October 15, 2025 • 25 mins
Johnny and Eric are joined by Donnie Wise and Patrick Larson for the second part of our episode about the 2025 MLB season. For this episode we discuss our playoffs predictions. Who will win the wild cards, the ALDS/NLDS and ALCS/NLCS. Find out who the 4 of us chose to win the World Series as well.
Make sure to follow Donnie and Patrick online.
Donnie Wise -
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/wisedrjr (@wisedrjr)
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Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/patlarson1/ (@PatLarson1)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:17):
All right guys.
You ready?
Talk some playoffs.
Let's do this.
Nobody.
Okay.
Layoff.
Let's do this.
Layoff, layoffs, We're gonna runthrough here.
We just wanna win a game.
Uh, we're gonna start on the alside.
So the number one overall seed,the Al East champs are the
Toronto Blue Jays, the twoseeds, the Al West Champs, the
Seattle Mariners.
The three seed are the,Cleveland guardians, the Al
(00:40):
Central Champs.
The four seed, the wild cardfrom the AAL East is the New
York Yankees, the five seeds,the Boston Red Sox.
And then the Wild Card, that'sbarely made it in was the
Detroit Tigers out of the AALCentral.
flipping over to the nl, we gotthe one seed of the Milwaukee
Brewers out of the NL Central.
The two seed, the PhiladelphiaPhillies, the one, their
(01:01):
division, the three seed, the LaDodgers, one the West, and then
the three wild cards.
We got the Chicago Cubs out ofthe central, Padres out of the
central, or sorry, the west, myfault.
And then the reds out of thecentral.
So, brewers, Phillies, Dodgers,Cubs, Padres Reds on the nl a L
side Blue Jays Mariners.
(01:23):
Guardians, Yankees, red Sox, andthen the Tigers.
So let's start, uh, with the,uh, and at the time of this
recording, the playoffs starttomorrow.
So let's start with the, wildcard game from, Al Central
matchup.
So actually both of these wildcards on the al are division
matchups.
Uh, let's go ahead and startwith Johnny.
Uh, what's your thoughts on theCleveland Guardians hosting the
(01:46):
Detroit Tigers?
I, I like the tribe.
Oh, wait, wait, wait.
Lemme check.
Oh, we had a rebrand.
I'm sorry.
they're hot right now.
Should be, should be some greatbaseball.
Two rival division rivals youjust mentioned.
Uh, I'm going with the G men.
I'm going with the guardians inthat matchup.
Perfect.
Um, Mr.
Larson, your thoughts on thewild card between the al Central
(02:07):
teams?
I agree with Johnny.
I think that the guardians aregonna get through, I think that
the guardians for two reasons,because they're hot entering the
playoffs, and we always knowwhat happens when a team is hot
at the end of September goinginto the playoffs.
But also, I think the guardiansjust have much better pitching
than the, than the Tigers do.
And I don't think that theirlineup is potent enough to make
(02:28):
up for the lack of pitching thatthey have.
So guardians for me and Mr.
Wise.
Yeah, it to be a broken record,but I think The Guardians as
well, tigers, I think have justbeen struggling enough that, I,
I don't know if they can, uh,pull it together for this series
with, with the guardians beinghot.
yeah, guardians for me.
Yep.
And I think for me, it'll be asweep with all of us.
(02:49):
So I also think it's theguardians.
the Tigers have been going theopposite direction in terms of,
again, they won, did what theyneed to do to get in.
But, uh, whereas they're kind ofgoing backwards.
The guardians are going forward,it's gonna be at home.
So yeah, for me as well, gimmethe guardians.
let's, uh, start with, becausehis team's in it.
(03:09):
Let's go with the.
other division match, or excuseme, the wild card matchup
between the Boston Red Sox,playing at the New York Yankees.
Donny, your thoughts?
let me think about this asecond.
No, I don't have to think aboutthis.
This is the Yankees.
We're gonna win this one.
I'm, I'm, I'm confident in, inour ability to win this.
I'm just trying to figure outhow the, the American League
ended up both being divisionmatchups, right.
(03:31):
And the National League did not.
Right, because the NationalLeague could have easily been
division matchup as well.
I don't know what the, uh, theprocess of seeding ended up
being with that, but it is whatit is.
yeah.
Gimme the Yankees over the RedSox on this one.
Mr.
Boland.
this goes without saying.
We talk about Fever Pitch, thesocks are about the head to the
fever ditch baby.
(03:51):
Give me the Yankees, send themall back.
Go have your CLA chowder pocketin your car and get ready to
watch the Yankees steamroll you.
Mr.
Larson.
Why don't think the Yankees aregonna be steamrolling over
anybody but.
This is an interesting matchupbecause the, the, the Red Sox
dominated the regular seasonmatchup between these two teams.
(04:12):
But having said that, I thinkthe Yankees have gotten hot at
the right time, and the Yankeeshave gotten a little bit of
their pitching back, which Ithink helps.
I mean, they, Donny's not lyingand saying that they were
decimated by injuries with theirrotation.
I mean, you lost Garrett Cole atthe beginning of the season.
Right.
But, I just think the Yankeeslineup is too.
Potent.
I do think this is gonna go allthree games.
(04:32):
I can see the Red Sox getting awin from Garrett Crochet, but I
don't see Bayo or, or any of theother guys, uh, being able to,
keep this Yankees line up quiet.
So I'm gonna, so gimme theYankees.
Well, I'm not gonna have this goto a sweep like we did the
others.
My sleeper team, I said at theBoston Red Sox, and like Patrick
said, they Beat the, or won thatseries against the Yankees this
(04:55):
year.
So I think it'd be a pretty goodmatchup.
Obviously bitter rivals playingin the wild card.
for me, I do like that it's, uh,best of three instead of just a
one game.
'cause in that you never knowwhat could happen.
I, I like that they have athird, you know, up to three
games.
So for me, gimme the Red Sox.
All right, let's flip over theother side.
We got the six seed, theCincinnati Reds against the
(05:18):
three seed LA Dodgers.
Uh, let's start with Patrick,your thoughts.
Every fiber of my being wants topick the, the Reds to win this,
but I think Tani never shs awayfrom the big moment.
I do think it will go threegames, but give me the Dodgers
over the reds, Mr.
Wise?
Yeah, I'm the same way.
however, for the sake of, yourfavorite comment from me,
(05:39):
hashtag content, I'm gonna pickthe reds at the Dodgers in this
one.
I think they're, they may tripup the Dodgers here.
If anybody's going to do it, itwould probably be the Reds.
If the Dodgers make it through,I think the Phillies will easily
beat them.
So not to get ahead of myself,but uh, gimme the reds.
Mr.
Bowen, your thoughts on the redsat the Dodgers?
Well, uh, I got a recent textfrom, uh, show Hayes
(06:02):
interpreter.
He said to take the reds inthree.
So I'm going uh, I'll take theCincinnati.
hey, any team that has to eatthat skyline chili that I've
heard is pretty rough.
It Gimme those Cincinnati Reds.
Terry Fona works his magic in amonster upset of the Dodgers.
Yeah, I was kind of leaningtowards Patrick and thinking,
you know, I'd want the Reds towin, but think the Dodgers
(06:24):
would.
But I think both of you guyshave convinced me.
my other sleeper team,Cincinnati Reds love me some
Spencer steer, uh, Christian andCario and Strain.
I'm not sure he's been hurt.
I'm not sure if he's currentlyhealthy or not, but give me the
Cincinnati Reds as well.
And then the last wild card isthe five seed, the San Diego
(06:44):
Padres at the four Seed ChicagoCubs.
So play off baseball in Chicago.
Any, uh, thoughts here for theCubs and Padres?
Uh, we'll start with Donnie Ani,this one.
Man, I love the, I love what thePadres did last year and
they've, they've hung in therethis year too.
This is a toss up for me.
It's almost a coin flip.
I'm gonna go with the Padres.
(07:05):
the Cubs seem like the strongerteam, but something about that
yellow and brown.
This year I'm gonna go with thePadres, Mr.
Bull and Padres, and Cubs.
That's a tough matchup.
no offense to our, friend, SandyMarti.
Great writer.
Great guest.
I think she actually stilllistens to the podcast.
I, I don't know that, but I'mgoing to go.
Give me the filing.
(07:26):
Ron Burgundies of San Diago.
give me those, uh, San DiegoPadres.
Yeah, I'm gonna hop in here realquick before Patrick.
I'm gonna have to agree.
Uh, they got our boy FreddyFerme and he is, uh, provided a
spark.
They needed a catcher.
And, you know, even though hewas a backup, although he did
play quite a bit for the Royalsince, uh, they put salvy at
(07:49):
first quite a bit.
really love Freddy, uh, Fermeand I'm fortunate that he had to
go and obviously CarterJenssen's gonna be a big piece,
but he had a walk off just herewithin the last week or so.
And so, I don't hate the Cubs.
I went to actually both thesestadiums.
Surprise, surprise, Patrick thisyear went to see the Padres in
(08:10):
San Diego.
Saw the Cubs in Chicago alongwith some of these other playoff
teams.
But, I would say for me,although I think it'll be a good
series, gimme the Padres, Mr.
Larson, I guess make it a cleansweep because I think it's gonna
be the Padres as well.
I just think the Padres, thething that puts them over the
top for me is, is the, thelights out bullpen that they
have.
(08:30):
mean, they really invested inthat bullpen at the end of the
year, like Robert Su Suarez andMason Miller.
I mean, if they can get it andthey've got a really good lineup
too.
I mean Luisa Rice that can, uh,you know, that can set the table
at the top of the lineup.
And then you've got Machado andTatis Jr.
And, even though.
The Cubs have a really good teamand they're playing at home.
I just think this, Padres teamis built for the playoffs,
(08:53):
particularly in a series likethis, where it's gonna be a
bullpen game.
so give me the Padres.
Perfect.
All right, so we all predictedthe, uh, Cleveland guardians to
advance over the tiger.
So that means they then go tothe A LDS to play the Seattle
Mariners.
Johnny, your thoughts of theguardians against the Mariners?
Wow.
and we've talked about thisbefore, if you don't have a
(09:14):
team, your heart automaticallykind of goes to the Mariners.
never been to a World Series,but then you could also make a
compelling argument.
1948.
Right.
With the Cleveland Guardians.
how was that series, Donnie.
Fascinating post-war.
A great time to be alive.
Give me, and I had such a goodrun last year.
(09:37):
Oh man, guardians, that's hard.
That's shocker.
Johnny, don't, don't focus onyour stats, just make you pick
there with, as he puts aguardian's hat on.
So for me, what was it a coupleyears ago, didn't they play each
other and they had a game golike 15 or 16 innings or
something.
So I anticipate it'll be anothergood.
(09:57):
Uh, what is the five gameseries?
Is the A LDS and five?
I could see it go.
It could possibly be one of themgoes and wins and four, but I
think honestly this game, this,uh, matchup could go in five.
Yeah.
Just'cause they had have homefield advantage.
One extra game at home.
If it does go five, gimme theMariners.
Patrick, what do you think, sir?
Really kind of aligned with whatyou said as far as the analysis,
(10:19):
which I thought was spot on.
I'm, give me the, give me theMariners because both have good
pitching, but I just think thatthe lineup for the Mariners is a
little bit better than what theguardians have.
especially with the players thatthey got at the deadline.
So give me the Mariners and, uh,I think it would go five your
thoughts.
Similarly, I think the Guardianshave been on a good run.
(10:39):
I just don't know if they cankeep that run going.
I think they, they get by theTigers.
I think it drains'em a littlebit.
I think the Mariners pull it outmaybe in four, at least in five.
So yeah, gimme the Mariners.
All right.
Now, I believe the three of youhad the Yankees going against
Toronto.
I had Boston against Toronto.
We'll start with the man whoseteam's in it.
What do you think about, if itwas regardless of the team, but
(11:02):
let's say it was Yankees,Toronto, like you thought, what
are your thoughts on thatmatchup?
Patrick, I'm partly doing thisfor the content and because my
fandoms gonna get in the way,but I'm gonna ride with my team.
give me the Blue Jays to go backto the A LCS.
Nothing wrong with that.
How about, uh, let's go Donnie,then your team against the Blue
Jays.
I'm riding with my team as faras I can go, so, well, okay,
(11:25):
that's a hill I'm gonna die onto take a line from Virgil, both
of you picking your team.
So obviously we know how this isgonna go.
Johnny, your thoughts?
Listen, we're talking aboutSinatra versus Celine Dion.
I mean.
We're talking about the 27 timeworld Woo champions.
Give me those New York Yankees.
(11:46):
It's gonna go five.
I will show, uh, Mr.
Larson's Blue Jays the respectthat they deserve first time on
this episode.
So they're gonna take it in gamefive in Toronto.
Listen, the fans there will bechoking on their poutine No
offense because well documented.
This is Canada's favoritebaseball podcast.
(12:07):
This podcast is loved.
I didn't know we had BrianRoberts on your podcast tonight,
Eric.
So for me, I said that the RedSox would beat the Yankees.
So for me, red Sox, blue Jaysjust'cause you know how much
that he knows that I like him.
gimme the Blue Jays to make itto the A LCS.
I don't think either team willbeat Toronto, but I think esp I
(12:30):
think the Yankees would haveprobably a little bit better
shot, but they're not gonna getby Boston.
So between Boston and Toronto,uh, I think it'd probably go
four.
I'm not sure it could go five.
Uh, gimme Toronto on that one.
All right, so then, three of thefour of us, I believe, had the
reds against the Phillies.
Uh, so we'll start with the onewho had the Dodgers against the
(12:52):
Phillies.
Patrick, your thoughts on thatmatchup?
If it was Dodgers, Phillies, andit's Dodgers.
Phillies, really either one.
I, I still think the Philliesbeat either one.
I think they're just ademonstrably better team than
either one.
And I don't even think it'sgonna go the full five.
I, I think it might go four.
So give me the Phillies, Joanie,your thoughts.
I believe you said the Reds andFrank Kona play at the Phillies.
(13:14):
Your thoughts on the six twomatchup in the NL side for the
N-L-D-S-I, I worry that the redsmight run outta gas if they get
past the Dodgers, which I'mpredicting.
I'm going with the Caputo's.
Give me the feelings.
Arrested Phillies team.
Really good team.
sadly I wanna pick the Redsagain, but I'll go Phillies and,
(13:36):
uh, Mr.
Wise.
Yeah, I'm gonna go with thePhillies here.
I think they, they beat whoeveradvances.
But, definitely I think thereds, don't get past them.
Yeah, I think the Phillies priorto last year, they were pretty
good.
Gotten the, I think they were inthe, NLCS and made the World
Series the previous coupleyears.
Uh, last year wasn't, I thinkthey made the playoffs, but
(13:56):
weren't quite as successful asthey had hopes.
but yeah, for me it gimme thePhillies on that one as well.
and then lastly here, I believewe all picked the San Diego
Padres.
Go into the one seed Milwaukeebrewers.
Let's start with Donnie.
Your thoughts on Padres atBrewers.
I think this will be a prettygood series.
but the brewers have been prettysolid this year, I think, with
some rest and everything andkind of setting themselves their
(14:19):
lineup up and everything.
I'm gonna go with the brewers.
They're the, they're the oneseed.
I'm gonna, you know, last year Ithink what you're talking about,
the Phillies as well.
The Phillies and Braves, in thepast, like got there and then
just choked it up.
and surprisingly.
But I don't see the Phillies andbrewers doing that this year, so
I'm gonna take the brewers toadvance.
Mr.
Larson, your thoughts on thatmatchup?
(14:40):
I agree with the mayor.
I think that the brewers are, Ithink the brewers last year in
their, in their experience inthe playoffs, is gonna help them
even though they, even thoughthey had a first round exit.
I think this is a much, muchbetter brewers team than last
year.
as good as I think the Padresare.
I just think that that lineup isgonna wear down their pitching,
even that bullpen.
I think that just with, with theway they make contact, I think
(15:00):
they're just, they're made forthe playoffs.
So, uh, gimme Milwaukee For me,unfortunately, you know, I think
that the breweries are gonna be,they just, for whatever reason,
can't figure it out.
And I just think the Padres havea lot of.
good talent.
So I think in an upset for me,there's not, you know, always
upsets, but there sometimes canbe, uh, I think the Padres will
(15:21):
take that, so they'll beat theone seed, the brewer.
So gimme the San Diego Padres.
And then Mr.
Bullen, your thoughts.
It's hard to pick against theteam that has a bald clergyman
swinging a bat.
The San Diego Padres, the, theGreat Friar I'm gonna go
brewers.
and I know that's my heartbecause, you know, going to
Shuckers games years ago, goingto see them play the Shuckers
(15:43):
back, you know, it's been nineyears ago.
And of course all those guyshave gone but sentimental, good
team, like like's been saidsolid all year.
Give give me.
The brew crew, over the Padresfor sure.
Not a, not a bad choice at all.
Obviously the, the top seed fora reason.
so that takes care of the A LDSand NLDS.
Uh, let's flip back over to theA LCS.
(16:05):
I believe we all picked theMariners.
couple of us, half of us pickedagainst the Blue Jays, the other
against the Yankees.
so I'll go ahead and start.
you know, I could only give himso much credit.
so I'm sorry Patrick, I'm gonnahave to go with the Mariners and
the A LCS.
So, what are your thoughts?
If it was a Mariners Blue Jays aLCS mean, I think it's gonna be
a really tough call for any, forthe blue, if the Blue Jays are
(16:27):
Fortune chan, to make it to thatstage to face any of these
teams.
But, this is my fandom.
gimme illusions of grandeur Iguess.
But, I'm gonna take the BlueJays.
I just think there's somethingspecial going on, so I'm gonna
ride the wave and, send my teamto the World Series and Mr.
Bolen Yankees against theMariners.
Uh, going to, well home fieldwould be that I would assume the
(16:49):
higher seeds of the Mariners.
So your thoughts on MarinersYankees.
Well, you know, I actuallypicked the Guardians.
I was your lone guardian.
Oh, that's right.
I apologize.
You did.
I remember that now.
So, sorry.
Guardians, uh, Yankees, you knowthat guardians team with Carlos
By and Jim to and Albert.
Oh, wait a minute.
We're not guess Jeter and Ohman, because I'm stepping out
(17:12):
with that Guardian's Pick.
And that was a fantastic nervewracking A LCS.
So I've picked a rematch for theA LCS Yankees, guardians.
you know, I got, I'm gonna, I'mgonna ride and die with the 27
time world champions.
Give the pin stripers back toback penance.
For the Bronx Bombers.
(17:33):
All right.
Donnie Jr.
Donnie Sr.
Your thoughts on Yankees?
Mariners?
I'll keep it brief.
I'm riding the Yankees all theway.
All right.
Uh, so then on the other side,well, we kind of split a little
bit.
I picked San Diego againstPhilly, for me.
Uh, gimme Alec Bowman and gimmethe Philadelphia Phillies to
make it and win the NLCS.
(17:55):
Johnny your thoughts?
Okay, so I've got those brewersplaying the Phillies Great.
That Oh wow.
That's gonna be a great series.
If it works out, I'm gonna ridewith them.
Give me the Brew Crew would becool.
The year that we lost Bob, er.
Mm-hmm.
Have them in the World Seriesfor only the second time in
franchise history.
(18:16):
What was 1982?
I was just a young lad.
Uh, Eric was not born yet whenlast time they were, and neither
was Patrick.
I still had Hair and hope in1982.
Gimme the brew crew man to, to,that's gonna be, like I said, a
fantastic NLCS if it isPhiladelphia and Milwaukee.
Donny, your thoughts on matchup?
(18:38):
My heart is wanting the brewersto get to the World Series.
Unfortunately, I think thePhillies are gonna be the
stronger team.
Uh, I think the better story isthe Brewers, if I have to, I
have to pick one of those two.
I think the Phillies are gonnaedge'em out.
Okay.
And Mr.
Larson, your thoughts.
Ironically, I think that thisBrewer's team is a lot like the
Phillies team that won the WorldSeries a few years ago.
(19:00):
Just a plucky team thatmanufactures run.
So give me the brewers.
I think they make it to theWorld Series.
All right.
so then we will go ahead andwe'll uh, finish with you then,
Patrick.
So you had Brewers Against BlueJays, uh, your thoughts on the
World Series Champs 2025?
Man, I would love for this to bethe World Series, but I'm gonna
Ride or die with my team.
(19:21):
I'm, I'm going for the Blue Jaysto win their first World Series
since 1993 and to make Canadavery happy, which would make
Johnny very, very sad.
That's right.
Mr.
Wise, our other guests here,what are your thoughts and
Yankees and I think, think yousaid Phillies.
Yeah.
I'm like, Patrick, I gotta stickwith my team.
I think they, you know, they,Made some mistakes last year
(19:43):
against the Dodgers.
Obviously kind of blew it aftergame five.
I think they get the job donethis year despite, uh, Aaron
Boone and Johnny, I believe yousaid what?
Yankees, brewers.
Is that right?
That's right, yeah.
I've got Yankees, brewers yourthoughts.
I'm just so torn on this.
You know, I'm just really tornon this.
it would be now the 28 timeworld champions if the Yankees
(20:06):
went in.
But then the joy and, and thething I, one of the things I
really respect about thebrewers, that fan base.
If there is a fan base thatdeserves a World Series trophy
after over 50 years of theMilwaukee Brewers, it's that fan
base.
Everything that you know, you'veshared about how great the
(20:29):
ballpark is.
My brother-in-law, Chris hasbeen there since Fantastic.
Everybody that's ever been theretalks about what a great
facility it is.
Yankees, brewers.
I feel like Lee Corso with a notso fast my friend.
Gimme the 28 time WorldChampions.
I'm, I'm like the mayor Junior,as you said.
I'm, I'm gonna ride and die withthe pin stripes.
(20:51):
my friend Gary, uh, we've beenchatting.
He's getting me fired up.
We've been messaging.
He sent me a funny video aboutJuan Soto got me laughing
tonight.
yeah.
It's a tough call.
I, I, but oh, America will bepulling for the brewers, right?
Everybody that's not, that'sright.
Mm-hmm.
Every other fan base.
Except maybe the cubs, Johnny,you don't have money on it, so
(21:14):
you can easily pick the brewersand just ride with that.
I, he's made his choice.
Yeah.
I'm, I'm, you know, o'sinterpreter said, you know, safe
odds on the Yeah, he.
Well, so then for myself, I hadthe two seed Mariners against
the two Seed Phillies and, uh,Mr.
Caputo, uh, please send yourcheck to Wichita, Kansas, care
of Earned Fund average EricProfit.
(21:36):
Gimme those PhiladelphiaPhillies to win the World Series
this year in a seven game battleagainst those Mariners.
Sorry, Mr.
Mertons.
All I know is if it is PhillyYankees.
Paul, you need to help methrough your brother, find some,
uh, find a ticket.
'cause I would love to go to aWorld Series game with Paul
Caputo, if it is a PhillyYankees game in Philadelphia.
(21:57):
For sure.
Well, just, uh, appreciateeverybody listening to our
playoff, re or overview, kind ofwhat we think, and then the
recap of the season.
Thank you to our two guests.
Uh, Mr.
Larson, where can anybody findyou online?
So you can find me on X and onInstagram on X, it's at Pat
Larson one and on Instagram andon Threads and on pretty much
(22:18):
everything else it's at m IB hadhistory.
So look forward to talking toyou guys there.
Appreciate it.
And Mr.
Wise, I'm at Wise, Dr.
Jr.
On everything that I'm onthreads, x Twitter, whatever,
and, um.
Instagram also on the, uh, DHCSports Show, Thursday, Tuesdays,
and Thursdays.
And our, other show on Mondaysthat's more non-football,
(22:40):
baseball.
All right, well, appreciate youguys joining us again and make
sure you guys go out there andfollow us as well.
We're earned fund average.
Average is a VG.
We're on Instagram, Twitter, andBlue Sky.
Patrick on you, please, sir.
Canada, lower your standardsaverage is what these guys do
best.
All right guys.
You ready?
Talk some playoffs.
Let's do this.
Nobody.
Okay.
Layoff.
Let's do this.
Layoff, layoffs, We're gonna runthrough here.
We just wanna win a game.
Uh, we're gonna start on the alside.
So the number one overall seed,the Al East champs are the
Toronto Blue Jays, the twoseeds, the Al West Champs, the
Seattle Mariners.
The three seed are the,Cleveland guardians, the Al
(00:40):
Central Champs.
The four seed, the wild cardfrom the AAL East is the New
York Yankees, the five seeds,the Boston Red Sox.
And then the Wild Card, that'sbarely made it in was the
Detroit Tigers out of the AALCentral.
flipping over to the nl, we gotthe one seed of the Milwaukee
Brewers out of the NL Central.
The two seed, the PhiladelphiaPhillies, the one, their
(01:01):
division, the three seed, the LaDodgers, one the West, and then
the three wild cards.
We got the Chicago Cubs out ofthe central, Padres out of the
central, or sorry, the west, myfault.
And then the reds out of thecentral.
So, brewers, Phillies, Dodgers,Cubs, Padres Reds on the nl a L
side Blue Jays Mariners.
(01:23):
Guardians, Yankees, red Sox, andthen the Tigers.
So let's start, uh, with the,uh, and at the time of this
recording, the playoffs starttomorrow.
So let's start with the, wildcard game from, Al Central
matchup.
So actually both of these wildcards on the al are division
matchups.
Uh, let's go ahead and startwith Johnny.
Uh, what's your thoughts on theCleveland Guardians hosting the
(01:46):
Detroit Tigers?
I, I like the tribe.
Oh, wait, wait, wait.
Lemme check.
Oh, we had a rebrand.
I'm sorry.
they're hot right now.
Should be, should be some greatbaseball.
Two rival division rivals youjust mentioned.
Uh, I'm going with the G men.
I'm going with the guardians inthat matchup.
Perfect.
Um, Mr.
Larson, your thoughts on thewild card between the al Central
(02:07):
teams?
I agree with Johnny.
I think that the guardians aregonna get through, I think that
the guardians for two reasons,because they're hot entering the
playoffs, and we always knowwhat happens when a team is hot
at the end of September goinginto the playoffs.
But also, I think the guardiansjust have much better pitching
than the, than the Tigers do.
And I don't think that theirlineup is potent enough to make
(02:28):
up for the lack of pitching thatthey have.
So guardians for me and Mr.
Wise.
Yeah, it to be a broken record,but I think The Guardians as
well, tigers, I think have justbeen struggling enough that, I,
I don't know if they can, uh,pull it together for this series
with, with the guardians beinghot.
yeah, guardians for me.
Yep.
And I think for me, it'll be asweep with all of us.
(02:49):
So I also think it's theguardians.
the Tigers have been going theopposite direction in terms of,
again, they won, did what theyneed to do to get in.
But, uh, whereas they're kind ofgoing backwards.
The guardians are going forward,it's gonna be at home.
So yeah, for me as well, gimmethe guardians.
let's, uh, start with, becausehis team's in it.
(03:09):
Let's go with the.
other division match, or excuseme, the wild card matchup
between the Boston Red Sox,playing at the New York Yankees.
Donny, your thoughts?
let me think about this asecond.
No, I don't have to think aboutthis.
This is the Yankees.
We're gonna win this one.
I'm, I'm, I'm confident in, inour ability to win this.
I'm just trying to figure outhow the, the American League
ended up both being divisionmatchups, right.
(03:31):
And the National League did not.
Right, because the NationalLeague could have easily been
division matchup as well.
I don't know what the, uh, theprocess of seeding ended up
being with that, but it is whatit is.
yeah.
Gimme the Yankees over the RedSox on this one.
Mr.
Boland.
this goes without saying.
We talk about Fever Pitch, thesocks are about the head to the
fever ditch baby.
(03:51):
Give me the Yankees, send themall back.
Go have your CLA chowder pocketin your car and get ready to
watch the Yankees steamroll you.
Mr.
Larson.
Why don't think the Yankees aregonna be steamrolling over
anybody but.
This is an interesting matchupbecause the, the, the Red Sox
dominated the regular seasonmatchup between these two teams.
(04:12):
But having said that, I thinkthe Yankees have gotten hot at
the right time, and the Yankeeshave gotten a little bit of
their pitching back, which Ithink helps.
I mean, they, Donny's not lyingand saying that they were
decimated by injuries with theirrotation.
I mean, you lost Garrett Cole atthe beginning of the season.
Right.
But, I just think the Yankeeslineup is too.
Potent.
I do think this is gonna go allthree games.
(04:32):
I can see the Red Sox getting awin from Garrett Crochet, but I
don't see Bayo or, or any of theother guys, uh, being able to,
keep this Yankees line up quiet.
So I'm gonna, so gimme theYankees.
Well, I'm not gonna have this goto a sweep like we did the
others.
My sleeper team, I said at theBoston Red Sox, and like Patrick
said, they Beat the, or won thatseries against the Yankees this
(04:55):
year.
So I think it'd be a pretty goodmatchup.
Obviously bitter rivals playingin the wild card.
for me, I do like that it's, uh,best of three instead of just a
one game.
'cause in that you never knowwhat could happen.
I, I like that they have athird, you know, up to three
games.
So for me, gimme the Red Sox.
All right, let's flip over theother side.
We got the six seed, theCincinnati Reds against the
(05:18):
three seed LA Dodgers.
Uh, let's start with Patrick,your thoughts.
Every fiber of my being wants topick the, the Reds to win this,
but I think Tani never shs awayfrom the big moment.
I do think it will go threegames, but give me the Dodgers
over the reds, Mr.
Wise?
Yeah, I'm the same way.
however, for the sake of, yourfavorite comment from me,
(05:39):
hashtag content, I'm gonna pickthe reds at the Dodgers in this
one.
I think they're, they may tripup the Dodgers here.
If anybody's going to do it, itwould probably be the Reds.
If the Dodgers make it through,I think the Phillies will easily
beat them.
So not to get ahead of myself,but uh, gimme the reds.
Mr.
Bowen, your thoughts on the redsat the Dodgers?
Well, uh, I got a recent textfrom, uh, show Hayes
(06:02):
interpreter.
He said to take the reds inthree.
So I'm going uh, I'll take theCincinnati.
hey, any team that has to eatthat skyline chili that I've
heard is pretty rough.
It Gimme those Cincinnati Reds.
Terry Fona works his magic in amonster upset of the Dodgers.
Yeah, I was kind of leaningtowards Patrick and thinking,
you know, I'd want the Reds towin, but think the Dodgers
(06:24):
would.
But I think both of you guyshave convinced me.
my other sleeper team,Cincinnati Reds love me some
Spencer steer, uh, Christian andCario and Strain.
I'm not sure he's been hurt.
I'm not sure if he's currentlyhealthy or not, but give me the
Cincinnati Reds as well.
And then the last wild card isthe five seed, the San Diego
(06:44):
Padres at the four Seed ChicagoCubs.
So play off baseball in Chicago.
Any, uh, thoughts here for theCubs and Padres?
Uh, we'll start with Donnie Ani,this one.
Man, I love the, I love what thePadres did last year and
they've, they've hung in therethis year too.
This is a toss up for me.
It's almost a coin flip.
I'm gonna go with the Padres.
(07:05):
the Cubs seem like the strongerteam, but something about that
yellow and brown.
This year I'm gonna go with thePadres, Mr.
Bull and Padres, and Cubs.
That's a tough matchup.
no offense to our, friend, SandyMarti.
Great writer.
Great guest.
I think she actually stilllistens to the podcast.
I, I don't know that, but I'mgoing to go.
Give me the filing.
(07:26):
Ron Burgundies of San Diago.
give me those, uh, San DiegoPadres.
Yeah, I'm gonna hop in here realquick before Patrick.
I'm gonna have to agree.
Uh, they got our boy FreddyFerme and he is, uh, provided a
spark.
They needed a catcher.
And, you know, even though hewas a backup, although he did
play quite a bit for the Royalsince, uh, they put salvy at
(07:49):
first quite a bit.
really love Freddy, uh, Fermeand I'm fortunate that he had to
go and obviously CarterJenssen's gonna be a big piece,
but he had a walk off just herewithin the last week or so.
And so, I don't hate the Cubs.
I went to actually both thesestadiums.
Surprise, surprise, Patrick thisyear went to see the Padres in
(08:10):
San Diego.
Saw the Cubs in Chicago alongwith some of these other playoff
teams.
But, I would say for me,although I think it'll be a good
series, gimme the Padres, Mr.
Larson, I guess make it a cleansweep because I think it's gonna
be the Padres as well.
I just think the Padres, thething that puts them over the
top for me is, is the, thelights out bullpen that they
have.
(08:30):
mean, they really invested inthat bullpen at the end of the
year, like Robert Su Suarez andMason Miller.
I mean, if they can get it andthey've got a really good lineup
too.
I mean Luisa Rice that can, uh,you know, that can set the table
at the top of the lineup.
And then you've got Machado andTatis Jr.
And, even though.
The Cubs have a really good teamand they're playing at home.
I just think this, Padres teamis built for the playoffs,
(08:53):
particularly in a series likethis, where it's gonna be a
bullpen game.
so give me the Padres.
Perfect.
All right, so we all predictedthe, uh, Cleveland guardians to
advance over the tiger.
So that means they then go tothe A LDS to play the Seattle
Mariners.
Johnny, your thoughts of theguardians against the Mariners?
Wow.
and we've talked about thisbefore, if you don't have a
(09:14):
team, your heart automaticallykind of goes to the Mariners.
never been to a World Series,but then you could also make a
compelling argument.
1948.
Right.
With the Cleveland Guardians.
how was that series, Donnie.
Fascinating post-war.
A great time to be alive.
Give me, and I had such a goodrun last year.
(09:37):
Oh man, guardians, that's hard.
That's shocker.
Johnny, don't, don't focus onyour stats, just make you pick
there with, as he puts aguardian's hat on.
So for me, what was it a coupleyears ago, didn't they play each
other and they had a game golike 15 or 16 innings or
something.
So I anticipate it'll be anothergood.
(09:57):
Uh, what is the five gameseries?
Is the A LDS and five?
I could see it go.
It could possibly be one of themgoes and wins and four, but I
think honestly this game, this,uh, matchup could go in five.
Yeah.
Just'cause they had have homefield advantage.
One extra game at home.
If it does go five, gimme theMariners.
Patrick, what do you think, sir?
Really kind of aligned with whatyou said as far as the analysis,
(10:19):
which I thought was spot on.
I'm, give me the, give me theMariners because both have good
pitching, but I just think thatthe lineup for the Mariners is a
little bit better than what theguardians have.
especially with the players thatthey got at the deadline.
So give me the Mariners and, uh,I think it would go five your
thoughts.
Similarly, I think the Guardianshave been on a good run.
(10:39):
I just don't know if they cankeep that run going.
I think they, they get by theTigers.
I think it drains'em a littlebit.
I think the Mariners pull it outmaybe in four, at least in five.
So yeah, gimme the Mariners.
All right.
Now, I believe the three of youhad the Yankees going against
Toronto.
I had Boston against Toronto.
We'll start with the man whoseteam's in it.
What do you think about, if itwas regardless of the team, but
(11:02):
let's say it was Yankees,Toronto, like you thought, what
are your thoughts on thatmatchup?
Patrick, I'm partly doing thisfor the content and because my
fandoms gonna get in the way,but I'm gonna ride with my team.
give me the Blue Jays to go backto the A LCS.
Nothing wrong with that.
How about, uh, let's go Donnie,then your team against the Blue
Jays.
I'm riding with my team as faras I can go, so, well, okay,
(11:25):
that's a hill I'm gonna die onto take a line from Virgil, both
of you picking your team.
So obviously we know how this isgonna go.
Johnny, your thoughts?
Listen, we're talking aboutSinatra versus Celine Dion.
I mean.
We're talking about the 27 timeworld Woo champions.
Give me those New York Yankees.
(11:46):
It's gonna go five.
I will show, uh, Mr.
Larson's Blue Jays the respectthat they deserve first time on
this episode.
So they're gonna take it in gamefive in Toronto.
Listen, the fans there will bechoking on their poutine No
offense because well documented.
This is Canada's favoritebaseball podcast.
(12:07):
This podcast is loved.
I didn't know we had BrianRoberts on your podcast tonight,
Eric.
So for me, I said that the RedSox would beat the Yankees.
So for me, red Sox, blue Jaysjust'cause you know how much
that he knows that I like him.
gimme the Blue Jays to make itto the A LCS.
I don't think either team willbeat Toronto, but I think esp I
(12:30):
think the Yankees would haveprobably a little bit better
shot, but they're not gonna getby Boston.
So between Boston and Toronto,uh, I think it'd probably go
four.
I'm not sure it could go five.
Uh, gimme Toronto on that one.
All right, so then, three of thefour of us, I believe, had the
reds against the Phillies.
Uh, so we'll start with the onewho had the Dodgers against the
(12:52):
Phillies.
Patrick, your thoughts on thatmatchup?
If it was Dodgers, Phillies, andit's Dodgers.
Phillies, really either one.
I, I still think the Philliesbeat either one.
I think they're just ademonstrably better team than
either one.
And I don't even think it'sgonna go the full five.
I, I think it might go four.
So give me the Phillies, Joanie,your thoughts.
I believe you said the Reds andFrank Kona play at the Phillies.
(13:14):
Your thoughts on the six twomatchup in the NL side for the
N-L-D-S-I, I worry that the redsmight run outta gas if they get
past the Dodgers, which I'mpredicting.
I'm going with the Caputo's.
Give me the feelings.
Arrested Phillies team.
Really good team.
sadly I wanna pick the Redsagain, but I'll go Phillies and,
(13:36):
uh, Mr.
Wise.
Yeah, I'm gonna go with thePhillies here.
I think they, they beat whoeveradvances.
But, definitely I think thereds, don't get past them.
Yeah, I think the Phillies priorto last year, they were pretty
good.
Gotten the, I think they were inthe, NLCS and made the World
Series the previous coupleyears.
Uh, last year wasn't, I thinkthey made the playoffs, but
(13:56):
weren't quite as successful asthey had hopes.
but yeah, for me it gimme thePhillies on that one as well.
and then lastly here, I believewe all picked the San Diego
Padres.
Go into the one seed Milwaukeebrewers.
Let's start with Donnie.
Your thoughts on Padres atBrewers.
I think this will be a prettygood series.
but the brewers have been prettysolid this year, I think, with
some rest and everything andkind of setting themselves their
(14:19):
lineup up and everything.
I'm gonna go with the brewers.
They're the, they're the oneseed.
I'm gonna, you know, last year Ithink what you're talking about,
the Phillies as well.
The Phillies and Braves, in thepast, like got there and then
just choked it up.
and surprisingly.
But I don't see the Phillies andbrewers doing that this year, so
I'm gonna take the brewers toadvance.
Mr.
Larson, your thoughts on thatmatchup?
(14:40):
I agree with the mayor.
I think that the brewers are, Ithink the brewers last year in
their, in their experience inthe playoffs, is gonna help them
even though they, even thoughthey had a first round exit.
I think this is a much, muchbetter brewers team than last
year.
as good as I think the Padresare.
I just think that that lineup isgonna wear down their pitching,
even that bullpen.
I think that just with, with theway they make contact, I think
(15:00):
they're just, they're made forthe playoffs.
So, uh, gimme Milwaukee For me,unfortunately, you know, I think
that the breweries are gonna be,they just, for whatever reason,
can't figure it out.
And I just think the Padres havea lot of.
good talent.
So I think in an upset for me,there's not, you know, always
upsets, but there sometimes canbe, uh, I think the Padres will
(15:21):
take that, so they'll beat theone seed, the brewer.
So gimme the San Diego Padres.
And then Mr.
Bullen, your thoughts.
It's hard to pick against theteam that has a bald clergyman
swinging a bat.
The San Diego Padres, the, theGreat Friar I'm gonna go
brewers.
and I know that's my heartbecause, you know, going to
Shuckers games years ago, goingto see them play the Shuckers
(15:43):
back, you know, it's been nineyears ago.
And of course all those guyshave gone but sentimental, good
team, like like's been saidsolid all year.
Give give me.
The brew crew, over the Padresfor sure.
Not a, not a bad choice at all.
Obviously the, the top seed fora reason.
so that takes care of the A LDSand NLDS.
Uh, let's flip back over to theA LCS.
(16:05):
I believe we all picked theMariners.
couple of us, half of us pickedagainst the Blue Jays, the other
against the Yankees.
so I'll go ahead and start.
you know, I could only give himso much credit.
so I'm sorry Patrick, I'm gonnahave to go with the Mariners and
the A LCS.
So, what are your thoughts?
If it was a Mariners Blue Jays aLCS mean, I think it's gonna be
a really tough call for any, forthe blue, if the Blue Jays are
(16:27):
Fortune chan, to make it to thatstage to face any of these
teams.
But, this is my fandom.
gimme illusions of grandeur Iguess.
But, I'm gonna take the BlueJays.
I just think there's somethingspecial going on, so I'm gonna
ride the wave and, send my teamto the World Series and Mr.
Bolen Yankees against theMariners.
Uh, going to, well home fieldwould be that I would assume the
(16:49):
higher seeds of the Mariners.
So your thoughts on MarinersYankees.
Well, you know, I actuallypicked the Guardians.
I was your lone guardian.
Oh, that's right.
I apologize.
You did.
I remember that now.
So, sorry.
Guardians, uh, Yankees, you knowthat guardians team with Carlos
By and Jim to and Albert.
Oh, wait a minute.
We're not guess Jeter and Ohman, because I'm stepping out
(17:12):
with that Guardian's Pick.
And that was a fantastic nervewracking A LCS.
So I've picked a rematch for theA LCS Yankees, guardians.
you know, I got, I'm gonna, I'mgonna ride and die with the 27
time world champions.
Give the pin stripers back toback penance.
For the Bronx Bombers.
(17:33):
All right.
Donnie Jr.
Donnie Sr.
Your thoughts on Yankees?
Mariners?
I'll keep it brief.
I'm riding the Yankees all theway.
All right.
Uh, so then on the other side,well, we kind of split a little
bit.
I picked San Diego againstPhilly, for me.
Uh, gimme Alec Bowman and gimmethe Philadelphia Phillies to
make it and win the NLCS.
(17:55):
Johnny your thoughts?
Okay, so I've got those brewersplaying the Phillies Great.
That Oh wow.
That's gonna be a great series.
If it works out, I'm gonna ridewith them.
Give me the Brew Crew would becool.
The year that we lost Bob, er.
Mm-hmm.
Have them in the World Seriesfor only the second time in
franchise history.
(18:16):
What was 1982?
I was just a young lad.
Uh, Eric was not born yet whenlast time they were, and neither
was Patrick.
I still had Hair and hope in1982.
Gimme the brew crew man to, to,that's gonna be, like I said, a
fantastic NLCS if it isPhiladelphia and Milwaukee.
Donny, your thoughts on matchup?
(18:38):
My heart is wanting the brewersto get to the World Series.
Unfortunately, I think thePhillies are gonna be the
stronger team.
Uh, I think the better story isthe Brewers, if I have to, I
have to pick one of those two.
I think the Phillies are gonnaedge'em out.
Okay.
And Mr.
Larson, your thoughts.
Ironically, I think that thisBrewer's team is a lot like the
Phillies team that won the WorldSeries a few years ago.
(19:00):
Just a plucky team thatmanufactures run.
So give me the brewers.
I think they make it to theWorld Series.
All right.
so then we will go ahead andwe'll uh, finish with you then,
Patrick.
So you had Brewers Against BlueJays, uh, your thoughts on the
World Series Champs 2025?
Man, I would love for this to bethe World Series, but I'm gonna
Ride or die with my team.
(19:21):
I'm, I'm going for the Blue Jaysto win their first World Series
since 1993 and to make Canadavery happy, which would make
Johnny very, very sad.
That's right.
Mr.
Wise, our other guests here,what are your thoughts and
Yankees and I think, think yousaid Phillies.
Yeah.
I'm like, Patrick, I gotta stickwith my team.
I think they, you know, they,Made some mistakes last year
(19:43):
against the Dodgers.
Obviously kind of blew it aftergame five.
I think they get the job donethis year despite, uh, Aaron
Boone and Johnny, I believe yousaid what?
Yankees, brewers.
Is that right?
That's right, yeah.
I've got Yankees, brewers yourthoughts.
I'm just so torn on this.
You know, I'm just really tornon this.
it would be now the 28 timeworld champions if the Yankees
(20:06):
went in.
But then the joy and, and thething I, one of the things I
really respect about thebrewers, that fan base.
If there is a fan base thatdeserves a World Series trophy
after over 50 years of theMilwaukee Brewers, it's that fan
base.
Everything that you know, you'veshared about how great the
(20:29):
ballpark is.
My brother-in-law, Chris hasbeen there since Fantastic.
Everybody that's ever been theretalks about what a great
facility it is.
Yankees, brewers.
I feel like Lee Corso with a notso fast my friend.
Gimme the 28 time WorldChampions.
I'm, I'm like the mayor Junior,as you said.
I'm, I'm gonna ride and die withthe pin stripes.
(20:51):
my friend Gary, uh, we've beenchatting.
He's getting me fired up.
We've been messaging.
He sent me a funny video aboutJuan Soto got me laughing
tonight.
yeah.
It's a tough call.
I, I, but oh, America will bepulling for the brewers, right?
Everybody that's not, that'sright.
Mm-hmm.
Every other fan base.
Except maybe the cubs, Johnny,you don't have money on it, so
(21:14):
you can easily pick the brewersand just ride with that.
I, he's made his choice.
Yeah.
I'm, I'm, you know, o'sinterpreter said, you know, safe
odds on the Yeah, he.
Well, so then for myself, I hadthe two seed Mariners against
the two Seed Phillies and, uh,Mr.
Caputo, uh, please send yourcheck to Wichita, Kansas, care
of Earned Fund average EricProfit.
(21:36):
Gimme those PhiladelphiaPhillies to win the World Series
this year in a seven game battleagainst those Mariners.
Sorry, Mr.
Mertons.
All I know is if it is PhillyYankees.
Paul, you need to help methrough your brother, find some,
uh, find a ticket.
'cause I would love to go to aWorld Series game with Paul
Caputo, if it is a PhillyYankees game in Philadelphia.
(21:57):
For sure.
Well, just, uh, appreciateeverybody listening to our
playoff, re or overview, kind ofwhat we think, and then the
recap of the season.
Thank you to our two guests.
Uh, Mr.
Larson, where can anybody findyou online?
So you can find me on X and onInstagram on X, it's at Pat
Larson one and on Instagram andon Threads and on pretty much
(22:18):
everything else it's at m IB hadhistory.
So look forward to talking toyou guys there.
Appreciate it.
And Mr.
Wise, I'm at Wise, Dr.
Jr.
On everything that I'm onthreads, x Twitter, whatever,
and, um.
Instagram also on the, uh, DHCSports Show, Thursday, Tuesdays,
and Thursdays.
And our, other show on Mondaysthat's more non-football,
(22:40):
baseball.
All right, well, appreciate youguys joining us again and make
sure you guys go out there andfollow us as well.
We're earned fund average.
Average is a VG.
We're on Instagram, Twitter, andBlue Sky.
Patrick on you, please, sir.
Canada, lower your standardsaverage is what these guys do
best.
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