks for
helping us cover this like a blanket all throughout the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
JP be sure to catch live editions of The Jason
Smith Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern,
seven pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
Welcome back in Jason Smith Show with Me Mike Harmon.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
No Jason Smith Tonight.
Speaker 3 (31:55):
Carrie Rhodes NFL All Pro, All Rookie Team, musician, actor, analyst,
Legend with me tonight at Carrie twenty five Roads, where
you follow him on Twitter see all his latest greatest
Find me over at Swollendome for some dopey thing I said,
or some piece of music or television or film history
that I wanted you to remember on this date. Now,
(32:17):
we've got the Lakers and the Clippers coming down to
the wire. They're in a TV timeout one seventeen one fourteen,
eighteen point five seconds left. We'll get to that coming
up in about ten minutes. As we watch the dramatic
finish of that game. But earlier today, the news of
Bob Knight passing the legendary Indiana Texas Tech coach USA Basketball,
(32:41):
all of those things look a guy that you see
the word complicated. For a long time while he was
still in the coaching realm, it was embattled because he
fought with everybody. But what you can't argue with is success. Yeah,
the titles, the Olympics, the number of kids that graduated
(33:02):
through his program, through the year, all.
Speaker 4 (33:05):
Of that goes through.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Yes you've got incidents, Yes you've got some quotes that
leave you a little unnerved. I always just love the
fishing show that he had fishing and the golf show
that he did back in the day, and the golf
tips were some of the best. And our staff they
went through and they got all the curse words out,
(33:27):
because well, it's Bob Knight going to work on the
golf course to teach you how to improve your game.
Speaker 8 (33:34):
There's no place that better services my appetite than Pizza Hut.
Even after a bad round, if I have a chance
to smell the pizza, I'm hooked. It's just like I've
made three birdies. In a row. I'm into the parking
lot at the Pizza Hut, and my appetite is satisfied
pretty quickly when I'm there. Pizza Hut is the appetite.
(33:57):
What Jack Nicholas is the golf.
Speaker 4 (34:01):
So there you go there like he would do these reads.
Speaker 3 (34:04):
And if you go onto YouTube and go down that
rabbit hole tomorrow because it is as good as again,
you know, we can't we you literally can't even have
the next line without a bunch of curls. So like
every time he mishits like trying to demonstrate. Here I
am with my you know five iron you blankety blankety blank.
(34:24):
And his co host is a golf pro who's laughing
and chuckling. At times he just starts cursing because he's
really awkward alongside Bob.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
And things like that.
Speaker 3 (34:35):
Right, he just the simple reads he goes, that's a
bleep and bleep in Tony. It's like and you hear
someone yell, it's not Tony's being Emmy's TV. And some
of the others, like just promos for going to the grocery.
Here's what you should do. You go to the grocery
store and you get your wife a knife, steak to
cook for you.
Speaker 2 (34:54):
Like, wait what I call it?
Speaker 4 (34:56):
These promos like and I go down that rabbit.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Hole in addition to some of the coaching quotes and
the back and forth, right intimidating at press conferences, and yeah,
that's exactly exactly what you know justin Prosberg, our Executi
producer in my ear, you know the the it's a
different mold, right, It's a different time. And even towards
the end of his run, you saw how differently things
(35:21):
were navigated during his time at Texas Tech versus Indiana
the fiefdom. For me, I had the one great interaction.
He always came to Northwestern and Indiana would roll in
and celebration. Right, we had some of the greats coming
through all the time, between he and Gene Katie and
and some others that would traverse the Big ten sidelines. Uh,
(35:41):
and usually pretty good with the student section and and
would you know, you know, smile and wave, especially when
they were drumming us. But one year, close game, wintry night,
and I had a basketball with me, like collecting autographs.
You know, I'm a kid whatever, and I have a basketball,
and I'm like, I'm gonna stay by the northwestern side.
(36:03):
There's like fifty boosters standing over by the Indiana locker room.
Sure enough, coach Knight comes out the northwestern side like
just keep walking and like does the whole thing where
he kind of draws up to beat us with this
big play at the end of the game, and he's like,
just keep going, signs the basketball and I get with him,
and I'm a human shield all the way out the
(36:24):
door to the bus. So he gets right past all
the boosters and he goes to get on the bus,
grabs me like to brace himself because it's you know,
slush on the ground. Whatever.
Speaker 4 (36:33):
He goes, thanks kid, I needed that.
Speaker 3 (36:35):
And he gets on the bus and you see all
these people coming running after us, trying to get that
that minute to shake his hand in glad hand.
Speaker 6 (36:43):
But for that night, he got away without having to
do it. That's one of my favorites. That's a that's
a great story. And I could see I could see
you doing that, Mike. I know you're you're a man
of the people and you care about It's.
Speaker 4 (36:58):
A good blocking aid right there.
Speaker 3 (37:02):
It Yeah, you're trying to think of you got to
clean it up because you can't use the words Coach
Night exactly.
Speaker 4 (37:10):
I'm gonna let that one go. But great story. I
want to talk about Coach Knight in the way that
you know, we talked about the good, bad and ugly, right,
let's talk about good back, good bad and ugly. This
Laker games crazy. I don't know how it ends up
in overtime.
Speaker 3 (37:23):
We'll get to overtime. That means we get free basketball
into the fourth hour of the show.
Speaker 4 (37:27):
Throwing me off, But Coach Knight man one of those
guys that you know, enigmatic obviously only I would think
from the from the outside of any program means he's
ever been at. But you know, even though with all
the complexities of him as a human being and all
the you know, the the outbursts that we saw and
all the things that happened around him, I think the
(37:49):
one thing about him which will always ring true is
that how how good of a coach he was. And
I think a lot of the antics kind of water
down what he did and did and what he minute
for the game. And I think we need to appreciate
that part of it as well.
Speaker 7 (38:03):
Well.
Speaker 3 (38:03):
When you go through and you look at a lot
of those squads, it's not like he was running around
with some of the talent necessarily that you would see
at Duke or what Kentucky or whatever. Became like he
molded guys into a team exactly. Godspeed.
Speaker 4 (38:19):
Bob Knight.
Speaker 3 (38:19):
Will continue to celebrate those clips, but we'll go back
into this Laker Clipper game.
Speaker 4 (38:24):
It's chaos. Oh my god.
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Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
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