June 24, 2024 • 55 mins
Foolish Bailey joins the show to convince Talkin' Jake to believe a little more in three MLB teams and perhaps sell his stock on three others!
Wake n Jake is available on YouTube! You can watch every episode here: https://www.youtube.com/@WakeNJake
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Timestamps:
0:00 Halfway Point of the Season
2:45 Cincinnati Reds
10:50 Texas Rangers
23:20 San Diego Padres
34:40 St. Louis Cardinals
42:20 New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles
47:00 Seattle Mariners
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to Wake and Jake a very special episode.
It is Bailey Time. Foolish is here as well as BBD.
As we're right around the midpoint of the MLB season,
a couple teams have played their eighty first game, so
it's it's collectively, I think a week to check in.
(00:21):
I think on Talking Baseball, we're gonna do some checking
in just to see. Sounds dramatic and like a match
Matchbox twenty five song, but let's see how far we've
come and see where we're going. Because Bailey, I was
excited when you said. I was like, what do you got, kid,
and you said two seemer curveball slider. You said you
(00:45):
wanted to sell me on some teams that you're believing
in that the people are are not. And I mean
with that must mean there's a couple teams you do
not believe in as much. And I can kind of
be the judge and jury. And as everyone's seeing you
are coming from live from vacation, Uh, I mean that's.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Just I just stressed, like this.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Is that that's beach safari chic that you've started to
bust out. You look great.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
This is uh, I'm afraid of the sun. Chic.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Yeah, yeah, hey, you know we all need to be
a little more scared of the sun. I know again,
I've grown up with this beautiful Italian skin my mother's
passed on to me, so I haven't had to be
as concerned. But yeah, be safe out there, okay, please?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yeah I will. And you know, for me, as I
get older, I fear the ocean more personally. Like you know,
when I was a kid, I'd be in the ocean
hours and hours on end, not a care, not a
thought in the world. Nowadays, rip currents and a fish
touching my leg and I'm out. I'm just in there
to dip, and I'm I'm out. I don't like the
ocean anymore.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I am a thousand percent with you, so I will. Ay.
I struggled with cold water as people saw at the
warehouseskend be Once I'm in and I'm settled, I'll stay
out there all day. If we're having a good time
in the water, like, let's do it, bring a ball out,
let's have some fun. Uh. But yeah, that initial walk
(02:15):
out if something clips me, no chance, no chance. Why
that's where they live anyway.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah, I totally understand it, but it seems like, why
are they always so close to where I'm trying? You know,
they have the whole ocean right, and yet they seem
to be right where I am back, I have seventy
of the earth, you know we only have twenty nine percent.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
And another thing, what humans should have more of? Bailey,
I'm excited to see where you want to start this.
I guess you seem more excited about the teams that
aren't getting love, right. I guess who's the team? Who's
who's the one one of that You're like, it's.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Coming, Yeah, it's the Cincinnati Reds. For me, I think
they are the sleeping giant down there and the NL
Central so preseason and I think I'll probably go around
and kind of, you know, ask you what your thoughts
were on some of these teams coming into the season.
But preseason, when I was diagnosing the NL Central, my
(03:18):
take was basically just about anyone can win it this year.
It is wide open. And I thought if the division
was really bad, then probably the Cubs would win it
because I feel like they had the highest floor. But
if there was a team that was going to surge
and become legitimately good, it was going to be the
Cincinnati Reds because of their roster, and you just look
at where they're at right now. They're thirty six and
(03:39):
forty one because the NLYL card is terrible, they're only
two and a half games out of that, and they're
eight and a half games out of the division with
the Brewers holding a pretty solid lead right now. But
I mean, you just look at what's going on with
their roster, like noel Vie Marte suspended at the start
of their year, and I think that caused a big reshuffle.
He's going to be back soon and he could be
an impact player for them in the second half. And
(04:01):
they we saw Cees be bad this year and then
get injured, and then the Candy Man who had just
a terrible first month of the season, jamer Canlario has
an eight eighty one OPS since May, so he has
quietly come on strong. They could kick him the first base,
Marte at third base, and that would really, you know,
sort of round out their infield quite well, because when
you look at the rotation man the young guys Green,
(04:24):
Abbott and Lodolo, by and large, they're doing their job,
you know, And I think that was definitely one of
the prerequisites for this team to do well this season
was those young pitchers need to take a step up,
and they have done that. So before I go on
any further, I just do want to ask you, Jake, like,
what were your thoughts on the Reds? You know, not
right now, but coming into the season. What did you
see in this team?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
So I'm a Reds guy coming into the season. I
I mean, I think if I had to put money, well,
if I had to put money on it, I would
not have because it's the NL Central and like a
credit to Milwaukee who who obviously now that they're out
of the gates like this, I mean, they would really
have to run into something, probably injury wise, and I
(05:10):
wonder how much of baseball is going to turn into that.
And I think I might have even even done that
last week and Jake that I'm like, sure if a
couple teams make the trade deadline moves we're begging for,
you know, if one of the teams actually pays for
Luis Robert and they add him along with having good health,
Like I'm wondering how much of these teams is gonna
(05:32):
get decided by health Because you mentioned Noelvi Marte who
not exactly health but in a way he's been missing
and he'll be back. Also Matt McClain, Like I was
the guy screaming from the Matt McClain cloud last year,
like how good has this guy been? While everyone's trying
to send Ellie to the All Star Game just because
(05:53):
he's like a different human being. It's like, no, Matt
McClain has been the better baseball player. He's in line
to come back August maybe, Like I'm not gonna bank
on Matt McClain. I guess it's what you're saying. Even
I mean TJ Friedel that was so good for them
last year and locking down the leadoff spot that he's
(06:15):
still looking to find his rhythm. Will Benson really hasn't
found it this year that I thought the Reds were
going to be able to hit, which I believe is
the new regular season formula, like you're gonna find some
pitching most teams, you're gonna find some pitching that I
don't know. I was looking at them as like an
Orioles light potentially, and it just it hasn't been that.
(06:40):
So the fact that you're opening with them does have
me juiced up. But I've sold a little bit of
my redstock for this season.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah, but I think it's just looking at this team,
you really have that feeling that they have another level.
And maybe it's through Ellie maybe you know, at least
had a good year this year he's had. I would
say he's had a very good year. Uh, there is
another level, especially when I look at this roster right now.
Alexis Diaz has been a problem for them in the
sense that you know, he I think a lot of
these losses have just been Alexis Dias blown safe straight up.
(07:11):
And if he becomes even a league average closer in
the second half, like those are wins that they weren't
getting in the first half that they're gonna get in
the second half, because right now they're in last place
in that division. They have a positive run differential, And
I know I don't think run differential is the end
all be all, but I do think that is worth
noting for sure. And just with the NL wildcard race,
you know, being bad, like I you know, it feels
(07:33):
like they are like very much in play for that,
and with that I think comes like in you know,
and maybe this little tangent will be you know, irrelevant
in the next three months. But I'm looking at this
NL wildcard race, man, and it was bad last year
to some extent, like the way the d Backs and
Marlin snuck in. You know, this year it could be
(07:55):
really bad, and I'm just sort of lamenting it because,
you know, I think in the history of profession sports,
a playoff, a playoff format has never contracted. No one
has ever said in the history professional sports, you know what,
maybe this is too many teams to let into the playoffs.
Let's whittle it down a little bit. It's always get bigger,
more money, more playoff games, more playoff shares, and you know,
(08:15):
maybe in three months, you know, they at least is
going to send a good wildcard team. We know that
maybe the Reds are good team, and then there's a
good team, you know, out West or something like that.
But I mean, right now, it's just it's anyone's business
in the National League to the point that it's that
it's hard to call out any team for being bad
that could be good because even the bad teams by
and large are still in play for a for a
(08:36):
playoff spot.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Well, and that's I guess that was the other part
of the why I was juiced up when you said
this is the topic, because I'll be yeah, we do
we do talking baseball, well, we do talking baseball three
times a week, but on the book ends we do
recap episodes. What happened in the series, what was the Jews?
Couple hot topics if they are there, but you know,
(08:57):
kind of what happened around the league this weekend. Let's
high some guys the National League to plant to flag
down and be confident about something after the Atlanta Braves.
I just have to be honest. I can't do it.
And it's it's where I'm disappointed because it's kind of
the injury speech I gave, Like I think these teams
(09:19):
are so closely knit. I hope I'm wrong. I hope.
I hope the Nationals call up James Wood. I hope
they make a trade and they say, you know what,
Natitude season, we're back, you guys, blew it. We can
actually have a big payroll if we want, like we
have a market like I hope a team does that
(09:40):
and it pays off that they put the chips on
the table. I'm just worried it's gonna come down to, like,
what's that there's a phrase a survival by elimination or
I don't know. It's where I'm not good with words
and it's horribly ironic what my career has turned into.
But I don't know, I survival of the fittest, and
(10:04):
I don't think it's gonna be like an impressive thing
like the Cardinals. Dude, I if I'm my Cardinals fans,
I love you. I don't believe. How could you? But
on the other if the glasses half full, they're sitting
where they are now, and gold Schmid and Aeronado have
been shells of themselves. So if those guys have one
(10:26):
twenty ops plus second halfs, which they each easily can,
then I don't know, the Cardinals are poised pretty well
to land in a good spot. And like we used
to respect, that franchise you know, is one bad year?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Yeah, definitely. Uh. We ready to move on to the
next team you got. Oh yeah, I got a good
one for you. Let's let's move to the American League.
The All Star Game host. This is a team that
has been bad but could be good. The Texas Rangers.
You're defending World Series champion and coming into this season.
(11:02):
For me, my perspective was basically just saying, just hold on,
hold on, hold on, like like play five hundred ball
the first half, and then you have reinforcements coming in
the second half, and those reinforcements are starting to come back.
Make Suzer is back. I don't really know necessarily what
that means, how much of a needle mover that is,
especially considering their rotation has actually been pretty solid this year.
(11:25):
He'll be forty next month, and I sort of suspect
the real X factor to keep an eye on right
now is Tyler Mallee. Tyler Mallee's getting built back up,
and I know we haven't seen him in a long time,
but he was on a pretty good stretch early twenty
twenty three with the Minnesota He's had really good seasons.
He's had two hundred strikeout seasons with Cincinnati Reds, And
(11:46):
I think that is a guy who could be a
needle mover. Because sometimes you turn you tune into the
Texas Rangers game, Jake, and you're saying, wow, in the
big two O two four, the defending World Series champs
are starting. You know, Jose Reina, You know, like, no
disrespect to that guy. His era is pretty good, but
that's not exactly what you are expecting to see when
you tune in to see the defending World Series champions.
(12:07):
So before going further, what were your thoughts on the
Texas Rangers. Are you a big believer in the World
Series hangover effect?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
So I was the Texas Rangers, babe, d I might
need you to double check our over unders this year.
I believe I did take their undercoming into the season
slightly because of World Series hangover and just because it's
tough to replicate things that are so good, like Corey
(12:39):
Seeger was so good last year, and whether it's health
or just being that level of good that's really hard
to replicate. Adols Garcia, who I believe in. He's more
on the struggle bus than I expected looking at this that,
I guess. The thing that's even bigger than that was
(12:59):
looking at the middle of their lineup and seeing Evan
Carter and Wyatt Langford being banked on and it was
an episode awake and Jake I did earlier this year
was checking in on the rookies and seeing like, what's
that look like? Like how how how good can a
rookie really be for a team, And unless you're like
(13:20):
a freak of nature. Like I I still jump to
like how good Yasiel Puigue was, which is an outlier
because I mean, you know, he uh left Cuba, what
defected all that stuff. To count on young guys for
real contributions is tough. But at the same time, we
saw the upstart Reds last year get built on that.
(13:42):
So it's it's this overlying thing in baseball that we
can guess all we want, and we can try to guestimate,
but we don't know what these young guys are gonna
do that Josh Smith has been the Texas rangers just
best player, which is just absolute insanity. So so I
am a believer in Texas playing better than they have.
(14:04):
The problem for me is I think Houston's gonna play
better than they have. I think Seattle is good. So
in the AL, it's actually the opposite problem of the
National League of like who's gonna figure it out? In
the NL, like someone has to write question mark. Where
in the AL it kind of looked like it was sorted,
(14:26):
and now it seems like Texas is coming, Houston's is coming,
Houston's coming. Toronto dead, but Tampa even their box scores
are starting to look different. Josh Lowe is back, Brandon
lau is back, Yondi's hitting again. So like the al
it feels like these teams are coming that you kind
(14:48):
of need to pick a horse. So I'd be more
interested why Texas over the other horses.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, I you know, it's it's sort of some of
the same logic you applied to the Cardinals, which is,
you know, coming into this season, you would have said,
all right, the Cardinals will kind of go as are
An Auto and Goldschmith go. Right, if those guys bounce back,
then they're gonna be in pretty good shape because they
added all that pitching. I think with the Rangers coming
into this year, you were kind of thinking, well, maybe
they'll go as Evan Carter and Why Langford go, because
(15:16):
those are, you know, the young guys. Those are the
big X factors. Those can kind of make and break
your team. And the fact of the matter is they're
thirty seven and forty and they've gotten they haven't gotten
a whole lot from those guys. Carter's been hurt. Langford
is starting to heat up. In particular, he is He's
starting to hit some over the fence home runs, which
he did not have one of those until recently. I
think now he's got two of those. But yeah, I'm
(15:38):
I'm taking the Rangers over the Astros. I'm taking them
over with those other surging teams in particular, I really
do think they will be very relevant come postseason, and
I think they're gonna have those additions, like you know,
schures As gonna calm, you know, bail them out, make
some good starts. Tyler Malley's gonna come bail them out,
make some good starts. And but yeah, I mean it's
shocking how little they've gotten out of that outfit old
(16:00):
with with Garcia, Carter and Langford, because I would have
thought those were, you know, their horses behind the you know,
the the big money Simeon and secret signings, and those
guys have been good. They just haven't been incredible like
they were last year, you know, So there's still there's
there's I just feel like there's more room for improvement
with the Rangers than any of those other sort of
second tier teams.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Yeah, Bailey, I you know, it's become a joke around
the office with Happy Gray, But like I I would
have to check the year over year for the ability
to make it a video. But like your leader in
rookies and ops is now Jackson Merrill with a seven
seven to one. So that's where like, and I love
(16:43):
me some Jackson Merrill, but it's just kind of nuts
when you actually and this is guys who debuted this year.
Excuse me, so it you know, guys actually qualified for
Rookie of the Year. There there are more candidates, but
you know Whyatt Langford amongst rookies went from a I
like really struggling to I don't know, he's back near
(17:04):
the top of the class. That you wonder how much
is in there for the second half, And I would
guess more now that he is hitting outside of the
park home runs and he's driven in and he's like
nine runs in his last four games or something like that. That, yeah,
I I can be talked into the Texas Rangers Schureser
(17:25):
Molly even like Seeger is playing well, but I think
we all know like the best version of Corey Seeger
has more in the tank. That yeah, It's just it's
so laughable to me that like I genuinely think we
hit the It's so dumb because in baseball, especially with
(17:47):
the expanded playoffs, which are here to stay. I know
you touched upon this a second ago, like it's done.
Our heads got turned one day because we were talking
to some people deep in baseball and they were talking
about how the other leagues have a higher percentage of
teams making the playoffs, and we were like, that's how
you're thinking about this, Like that's not how this should
(18:10):
work at all, Like do it.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Sorry to interrupting, the other leagues don't play one hundred
and sixty two games every year.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
And like, do do what's best for your league. But
they're comparing playoff money and playoff games and the fact
we still have a five game ALDS NLDS blows my mind.
But that's for another day. That yeah, I I look
at Houston and Texas and I don't know what's coming next,
(18:39):
but I do know. It was funny looking today in
the standings and seeing W five next to Houston, W
four next to Texas because we kind of just hit
the point in the season where like, you gotta go.
But I know, I just know the All Star Game
is gonna hit and at least one of those teams
we're gonna be like damn, they just they finished their
(19:00):
last thirty games twenty one to nine, and now they're
sitting pretty you know, even BBD's Boston Red Sox are
in the playoffs as of today. That I'm very interesting
to see if you have thoughts on them. But yeah,
I I guess like I'll, I can believe I believe
in Texas more than the Reds, but that's just believing
(19:23):
in recent history. But I I guess I still don't
see kind of how to truly divide these teams up.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, no, there's a And you know what's interesting is
I feel like if you rewinded a few years ago,
I would have said there was just like a huge
gap between the haves and the have nots. The bad
teams were really really bad a few years ago, and
the good teams were really really good a few years ago.
And now we're seeing more of that that I guess
middle class emerge where they could these guys could just
(19:53):
go either way. And it's gonna make the trade deadline
potentially uninteresting because you know, at from a few teams,
who can really sell and who has something interesting to sell,
because I know everyone is still in it to some degree,
with the exception of a few teams that you allude
to Luis Robert earlier, like, yeah, if the White Sox
want to move on from him, he's gonna be the
big ticket item, but he might be the only interesting item,
(20:16):
you know.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Yeah, that's where we keep hoping that movement starts to happen.
You know, even like Josh Bell we saw when he
got traded to Miami. He went like, Josh Bell could
give you half a season that right now, that could
be the difference for the n wild card that I
hope these teams start making moves like Miami already moved
(20:41):
a rise, Like there's a couple teams that are that
are going to sell that you you'd like to see action,
but you also know, I don't know if you're the
Marlins and it is Josh Bell, do you want to
wait until the deadline to see if there's another first
base or DH injury Like for them, there's no rush that. Yeah.
I'm I'm starting to get actually worried about the trade
(21:03):
deadline because the NL he the Marlins only have so
many pieces that move the needle. Although pump the jazz
Chism trade into my veins, uh get when we do
our trade deadline episode? Please mix, mix in a mix
in a Jazz deal Dodgers, and then like, I don't know. Unfortunately,
(21:27):
you can't bank on the Rockies for anything. I I've
done a trade deadline episode.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
We do a fun like game with Chris Rose. You
get points for who gets traded and et cetera. Every year.
I'm like, yeah, the Rockies have to trade Daniel Bard,
like you just found free money under your couch. Nope,
we want to hold on to him. Uh, Elias Diaz
just won All Star Game MVP. His value could never
(21:53):
be higher. It literally will never be higher. Now we're
gonna hold on. Yeah, it's working out. So I don't know.
The thing I kept falling back on was like, the
Rays are gonna do something ugly just because they're the
raising they can. But I mean that's what arosaina and
his value still at an all time low. So I'm
(22:16):
really worried about this deadline.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Yeah, and you know, you talked, you talked a lot
of fish there, and they already kind of made a
deadline deal when they traded Awryse. That was already them
saying you know what, this is basically their equivalent of
a trade deadline deal. Come a couple months early.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Yeah, okay, so Texas Rangers All Star Game. You know
it was funny we were doing We were doing this
game with the Mariners last year, the Mariners were hosting
the All Star Game. Were they gonna buy or sell?
They got a little bit of the juice fell a
little bit short. It'll be interesting to see the vibe
in Texas this year as we post that we're going
(22:55):
to the All Star Game. Make sure you guys come
to our event. You might see foolish Bailey there. I
don't wanna I don't wanna spill too much tea.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Well so much sweet tea to the sweet Georgia Peach
down here.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
And he's gonna show that Georgia Peach at the end
of this episode. Keep those YouTube views going. I mean,
is there another team you're in love with? Or do
we have to start pivoting to If these teams are
joining the picture, that means someone kind of has to
leave the picture.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
I got, I got one more team I'm in love with.
Then I will preface this by saying that your coworker,
mister Ryan Cohen, did not put me up to this.
I'm going to believe in the San Diego Padres Okay,
Padres are a little bit different from these other two
teams I talked about because they are five hundred, they're
forty one and forty one, they currently occupy a wild
card spot, and they are eight and a half out
(23:48):
of the division, with of course the Dodgers leading. And
I was a big Padres converted believer coming into the
season because in twenty twenty three, I think we saw
a team that had just an insane mismatch in terms
of true talent and then their results in terms of
their overall record. I think it was covered a lot,
the one run games, the pie fag, the sequencing, however
(24:09):
you wanted to put it. People were perplexed by the
San Diego Padres because it seemed like they should have
been better. And if you looked at the individual seasons,
which are you know, this is the difference between context
dependent and context neutral stats, you know, it seemed like
they should have been great. The pitching was great. Their
pitching was great across the board in twenty twenty three,
and the hitting should have been enough because for by
(24:30):
and large, those guys went out and did their thing.
It's not like, you know, oh No Soto and Tatise
got heard and Bogarts had a terrible seat. That's not
what happened. Everyone. They hit well enough, they pitched well enough.
It just didn't work out in terms of the sequencing.
And so when that happened, and then they lost Soto
and Hater and Waka and Lugo this past offseason, I said,
(24:51):
even though they were a five hundred team last year,
I look at the roster right now, I still see
a five hundred team. And then they added Cease, and
then they added King, and now they have Profar who
I be an All Star. He might start the All
Star Game this year, and it currently leads to the
National League and on base percentage, and so I think,
just looking at this roster, it's it's so much more
talented than I think people give them credit for. And
(25:12):
I don't know, maybe Padres fans don't want that. Maybe
Padres fans that have said, you know, we've been through
that era where we had the pressure to really perform
and to really you know, be one of the top
teams in the league, and now we like to be
the scrappy underdog. But I don't really see him that way.
I still think it's a great roster. The rotation right now,
they have Keing Cease and Walterrin, and those guys have
buy and large performed. I think Cease has some discrepancies
(25:34):
there with like his you know, his his underlying metrics
and his era, which isn't that surprising. Darbish will be
back soon, must Grove will be back eventually. My whole
take with this is just of all the teams talking about,
this is just a really really talented roster still even
with the departures they had this past offseason, and they've
started to heat up a little bit and they currently
occupy a third World card spot. But I do think
(25:56):
there is a chance with some of the Dodgers' injuries
like they could, they could remain relevant in terms of
the race for the division. Even though they're so far back.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
You're not gonna convince me on the division at all.
This Padres team has, I mean, we've gotten to see
I don't want to say the rise and fall of
the Padres because they you know, Baseball Reference has them
at sixty percent to make the postseason, and you mentioned
the top of that rotation. You know, they've they have
(26:29):
the star power, their lineups kind of deeper. I mean
between a rise cronin Worth performing this year. I know
Campusano's numbers aren't pretty and he just went on the IL,
but he was a threat for a little while down there.
Machado hasn't kicked in the gear. So if you, you know,
even if you wanted to do like a profar has
(26:51):
to come back down to earth. Maybe he's not. It's
just that classic age thirty one breakout that we're we're
all trying to have, yes, but I I've been so
I don't know. I sound like a jaded old man,
but just seeing the San Diego franchise, like they finished
eighty two and eighty last year. They're forty one and
(27:13):
forty one right now. I know, right now in the
National League, that's enough. At a certain point it's not
gonna be and they've had the talent. I just like,
give me a Padres team that's five wins over five hundred, Like,
when's the last time we've had that? Is that twenty
twenty one, twenty twenty two?
Speaker 2 (27:37):
So I have twenty two? Right?
Speaker 1 (27:39):
I don't know. They I clearly get a little too
emotional about the San Diego Padres.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Yeah you got some, You've got some feelings about the
San Diego Padres. Do you would you say you have
daddy issues?
Speaker 1 (27:54):
I mean, I guess, I guess you could say that, Bailey,
you could sit so did What did they do in
twenty twenty two? They finished eighty nine and seventy three.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Yeah, twenty twenty two was the good year. Twenty twenty
one was the disappointing year off of twenty and then
twenty twenty three we talked about.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Oh yeah, and they they made a run. They went
to the CS that year, So yeah, I don't know.
There's just been a lot of different emotions from the
COVID Times Tatis, you know, their owner passing away that, Like,
I very much want to root for San Diego. I
just who'd they get swept by recently? Was it the Marlins?
(28:38):
And it's just like I can't Oh, they ran into
the Mets at the wrong time. They got swept by
the Mets, Grimace and the Mets. I'm surprised you haven't
brought up your Mets.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Yet, my my beloved New York Mets. You know, I
don't want to be too biased as to, you know,
betray my fandom in any way, so I won't be
bringing up my beloved New York Mets.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Like Bailey, I we did talk in Baseball this morning,
and I probably did a bad two minute segment per usual.
Go look at all of these team schedules leading up
to the All Star Break because someone has to get hot.
But there because there's only three awful awful team Who
(29:25):
are the awful teams? It's Miami, Colorado, the White Sox,
White Sox, my missing anyone? Oakland.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
That's really I don't even think Oakland is even getting
that tier anymore, to be honest with you, that's.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Like no team has a schedule coming up that you're like,
here we go, Like the San Diego Padres they are
about to play the Nationals, which can't promise you they
win that series? Uh, in Boston at Texas Snakes Mariners
in Atlanta leading up to the All Star Game, the
(29:59):
Padres could go like, I would not be surprised if
they have a losing record from this point to the
All Star Game. And it's just you can do that
with pretty much every team, And I guess it's starting
to get to the point where it feels less sexy
and more frustrating.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Well, it's definitely less sexy. But I think that's all
the more reason to root for them, because I think
this is the post hype Padres, to be honest with you,
and they are headed by the ultimate post hype breakout
in Jerks and Profar. But that's the thing, Like, I
don't like we had a phase with the Padres from
about twenty twenty to twenty twenty three, and I think
it's over. Like, I think that that level of expectations
(30:37):
is over, okay, And that gives me all the more
reason to root for them, because now I think they
are counted out and they are forgotten, even though, as
I said earlier, they still have really good players on
their rosters. So I'm excited for him. But I'm coming
at it from the angle of this is the post
type team, and I'm the post type guy.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Now that you've laid out the beautiful symmetry of Jerks
and Profar and his delayed breakout with the Padres, I'll
buy into it. Five games above five hundred, that's my
sole ask.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
I think they can do it.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
They can, But I've said that about the Saint Louis
Cardinals the past two years. I've said that not about
the Mets. Honestly, I've become a Nationals fan because I
want them to just say, like, screw everyone, like because
all of these other teams had some sort of expectations.
The Padres have expectations, the Giants have expectations, the whole
(31:35):
NL central in a way has expectations. That. Yeah, I
kind of I want the Nationals to come in and
be like, guys, this isn't isn't that hard? Call up
a couple decent young ballplayers and have Jesse Winker hit
a little bit and you can be in the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yeah, I feel that way, although I think if they
were in that mode, they would have called up James
would by Now you know. That's that's I find contradictory
the things that he's doing in triple A. And it's
so funny because the last, you know, like his version
of the Chris Bryant defense or whatever was, he needs
to hit better versus lefties. And every day I log
(32:17):
on Twitter and he's hitting a home run off of
a left handed pitcher and they stilln't call him up.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
I guess, I guess That's where I'm at. And I
me and BBD were laughing, was was it our guy
Jimmy b the post America's GM that posted that James
would call up today, I become a James Bowden stand
I think this show has Oh yeah, he posts one
athletic article a week that's just flames emoji and it's like,
(32:44):
all right, James Bowden, what a life you have?
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Coool? That didn't that guy like, I mean he like
drafted our arenaudo right, like you know, like what like
what you know? He's you can criticize it all you
wanted the athletic comments section, but you didn't draft no
On Arnado, did you.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
He's America's GM that I I guess it becomes interesting
for me with the Nationals because isn't Mike Rizzo still
runs it there and he's like as old school as
baseball still is that? I don't know. I I could
see the Nationals just snapping and being like, wait it.
(33:21):
There's been a lot of losing here recently. Let's call
up a stud. Let's trade for player B, and let's
make the playoffs and screw it because you can, and like,
I don't know, it's just I'm I want to believe
(33:42):
in your San Diego Padres, who are about to play
the Nationals. But like the Nationals just keep winning and
kind of spitting in the face of all these other teams.
They've been better than the Reds.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
They happen crazy.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Okay, so you've given me the San Diego Padres that
my soul wants to root for. It's just been a
little hurt. But I believe in the Jerks and profar
rebrand Texas Rangers. Sure, it's just hard to pick between them. Houston.
I guess I'll lump in Tampa for a second, but
their run differential isn't a pretty tough spot right now.
(34:25):
Who is your first? Oh, are Reds? I mean, yeah,
you'll never have to convince.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
Me about sweet sweet Reds.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Sweet baby Reds. Oriole centrally minus the winning who's falling out?
Speaker 2 (34:41):
I'm gonna start with Saint Louis Cardinals. I just and
I think I guess we're on the same page there, right,
based on some of the things you've said. But coming
into this season or you know, I talked about the
Central it being wide open. The team that I felt
the least commionent in was probably the Saint Louis Cardinals.
I said, I think anyone can win this one, but
not the Saint Louis Cardinals, and as things stand right now,
(35:03):
they have searched. They have absolutely surged their search to
thirty nine to thirty seven because they had an awful
start to a year. But they're in the second wild
card and there are only five games behind Milwaukee, so
you know, winning that division still doable at this point
in the season, for sure. The Gibson gray Lynn gambit
this past offseason has largely worked relative to the investment
(35:24):
they've put in. They knew that they needed cheap innings,
and they bought a bunch of innings, and so far
that has worked. The one that has just completely blown
my mind all year is Mason win has been incredible
for them. He has been absolutely incredible. He's been, without
a doubt, the team's MVP so far, and I'm shocked
by that because I'm not surprised that he would be
(35:45):
good in the long run, but I just didn't think
this year he would hit. You know, I think he
could play great defensive, I just didn't think he would
hit this year. And he still has weaknesses to his
offensive game. He chases a lot, he doesn't barrel it
up much. But in terms of the results, He's been
the team MVP without a doubt. And there's two ways
you can look at it, you know, as far as
(36:05):
gold Swint ro Anaudo go. And the positive way would
be to say they are above five hundred and they
haven't gotten much help from gold Spit and Aronado, so
those guys are gonna heat up and then they're gonna
be fine. Or the bad version for me, which is
actually how I'm feeling right now, is they're not gonna
go anywhere without gold Schmitt and Arnaudo. And I'm actually
not gonna say those guys heat up and they're gonna
be relying on Mason Win to do a lot more.
(36:28):
Run differential is still a thing. I haven't brought it
up that much. They're negative thirty one on the run differential.
That's not great. That is, you know, even among that division,
that is one of the weaker marks. And I'm basically
just coming at this from the perspective of, you know,
I don't think they have the magic Cardinals juice that
they once had, because there's a time when you could
just never count these guys out and they would go
(36:49):
on a twenty game win streak because they called up
a guy who they drafted in the thirteenth round five
years ago, who you've never even heard of, and then
he has a one forty oh ps plus from July
to September. And so I think in the long term
that thesis will be proven correct, which is that they
no longer have the magic Cardinals juice. I think if
they had the magic Cardinals juice, Jordan Walker would be
(37:10):
more of an impact player for them, you know, someone
who actual you know, prospect them. But yeah, I don't
like this Cardinals team all that much. I still don't,
despite the results they've given us in the last month
or so, and I'm counting them out.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Yeah, I think we are going to find out soon
because I I think nineteen and eleven since May twentieth, which, again,
if you're winning games at that kind of clip during
this season, you're elite. Elite. They have Atlanta, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh,
(37:46):
Kansas City and the Cubs coming up, so like again,
like all of those teams are in the same blender
right now that if Saint Louis keeps up the good
juice going into the All Star break, if they keep
winning at the nineteen and eleven pays, they're almost like
a lock to make the playoffs. I realized baseball just
does not work like that. And yeah, I again the
(38:11):
glass half full, glass half empty. Like I can't believe
that Alec Burlson is doing what he's doing. Sure like
him and Brendan Donovan, it seems rude. But when they
pop up on the screen, I don't know who it is.
I see Beard, I see Hair, I see Thick that
I take sub minute to process, and both of those
guys have been contributing that I don't know it. I'm
(38:33):
not Aeronatto and Goldschmidt could still be not good.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
Ah.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
That feels really rude to say they can have better
halfs than they just had and if they do, like
the Cardinals are almost gonna waltz into the playoffs. And like,
I also just think last year was so ugly that
I think if the Cardinals have a chance to buy someone,
(39:02):
which again this buyer seller market, we're gonna see what happens.
Like I almost have them as a lock to buy
because last year got so ugly that if that can
give them the extra half leg up on everyone that
they go for it. Uh. At the same time, which
I almost get embarrassed when I say stuff like this.
(39:22):
I could see the Cardinals having the worst record these
final series going into the All Star Break and be
like woo, Saint Louis showed their true colors. So that's
I'm I'm loving what you're saying because I'm looking for
any tidbit I can get to lean either way on this.
I don't know. There's there's something about a baseball city
(39:43):
and all these other teams stinking that has me not
selling on Saint Louis yet. No.
Speaker 2 (39:50):
I mean, if it's a not sucking competition, then historically
the Cardinals are going to win. That is their greatest
strength as a franchise is the is the extent they
will go to not sell.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
It's hey man, that's I was gonna say, put that
on my tombstone, but actually, my my signature line is
kind of the opposite of that. I understand the Cardinals.
A lot of people are not in on the Cardinals
the run differential. If I wake up, they get swept
by the Braves and even the Reds give them the business.
(40:23):
It almost makes more sense than not. But let's see
what happens. And unfortunately, Bailey, I do have to tell
you the problem is your numbers couldn't tell you that
Mason Win is a dog.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
They did that.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Every time I see a Mason Win highlight, he does
something that's just a little like, whoa this guy he's
playing for keeps like he's made a couple plays by
the foul line that you see other guys just like
kind of hit the brake, they make a career decision,
and Mason Win, I don't think he has that. And
(41:00):
Cardinals fans, I guess, let me know if I'm wrong.
I'm assuming you guys all love Mason Win. But every
time I see him, he's got just a little, a
little something extra that I'm like, Okay, I'm I'm in
a this is something the numbers don't pick up. Mason Win.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
Yeah. Well, And one thing I will say about Mason
Win two is I thought it was laughable during his
prospectum that a lot of people treated his infield arm
strength like nothing more than a party trick.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
You know, yeah, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (41:28):
Like, No, that that is an extra millisecond, that is
an extra step he can take. He can really take
his time to make that play, to transfer that ball
because he has the arm strength to get it to
the first baseman faster than any other shortstop and that
that is a huge plus to his game.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
And hey, I is Gibby gonna sit at three four
four era? Probably not? Is Sonny Gray gonna sit at
two eight one? Yes? Like Sonny Gray is in such
a weird baseball spot that just because his one year
on the Yankees wasn't as pretty, he finished second in
(42:07):
the cy Young last year to our king Young Garrett.
And is that what are you closing with? You have
the Yankees falling out? Or where are you? Where are
you going? Now?
Speaker 2 (42:20):
We could get to that if you want.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
Ohn't you dare? Don't you dare?
Speaker 2 (42:23):
I want to talk about New York Yankees?
Speaker 1 (42:25):
Don't you dare?
Speaker 2 (42:27):
Well, let me just tell you this. The Orioles are
the best team of the American League and they're going
to win that division. And I think you know it
in your heart of hearts. So that's true.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Okay, let's talk. Do I think that's true? I think
the Orioles are a much deeper regular season team. I
that's a pretty fair stance to take. The Yankees just
gamed a game this weekend because those trash birds got
beat by the Astros. So maybe keep up with ball
(42:59):
a little bit. Uh No, Yankee fans are getting scared
and everyone's doing the like, oh yeah, how spoiled are
the Yankee fans? Like you got best record in baseball
and you're complaining Philly's caught them. I know, we're coming
off two hesitant seasons. The second half of the lineup
(43:20):
is starting to look very interesting, and I don't know,
it's it's the beautiful world of baseball that I've been
spinning in a negative light. Like Louis Hills had a
couple hiccups? Is his double Tommy John catching up? Was
it one bad start? Is he? Like the Yankees question
(43:47):
marks are getting bigger and bigger that they're fine and
we're okay. But if the Orioles have an injury, they
just call up the best prospect in Triple A and
they move on. So yeah, what you're saying about the
Orioles over the course of the Rego season is probably
the safer bet. But I don't like that.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yeah. Well it's curious too, because the as the Yankees
are getting Cole, the Orioles now know they're going to
be bradish less. Yeah, and so that represents a pretty
significant swing. I mean, those were I know, Cole won
it last year, didn't Bratish finish something crazy like fourth.
So I mean, those are two of the best pitchers
in the American League last year. But yeah, I mean,
(44:31):
I think when you just look at it, the Yankees
have more problem spots in the lineup, and the Orioles
don't seem to have any problem spots in the lineup.
Like there's no one that like, apart from maybe Mullins,
there's no one that the Orioles are looking at like
we need this guy to get going, like everyone's already going,
you know, like that's the team they are right now.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
God, Bradish did finish fourth last year? Who finished third?
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Any takers, Let's see we had Gray and and BBD
you got this one.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
I'm trying to think Garrett Cole, Sonny Gray, Blank, Bradish,
Luis Castillo, m split them, Kevin Gospelers, Kevin.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
I'm sorry started all the l SU Tigers fans out there.
Speaker 1 (45:26):
Hey, thank you, I'm not. But Kelsey Winger dies and
we like her a lot and a little credit to you.
I mean, Bailey around around August last year, I think
you drove the first steak through the Toronto Blue Jays
and now it feels like it's happening quick.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Well, okay, I'm gonna you know, I hate to toot
my own horn here, but I have a couple bones
to pick. One is that what I said that a
year ago was completely correct. Two on the Foolish fifty
earlier this spring. Go on the Instagram right now that
had the short why said that Judge is better than
Akunya and read the comments. That's all My suggestion is
(46:06):
just go there. You can scroll back to it from
April or whenever we did that. Just read the comments,
not a positive sentiment to a completely correct take.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
Yeah, that's man. The next step of Ronald Acunya's career
is going to be very interesting. Well, meanwhile, Judge, we
obviously we appreciate it, but like it's silly. It's he's
a massive human that whenever he's on the field, he's
(46:36):
now hitting at like a one dot one ops the
past couple of years, it's he's playing center field.
Speaker 2 (46:43):
What Yeah, Yankees fans appreciate it, but I would say
everyone else needs to appreciate it more.
Speaker 1 (46:49):
Uh At John Smoltz, do you have do you have
one more team for us?
Speaker 2 (46:55):
Bailey I'll give you one more team that I'm not
so sure about. It's gonna be the Seattle Mariners. Okay,
And maybe that ties in with what we were talking
about with the Searching Rangers and Ashtros. Coming into preseason,
I would have said they can win the division. Now
they are winning the division. They're up six in the
AL West, and I'm still not convinced because up to
(47:15):
this point the other teams just simply haven't mounted a
challenge for them. And there are other division leaders who
are kind of in that same boat where it's just like, yeah,
you have a good record, but no one else has
really been trying. It seems like we know who they are,
we know who the Mariners are. The pitching is great,
The rotation has gotten a ton of love. I think
maybe the bullpen deserves more credit. But yet at the
(47:35):
same time, the bullpen has been greatly helped by the
fact that those starters pitch deep, so the bullpen doesn't
need to cover as many innings for them as your
average team. For sure, especially I mean Logan Gilbert, My goodness,
what a great year he's having. Then, offensively, I think
it's the same old story when Julio heats up, as
Julio always heats up. They'll be better, but you still
look at them. There are holes in the lineup. The
(47:57):
Garverer DH signing that has not worked out. I'm hard
broken to say that Mitch Haniger has not been particularly
good this year, because I actually thought he would be
pretty good this year. Second base is a problem for
them every year. When was the last time they had
like a legitimately he could second base season. It's pretty bad.
JP Crawford regrets. JP Crawford had such a massive year
last year. He's not that guy anymore. And he's not
(48:17):
even you know, I don't even think he's that great
defensively at shortstop either. So yeah, they've got they've got problems,
and they've had you know, I mean, they've played a
lot of the season without Brian Wu. They've had Brian
Wu injury scares, and it just takes one more, you know,
starter injury scare for them to be in trouble. The
way that the offense has performed this year. I think.
(48:38):
So if there's any team of counting out that's currently
you know, having a sizable lead in their division, I'm
gonna say it's the Mariners. Because they could get chased
down by the Ashcros or Rangers.
Speaker 1 (48:48):
Still, yeah, I I was on a pretty firm like
I just don't believe in it. And part of the
reason is my my offensive playbook. It's like, I don't
want to say it's my only take because I have
a lot of takes, but I pitching has gotten so
(49:09):
good that you can find pitching guys that can hit
you can't find. So that's where you know, when the
Braves were just absolutely mauling last year, like what do
you do? Like it doesn't matter if you have Logan Gilbert,
Like the Braves last year were still going to get
their work done. The Orioles are just relentless man every inning,
(49:32):
there's never a break. That offense still plays in the
regular season, and we actually saw it play in the
postseason last year the Texas Rangers won go check out
what their bullpen was doing, Like it was horrific that
if you if your offense looks like this that the
(49:53):
current ops plus leaders are Luke Rayley and Josh Rojas,
Like I wanted to give the Mariners their flowers, and
I kind of have the past couple weeks, but man,
seeing those the w five and the W four from
Seattle in Texas or excuse me, from Texas and Houston.
(50:16):
Houston's been hitting all year, They've been missing pitching. I'm
still not all in on Houston. I think we're giving
them too much respect for previous year resume, which that
might be fair and is probably right. I still think
they they're gonna continue to have these hiccup series that
it just doesn't feel the same. I'm not saying they're out,
(50:39):
but I don't think Houston is back. Texas could fully
click and we're all gonna be like whoa, Like the
engine kicked in. It's Simeon, it's Seeger. The kids are
hitting like they have the full recipe ready to go.
Seattle's hitting terrifies me. Terrifies me.
Speaker 2 (50:59):
That.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry Mariners fans. I think you I've
tried to sell myself on it and I can't do it.
Speaker 2 (51:08):
Yeah, And I think it just kind of comes down
to the you know, if this is gonna be like
a real divisional race, then you can probably count out
the Mariners, and if these other teams are still gonna fold,
then yeah, they're gonna win by default. But that seems
like how they are going to win. If the Marriags
win the division, it's going to be by default. If
the Rangers, and I'm still you know, Rangers over Astros guy.
(51:29):
But if the Rangers they form the challenge that I
think they can form in the second half, like they
have a very good chance to win it still.
Speaker 1 (51:37):
Last good Mariner second basement probably Robinson Cano. I think
we can we can pencil.
Speaker 2 (51:43):
I mean that was a while ago.
Speaker 1 (51:44):
It's a couple of moons ago. It's not wrong. I
was worried it was gonna be Brett Boone, which, by
the way, the last time the Mariners won the division
two thousand and one. So I don't know. It feels
like baseball's come. Baseball used to be a curse game,
like the Cubs in the Red Sox like that. That
(52:04):
used to be everything. Do we have a curse right now?
Are we curseless? Guardians aren't cursed?
Speaker 2 (52:14):
Yeah, yeah, that's true. They if the Guardians have a curse,
they haven't heard about it this year.
Speaker 1 (52:20):
The curse of Chris Rose. Yeah, I mean this is
I need more offense. I need more offense day in
day out. I need more offense. They were giving me,
like the phrase I kept saying, is when when you
(52:42):
have an offense that isn't scoring, there's obviously more pressure
on the pitching. But then it goes one of two ways.
It's either like, hey, our pitching is nails, we gotta
push something across, and then when you do, it's almost
like whoo, here we are. This is what we do boys.
It feels like the Mariners hit that. Instead of being like,
(53:03):
how are we gonna blow this? It was like, hey,
our pitching's really good. If we get two or three runs,
we should be okay. And it feels like they hit that.
But if Texas, Houston or both start coming, you need
more that I don't. I don't even know, like what
I guess what would make you if you if you
(53:25):
woke up and you heard Alonso pete Alonso goes to
the Mariners, would you be in.
Speaker 2 (53:34):
Yes that I think it would be the best match
for him. That would be the needle mover for me personally.
I like that more than any of his other potential
destinations if he were to be traded.
Speaker 1 (53:44):
Oh spoilers. As we approach the good month of July,
it's June twenty fourth, Bailey, We're halfway through.
Speaker 2 (53:56):
Well, we'll save it for next month and then I'll
play a little g and you'll play No. I guess,
I guess we'll we'll both play gms. But yeah, looking
forward to role playing with you either way.
Speaker 1 (54:06):
I answer, and then we'll start the episode. I answer
the phone call, I check with my analytics department, and
we figure it out and we'll probably do something before then,
whether it's a draft or something else, anything else on
your on your heart, Bailey, before we let.
Speaker 2 (54:22):
You go, Nothing on my heart. Just just wishing you
all well over there in in John Boyland and uh,
you know, shout outs to fans of Dan Patrick everywhere.
Speaker 1 (54:35):
Yeah, God, God, you're good. Thank you, Bailey. Go check
out what what video do we have in the chamber?
Can you tell us anything?
Speaker 2 (54:46):
I am working on one and it'll be out in
hopefully a couple of days. But I am I'm trying
to correctify a beef I have with with the baseball community,
particularly over the legacy of a player who I think
got a bad rap and didn't necessarily deserve it. So
that's what I'm gonna do. I'mna doing some propaganda for
a player who I think caught a bad rap and
(55:07):
didn't really deserve it.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
Excited to see your hore Pisada video. God only one
round of Hall of Fame balloting, Bailey, Thank you, enjoy
your vacation. We will see you on here soon, maybe
live in Dallas. Beebs send them off the only way
we know how.
Speaker 2 (55:30):
Wake and Jack is a production of Dan Patrick Productions,
John Bay Media, and Workhouse Media.
Hello, and welcome to Wake and Jake a very special episode.
It is Bailey Time. Foolish is here as well as BBD.
As we're right around the midpoint of the MLB season,
a couple teams have played their eighty first game, so
it's it's collectively, I think a week to check in.
(00:21):
I think on Talking Baseball, we're gonna do some checking
in just to see. Sounds dramatic and like a match
Matchbox twenty five song, but let's see how far we've
come and see where we're going. Because Bailey, I was
excited when you said. I was like, what do you got, kid,
and you said two seemer curveball slider. You said you
(00:45):
wanted to sell me on some teams that you're believing
in that the people are are not. And I mean
with that must mean there's a couple teams you do
not believe in as much. And I can kind of
be the judge and jury. And as everyone's seeing you
are coming from live from vacation, Uh, I mean that's.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Just I just stressed, like this.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Is that that's beach safari chic that you've started to
bust out. You look great.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
This is uh, I'm afraid of the sun. Chic.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Yeah, yeah, hey, you know we all need to be
a little more scared of the sun. I know again,
I've grown up with this beautiful Italian skin my mother's
passed on to me, so I haven't had to be
as concerned. But yeah, be safe out there, okay, please?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Yeah I will. And you know, for me, as I
get older, I fear the ocean more personally. Like you know,
when I was a kid, I'd be in the ocean
hours and hours on end, not a care, not a
thought in the world. Nowadays, rip currents and a fish
touching my leg and I'm out. I'm just in there
to dip, and I'm I'm out. I don't like the
ocean anymore.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
I am a thousand percent with you, so I will. Ay.
I struggled with cold water as people saw at the
warehouseskend be Once I'm in and I'm settled, I'll stay
out there all day. If we're having a good time
in the water, like, let's do it, bring a ball out,
let's have some fun. Uh. But yeah, that initial walk
(02:15):
out if something clips me, no chance, no chance. Why
that's where they live anyway.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Yeah, I totally understand it, but it seems like, why
are they always so close to where I'm trying? You know,
they have the whole ocean right, and yet they seem
to be right where I am back, I have seventy
of the earth, you know we only have twenty nine percent.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
And another thing, what humans should have more of? Bailey,
I'm excited to see where you want to start this.
I guess you seem more excited about the teams that
aren't getting love, right. I guess who's the team? Who's
who's the one one of that You're like, it's.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Coming, Yeah, it's the Cincinnati Reds. For me, I think
they are the sleeping giant down there and the NL
Central so preseason and I think I'll probably go around
and kind of, you know, ask you what your thoughts
were on some of these teams coming into the season.
But preseason, when I was diagnosing the NL Central, my
(03:18):
take was basically just about anyone can win it this year.
It is wide open. And I thought if the division
was really bad, then probably the Cubs would win it
because I feel like they had the highest floor. But
if there was a team that was going to surge
and become legitimately good, it was going to be the
Cincinnati Reds because of their roster, and you just look
at where they're at right now. They're thirty six and
(03:39):
forty one because the NLYL card is terrible, they're only
two and a half games out of that, and they're
eight and a half games out of the division with
the Brewers holding a pretty solid lead right now. But
I mean, you just look at what's going on with
their roster, like noel Vie Marte suspended at the start
of their year, and I think that caused a big reshuffle.
He's going to be back soon and he could be
an impact player for them in the second half. And
(04:01):
they we saw Cees be bad this year and then
get injured, and then the Candy Man who had just
a terrible first month of the season, jamer Canlario has
an eight eighty one OPS since May, so he has
quietly come on strong. They could kick him the first base,
Marte at third base, and that would really, you know,
sort of round out their infield quite well, because when
you look at the rotation man the young guys Green,
(04:24):
Abbott and Lodolo, by and large, they're doing their job,
you know, And I think that was definitely one of
the prerequisites for this team to do well this season
was those young pitchers need to take a step up,
and they have done that. So before I go on
any further, I just do want to ask you, Jake, like,
what were your thoughts on the Reds? You know, not
right now, but coming into the season. What did you
see in this team?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
So I'm a Reds guy coming into the season. I
I mean, I think if I had to put money, well,
if I had to put money on it, I would
not have because it's the NL Central and like a
credit to Milwaukee who who obviously now that they're out
of the gates like this, I mean, they would really
have to run into something, probably injury wise, and I
(05:10):
wonder how much of baseball is going to turn into that.
And I think I might have even even done that
last week and Jake that I'm like, sure if a
couple teams make the trade deadline moves we're begging for,
you know, if one of the teams actually pays for
Luis Robert and they add him along with having good health,
Like I'm wondering how much of these teams is gonna
(05:32):
get decided by health Because you mentioned Noelvi Marte who
not exactly health but in a way he's been missing
and he'll be back. Also Matt McClain, Like I was
the guy screaming from the Matt McClain cloud last year,
like how good has this guy been? While everyone's trying
to send Ellie to the All Star Game just because
(05:53):
he's like a different human being. It's like, no, Matt
McClain has been the better baseball player. He's in line
to come back August maybe, Like I'm not gonna bank
on Matt McClain. I guess it's what you're saying. Even
I mean TJ Friedel that was so good for them
last year and locking down the leadoff spot that he's
(06:15):
still looking to find his rhythm. Will Benson really hasn't
found it this year that I thought the Reds were
going to be able to hit, which I believe is
the new regular season formula, like you're gonna find some
pitching most teams, you're gonna find some pitching that I
don't know. I was looking at them as like an
Orioles light potentially, and it just it hasn't been that.
(06:40):
So the fact that you're opening with them does have
me juiced up. But I've sold a little bit of
my redstock for this season.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Yeah, but I think it's just looking at this team,
you really have that feeling that they have another level.
And maybe it's through Ellie maybe you know, at least
had a good year this year he's had. I would
say he's had a very good year. Uh, there is
another level, especially when I look at this roster right now.
Alexis Diaz has been a problem for them in the
sense that you know, he I think a lot of
these losses have just been Alexis Dias blown safe straight up.
(07:11):
And if he becomes even a league average closer in
the second half, like those are wins that they weren't
getting in the first half that they're gonna get in
the second half, because right now they're in last place
in that division. They have a positive run differential, And
I know I don't think run differential is the end
all be all, but I do think that is worth
noting for sure. And just with the NL wildcard race,
you know, being bad, like I you know, it feels
(07:33):
like they are like very much in play for that,
and with that I think comes like in you know,
and maybe this little tangent will be you know, irrelevant
in the next three months. But I'm looking at this
NL wildcard race, man, and it was bad last year
to some extent, like the way the d Backs and
Marlin snuck in. You know, this year it could be
(07:55):
really bad, and I'm just sort of lamenting it because,
you know, I think in the history of profession sports,
a playoff, a playoff format has never contracted. No one
has ever said in the history professional sports, you know what,
maybe this is too many teams to let into the playoffs.
Let's whittle it down a little bit. It's always get bigger,
more money, more playoff games, more playoff shares, and you know,
(08:15):
maybe in three months, you know, they at least is
going to send a good wildcard team. We know that
maybe the Reds are good team, and then there's a
good team, you know, out West or something like that.
But I mean, right now, it's just it's anyone's business
in the National League to the point that it's that
it's hard to call out any team for being bad
that could be good because even the bad teams by
and large are still in play for a for a
(08:36):
playoff spot.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Well, and that's I guess that was the other part
of the why I was juiced up when you said
this is the topic, because I'll be yeah, we do
we do talking baseball, well, we do talking baseball three
times a week, but on the book ends we do
recap episodes. What happened in the series, what was the Jews?
Couple hot topics if they are there, but you know,
(08:57):
kind of what happened around the league this weekend. Let's
high some guys the National League to plant to flag
down and be confident about something after the Atlanta Braves.
I just have to be honest. I can't do it.
And it's it's where I'm disappointed because it's kind of
the injury speech I gave, Like I think these teams
(09:19):
are so closely knit. I hope I'm wrong. I hope.
I hope the Nationals call up James Wood. I hope
they make a trade and they say, you know what,
Natitude season, we're back, you guys, blew it. We can
actually have a big payroll if we want, like we
have a market like I hope a team does that
(09:40):
and it pays off that they put the chips on
the table. I'm just worried it's gonna come down to, like,
what's that there's a phrase a survival by elimination or
I don't know. It's where I'm not good with words
and it's horribly ironic what my career has turned into.
But I don't know, I survival of the fittest, and
(10:04):
I don't think it's gonna be like an impressive thing
like the Cardinals. Dude, I if I'm my Cardinals fans,
I love you. I don't believe. How could you? But
on the other if the glasses half full, they're sitting
where they are now, and gold Schmid and Aeronado have
been shells of themselves. So if those guys have one
(10:26):
twenty ops plus second halfs, which they each easily can,
then I don't know, the Cardinals are poised pretty well
to land in a good spot. And like we used
to respect, that franchise you know, is one bad year?
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Yeah, definitely. Uh. We ready to move on to the
next team you got. Oh yeah, I got a good
one for you. Let's let's move to the American League.
The All Star Game host. This is a team that
has been bad but could be good. The Texas Rangers.
You're defending World Series champion and coming into this season.
(11:02):
For me, my perspective was basically just saying, just hold on,
hold on, hold on, like like play five hundred ball
the first half, and then you have reinforcements coming in
the second half, and those reinforcements are starting to come back.
Make Suzer is back. I don't really know necessarily what
that means, how much of a needle mover that is,
especially considering their rotation has actually been pretty solid this year.
(11:25):
He'll be forty next month, and I sort of suspect
the real X factor to keep an eye on right
now is Tyler Mallee. Tyler Mallee's getting built back up,
and I know we haven't seen him in a long time,
but he was on a pretty good stretch early twenty
twenty three with the Minnesota He's had really good seasons.
He's had two hundred strikeout seasons with Cincinnati Reds, And
(11:46):
I think that is a guy who could be a
needle mover. Because sometimes you turn you tune into the
Texas Rangers game, Jake, and you're saying, wow, in the
big two O two four, the defending World Series champs
are starting. You know, Jose Reina, You know, like, no
disrespect to that guy. His era is pretty good, but
that's not exactly what you are expecting to see when
you tune in to see the defending World Series champions.
(12:07):
So before going further, what were your thoughts on the
Texas Rangers. Are you a big believer in the World
Series hangover effect?
Speaker 1 (12:17):
So I was the Texas Rangers, babe, d I might
need you to double check our over unders this year.
I believe I did take their undercoming into the season
slightly because of World Series hangover and just because it's
tough to replicate things that are so good, like Corey
(12:39):
Seeger was so good last year, and whether it's health
or just being that level of good that's really hard
to replicate. Adols Garcia, who I believe in. He's more
on the struggle bus than I expected looking at this that,
I guess. The thing that's even bigger than that was
(12:59):
looking at the middle of their lineup and seeing Evan
Carter and Wyatt Langford being banked on and it was
an episode awake and Jake I did earlier this year
was checking in on the rookies and seeing like, what's
that look like? Like how how how good can a
rookie really be for a team, And unless you're like
(13:20):
a freak of nature. Like I I still jump to
like how good Yasiel Puigue was, which is an outlier
because I mean, you know, he uh left Cuba, what
defected all that stuff. To count on young guys for
real contributions is tough. But at the same time, we
saw the upstart Reds last year get built on that.
(13:42):
So it's it's this overlying thing in baseball that we
can guess all we want, and we can try to guestimate,
but we don't know what these young guys are gonna
do that Josh Smith has been the Texas rangers just
best player, which is just absolute insanity. So so I
am a believer in Texas playing better than they have.
(14:04):
The problem for me is I think Houston's gonna play
better than they have. I think Seattle is good. So
in the AL, it's actually the opposite problem of the
National League of like who's gonna figure it out? In
the NL, like someone has to write question mark. Where
in the AL it kind of looked like it was sorted,
(14:26):
and now it seems like Texas is coming, Houston's is coming,
Houston's coming. Toronto dead, but Tampa even their box scores
are starting to look different. Josh Lowe is back, Brandon
lau is back, Yondi's hitting again. So like the al
it feels like these teams are coming that you kind
(14:48):
of need to pick a horse. So I'd be more
interested why Texas over the other horses.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Yeah, I you know, it's it's sort of some of
the same logic you applied to the Cardinals, which is,
you know, coming into this season, you would have said,
all right, the Cardinals will kind of go as are
An Auto and Goldschmith go. Right, if those guys bounce back,
then they're gonna be in pretty good shape because they
added all that pitching. I think with the Rangers coming
into this year, you were kind of thinking, well, maybe
they'll go as Evan Carter and Why Langford go, because
(15:16):
those are, you know, the young guys. Those are the
big X factors. Those can kind of make and break
your team. And the fact of the matter is they're
thirty seven and forty and they've gotten they haven't gotten
a whole lot from those guys. Carter's been hurt. Langford
is starting to heat up. In particular, he is He's
starting to hit some over the fence home runs, which
he did not have one of those until recently. I
think now he's got two of those. But yeah, I'm
(15:38):
I'm taking the Rangers over the Astros. I'm taking them
over with those other surging teams in particular, I really
do think they will be very relevant come postseason, and
I think they're gonna have those additions, like you know,
schures As gonna calm, you know, bail them out, make
some good starts. Tyler Malley's gonna come bail them out,
make some good starts. And but yeah, I mean it's
shocking how little they've gotten out of that outfit old
(16:00):
with with Garcia, Carter and Langford, because I would have
thought those were, you know, their horses behind the you know,
the the big money Simeon and secret signings, and those
guys have been good. They just haven't been incredible like
they were last year, you know, So there's still there's
there's I just feel like there's more room for improvement
with the Rangers than any of those other sort of
second tier teams.
Speaker 1 (16:21):
Yeah, Bailey, I you know, it's become a joke around
the office with Happy Gray, But like I I would
have to check the year over year for the ability
to make it a video. But like your leader in
rookies and ops is now Jackson Merrill with a seven
seven to one. So that's where like, and I love
(16:43):
me some Jackson Merrill, but it's just kind of nuts
when you actually and this is guys who debuted this year.
Excuse me, so it you know, guys actually qualified for
Rookie of the Year. There there are more candidates, but
you know Whyatt Langford amongst rookies went from a I
like really struggling to I don't know, he's back near
(17:04):
the top of the class. That you wonder how much
is in there for the second half, And I would
guess more now that he is hitting outside of the
park home runs and he's driven in and he's like
nine runs in his last four games or something like that. That, yeah,
I I can be talked into the Texas Rangers Schureser
(17:25):
Molly even like Seeger is playing well, but I think
we all know like the best version of Corey Seeger
has more in the tank. That yeah, It's just it's
so laughable to me that like I genuinely think we
hit the It's so dumb because in baseball, especially with
(17:47):
the expanded playoffs, which are here to stay. I know
you touched upon this a second ago, like it's done.
Our heads got turned one day because we were talking
to some people deep in baseball and they were talking
about how the other leagues have a higher percentage of
teams making the playoffs, and we were like, that's how
you're thinking about this, Like that's not how this should
(18:10):
work at all, Like do it.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
Sorry to interrupting, the other leagues don't play one hundred
and sixty two games every year.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
And like, do do what's best for your league. But
they're comparing playoff money and playoff games and the fact
we still have a five game ALDS NLDS blows my mind.
But that's for another day. That yeah, I I look
at Houston and Texas and I don't know what's coming next,
(18:39):
but I do know. It was funny looking today in
the standings and seeing W five next to Houston, W
four next to Texas because we kind of just hit
the point in the season where like, you gotta go.
But I know, I just know the All Star Game
is gonna hit and at least one of those teams
we're gonna be like damn, they just they finished their
(19:00):
last thirty games twenty one to nine, and now they're
sitting pretty you know, even BBD's Boston Red Sox are
in the playoffs as of today. That I'm very interesting
to see if you have thoughts on them. But yeah,
I I guess like I'll, I can believe I believe
in Texas more than the Reds, but that's just believing
(19:23):
in recent history. But I I guess I still don't
see kind of how to truly divide these teams up.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, no, there's a And you know what's interesting is
I feel like if you rewinded a few years ago,
I would have said there was just like a huge
gap between the haves and the have nots. The bad
teams were really really bad a few years ago, and
the good teams were really really good a few years ago.
And now we're seeing more of that that I guess
middle class emerge where they could these guys could just
(19:53):
go either way. And it's gonna make the trade deadline
potentially uninteresting because you know, at from a few teams,
who can really sell and who has something interesting to sell,
because I know everyone is still in it to some degree,
with the exception of a few teams that you allude
to Luis Robert earlier, like, yeah, if the White Sox
want to move on from him, he's gonna be the
big ticket item, but he might be the only interesting item,
(20:16):
you know.
Speaker 1 (20:18):
Yeah, that's where we keep hoping that movement starts to happen.
You know, even like Josh Bell we saw when he
got traded to Miami. He went like, Josh Bell could
give you half a season that right now, that could
be the difference for the n wild card that I
hope these teams start making moves like Miami already moved
(20:41):
a rise, Like there's a couple teams that are that
are going to sell that you you'd like to see action,
but you also know, I don't know if you're the
Marlins and it is Josh Bell, do you want to
wait until the deadline to see if there's another first
base or DH injury Like for them, there's no rush that. Yeah.
I'm I'm starting to get actually worried about the trade
(21:03):
deadline because the NL he the Marlins only have so
many pieces that move the needle. Although pump the jazz
Chism trade into my veins, uh get when we do
our trade deadline episode? Please mix, mix in a mix
in a Jazz deal Dodgers, and then like, I don't know. Unfortunately,
(21:27):
you can't bank on the Rockies for anything. I I've
done a trade deadline episode.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
We do a fun like game with Chris Rose. You
get points for who gets traded and et cetera. Every year.
I'm like, yeah, the Rockies have to trade Daniel Bard,
like you just found free money under your couch. Nope,
we want to hold on to him. Uh, Elias Diaz
just won All Star Game MVP. His value could never
(21:53):
be higher. It literally will never be higher. Now we're
gonna hold on. Yeah, it's working out. So I don't know.
The thing I kept falling back on was like, the
Rays are gonna do something ugly just because they're the
raising they can. But I mean that's what arosaina and
his value still at an all time low. So I'm
(22:16):
really worried about this deadline.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
Yeah, and you know, you talked, you talked a lot
of fish there, and they already kind of made a
deadline deal when they traded Awryse. That was already them
saying you know what, this is basically their equivalent of
a trade deadline deal. Come a couple months early.
Speaker 1 (22:33):
Yeah, okay, so Texas Rangers All Star Game. You know
it was funny we were doing We were doing this
game with the Mariners last year, the Mariners were hosting
the All Star Game. Were they gonna buy or sell?
They got a little bit of the juice fell a
little bit short. It'll be interesting to see the vibe
in Texas this year as we post that we're going
(22:55):
to the All Star Game. Make sure you guys come
to our event. You might see foolish Bailey there. I
don't wanna I don't wanna spill too much tea.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Well so much sweet tea to the sweet Georgia Peach
down here.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
And he's gonna show that Georgia Peach at the end
of this episode. Keep those YouTube views going. I mean,
is there another team you're in love with? Or do
we have to start pivoting to If these teams are
joining the picture, that means someone kind of has to
leave the picture.
Speaker 2 (23:27):
I got, I got one more team I'm in love with.
Then I will preface this by saying that your coworker,
mister Ryan Cohen, did not put me up to this.
I'm going to believe in the San Diego Padres Okay,
Padres are a little bit different from these other two
teams I talked about because they are five hundred, they're
forty one and forty one, they currently occupy a wild
card spot, and they are eight and a half out
(23:48):
of the division, with of course the Dodgers leading. And
I was a big Padres converted believer coming into the
season because in twenty twenty three, I think we saw
a team that had just an insane mismatch in terms
of true talent and then their results in terms of
their overall record. I think it was covered a lot,
the one run games, the pie fag, the sequencing, however
(24:09):
you wanted to put it. People were perplexed by the
San Diego Padres because it seemed like they should have
been better. And if you looked at the individual seasons,
which are you know, this is the difference between context
dependent and context neutral stats, you know, it seemed like
they should have been great. The pitching was great. Their
pitching was great across the board in twenty twenty three,
and the hitting should have been enough because for by
(24:30):
and large, those guys went out and did their thing.
It's not like, you know, oh No Soto and Tatise
got heard and Bogarts had a terrible seat. That's not
what happened. Everyone. They hit well enough, they pitched well enough.
It just didn't work out in terms of the sequencing.
And so when that happened, and then they lost Soto
and Hater and Waka and Lugo this past offseason, I said,
(24:51):
even though they were a five hundred team last year,
I look at the roster right now, I still see
a five hundred team. And then they added Cease, and
then they added King, and now they have Profar who
I be an All Star. He might start the All
Star Game this year, and it currently leads to the
National League and on base percentage, and so I think,
just looking at this roster, it's it's so much more
talented than I think people give them credit for. And
(25:12):
I don't know, maybe Padres fans don't want that. Maybe
Padres fans that have said, you know, we've been through
that era where we had the pressure to really perform
and to really you know, be one of the top
teams in the league, and now we like to be
the scrappy underdog. But I don't really see him that way.
I still think it's a great roster. The rotation right now,
they have Keing Cease and Walterrin, and those guys have
buy and large performed. I think Cease has some discrepancies
(25:34):
there with like his you know, his his underlying metrics
and his era, which isn't that surprising. Darbish will be
back soon, must Grove will be back eventually. My whole
take with this is just of all the teams talking about,
this is just a really really talented roster still even
with the departures they had this past offseason, and they've
started to heat up a little bit and they currently
occupy a third World card spot. But I do think
(25:56):
there is a chance with some of the Dodgers' injuries
like they could, they could remain relevant in terms of
the race for the division. Even though they're so far back.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
You're not gonna convince me on the division at all.
This Padres team has, I mean, we've gotten to see
I don't want to say the rise and fall of
the Padres because they you know, Baseball Reference has them
at sixty percent to make the postseason, and you mentioned
the top of that rotation. You know, they've they have
(26:29):
the star power, their lineups kind of deeper. I mean
between a rise cronin Worth performing this year. I know
Campusano's numbers aren't pretty and he just went on the IL,
but he was a threat for a little while down there.
Machado hasn't kicked in the gear. So if you, you know,
even if you wanted to do like a profar has
(26:51):
to come back down to earth. Maybe he's not. It's
just that classic age thirty one breakout that we're we're
all trying to have, yes, but I I've been so
I don't know. I sound like a jaded old man,
but just seeing the San Diego franchise, like they finished
eighty two and eighty last year. They're forty one and
(27:13):
forty one right now. I know, right now in the
National League, that's enough. At a certain point it's not
gonna be and they've had the talent. I just like,
give me a Padres team that's five wins over five hundred, Like,
when's the last time we've had that? Is that twenty
twenty one, twenty twenty two?
Speaker 2 (27:37):
So I have twenty two? Right?
Speaker 1 (27:39):
I don't know. They I clearly get a little too
emotional about the San Diego Padres.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Yeah you got some, You've got some feelings about the
San Diego Padres. Do you would you say you have
daddy issues?
Speaker 1 (27:54):
I mean, I guess, I guess you could say that, Bailey,
you could sit so did What did they do in
twenty twenty two? They finished eighty nine and seventy three.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
Yeah, twenty twenty two was the good year. Twenty twenty
one was the disappointing year off of twenty and then
twenty twenty three we talked about.
Speaker 1 (28:14):
Oh yeah, and they they made a run. They went
to the CS that year, So yeah, I don't know.
There's just been a lot of different emotions from the
COVID Times Tatis, you know, their owner passing away that, Like,
I very much want to root for San Diego. I
just who'd they get swept by recently? Was it the Marlins?
(28:38):
And it's just like I can't Oh, they ran into
the Mets at the wrong time. They got swept by
the Mets, Grimace and the Mets. I'm surprised you haven't
brought up your Mets.
Speaker 2 (28:48):
Yet, my my beloved New York Mets. You know, I
don't want to be too biased as to, you know,
betray my fandom in any way, so I won't be
bringing up my beloved New York Mets.
Speaker 1 (28:59):
Like Bailey, I we did talk in Baseball this morning,
and I probably did a bad two minute segment per usual.
Go look at all of these team schedules leading up
to the All Star Break because someone has to get hot.
But there because there's only three awful awful team Who
(29:25):
are the awful teams? It's Miami, Colorado, the White Sox,
White Sox, my missing anyone? Oakland.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
That's really I don't even think Oakland is even getting
that tier anymore, to be honest with you, that's.
Speaker 1 (29:38):
Like no team has a schedule coming up that you're like,
here we go, Like the San Diego Padres they are
about to play the Nationals, which can't promise you they
win that series? Uh, in Boston at Texas Snakes Mariners
in Atlanta leading up to the All Star Game, the
(29:59):
Padres could go like, I would not be surprised if
they have a losing record from this point to the
All Star Game. And it's just you can do that
with pretty much every team, And I guess it's starting
to get to the point where it feels less sexy
and more frustrating.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Well, it's definitely less sexy. But I think that's all
the more reason to root for them, because I think
this is the post hype Padres, to be honest with you,
and they are headed by the ultimate post hype breakout
in Jerks and Profar. But that's the thing, Like, I
don't like we had a phase with the Padres from
about twenty twenty to twenty twenty three, and I think
it's over. Like, I think that that level of expectations
(30:37):
is over, okay, And that gives me all the more
reason to root for them, because now I think they
are counted out and they are forgotten, even though, as
I said earlier, they still have really good players on
their rosters. So I'm excited for him. But I'm coming
at it from the angle of this is the post
type team, and I'm the post type guy.
Speaker 1 (30:56):
Now that you've laid out the beautiful symmetry of Jerks
and Profar and his delayed breakout with the Padres, I'll
buy into it. Five games above five hundred, that's my
sole ask.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
I think they can do it.
Speaker 1 (31:11):
They can, But I've said that about the Saint Louis
Cardinals the past two years. I've said that not about
the Mets. Honestly, I've become a Nationals fan because I
want them to just say, like, screw everyone, like because
all of these other teams had some sort of expectations.
The Padres have expectations, the Giants have expectations, the whole
(31:35):
NL central in a way has expectations. That. Yeah, I
kind of I want the Nationals to come in and
be like, guys, this isn't isn't that hard? Call up
a couple decent young ballplayers and have Jesse Winker hit
a little bit and you can be in the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yeah, I feel that way, although I think if they
were in that mode, they would have called up James
would by Now you know. That's that's I find contradictory
the things that he's doing in triple A. And it's
so funny because the last, you know, like his version
of the Chris Bryant defense or whatever was, he needs
to hit better versus lefties. And every day I log
(32:17):
on Twitter and he's hitting a home run off of
a left handed pitcher and they stilln't call him up.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
I guess, I guess That's where I'm at. And I
me and BBD were laughing, was was it our guy
Jimmy b the post America's GM that posted that James
would call up today, I become a James Bowden stand
I think this show has Oh yeah, he posts one
athletic article a week that's just flames emoji and it's like,
(32:44):
all right, James Bowden, what a life you have?
Speaker 2 (32:46):
Coool? That didn't that guy like, I mean he like
drafted our arenaudo right, like you know, like what like
what you know? He's you can criticize it all you
wanted the athletic comments section, but you didn't draft no
On Arnado, did you.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
He's America's GM that I I guess it becomes interesting
for me with the Nationals because isn't Mike Rizzo still
runs it there and he's like as old school as
baseball still is that? I don't know. I I could
see the Nationals just snapping and being like, wait it.
(33:21):
There's been a lot of losing here recently. Let's call
up a stud. Let's trade for player B, and let's
make the playoffs and screw it because you can, and like,
I don't know, it's just I'm I want to believe
(33:42):
in your San Diego Padres, who are about to play
the Nationals. But like the Nationals just keep winning and
kind of spitting in the face of all these other teams.
They've been better than the Reds.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
They happen crazy.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
Okay, so you've given me the San Diego Padres that
my soul wants to root for. It's just been a
little hurt. But I believe in the Jerks and profar
rebrand Texas Rangers. Sure, it's just hard to pick between them. Houston.
I guess I'll lump in Tampa for a second, but
their run differential isn't a pretty tough spot right now.
(34:25):
Who is your first? Oh, are Reds? I mean, yeah,
you'll never have to convince.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
Me about sweet sweet Reds.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Sweet baby Reds. Oriole centrally minus the winning who's falling out?
Speaker 2 (34:41):
I'm gonna start with Saint Louis Cardinals. I just and
I think I guess we're on the same page there, right,
based on some of the things you've said. But coming
into this season or you know, I talked about the
Central it being wide open. The team that I felt
the least commionent in was probably the Saint Louis Cardinals.
I said, I think anyone can win this one, but
not the Saint Louis Cardinals, and as things stand right now,
(35:03):
they have searched. They have absolutely surged their search to
thirty nine to thirty seven because they had an awful
start to a year. But they're in the second wild
card and there are only five games behind Milwaukee, so
you know, winning that division still doable at this point
in the season, for sure. The Gibson gray Lynn gambit
this past offseason has largely worked relative to the investment
(35:24):
they've put in. They knew that they needed cheap innings,
and they bought a bunch of innings, and so far
that has worked. The one that has just completely blown
my mind all year is Mason win has been incredible
for them. He has been absolutely incredible. He's been, without
a doubt, the team's MVP so far, and I'm shocked
by that because I'm not surprised that he would be
(35:45):
good in the long run, but I just didn't think
this year he would hit. You know, I think he
could play great defensive, I just didn't think he would
hit this year. And he still has weaknesses to his
offensive game. He chases a lot, he doesn't barrel it
up much. But in terms of the results, He's been
the team MVP without a doubt. And there's two ways
you can look at it, you know, as far as
(36:05):
gold Swint ro Anaudo go. And the positive way would
be to say they are above five hundred and they
haven't gotten much help from gold Spit and Aronado, so
those guys are gonna heat up and then they're gonna
be fine. Or the bad version for me, which is
actually how I'm feeling right now, is they're not gonna
go anywhere without gold Schmitt and Arnaudo. And I'm actually
not gonna say those guys heat up and they're gonna
be relying on Mason Win to do a lot more.
(36:28):
Run differential is still a thing. I haven't brought it
up that much. They're negative thirty one on the run differential.
That's not great. That is, you know, even among that division,
that is one of the weaker marks. And I'm basically
just coming at this from the perspective of, you know,
I don't think they have the magic Cardinals juice that
they once had, because there's a time when you could
just never count these guys out and they would go
(36:49):
on a twenty game win streak because they called up
a guy who they drafted in the thirteenth round five
years ago, who you've never even heard of, and then
he has a one forty oh ps plus from July
to September. And so I think in the long term
that thesis will be proven correct, which is that they
no longer have the magic Cardinals juice. I think if
they had the magic Cardinals juice, Jordan Walker would be
(37:10):
more of an impact player for them, you know, someone
who actual you know, prospect them. But yeah, I don't
like this Cardinals team all that much. I still don't,
despite the results they've given us in the last month
or so, and I'm counting them out.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
Yeah, I think we are going to find out soon
because I I think nineteen and eleven since May twentieth, which, again,
if you're winning games at that kind of clip during
this season, you're elite. Elite. They have Atlanta, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh,
(37:46):
Kansas City and the Cubs coming up, so like again,
like all of those teams are in the same blender
right now that if Saint Louis keeps up the good
juice going into the All Star break, if they keep
winning at the nineteen and eleven pays, they're almost like
a lock to make the playoffs. I realized baseball just
does not work like that. And yeah, I again the
(38:11):
glass half full, glass half empty. Like I can't believe
that Alec Burlson is doing what he's doing. Sure like
him and Brendan Donovan, it seems rude. But when they
pop up on the screen, I don't know who it is.
I see Beard, I see Hair, I see Thick that
I take sub minute to process, and both of those
guys have been contributing that I don't know it. I'm
(38:33):
not Aeronatto and Goldschmidt could still be not good.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
Ah.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
That feels really rude to say they can have better
halfs than they just had and if they do, like
the Cardinals are almost gonna waltz into the playoffs. And like,
I also just think last year was so ugly that
I think if the Cardinals have a chance to buy someone,
(39:02):
which again this buyer seller market, we're gonna see what happens.
Like I almost have them as a lock to buy
because last year got so ugly that if that can
give them the extra half leg up on everyone that
they go for it. Uh. At the same time, which
I almost get embarrassed when I say stuff like this.
(39:22):
I could see the Cardinals having the worst record these
final series going into the All Star Break and be
like woo, Saint Louis showed their true colors. So that's
I'm I'm loving what you're saying because I'm looking for
any tidbit I can get to lean either way on this.
I don't know. There's there's something about a baseball city
(39:43):
and all these other teams stinking that has me not
selling on Saint Louis yet. No.
Speaker 2 (39:50):
I mean, if it's a not sucking competition, then historically
the Cardinals are going to win. That is their greatest
strength as a franchise is the is the extent they
will go to not sell.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
It's hey man, that's I was gonna say, put that
on my tombstone, but actually, my my signature line is
kind of the opposite of that. I understand the Cardinals.
A lot of people are not in on the Cardinals
the run differential. If I wake up, they get swept
by the Braves and even the Reds give them the business.
(40:23):
It almost makes more sense than not. But let's see
what happens. And unfortunately, Bailey, I do have to tell
you the problem is your numbers couldn't tell you that
Mason Win is a dog.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
They did that.
Speaker 1 (40:39):
Every time I see a Mason Win highlight, he does
something that's just a little like, whoa this guy he's
playing for keeps like he's made a couple plays by
the foul line that you see other guys just like
kind of hit the brake, they make a career decision,
and Mason Win, I don't think he has that. And
(41:00):
Cardinals fans, I guess, let me know if I'm wrong.
I'm assuming you guys all love Mason Win. But every
time I see him, he's got just a little, a
little something extra that I'm like, Okay, I'm I'm in
a this is something the numbers don't pick up. Mason Win.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
Yeah. Well, And one thing I will say about Mason
Win two is I thought it was laughable during his
prospectum that a lot of people treated his infield arm
strength like nothing more than a party trick.
Speaker 1 (41:27):
You know, yeah, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (41:28):
Like, No, that that is an extra millisecond, that is
an extra step he can take. He can really take
his time to make that play, to transfer that ball
because he has the arm strength to get it to
the first baseman faster than any other shortstop and that
that is a huge plus to his game.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
And hey, I is Gibby gonna sit at three four
four era? Probably not? Is Sonny Gray gonna sit at
two eight one? Yes? Like Sonny Gray is in such
a weird baseball spot that just because his one year
on the Yankees wasn't as pretty, he finished second in
(42:07):
the cy Young last year to our king Young Garrett.
And is that what are you closing with? You have
the Yankees falling out? Or where are you? Where are
you going? Now?
Speaker 2 (42:20):
We could get to that if you want.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
Ohn't you dare? Don't you dare?
Speaker 2 (42:23):
I want to talk about New York Yankees?
Speaker 1 (42:25):
Don't you dare?
Speaker 2 (42:27):
Well, let me just tell you this. The Orioles are
the best team of the American League and they're going
to win that division. And I think you know it
in your heart of hearts. So that's true.
Speaker 1 (42:35):
Okay, let's talk. Do I think that's true? I think
the Orioles are a much deeper regular season team. I
that's a pretty fair stance to take. The Yankees just
gamed a game this weekend because those trash birds got
beat by the Astros. So maybe keep up with ball
(42:59):
a little bit. Uh No, Yankee fans are getting scared
and everyone's doing the like, oh yeah, how spoiled are
the Yankee fans? Like you got best record in baseball
and you're complaining Philly's caught them. I know, we're coming
off two hesitant seasons. The second half of the lineup
(43:20):
is starting to look very interesting, and I don't know,
it's it's the beautiful world of baseball that I've been
spinning in a negative light. Like Louis Hills had a
couple hiccups? Is his double Tommy John catching up? Was
it one bad start? Is he? Like the Yankees question
(43:47):
marks are getting bigger and bigger that they're fine and
we're okay. But if the Orioles have an injury, they
just call up the best prospect in Triple A and
they move on. So yeah, what you're saying about the
Orioles over the course of the Rego season is probably
the safer bet. But I don't like that.
Speaker 2 (44:09):
Yeah. Well it's curious too, because the as the Yankees
are getting Cole, the Orioles now know they're going to
be bradish less. Yeah, and so that represents a pretty
significant swing. I mean, those were I know, Cole won
it last year, didn't Bratish finish something crazy like fourth.
So I mean, those are two of the best pitchers
in the American League last year. But yeah, I mean,
(44:31):
I think when you just look at it, the Yankees
have more problem spots in the lineup, and the Orioles
don't seem to have any problem spots in the lineup.
Like there's no one that like, apart from maybe Mullins,
there's no one that the Orioles are looking at like
we need this guy to get going, like everyone's already going,
you know, like that's the team they are right now.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
God, Bradish did finish fourth last year? Who finished third?
Speaker 2 (44:56):
Any takers, Let's see we had Gray and and BBD
you got this one.
Speaker 1 (45:04):
I'm trying to think Garrett Cole, Sonny Gray, Blank, Bradish,
Luis Castillo, m split them, Kevin Gospelers, Kevin.
Speaker 2 (45:23):
I'm sorry started all the l SU Tigers fans out there.
Speaker 1 (45:26):
Hey, thank you, I'm not. But Kelsey Winger dies and
we like her a lot and a little credit to you.
I mean, Bailey around around August last year, I think
you drove the first steak through the Toronto Blue Jays
and now it feels like it's happening quick.
Speaker 2 (45:45):
Well, okay, I'm gonna you know, I hate to toot
my own horn here, but I have a couple bones
to pick. One is that what I said that a
year ago was completely correct. Two on the Foolish fifty
earlier this spring. Go on the Instagram right now that
had the short why said that Judge is better than
Akunya and read the comments. That's all My suggestion is
(46:06):
just go there. You can scroll back to it from
April or whenever we did that. Just read the comments,
not a positive sentiment to a completely correct take.
Speaker 1 (46:14):
Yeah, that's man. The next step of Ronald Acunya's career
is going to be very interesting. Well, meanwhile, Judge, we
obviously we appreciate it, but like it's silly. It's he's
a massive human that whenever he's on the field, he's
(46:36):
now hitting at like a one dot one ops the
past couple of years, it's he's playing center field.
Speaker 2 (46:43):
What Yeah, Yankees fans appreciate it, but I would say
everyone else needs to appreciate it more.
Speaker 1 (46:49):
Uh At John Smoltz, do you have do you have
one more team for us?
Speaker 2 (46:55):
Bailey I'll give you one more team that I'm not
so sure about. It's gonna be the Seattle Mariners. Okay,
And maybe that ties in with what we were talking
about with the Searching Rangers and Ashtros. Coming into preseason,
I would have said they can win the division. Now
they are winning the division. They're up six in the
AL West, and I'm still not convinced because up to
(47:15):
this point the other teams just simply haven't mounted a
challenge for them. And there are other division leaders who
are kind of in that same boat where it's just like, yeah,
you have a good record, but no one else has
really been trying. It seems like we know who they are,
we know who the Mariners are. The pitching is great,
The rotation has gotten a ton of love. I think
maybe the bullpen deserves more credit. But yet at the
(47:35):
same time, the bullpen has been greatly helped by the
fact that those starters pitch deep, so the bullpen doesn't
need to cover as many innings for them as your
average team. For sure, especially I mean Logan Gilbert, My goodness,
what a great year he's having. Then, offensively, I think
it's the same old story when Julio heats up, as
Julio always heats up. They'll be better, but you still
look at them. There are holes in the lineup. The
(47:57):
Garverer DH signing that has not worked out. I'm hard
broken to say that Mitch Haniger has not been particularly
good this year, because I actually thought he would be
pretty good this year. Second base is a problem for
them every year. When was the last time they had
like a legitimately he could second base season. It's pretty bad.
JP Crawford regrets. JP Crawford had such a massive year
last year. He's not that guy anymore. And he's not
(48:17):
even you know, I don't even think he's that great
defensively at shortstop either. So yeah, they've got they've got problems,
and they've had you know, I mean, they've played a
lot of the season without Brian Wu. They've had Brian
Wu injury scares, and it just takes one more, you know,
starter injury scare for them to be in trouble. The
way that the offense has performed this year. I think.
(48:38):
So if there's any team of counting out that's currently
you know, having a sizable lead in their division, I'm
gonna say it's the Mariners. Because they could get chased
down by the Ashcros or Rangers.
Speaker 1 (48:48):
Still, yeah, I I was on a pretty firm like
I just don't believe in it. And part of the
reason is my my offensive playbook. It's like, I don't
want to say it's my only take because I have
a lot of takes, but I pitching has gotten so
(49:09):
good that you can find pitching guys that can hit
you can't find. So that's where you know, when the
Braves were just absolutely mauling last year, like what do
you do? Like it doesn't matter if you have Logan Gilbert,
Like the Braves last year were still going to get
their work done. The Orioles are just relentless man every inning,
(49:32):
there's never a break. That offense still plays in the
regular season, and we actually saw it play in the
postseason last year the Texas Rangers won go check out
what their bullpen was doing, Like it was horrific that
if you if your offense looks like this that the
(49:53):
current ops plus leaders are Luke Rayley and Josh Rojas,
Like I wanted to give the Mariners their flowers, and
I kind of have the past couple weeks, but man,
seeing those the w five and the W four from
Seattle in Texas or excuse me, from Texas and Houston.
(50:16):
Houston's been hitting all year, They've been missing pitching. I'm
still not all in on Houston. I think we're giving
them too much respect for previous year resume, which that
might be fair and is probably right. I still think
they they're gonna continue to have these hiccup series that
it just doesn't feel the same. I'm not saying they're out,
(50:39):
but I don't think Houston is back. Texas could fully
click and we're all gonna be like whoa, Like the
engine kicked in. It's Simeon, it's Seeger. The kids are
hitting like they have the full recipe ready to go.
Seattle's hitting terrifies me. Terrifies me.
Speaker 2 (50:59):
That.
Speaker 1 (50:59):
Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry Mariners fans. I think you I've
tried to sell myself on it and I can't do it.
Speaker 2 (51:08):
Yeah, And I think it just kind of comes down
to the you know, if this is gonna be like
a real divisional race, then you can probably count out
the Mariners, and if these other teams are still gonna fold,
then yeah, they're gonna win by default. But that seems
like how they are going to win. If the Marriags
win the division, it's going to be by default. If
the Rangers, and I'm still you know, Rangers over Astros guy.
(51:29):
But if the Rangers they form the challenge that I
think they can form in the second half, like they
have a very good chance to win it still.
Speaker 1 (51:37):
Last good Mariner second basement probably Robinson Cano. I think
we can we can pencil.
Speaker 2 (51:43):
I mean that was a while ago.
Speaker 1 (51:44):
It's a couple of moons ago. It's not wrong. I
was worried it was gonna be Brett Boone, which, by
the way, the last time the Mariners won the division
two thousand and one. So I don't know. It feels
like baseball's come. Baseball used to be a curse game,
like the Cubs in the Red Sox like that. That
(52:04):
used to be everything. Do we have a curse right now?
Are we curseless? Guardians aren't cursed?
Speaker 2 (52:14):
Yeah, yeah, that's true. They if the Guardians have a curse,
they haven't heard about it this year.
Speaker 1 (52:20):
The curse of Chris Rose. Yeah, I mean this is
I need more offense. I need more offense day in
day out. I need more offense. They were giving me,
like the phrase I kept saying, is when when you
(52:42):
have an offense that isn't scoring, there's obviously more pressure
on the pitching. But then it goes one of two ways.
It's either like, hey, our pitching is nails, we gotta
push something across, and then when you do, it's almost
like whoo, here we are. This is what we do boys.
It feels like the Mariners hit that. Instead of being like,
(53:03):
how are we gonna blow this? It was like, hey,
our pitching's really good. If we get two or three runs,
we should be okay. And it feels like they hit that.
But if Texas, Houston or both start coming, you need
more that I don't. I don't even know, like what
I guess what would make you if you if you
(53:25):
woke up and you heard Alonso pete Alonso goes to
the Mariners, would you be in.
Speaker 2 (53:34):
Yes that I think it would be the best match
for him. That would be the needle mover for me personally.
I like that more than any of his other potential
destinations if he were to be traded.
Speaker 1 (53:44):
Oh spoilers. As we approach the good month of July,
it's June twenty fourth, Bailey, We're halfway through.
Speaker 2 (53:56):
Well, we'll save it for next month and then I'll
play a little g and you'll play No. I guess,
I guess we'll we'll both play gms. But yeah, looking
forward to role playing with you either way.
Speaker 1 (54:06):
I answer, and then we'll start the episode. I answer
the phone call, I check with my analytics department, and
we figure it out and we'll probably do something before then,
whether it's a draft or something else, anything else on
your on your heart, Bailey, before we let.
Speaker 2 (54:22):
You go, Nothing on my heart. Just just wishing you
all well over there in in John Boyland and uh,
you know, shout outs to fans of Dan Patrick everywhere.
Speaker 1 (54:35):
Yeah, God, God, you're good. Thank you, Bailey. Go check
out what what video do we have in the chamber?
Can you tell us anything?
Speaker 2 (54:46):
I am working on one and it'll be out in
hopefully a couple of days. But I am I'm trying
to correctify a beef I have with with the baseball community,
particularly over the legacy of a player who I think
got a bad rap and didn't necessarily deserve it. So
that's what I'm gonna do. I'mna doing some propaganda for
a player who I think caught a bad rap and
(55:07):
didn't really deserve it.
Speaker 1 (55:09):
Excited to see your hore Pisada video. God only one
round of Hall of Fame balloting, Bailey, Thank you, enjoy
your vacation. We will see you on here soon, maybe
live in Dallas. Beebs send them off the only way
we know how.
Speaker 2 (55:30):
Wake and Jack is a production of Dan Patrick Productions,
John Bay Media, and Workhouse Media.
Hosts And Creators
Todd "Fritzy" Fritz
Dan Patrick
Patrick "Seton" O'Connor
Paul Pabst
Marvin Prince
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The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.