This week on Inside the (Rob) Parker, Rob rejoices over pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, looks at the universal DH reversal, discusses Big Papi's criticism of today's game, Tim Tebow calling it quits on his pro baseball career, and Fernando Tatis, Jr. agreeing to a massive 14-year, $340 million extension.
Guests: 7x MLB All Star Matt Holiday discusses the Dodgers adding Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer, and if the Rays traded ace Blake Snell, even by their standards. MLB Writer J.R. Gamble gives his 4 players to watch for the 2021 season.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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 eight s Rob Parker. Welcome to the show.
We have a great podcast for you today. Coming up,
(00:24):
we'll talk with the former Major league outfielder Matt Holiday.
He'll talk about some of the great storylines that we
have coming up in the one season. Also j R.
Gamble from the Shadow League. He'll break down some of
the exciting players we need to keep an eye on
in the upcoming season. That's right, it's Inside the Parker.
(00:48):
Let's go to lead off. It's getting robbed and keep
him on. Rob's hot take on the three biggest stories
in Major League Baseball. Number one. That's right. The seven
greatest words in the English language were uttered all over
baseball America on Wednesday. Pictures and Catchers report the spring training. Yes,
(01:13):
we know this snow on the ground all over the country.
We know the weather is terrible, the powers out in Texas.
But we know spring is coming. We know baseball is coming.
This is the day we all wait for after the
Super Bowl in February, when pictures and catchers show up
to Florida and Arizona and get ready for yet another season.
(01:36):
This will not be an abbreviated sixty game season as
we had yes last year in the pandemic. We'll have
more of a regular season, a lot of baseball to
be played. There's a chance that fans could be in
the stands at some point during this baseball season. There
have been some player movement. Some teams like the Dodgers
(01:58):
got richer, teams like the Padres improved. We we have
so much to look forward to and I can't wait.
We'll be bringing you this podcast. Of course, once the
regular season starts. Every week it's your baseball fix and
you don't want to miss it. Number two season will
(02:21):
definitely be a season of adjustments on the field. This spring,
National League Pictures will again pick up the bat. Expectations
are that the UH universal d H will not n
ot apply, and that's unless somehow the MLB and MLB
(02:42):
Players Association bring the issue back and put it on
the table and decide before opening day. But for right now,
it will not happen and The other thing that we're
gonna see is Florida teams will play more regionalized schedule
in spring training than in past years. Uh. Managers can
agree to shorten exhibition games. Uh if nine innings are
(03:05):
deemed necessary. That's something else that will happen. We will
once again see UM runners put on second base for
extra innings. Uh. We'll see that will also. Uh that's
something that you know we have to wait. Doubleheaders will
be seven innings. UH. So they're leaving that open again
(03:27):
just in case we have games that are canceled or
postponed because of COVID. But you'll need a full pitching
staff because we're expected to play UM closer to the
hundred and sixty two games after just playing the sixty.
So there's a lot of different things that are happening,
but for the most part, it will be baseball as usual.
(03:50):
It'll be different, UM, and people are excited to uh
get back to more of a regular season. We just
kind of wet our appetite last year, but this will
be full blown and we can't wait. Number three. Last thing,
I'm gonna bring a little damper on the celebration of
the return of baseball and spring training. David Ortiz recently
(04:15):
spoke on why baseball is hard for him to watch,
and he's talking about the current way the game is played,
and he was quoted recently as saying, quote to me,
it's messed up. The game has changed a lot. Coaches
(04:36):
only want kids to hit home runs and that's all
they practice. To him, he's saying end quote. Or Teaz
is saying that the game has just become strikeouts and
home runs, which is boring to him, and I think
he has a point. We have reached a point where
baseball is too two dimensional. Guys are swinging for the fences.
(05:00):
It is about home runs, strikeouts. People don't seem to
be bothered by it anymore. And this too looks a
lot like the NBA, where it's all about the three pointers.
The mid range game is done. Small ball in baseball
is done. I think Big Poppy has a point that
(05:20):
we need to get back to some of the you know,
fundamentals of baseball, moving guys over hitting run stolen basis.
I would love to see a return to that. I
get the stack geeks, I get the analytics, but I'm
with Big Poppy on this. Just watching guys strike out
and hit home runs is really not fun. Number four,
(05:41):
it's all over, It's all done. On Wednesday, the New
York Mets announced that outfield that Tim Tebow was retiring
from pro baseball. That's right, at thirty three. Team Tebow
was gonna throw in the towel. He uh signed with
the Mets back in ten, participated in instructional League. Remember,
(06:04):
he even hit a home run in his first at
bat in the game against the St. Louis Cardinals. People
went crazy. People were buying his jerseys like crazy for
a guy who never even made it to the forty
wasn't even on the forty man roster. And yet when
it all was over, in three professional seasons, Tim Tebow
batted two twenty three with a hundred and seven runs,
(06:26):
scored forty eight doubles, three triples, eighteen home runs, and
a hundred and seven rb I. That was in two
hundred and eighties seven games, and he didn't make it.
He wound up being a two time loser, not being
able to make it as a quarterback in the NFL
and not being able to make it to the major
(06:47):
leagues for even one at bat. The Mets had flirted
with the idea of bringing him up when they were bad,
but decided that they would not do it. So there
it is Tim Tebow un with baseball number five. On
the day when pitchers and catchers showed up for spring training,
the biggest news in baseball was again Fernando Tattoos Jr.
(07:12):
The superstar, most exciting player in the league. And it
wasn't about his play on the field. It was about
a fourteen year, three hundred and forty million dollar contract extension.
You heard it right. Fourteen years, three hundred and forty million.
That's what's being reported. Robert Murray of of Fans Side
(07:34):
is reporting that the deal is worth that amount of
money in just two seasons. I mean this has unheard of.
Tattoos has definitely uh skyrocketed to a superstar with the
swag and the home run and this play at shortstop.
I mean he has transcended the padres into must see
(07:55):
uh TV. He of course, is the son of former
Major League third basement for the hand O Tattoos, But
my goodness, he burst onto the scene in twenty nineteen
as a rookie bat at three seventeen twenty two home
runs a fifty three RBIs and UH last year got
the Padres in the playoffs was unbelievable. Bat at two
(08:17):
seventy seven, seventeen home runs, forty five runs, batted in,
eleven steals, fifty runs scored, and that was in fifty
nine games. He was clearly an n L m VP candidate.
And you know what, kudos to the Padres. Don't let
your guy get away. He is gonna be a Padre
for a long time to come. What a great deal
(08:39):
for the Padres to lock up their superstar and not
let anyone Adam. I love this for both Tattoos Jr.
And I love this for the Padres. Here comes the
big interview. Listen Headler good, All right, now, let's welcome
into the podcast Matt hollow Day, the former outfielder who
(09:02):
was an unbelievable record machine in his Major League career
with the bad. Of course, he played for Colorado, the
as St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees won a championship
in twenty eleven with the Cardinals, and UH had over
two thousand hits, battered over three hundred eight times. We
could go on and on and on. Matt, Welcome to
(09:23):
the podcast. Hey, thanks for Rob. Thanks for having me,
no doubt. I always call St. Louis the baseball capital
of the United States. There's some great baseball towns like
New York and like Boston and like l A. But
there's something about St. Louis. How did you enjoy playing there?
I really enjoyed it. Like you said, it's it's uh,
(09:46):
it's the most important thing in town. You know. I
think that when you talk about New York and Boston
great sports towns. L a great sports towns. Um. But
really I think the Cardinals in St. Louis and and
kind of the I think in the whole area, uh
is just you know, people are Cardinal crazy. So it
was it was a great experience as a as a
(10:07):
kind of a you know, I grew up in baseball
and my dad was a coach. I grew up in Oklahoma,
which isn't far Um, just to uh just kind of
a baseball nut, and then to get a chance to
play for an organization like that, and then to play
in front of those fans, it gets to be a
Cardinal for seven plus years. I truly it was a blessing,
no doubt. And the Cardinals are always trying to win.
(10:29):
That's what I love about that organization. They always are
trying to win. An organization that one Matt, I want
to talk about some The twenty one Spring training is
started and here we are. Another baseball season is coming quickly.
The Dodgers, of course, won the World Series for the
first time since they picked up Trevor Bauer, who won
(10:50):
the National League. Uh side, young, Are the Dodgers even
better this year? You know, I can't imagine that they're
they're gonna be any worse. Um, you know, I think
that when I look at their lineup. Uh, they got
Turner back, which is helpful. But their lineup is a
little bit young and a little bit sin on the
back side, I think, in my opinion. But it's hard
(11:11):
to argue against their pitching. You know, I think that
they're starting pitching in particular when you add Bauer. Uh,
is this strong or stronger than everybody else? I think
their depth, you know, David he didn't pitch last year.
David Price. Yeah, so they have the pitching. I think
even when you look at Dustin May and and Uh,
they have a couple of young guys that that most
(11:32):
teams would be would try to give an opportunity to
to start in the rotation. Um, that are waiting, so
you have depth at the rotation, which you know sometimes
you need. There's gonna be injuries, there's gonna be guys misstarts,
and when you have that kind of depth, that separates
them for me from everybody else. But um, I think
that when you have an ownership group that's got that
(11:53):
kind of money and they're extremely competitive. Uh, they go
out and they signed Boer after they win the World Series.
They don't just say, well, we're you know, we've got
David Price coming back and we've got a couple of
young guys that need, you know, an opportunity that that
aren't making any money, that won't be able to plug
into the rotation. But they said no, and they keep
spending money and they keep trying to win the World
Series and uh, you know, responding to what the Padres
(12:15):
are doing. So um it's it's gonna be a very
good team and a very interesting nationally West, no doubt.
The flip side is the Tampa Bay Rays. They make
it to the World Series last year, they lose to
the Dodgers in six games, and the guy on the
mound who was pitching his butt off Blake Snell, who
(12:35):
has a very manageable contract gets dealt to the Padres.
If you're a Tampa Bay Rays fan, I mean, Matt,
this gotta hurt you, right, that they gave up their Rays. Yeah.
I mean I think if you're a Tampa Bay Rays fan,
you start to expect some of these things, right, I think, Um, yes,
at a a manageable contract and a guy that's young,
(12:56):
who's had you know, several really really good seasons, I
think it's definitely disappointing. I do think that Tampa Bay
has earned a little bit of credit with their fan
base and that they consistently are turning things over and
trading some of their best players. But they're they're doing
a really good job of of getting good young prospects
in return, uh that keep them afloat in that market.
(13:18):
So I think it it Obviously it stings, and probably
will will have an effect this year. But I think
in their minds they probably got some return that will
allow them to continue to compete with a lower salary. Uh,
you know, with a lower continuing to operate on a
budget that's lower than everybody else. Um. So I I
(13:39):
guess I'm not surprised that they did that, just knowing
how they operate and and how much they rely on
numbers and what they kind of expect probably out of
Snell and what they got in return. So um, it's
frustrating its fan, I'm sure, But like I said, I
think that we all understand who the Tampa Bay Rays
are and that they trade their best players when they
get you know, gonna get closer to free agencies. All Right, Matt,
(14:03):
thanks for joining the podcast. We appreciate it. When Rob
was a newspaper columnist, he lived by this motto. If
I'm writing, I'm ripping. Let's bring in a writer, a broadcaster,
older new all right, now, let's welcome into the podcast.
J R. Gamble, senior writer and editor at the Shadow
League dot com, a baseball expert, one of my favorite people. Man,
(14:26):
can you believe it? Spring training is upon us? And
I don't know about you, but I am excited. I'm
excited too. I'm excited for another year of podcast, and
I'm baseball and actually up close to what will be
a full season, no no doubt about it, not an
abbreviated season like last year. All Right, I figured we
(14:49):
need to talk to you and figure out give me
four or five players that we need to be on
the lookout for. In the one baseball season. Number four
Toronto Blue Jay's free agent acquisitions sent to field the
George Springer. Uh, you know, the former World Series m VP.
He wanted out of Houston and he basically wanted to
(15:10):
get away from the stains of the cheating scandal that
haunted the franchise. So now Springs considered Toronto's biggest free
agents acquisition since Roger Clemens. And I'm interested to find
out if he can elevate Toronto to contender status because
they've been building towards that. UM. He should be a
great influence on their young rising stars and second generation ballers.
(15:32):
Bothachette and vlad Gurero Jr. And very excited to see
Springer in the Al East. Number three Tampa Bay Ray's
outfielder Randy A. Rosarina. Last spring training, nobody knew who
this kid was, but the MLB COVID season produced several
young superstars rob and he was one of them, breaking
out and looking like Miguel Cabrera in the playoffs. In
(15:55):
the World Series of Rosarina went a two three home
runs UM. In twenty postseason games, he slashed three seventy
seven ft two and a thirty one slugging with ten homers,
so I'm naturally interested to see what he does over
a hundred fifty four game season with the league adjusting
to him. He won't sneak up on anyone this time.
(16:18):
Number two. Number two with Seattle Mariner's outfielder Kyle Lewis,
another Black night Um. Seattle has more black players than
any team in baseball, and the twenty five year old
Lewis is probably the best of them. I'm looking forward
to seeing how the multitude player elevates his game in
year three of his Mariner's rebuild. Um Elevin Holme runs
(16:40):
this season ties for the big league lead among rookies.
He also lets a rookies in everything rob ward total basis, times,
on base run scored, on base percentage, making pancakes. He
has the talent to be as good as Tory Hunter
or Kenny Lofton, but only time will tell. Number one,
another second generation Bawler keep Brian Hayes third baseman for
(17:04):
the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately, the Pirates are going to be
their traditional awful cells, but this one shining light is
the third baseman Hayes um. The Pirates finished last year,
the sixty game season, with the record of nineteen and
forty one, fifteen games out behind the cub But once
Hayes came up, he started mashing and flashing that potential
(17:27):
gold glove and the team played a little better. So
he's providing hope for the future. His dad, Charlie was
a heck of a third baseman, and keep Briant is
a product of MLB's diversity program and should be even better.
His dad I covered in n when he was with
the Yankees. Charlie Hayes, great guy, and don't forget he
(17:49):
caught the final out of that World Series in Foul Territory.
Do you remember that I do, when he leaked up
to the sky with both of his legs in a
full split in the air. No doubt, one of the
memorable moments in baseball history for sure. J R. Gamble
from the Shadow League always great information, great stuff. Thank you, Rob,
(18:10):
good luck with everything. I'll be soon. 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 he can't get it. This could be an
inside the parker to see you next week, same bad time,
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 eight s Rob Parker. Welcome to the show.
We have a great podcast for you today. Coming up,
(00:24):
we'll talk with the former Major league outfielder Matt Holiday.
He'll talk about some of the great storylines that we
have coming up in the one season. Also j R.
Gamble from the Shadow League. He'll break down some of
the exciting players we need to keep an eye on
in the upcoming season. That's right, it's Inside the Parker.
(00:48):
Let's go to lead off. It's getting robbed and keep
him on. Rob's hot take on the three biggest stories
in Major League Baseball. Number one. That's right. The seven
greatest words in the English language were uttered all over
baseball America on Wednesday. Pictures and Catchers report the spring training. Yes,
(01:13):
we know this snow on the ground all over the country.
We know the weather is terrible, the powers out in Texas.
But we know spring is coming. We know baseball is coming.
This is the day we all wait for after the
Super Bowl in February, when pictures and catchers show up
to Florida and Arizona and get ready for yet another season.
(01:36):
This will not be an abbreviated sixty game season as
we had yes last year in the pandemic. We'll have
more of a regular season, a lot of baseball to
be played. There's a chance that fans could be in
the stands at some point during this baseball season. There
have been some player movement. Some teams like the Dodgers
(01:58):
got richer, teams like the Padres improved. We we have
so much to look forward to and I can't wait.
We'll be bringing you this podcast. Of course, once the
regular season starts. Every week it's your baseball fix and
you don't want to miss it. Number two season will
(02:21):
definitely be a season of adjustments on the field. This spring,
National League Pictures will again pick up the bat. Expectations
are that the UH universal d H will not n
ot apply, and that's unless somehow the MLB and MLB
(02:42):
Players Association bring the issue back and put it on
the table and decide before opening day. But for right now,
it will not happen and The other thing that we're
gonna see is Florida teams will play more regionalized schedule
in spring training than in past years. Uh. Managers can
agree to shorten exhibition games. Uh if nine innings are
(03:05):
deemed necessary. That's something else that will happen. We will
once again see UM runners put on second base for
extra innings. Uh. We'll see that will also. Uh that's
something that you know we have to wait. Doubleheaders will
be seven innings. UH. So they're leaving that open again
(03:27):
just in case we have games that are canceled or
postponed because of COVID. But you'll need a full pitching
staff because we're expected to play UM closer to the
hundred and sixty two games after just playing the sixty.
So there's a lot of different things that are happening,
but for the most part, it will be baseball as usual.
(03:50):
It'll be different, UM, and people are excited to uh
get back to more of a regular season. We just
kind of wet our appetite last year, but this will
be full blown and we can't wait. Number three. Last thing,
I'm gonna bring a little damper on the celebration of
the return of baseball and spring training. David Ortiz recently
(04:15):
spoke on why baseball is hard for him to watch,
and he's talking about the current way the game is played,
and he was quoted recently as saying, quote to me,
it's messed up. The game has changed a lot. Coaches
(04:36):
only want kids to hit home runs and that's all
they practice. To him, he's saying end quote. Or Teaz
is saying that the game has just become strikeouts and
home runs, which is boring to him, and I think
he has a point. We have reached a point where
baseball is too two dimensional. Guys are swinging for the fences.
(05:00):
It is about home runs, strikeouts. People don't seem to
be bothered by it anymore. And this too looks a
lot like the NBA, where it's all about the three pointers.
The mid range game is done. Small ball in baseball
is done. I think Big Poppy has a point that
(05:20):
we need to get back to some of the you know,
fundamentals of baseball, moving guys over hitting run stolen basis.
I would love to see a return to that. I
get the stack geeks, I get the analytics, but I'm
with Big Poppy on this. Just watching guys strike out
and hit home runs is really not fun. Number four,
(05:41):
it's all over, It's all done. On Wednesday, the New
York Mets announced that outfield that Tim Tebow was retiring
from pro baseball. That's right, at thirty three. Team Tebow
was gonna throw in the towel. He uh signed with
the Mets back in ten, participated in instructional League. Remember,
(06:04):
he even hit a home run in his first at
bat in the game against the St. Louis Cardinals. People
went crazy. People were buying his jerseys like crazy for
a guy who never even made it to the forty
wasn't even on the forty man roster. And yet when
it all was over, in three professional seasons, Tim Tebow
batted two twenty three with a hundred and seven runs,
(06:26):
scored forty eight doubles, three triples, eighteen home runs, and
a hundred and seven rb I. That was in two
hundred and eighties seven games, and he didn't make it.
He wound up being a two time loser, not being
able to make it as a quarterback in the NFL
and not being able to make it to the major
(06:47):
leagues for even one at bat. The Mets had flirted
with the idea of bringing him up when they were bad,
but decided that they would not do it. So there
it is Tim Tebow un with baseball number five. On
the day when pitchers and catchers showed up for spring training,
the biggest news in baseball was again Fernando Tattoos Jr.
(07:12):
The superstar, most exciting player in the league. And it
wasn't about his play on the field. It was about
a fourteen year, three hundred and forty million dollar contract extension.
You heard it right. Fourteen years, three hundred and forty million.
That's what's being reported. Robert Murray of of Fans Side
(07:34):
is reporting that the deal is worth that amount of
money in just two seasons. I mean this has unheard of.
Tattoos has definitely uh skyrocketed to a superstar with the
swag and the home run and this play at shortstop.
I mean he has transcended the padres into must see
(07:55):
uh TV. He of course, is the son of former
Major League third basement for the hand O Tattoos, But
my goodness, he burst onto the scene in twenty nineteen
as a rookie bat at three seventeen twenty two home
runs a fifty three RBIs and UH last year got
the Padres in the playoffs was unbelievable. Bat at two
(08:17):
seventy seven, seventeen home runs, forty five runs, batted in,
eleven steals, fifty runs scored, and that was in fifty
nine games. He was clearly an n L m VP candidate.
And you know what, kudos to the Padres. Don't let
your guy get away. He is gonna be a Padre
for a long time to come. What a great deal
(08:39):
for the Padres to lock up their superstar and not
let anyone Adam. I love this for both Tattoos Jr.
And I love this for the Padres. Here comes the
big interview. Listen Headler good, All right, now, let's welcome
into the podcast Matt hollow Day, the former outfielder who
(09:02):
was an unbelievable record machine in his Major League career
with the bad. Of course, he played for Colorado, the
as St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees won a championship
in twenty eleven with the Cardinals, and UH had over
two thousand hits, battered over three hundred eight times. We
could go on and on and on. Matt, Welcome to
(09:23):
the podcast. Hey, thanks for Rob. Thanks for having me,
no doubt. I always call St. Louis the baseball capital
of the United States. There's some great baseball towns like
New York and like Boston and like l A. But
there's something about St. Louis. How did you enjoy playing there?
I really enjoyed it. Like you said, it's it's uh,
(09:46):
it's the most important thing in town. You know. I
think that when you talk about New York and Boston
great sports towns. L a great sports towns. Um. But
really I think the Cardinals in St. Louis and and
kind of the I think in the whole area, uh
is just you know, people are Cardinal crazy. So it
was it was a great experience as a as a
(10:07):
kind of a you know, I grew up in baseball
and my dad was a coach. I grew up in Oklahoma,
which isn't far Um, just to uh just kind of
a baseball nut, and then to get a chance to
play for an organization like that, and then to play
in front of those fans, it gets to be a
Cardinal for seven plus years. I truly it was a blessing,
no doubt. And the Cardinals are always trying to win.
(10:29):
That's what I love about that organization. They always are
trying to win. An organization that one Matt, I want
to talk about some The twenty one Spring training is
started and here we are. Another baseball season is coming quickly.
The Dodgers, of course, won the World Series for the
first time since they picked up Trevor Bauer, who won
(10:50):
the National League. Uh side, young, Are the Dodgers even
better this year? You know, I can't imagine that they're
they're gonna be any worse. Um, you know, I think
that when I look at their lineup. Uh, they got
Turner back, which is helpful. But their lineup is a
little bit young and a little bit sin on the
back side, I think, in my opinion. But it's hard
(11:11):
to argue against their pitching. You know, I think that
they're starting pitching in particular when you add Bauer. Uh,
is this strong or stronger than everybody else? I think
their depth, you know, David he didn't pitch last year.
David Price. Yeah, so they have the pitching. I think
even when you look at Dustin May and and Uh,
they have a couple of young guys that that most
(11:32):
teams would be would try to give an opportunity to
to start in the rotation. Um, that are waiting, so
you have depth at the rotation, which you know sometimes
you need. There's gonna be injuries, there's gonna be guys misstarts,
and when you have that kind of depth, that separates
them for me from everybody else. But um, I think
that when you have an ownership group that's got that
(11:53):
kind of money and they're extremely competitive. Uh, they go
out and they signed Boer after they win the World Series.
They don't just say, well, we're you know, we've got
David Price coming back and we've got a couple of
young guys that need, you know, an opportunity that that
aren't making any money, that won't be able to plug
into the rotation. But they said no, and they keep
spending money and they keep trying to win the World
Series and uh, you know, responding to what the Padres
(12:15):
are doing. So um it's it's gonna be a very
good team and a very interesting nationally West, no doubt.
The flip side is the Tampa Bay Rays. They make
it to the World Series last year, they lose to
the Dodgers in six games, and the guy on the
mound who was pitching his butt off Blake Snell, who
(12:35):
has a very manageable contract gets dealt to the Padres.
If you're a Tampa Bay Rays fan, I mean, Matt,
this gotta hurt you, right, that they gave up their Rays. Yeah.
I mean I think if you're a Tampa Bay Rays fan,
you start to expect some of these things, right, I think, Um, yes,
at a a manageable contract and a guy that's young,
(12:56):
who's had you know, several really really good seasons, I
think it's definitely disappointing. I do think that Tampa Bay
has earned a little bit of credit with their fan
base and that they consistently are turning things over and
trading some of their best players. But they're they're doing
a really good job of of getting good young prospects
in return, uh that keep them afloat in that market.
(13:18):
So I think it it Obviously it stings, and probably
will will have an effect this year. But I think
in their minds they probably got some return that will
allow them to continue to compete with a lower salary. Uh,
you know, with a lower continuing to operate on a
budget that's lower than everybody else. Um. So I I
(13:39):
guess I'm not surprised that they did that, just knowing
how they operate and and how much they rely on
numbers and what they kind of expect probably out of
Snell and what they got in return. So um, it's
frustrating its fan, I'm sure, But like I said, I
think that we all understand who the Tampa Bay Rays
are and that they trade their best players when they
get you know, gonna get closer to free agencies. All Right, Matt,
(14:03):
thanks for joining the podcast. We appreciate it. When Rob
was a newspaper columnist, he lived by this motto. If
I'm writing, I'm ripping. Let's bring in a writer, a broadcaster,
older new all right, now, let's welcome into the podcast.
J R. Gamble, senior writer and editor at the Shadow
League dot com, a baseball expert, one of my favorite people. Man,
(14:26):
can you believe it? Spring training is upon us? And
I don't know about you, but I am excited. I'm
excited too. I'm excited for another year of podcast, and
I'm baseball and actually up close to what will be
a full season, no no doubt about it, not an
abbreviated season like last year. All Right, I figured we
(14:49):
need to talk to you and figure out give me
four or five players that we need to be on
the lookout for. In the one baseball season. Number four
Toronto Blue Jay's free agent acquisitions sent to field the
George Springer. Uh, you know, the former World Series m VP.
He wanted out of Houston and he basically wanted to
(15:10):
get away from the stains of the cheating scandal that
haunted the franchise. So now Springs considered Toronto's biggest free
agents acquisition since Roger Clemens. And I'm interested to find
out if he can elevate Toronto to contender status because
they've been building towards that. UM. He should be a
great influence on their young rising stars and second generation ballers.
(15:32):
Bothachette and vlad Gurero Jr. And very excited to see
Springer in the Al East. Number three Tampa Bay Ray's
outfielder Randy A. Rosarina. Last spring training, nobody knew who
this kid was, but the MLB COVID season produced several
young superstars rob and he was one of them, breaking
out and looking like Miguel Cabrera in the playoffs. In
(15:55):
the World Series of Rosarina went a two three home
runs UM. In twenty postseason games, he slashed three seventy
seven ft two and a thirty one slugging with ten homers,
so I'm naturally interested to see what he does over
a hundred fifty four game season with the league adjusting
to him. He won't sneak up on anyone this time.
(16:18):
Number two. Number two with Seattle Mariner's outfielder Kyle Lewis,
another Black night Um. Seattle has more black players than
any team in baseball, and the twenty five year old
Lewis is probably the best of them. I'm looking forward
to seeing how the multitude player elevates his game in
year three of his Mariner's rebuild. Um Elevin Holme runs
(16:40):
this season ties for the big league lead among rookies.
He also lets a rookies in everything rob ward total basis, times,
on base run scored, on base percentage, making pancakes. He
has the talent to be as good as Tory Hunter
or Kenny Lofton, but only time will tell. Number one,
another second generation Bawler keep Brian Hayes third baseman for
(17:04):
the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately, the Pirates are going to be
their traditional awful cells, but this one shining light is
the third baseman Hayes um. The Pirates finished last year,
the sixty game season, with the record of nineteen and
forty one, fifteen games out behind the cub But once
Hayes came up, he started mashing and flashing that potential
(17:27):
gold glove and the team played a little better. So
he's providing hope for the future. His dad, Charlie was
a heck of a third baseman, and keep Briant is
a product of MLB's diversity program and should be even better.
His dad I covered in n when he was with
the Yankees. Charlie Hayes, great guy, and don't forget he
(17:49):
caught the final out of that World Series in Foul Territory.
Do you remember that I do, when he leaked up
to the sky with both of his legs in a
full split in the air. No doubt, one of the
memorable moments in baseball history for sure. J R. Gamble
from the Shadow League always great information, great stuff. Thank you, Rob,
(18:10):
good luck with everything. I'll be soon. 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 he can't get it. This could be an
inside the parker to see you next week, same bad time,
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