October 21, 2024 • 16 mins
Gene Watson, our resident MLB insider and Director of Player Personnel with the Chicago White Sox, joins the show to preview the 2024 World Series and give out his prediction.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Gene Watson from the Chicago White Sox front office, our
MLB insider, would not lie to us. He might be
incorrect occasionally, like when he had the Potters and Guardians
in the World Series, but I allowed him waffle room
after the Division Series to RECONNOI her to get himself
backing it, and he nailed it when he said the
Dodgers and Yankees would advance to the World Series.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
How you doing, Geno? What's going on, Craig, how are you?
I'm good?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
And I know you've got organizational meetings in Chicago and
things like that. But I also know that you watched
every game you know, pretty closely this the and you
probably weren't shocks, and she picked the Yankees and Dodgers
ultimately to advancement. Think about this, You know the Dodgers
and Yankees played. I think they said I think we
said it. They played ten times between nineteen nineteen forty
(00:53):
one and nineteen eighty one. That's a lot, and from
nineteen eighty one now they have not played.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
In forty three years.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
It seems kind of weird thinking about because those are
two of the hallmark franchises in baseball history.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
It's crazy and you know what, I think this is
the best possible outcome for the game of baseball.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
And I know it's easy to say, well, it's the.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Two of the highest to of the top five payrolls
in baseball. It's the two largest markets, their rosters had the.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Two highest valuations.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
They've got six of the fourteen players with three hundred
million dollar contracts. But just for the game, just as
a almost like a checkpoint for the game of baseball
as an industry within our society, I don't think you
could ask for a better time for this because the
stars on each team, just the star power that comes
with each team, and it's going to be great for
(01:48):
the game of baseball. And I'm super excited, cannot wait
to watch this series.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I had our resident boss man here, our program director,
Trady Fox, and I were talking about earlier. He said,
this is Celtics Lakers, I said, or maybe back in
the day Cowboys, Steelers, Right, I mean, it's it's two.
It's it's two Whollmark franchises in a given sports league
meeting for a championship. So those kind of comparisons could
(02:15):
be made that it'd be like what at least back
in the day Montreal and Detroit or something in the NHL.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
No question, And and what what what makes it so unique?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Is like you've got two global superstars and Otani and
Yamamoto on the Dodgers. You've got two of the most
valuable player you know, two fifty plus home run guys
and Otani and Judge. You've got great starting pitching, You've
got you know, star power at the top of the order.
And then you've got you know, hidden gyms like Tommy
(02:48):
Edmund and Glabora Torres who just have been huge for
their their their teams and being in a complimentary way.
But but it's just it's going to bring so much theater.
I just I don't I just can't wait to see
how all shapes out. And the tickets. I think the
cheapest ticket right now is one thousand dollars up per
ticket per game, and I don't think that's going to
(03:09):
go down before Friday.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I think you're right about that. Visitying with Geen Watson
here to talk Major League Baseball. Okay, let me get
your review first of all of the two series, because
they were markedly different. Really, the National League Championship Series
was basically the Dodgers and Mets just beating the hell
out of one another. It was just it was just
Haymaker's thrown, whereas the Yankees and Guardians was a lot
(03:34):
more airtight. That was that was It took late and
sometimes extra inding heroics like it was the other night
to wrap it up for New York. How about your
thoughts on the two series. Let's start with the Alcs.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Well, it's such a thin line between winning and losing,
and especially in October, and you know, I just think
that that Cleveland did such a tremendous job with the
roster that they had, you know, one hundred and forty
million dollars pay roll a first year manager. It just
proves that their processes and the way they do things
are are certainly perfect. They just they ran out of gas,
(04:08):
and the in and Jose Ramirez, you know, not performing
was a really really big blow to that lineup, and
I think they just ran into a more motivated team.
I think they ran into a team that the expectation
has been so high all year long that they were
going to be tough to beat, and there and their
star players, you know, came up big when they had
it to.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
And that was the difference in the series.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
You know, there was so much said coming out of
the Division Series into the LCS that Aaron Judge had
not gotten going, had not really launched. And they said
the same thing too in the National League about Otani
and we'll get to the National League in a moment.
But Judge got going. But when he got going, Sogo
got going, and vice versa. And you mentioned Labor Torrez
(04:51):
and the impact he had on the series. And then
the other thing, which is look to have the Yankees
with the bullpen that supposedly was kind of shape, things
like that, they they buy and large kind of held
their water in this thing. Well, Luke Weaver has been
absolutely unbelievable. I mean, this guy was traded from Arizona
to Kansas City, placed on waivers, went over, the Yankees
(05:14):
came up with a change up and and and you know,
I mean truthfully, like in the evaluation of Luke Weaver,
it was always a questionable, you know, about how how
tough he was. And now he's closing out games in October,
which is just an incredibly difficult thing to do, and
so that was big for them. I don't know where
they would be without Gene Carlos Stanton.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
I mean, you know, for a guy that's played forty
percent of their games in the last four years, for
him to come up and come up big for them
was huge, and they just they just found a way.
But I think that you know, oftentimes, and this is
what it's kind of made the Yankees and the Yankees over
the course of their history, is that the expectations drive
the results, and they knew that this was a year
(05:54):
they had to get the job done, and they found
a way to get it done.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Interesting you bring that up after the concert that Lynn
and I were at at the Hollywood Bowl Lesson, We're
driving back to the open We're listening to the Dodgers
postgame show, and one of the things that came up
was about these two managers, you know, being Aaron Boone
and obviously Dave Roberts, being kind of quote unquote under
(06:18):
the gun and the pressure on them to do that
did is that what you'd kind of heard behind the scenes,
that the organizations might lose patience with either or both
of those guys had they not reached this level.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
I don't think anybody will ever know that those are
conversations that take place.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Between ownership and the general managers.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
I think that everybody just knew coming in that with
the way the rosters were set up, the amount of
dollars that were spent on these rosters, and just and
I always connect one October to the other, you know,
when it comes to these playoff teams with high expectations,
you know, really they almost wished the season away from
April October and the expectation was so high for these
(06:59):
two organizations, is that it was just it was a
do or die situation because you just don't know, you
know what now the teams that aren't in the World
Series right now, the moves they're going to make to
continue to build for twenty twenty five, and a lot
of that can be extreme. And next thing you look
up and three or four rosters have a better team
(07:19):
than you. And so I just think that coming into
the season, I don't know that they knew.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
They were under the gun.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I just know that both organizations had extremely high expectations
to be where they are.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
To take you, yeah, no question about that.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
All right.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
So let me shift you to the National League and
get your thoughts on the National League Championship Series, because
the Mats and Dodgers had had. Like I said, they
can just kind of took turns beaten up on one another.
The margins of victory in these games were to ended
(07:52):
up being wipeouts. What happens in a situation like that,
You know, we're out of six games, every one of
them winds up being lopsided that they the closest margin
is five runs in any of those games.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Well, this is gonna sound weird when I say this,
but you had one team that was truly playing with
house money in the New York Mets, and you had
one team that was kind of managing for the long play,
and not to say that they weren't trying to win,
but with the number of injuries that they had, with
the way that Dave Roberts had to really maneuver the
(08:25):
bullpen in the bullpen games, and I've never seen anything
like the comfort that they have with these bullpen games.
And that goes back to you got a bullpen game
against Dylan Cees, whether it was the big move for
the Padres, and they don't even vibrate.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
They step up and they win the game big, and
they win the series.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
And so while the Mets did such a great job
and Carlos Mendoza did an incredible job this season and
what that team was able to do from where they
were in May and to have the season they had.
I think in this series, and I said it last week,
I think the Dodgers kind of knew what the being
out and getting past the Padres, that they could manage
(09:03):
this series a little bit different and still get the
outcome they wanted it.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I think that's what they got.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Yeah, That's where I was going next to how weird
this was? Can you ever remember, because I know I can't,
and I'm I'm a big baseball fan, but you're an
organizational man, can you ever remember a team by design,
not by necessity, but by design in a six game
series throwing three bullpen games.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
I know it's unbelievable and it is completely reshaping the
way teams view starting pitching and from an industry standpoint,
and you know, if you've got, you know, fifteen guys
in your organization that are zero to three guys that
you think are capable of coming up and being a
part of a thirteen man pitching staff, how you manage
(09:50):
that versus going out and spending fifty plus million dollars
on a pitcher. Now that strategy is in play and
it's completely reshaped the way we have you starting pitching.
I don't particularly care for it. I've always been one
that you get the most talented arm on the mound,
you teach them to use their stuff and sequence and
get through an order three times, and you've got a
(10:11):
better chance of winning the game.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
That's been my history in this game.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
But they have certainly done what they had to do
with all of the injuries they've had, all the starting
pitchers on the sixty menter roster.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
They didn't make excuses.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
They created a plan and they executed the plan perfectly,
and that's what's gotten them to the World.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Series, all right.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
So let's kind of match these up a little bit now, Gino,
and talk about it. The strengths when we have those
deals like we used to see in the newspapers back
when you and I used to read newspapers, right and
they would put the checkbox there and the advantage to
one side in football offense or defense or special teams
or intangibles or coaching, and blah blah blah. Let's start
(10:51):
starting pitching. I think I know where you're going to go.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
With that.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Well, I mean Craig really it's I mean Jack Flariry
has had an incredib second half and where would they
be without Jack Clarity and Tommy Edmund right now, two
of the biggest acquisitions they could have.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Had the trade deadline in White.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
While you know Garrett Cole and you know rode On
and Louis Gill are certainly great starting pitchers, Clarity, Yamamode
and Bureau are great as well. And I just think
that whoever can get the linked out of their starting pitching,
because this is going to be a fifteen round heavyweight match,
and I think when you get into game six's Game six,
(11:29):
in game seven, you can throw everything out the window
from a usage standpoint, So being able to which is
big about the break in the game Game one, not
being till Friday is everybody's gonna come and rested.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
But once you get to the usage part of your bullpen.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
I think that's really what's going to be the difference
in this In this series, I think it's going to
be seven games.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
I think it's going to be an absolute.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Heavyweight bout, back and forth, dramatic wins, But in the end,
I think it's going to be the bullpens that separate
the word from the loser and who can manage it
early uh and have guys available later where you start
to get creative in those early leverage moments of Game six,
in Game seven when the series is online.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Would it be safe to say, you tell me if
I'm off base on this that as closures go, the
Yankees may have the edge there with Weaver, even though
Trying has looked really good. When when when he closes,
because we don't know, we don't know. It depends on
how the bullpen game is gonna fall. Because Copak speaking
of great trades, Kopak has also been a guy that
(12:31):
has closed for the Dodgers, but the strength and depth
of the bullpen, the advantage will go to La there.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I do I do believe that.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
I just think that you know Luke Weaver for what
he's done, uh, and you know you got Clay Holmes,
who's done who's done it for the job, who's going
to lost that role? Those are your leverage guys. I
really think that Copack and Trying and that they just
they just there's just a little more there. When Kopek
uses his slider early in the count, he's a different guy.
(13:02):
When he tries to throw us fastball by guys, he
can get hurt. But but you know, when you lose,
use those guys in leverage, which is going to be
a big deal. Who can get out to a three
to four run lead in the sixth seventh inning and
take that pressure off your leverage relievers over seven games?
I think that's going to be a big key. But
I mean this is an absolute we could go. We
(13:23):
could go back and forth. And I know you're being
modest because you want the Dodgers to win, But I
think that that this is an absolute toss up when
you break it down, because you can you can go,
you know, tick per tack on every area of the
teams and the talent and the roster and the star
power and the depth.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
It's it's going to be.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
It's this two evening team evenly match teams as I've
seen in a long time in a World series.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Plus you got Superstar against Superstar, Aaron Judge against Shoe Ayotti,
and then you've got then you've got Stanton against Mookie Betts.
It just kind of goes on and on and on.
And that's kind of the chips that you're talking about
stacking on each side of.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
This, and I think it's going to be interesting to see,
especially early in the series, to see how teams try.
There's no way you can completely maneuver around the heart
of the order either order. The Yankees are incredible about
getting on base. They just get on base better than
anybody in baseball. Can they get the big hit? And
(14:19):
can you maneuver around the middle of that order to
get to the bottom of the order and maybe work
through some traffic and get out of, you know, situations
where they're second, third, and two outs. That's going to
be a big key is who who they try to
attack straight up and who they try to work around.
And it's gonna be, uh, it's going to be a
chess match. And you got two great managers. I mean,
(14:41):
it's just going to be. It's it's the largest payrolls,
it's it's the most analytics, it's the most scouting.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
It's everything you could ever want in a World Series matchup.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Okay, final analysis. Here you go, Gino, if you're picking one,
come on, you've done it all the way through. You've
been you've been a good you've been a good soldier.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
And three chances.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah right, I am gonna You may not like this,
but I'm gonna go the Dodgers in seven games.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
I don't like it because because you've misfired all the
gay Hey, you picked them to win the National League,
so you did okay there, So yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Well, I just I just think that that that that bullpen,
you know, it's just it's it's it's just tougher. It's
it's going to be the four games in La are big.
I just think that. I do think it goes seven games.
I think it's you know, the twenty sixteen World Series
threw forty million people. I think this has a chance
(15:38):
to surpass that in viewership and it's going to be
some kind of world series to watch.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
I agree with you. There he's Gene Watson from the
Chicago White Sox. There are MLB insider listen. We'll we'll
check back in after the series gets a couple of
games under foot and get more impressions.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
I appreciate you taking the time today, Geno.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
All right, thanks, gregt appreciate you. All Right, that's Gene Watson.
We'll have more coming up. Hear more from coach sark
here on Sports Radio Am thirteen under the zone
Gene Watson from the Chicago White Sox front office, our
MLB insider, would not lie to us. He might be
incorrect occasionally, like when he had the Potters and Guardians
in the World Series, but I allowed him waffle room
after the Division Series to RECONNOI her to get himself
backing it, and he nailed it when he said the
Dodgers and Yankees would advance to the World Series.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
How you doing, Geno? What's going on, Craig, how are you?
I'm good?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
And I know you've got organizational meetings in Chicago and
things like that. But I also know that you watched
every game you know, pretty closely this the and you
probably weren't shocks, and she picked the Yankees and Dodgers
ultimately to advancement. Think about this, You know the Dodgers
and Yankees played. I think they said I think we
said it. They played ten times between nineteen nineteen forty
(00:53):
one and nineteen eighty one. That's a lot, and from
nineteen eighty one now they have not played.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
In forty three years.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
It seems kind of weird thinking about because those are
two of the hallmark franchises in baseball history.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
It's crazy and you know what, I think this is
the best possible outcome for the game of baseball.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
And I know it's easy to say, well, it's the.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Two of the highest to of the top five payrolls
in baseball. It's the two largest markets, their rosters had the.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Two highest valuations.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
They've got six of the fourteen players with three hundred
million dollar contracts. But just for the game, just as
a almost like a checkpoint for the game of baseball
as an industry within our society, I don't think you
could ask for a better time for this because the
stars on each team, just the star power that comes
with each team, and it's going to be great for
(01:48):
the game of baseball. And I'm super excited, cannot wait
to watch this series.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I had our resident boss man here, our program director,
Trady Fox, and I were talking about earlier. He said,
this is Celtics Lakers, I said, or maybe back in
the day Cowboys, Steelers, Right, I mean, it's it's two.
It's it's two Whollmark franchises in a given sports league
meeting for a championship. So those kind of comparisons could
(02:15):
be made that it'd be like what at least back
in the day Montreal and Detroit or something in the NHL.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
No question, And and what what what makes it so unique?
Speaker 3 (02:26):
Is like you've got two global superstars and Otani and
Yamamoto on the Dodgers. You've got two of the most
valuable player you know, two fifty plus home run guys
and Otani and Judge. You've got great starting pitching, You've
got you know, star power at the top of the order.
And then you've got you know, hidden gyms like Tommy
(02:48):
Edmund and Glabora Torres who just have been huge for
their their their teams and being in a complimentary way.
But but it's just it's going to bring so much theater.
I just I don't I just can't wait to see
how all shapes out. And the tickets. I think the
cheapest ticket right now is one thousand dollars up per
ticket per game, and I don't think that's going to
(03:09):
go down before Friday.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
I think you're right about that. Visitying with Geen Watson
here to talk Major League Baseball. Okay, let me get
your review first of all of the two series, because
they were markedly different. Really, the National League Championship Series
was basically the Dodgers and Mets just beating the hell
out of one another. It was just it was just
Haymaker's thrown, whereas the Yankees and Guardians was a lot
(03:34):
more airtight. That was that was It took late and
sometimes extra inding heroics like it was the other night
to wrap it up for New York. How about your
thoughts on the two series. Let's start with the Alcs.
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Well, it's such a thin line between winning and losing,
and especially in October, and you know, I just think
that that Cleveland did such a tremendous job with the
roster that they had, you know, one hundred and forty
million dollars pay roll a first year manager. It just
proves that their processes and the way they do things
are are certainly perfect. They just they ran out of gas,
(04:08):
and the in and Jose Ramirez, you know, not performing
was a really really big blow to that lineup, and
I think they just ran into a more motivated team.
I think they ran into a team that the expectation
has been so high all year long that they were
going to be tough to beat, and there and their
star players, you know, came up big when they had
it to.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
And that was the difference in the series.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
You know, there was so much said coming out of
the Division Series into the LCS that Aaron Judge had
not gotten going, had not really launched. And they said
the same thing too in the National League about Otani
and we'll get to the National League in a moment.
But Judge got going. But when he got going, Sogo
got going, and vice versa. And you mentioned Labor Torrez
(04:51):
and the impact he had on the series. And then
the other thing, which is look to have the Yankees
with the bullpen that supposedly was kind of shape, things
like that, they they buy and large kind of held
their water in this thing. Well, Luke Weaver has been
absolutely unbelievable. I mean, this guy was traded from Arizona
to Kansas City, placed on waivers, went over, the Yankees
(05:14):
came up with a change up and and and you know,
I mean truthfully, like in the evaluation of Luke Weaver,
it was always a questionable, you know, about how how
tough he was. And now he's closing out games in October,
which is just an incredibly difficult thing to do, and
so that was big for them. I don't know where
they would be without Gene Carlos Stanton.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
I mean, you know, for a guy that's played forty
percent of their games in the last four years, for
him to come up and come up big for them
was huge, and they just they just found a way.
But I think that you know, oftentimes, and this is
what it's kind of made the Yankees and the Yankees over
the course of their history, is that the expectations drive
the results, and they knew that this was a year
(05:54):
they had to get the job done, and they found
a way to get it done.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Interesting you bring that up after the concert that Lynn
and I were at at the Hollywood Bowl Lesson, We're
driving back to the open We're listening to the Dodgers
postgame show, and one of the things that came up
was about these two managers, you know, being Aaron Boone
and obviously Dave Roberts, being kind of quote unquote under
(06:18):
the gun and the pressure on them to do that
did is that what you'd kind of heard behind the scenes,
that the organizations might lose patience with either or both
of those guys had they not reached this level.
Speaker 3 (06:32):
I don't think anybody will ever know that those are
conversations that take place.
Speaker 2 (06:36):
Between ownership and the general managers.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
I think that everybody just knew coming in that with
the way the rosters were set up, the amount of
dollars that were spent on these rosters, and just and
I always connect one October to the other, you know,
when it comes to these playoff teams with high expectations,
you know, really they almost wished the season away from
April October and the expectation was so high for these
(06:59):
two organizations, is that it was just it was a
do or die situation because you just don't know, you
know what now the teams that aren't in the World
Series right now, the moves they're going to make to
continue to build for twenty twenty five, and a lot
of that can be extreme. And next thing you look
up and three or four rosters have a better team
(07:19):
than you. And so I just think that coming into
the season, I don't know that they knew.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
They were under the gun.
Speaker 3 (07:24):
I just know that both organizations had extremely high expectations
to be where they are.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
To take you, yeah, no question about that.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
All right.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
So let me shift you to the National League and
get your thoughts on the National League Championship Series, because
the Mats and Dodgers had had. Like I said, they
can just kind of took turns beaten up on one another.
The margins of victory in these games were to ended
(07:52):
up being wipeouts. What happens in a situation like that,
You know, we're out of six games, every one of
them winds up being lopsided that they the closest margin
is five runs in any of those games.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Well, this is gonna sound weird when I say this,
but you had one team that was truly playing with
house money in the New York Mets, and you had
one team that was kind of managing for the long play,
and not to say that they weren't trying to win,
but with the number of injuries that they had, with
the way that Dave Roberts had to really maneuver the
(08:25):
bullpen in the bullpen games, and I've never seen anything
like the comfort that they have with these bullpen games.
And that goes back to you got a bullpen game
against Dylan Cees, whether it was the big move for
the Padres, and they don't even vibrate.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
They step up and they win the game big, and
they win the series.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
And so while the Mets did such a great job
and Carlos Mendoza did an incredible job this season and
what that team was able to do from where they
were in May and to have the season they had.
I think in this series, and I said it last week,
I think the Dodgers kind of knew what the being
out and getting past the Padres, that they could manage
(09:03):
this series a little bit different and still get the
outcome they wanted it.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
I think that's what they got.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Yeah, That's where I was going next to how weird
this was? Can you ever remember, because I know I can't,
and I'm I'm a big baseball fan, but you're an
organizational man, can you ever remember a team by design,
not by necessity, but by design in a six game
series throwing three bullpen games.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
I know it's unbelievable and it is completely reshaping the
way teams view starting pitching and from an industry standpoint,
and you know, if you've got, you know, fifteen guys
in your organization that are zero to three guys that
you think are capable of coming up and being a
part of a thirteen man pitching staff, how you manage
(09:50):
that versus going out and spending fifty plus million dollars
on a pitcher. Now that strategy is in play and
it's completely reshaped the way we have you starting pitching.
I don't particularly care for it. I've always been one
that you get the most talented arm on the mound,
you teach them to use their stuff and sequence and
get through an order three times, and you've got a
(10:11):
better chance of winning the game.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
That's been my history in this game.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
But they have certainly done what they had to do
with all of the injuries they've had, all the starting
pitchers on the sixty menter roster.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
They didn't make excuses.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
They created a plan and they executed the plan perfectly,
and that's what's gotten them to the World.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Series, all right.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
So let's kind of match these up a little bit now, Gino,
and talk about it. The strengths when we have those
deals like we used to see in the newspapers back
when you and I used to read newspapers, right and
they would put the checkbox there and the advantage to
one side in football offense or defense or special teams
or intangibles or coaching, and blah blah blah. Let's start
(10:51):
starting pitching. I think I know where you're going to go.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
With that.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Well, I mean Craig really it's I mean Jack Flariry
has had an incredib second half and where would they
be without Jack Clarity and Tommy Edmund right now, two
of the biggest acquisitions they could have.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Had the trade deadline in White.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
While you know Garrett Cole and you know rode On
and Louis Gill are certainly great starting pitchers, Clarity, Yamamode
and Bureau are great as well. And I just think
that whoever can get the linked out of their starting pitching,
because this is going to be a fifteen round heavyweight match,
and I think when you get into game six's Game six,
(11:29):
in game seven, you can throw everything out the window
from a usage standpoint, So being able to which is
big about the break in the game Game one, not
being till Friday is everybody's gonna come and rested.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
But once you get to the usage part of your bullpen.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
I think that's really what's going to be the difference
in this In this series, I think it's going to
be seven games.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
I think it's going to be an absolute.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
Heavyweight bout, back and forth, dramatic wins, But in the end,
I think it's going to be the bullpens that separate
the word from the loser and who can manage it
early uh and have guys available later where you start
to get creative in those early leverage moments of Game six,
in Game seven when the series is online.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Would it be safe to say, you tell me if
I'm off base on this that as closures go, the
Yankees may have the edge there with Weaver, even though
Trying has looked really good. When when when he closes,
because we don't know, we don't know. It depends on
how the bullpen game is gonna fall. Because Copak speaking
of great trades, Kopak has also been a guy that
(12:31):
has closed for the Dodgers, but the strength and depth
of the bullpen, the advantage will go to La there.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
I do I do believe that.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
I just think that you know Luke Weaver for what
he's done, uh, and you know you got Clay Holmes,
who's done who's done it for the job, who's going
to lost that role? Those are your leverage guys. I
really think that Copack and Trying and that they just
they just there's just a little more there. When Kopek
uses his slider early in the count, he's a different guy.
(13:02):
When he tries to throw us fastball by guys, he
can get hurt. But but you know, when you lose,
use those guys in leverage, which is going to be
a big deal. Who can get out to a three
to four run lead in the sixth seventh inning and
take that pressure off your leverage relievers over seven games?
I think that's going to be a big key. But
I mean this is an absolute we could go. We
(13:23):
could go back and forth. And I know you're being
modest because you want the Dodgers to win, But I
think that that this is an absolute toss up when
you break it down, because you can you can go,
you know, tick per tack on every area of the
teams and the talent and the roster and the star
power and the depth.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
It's it's going to be.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
It's this two evening team evenly match teams as I've
seen in a long time in a World series.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Plus you got Superstar against Superstar, Aaron Judge against Shoe Ayotti,
and then you've got then you've got Stanton against Mookie Betts.
It just kind of goes on and on and on.
And that's kind of the chips that you're talking about
stacking on each side of.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
This, and I think it's going to be interesting to see,
especially early in the series, to see how teams try.
There's no way you can completely maneuver around the heart
of the order either order. The Yankees are incredible about
getting on base. They just get on base better than
anybody in baseball. Can they get the big hit? And
(14:19):
can you maneuver around the middle of that order to
get to the bottom of the order and maybe work
through some traffic and get out of, you know, situations
where they're second, third, and two outs. That's going to
be a big key is who who they try to
attack straight up and who they try to work around.
And it's gonna be, uh, it's going to be a
chess match. And you got two great managers. I mean,
(14:41):
it's just going to be. It's it's the largest payrolls,
it's it's the most analytics, it's the most scouting.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
It's everything you could ever want in a World Series matchup.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Okay, final analysis. Here you go, Gino, if you're picking one,
come on, you've done it all the way through. You've
been you've been a good you've been a good soldier.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
And three chances.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
Yeah right, I am gonna You may not like this,
but I'm gonna go the Dodgers in seven games.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
I don't like it because because you've misfired all the
gay Hey, you picked them to win the National League,
so you did okay there, So yeah.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Well, I just I just think that that that that bullpen,
you know, it's just it's it's it's just tougher. It's
it's going to be the four games in La are big.
I just think that. I do think it goes seven games.
I think it's you know, the twenty sixteen World Series
threw forty million people. I think this has a chance
(15:38):
to surpass that in viewership and it's going to be
some kind of world series to watch.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
I agree with you. There he's Gene Watson from the
Chicago White Sox. There are MLB insider listen. We'll we'll
check back in after the series gets a couple of
games under foot and get more impressions.
Speaker 2 (15:54):
I appreciate you taking the time today, Geno.
Speaker 1 (15:56):
All right, thanks, gregt appreciate you. All Right, that's Gene Watson.
We'll have more coming up. Hear more from coach sark
here on Sports Radio Am thirteen under the zone
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