Locked On Cardinals - Daily Podcast On The St. Louis Cardinals - Dead Team Walking! Cardinals Get Swept And Embarrassed In Cincinnati

Starting point is 00:00:00 The thing happened at great American ballpark. It hasn't happened for an age. Seven years to be exact, the Cincinnati Reds swept the St. Louis Cardinals. And here to celebrate with me is J.D. Hafer and from Lockdown Cardinals. I'm Jeff Carr, Lockdown Reds. We're doing a little bit of a post series crossover. And J.D., I'm so sorry.

Starting point is 00:00:22 But this is like the first series of the season that I've done a post series crossover. And I've gotten to celebrate a series win. I'm not really scheduled these crossovers so great all this season. Of course, Lockdown Reds and Lockdown Cardinals are part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. We are your team, your Cincinnati Reds, your St. Louis Cardinals every single day. Jady and myself are both lifelong fans of our teams and we bring you the passionate analysis and deep understanding of our teams, Eve, every single day, whether it might hurt us to do so or not. because quite frankly, most of the season, it has hurt me to do that for the Cincinnati Red side that has been so frustrating. But for the past, the past three days, they haven't been so

Starting point is 00:01:09 frustrating. And I know that the Cardinals have been up and down. The Cardinals for a moment there look like they were going to challenge the Brewers, JD. And in here recently, everything is kind of stalled a little bit. Crumbled. Yes. Yeah. That's also a good word for that. Yeah, it is, it's tough and it's weird because we both have the same records now. The Reds and the Cardinals are both at 60 and 61, yet one team feels so good about it. And the other team, it's like failure being there. So it just kind of says something about how things have been for our franchises and how different it's been over the last few years. But here we are where the, I mean, it wasn't really even a series though, Jeff.

Starting point is 00:01:54 like it was domination from the get-go from the Cincinnati Rets. I mean, are they done hitting yet? Is a game over? Did it end? Are they still? T.J. Friedel just hit another home run to celebrate his birthday. Yeah. It wouldn't shock me.

Starting point is 00:02:09 The Reds had not one, not two, but three guys in this series that hit multiple home runs in one game, two of them, obviously coming on during Wednesday's game with the Friedel in Jonathan India, who, I mean, every time the Cardinals either come to Cincinnati or he goes to St. Louis, he's got to just light up like a Christmas tree. He's got to be so happy. He destroys them over and over and over. Came in, what was it, over his last 23 or something like that coming into Wednesday, you know, and it's just like, oh, thank God the Cardinals are here because I got to get my thing going.

Starting point is 00:02:47 And, of course, he did and just, you know, mashed on Wednesday night at Great American Ball. Park. But, yeah, three guys with multiple home runs. Steer did it in game one. And the Cardinals combined as a team with all of, all of their people hit one. One home run at Great American Ballpark. Nolan Aronado, a meaningless shot off of Hunter Green where like the game was seemed like it was already over by the time it happened. And it like, you almost forget that he even hit a home run in the series. But that is that just looking at that, just looking at that, just. capsule that and that is what this series was like. Like the Cardinals offense did nothing against anybody for the Reds. And not just Hunter Green, which I mean, he's one of the best in baseball, certainly deserving of the NL.Side Young Award acknowledgement this year has been incredible. And you knew that was going to be a tough one. But then the other two games, you got to try to do something to beat Abbott. You got them the first time you faced him this year. They hit him pretty well at Great America Ballpark.

Starting point is 00:03:52 Then the next game was in St. Louis where I think Abbott walks six guys. Yeah. And somehow the Red still ended up walking away with a pretty convincing victory in that particular game. So when the series started, I was like, you know, you got to really take advantage of Abbott and whoever they were going to through, whoever the Reds were going to throw on Wednesday, because you're probably not going to do much against Hunter Green. He's just that good. And they decided to just, you know, fold it up and not do anything against anybody.

Starting point is 00:04:20 even even these last couple of runs they scored on Wednesday. I mean, it was like little bloopers. And then Allie just was like, I'll miss this ground ball. It's okay. But we're killing them. Like it was,

Starting point is 00:04:31 it was, it was funny because it was, you know, they were like, they're like, almost like the Reds felt bad. They're like, hey,

Starting point is 00:04:37 give them a couple. Like, what it's funny. Let them drop a couple of bloopers in. It's fine. They're going to be okay. It's funny. You feel that way,

Starting point is 00:04:45 though, because when that was happening, and that was the sixth inning of Wednesday, of Wednesday. day's game the whole time that that was going down I was just like you know they've done this all year they've done this all year where it's like they're showing us a glimmer of hope and then they like lean in and they whisper we're not there yet but they were able to get out of that inning and I was worried like I saw like I closed my eyes and I saw Paul Goldschmidt hitting a three run home

Starting point is 00:05:15 run and bringing it within like four runs and you're like here we go. and things like that. But thankfully, none of that happened. They were able to get out of it. Justin Wilson with one pitch to Jordan Walker gets them to pop up. And there's just so much about that bullpen game that really threw me. Number one, I think that they're trying to save Carson Spires a little bit. They're trying to do a little bit of load management for him because he's never pitched this much in his career. And I think that he surprised them. Two things surprise them this year. Graham Ashcraft not pitching well. And Carson Spires. is pitching well. So they were able to kind of do the thing where they're like, all right, go figure it out Graham. Then they find out he had an injury anyway. And then Carson Spires continues to throw. But they turned Wednesday into a bullpen game because initially he was just slated to start. And then they brought in Pagan and then they brought in Sam Mall. And then they pitched Carson Spires in the fourth inning rather than the first. And he only ended up throwing like

Starting point is 00:06:17 two and two thirds. So it was a weird game from a pitching. standpoint, but everybody kind of came together and continued to limit the Cardinals damaging. You were talking about the, the lone homer. I was getting greedy in that game. I'm not going to lie, JD. Like that game, when Aronado hit that home run, I'm like, damn, I'm going to want Hunter to shut this one out. I wanted a zero on the scoreboard. And that's kind of how I thought about this series. I've enjoyed the series from the Red standpoint where it's like, okay, the Cardinals all season long, especially in the first month, whenever they started off really, slow and we're thinking okay they're just going to be like they were last year but then they really

Starting point is 00:06:55 made a furious run there and they got up the second place they got above 500 we're thinking the cardinals are where we thought the reds should be and the reds are where you know me as a cardinal hater thought the cardinals should be and and it's all topsy-turvy but now here as we sit on august 15th the reds and the cardinals have the exact same records and you're right like the idea of being one game under 500 should infuriate the Cardinals, but quite frankly, it should infuriate the Reds too. The Reds have been in this position pretty much all season. Barry Larkin was talking about it on Tuesday's broadcast where it was like they've been bouncing between six games under 500 and one game under 500 for the better part of the last three months.

Starting point is 00:07:42 And they've got to figure something out and jump up. Maybe this series sweep is a jumping off point for that. It could be. I mean, you guys close out your last series with the victory over the Brewers, which is not an easy task in Milwaukee. And then, you know, you come back home and like kick the hell out of the Cardinals. Like, I mean, again, this was not even a series. Like, I mean, the Cardinals looked dead on their feet out there while I was even making the jokes during the game with Hunter on Tuesday where like you could just see the reds are having a good. time. They're having fun. And it wasn't like, because that wasn't like a blowout win. I mean, at the, at the point that I think that I was watching, I think it was only three to nothing or

Starting point is 00:08:26 something, but like they're laughing and slapping each other's butts on the mound and they're grinning and stuff. And like the Cardinals look like they had their dog run over multiple times going into that game. And I don't know what happened. Like they played decently in Kansas City in that first game and then they lost the, because they split it was a two game series. they get the day off on Sunday to come to Cincinnati, and the Reds had to play a game. So the tired team, when you think about it, should have been the Reds after a tough series against Milwaukee.

Starting point is 00:09:02 And that wasn't the case at all. They came out hot, and, you know, Sunny Gray looked good in that first game for a couple of innings. And then the gopher ball started happening again. And Spencer Sear takes some yard, Ellie takes some yard. And then from that point, it was almost like the Cardals were done. It was over. There was no point

Starting point is 00:09:20 even playing the games anymore. We're toast. And it's shocking to see how dismal they appeared in these games at this point of the season where they were buyers at the trade deadline. You know, they went out and got a couple of guys that they thought would help improve

Starting point is 00:09:36 the team in Eric Fetty and Tommy FAM. They got Armstrong that they thought was going to, you know, help solidify the bullpen a little bit, which it started showing some cracks. And it has gone completely the wrong way and it's not been good. Is it ironic that they've lost a lot more games now that former Red and now Cardinal superstar Michael Ciani has been injured? I wonder if that's where it is.

Starting point is 00:10:01 I don't know. It's just, I don't know, things are going on, have gone in the wrong direction and Cardinal fans are quite upset about it. And, you know, the Reds are going the other way. And more power to you, man. It's, uh, it, it sucks to be on on this side of it, but at the same time, you know, it's like, you know, that that's a team that shows energy and shows life. I mean, I feel like it was just a couple of weeks ago. People were there was reading Fire David Bell. This seems terrible. They're doing everything wrong. They're ruining all these guys. And like how quickly things can change. So maybe things will, the worm will turn for the Cardinals. But the way they played in this series, it's hard to, hard to believe about it.

Starting point is 00:10:42 It's funny you mentioned that because obviously a series sweep would lead someone to believe that one team is headed toward big big things and the other isn't kind of wanted to discuss that where do the cardinals and the reds fall in the wild card picture that is coming up next you know the best way to get down to the ballpark jd it's game i do i do game time game time is the best way to do it like steve and i do this all the time where we go down to the banks and you live in cincinnati uh you know that you go down there, you hold up your favorite spot, your favorite watering hole. And then last second, you check out the deals on game time because they've got amazing deals. We're talking up to like 60% off sometimes when it comes time for game time because they got the last minute tickets at the lowest price.

Starting point is 00:11:38 Yeah, it's definitely where I go each and every time. I got buddies coming in town this weekend, bro. And they were like, hey, what are we doing on Friday night? And I'm like, hey, royals are in town. You want to go watch Royals and Reds, go catch a game. They're like, yeah, let's do it. So I'm like, all right, do do do pull up the app. And I'm like, here we go.

Starting point is 00:11:56 Perfect. This is where I want to be. Moon deck, got it. Boom. I was in and out on the game time app in, I don't know, six minutes, maybe, just to make sure that they were cool sitting out in the outfield. And second row, second row, Jeff. It's not like we're up in the 500 somewhere where we need binoculars to check these guys out.

Starting point is 00:12:16 No, second row in right field for a team that just, swept the Cardinals. That is how easy and convenient it is and how good things can be on the Game Time app when you want the best seats in the house, but you don't want to pay extra. They get you taken care of with, you know, there's no one of those hidden fees or anything like that, which I always love. They give you views from where your seat's going to be. Nothing better than the Game Time app. It's my go-to every single time, not just baseball either. We're talking football. We're talking concerts. All of it. Any of this live stuff that you want to go to, game time has got you covered.

Starting point is 00:12:49 You got to download the app today and you got to use code Lockdown MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Again, that code is L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-M-L-B for $20 off your first purchase when you download the GameTime app today. Last minute tickets at the lowest price, they're guaranteed over in the GameTime app. Thanks as always for making Lockdown Reds and Lockdown Cardinals your first listen every single day. For your second listen, you've got to check out Lockdown MLB. Paul Sullivan, but we all know him as Sully, is going to get you a, up to the fall classic with his trademark humor every single day over at lockdown MLB, giving you a league wide look. Lockdown MLB is part of the Lockdown podcast network,

Starting point is 00:13:33 your team, your league every single day. All right, Janie, this series for me and honestly, coming into the series, our Monday show, Steve and I really had a mea culpa, where we're like, okay, this team is going to win the division coming into the season. And we're like, no, not a chance. They're not close. It's not going to happen. Maybe a wild car, but at this point, we're talking about a miracle for a wild car.

Starting point is 00:14:03 We're talking about a Mike Schilt, St. Louis Cardinals miracle to go on some kind of winning streak here, the final couple, you know, six weeks of the season. So, so what on earth? And then all of a sudden, it goes and sweep this series. So immediately, everybody's just like, where are we at? What's the wild card standing? Where? Let's see where we at. Oh, yeah.

Starting point is 00:14:24 We're still four and a half out because my goodness, the Reds have been four and a half out for the last three months of this third spot in the wild card. The first two spots, here's the thing. The top three teams in the NL West are getting into the playoffs. I don't think any of them are going to collapse to the point that they just fall out of the playoffs here. But you're talking about the Dodgers, you're talking about the Padres, you're talking about the Diamondbacks. some order, all three of them are getting in. One is the division winner. Two is the top two wildcards. So the third wildcard spot comes down to can the banged up braves hang on to it? And they've got themselves a nice little advantage here. Yeah, there are a couple games up right now and

Starting point is 00:15:09 they're getting healthier, Jeff. That's the scary part about Atlanta, who's somehow, some way, been able to overcome the loss of Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider, plus other pieces throughout the season. But I mean, imagine losing the MVP and the Cy Young Award nominee that was, you know, easily top five, probably top three coming into the season. People thought that's what he was going to be doing to lose both of them for almost the entire year. Neither of them played all that long to get things going and to still stay afloat. And yeah, they started falling off real bad over the last, what, like month. But they've won a couple of games here now. And there's starting to kind of get their mojo back. Chris Sale looks like the Chris Sale of old.

Starting point is 00:15:55 So it's going to be difficult for any of these teams, whether it's the Red, the Reds, Cardinals, the Mets, the Giants are right up there again. They've got a hot Blake Snell throwing. It is not going to be easy. And, you know, you look at it where like the Brewers don't, they just won't stop winning. They just keep staying consistent. It's weird, right? Because like when you look at the brewer's team, there's nothing about, I mean, they lost. Christian Yellage and they lose Corvin Burns and they don't have Brandon Woodruff and they didn't have Devin Williams for a long part of the year and somehow they're better without these guys. It's weird. And I can't explain. They lost Craig counsel. Remember, he was the God's gift to managers

Starting point is 00:16:39 that the Cubs had to steal. How's that working out? It didn't seem to alter anything in Milwaukee all that much, did it? So it's strange. I don't know how to explain it. But you're not going to catch them unless they collapse, which they haven't done it all year. So why would you think that might happen? You mentioned the Diamondbacks and the Padres, two of the hottest teams in the league, both of them up to at the time of this 69 wins apiece,

Starting point is 00:17:05 to go right behind the Dodgers who have been dealing with their own injuries this year, but they've got 71 wins. I mean, hell, they might catch the Dodgers. Who knows? Although the Dodgers get to play the Cardinals next. So lucky them. So it's not going to be easy. So I feel like it's kind of wishful thinking.

Starting point is 00:17:24 I don't mean to pour water on what just happened with the Reds. But it is not going to be easy. You really need something. And we've seen the Braves collapse in the past before. But I feel like the collapse already happened for them. So now they've got these final six weeks to kind of get back to what they really are. And that spells trouble for all of us who are. were, you know, a couple of tears below them. Yeah. And the National League itself has been a very

Starting point is 00:17:53 strange league all season long. There's been a lot of mediocrity that has kept a lot of teams in it. Like the trade deadline, like the Reds didn't sell and they didn't buy and then the Cardinals bought and yeah, the pirates, doing whatever the pirates do. And even the Cubs were like rumored to be in on some big acquisitions here and there. It is so weird. that everybody thought that they were in it. Now the Cubs have fallen off. The pirates have just flatlined. I mean, they've lost,

Starting point is 00:18:23 what is it now? 10 in a row. It's 10 in a row. Like, that's absurd for that team. So crazy. There's something about them that it's like, I don't think that they're ever going to figure it out just because it ain't

Starting point is 00:18:34 supposed to happen that way. I don't know. Feels like it. And I almost feel bad for Ethan and the boys because it's like for a while, you know, you had the skeins bump and you were feeling the good energy there. And there were some good things going on with the fight. And then it just fell off the,

Starting point is 00:18:47 cliff and it's hard to explain. I mean, 10 in a row is crazy. Because they've got the talent on that team to be really dangerous. I thought there for a minute once they hit 500 and they got like one above 500 and I'm like, ooh, okay, the pirates are just going to keep going up and up and up and and they didn't. So there's all of this stuff that is surrounding and and maybe the Braves fall off, but it just feels like they're so deep. And that's the thing for me is that it's not just about what the Reds can do anymore because the Reds have spent this entire season spinning their wheels. The month of May killed them. They haven't been 500 since May 3rd. And who knows, maybe they can beat the Royals. They get the Royals for three this weekend. Maybe they beat the Royals on Friday

Starting point is 00:19:30 and get back to 500. But what happens the rest of the weekend? This weekend, the Reds do have Nicolodolo and Andrew Abbott pitching, but they also have Nick Martinez pitching on Friday. And while Nick Martinez has pitched well, they is past two starts, I'm not going to kind of sit here and think that he is just going to mow over a royals lineup that includes the al MVP if you don't count the yankees because the yankees have the guys that are going to be one two in the american league but bobby whit is probably going to be the number three guy in the american league MVP race and it's not because he's he's not being good it's because he's been amazing it's just aaron judge and wan soto are not human so he can't do anything about that but

Starting point is 00:20:13 They're in New York, which helps them a little bit. Right. They get the big market bump. I was talking to, I don't mean to interrupt you, but I was talking to a buddy of mine today. And obviously, he was gloating about the Reds sweeping the Cardinals, which all my buddies in Cincinnati are doing right now, including my wife. But he was like, isn't it kind of ridiculous that the Reds and Royals aren't on Sunday night baseball? Because this would be a chance for Major League Baseball to, you know, show off, showcase Bobby Witt and Ellie at the same time. And instead, they're going to go with the Yankees in Detroit and what's left of Detroit. And I'm like, well, yeah, like, what are we showing for the, for the tigers?

Starting point is 00:20:52 Unless scubel's pitching, what is there that is exciting about the tigers right now? Nothing. They don't have anything, but it's the Yankees. So they're going to go with that. I don't know. I just thought that was kind of a mess by Major League Baseball, too, where you could, you could showcase these two guys doing their thing. And no, they're going to go with the Yankees, which, you know,

Starting point is 00:21:12 And that's how it's going to go in the voting too when it comes to that MVP and the AL probably. It's going to be a judge Soto thing. And maybe they split each other and then Bobby Witt takes out. But that Royals seems really good, man. Look out this weekend. It's, they are. They're good. It's definitely going to be a dog fight. I'm, I'm looking forward to watching it as a baseball fan, but as a Reds fan, I'm a little bit worried. But overall, like looking at the wild card, thinking about playoffs. I'm just like, you know, somebody asked me that on Twitter after the series sweep. They're just like, All right, wild card, here we come. And I'm like, you know what? Maybe let's just enjoy the sweep. And then we'll, we'll see what happens after that.

Starting point is 00:21:50 That's, that's kind of where I'm out on this. I just, I don't love the Reds prospects right now of, of coming back. Cause you're right. I mean, you said the Braves, they're there. They got to fall off. And then there's the Mets as well. The Mets are a pretty good team as well. Like, although they've got the Mets energy that the aura that surrounds that team just

Starting point is 00:22:07 always seems to really knock them down. But overall, not bullish about either. the Reds were the Cardinals' chances of sneaking on in to these class. I will say this. The one thing the Reds do have that works in their favor a little bit is that outside of the Royals, you've got what the Blue Jays, the Pirates and the A's coming up this month, which is pretty decent. And you've got to face the Brewers again, where for my Cardinal fans,

Starting point is 00:22:33 and I hate to be the bearer bad news, but we've talked about this before. But the schedule is not doing the Cardinals any favor. Dodgers next. and then it's the Brewers and then it's the Padres, the twins, and the Yankees. Woo!

Starting point is 00:22:50 Awesome! So let me get this straight. We're going to quit hitting, get swept by Cincinnati, and then face all of the best teams in baseball over the rest of this month. Cool. All right.

Starting point is 00:23:03 So if you felt good about this team, going into what the rest of this month is, good luck. It could get up. ugly real quick. If they continue to play the way they did in Cincinnati, again, not trying to take anything away from the Reds, but when you're only scoring one run a game at Great American Ballpark, you've got problems. Got problems indeed. And you know what? There are a couple of players in division that I think

Starting point is 00:23:29 could help solve those problems. And maybe we're not talking about for this year because there's no more trade deadline. You can't really go acquire these people. But let's just pretend for a fact that this offseason, the Cardinals and the Reds just go plunder the NL Central. We're going to talk about three players each of our teams could take from indivision squads coming up next. The best way to enhance your baseball watching experience the rest of the season is with prize picks, America's number one daily fantasy sports app. And they've got so many different ways to do it. There's a reason that they are the number one daily fantasy sports app because you just pick two to six entries.

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Starting point is 00:26:37 because this division has been so weird this year and i think that we all expected it to be this way where it's like, okay, that NL Central, probably the division winner makes the playoffs, and then everybody else is just kind of trying to stay relevant with it. I think as we go into this offseason, all of our teams have specific needs that they're definitely going to need to address if they want to take that next step next year. But I kind of wanted to look at this. And I'm borrowing this idea from a friend of mine, Gary Morgan, over at Bucks in the basement, where we look at the NL Central.

Starting point is 00:27:15 We look at the other teams and we plunder three total players. And so you can pick a red, I can pick a cardinal, things like that. And we bring them on to our teams for next year to fill a need or fill a couple of needs and things like that. So I would like to, as the team that was just swept, I would like to let you go first, you know. That's so kind of you. getting over the sweep. Yeah. You know. So we can't take the same players.

Starting point is 00:27:47 And so we get the, we're right. So when you take them, they're unavailable. Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. All right. Okay. With the first selection of the NL Central draft, the St. Louis Cardinals select right handed pitcher Paul Skeins,

Starting point is 00:28:03 Pittsburgh Pirates. I'll take it because the Cardinals have been unable to find and develop a young pitcher on their own. and it's been the two times that where they've been close where there was somebody that they looked like they were going to have something really nice the injuries got to him uh jack flairty never quite panned out the way his career started he looks a lot better now oddly enough after he leaves st louis he learns to fix everything just fine and he's healthy wow amazing um but you know he started all this career really really good and then the injuries caught up to him

Starting point is 00:28:37 knocked him out for about two and a half years, really. And that was unfortunate because he looked like he was going to be an ace for this club. The other one was Alex Reyes, who at one point was the top right-handed pitching prospect in all of baseball. I had all this momentum comes up, looks amazing in this game. I believe it was against the Brewers, too, and gets hurt and was never the same. like tore multiple muscles here and there. And every time he would come back and it looked like he was, he was going to be back and do his thing again,

Starting point is 00:29:12 he gets hurt again. And then they made him a reliever and they made him a closer. And he was awesome. He was an all-star. The one year he did it. And then he gave up a home run to the Dodgers. They walk it off in the one playoff game. And it was Chris Taylor who hit the home run.

Starting point is 00:29:32 And then he never threw a game. for the cardinal see he got hurt in the off season and it was all over in his career he's he's never pitched again so uh i would like that one young superstar with a hot girlfriend and a cool mustache who strikes everybody out and looks awesome doing it give me paul skeins well the reds desperately desperately need help in the outfield they've got to really look at rebuilding the outfield this off season but i'll just take you know what i'll i'll take the baseline i'll take one really good, consistent veteran outfielder. Give me Brian Reynolds.

Starting point is 00:30:06 I think Brian Reynolds is ageless. I don't think he'll ever get old. He's hitting 285 right now. He's had a really nice season for the Pirates. Even though, from what I've heard from Pirates fans, they don't love Brian Reynolds? I don't understand that at all. I think that he would be a fantastic addition to this team.

Starting point is 00:30:24 He would play centerfield probably for the Reds. Maybe T.J. Friedel plays center field, and then Brian Reynolds plays one of the corner outfield spots, but you slot them in in the middle of the lineup, you feel good about that, and then you can kind of build everything else in the outfield around him. You can build the lineup around him and Ellie, and then you're good to go. And I really feel like that would be a huge move for them.

Starting point is 00:30:45 This was something that this passed off season, Steve and I talked a lot about is that the Reds needed, you know, a good, consistent right-handed power bat in the outfield, but mostly just a good outfielder because they were betting on a couple of guys that had never really proven it and they still have yet to prove it and then you've got t j fredel who was the stalwart but he's really shown that he can be injury prone based on his game so go get somebody else that is going to be a consistent force for you brian reynolds i i think that that would really elevate the reds to the next level yeah he reminds me of a lot of uh you know how brian

Starting point is 00:31:23 giles was so good for the pirates over all those years but never really got the credit he deserved because he was on the Pirates, where I feel the same way about Reynolds is a solid player. With the second pick, I will be taking your shortstop, third baseman, the ungodly one, L.E. Dela Cruz. I just need some excitement on my ball club. Obviously, we know he's a freak of nature

Starting point is 00:31:49 when it comes to his athleticism and everything he can do. But I want excitement. It's something that I think the Cardinals lack and have lack for a really long. They are a boring team, even when they would win. They were boring, you know, the days of like, you know, we're talking decades ago when it was, you know, pooholes and yadi together. And you had Yadi over those years and stuff.

Starting point is 00:32:12 And he was like, you know, he was kind of the, you know, became the older guy on the team along with Wainwright. But there's just never been that one star that energizes anybody. You know, Paul Goldschman is boring. Nolan Aranato, sometimes you see a little. fire out of him, but he keeps to himself. He's kind of boring. Jordan Walker, who's going to be, you know, is supposed to be the young's future of this team. He's a very laid back chill guy. He's not, he's not the rock, right, rock, exciting guy, you know, we need a kick in the pants. Is it something that this Cardinals roster and this franchise needs. And Ellie obviously can do that.

Starting point is 00:32:51 So give me L.A. Dela Cruz and Paul Skeen so far, I'm dominating you. Enjoy your Brian Reynolds. It makes it easy whenever I can't pick my own guy back. Exactly. And that's why I took schemes first so you couldn't have them. Yes. Exactly. You got a side job, Mosaic. Give me your job.

Starting point is 00:33:09 I got this. So I got to, I got to be able to fight that. So I'm going to fight that with Shota, I'm going to go grab him from the Cubs. I think that he'll solidify this rotation. You put green in Imenaga up at the top. Then you can really let Nick Lodolo kind of figure out what the heck's going on with

Starting point is 00:33:25 his blister, not blister. Who knows, have to rework his curveball type deal. Uh, but you put I'm in. I really thought and to be honest with you, I said this in the off season, just another thing I was wrong about. Go figure. Uh, that the Cubs were replacing Marcus Stroman with a guy that was probably just as good as him.

Starting point is 00:33:45 Shota Aminaaga is way better than Marcus Troman. He's a very, very good pitcher and quite frankly is definitely the best pitcher in Chicago and he would be right up there. I think Hunter is better than Imanaga, but you would legitimately have Ace 1A, 1B with Hunter Green and Shota, Imanaga. And you would feel really, really good about your pitching staff, two out of every five days and then see what Lodolo has, see what Andrew Abbott has. Both guys have been a little bit streaky, but maybe they can work through that streakiness.

Starting point is 00:34:19 And your pitching staff is looking good. With my third pick, oddly enough, I'm not going to take anybody from the Brewers, they got a couple of guys that, you know, Contreras, you know, Trio is really, really good. Obviously, these are good guys and stuff. But I'm going to pilfer you again and take a young candidate Hunter Green off your squad. And I'm going to put him in there along with Paul Skeens. And then I'm going to have Sunny Gray as my third.

Starting point is 00:34:46 And, you know, whoever is after that, Eric Fed. Who cares? I got Paul Steens at Hunter Green. I don't care anymore after that. And here's the beauty of it. Not only is Hunter Green really freaking good. at throwing a baseball, good guy and everything as well. But you've got him under a contract now where he is locked down for,

Starting point is 00:35:05 what do you got? Six years, 53 million. So in year 2028, the most expensive he'll be unless you count the club option, he's going to make $16.3 million. All right. The St. Louis Cardinals. It's going to be well worth that.

Starting point is 00:35:21 Yeah, well worth that. The St. Louis Cardinals are currently paying Miles Michael. 17.6 million dollars to give up the most hits in the league in back-to-back years, to have one of the highest ERAs in the league in back-to-back years. He's old. He's a quirky guy. We like him as a person, but that's the contracts the Cardinals have given out to people.

Starting point is 00:35:48 17.6 million. The Reds just locked up Hunter Green. He's making 1.3 this year. 3.3 next year. Eric Fetty will make more than Hunter Green next year. Just putting it out there. I want that. I want Hunter.

Starting point is 00:36:06 I want the contract. I think it's gold. And that's who I would take next. No offense to what the brewers have got going on. But I mean, I can't pass that up. That is a deal. And I'm taking it from you.

Starting point is 00:36:19 So thank you very much. So I think then my last pick then of these three picks of our made up in L. Central draft, I'm going to take Cody Bellinger from the Chicago Cubs and just short my outfield. My outfield is now fine. I feel pretty good about my lineup overall because I can slot him in the middle and I know I just lost Ellie in this fake draft, but I can move him into the, you know, second or third spot, Brian Reynolds in the second or third spot. And then we've got a couple of other guys that we could kind of fit in around them. Uh, I really like Cody Beliger. And I really wanted the Reds and some sort of fantasy land to go out and sign him this past off season.

Starting point is 00:36:58 I knew that they weren't in on him at all because he's a Boris client who was looking for a ton of money for a ton of years and never got that. So he was able to just return to the Cubs for basically another prove a deal. I know they basically, they signed him for three years, but he has an opt out every after every single year. So I mean, essentially that's what Nick Castiano signed whenever he joined the Reds back in 2020. And because he didn't have a great year in 2020, he didn't opt out that year. And then he had a great year in 2021. And he went and got paid from the Phillies. So who knows?

Starting point is 00:37:28 That's probably something that Cody Bellinger will opt to do this off season as well. But I would love to see Cody Bellinger in a reds uniform, which then doesn't actually prove. I was thinking there was going to be something interesting because there was a crossover in the, in the pirates show that I did when we did this draft. We picked a bunch of cubs. And quite frankly, nobody else picked um elli delacres i think they missed on that i was like hey i got out of this draft with ellie are you i get the i get the those guys are stupid sure yeah yeah um but yeah i there was a bunch of

Starting point is 00:38:02 cubs that were taken um we had a couple of cubs couple of pirates but like you said no brewers like i kind of look a little bit closely at jackson shirio but i'm also like not buying it so we'll see like with with these brewers they're more they're this they're they're they're they're they're the they're the what's the what's the saying um the sum of the whole is greater than the part whatever that whatever the i don't know what is that shakespeare i don't know what you're talking about jess something like that all i know is like a hunter green paul skeins and lydela cruz of my team now and you guys could suck it because we're going to kill all of you now we've got them all that bombshell that's that's where we're going to end today's crossover

Starting point is 00:38:46 By the way, if we were smart, Jeff, we would also take one of us would have taken Ian Hap so we'd quit killing our teams as well. If we were thinking outside of the box, maybe he'd hit well as a red. Who knows? Probably not though. He'd turned into Harrison Bader as a red. Ooh. I don't want that.

Starting point is 00:39:04 Harrison Bader made his way into this podcast. We've got to end. Thank you so much for checking out. Today's Lockdown Reds, or Cardinals crossover. Make sure you check out our shows as we move throughout the season because we we will be covering you every single day for your Reds and your Cardinals coverage because we are part of the locked on podcast network your team every single day

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