July 17, 2026 • 34 mins
Tim Benz joins to talk Pirates, plus the Bucco Roundup.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
To the top.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
We are red Hot Motley Crue on the ex Motley
Crue at Star Lake tonight. I'd rather talk crew, but
let's talk Bucko baseball. People want to fix the Pirates bullpen.
That's gonna be difficult. The Pirates won't get a roll.
As Chapman back. I feel like their top end get
(00:21):
would be a guy like Luke Weaver from the New
York Mets ere a two point oh three whip of
point eight three good numbers right hand are thirty two
years old. His career era is four point six. So
for Luke Weaver this season is an outliar. He's Anthony Manta.
(00:44):
That's okay, get him, hope he continues and take advantage
of it. But Luke Weaver would be a butterfly stitch
on a gunshot wound. But if they get Weaver, heck,
whoever the Pirates get for the bullpen, he will be
immediately overrated. And so I say instead, why does the
(01:07):
bullpen suck? That's a question not been asked enough. It
has some very good arms. I like Lezinski, I like Ramirez,
I like Sodo, I like Montgomery, I like sisk Santana
used to be. How can those arms not be enough.
(01:32):
How can all that add up to bad? Part of
it is they baby the starters by way of destroying
the bullpen. If you let the starters pitch deeper, the
lack of bullpen depth wouldn't be heightened, and you wouldn't
wear the bullpen outs. The bullpen is overworked. If you
(01:58):
put the starters at a bit of pitch count risk,
they might do good. Probably would, and it would help
the bullpen immensely. And the bullpen is hurt because the
pitchers can't develop rhythm or routine. They don't know how
they're gonna be used. They don't know when they're coming in.
(02:21):
Montgomery is pitched in the first inning as an opener.
He's also pitched in the ninth and in extra innings.
That bullpen, the way it's used, it's all over the place.
It's determined by analytics and matchups, and I get it.
That's the way baseball. But the pictures in that bullpen
can't get comfortable, that's what it looks like to me.
(02:43):
Can't get into a routine. The pirates aren't gonna make
some mammoth trade. They need to do better with what
they got. This is the mark Madden Show. Get lots
of calls in today four one two, eight three three WXDX,
(03:06):
or you can follow me on Twitter at Mark Badex.
It's sports Talk. Dunkirk got Motley crue in time tonight.
We got the River Hauns twelve pm start tomorrow at
FNB Stadium on in Station Square, nationally televised game. And
then on Sunday at three pm we got the World
(03:28):
Cup Final Argentina and Spain. Come watch that game with
me at Pittsburgh Brewing Company just off through twenty eighth
Creighton biggest big screen TV there is to watch the
biggest sporting event in the world. But I'm gonna call
again eight three three four one two WXDX. Do you
get what I'm saying about the bullpen? I don't think
(03:49):
it's that bad. I don't think those guys are put
in a position to succeed like they should be. I
think the starters get baby, they get protected, and I
get that. But is it worth it if you ruin
your bullpen? Couldn't there be a happy medium a few
more pitches for the starters and a few less for
(04:09):
the bullpen. You tell me eight three three four one
two WXDX. The Pirates resume hostilities tonight at Cleveland, and
we just talked about the bullpen. But Skins is the key.
Skins is the key. The Pirates are eight and twelve
this year in games that skiing starts. That's unacceptable. Let's
(04:29):
say the Skins gets thirty more starts. The Pirate's gonna
go ten and three in those starts, at least ten
and three. But if you go ten and three in
the game skiing starts, I think you make the playoffs.
And to do that, Skins gotta pitch a bit more
like you used to, not pitch the contact as much,
heat up that fastball and maybe put his arm at
(04:51):
risk a little bit for the sake of winning more.
We all hear how big a competitor schemes is. Okay,
pop one hundred, help the Pirates win, say it?
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Do it? The best way to compete is to win.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Because again, to repeat, I don't expect the Pirates to
trade for more than a token bullpen arm who, like
I said, we will all immediately overestimate if Skeens is
the stud we believe he still is. That's not asking
too much. We got Tim Men's joining me at three thirty.
(05:29):
Noah Howe's at for Kevin Gorman at four thirty. Gonna
talk a lot of bucks. But I can't wait for
the Steelers exhibition games. Can't wait. Total maniacal hype. You
got Will Howard, He's gonna finally play. You got Drew Aller,
He's gonna play. The journey begins, and I won't stop believing.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Get it.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
And if Howard looks good, it won't take much for
Akrashor to turn on Rogers when the regular season starts.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
You know that's right. Put the kid in. He looked good.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Thursday August thirteenth, Green Bay at Pittsburgh, Friday August twenty first,
New York Jets at Pittsburgh Thursday August twenty seven, Steelers
at Buffalo, the biggest exhibition games in Pittsburgh Steelers history.
We got all the subplots, Howard versus Rudolph, Howard versus Aller.
(06:25):
I don't like it. I love it. The preseason will
be lit lit lyddy, and we finally get to see
Howard play. I can see you shiver with anticipate. Patient
(06:47):
up next a lot more. Bucco talked Tim Ben's at
the bottom of the hour one oh five to nine.
We had a different open today. UFO will be back
on Monday. When we played Motley.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Crue ran hot all the way through.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
I've had a lot of inspiration in my life, a
lot of it off the beaten path for a sports
writer and a sports radio host. There's National Lampoon Magazine.
It's founder Doug Kenny, co founder who co authored the
scripts for Caddy Shack and Animal House Cream Magazine, America's
(07:29):
only rock and roll all the bands I love, various
athletes and teams, but not many of the latter because
to inspire takes a lot. To teach takes a lot.
And what Motley Crue taught me to do was say
(07:51):
f you. I'd like to think it paid off. So
it's Motley Crue Day on today's program, Motley at Star
like tonight. But now it's time for the Buco round up.
We've got a lot of baseball talk today, starting with
Tim Benz at the bottom of the hour. And what
(08:11):
I said about the bullpen? Am I getting through to
you at all? Those aren't bad arms, some of them
have good stats. I don't feel like the way the
bullpen is deployed puts it in a position to succeed,
and I think there's a better chance to fix the
room within than there is that they're gonna make even
(08:33):
some big trade. You think they're gonna get some stud
I think they ain't gonna get much. So I'm concentrating
on how to fix from within. Probably won't be enough.
They're probably not gonna make the playoffs, but that's the
most likely sure Anyway, Bucco roundup Pirates at Cleveland tonight,
assuming all the smoke clears. How about all that smoke
(08:55):
coming down from Canada. Why can't that be pot smoke? Anyways,
Jared Jones on the hill at Cleveland, and the Pirates
need to win. Keep it rolling. Come out out of
the All Star break. After that sweep of MIDI Waka.
You play Cleveland, the New York Yankees, the Cubs in Arizona.
Over the next twelve games, those teams have respectively fifty
(09:19):
one wins, fifty four wins, fifty four wins, and forty
nine wins, all about five hundred three teams in playoff spots.
And you're battling Chicago and Arizona head.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Up for a wild card. It's big these twelve games.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
I hearn some dope say on radio that if you
go like five hundred over this span, it's okay you
hang in there. That's utter nonsense. You play ninety seven games,
almost one hundred. The time to slow play has come
and gone. You're running out a schedule quicker than you think.
(09:53):
Keep winning, make a move sooner than not later. I'm
talking about a move visa via trade and a move
in the standings by keeping on winning. Skean's gotta win.
Jared Jones gotta win. Keep up this amazing hitting and
get it going now, get it going now, starting tonight
(10:16):
at Cleveland. All y'all want to win. I don't think
you know what's really required. I think if they just
hang in there, hang in there, they'll just miss. They
gotta make a move. They gotta get some cushion. Eight
(10:41):
three three four one two w xdx the number to call.
That's eight three to three four one two w xdx.
Like I said, we've got Benzo just around the corner.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Now.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, and I don't blame him
for doing this because don't forget, the WNBA is subsidized
by the NBA. There's a relationship there I could more
clearly define by using certain terminology in I'm just not
going to But Adam Silver called Clark a quote unquote
(11:19):
political football Kitlyn Clark. That's true because she's straight and white.
So Caitlyn Clark, for the sake of the league, for
the sake of everybody, Caitlin Clark needs to step up
and stop being straight and white. That's the only solution.
Let's go real quick to Matt. Matt, what do you want.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Looking to the starting pitching for the Pirates to be
the answer to the bullpen?
Speaker 4 (11:45):
I think makes sense, especially since we're not going to
keep the pitchers much longer. Why are we so worried
about keeping their arms.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
There's no question the bullpen's not being put in a
position to succeed because the starters are being babied at
the expense of the bullpen. I think if you had
the starts all those six innings all the time, Let's
say you had that unless they're getting rocked, if they're
pitching well, if the teams in the game have them
all pitch six innings every time and subjecting the bullpen
(12:12):
to only pitching three innings a night would cut down
the bad effect of the lack of depth. Like you
heard the names I mentioned, like like Lozinski, Ramirez, Sodo, Montgomery, Sisk.
They're all pitching okay most times this season. I mean
(12:33):
the Rere's in up over well Santana's, the ARA is
like up over six, I think.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
But you get what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Why are they Why are they they babing the starters?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
The ID is the win.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Now, I make sure Jared Jones and and Paul Skins
are okay for their next teams. The ID is the
win and they're not putting that bullpen in a position
to succeed.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Thank you for the call up. Next, Tim bens one
oh five to nine. There's talk now that.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
To get Luke Weaver that reliever from the Mets, it
might take a prospect like that Florentino and then some
on top of that.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
I'd make that deal.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I don't think Luke Weaver is gonna save the bullpen,
but I want to see aggressive moves made for the
sake of finally winning. Now, joining me now from the trip,
it's a pleasure to talk to Tim Benz. Tim, how
about you? What would you give up for Luke Weaver
the Mets reliever? And would you make Florentino part of
the package.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
I saw that same tweet that one out saying what
the package would roughly be. There's a top one hundred
prospect him and I don't know for somebody else in there.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
Yeah, I would.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
He's a pretty good picture. I mean, that's that's what
they're looking for right now.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
That's probably what they can get.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I mean, Tim forgive the eruption.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I don't think he's a pretty good pitcher, but he's
having a pretty good year and maybe that's all you're
looking for is a continuation had But he might be
Anthony Manta.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I'd take Anthony Manton the bullpen for what an h
at a time right now for sure. I don't know
if you know, I give him what the devils gave him,
but yeah, I would do that for the.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Rest of this season.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
They can't hold on to everybody, and you know how
it is in Pittsburgh. We, especially with the Pirates, we
love to build up these prospects and act like the
prospects and what.
Speaker 4 (14:10):
They could be is what they already are.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
You know that currency is very different, and we tend
to blow those lines a little bit too much, especially
when it comes to trade season, and I think the
Pirates themselves tend to do that, which is why these
names get bandied about for about a month. They get
somebody who's lesser than we all go. How come they
only came up with that guy on occasion it works
out like when they got Jay Hat back in the day.
(14:32):
But I'm not even saying my site's that high.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I think the bullpen ain't good, but I also think
it's not putting a position to succeed. I think the
starters are babied, the relievers are overworked, analytics dictates when
they come in. You have a guy like Montgomery pitching
the first inning as an opener, sometimes.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
The ninth inning. I don't think they can get any rhythm.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Could the current bullpen be used better or is there
just no talent there.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I think a lot of what we've criticized Don Kelly
for has been quote unquote mismanaging the bullpen. I don't
think he's got a lot of good parts to manage.
I think you're right about them being over taxed, and
there's just the math doesn't add up with how they
want to run their entire pitching staff. They want to
protect the first part what you said, I agree with
(15:21):
is that the bullpen is being over taxed because they
are trying to do that at the expense of protecting
a bunch of starters, you know, to hold their arms
and make them better, and.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
It's not working out that way. You know.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
The problem example of course is Schemes, who's you know,
trying to save his arm to make it stronger, and
all it's done is make him get knocked out of games. Earlier,
he wanted to pitch in the games deeper, and now
they're protecting his arm and as a result, he hasn't
seen the seventh inning since I believe mid.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
May, and I just don't need to protect his arm
or Jones's arm. My philosophy of them, Kelly, would be
any pitcher who's pitching competitively, any starter go six innings period,
and I think if they did that, the starters might
not be happy. Their agents probably would be livid. But
then that takes away the lack of depth in the bullpen.
(16:14):
You can tighten it up a little bit and benefit
by it.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
And especially because they only use for the most part
these relievers one inning at a time.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
Anyway, you know, these they're alling so much.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
The bullpen to cover four innings at a time, but
you're not allowing anybody in the bullpen to go more
than two days in a row or three out of four,
and that's when you start to run out of numbers.
And that might be a time when they get thin
after you know, let's say Schemes only gives you five
and that's coming on a day after you've pitched Jared Jones,
(16:50):
which has been a big part of their problem. It's
part of the reason they broke up, those two pitching
after each other and Ashcraft got wedged in between. There
is you know, for a while, it looks small to
have the piggyback routine of Jones and Leginski go before
schemes because you thought, well, schemes could handle it or
(17:10):
vice first we said, I get there on the other
side of schemes. You had those guys after schemes. But
the fact that you couldn't get schemes ever into the
seventh men that you were sometimes burning Leginski and then
you couldn't have in piggyback Jones. Anyway, it became a
self defeating prophecy after a while.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
And it's cliche to say, but I still feel like
they're protecting Skeins his arm for his next team, and
I see zero point in doing that, staying with Skeins.
To him, he will probably have thirteen more starts this season.
I think the Powers need to win at least ten
of those to make the playoffs. To me, that's non negotiable,
and Skeins gotta do better.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
I hadn't seen it in that numbers, you know, framing
in that numbers, but that I agree with that nine
to ten.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
Yeah, I think you're right. And here's the.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Other thing that's amazing about this as we continue to
talk about what the starters have not given them, and
that is none of them has been hurt, right. I mean,
like the only lost time you got from a starter
was Jones not being ready at the beginning of the year,
and they knew that, and they had Loginsky take every start.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Like they haven't gone.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Through a stretch where Pitcher X is on the back
end of a fifteen day il s then picture why
is jumping onto one? And they've had to use Leginsky
as a starter and then call up a guy from
Indy to give him three starts.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
You know, every it's.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Their plan has worked in the sense that all of
their starters have been healthy, but they're not covering the
innings that they should, which is why I like some
of the names that have been thrown around as potential
guys for them to pursue at the deadline, like the
guy from Washington that had just beaten them. Michael Waka
is a guy that came up, you know, the pirate
(18:52):
killer from back in the day when he was a
Saint Louis Cardinal. He's what third in the majors right
now in innings. They need an extra innings eater like
Keller was supposed to be. That's one big loss that
they've had from Keller, not just so much that he
hasn't been good Foster Griffin. By the way, as the
guy from Washington I was talking about the All Star team,
(19:14):
Mitch Keller is not giving them the innings he's supposed to.
He's a guy that you're you're supposed to be able
to rely on that even on his worst day.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
He was good to give you six.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
And his arm either because I mean, his hera sucks.
He signed a long term and they just they just
pussy foot around the way they use the entire pitching staff.
I'm becoming more and more of a critic of Kelly
in that regard. Would you just think Molejinski in the
rotation and for who, or would you give him a
(19:44):
more prominent role in the bullpen, And by the way,
they seem inclined to do neither.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
I'm inclined right now to give him a more prominent
role in the bullpen, which is not to just say
two or three innings and then you're done for the week,
because now you're act like he's a sixth starter and
he isn't. That is because they can't do anything else
with Keller. Keller can't really pitch out of the bullpen.
(20:10):
He's never done it before, and part of his issues
this year is he's not been getting off the great
starts in games. So I don't think you aid yourself
by putting Keller.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
In the coolpin.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
And maybe any game that's a good six innings out
of Jones or a good five innings out of Magenski,
if you have to put Keller in there for the
rest of the way, it blows up in your face.
So that's why right now I'm more inclined to continue
to use Magenski out of the pen, but in a
more consistent role. If they decide they want a dfa Keller,
or trade Keller or give him a hamstring injury that's
(20:45):
really really bad and he's got to sit down for
thirty days, then okay, then that's when you put Magensky in.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
A starting role.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
But this is the roster is currently constructed for the
pitching rotation. I don't break that up for Maginsky just
to move Keller the pen.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
I don't think that.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Oh no, that's a good point.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
And you mentioned that except for Jones missing starts at
the beginning of the season, they haven't hadn injury yet.
Chances are they will and then they will have to
go to Malejinski. We're talking to Tim Benz here on
the X Tim. The Pirates resume play after the All
Star Break tonight at Cleveland. They play twelve games against
four good teams coming out of the All Star Break,
(21:23):
Cleveland and the Yankees and the Cubs in Arizona. We're
ninety seven games in. I see people talking and writing
like it's still early.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
It's not. Is this a make or break stretch.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
I'd like to see him go over five hundred and
like they did against the thirteen games that they just played,
which is almost exactly the same thing.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
I think that run of games before.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
The All Star Break maybe buys them a loss here,
but then you're just trying to shred water and maybe
get in with eighty six wins. If you're hoping the
rest of those teams that are pretty mediocre as well
wide off, that could be the answer.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
I'll put a number on it. They need to go
eight and four.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
If they go eaighting for they're cooking, they will have
beaten teams that are in playoff spots, or and two
that they're directly competing with in the Cubs in Arizona.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
At some point, you got to get it going and
keep it going. They've been way too up and down.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Yeah, especially if if you're giving me those numbers, you're
saying eight wins, give me six against the two NL
teams on the backside, give me six against the other
wildcard contender in the Cubs, and give or three you know,
some combination of six there between the Cubs and the Diamondbacks,
especially the Diamondbacks who the team they're trying to hold off.
(22:37):
They're saving grace right now, is that these teams that
are circling around them for that last wildcard spot are
all flawed in very different ways and kind of you
look at every one of them and still say they
smell like a pretender, Like the Cardinals were never supposed
to be this good this year. Miami always feels that way.
Arizona to an extent too, And you know, you look
(22:59):
at that Tionals. They hit and they don't protect leads,
and they don't and they don't have a great pitching period,
so they're all flawed as well. I wrote about this
today in the trip Mark. Like I just said, their
biggest the biggest question, the biggest thing I'm looking at
for them right now is actually offense. Because the offense
has been so good. Be more of that. That's the
(23:20):
team they got to be now. The bullpen, they can
make moves, they can help, they can tweak. I don't
think they can fix that bullpen on the fly. The
rotation we just talked about it, unless Schemes admits this
velocity thing is an issue, unless they try to get
Jones beyond eighty pitches in the game for once, at
some point, maybe in August or September.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
The starters is gonna give you what they're gonna give you.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
But this great hitting that they've had. I think they
are very very fortunate that they are getting some career
runs and real dawns, maybe, like you like to say,
false downs, perhaps with Henry Davis figuring things out.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah, some home run, but yeah, but will it keep up?
And the short answer is it has to. And as
I implied earlier, Tim, I don't expect the really big trade.
All we hear is the debate on they're gonna get Chapman,
gonna get you know, whoever Mason Miller might God, there's
no chance of that. I suspect that it's gonna be
(24:19):
a whimper and not a bang. But of course we'll
immediately overrate whoever they do get.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
Well, the only guy that I think that they can.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
And they can trade him if they want to to
get Miller or to get I don't know, you picked
the other receiver relief picture that is out there and Chapman,
although I don't think the Red Sox want to trade
him right now because they're on the fringes, they're only
a half game back. All of a sudden, I think
they would have to trade. They would have to dangle
cruise out to get one of those guys. And I
(24:49):
don't think they're willing to do that.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Well, let's talk about that, because I keep hearing, well,
you don't get anywhere by trading account like O'Neil Cruz. Okay,
but you've not got anywhere with him. When is it
time to take a risk like that, or really anything
more than a minimal risk.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
I think they are. They don't really enjoy making trades.
They're not prospects for players or players for prospects. You know,
when they make baseball trades. I think they get very
leary because they know how thin the deck is of
what they have. But honestly, Mark, when Cruz comes back,
(25:26):
and I wrote about this today too, they've got answers
to come up with, like what you do with him
and then who you potentially throw off. Look, Manga isn't
just hitting singles his ops or.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
He's the guy who's gonna.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Yeah, he's gonna he's gonna sit, he's gonna be a
full platoon guy. Like you don't just move him. It's
like they're they're gonna take him out of left and
put him in right, because then they've got Valdez over
there and O'Hearn to some degree or another some platoon
or another, or you got to left handed hitting first
base options in Spencer, Horowitz and O'Hearn, Like, the guy
(26:05):
is definitely gonna lose a ton of playing time, is Mangum?
Speaker 4 (26:07):
And hey, he was brought here with fourth guy? I
get it, But.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Does when O'Neil Cruz comes back, he and Horowitz and Indy. Uh,
these guys have to whenever Griffin returns, they got to
hit right away. They can't ease into it because you're
taking hot bats and putting them on the bench for
these guys when they come back.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Oh you think so. I think Davis is going to
keep catching.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
And I know that sounds absurd, but I I think
it's true.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
See, I would No, I don't think he'll he'll get
his at bats because of schemes.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
No, No, he'll he'll play, He'll catch up. You watched him.
He'll play just too much.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Uh. They think he's got to go and they like
him too much.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
See, I would trade Cruise.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
I mean, I think you can get great return and
you will put Mangum in center and take o'hearne, Valdez
and Reynolds and rotate them through the corner outfields. And
DH it'd be fine. Now somebody gets hurt, your screwed.
But but then again, when is what they've had worked
since twenty fifteen.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
You are kind of replacing. Let's say they do that
and they get the big closer out of the bullpen,
whether it's Miller or whoever. But by the way, the
Yankees the team that's interested the most in Miller, which
is kind of funny to me because I think they
have visions in their head of having Bednar being the
set up guy for Miller, which you know, feels to
(27:30):
me like they're trying to create what they had when
Mariano set up Wetland way back at the start of
the run. But you know, I don't think you get
the best David Bednar that way. He's never been that
as good as the seventh eighth guy as he was
the closer. But I digress the point that you're going
for about maybe using him as the Yankees has a
trade that fell apart, and it was the Pirates turn,
(27:51):
and they had Cruise out there and the Padres decided
to say yes to that.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
You replace Cruise then with two guys.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Hope in theory, because you got Valdas to be the
power guy who's the right fielder and the power bat,
and then mangums you're on base run and improved defense
in center field, he covers ground. I mean he takes
silly dies and makes risks out there in center field,
but Soda Soneil Cruz and sometimes it's not calculated. He's
(28:20):
just guessing. It's a different thing.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Tim.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Before we wrap up, we got the World Cup final
on Sunday. If Messi wins his second straight World Cup
at age thirty nine and he's among the leaders in goals,
is he then the goat in soccer? Does the end
of debate? I'm writing to call him about that. Does
he cut himself from the pack that currently to me
includes Maridona, Pele and Chris Johna Ronaldo.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
For what I know of watching soccer firsthand, I have
a soft spot for Pele because you know, the only
exposure I had to American soccer was when he was
playing in New York, and I just know him as
the legend that he is. He probably does though with
that with that resume, I gotta tell you, Mark, when
I was in for you watching that game between Argentina
(29:08):
and England, the second half, it's the closest thing I've
ever had to your incredibly scorching and recurring case of
soccer turetts.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
I think the last time.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
I suffered from soccer tourets like that is when you
and I were back on the old twelve to fifty
days and I covered for you that day that Liverpool
came back from the huge deficit and won.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
What was it in about two thousand and five.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
In the European Cup. They were done three nil at
the half and won in penalty kicks.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Yeah, And that was the last time I ever felt
that way watching a soccer game. I was distracted from
the show and practically doing soccer play by play like
you often do. That's I got sucked in by that.
That last what was it thirty six minutes or so?
Speaker 4 (29:48):
It felt like a hockey game.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
I mean there were chances, there were posts, there were
great saves.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
It had everything. That was one heck of event. That
last second half of that game.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Yeah, reminded me of DD, except England failed miserably. Tim
has always great stuff. Enjoy the weekend. We'll talk again soon.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
That's Tim Bens up. Next.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
We got the trifectin. We got Noah Hiles talking more baseball.
At the top of the hour, they got the British
Open going, excuse me, the Open Championship going on at
Royal Birkdale. Some guy named Herbert from Australia currently leads
at eight under.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
He's completed his run for the day. He's some jabbroni.
He won't win.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
The highst has ever finished in a major's thirteenth. He
has one PGA Tour victory in total three on the
European Tour. D Schambeau is one shot back. I'm looking
down the leaderboard for big names, although to be honest,
I'm not even true who golf's big names are anymore?
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Is Tiger playing? Uh? Okay, here we go? Uh?
Speaker 2 (31:01):
John Rahms at four under, Scheffer's at four under. Boy,
I can't even find mcloy Oh here he is. Wait,
he's so far down the type so I can't even
read it. He's so far behind I can't find out
how far behind he is, which is okay, okay, he's
(31:24):
he's one under, so he's seven strokes back. He's a dink.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
So good.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Now it's time for the trifecta. And since it's Motley
Crue day, here on the show and at Starlake tonight.
It's my top three Motley Crue songs. Number one, Shot
at the Devil, I'm always gonna be singing the chorus
and punching the air. Number two, Too Fast for Love,
(31:51):
Number three, Primal Scream with that bassline. But but I
like so many Motley's tunes, Red Hot, which we played
to open the show, Live Wire, too Young to Fall
in Love. You've got a great setlist coming tonight from
what I'm told, and I can't wait. The trifecta brought
to this by Danny's patron Hogies Family owned and operated
(32:12):
since nineteen sixty that's Danny's on Route eighty eight and
Bethel Park.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Am I making sense about the bullpen.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
That they're babying the starters and wearing the bullpen out,
and the bullpen has no rhythm or comfort because they
have no idea when they're gonna come in. They're not
gonna go out and get a big name. They're just knots.
They got to fix what they got. I'm right about
the bullpen, and honestly, it's the only sensible bullpen talk
you're gonna hear on radio in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Everybody else. Get this guy, get that guy. Get Mason Miller. Yeah,
they're gonna get Mason Miller.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
Who the frigg are they gonna give up to get
Mason Miller. They're gonna get more than the Yankees are
willing to to San Diego for Mason Miller.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Get the frig out of here.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I talked about this a bit, but it's gotten even
louder and dumber. Too many people are making too big
a fuss because the Penguins dropped their Double A affiliation
with Wheeling.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
The new Penguins owners the Hoffmans.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
They own the Florida ever Blades in the same Double
A league. The ECHL SO Florida obviously is the new
affiliation for the Penguins, and people are going on. So
they let people down in the Panhandle, in the Ohio Valley.
F the Panhandle and f the Ohio Valley. Wheeling is
(33:38):
small potatoes and it's no big deal because they'll get
a new affiliate, probably Columbus. If you ever drove down
from Pittsburgh to Wheeling to see a Nailer's game, you
can bitch.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
Otherwise, please shut the hell up. I wasn't Wheeling.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
We're affiliated twenty nine years. That's almost unheard of in hockey.
And the Nailers did the right thing. They put out
a release in a tweet thanking the Penguins for the affiliation.
Eight three three four one two wxdx. Speaking of red hot,
(34:22):
we got some red hot Buco talk. It continues just
around the corner with Noahhiles of The Post Gazette one
oh five nine x
To the top.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
We are red Hot Motley Crue on the ex Motley
Crue at Star Lake tonight. I'd rather talk crew, but
let's talk Bucko baseball. People want to fix the Pirates bullpen.
That's gonna be difficult. The Pirates won't get a roll.
As Chapman back. I feel like their top end get
(00:21):
would be a guy like Luke Weaver from the New
York Mets ere a two point oh three whip of
point eight three good numbers right hand are thirty two
years old. His career era is four point six. So
for Luke Weaver this season is an outliar. He's Anthony Manta.
(00:44):
That's okay, get him, hope he continues and take advantage
of it. But Luke Weaver would be a butterfly stitch
on a gunshot wound. But if they get Weaver, heck,
whoever the Pirates get for the bullpen, he will be
immediately overrated. And so I say instead, why does the
(01:07):
bullpen suck? That's a question not been asked enough. It
has some very good arms. I like Lezinski, I like Ramirez,
I like Sodo, I like Montgomery, I like sisk Santana
used to be. How can those arms not be enough.
(01:32):
How can all that add up to bad? Part of
it is they baby the starters by way of destroying
the bullpen. If you let the starters pitch deeper, the
lack of bullpen depth wouldn't be heightened, and you wouldn't
wear the bullpen outs. The bullpen is overworked. If you
(01:58):
put the starters at a bit of pitch count risk,
they might do good. Probably would, and it would help
the bullpen immensely. And the bullpen is hurt because the
pitchers can't develop rhythm or routine. They don't know how
they're gonna be used. They don't know when they're coming in.
(02:21):
Montgomery is pitched in the first inning as an opener.
He's also pitched in the ninth and in extra innings.
That bullpen, the way it's used, it's all over the place.
It's determined by analytics and matchups, and I get it.
That's the way baseball. But the pictures in that bullpen
can't get comfortable, that's what it looks like to me.
(02:43):
Can't get into a routine. The pirates aren't gonna make
some mammoth trade. They need to do better with what
they got. This is the mark Madden Show. Get lots
of calls in today four one two, eight three three WXDX,
(03:06):
or you can follow me on Twitter at Mark Badex.
It's sports Talk. Dunkirk got Motley crue in time tonight.
We got the River Hauns twelve pm start tomorrow at
FNB Stadium on in Station Square, nationally televised game. And
then on Sunday at three pm we got the World
(03:28):
Cup Final Argentina and Spain. Come watch that game with
me at Pittsburgh Brewing Company just off through twenty eighth
Creighton biggest big screen TV there is to watch the
biggest sporting event in the world. But I'm gonna call
again eight three three four one two WXDX. Do you
get what I'm saying about the bullpen? I don't think
(03:49):
it's that bad. I don't think those guys are put
in a position to succeed like they should be. I
think the starters get baby, they get protected, and I
get that. But is it worth it if you ruin
your bullpen? Couldn't there be a happy medium a few
more pitches for the starters and a few less for
(04:09):
the bullpen. You tell me eight three three four one
two WXDX. The Pirates resume hostilities tonight at Cleveland, and
we just talked about the bullpen. But Skins is the key.
Skins is the key. The Pirates are eight and twelve
this year in games that skiing starts. That's unacceptable. Let's
(04:29):
say the Skins gets thirty more starts. The Pirate's gonna
go ten and three in those starts, at least ten
and three. But if you go ten and three in
the game skiing starts, I think you make the playoffs.
And to do that, Skins gotta pitch a bit more
like you used to, not pitch the contact as much,
heat up that fastball and maybe put his arm at
(04:51):
risk a little bit for the sake of winning more.
We all hear how big a competitor schemes is. Okay,
pop one hundred, help the Pirates win, say it?
Speaker 1 (05:00):
Do it? The best way to compete is to win.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Because again, to repeat, I don't expect the Pirates to
trade for more than a token bullpen arm who, like
I said, we will all immediately overestimate if Skeens is
the stud we believe he still is. That's not asking
too much. We got Tim Men's joining me at three thirty.
(05:29):
Noah Howe's at for Kevin Gorman at four thirty. Gonna
talk a lot of bucks. But I can't wait for
the Steelers exhibition games. Can't wait. Total maniacal hype. You
got Will Howard, He's gonna finally play. You got Drew Aller,
He's gonna play. The journey begins, and I won't stop believing.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Get it.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
And if Howard looks good, it won't take much for
Akrashor to turn on Rogers when the regular season starts.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
You know that's right. Put the kid in. He looked good.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
Thursday August thirteenth, Green Bay at Pittsburgh, Friday August twenty first,
New York Jets at Pittsburgh Thursday August twenty seven, Steelers
at Buffalo, the biggest exhibition games in Pittsburgh Steelers history.
We got all the subplots, Howard versus Rudolph, Howard versus Aller.
(06:25):
I don't like it. I love it. The preseason will
be lit lit lyddy, and we finally get to see
Howard play. I can see you shiver with anticipate. Patient
(06:47):
up next a lot more. Bucco talked Tim Ben's at
the bottom of the hour one oh five to nine.
We had a different open today. UFO will be back
on Monday. When we played Motley.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Crue ran hot all the way through.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
I've had a lot of inspiration in my life, a
lot of it off the beaten path for a sports
writer and a sports radio host. There's National Lampoon Magazine.
It's founder Doug Kenny, co founder who co authored the
scripts for Caddy Shack and Animal House Cream Magazine, America's
(07:29):
only rock and roll all the bands I love, various
athletes and teams, but not many of the latter because
to inspire takes a lot. To teach takes a lot.
And what Motley Crue taught me to do was say
(07:51):
f you. I'd like to think it paid off. So
it's Motley Crue Day on today's program, Motley at Star
like tonight. But now it's time for the Buco round up.
We've got a lot of baseball talk today, starting with
Tim Benz at the bottom of the hour. And what
(08:11):
I said about the bullpen? Am I getting through to
you at all? Those aren't bad arms, some of them
have good stats. I don't feel like the way the
bullpen is deployed puts it in a position to succeed,
and I think there's a better chance to fix the
room within than there is that they're gonna make even
(08:33):
some big trade. You think they're gonna get some stud
I think they ain't gonna get much. So I'm concentrating
on how to fix from within. Probably won't be enough.
They're probably not gonna make the playoffs, but that's the
most likely sure Anyway, Bucco roundup Pirates at Cleveland tonight,
assuming all the smoke clears. How about all that smoke
(08:55):
coming down from Canada. Why can't that be pot smoke? Anyways,
Jared Jones on the hill at Cleveland, and the Pirates
need to win. Keep it rolling. Come out out of
the All Star break. After that sweep of MIDI Waka.
You play Cleveland, the New York Yankees, the Cubs in Arizona.
Over the next twelve games, those teams have respectively fifty
(09:19):
one wins, fifty four wins, fifty four wins, and forty
nine wins, all about five hundred three teams in playoff spots.
And you're battling Chicago and Arizona head.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Up for a wild card. It's big these twelve games.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
I hearn some dope say on radio that if you
go like five hundred over this span, it's okay you
hang in there. That's utter nonsense. You play ninety seven games,
almost one hundred. The time to slow play has come
and gone. You're running out a schedule quicker than you think.
(09:53):
Keep winning, make a move sooner than not later. I'm
talking about a move visa via trade and a move
in the standings by keeping on winning. Skean's gotta win.
Jared Jones gotta win. Keep up this amazing hitting and
get it going now, get it going now, starting tonight
(10:16):
at Cleveland. All y'all want to win. I don't think
you know what's really required. I think if they just
hang in there, hang in there, they'll just miss. They
gotta make a move. They gotta get some cushion. Eight
(10:41):
three three four one two w xdx the number to call.
That's eight three to three four one two w xdx.
Like I said, we've got Benzo just around the corner.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Now.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, and I don't blame him
for doing this because don't forget, the WNBA is subsidized
by the NBA. There's a relationship there I could more
clearly define by using certain terminology in I'm just not
going to But Adam Silver called Clark a quote unquote
(11:19):
political football Kitlyn Clark. That's true because she's straight and white.
So Caitlyn Clark, for the sake of the league, for
the sake of everybody, Caitlin Clark needs to step up
and stop being straight and white. That's the only solution.
Let's go real quick to Matt. Matt, what do you want.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Looking to the starting pitching for the Pirates to be
the answer to the bullpen?
Speaker 4 (11:45):
I think makes sense, especially since we're not going to
keep the pitchers much longer. Why are we so worried
about keeping their arms.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
There's no question the bullpen's not being put in a
position to succeed because the starters are being babied at
the expense of the bullpen. I think if you had
the starts all those six innings all the time, Let's
say you had that unless they're getting rocked, if they're
pitching well, if the teams in the game have them
all pitch six innings every time and subjecting the bullpen
(12:12):
to only pitching three innings a night would cut down
the bad effect of the lack of depth. Like you
heard the names I mentioned, like like Lozinski, Ramirez, Sodo, Montgomery, Sisk.
They're all pitching okay most times this season. I mean
(12:33):
the Rere's in up over well Santana's, the ARA is
like up over six, I think.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
But you get what I mean.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Why are they Why are they they babing the starters?
Speaker 1 (12:41):
The ID is the win.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Now, I make sure Jared Jones and and Paul Skins
are okay for their next teams. The ID is the
win and they're not putting that bullpen in a position
to succeed.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
Thank you for the call up. Next, Tim bens one
oh five to nine. There's talk now that.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
To get Luke Weaver that reliever from the Mets, it
might take a prospect like that Florentino and then some
on top of that.
Speaker 1 (13:04):
I'd make that deal.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I don't think Luke Weaver is gonna save the bullpen,
but I want to see aggressive moves made for the
sake of finally winning. Now, joining me now from the trip,
it's a pleasure to talk to Tim Benz. Tim, how
about you? What would you give up for Luke Weaver
the Mets reliever? And would you make Florentino part of
the package.
Speaker 3 (13:24):
I saw that same tweet that one out saying what
the package would roughly be. There's a top one hundred
prospect him and I don't know for somebody else in there.
Speaker 4 (13:33):
Yeah, I would.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
He's a pretty good picture. I mean, that's that's what
they're looking for right now.
Speaker 4 (13:39):
That's probably what they can get.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
I mean, Tim forgive the eruption.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
I don't think he's a pretty good pitcher, but he's
having a pretty good year and maybe that's all you're
looking for is a continuation had But he might be
Anthony Manta.
Speaker 3 (13:52):
I'd take Anthony Manton the bullpen for what an h
at a time right now for sure. I don't know
if you know, I give him what the devils gave him,
but yeah, I would do that for the.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
Rest of this season.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
They can't hold on to everybody, and you know how
it is in Pittsburgh. We, especially with the Pirates, we
love to build up these prospects and act like the
prospects and what.
Speaker 4 (14:10):
They could be is what they already are.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
You know that currency is very different, and we tend
to blow those lines a little bit too much, especially
when it comes to trade season, and I think the
Pirates themselves tend to do that, which is why these
names get bandied about for about a month. They get
somebody who's lesser than we all go. How come they
only came up with that guy on occasion it works
out like when they got Jay Hat back in the day.
(14:32):
But I'm not even saying my site's that high.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I think the bullpen ain't good, but I also think
it's not putting a position to succeed. I think the
starters are babied, the relievers are overworked, analytics dictates when
they come in. You have a guy like Montgomery pitching
the first inning as an opener, sometimes.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
The ninth inning. I don't think they can get any rhythm.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Could the current bullpen be used better or is there
just no talent there.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
I think a lot of what we've criticized Don Kelly
for has been quote unquote mismanaging the bullpen. I don't
think he's got a lot of good parts to manage.
I think you're right about them being over taxed, and
there's just the math doesn't add up with how they
want to run their entire pitching staff. They want to
protect the first part what you said, I agree with
(15:21):
is that the bullpen is being over taxed because they
are trying to do that at the expense of protecting
a bunch of starters, you know, to hold their arms
and make them better, and.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
It's not working out that way. You know.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
The problem example of course is Schemes, who's you know,
trying to save his arm to make it stronger, and
all it's done is make him get knocked out of games. Earlier,
he wanted to pitch in the games deeper, and now
they're protecting his arm and as a result, he hasn't
seen the seventh inning since I believe mid.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
May, and I just don't need to protect his arm
or Jones's arm. My philosophy of them, Kelly, would be
any pitcher who's pitching competitively, any starter go six innings period,
and I think if they did that, the starters might
not be happy. Their agents probably would be livid. But
then that takes away the lack of depth in the bullpen.
(16:14):
You can tighten it up a little bit and benefit
by it.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
And especially because they only use for the most part
these relievers one inning at a time.
Speaker 4 (16:23):
Anyway, you know, these they're alling so much.
Speaker 3 (16:27):
The bullpen to cover four innings at a time, but
you're not allowing anybody in the bullpen to go more
than two days in a row or three out of four,
and that's when you start to run out of numbers.
And that might be a time when they get thin
after you know, let's say Schemes only gives you five
and that's coming on a day after you've pitched Jared Jones,
(16:50):
which has been a big part of their problem. It's
part of the reason they broke up, those two pitching
after each other and Ashcraft got wedged in between. There
is you know, for a while, it looks small to
have the piggyback routine of Jones and Leginski go before
schemes because you thought, well, schemes could handle it or
(17:10):
vice first we said, I get there on the other
side of schemes. You had those guys after schemes. But
the fact that you couldn't get schemes ever into the
seventh men that you were sometimes burning Leginski and then
you couldn't have in piggyback Jones. Anyway, it became a
self defeating prophecy after a while.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
And it's cliche to say, but I still feel like
they're protecting Skeins his arm for his next team, and
I see zero point in doing that, staying with Skeins.
To him, he will probably have thirteen more starts this season.
I think the Powers need to win at least ten
of those to make the playoffs. To me, that's non negotiable,
and Skeins gotta do better.
Speaker 3 (17:45):
I hadn't seen it in that numbers, you know, framing
in that numbers, but that I agree with that nine
to ten.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
Yeah, I think you're right. And here's the.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Other thing that's amazing about this as we continue to
talk about what the starters have not given them, and
that is none of them has been hurt, right. I mean,
like the only lost time you got from a starter
was Jones not being ready at the beginning of the year,
and they knew that, and they had Loginsky take every start.
Speaker 4 (18:12):
Like they haven't gone.
Speaker 3 (18:13):
Through a stretch where Pitcher X is on the back
end of a fifteen day il s then picture why
is jumping onto one? And they've had to use Leginsky
as a starter and then call up a guy from
Indy to give him three starts.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
You know, every it's.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Their plan has worked in the sense that all of
their starters have been healthy, but they're not covering the
innings that they should, which is why I like some
of the names that have been thrown around as potential
guys for them to pursue at the deadline, like the
guy from Washington that had just beaten them. Michael Waka
is a guy that came up, you know, the pirate
(18:52):
killer from back in the day when he was a
Saint Louis Cardinal. He's what third in the majors right
now in innings. They need an extra innings eater like
Keller was supposed to be. That's one big loss that
they've had from Keller, not just so much that he
hasn't been good Foster Griffin. By the way, as the
guy from Washington I was talking about the All Star team,
(19:14):
Mitch Keller is not giving them the innings he's supposed to.
He's a guy that you're you're supposed to be able
to rely on that even on his worst day.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
He was good to give you six.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
And his arm either because I mean, his hera sucks.
He signed a long term and they just they just
pussy foot around the way they use the entire pitching staff.
I'm becoming more and more of a critic of Kelly
in that regard. Would you just think Molejinski in the
rotation and for who, or would you give him a
(19:44):
more prominent role in the bullpen, And by the way,
they seem inclined to do neither.
Speaker 3 (19:50):
I'm inclined right now to give him a more prominent
role in the bullpen, which is not to just say
two or three innings and then you're done for the week,
because now you're act like he's a sixth starter and
he isn't. That is because they can't do anything else
with Keller. Keller can't really pitch out of the bullpen.
(20:10):
He's never done it before, and part of his issues
this year is he's not been getting off the great
starts in games. So I don't think you aid yourself
by putting Keller.
Speaker 4 (20:20):
In the coolpin.
Speaker 3 (20:21):
And maybe any game that's a good six innings out
of Jones or a good five innings out of Magenski,
if you have to put Keller in there for the
rest of the way, it blows up in your face.
So that's why right now I'm more inclined to continue
to use Magenski out of the pen, but in a
more consistent role. If they decide they want a dfa Keller,
or trade Keller or give him a hamstring injury that's
(20:45):
really really bad and he's got to sit down for
thirty days, then okay, then that's when you put Magensky in.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
A starting role.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
But this is the roster is currently constructed for the
pitching rotation. I don't break that up for Maginsky just
to move Keller the pen.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
I don't think that.
Speaker 1 (21:01):
Oh no, that's a good point.
Speaker 2 (21:02):
And you mentioned that except for Jones missing starts at
the beginning of the season, they haven't hadn injury yet.
Chances are they will and then they will have to
go to Malejinski. We're talking to Tim Benz here on
the X Tim. The Pirates resume play after the All
Star Break tonight at Cleveland. They play twelve games against
four good teams coming out of the All Star Break,
(21:23):
Cleveland and the Yankees and the Cubs in Arizona. We're
ninety seven games in. I see people talking and writing
like it's still early.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
It's not. Is this a make or break stretch.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
I'd like to see him go over five hundred and
like they did against the thirteen games that they just played,
which is almost exactly the same thing.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
I think that run of games before.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
The All Star Break maybe buys them a loss here,
but then you're just trying to shred water and maybe
get in with eighty six wins. If you're hoping the
rest of those teams that are pretty mediocre as well
wide off, that could be the answer.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
I'll put a number on it. They need to go
eight and four.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
If they go eaighting for they're cooking, they will have
beaten teams that are in playoff spots, or and two
that they're directly competing with in the Cubs in Arizona.
Speaker 1 (22:11):
At some point, you got to get it going and
keep it going. They've been way too up and down.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
Yeah, especially if if you're giving me those numbers, you're
saying eight wins, give me six against the two NL
teams on the backside, give me six against the other
wildcard contender in the Cubs, and give or three you know,
some combination of six there between the Cubs and the Diamondbacks,
especially the Diamondbacks who the team they're trying to hold off.
(22:37):
They're saving grace right now, is that these teams that
are circling around them for that last wildcard spot are
all flawed in very different ways and kind of you
look at every one of them and still say they
smell like a pretender, Like the Cardinals were never supposed
to be this good this year. Miami always feels that way.
Arizona to an extent too, And you know, you look
(22:59):
at that Tionals. They hit and they don't protect leads,
and they don't and they don't have a great pitching period,
so they're all flawed as well. I wrote about this
today in the trip Mark. Like I just said, their
biggest the biggest question, the biggest thing I'm looking at
for them right now is actually offense. Because the offense
has been so good. Be more of that. That's the
(23:20):
team they got to be now. The bullpen, they can
make moves, they can help, they can tweak. I don't
think they can fix that bullpen on the fly. The
rotation we just talked about it, unless Schemes admits this
velocity thing is an issue, unless they try to get
Jones beyond eighty pitches in the game for once, at
some point, maybe in August or September.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
The starters is gonna give you what they're gonna give you.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
But this great hitting that they've had. I think they
are very very fortunate that they are getting some career
runs and real dawns, maybe, like you like to say,
false downs, perhaps with Henry Davis figuring things out.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Yeah, some home run, but yeah, but will it keep up?
And the short answer is it has to. And as
I implied earlier, Tim, I don't expect the really big trade.
All we hear is the debate on they're gonna get Chapman,
gonna get you know, whoever Mason Miller might God, there's
no chance of that. I suspect that it's gonna be
(24:19):
a whimper and not a bang. But of course we'll
immediately overrate whoever they do get.
Speaker 4 (24:24):
Well, the only guy that I think that they can.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
And they can trade him if they want to to
get Miller or to get I don't know, you picked
the other receiver relief picture that is out there and Chapman,
although I don't think the Red Sox want to trade
him right now because they're on the fringes, they're only
a half game back. All of a sudden, I think
they would have to trade. They would have to dangle
cruise out to get one of those guys. And I
(24:49):
don't think they're willing to do that.
Speaker 2 (24:51):
Well, let's talk about that, because I keep hearing, well,
you don't get anywhere by trading account like O'Neil Cruz. Okay,
but you've not got anywhere with him. When is it
time to take a risk like that, or really anything
more than a minimal risk.
Speaker 3 (25:06):
I think they are. They don't really enjoy making trades.
They're not prospects for players or players for prospects. You know,
when they make baseball trades. I think they get very
leary because they know how thin the deck is of
what they have. But honestly, Mark, when Cruz comes back,
(25:26):
and I wrote about this today too, they've got answers
to come up with, like what you do with him
and then who you potentially throw off. Look, Manga isn't
just hitting singles his ops or.
Speaker 1 (25:41):
He's the guy who's gonna.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Yeah, he's gonna he's gonna sit, he's gonna be a
full platoon guy. Like you don't just move him. It's
like they're they're gonna take him out of left and
put him in right, because then they've got Valdez over
there and O'Hearn to some degree or another some platoon
or another, or you got to left handed hitting first
base options in Spencer, Horowitz and O'Hearn, Like, the guy
(26:05):
is definitely gonna lose a ton of playing time, is Mangum?
Speaker 4 (26:07):
And hey, he was brought here with fourth guy? I
get it, But.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Does when O'Neil Cruz comes back, he and Horowitz and Indy. Uh,
these guys have to whenever Griffin returns, they got to
hit right away. They can't ease into it because you're
taking hot bats and putting them on the bench for
these guys when they come back.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Oh you think so. I think Davis is going to
keep catching.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
And I know that sounds absurd, but I I think
it's true.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
See, I would No, I don't think he'll he'll get
his at bats because of schemes.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
No, No, he'll he'll play, He'll catch up. You watched him.
He'll play just too much.
Speaker 1 (26:42):
Uh. They think he's got to go and they like
him too much.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
See, I would trade Cruise.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
I mean, I think you can get great return and
you will put Mangum in center and take o'hearne, Valdez
and Reynolds and rotate them through the corner outfields. And
DH it'd be fine. Now somebody gets hurt, your screwed.
But but then again, when is what they've had worked
since twenty fifteen.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
You are kind of replacing. Let's say they do that
and they get the big closer out of the bullpen,
whether it's Miller or whoever. But by the way, the
Yankees the team that's interested the most in Miller, which
is kind of funny to me because I think they
have visions in their head of having Bednar being the
set up guy for Miller, which you know, feels to
(27:30):
me like they're trying to create what they had when
Mariano set up Wetland way back at the start of
the run. But you know, I don't think you get
the best David Bednar that way. He's never been that
as good as the seventh eighth guy as he was
the closer. But I digress the point that you're going
for about maybe using him as the Yankees has a
trade that fell apart, and it was the Pirates turn,
(27:51):
and they had Cruise out there and the Padres decided
to say yes to that.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
You replace Cruise then with two guys.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Hope in theory, because you got Valdas to be the
power guy who's the right fielder and the power bat,
and then mangums you're on base run and improved defense
in center field, he covers ground. I mean he takes
silly dies and makes risks out there in center field,
but Soda Soneil Cruz and sometimes it's not calculated. He's
(28:20):
just guessing. It's a different thing.
Speaker 1 (28:22):
Tim.
Speaker 2 (28:22):
Before we wrap up, we got the World Cup final
on Sunday. If Messi wins his second straight World Cup
at age thirty nine and he's among the leaders in goals,
is he then the goat in soccer? Does the end
of debate? I'm writing to call him about that. Does
he cut himself from the pack that currently to me
includes Maridona, Pele and Chris Johna Ronaldo.
Speaker 3 (28:45):
For what I know of watching soccer firsthand, I have
a soft spot for Pele because you know, the only
exposure I had to American soccer was when he was
playing in New York, and I just know him as
the legend that he is. He probably does though with
that with that resume, I gotta tell you, Mark, when
I was in for you watching that game between Argentina
(29:08):
and England, the second half, it's the closest thing I've
ever had to your incredibly scorching and recurring case of
soccer turetts.
Speaker 4 (29:17):
I think the last time.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
I suffered from soccer tourets like that is when you
and I were back on the old twelve to fifty
days and I covered for you that day that Liverpool
came back from the huge deficit and won.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
What was it in about two thousand and five.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
In the European Cup. They were done three nil at
the half and won in penalty kicks.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Yeah, And that was the last time I ever felt
that way watching a soccer game. I was distracted from
the show and practically doing soccer play by play like
you often do. That's I got sucked in by that.
That last what was it thirty six minutes or so?
Speaker 4 (29:48):
It felt like a hockey game.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
I mean there were chances, there were posts, there were
great saves.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
It had everything. That was one heck of event. That
last second half of that game.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
Yeah, reminded me of DD, except England failed miserably. Tim
has always great stuff. Enjoy the weekend. We'll talk again soon.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
Thanks.
Speaker 1 (30:09):
That's Tim Bens up. Next.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
We got the trifectin. We got Noah Hiles talking more baseball.
At the top of the hour, they got the British
Open going, excuse me, the Open Championship going on at
Royal Birkdale. Some guy named Herbert from Australia currently leads
at eight under.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
He's completed his run for the day. He's some jabbroni.
He won't win.
Speaker 2 (30:36):
The highst has ever finished in a major's thirteenth. He
has one PGA Tour victory in total three on the
European Tour. D Schambeau is one shot back. I'm looking
down the leaderboard for big names, although to be honest,
I'm not even true who golf's big names are anymore?
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Is Tiger playing? Uh? Okay, here we go? Uh?
Speaker 2 (31:01):
John Rahms at four under, Scheffer's at four under. Boy,
I can't even find mcloy Oh here he is. Wait,
he's so far down the type so I can't even
read it. He's so far behind I can't find out
how far behind he is, which is okay, okay, he's
(31:24):
he's one under, so he's seven strokes back. He's a dink.
Speaker 1 (31:28):
So good.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
Now it's time for the trifecta. And since it's Motley
Crue day, here on the show and at Starlake tonight.
It's my top three Motley Crue songs. Number one, Shot
at the Devil, I'm always gonna be singing the chorus
and punching the air. Number two, Too Fast for Love,
(31:51):
Number three, Primal Scream with that bassline. But but I
like so many Motley's tunes, Red Hot, which we played
to open the show, Live Wire, too Young to Fall
in Love. You've got a great setlist coming tonight from
what I'm told, and I can't wait. The trifecta brought
to this by Danny's patron Hogies Family owned and operated
(32:12):
since nineteen sixty that's Danny's on Route eighty eight and
Bethel Park.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
Am I making sense about the bullpen.
Speaker 2 (32:21):
That they're babying the starters and wearing the bullpen out,
and the bullpen has no rhythm or comfort because they
have no idea when they're gonna come in. They're not
gonna go out and get a big name. They're just knots.
They got to fix what they got. I'm right about
the bullpen, and honestly, it's the only sensible bullpen talk
you're gonna hear on radio in Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Everybody else. Get this guy, get that guy. Get Mason Miller. Yeah,
they're gonna get Mason Miller.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
Who the frigg are they gonna give up to get
Mason Miller. They're gonna get more than the Yankees are
willing to to San Diego for Mason Miller.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Get the frig out of here.
Speaker 2 (33:01):
I talked about this a bit, but it's gotten even
louder and dumber. Too many people are making too big
a fuss because the Penguins dropped their Double A affiliation
with Wheeling.
Speaker 1 (33:14):
The new Penguins owners the Hoffmans.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
They own the Florida ever Blades in the same Double
A league. The ECHL SO Florida obviously is the new
affiliation for the Penguins, and people are going on. So
they let people down in the Panhandle, in the Ohio Valley.
F the Panhandle and f the Ohio Valley. Wheeling is
(33:38):
small potatoes and it's no big deal because they'll get
a new affiliate, probably Columbus. If you ever drove down
from Pittsburgh to Wheeling to see a Nailer's game, you
can bitch.
Speaker 1 (33:54):
Otherwise, please shut the hell up. I wasn't Wheeling.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
We're affiliated twenty nine years. That's almost unheard of in hockey.
And the Nailers did the right thing. They put out
a release in a tweet thanking the Penguins for the affiliation.
Eight three three four one two wxdx. Speaking of red hot,
(34:22):
we got some red hot Buco talk. It continues just
around the corner with Noahhiles of The Post Gazette one
oh five nine x
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