On this week’s edition of Inside the (Rob) Parker, Rob kicks things off by discussing why the Pittsburgh Pirates fired manager Derek Shelton, the Texas Rangers' two-year long World Series hangover and a bizarre piece of bad New York Mets history. Rob also talks with former MLB pitcher and YES Network analyst David Cone in addition to MLB.com Detroit Tigers beat writer Jason Beck. Plus, the latest editions of the Parker Pushback, Sean Bo's Weekend Wagers and Anthony Masterson's Pocket Protector Central, as well as Rob's latest appearance on MLB Network.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
From the Berkshars to the sound from wherever you live
in MLB America. This is inside the Parker. You give
us twenty two minutes and we'll give you the scoop
on major League Baseball. Now here's Baseball Hall of Fame
voter number fifty seven, Rob Parker.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Come on, I've been covering Major League Baseball for almost
forty years now, in New York, in Cincinnati, in Detroit,
in LA.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I love this game. Let's go Welcome into the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I'm your host, Rob Parker, and what a show we
have for you today. Former major league pitcher David Cohne
drops by. He'll tell us about the NL East, the
Mat Soto, some other stuff.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Can't wait to get his insight.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Also from MLB dot Com, we'll talk with Jason Beck.
He covers the Detroit Tigers. Plus we'll have a park
push back that and much more.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Let's go better up.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
To lead off. It's getting rocked and keep him on.
Rob's hot take on the three biggest stories in Major
League Baseball. Number one.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates fired their manager Derek Shelton
to no surprise. I mean the Pirates were Scoffland twelve
and twenty six. They lost their seventh in a row
on Wednesday. And guess what. The Pirates have Paul Skiings
and they're not gonna waste a number one ace like
(01:35):
a Paul Skiings on a terrible team.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
They have to figure this out.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Not that the Pirates automatically we're gonna, you know, tear
up the National League or anything, but there's no way
that they thought that they couldn't compete and would be
this bad, especially when you have a picture like Skiings
on your roster.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
When you have a guy like him.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
It usually stops you from losing five to six seven
in a row because this guy's gonna pitch every fifth
day and he's gonna give you a chance to win
almost every single time you get out there. But the
Pirates have been really bad, and so the Pirates have
decided to make a change and at manager. So Shelton
(02:19):
is out in Pittsburgh and now Don Kelly, who is
their bench coach, is now the manager as they try
not to let this twenty twenty five season get away
from them.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Number two.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
I don't care what you say, the Texas Rangers are
the most disappointing team in the American League coming into
Thursday there eighteen and nineteen scuffling at the plate. They
got a new hitting coach and Brett Boone trying to
light a fire under these bats.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Jake Berger, who they got.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
To bring some power and to their lineup, has been
sent down the TRIPLEA. This guy at twenty nine home
run last year, thirty four couple of years ago and
has really struggled. And how bad the offense is is
think about this. Jacob de Gram is back and pitching well,
(03:14):
coming into Thursday at two point six to one ERA,
two wins, one loss, but they're not winning his games.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
He's given up less than three runs.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
A start, and before his last two starts where the
Rangers actually won, they had lost his three previous starts.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
So the hitting has really hurt this team.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I get it, the hangover after winning the World Series,
you know, a year ago, and then last year they scuffled,
they didn't make the playoffs. And I just don't believe
that most people thought that getting a picture of Jacob
de Gram's talent added to your team and some other pieces,
that you would be off to such.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
A rough start.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I mean, only the Angels are worse in the division
and not that far behind the Rangers. So it's been
a really, really rocky bad start for the Rangers. Bruce Bochi,
one of the best managers in baseball, got to get
this thing turned around. When you're firing batting coaches and
making changes in late April early May, you know it's
(04:17):
bad and your hair is on fire. So the Rangers
have been disappointing. If they've missed the playoffs again this year,
it will be really.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Bad in Texas. Number three.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Want to talk about something that's weird, that's something that
you can't explain.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
How about the New York Mets. Every year they lose
the thirty fourth game of the season. Are you ready
for this?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Since twenty ten, for sixteen years, they've lost sixteen straight
game number thirty four of every season, no matter where
they're playing, home, in the road, no matter who they're playing,
they can not win that game. I think that's the
weirdest streak. How in the world does somebody even go
(05:04):
back and think, hey, they lost game number thirty four again.
There's some quirky things in sports. This is one of them.
I wonder if the player like, what could that possibly be?
And you know, there's some gambler out there that knows
that that bets against the Mets every game number thirty four.
(05:25):
I wish I knew. I could have made some shekels
betting against the Mets in game number thirty four. Regardless
of that loss, they're off to a great start, and
we know they lead the NL East going into Thursday.
So even with that automatic loss, the New York Mets
are good to go.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
So here comes the big interview. Listen and learn. It's
so good.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Now, let's welcome in former Major League pitcher David Kohne, who,
of course won a sign young in nineteen ninety four.
He pitched a perfect game in nineteen ninety nine, also
won five World Series one with the Blue Jays, four
with the Yankees, and is a top broadcaster now with
the Yes Network, Amazon Prime and ESPN.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Cony. What's happening? How are you?
Speaker 4 (06:14):
I'm doing good, Rob? How's it going?
Speaker 3 (06:17):
All good?
Speaker 5 (06:17):
Man?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
A couple of topics, Man, love to get into with you.
Let's start with the one of your former teams, the
New York Metropolitans, and they're off to a good start
in the NL least really beast at home. I think
they you know, started off like eleven or twelve and
Ozero or something crazy. But anyway, the Mets, they signed
Juan Soto, they're trying.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
To get to the World Series. Do you like this
team to where it's constructed?
Speaker 4 (06:44):
I do. I very much like this team.
Speaker 6 (06:46):
I think they have some prospects in the minor leagues
too that are kind of knocking on the door that
could fill in some blanks for them as well. Obviously,
fifteen's always the big question. You got to give them
a lot of credit for having the foresight to see
a guy like Clay Holmes, the former closer with the Yankees,
as a starting pitcher option and so far, so good.
And you know, to me that that deserves a lot
(07:08):
of credit. Anytime you can find, you know, those kind
of nuggets like that in the weeds, you've done something.
You've done your job as the front office. So I
think they're starting to click on all cylinders now. David
Stearns now for firmly implemented in the GM role. He's
got all the resources he would ever need with the
owner obviously Steve Cohen there.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
So yeah, they're a dangerous team.
Speaker 6 (07:30):
They have tremendous resources and Peter Alonso's pretty good. Who knew, right,
Peter A. Lonso's pretty good. He's up to an unbelievable start.
And Wan Sodo, I think is gonna get better and
better as the season unfolds.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I was just going to ask you about Juan Soto,
and the Mets have had a history of signing big
time players and a scuffle, especially their first year. We
even saw that with Francisco Lindor. I mean, it was
bad his first year and now obviously he's cemented in
there and he's doing great, but got off to a
so so start. Fans on the radio in New York
(08:03):
we're calling him one so so. Well.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Yeah, I guess the bars said so high.
Speaker 7 (08:08):
Right.
Speaker 6 (08:08):
When you think of Juan Soto and you think of
the contract that he signs, you expect all world kind
of performance, you know, and he's only accumulated I guess
according to Baseball Reference one point six war so far.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 6 (08:21):
Actually, that's the thing with Juan Soto is that you
know you're looking for the superstar numbers, but what you
really get with him, because he was signed so young
at his age, you get a really high floor with him.
You know, his struggle is an eight point fifty ohps.
You know, his struggle is only seven home runs so
(08:41):
far through the first six weeks and a two sixty
at batting average. You know, pick out whatever metrics you want.
Are you an old school guy? You like batting average,
you like RBIs, you know, we can look at that.
You know you like new school metrics. The under the hood, Look,
we can look at that as well. Juan Soto is
still pretty good right now, and he's very much underachieved.
He's capable of a lot more. The thing you get
(09:02):
with him, as I said, a really high floor. You're
never going to get a crash out with him, probably
his entire career, because he owns the strike zone. He's
always going to walk, he's always going to have a
high end base percentage, he's always going to contribute offensively
to help you score runs. You know, that's Swan Soto
in a nutshell. He's never going to crash out on you.
He's always going to maintain that certain level of production.
(09:23):
And this is on the bottom part of the level
right now that you've seen, and it's still pretty high
compared to everybody else in the league.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Our guest is David cohenb former Major League pitcher and.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Of course broadcasted with the Yes Network, Amazon Prime and
of course ESPN. Even on the metro off to a
good start, we cannot shortchange the NL East because when
you look at the Phillies are right there and the
Braves got off to a horrible start. They've turned things around.
(09:52):
Do you expect these three teams to fight it out
in the NL League?
Speaker 6 (09:56):
I do, I absolutely do. The Phillies have the pitching
they're starting. Rotation is as good as anybody's. You know,
Wheelers still one of the best in the game at
the top of their rotation. Nola's starting to get better
and round into form after a slow start. Heyesus Luzardo
was a great trade in the off season. They've added
to that already great rotation. So yes, the Phillies are
(10:19):
going to be there based on their pitching. They're starting
pitching in the pedigree certainly the Braves, and they're outstanding
young core. You know, either get Ronald o'cunya junior back,
you get Spencer Streider back.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
And then they're off and running again.
Speaker 6 (10:31):
I think any team that can stay around five hundred
for injuries is a dangerous team when you have the
potential that both the Phillies and the Braves have. It's
when you start falling down below five hundred too far
that you have to waste your hot streak to get
back to five hundred. Yeah, you understand this better than anybody.
Rob The expanded playoff format changes everything. Just get a
ticket to the dance and then you can do damage.
(10:52):
In postseason. It's a different ballgame. You hang around five
hundred now for the first four or five months, you're fine.
You get a bit run late, you get into the postseason,
you get a chance really to really make a name
for yourself in postseason.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
No doubt, Cony, I want to ask you. And you
get to watch a lot of do a lot of
Yankee games and whatnot, and Aaron Judge has taken it
to another level in the league. In baseball, I think
the average batting average is two forty two or forty four.
This dude is batting four hundred and at one point
was leading in singles like seriously, and he still has
(11:28):
the power. You don't see guys hit four hundred and
hit home runs at that clip. What has changed for
Aaron Judge? We know how great, he is the MVP
the home runs, but we're watching something different now.
Speaker 6 (11:43):
Yeah, what I see Rob is a really smart dude,
you know, a guy that he doesn't get enough credit for.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
You know, how smart he is.
Speaker 6 (11:51):
His approach, the way he's adjusted over the years, the
biggest adjustments he's made in terms of swinging it less
pitches out of the strike something at understand how opposing
pitchers are going after him, of really solidifying his game
plan each and every single at bat. That has improved significantly,
significantly year over year. We've seen when he first broke in,
(12:12):
Rob did the big leagues, he was striking out about
forty percent of his at bats.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Nowadays that's less than twenty percent.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
I mean, he's cut his strikeout rate in half major
league average. Just for context, major league gaverage, the average
hitter strikes out about twenty two percent of the time
across the board.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
He's less than that now.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
I mean, it's just remarkable that he's striking out less
than average, getting on base more than ever before taking
his walks. Is a really good hitter, you know, in
terms of hitting the ball with high exa velocity, which
means his ground balls get through the infield quicker because
he hits the ball harder and he's getting better pitches
to hit, and when he does get launch angle, when
he does get in in the air, he's still hitting
(12:51):
those mammoth bombs that he's always hit. So he's a
dangerous hitter right now, mainly because of his intellect and
his approach and his understanding of the strikes and how
opposing pitchers are challenging him.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Last thing here, the Yankees loudes Garrett Cole before the
season starts. We know they signed Max Free to a
big contract from the Braves, and he has been lights out.
I know he didn't get to win on Wednesday night,
but he pitched great against the Padres, a really good team,
(13:24):
and I'm impressed.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
From this standpoint.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
You come to New York on the big stage, you
get the big contracts, with his big expectations, but you
were supposed to be the number two starter and you're
push to number one. And he's in the conversation for
al Cy Young. You know, six weeks into the season,
what have you seen from Max Freed.
Speaker 6 (13:46):
I've seen just somebody who really knows his craft so well.
He's a fun guy to watch pitch because he's got
five or six different pitches and he doesn't try to
strike out everybody, but he can get the strikeout what
he needs to. You can see when he gets a
strikeout load of minner on base, that's when he goes
to miss bats. But he doesn't try to miss bats.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
At bat.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
He tries to get ground balls, he tries to minimize contact,
get weak contact, get easy outs when you can. You know,
that's just a smart pitcher there as well, somebody who
understands I need to get deeper in the games. I
need to go six seven innings at least, and the
only way I can do that is to get easy
outs along the way, and then when I need to
go for strikeouts, I'm going to go for strikeouts. So
(14:27):
that's been the impressive part with Max Freed. Where would
the Yankees be without him? Every other starter in their
rotation is below five hundred. The Yankees are like three
games below five hundred Without Max Freed on the mound,
they're eight games over when he pitches. That's not only
Cy Young Awards, that's MVP votes. When you have that
kind of production on a team that really is hurting
(14:47):
in the rest of the rotation other than Carlos Rodin,
they have two of the nastiest lefties in the game,
and Rodin and Fried right now, if they had Cole, Wow,
they'd have the nastiest rity in the game. So that
makes me think that maybe they're going to be in
the market for a right hander Sam you know, maybe
a Sandiel Contera if he becomes available from Miami. That
kind of right handed power pitcher is somebody that fit
(15:09):
right in with the Yankees right now.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
No doubt.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
His name is David Cohen, one of the best in
the business man. We appreciate you, Cony, thank you for
your insight.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
My pleasure, rob anytime, good to be on with you.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
It's time for the pocket Protector Centrum. The analytic numbers
you need to know?
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Well, maybe Anthony Masterson is his name, BS, analytics is
his game?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
What do you got for me, Anthony?
Speaker 7 (15:36):
We know Aaron Judge is one of the best players
of this generation, but is he already one of the
best right handed hitters the game has ever seen? When
you think of the Mount rushmore of righty's who's on it?
Aaron Mays, the Big Hurt Pooholz, Frank Robinson in just
his tenth season, Judge has just surpassed the one thousand
game milestone and will near five thousand career played appearances
(15:57):
by the end of the season. He's a career two
ninety hitter with a four one hundred plus OVP at
a six hundred plus slugging the only three rdies with
one thousand games played and a slugging percentage over six
hundred Jimmy Fox, Hank Greenberg. Judge his ten to twenty
career OPS is only behind Fox among righties all time,
and just ahead of guys like Hornsby, Manny Trout, McGuire
(16:20):
and Frank Thomas. You've taken one step farther, however, and
look at OPS plus, which takes a player's OPS and
normalizes it across the entire league, taking into account external
factors like home ballpark and the talent of the players. League.
As of the first week of May, Aaron Judges' career
OPS plus is one seventy six, the highest mark for
(16:41):
Rayhanna batter with at least one thousand games played, just
ahead of Hornsby, Trout and Fox. Now at thirty three
and around three hundred and thirty career home runs, he
needs to keep up the pace to reach the upper
echelon on the homer list, but if he chases four
hundred like he's doing this year, he could very well
wind up on the short list.
Speaker 8 (17:00):
It's the Gambler here, Vice president of operations for mlbbro
dot Com and executive producer of the MLB Bro Show
podcast The Mixtape.
Speaker 9 (17:10):
Every Friday. You heard that right.
Speaker 8 (17:13):
Every Friday, we bring you the best from the world
of Black and Brown baseball. We cover the seven point
two percent of melanated Major leaguers from soup to nuts,
but with our own cultural flair and unique voice, will
take you on a ride reflecting on the accomplishments, clutch moments,
and contributions to culture that the Bros continue to breathe
(17:37):
into baseball.
Speaker 9 (17:38):
From Mookie Wilson to Mookie Betts.
Speaker 8 (17:40):
Doctor k to Doctor Styx, from Bro Bombs to stolen
Bases to Black Aces. We're live at the ballparks and
also bringing you segments like Classic Hits with David Grubb,
the Black Ace Report, The Rundown, the Walk Off, and
Going Deep, just to name a few of the segments
that truly capture the voice of black baseball.
Speaker 9 (18:03):
If things get out of.
Speaker 8 (18:04):
Hand is the boss, Rob Parker, He's kicking up dust.
We will gladly pay you on Tuesday from an MLB
bro doubleheader today. Remember the heart of the game lies
in the diversity of the game and the spirit of
black baseball that dates back to.
Speaker 9 (18:19):
The Negro leagues.
Speaker 8 (18:21):
I the Gambler, your friendly neighborhood diamond checker, making sure
that you stay on top of the game and in
touch with the soul of MLB. Fuckle up for a
wild baseball journey, showing respect to the Ogs and highlighting
the new breed of melanated malm moroders. First thing through
MLB's pipeline, all pitching with the sound of Black baseball.
Speaker 9 (18:44):
We got the best starting five.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
In the business.
Speaker 8 (18:47):
Listen to the MLB Bro Show podcast the Mixtape on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
When Rob was a newspaper columnist, he lived by this motto.
If I'm writing, I'm ripping, Let's bring in a writer
of broadcaster old or new.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Now, let's welcome in a friend of mine. Jason Beck
from MLB dot Com. He covers the Detroit Tigers. Does
a great job. Jason Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 10 (19:17):
My friend great, thank great, to be bad.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Thank you always always we got to get you on
at least once a year.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Let's talk about these Detroit Tigers first and the al
Central coming into Thursday's Action. Twenty three and thirteen off
to a great start. We remember last year came out
of nowhere, made the playoffs exciting stuff.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
But they're here to stay apparently. Yeah.
Speaker 11 (19:43):
You know, a lot of people wondered whether the style
of play that kind of got them into the playoffs
down the stretch last year was sustainable over the long term,
and so far it's worked. You know, the pitching chaos
not so much, but they've been they've replaced that with
a really dominant rotation right now with you urgence of
Casey Mice and Jerk Scubel picking up where he left off.
(20:04):
You know, it's but the aggressive base running and the
opportunistic offense and the tough at bats that have lived on.
So it's they've really kind of taken the momentum and
built off of it without necessarily relying on, you know,
just running the same thing back.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Here's the thing I mean, obviously they were able to
trade Jack Flarerty away and now they've gotten him back.
You talked about school bull and mizuh talk about schoolble first,
and then I want to hear where he is and
then give me the mies and and and where he
is and what is working for him?
Speaker 3 (20:44):
First school ball, I mean, he got off.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
To a little rocky start first couple of starts, but
he's been really good since then.
Speaker 10 (20:50):
Yeah, he's really kind of settled in. He doesn't necessarily rely.
Speaker 11 (20:57):
He reminds me of sures are in some ways and
that you know, he doesn't just rely on the same
stuff working and staying put. You know, cheers are always
used to say you rather get better where you get worse.
He never stayed the same from one day to another
or from one year to another. So you've seen Scoople
try to build off of what he had going. You know,
(21:18):
the change up is still his big outpitch, but you
know the vlo with the fast balls played up. You know,
he's been able to work in the curveball every now
and again, not not a ton, probably not as much.
Speaker 10 (21:30):
As you know.
Speaker 11 (21:32):
He might rely on it later in the year, but
you've seen that good and the slider has been fantastic,
So it's you know, he's really kind of re read
what hitters have been trying to do against him, and
he's really attacked. And it's been a little bit of
a different mix because, you know, whereas Jake Rogers was
to sketcher for every start last year, every pitch, actually
(21:53):
Dylan Anglers had to step in with Jake Rogers injured,
and it's really kind of brought out some some you
know a little bit of a different look to his game.
Not not big, but just on kind of several differences
in terms of reading hitters and kind of you know,
which pitch would work against which hitter.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
How about just the idea of getting Floherty back obviously
one of the world's series with the Dodgers last year,
just to solidify. Were they happy that they were able to,
you know, bring him back in the fold.
Speaker 11 (22:24):
Yeah, Yeah, it's really kind of been a blessing. I
don't think that was necessarily a big part of their plans,
but when Flerdy was still out there on the market
come February and the Tigers needed one more starter where
they felt like they they needed one more to kind
of deepen their rotation, uh, you know, they pounced and
(22:44):
was able to they were able to do a creative
one year deal with a UH with a player options
for next year. Uh Flerity gets a chance to come
back to where he was comfortable and try to, you know,
get this stuff back to the point where he could
prove it again and tried to get a long term
deal maybe you know, next winner or if it doesn't
work out, you know, he can take the take the
(23:08):
option and run it back again. I don't think we've
seen the best of Jacks so far this year. I
think he would admit that, but you kind of see
the ingredients coming together where you know, come mid season
he should be well back and forth to where he
can give these guys some really quality innings down to stretch.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
And Miz tell me that. How what of a big
surprise has he been?
Speaker 11 (23:31):
I think the key from eyes has been health. You know,
he was able to have a healthy off season for
the first time in three years. I think where he
was able to work on, you know, simply pitching instead
of having to rehab something or get healthy or or
try to figure out how this works or that. You know,
he was able to focus on the pitching. And what
(23:52):
you saw was he's going to split it harder now
than he did, you know, before the injuries, and it
looks much more like the pitch that was the dominant
outpitch from in college. He was able to do some
renditions off the slide or to get it to behave
a little bit differently depending on how much vlow he
(24:14):
puts on it, and he was able to get confidence
back in and being able to get right on this pastball.
Speaker 10 (24:19):
So you know this is the case he minds.
Speaker 11 (24:21):
I think the Tigers thought they were getting when they
drafted him one to one back in twenty eighteen. You know,
this is the guy who can not only be part
of a major league rotation, which let's be honest, I
don't think everybody was entirely convinced of that going into
spring training, but now he looks like a frontline type
of starter, maybe a solid number two or number three.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Our guess is Jason Beck, he covers the Detroit Tigers
for MLB dot Com. Jason Riley Green did something you
don't see very often, hit two home runs in one inning.
You know that doesn't happen. Talk about Riley Green and
obviously made the All Star Game team last year and
what he's delivered for the Tigers.
Speaker 11 (25:05):
Well, you know, Riley went through a pretty deep funk
early and see, after a pretty good opening week or two,
he went into a deep slop and he you know,
nobody was worried that he wouldn't get out of it,
but it was more of a question of how long
it was going to last, and you know, how would
he come out of it, And he felt pretty confident.
(25:26):
There was a matter of timing, you know, being able
to get on time for the passball again. And you know,
lo and behold, he's always raked in Houston. He's always
hit well there, which you know, which kind of makes
sense because it's a smaller ballpark. But then again, being
a left handed hitter, it's a little bit different for him.
He can't really use the Crawford boxes as much unless
(25:47):
he goes opposite field. Well, you know, he heat it
up there and he used the opposite field and that
really kind of set him off to where he had
a very big series and anaeim and now you're looking
at him more as you know, he's looking more like
the focal point of this offense.
Speaker 10 (26:03):
But when you compile, you know, when you couple him.
Speaker 11 (26:06):
With Kerry Carpenter, and then you add in Torque, who's
off to a blazing hot start, although he's sump a
little bit lately, and how Cole Keith is heating up.
This is a way more balanced offense. And for a
team that you know really forges his identity on running
the basis hard, on working deep counts and on slashing.
Speaker 10 (26:26):
The gaps, this team's thinking for power now and.
Speaker 11 (26:29):
You know they're really taking advantage of it, and it's
looking like a way more formidable offense that can beat
you in a lot of different ways.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Jason, last thing, uh, the al Central. I mean, we
know about the Guardians, we know about Kansas City and
the Twins. I mean this is these four teams are
are going to do get out. I mean, I don't
think that anybody can look at any of those teams
and think they can't get hot and be in the
mix to win the division.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Where are you?
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Uh?
Speaker 10 (27:01):
You know, I I went into the season thinking Kansas.
Speaker 11 (27:04):
City was probably the favorite in the division, with Cleveland
right up there. The way the Tigers have started, and
the fact that they are going to be getting some
key pieces back, you know, Matt Erwin's on the rehab assignment.
Now you know Parker Meadows is finally making progress from
that scary nervous hue in his in his arm that
(27:24):
he had. You know, now you can look and say,
you know, the way the team is playing now, if
the guys they get back, come back and do time
and do what you would.
Speaker 10 (27:34):
Expect them to do.
Speaker 11 (27:35):
I would say the Tigers right now with a favorite
in the division, and you know they're going to be
the team that the other clubs are going to be
aiming for come summer.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
All right, his name is Jason Beck, one of the
best baseball riders in the country.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
My man, Jason, thank you so much. Always appreciate you.
Speaker 10 (27:53):
Always good to talk baseball with your rob Thanks, take care,
make way.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
For weekend, yo, it's seanbo Fire up those bed naps.
Speaker 9 (28:06):
Let's go another one in one week.
Speaker 5 (28:08):
Last week one win when lost, becoming a little bit
of the seam of the season. But let's get Rice
Garden on Friday as we go, hit ahead to the
d where the Detroit Tigers take on the Texas Rangers,
and you know we're gonna go big under money under
eight and a half runs as Patrick Corben versus Tyres
School Bull should be an amazing pitching matchup. I don't
foresee too many home runs. If any leave of the
(28:30):
part of this game.
Speaker 12 (28:32):
The exact opposite can be set on Saturday as the
Bronx Bombers the New York Yankees come through to West
Sacramento to take on Days and the Diddy Nitty Ballpark
next to the bridge. You know, balls will be flying,
as they currently lead the Major League at home runs
loud in Sacramento. But take that over nine, even over
nine and a half if you can get it. Let's
(28:52):
go to a zero with seanbo Weekend wagers inside the Parker.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
In on the MLB networks. Here's his latest appearance on
mL Dina.
Speaker 13 (29:07):
Again, I say thank god for Rob Parker.
Speaker 14 (29:09):
He shows up on the show down and he says
the most outrageous things and occasionally he's right, and I
admit it when it happens.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
How are you, Rob, I'm good, BK. How are you outrageous?
I'm just trying to keep it real here.
Speaker 14 (29:21):
You're your own guy. I'll give you a credit. All right,
here's your topic number one. Because Rob sends these in.
Here we go Shoho Tani has plateaued sell me on that.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
BK.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Have you watched this year? Oh my goodness, gracious, here
we go. I'll just give you the numbers. Ten home
runs and fifteen RBI. I don't know about you, but
that sounds like Dave Kingman with a better batting average.
I mean, really, fifteen RBIs. We're in May. I mean,
(29:53):
I've seen this guy strike on a number of times.
It means you're not knocking in anybody when it's not
a home run.
Speaker 9 (30:00):
Weird.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
That's not the show Haltani I saw a year ago.
And that's all I'm saying is, don't say you could
have runs in fifteen.
Speaker 13 (30:08):
You know RBIs? Are you know, reliant on your teammates?
Speaker 14 (30:13):
You realize that, right, Like you can only drive guys
in when they're on base, and that's not up to you.
Let me show you his last three years, because Shoho
Tani's last three years, he is actually.
Speaker 13 (30:24):
Almost the same guy.
Speaker 14 (30:26):
The batting average is within eleven points on base, almost
identical slugging.
Speaker 13 (30:31):
All right, I'll give you this.
Speaker 14 (30:32):
He's twenty six points lower than last year, but he's
ops plus it's higher this year than the previous two years.
Speaker 13 (30:38):
He's the same. He's essentially the same guy.
Speaker 14 (30:40):
Like stam usual, you know, like Mickey Mantle didn't have
identical years like that.
Speaker 13 (30:44):
He's about the same guy.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
No, And here's where I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
He's supposed to be on a plateau with Aaron Judge.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
These two MVP type seasons.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I can sit here honestly and say I expect even
more for Aaron Judge as he continues.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
Otani is not gonna.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Match last year's season, and he and I can't see
him as we go forward, have a better year than that.
Can I look at Aaron Judges say he's gonna have
better years than he had this past year?
Speaker 4 (31:14):
Yes?
Speaker 14 (31:15):
Yes, And that's what is making him like an all
time great.
Speaker 13 (31:19):
I'm talking.
Speaker 14 (31:19):
I just mentioned Mickey Mantle, like Judges up there with
Mickey Mantle. That's the highest praise O'tani. Also, I'll just
throw in Rob. I'm just listened for a second. Otani
leads the league in run scored, he leads the league
in triples, He's slugging six hundred.
Speaker 13 (31:33):
Later this year he's going to pitch. What are you missing?
Speaker 14 (31:37):
He's the same guy that he was last year, except
now he's gonna pitch eventually.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
No, but Rob Bryant, come on, fifteen RBIs on ten home,
you can't.
Speaker 13 (31:46):
You gotta get out of the.
Speaker 14 (31:46):
Seventies RBIs that you have to have guys on base.
Speaker 13 (31:49):
That's your teammates. So his teammates are not getting on base.
Speaker 14 (31:51):
And if you say he's plateauing, if he's if he's
plateauing at a peak, that's not a plateau.
Speaker 13 (31:56):
He's peaking. He's staying at a peak.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Oh, he's not staying at a peak because he had
more RBIs lets.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
So now all of a sudden, uh, you tell them,
you're telling them getting it. You're telling me he's.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Getting no hits when people when guys are on base,
or is it just home?
Speaker 14 (32:12):
So he's choking with men on base. He's not getting
guys on base, even with the Dodgers, or he's leading
off in the bottom of that order, is he I
don't even know. If he's leading the bottom of the
order is not getting on base for him?
Speaker 3 (32:23):
Bekay. I live in Los Angeles. I watch Dodger games.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
I've seen him strike out plenty of times in situations
with guys on base. It's not like he's getting a
hit every time guys.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
Are on base, is all I'm saying.
Speaker 13 (32:36):
He's getting on base at the time.
Speaker 14 (32:38):
Last year he's getting on base four Can we show
the numbers again? Just the last three years, he's getting
on base forty percent of the time. He's slugging six hundred, rob.
I'd be happy to hate on the top dog. I mean,
that's what we do. But I'm sorry he's slugging six twenty.
There's no hate. There's nothing of that. There's no there
there he.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Can will he matched last year? Is numbers?
Speaker 2 (33:00):
I'm gonna ask you he's gonna have the same numbers
he had last year.
Speaker 14 (33:04):
Percentage wise, I bet you that slash.
Speaker 13 (33:06):
On it's almost identical. It's as identical answers.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Yes, he will not have fifty.
Speaker 14 (33:12):
Steels RBI, So fifty fifty steels, right, won't won't happen
because then he's gonna be pitching eventually. All right, let's
get to they have fifty home runs fifty possibly.
Speaker 13 (33:23):
Possibly, No, he would see on pace for.
Speaker 14 (33:25):
Forty five forty six, it's possible.
Speaker 13 (33:28):
And that's his totals.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
It could be thirty eight. I'm just saying, and it's
a pain.
Speaker 13 (33:33):
He is on pace for forty four. He's on pace
for forty four.
Speaker 14 (33:36):
Are there years where Mantle won the Triple Crown with
fifty six homers and then he had forty four yes, and.
Speaker 13 (33:41):
He was still Mickey Mantle at his peak.
Speaker 14 (33:43):
All Right, I love this stick too, But what do
you think of one so so? Now, last eighteen games, Rob,
he's hitting about three hundred four hundred on base, slugging
five point fifty two. Did you see that first home
run that's in a zero zero game. Look at this
home run. You gotta give it up, Rod. He's not
so So any more.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
No, he's come around, and it's a good thing. I
told you he would struggle early. But going to the
Mets and whatnot. I think the thing that I look
at the most when I think about Wan So Sodo.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
And what he's done is.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
The lack of impact it's had as far as adverse
to the Yankees.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
That's what's shocking.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
He had an unbelievable year in the Bronx in over
forty home runs. He was in the middle of everything.
He seemed like he was getting big hits left and right.
And somehow he leaves the Yankees and they're still winning,
and they're still on the top of the Al East,
and they have injuries all over the place. I think that,
to me is the most shocking thing about their offense.
Speaker 14 (34:43):
Though Robert would be so that their offense would be
so much better with Sodo in it, they would be.
Speaker 13 (34:49):
They're really missing Sodo this year.
Speaker 14 (34:51):
In the next three to five years, fifteen years is
another story. Whether they should have signed him for that long.
You know, eventually that's going to be regrettable. But this year,
the Yankees would be a monstrous machine if they had
Soda in the middle of that lineup.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
Come on, but look at where they are first place.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
They lead Baseball in home runs and want and John
Carlos stan hasn't even played a game yet.
Speaker 13 (35:13):
Ben Rice is hitting right.
Speaker 14 (35:15):
It's very It's a different team with Soda in the middle,
they'd be so much better. All right, here's one where
I'm not gonna argue with you.
Speaker 13 (35:21):
Well, I'll argue a little bit. I can't help myself.
Speaker 14 (35:23):
Is it time to revisit the Hobby Bias situation in Detroit?
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Go ahead, Yes, I think he's a comeback player of
the year.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
I mean he was left for dead.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
I mean Hobby Bias putting hit his way out of
a wet paper bag. It was so bad and now
he's been three eighteen with the Tigers and.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
He's played in these field. He's played center field like
he was in high.
Speaker 9 (35:46):
School or something.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
Yeah, make him plays. He's not trying to crush every ball.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
He's actually being more focused at the plate and has
returned to a decent player for the Tigers and they're
leading to Al Central and he's contributed.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
He's come back player a year.
Speaker 14 (36:01):
I'm stunned by it, and you're absolutely right.
Speaker 13 (36:04):
Him playing center field.
Speaker 9 (36:05):
You're right.
Speaker 14 (36:06):
It's something. It's like this guy can just do anything right.
A lot of guys came to they go to centerfield,
they look bad. They're exposed. Not Howvey bias on how
he's able to time things. He's a natural, seemingly out there.
His hitting has been good. But Rob, let me just
show you something that will kind of give you a
poortend for the future. The difference between his wOBA that's
his hitting, that's his results, and his expected results. He's
(36:29):
overperforming by a wide margin. Third highest, like Carson Kelly
is on that list as well. These guys are going
to regress a bit. And Hovey bias like he hasn't
changed his plate selection that much for his strikeouts that much.
He's gotten a little better, but on the by and large,
those numbers I would expect to come back. They're gonna
come back. The way he plays, I'm not.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Gonna say he's gonna hit three eighteen for the season.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
I agree with that, But you got to give him
some credit from the standpoint that he was left for
dead and had not been for the contract yep, which
as this year and.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
Two more on it.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Had it not had that contract, he would have been
released by the time.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
Who there's no way he would still be on this team.
Speaker 13 (37:08):
No, he deserves credit, right.
Speaker 14 (37:10):
He has filled in they needed and Parker meadows hurt,
he's gone to center, has filled that spot and they're
are about the best team in the American League. Yankees
and Tigers. Give you credit there, Rob, Thank you so much.
See thank God for Rob.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
Parker, always the best.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
When Joe Hey doesn't win the National League MVP this year,
you gonna come back to this video and say Rob
Parker called it.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
He said that he pled in May and he's not
the NL MVP.
Speaker 13 (37:38):
Oh good, I hope I can say that.
Speaker 14 (37:40):
And while saying Elie de la Cruz is the MVP,
how about that we do.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
That, not batting two sixty five and plenty of.
Speaker 13 (37:46):
Time, Rob, plenty of time. You've been right enough, Thank you, Rob.
Gotta go. No, this is bolooning.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
It's the Parker pushback.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
Shut they Rob tackles the outlandish takes in Major League Baseball.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
I'm pushing back on all the people who thought that
the NL West, the National League, and the World Series
was going to be the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was
a formalaty, and I get it. The Dodgers coming into
Thursday are in first place in the NL West, but
(38:21):
I'm here to tell you that it.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Will be a battle. It will be a struggle.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
I'm still sticking with the Padres, who came into Thursday
a game and a half behind the Dodgers. The Giants
are very close behind that, and so are the Diamondbacks.
My goodness, gracious, the NL West might be the best
division in baseball, four really good teams, and the Dodgers
(38:46):
won't have a cake walk. I believe the Padres will
win the NL West and the Dodgers obviously will make
the playoffs. The Dodgers should have lost to the Padres
a year ago in the postseason. The Padres choked, but
I do believe this year, the Padres pitching and where
they are, that they will be able to beat the Dodgers.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
I do.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
I think it's really hard in Major League Baseball to
repeat at winning a World Series. It hasn't been done
in twenty five years, and it won't not It will.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
Not happen this year with the Dodgers. I'm Rob Parker,
and that's my pushback.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
In the words of New York TV legend the late
Bill Jorgensen, thanking you for your time this time until
next time, Rob Parker out d can't Gavin.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
This could be an inside of Parker.
Speaker 6 (39:48):
See you next week, same bat time, same Matt's station.
From the Berkshars to the sound from wherever you live
in MLB America. This is inside the Parker. You give
us twenty two minutes and we'll give you the scoop
on major League Baseball. Now here's Baseball Hall of Fame
voter number fifty seven, Rob Parker.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Come on, I've been covering Major League Baseball for almost
forty years now, in New York, in Cincinnati, in Detroit,
in LA.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
I love this game. Let's go Welcome into the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I'm your host, Rob Parker, and what a show we
have for you today. Former major league pitcher David Cohne
drops by. He'll tell us about the NL East, the
Mat Soto, some other stuff.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Can't wait to get his insight.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Also from MLB dot Com, we'll talk with Jason Beck.
He covers the Detroit Tigers. Plus we'll have a park
push back that and much more.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Let's go better up.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
To lead off. It's getting rocked and keep him on.
Rob's hot take on the three biggest stories in Major
League Baseball. Number one.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Pirates fired their manager Derek Shelton
to no surprise. I mean the Pirates were Scoffland twelve
and twenty six. They lost their seventh in a row
on Wednesday. And guess what. The Pirates have Paul Skiings
and they're not gonna waste a number one ace like
(01:35):
a Paul Skiings on a terrible team.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
They have to figure this out.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
Not that the Pirates automatically we're gonna, you know, tear
up the National League or anything, but there's no way
that they thought that they couldn't compete and would be
this bad, especially when you have a picture like Skiings
on your roster.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
When you have a guy like him.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
It usually stops you from losing five to six seven
in a row because this guy's gonna pitch every fifth
day and he's gonna give you a chance to win
almost every single time you get out there. But the
Pirates have been really bad, and so the Pirates have
decided to make a change and at manager. So Shelton
(02:19):
is out in Pittsburgh and now Don Kelly, who is
their bench coach, is now the manager as they try
not to let this twenty twenty five season get away
from them.
Speaker 3 (02:31):
Number two.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
I don't care what you say, the Texas Rangers are
the most disappointing team in the American League coming into
Thursday there eighteen and nineteen scuffling at the plate. They
got a new hitting coach and Brett Boone trying to
light a fire under these bats.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Jake Berger, who they got.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
To bring some power and to their lineup, has been
sent down the TRIPLEA. This guy at twenty nine home
run last year, thirty four couple of years ago and
has really struggled. And how bad the offense is is
think about this. Jacob de Gram is back and pitching well,
(03:14):
coming into Thursday at two point six to one ERA,
two wins, one loss, but they're not winning his games.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
He's given up less than three runs.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
A start, and before his last two starts where the
Rangers actually won, they had lost his three previous starts.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
So the hitting has really hurt this team.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I get it, the hangover after winning the World Series,
you know, a year ago, and then last year they scuffled,
they didn't make the playoffs. And I just don't believe
that most people thought that getting a picture of Jacob
de Gram's talent added to your team and some other pieces,
that you would be off to such.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
A rough start.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
I mean, only the Angels are worse in the division
and not that far behind the Rangers. So it's been
a really, really rocky bad start for the Rangers. Bruce Bochi,
one of the best managers in baseball, got to get
this thing turned around. When you're firing batting coaches and
making changes in late April early May, you know it's
(04:17):
bad and your hair is on fire. So the Rangers
have been disappointing. If they've missed the playoffs again this year,
it will be really.
Speaker 3 (04:25):
Bad in Texas. Number three.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Want to talk about something that's weird, that's something that
you can't explain.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
How about the New York Mets. Every year they lose
the thirty fourth game of the season. Are you ready
for this?
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Since twenty ten, for sixteen years, they've lost sixteen straight
game number thirty four of every season, no matter where
they're playing, home, in the road, no matter who they're playing,
they can not win that game. I think that's the
weirdest streak. How in the world does somebody even go
(05:04):
back and think, hey, they lost game number thirty four again.
There's some quirky things in sports. This is one of them.
I wonder if the player like, what could that possibly be?
And you know, there's some gambler out there that knows
that that bets against the Mets every game number thirty four.
(05:25):
I wish I knew. I could have made some shekels
betting against the Mets in game number thirty four. Regardless
of that loss, they're off to a great start, and
we know they lead the NL East going into Thursday.
So even with that automatic loss, the New York Mets
are good to go.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
So here comes the big interview. Listen and learn. It's
so good.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Now, let's welcome in former Major League pitcher David Kohne, who,
of course won a sign young in nineteen ninety four.
He pitched a perfect game in nineteen ninety nine, also
won five World Series one with the Blue Jays, four
with the Yankees, and is a top broadcaster now with
the Yes Network, Amazon Prime and ESPN.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Cony. What's happening? How are you?
Speaker 4 (06:14):
I'm doing good, Rob? How's it going?
Speaker 3 (06:17):
All good?
Speaker 5 (06:17):
Man?
Speaker 2 (06:18):
A couple of topics, Man, love to get into with you.
Let's start with the one of your former teams, the
New York Metropolitans, and they're off to a good start
in the NL least really beast at home. I think
they you know, started off like eleven or twelve and
Ozero or something crazy. But anyway, the Mets, they signed
Juan Soto, they're trying.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
To get to the World Series. Do you like this
team to where it's constructed?
Speaker 4 (06:44):
I do. I very much like this team.
Speaker 6 (06:46):
I think they have some prospects in the minor leagues
too that are kind of knocking on the door that
could fill in some blanks for them as well. Obviously,
fifteen's always the big question. You got to give them
a lot of credit for having the foresight to see
a guy like Clay Holmes, the former closer with the Yankees,
as a starting pitcher option and so far, so good.
And you know, to me that that deserves a lot
(07:08):
of credit. Anytime you can find, you know, those kind
of nuggets like that in the weeds, you've done something.
You've done your job as the front office. So I
think they're starting to click on all cylinders now. David
Stearns now for firmly implemented in the GM role. He's
got all the resources he would ever need with the
owner obviously Steve Cohen there.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
So yeah, they're a dangerous team.
Speaker 6 (07:30):
They have tremendous resources and Peter Alonso's pretty good. Who knew, right,
Peter A. Lonso's pretty good. He's up to an unbelievable start.
And Wan Sodo, I think is gonna get better and
better as the season unfolds.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
I was just going to ask you about Juan Soto,
and the Mets have had a history of signing big
time players and a scuffle, especially their first year. We
even saw that with Francisco Lindor. I mean, it was
bad his first year and now obviously he's cemented in
there and he's doing great, but got off to a
so so start. Fans on the radio in New York
(08:03):
we're calling him one so so. Well.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Yeah, I guess the bars said so high.
Speaker 7 (08:08):
Right.
Speaker 6 (08:08):
When you think of Juan Soto and you think of
the contract that he signs, you expect all world kind
of performance, you know, and he's only accumulated I guess
according to Baseball Reference one point six war so far.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 6 (08:21):
Actually, that's the thing with Juan Soto is that you
know you're looking for the superstar numbers, but what you
really get with him, because he was signed so young
at his age, you get a really high floor with him.
You know, his struggle is an eight point fifty ohps.
You know, his struggle is only seven home runs so
(08:41):
far through the first six weeks and a two sixty
at batting average. You know, pick out whatever metrics you want.
Are you an old school guy? You like batting average,
you like RBIs, you know, we can look at that.
You know you like new school metrics. The under the hood, Look,
we can look at that as well. Juan Soto is
still pretty good right now, and he's very much underachieved.
He's capable of a lot more. The thing you get
(09:02):
with him, as I said, a really high floor. You're
never going to get a crash out with him, probably
his entire career, because he owns the strike zone. He's
always going to walk, he's always going to have a
high end base percentage, he's always going to contribute offensively
to help you score runs. You know, that's Swan Soto
in a nutshell. He's never going to crash out on you.
He's always going to maintain that certain level of production.
(09:23):
And this is on the bottom part of the level
right now that you've seen, and it's still pretty high
compared to everybody else in the league.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Our guest is David cohenb former Major League pitcher and.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Of course broadcasted with the Yes Network, Amazon Prime and
of course ESPN. Even on the metro off to a
good start, we cannot shortchange the NL East because when
you look at the Phillies are right there and the
Braves got off to a horrible start. They've turned things around.
(09:52):
Do you expect these three teams to fight it out
in the NL League?
Speaker 6 (09:56):
I do, I absolutely do. The Phillies have the pitching
they're starting. Rotation is as good as anybody's. You know,
Wheelers still one of the best in the game at
the top of their rotation. Nola's starting to get better
and round into form after a slow start. Heyesus Luzardo
was a great trade in the off season. They've added
to that already great rotation. So yes, the Phillies are
(10:19):
going to be there based on their pitching. They're starting
pitching in the pedigree certainly the Braves, and they're outstanding
young core. You know, either get Ronald o'cunya junior back,
you get Spencer Streider back.
Speaker 4 (10:29):
And then they're off and running again.
Speaker 6 (10:31):
I think any team that can stay around five hundred
for injuries is a dangerous team when you have the
potential that both the Phillies and the Braves have. It's
when you start falling down below five hundred too far
that you have to waste your hot streak to get
back to five hundred. Yeah, you understand this better than anybody.
Rob The expanded playoff format changes everything. Just get a
ticket to the dance and then you can do damage.
(10:52):
In postseason. It's a different ballgame. You hang around five
hundred now for the first four or five months, you're fine.
You get a bit run late, you get into the postseason,
you get a chance really to really make a name
for yourself in postseason.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
No doubt, Cony, I want to ask you. And you
get to watch a lot of do a lot of
Yankee games and whatnot, and Aaron Judge has taken it
to another level in the league. In baseball, I think
the average batting average is two forty two or forty four.
This dude is batting four hundred and at one point
was leading in singles like seriously, and he still has
(11:28):
the power. You don't see guys hit four hundred and
hit home runs at that clip. What has changed for
Aaron Judge? We know how great, he is the MVP
the home runs, but we're watching something different now.
Speaker 6 (11:43):
Yeah, what I see Rob is a really smart dude,
you know, a guy that he doesn't get enough credit for.
Speaker 4 (11:50):
You know, how smart he is.
Speaker 6 (11:51):
His approach, the way he's adjusted over the years, the
biggest adjustments he's made in terms of swinging it less
pitches out of the strike something at understand how opposing
pitchers are going after him, of really solidifying his game
plan each and every single at bat. That has improved significantly,
significantly year over year. We've seen when he first broke in,
(12:12):
Rob did the big leagues, he was striking out about
forty percent of his at bats.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Nowadays that's less than twenty percent.
Speaker 6 (12:18):
I mean, he's cut his strikeout rate in half major
league average. Just for context, major league gaverage, the average
hitter strikes out about twenty two percent of the time
across the board.
Speaker 4 (12:28):
He's less than that now.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
I mean, it's just remarkable that he's striking out less
than average, getting on base more than ever before taking
his walks. Is a really good hitter, you know, in
terms of hitting the ball with high exa velocity, which
means his ground balls get through the infield quicker because
he hits the ball harder and he's getting better pitches
to hit, and when he does get launch angle, when
he does get in in the air, he's still hitting
(12:51):
those mammoth bombs that he's always hit. So he's a
dangerous hitter right now, mainly because of his intellect and
his approach and his understanding of the strikes and how
opposing pitchers are challenging him.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Last thing here, the Yankees loudes Garrett Cole before the
season starts. We know they signed Max Free to a
big contract from the Braves, and he has been lights out.
I know he didn't get to win on Wednesday night,
but he pitched great against the Padres, a really good team,
(13:24):
and I'm impressed.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
From this standpoint.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
You come to New York on the big stage, you
get the big contracts, with his big expectations, but you
were supposed to be the number two starter and you're
push to number one. And he's in the conversation for
al Cy Young. You know, six weeks into the season,
what have you seen from Max Freed.
Speaker 6 (13:46):
I've seen just somebody who really knows his craft so well.
He's a fun guy to watch pitch because he's got
five or six different pitches and he doesn't try to
strike out everybody, but he can get the strikeout what
he needs to. You can see when he gets a
strikeout load of minner on base, that's when he goes
to miss bats. But he doesn't try to miss bats.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
At bat.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
He tries to get ground balls, he tries to minimize contact,
get weak contact, get easy outs when you can. You know,
that's just a smart pitcher there as well, somebody who
understands I need to get deeper in the games. I
need to go six seven innings at least, and the
only way I can do that is to get easy
outs along the way, and then when I need to
go for strikeouts, I'm going to go for strikeouts. So
(14:27):
that's been the impressive part with Max Freed. Where would
the Yankees be without him? Every other starter in their
rotation is below five hundred. The Yankees are like three
games below five hundred Without Max Freed on the mound,
they're eight games over when he pitches. That's not only
Cy Young Awards, that's MVP votes. When you have that
kind of production on a team that really is hurting
(14:47):
in the rest of the rotation other than Carlos Rodin,
they have two of the nastiest lefties in the game,
and Rodin and Fried right now, if they had Cole, Wow,
they'd have the nastiest rity in the game. So that
makes me think that maybe they're going to be in
the market for a right hander Sam you know, maybe
a Sandiel Contera if he becomes available from Miami. That
kind of right handed power pitcher is somebody that fit
(15:09):
right in with the Yankees right now.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
No doubt.
Speaker 2 (15:12):
His name is David Cohen, one of the best in
the business man. We appreciate you, Cony, thank you for
your insight.
Speaker 4 (15:18):
My pleasure, rob anytime, good to be on with you.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
It's time for the pocket Protector Centrum. The analytic numbers
you need to know?
Speaker 2 (15:28):
Well, maybe Anthony Masterson is his name, BS, analytics is
his game?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
What do you got for me, Anthony?
Speaker 7 (15:36):
We know Aaron Judge is one of the best players
of this generation, but is he already one of the
best right handed hitters the game has ever seen? When
you think of the Mount rushmore of righty's who's on it?
Aaron Mays, the Big Hurt Pooholz, Frank Robinson in just
his tenth season, Judge has just surpassed the one thousand
game milestone and will near five thousand career played appearances
(15:57):
by the end of the season. He's a career two
ninety hitter with a four one hundred plus OVP at
a six hundred plus slugging the only three rdies with
one thousand games played and a slugging percentage over six
hundred Jimmy Fox, Hank Greenberg. Judge his ten to twenty
career OPS is only behind Fox among righties all time,
and just ahead of guys like Hornsby, Manny Trout, McGuire
(16:20):
and Frank Thomas. You've taken one step farther, however, and
look at OPS plus, which takes a player's OPS and
normalizes it across the entire league, taking into account external
factors like home ballpark and the talent of the players. League.
As of the first week of May, Aaron Judges' career
OPS plus is one seventy six, the highest mark for
(16:41):
Rayhanna batter with at least one thousand games played, just
ahead of Hornsby, Trout and Fox. Now at thirty three
and around three hundred and thirty career home runs, he
needs to keep up the pace to reach the upper
echelon on the homer list, but if he chases four
hundred like he's doing this year, he could very well
wind up on the short list.
Speaker 8 (17:00):
It's the Gambler here, Vice president of operations for mlbbro
dot Com and executive producer of the MLB Bro Show
podcast The Mixtape.
Speaker 9 (17:10):
Every Friday. You heard that right.
Speaker 8 (17:13):
Every Friday, we bring you the best from the world
of Black and Brown baseball. We cover the seven point
two percent of melanated Major leaguers from soup to nuts,
but with our own cultural flair and unique voice, will
take you on a ride reflecting on the accomplishments, clutch moments,
and contributions to culture that the Bros continue to breathe
(17:37):
into baseball.
Speaker 9 (17:38):
From Mookie Wilson to Mookie Betts.
Speaker 8 (17:40):
Doctor k to Doctor Styx, from Bro Bombs to stolen
Bases to Black Aces. We're live at the ballparks and
also bringing you segments like Classic Hits with David Grubb,
the Black Ace Report, The Rundown, the Walk Off, and
Going Deep, just to name a few of the segments
that truly capture the voice of black baseball.
Speaker 9 (18:03):
If things get out of.
Speaker 8 (18:04):
Hand is the boss, Rob Parker, He's kicking up dust.
We will gladly pay you on Tuesday from an MLB
bro doubleheader today. Remember the heart of the game lies
in the diversity of the game and the spirit of
black baseball that dates back to.
Speaker 9 (18:19):
The Negro leagues.
Speaker 8 (18:21):
I the Gambler, your friendly neighborhood diamond checker, making sure
that you stay on top of the game and in
touch with the soul of MLB. Fuckle up for a
wild baseball journey, showing respect to the Ogs and highlighting
the new breed of melanated malm moroders. First thing through
MLB's pipeline, all pitching with the sound of Black baseball.
Speaker 9 (18:44):
We got the best starting five.
Speaker 3 (18:46):
In the business.
Speaker 8 (18:47):
Listen to the MLB Bro Show podcast the Mixtape on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
When Rob was a newspaper columnist, he lived by this motto.
If I'm writing, I'm ripping, Let's bring in a writer
of broadcaster old or new.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
Now, let's welcome in a friend of mine. Jason Beck
from MLB dot Com. He covers the Detroit Tigers. Does
a great job. Jason Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 10 (19:17):
My friend great, thank great, to be bad.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Thank you always always we got to get you on
at least once a year.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
Let's talk about these Detroit Tigers first and the al
Central coming into Thursday's Action. Twenty three and thirteen off
to a great start. We remember last year came out
of nowhere, made the playoffs exciting stuff.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
But they're here to stay apparently. Yeah.
Speaker 11 (19:43):
You know, a lot of people wondered whether the style
of play that kind of got them into the playoffs
down the stretch last year was sustainable over the long term,
and so far it's worked. You know, the pitching chaos
not so much, but they've been they've replaced that with
a really dominant rotation right now with you urgence of
Casey Mice and Jerk Scubel picking up where he left off.
(20:04):
You know, it's but the aggressive base running and the
opportunistic offense and the tough at bats that have lived on.
So it's they've really kind of taken the momentum and
built off of it without necessarily relying on, you know,
just running the same thing back.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
Here's the thing I mean, obviously they were able to
trade Jack Flarerty away and now they've gotten him back.
You talked about school bull and mizuh talk about schoolble first,
and then I want to hear where he is and
then give me the mies and and and where he
is and what is working for him?
Speaker 3 (20:44):
First school ball, I mean, he got off.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
To a little rocky start first couple of starts, but
he's been really good since then.
Speaker 10 (20:50):
Yeah, he's really kind of settled in. He doesn't necessarily rely.
Speaker 11 (20:57):
He reminds me of sures are in some ways and
that you know, he doesn't just rely on the same
stuff working and staying put. You know, cheers are always
used to say you rather get better where you get worse.
He never stayed the same from one day to another
or from one year to another. So you've seen Scoople
try to build off of what he had going. You know,
(21:18):
the change up is still his big outpitch, but you
know the vlo with the fast balls played up. You know,
he's been able to work in the curveball every now
and again, not not a ton, probably not as much.
Speaker 10 (21:30):
As you know.
Speaker 11 (21:32):
He might rely on it later in the year, but
you've seen that good and the slider has been fantastic,
So it's you know, he's really kind of re read
what hitters have been trying to do against him, and
he's really attacked. And it's been a little bit of
a different mix because, you know, whereas Jake Rogers was
to sketcher for every start last year, every pitch, actually
(21:53):
Dylan Anglers had to step in with Jake Rogers injured,
and it's really kind of brought out some some you
know a little bit of a different look to his game.
Not not big, but just on kind of several differences
in terms of reading hitters and kind of you know,
which pitch would work against which hitter.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
How about just the idea of getting Floherty back obviously
one of the world's series with the Dodgers last year,
just to solidify. Were they happy that they were able to,
you know, bring him back in the fold.
Speaker 11 (22:24):
Yeah, Yeah, it's really kind of been a blessing. I
don't think that was necessarily a big part of their plans,
but when Flerdy was still out there on the market
come February and the Tigers needed one more starter where
they felt like they they needed one more to kind
of deepen their rotation, uh, you know, they pounced and
(22:44):
was able to they were able to do a creative
one year deal with a UH with a player options
for next year. Uh Flerity gets a chance to come
back to where he was comfortable and try to, you know,
get this stuff back to the point where he could
prove it again and tried to get a long term
deal maybe you know, next winner or if it doesn't
work out, you know, he can take the take the
(23:08):
option and run it back again. I don't think we've
seen the best of Jacks so far this year. I
think he would admit that, but you kind of see
the ingredients coming together where you know, come mid season
he should be well back and forth to where he
can give these guys some really quality innings down to stretch.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
And Miz tell me that. How what of a big
surprise has he been?
Speaker 11 (23:31):
I think the key from eyes has been health. You know,
he was able to have a healthy off season for
the first time in three years. I think where he
was able to work on, you know, simply pitching instead
of having to rehab something or get healthy or or
try to figure out how this works or that. You know,
he was able to focus on the pitching. And what
(23:52):
you saw was he's going to split it harder now
than he did, you know, before the injuries, and it
looks much more like the pitch that was the dominant
outpitch from in college. He was able to do some
renditions off the slide or to get it to behave
a little bit differently depending on how much vlow he
(24:14):
puts on it, and he was able to get confidence
back in and being able to get right on this pastball.
Speaker 10 (24:19):
So you know this is the case he minds.
Speaker 11 (24:21):
I think the Tigers thought they were getting when they
drafted him one to one back in twenty eighteen. You know,
this is the guy who can not only be part
of a major league rotation, which let's be honest, I
don't think everybody was entirely convinced of that going into
spring training, but now he looks like a frontline type
of starter, maybe a solid number two or number three.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Our guess is Jason Beck, he covers the Detroit Tigers
for MLB dot Com. Jason Riley Green did something you
don't see very often, hit two home runs in one inning.
You know that doesn't happen. Talk about Riley Green and
obviously made the All Star Game team last year and
what he's delivered for the Tigers.
Speaker 11 (25:05):
Well, you know, Riley went through a pretty deep funk
early and see, after a pretty good opening week or two,
he went into a deep slop and he you know,
nobody was worried that he wouldn't get out of it,
but it was more of a question of how long
it was going to last, and you know, how would
he come out of it, And he felt pretty confident.
(25:26):
There was a matter of timing, you know, being able
to get on time for the passball again. And you know,
lo and behold, he's always raked in Houston. He's always
hit well there, which you know, which kind of makes
sense because it's a smaller ballpark. But then again, being
a left handed hitter, it's a little bit different for him.
He can't really use the Crawford boxes as much unless
(25:47):
he goes opposite field. Well, you know, he heat it
up there and he used the opposite field and that
really kind of set him off to where he had
a very big series and anaeim and now you're looking
at him more as you know, he's looking more like
the focal point of this offense.
Speaker 10 (26:03):
But when you compile, you know, when you couple him.
Speaker 11 (26:06):
With Kerry Carpenter, and then you add in Torque, who's
off to a blazing hot start, although he's sump a
little bit lately, and how Cole Keith is heating up.
This is a way more balanced offense. And for a
team that you know really forges his identity on running
the basis hard, on working deep counts and on slashing.
Speaker 10 (26:26):
The gaps, this team's thinking for power now and.
Speaker 11 (26:29):
You know they're really taking advantage of it, and it's
looking like a way more formidable offense that can beat
you in a lot of different ways.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Jason, last thing, uh, the al Central. I mean, we
know about the Guardians, we know about Kansas City and
the Twins. I mean this is these four teams are
are going to do get out. I mean, I don't
think that anybody can look at any of those teams
and think they can't get hot and be in the
mix to win the division.
Speaker 3 (26:59):
Where are you?
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Uh?
Speaker 10 (27:01):
You know, I I went into the season thinking Kansas.
Speaker 11 (27:04):
City was probably the favorite in the division, with Cleveland
right up there. The way the Tigers have started, and
the fact that they are going to be getting some
key pieces back, you know, Matt Erwin's on the rehab assignment.
Now you know Parker Meadows is finally making progress from
that scary nervous hue in his in his arm that
(27:24):
he had. You know, now you can look and say,
you know, the way the team is playing now, if
the guys they get back, come back and do time
and do what you would.
Speaker 10 (27:34):
Expect them to do.
Speaker 11 (27:35):
I would say the Tigers right now with a favorite
in the division, and you know they're going to be
the team that the other clubs are going to be
aiming for come summer.
Speaker 2 (27:45):
All right, his name is Jason Beck, one of the
best baseball riders in the country.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
My man, Jason, thank you so much. Always appreciate you.
Speaker 10 (27:53):
Always good to talk baseball with your rob Thanks, take care,
make way.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
For weekend, yo, it's seanbo Fire up those bed naps.
Speaker 9 (28:06):
Let's go another one in one week.
Speaker 5 (28:08):
Last week one win when lost, becoming a little bit
of the seam of the season. But let's get Rice
Garden on Friday as we go, hit ahead to the
d where the Detroit Tigers take on the Texas Rangers,
and you know we're gonna go big under money under
eight and a half runs as Patrick Corben versus Tyres
School Bull should be an amazing pitching matchup. I don't
foresee too many home runs. If any leave of the
(28:30):
part of this game.
Speaker 12 (28:32):
The exact opposite can be set on Saturday as the
Bronx Bombers the New York Yankees come through to West
Sacramento to take on Days and the Diddy Nitty Ballpark
next to the bridge. You know, balls will be flying,
as they currently lead the Major League at home runs
loud in Sacramento. But take that over nine, even over
nine and a half if you can get it. Let's
(28:52):
go to a zero with seanbo Weekend wagers inside the Parker.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
In on the MLB networks. Here's his latest appearance on
mL Dina.
Speaker 13 (29:07):
Again, I say thank god for Rob Parker.
Speaker 14 (29:09):
He shows up on the show down and he says
the most outrageous things and occasionally he's right, and I
admit it when it happens.
Speaker 3 (29:14):
How are you, Rob, I'm good, BK. How are you outrageous?
I'm just trying to keep it real here.
Speaker 14 (29:21):
You're your own guy. I'll give you a credit. All right,
here's your topic number one. Because Rob sends these in.
Here we go Shoho Tani has plateaued sell me on that.
Speaker 3 (29:31):
BK.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
Have you watched this year? Oh my goodness, gracious, here
we go. I'll just give you the numbers. Ten home
runs and fifteen RBI. I don't know about you, but
that sounds like Dave Kingman with a better batting average.
I mean, really, fifteen RBIs. We're in May. I mean,
(29:53):
I've seen this guy strike on a number of times.
It means you're not knocking in anybody when it's not
a home run.
Speaker 9 (30:00):
Weird.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
That's not the show Haltani I saw a year ago.
And that's all I'm saying is, don't say you could
have runs in fifteen.
Speaker 13 (30:08):
You know RBIs? Are you know, reliant on your teammates?
Speaker 14 (30:13):
You realize that, right, Like you can only drive guys
in when they're on base, and that's not up to you.
Let me show you his last three years, because Shoho
Tani's last three years, he is actually.
Speaker 13 (30:24):
Almost the same guy.
Speaker 14 (30:26):
The batting average is within eleven points on base, almost
identical slugging.
Speaker 13 (30:31):
All right, I'll give you this.
Speaker 14 (30:32):
He's twenty six points lower than last year, but he's
ops plus it's higher this year than the previous two years.
Speaker 13 (30:38):
He's the same. He's essentially the same guy.
Speaker 14 (30:40):
Like stam usual, you know, like Mickey Mantle didn't have
identical years like that.
Speaker 13 (30:44):
He's about the same guy.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
No, And here's where I'm talking about.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
He's supposed to be on a plateau with Aaron Judge.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
These two MVP type seasons.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
I can sit here honestly and say I expect even
more for Aaron Judge as he continues.
Speaker 3 (31:01):
Otani is not gonna.
Speaker 2 (31:02):
Match last year's season, and he and I can't see
him as we go forward, have a better year than that.
Can I look at Aaron Judges say he's gonna have
better years than he had this past year?
Speaker 4 (31:14):
Yes?
Speaker 14 (31:15):
Yes, And that's what is making him like an all
time great.
Speaker 13 (31:19):
I'm talking.
Speaker 14 (31:19):
I just mentioned Mickey Mantle, like Judges up there with
Mickey Mantle. That's the highest praise O'tani. Also, I'll just
throw in Rob. I'm just listened for a second. Otani
leads the league in run scored, he leads the league
in triples, He's slugging six hundred.
Speaker 13 (31:33):
Later this year he's going to pitch. What are you missing?
Speaker 14 (31:37):
He's the same guy that he was last year, except
now he's gonna pitch eventually.
Speaker 2 (31:41):
No, but Rob Bryant, come on, fifteen RBIs on ten home,
you can't.
Speaker 13 (31:46):
You gotta get out of the.
Speaker 14 (31:46):
Seventies RBIs that you have to have guys on base.
Speaker 13 (31:49):
That's your teammates. So his teammates are not getting on base.
Speaker 14 (31:51):
And if you say he's plateauing, if he's if he's
plateauing at a peak, that's not a plateau.
Speaker 13 (31:56):
He's peaking. He's staying at a peak.
Speaker 2 (31:59):
Oh, he's not staying at a peak because he had
more RBIs lets.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
So now all of a sudden, uh, you tell them,
you're telling them getting it. You're telling me he's.
Speaker 2 (32:08):
Getting no hits when people when guys are on base,
or is it just home?
Speaker 14 (32:12):
So he's choking with men on base. He's not getting
guys on base, even with the Dodgers, or he's leading
off in the bottom of that order, is he I
don't even know. If he's leading the bottom of the
order is not getting on base for him?
Speaker 3 (32:23):
Bekay. I live in Los Angeles. I watch Dodger games.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
I've seen him strike out plenty of times in situations
with guys on base. It's not like he's getting a
hit every time guys.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
Are on base, is all I'm saying.
Speaker 13 (32:36):
He's getting on base at the time.
Speaker 14 (32:38):
Last year he's getting on base four Can we show
the numbers again? Just the last three years, he's getting
on base forty percent of the time. He's slugging six hundred, rob.
I'd be happy to hate on the top dog. I mean,
that's what we do. But I'm sorry he's slugging six twenty.
There's no hate. There's nothing of that. There's no there
there he.
Speaker 3 (32:58):
Can will he matched last year? Is numbers?
Speaker 2 (33:00):
I'm gonna ask you he's gonna have the same numbers
he had last year.
Speaker 14 (33:04):
Percentage wise, I bet you that slash.
Speaker 13 (33:06):
On it's almost identical. It's as identical answers.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Yes, he will not have fifty.
Speaker 14 (33:12):
Steels RBI, So fifty fifty steels, right, won't won't happen
because then he's gonna be pitching eventually. All right, let's
get to they have fifty home runs fifty possibly.
Speaker 13 (33:23):
Possibly, No, he would see on pace for.
Speaker 14 (33:25):
Forty five forty six, it's possible.
Speaker 13 (33:28):
And that's his totals.
Speaker 3 (33:29):
It could be thirty eight. I'm just saying, and it's
a pain.
Speaker 13 (33:33):
He is on pace for forty four. He's on pace
for forty four.
Speaker 14 (33:36):
Are there years where Mantle won the Triple Crown with
fifty six homers and then he had forty four yes, and.
Speaker 13 (33:41):
He was still Mickey Mantle at his peak.
Speaker 14 (33:43):
All Right, I love this stick too, But what do
you think of one so so? Now, last eighteen games, Rob,
he's hitting about three hundred four hundred on base, slugging
five point fifty two. Did you see that first home
run that's in a zero zero game. Look at this
home run. You gotta give it up, Rod. He's not
so So any more.
Speaker 2 (34:01):
No, he's come around, and it's a good thing. I
told you he would struggle early. But going to the
Mets and whatnot. I think the thing that I look
at the most when I think about Wan So Sodo.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
And what he's done is.
Speaker 2 (34:14):
The lack of impact it's had as far as adverse
to the Yankees.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
That's what's shocking.
Speaker 2 (34:21):
He had an unbelievable year in the Bronx in over
forty home runs. He was in the middle of everything.
He seemed like he was getting big hits left and right.
And somehow he leaves the Yankees and they're still winning,
and they're still on the top of the Al East,
and they have injuries all over the place. I think that,
to me is the most shocking thing about their offense.
Speaker 14 (34:43):
Though Robert would be so that their offense would be
so much better with Sodo in it, they would be.
Speaker 13 (34:49):
They're really missing Sodo this year.
Speaker 14 (34:51):
In the next three to five years, fifteen years is
another story. Whether they should have signed him for that long.
You know, eventually that's going to be regrettable. But this year,
the Yankees would be a monstrous machine if they had
Soda in the middle of that lineup.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
Come on, but look at where they are first place.
Speaker 2 (35:07):
They lead Baseball in home runs and want and John
Carlos stan hasn't even played a game yet.
Speaker 13 (35:13):
Ben Rice is hitting right.
Speaker 14 (35:15):
It's very It's a different team with Soda in the middle,
they'd be so much better. All right, here's one where
I'm not gonna argue with you.
Speaker 13 (35:21):
Well, I'll argue a little bit. I can't help myself.
Speaker 14 (35:23):
Is it time to revisit the Hobby Bias situation in Detroit?
Speaker 2 (35:27):
Go ahead, Yes, I think he's a comeback player of
the year.
Speaker 3 (35:31):
I mean he was left for dead.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
I mean Hobby Bias putting hit his way out of
a wet paper bag. It was so bad and now
he's been three eighteen with the Tigers and.
Speaker 3 (35:42):
He's played in these field. He's played center field like
he was in high.
Speaker 9 (35:46):
School or something.
Speaker 3 (35:47):
Yeah, make him plays. He's not trying to crush every ball.
Speaker 2 (35:51):
He's actually being more focused at the plate and has
returned to a decent player for the Tigers and they're
leading to Al Central and he's contributed.
Speaker 3 (35:59):
He's come back player a year.
Speaker 14 (36:01):
I'm stunned by it, and you're absolutely right.
Speaker 13 (36:04):
Him playing center field.
Speaker 9 (36:05):
You're right.
Speaker 14 (36:06):
It's something. It's like this guy can just do anything right.
A lot of guys came to they go to centerfield,
they look bad. They're exposed. Not Howvey bias on how
he's able to time things. He's a natural, seemingly out there.
His hitting has been good. But Rob, let me just
show you something that will kind of give you a
poortend for the future. The difference between his wOBA that's
his hitting, that's his results, and his expected results. He's
(36:29):
overperforming by a wide margin. Third highest, like Carson Kelly
is on that list as well. These guys are going
to regress a bit. And Hovey bias like he hasn't
changed his plate selection that much for his strikeouts that much.
He's gotten a little better, but on the by and large,
those numbers I would expect to come back. They're gonna
come back. The way he plays, I'm not.
Speaker 3 (36:48):
Gonna say he's gonna hit three eighteen for the season.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
I agree with that, But you got to give him
some credit from the standpoint that he was left for
dead and had not been for the contract yep, which
as this year and.
Speaker 3 (37:01):
Two more on it.
Speaker 2 (37:02):
Had it not had that contract, he would have been
released by the time.
Speaker 3 (37:05):
Who there's no way he would still be on this team.
Speaker 13 (37:08):
No, he deserves credit, right.
Speaker 14 (37:10):
He has filled in they needed and Parker meadows hurt,
he's gone to center, has filled that spot and they're
are about the best team in the American League. Yankees
and Tigers. Give you credit there, Rob, Thank you so much.
See thank God for Rob.
Speaker 3 (37:22):
Parker, always the best.
Speaker 2 (37:26):
When Joe Hey doesn't win the National League MVP this year,
you gonna come back to this video and say Rob
Parker called it.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
He said that he pled in May and he's not
the NL MVP.
Speaker 13 (37:38):
Oh good, I hope I can say that.
Speaker 14 (37:40):
And while saying Elie de la Cruz is the MVP,
how about that we do.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
That, not batting two sixty five and plenty of.
Speaker 13 (37:46):
Time, Rob, plenty of time. You've been right enough, Thank you, Rob.
Gotta go. No, this is bolooning.
Speaker 3 (37:52):
It's the Parker pushback.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
Shut they Rob tackles the outlandish takes in Major League Baseball.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
I'm pushing back on all the people who thought that
the NL West, the National League, and the World Series
was going to be the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was
a formalaty, and I get it. The Dodgers coming into
Thursday are in first place in the NL West, but
(38:21):
I'm here to tell you that it.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Will be a battle. It will be a struggle.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
I'm still sticking with the Padres, who came into Thursday
a game and a half behind the Dodgers. The Giants
are very close behind that, and so are the Diamondbacks.
My goodness, gracious, the NL West might be the best
division in baseball, four really good teams, and the Dodgers
(38:46):
won't have a cake walk. I believe the Padres will
win the NL West and the Dodgers obviously will make
the playoffs. The Dodgers should have lost to the Padres
a year ago in the postseason. The Padres choked, but
I do believe this year, the Padres pitching and where
they are, that they will be able to beat the Dodgers.
Speaker 3 (39:09):
I do.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
I think it's really hard in Major League Baseball to
repeat at winning a World Series. It hasn't been done
in twenty five years, and it won't not It will.
Speaker 3 (39:21):
Not happen this year with the Dodgers. I'm Rob Parker,
and that's my pushback.
Speaker 2 (39:36):
In the words of New York TV legend the late
Bill Jorgensen, thanking you for your time this time until
next time, Rob Parker out d can't Gavin.
Speaker 3 (39:46):
This could be an inside of Parker.
Speaker 6 (39:48):
See you next week, same bat time, same Matt's station.
Hosts And Creators
kelvin washington
Rob Parker
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