Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - Which Contending Teams Could Be the Best Sellers? (Live Show From Texas) | 864

Episode Date: July 19, 2024

Jomboy, Talkin' Jake, Trevor Plouffe, & Chris Rose hosted a live show in Texas for the All-Star Game! Use code TALKIN10 for 10% off tickets on SeatGeek. https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/TALKIN10*Up to $25 off++++++Timestamps:0:00 Intro4:00 Jomboy's Fix for the Home Run Derby13:40 Who Will Be the Best Player Moved at the Trade Deadline?28:00 Which Teams are We Most Excited for in the Second Half?36:00 Which Contending Team Should Consider Selling at the Deadline? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Talking Baseball. Hereco in Dallas, Texas. It's all-star time. Let's flogie. What are you drinking? Yeah. By you. It's Bay You.

Paul Skeets. Yeah. Oh. Hey. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Talk in Baseball today. This is our, like, Megazord. Sick Power Rangers reference. Megatronic.

As we bring together, the baseball today, boys. Chris Rose and Trevor Plouf. Oh my God. I mean, I thought there'd be a bigger pop from the crowd. It's okay. Well, you know what? We should try it again, though. No.

Let's hear it for Trevor Plouffe. No, don't do that. There he is. He's so handsome. That's not cool. Even better looking in person. If you want to hear a real applause, can everyone give it up for my good friend, Jimmy O'Brien, John Boy? And hey, thank you guys for coming through.

This has become, this is year four of doing All-Star weekend. We usually go to the Derby, and then during the game, we do a hangout and a live show. And Jake! Yeah! Jake! Oh, check it out your eye. I actually forgot Jake was here, so I'm glad you were reminded me. Yeah, I mean, people were like, who's this guy?

Being all serious. That actually happened. The first time I ever met you guys, I was like, who is, like, that guy? That's, uh... What's he doing here? Is that your driver? Like, what's happening? Turns out it was Jake.

That's the whole... That's my whole brand. What is he doing here? Um, thank you guys so much. Uh, like I was starting to say, uh, this has become our favorite week, weekend of the year. It's Tuesday. Uh, it feels like Saturday.

Uh, just kind of crazy that baseball does that. Chris Rose actually straightens us all out on that. He was like baseball games sell tickets on the weekend. So that's why they do the all-star game during the week. I did the math, $700 million every weekend. Okay. $700 million? Yeah, the average game, 15 games every Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

If they take a weekend off, they lose $700 million. We'll circle back on that. What math did you do? We'll circle back on all of that. It's never been a math. Average ticket price times average attendance, times 15 times three. You did the math, apparently. All right.

Boom. I don't know if it was $700 million. That was some big. Take that. The truth comes out. Take that Stanford. We are going to talk some ball for a little bit. We've got a couple topics and things we're going to cover.

Then we're going to bring up, like, our whole crew. We've got some other people floating around that you guys can ask anything. Baseball, John Boy Media, I guess anything, anything. If you really want to get something off your chest, we can talk about it. But for now, let's talk a little ball. Hey, one more big round of applause. We get to do, well, actually, there's going to be multiple because I don't know, we got a lot of people helping and stuff.

But one of the biggest things that allows us to do this and has been our biggest partner through this weekend is CKeekeek. So give it up for CKeekeek. You guys know them. I think, what is it? All-Star 10? All-Star 10. Hey, BBD, ladies and gentlemen.

Come on. Come on. The king in the North. Stop yelling into the mic. I want to start off. It's All-Star weekend before we dive into some teams. And actually, my guy Jimmy, I think, has stumbled into something, as he always does. We were at the Homer and Derby last night, and it was a good time.

It's a fun event. Like the whole crowd, everyone's rooting for the same thing. It's a good time. Everyone walked away last night and was just a little, ah. It could have had a little more. And I think, you know, a shout out. Shout out to our guy, Zach Esposito. A lot of you guys probably know Zach.

Give it up for Zach. Hey, Zach. All right there. One of the best editors in the world I know, a sweet friend. And Zach, Zach kind of winked to me last night, and he goes, know it would have been good in the home run derby? Aaron Judge. And I was like, that's a pretty good point, Zach.

Like, it would have been cool to see that big guy out there. Shohay Otani. So, Jim, you've come up with some rules for the derby? Yeah, I changed the system. It's the CBA. So they should tap into me whenever that happens. Because I think what they should do is if you led the league in home runs the year before or if you're currently leading it, the league and home runs up until the break,

you're eligible for MLB to pick you. But there are some outs. If you've done it in the last two years, you can be like, nope, don't want to do it again. If you've had an IL stint in maybe like 60 days leading up to the break, you can say no. And I asked Trev to help with more because you know the players are going to want more reasons to say no. but I made the whole list on Jimmy's three things. And Shoah and Judge would have been eligible because they haven't done it in a while in the last two years.

And then Gunner would have been there for like a young kid. And Bobby Witt would have been, no, he wouldn't have been eligible. But it was cool because then what you do is you imagine for Bobby Whit yesterday and for Gunner if they were before or after Judge. Now you're actually having all of Japan, tune in. And then they find. Gunner Henderson, and he probably gets a million new followers. Okay, I like it.

You just need the premier guys that are going to get the casual fans and, like, my mom and sister. Oh, Judge is doing it? I watch. And then they learn about the others. But when you kind of have all new people to promote, no one, there's no main act. It's just a ton of opening acts. That's what I think. So I like your idea.

And it is a great event. And sometimes you say, well, we should just leave it alone. It's one of the best events that any major sporting league does for their All-Star stuff. So some people say just leave it alone as good as it is, but I think you can improve it. And I always say, like, as a player, I had crazy different views. I would have said no to all of your stuff, right? But as I'm outside, on the outside looking in, as a fan now, I'm like, okay, what can we do to spice things up? And like what we do for the warehouse?

I don't if you guys watch any of the JM warehouse stuff. Like, that's all real competition. but there's like stuff we have fun with. We create storylines, stuff like that. That's what needs to happen, I think, in the homer derby. I mentioned it on baseball today. You know, about doing, you know, Latin America versus Asia versus the U.S., there has to be some storyline baked in to draw people in.

You can create drama and then still have real competition. I think that's what was lacking last night. It had to come down to Bobby Witt barely missing that last home run. That was the drama. If someone had run away with it last night and say Bobby Wood had a horrible last round, there's nothing at the end of that. So I think you have to somehow create the drama and then have the added, you know, competition aspect to it.

I think you guys are on the right track with the competition. I suggested this on today's episode of baseball today to make it a tag team effort. And this way, the players aren't going to get as tired because it is exhausting. This guy can tell you batting practice where you're swinging for the fences every time. No, not you. That has to be the most amount of swings. Any of those guys have taken in that short of amount of period, right? Yeah.

And there's added adrenaline that's coursing through your body. And then, yeah, if you watch the guys, if they don't hit a homeowner than the first three pitches, then the stress factor starts taking over. Then they start swinging harder. It all compounds itself. But those 200 swings they took last night, whatever it was. I mean, those, they're going to wake up today feeling it. So how do we get the big names back involved here?

I like what Jimmy's saying. I just don't know about that side of it with the CBA. I would say you tug at their heartstrings and also what do they love to do? They love to look good in public. Let's put $5 million out there for your charity where you split it with your teammate. So during a three-minute session, if at a buck 33, you're struggling, you're tired, you hit the button, you tap out, the other guy comes in and finishes up your round. That way they're not exhausting themselves.

Maybe they're getting 100 swings in if they end up being the champions that night instead of 220 swings, just one dude who can then barely hit the ball out of the infield at the end of the evening. Plus, you have the competition factor. And I would love it if I said on baseball today, you make teammates. So Judge and Soto go, I actually would love it if had Raphael Devers been healthy. how much fun would it have been to see Raphael Devers and Aaron Judge team up? Relax.

Like, what? You're telling me you wouldn't watch that for a second? I wouldn't like that aspect. But I think you have to have righty and lefties if you do it that way. And then you would have like if it's an uneven stadium, it would be really funny for the partner that has the worst side. It would be more elements added. I like the tag team aspect. Yeah, who wouldn't?

They need to take away the prize money though because that's why none of the big guys are doing it. But for charity. Yeah, but I don't think that's why they're not doing it. It is. Why? What do you mean? They don't want to win a million bucks? That said no one ever.

But what's a million dollars to show hey, you just signed up for 700? They're 400 million. They take money away from Gunner Henderson. It makes 500 grand. That's not what they don't care about that. They want to take his food. They don't care about that. He's not worried about what Gunner is making.

I promise you, it's, it is the myth. And maybe there's some truth to it. I don't know. By the way, the guy is. But maybe not. Oh, my goodness. Wow. Okay.

Wait. Everyone, please get everyone quiet down. When he walks in, we got to explode. Hold on. Everyone take it easy. We'll just keep a normal conversation going. Yeah, the home run derby has been. It's got to be a standing.

It's one of the best events in sports. Yeah. It's crazy. We're excited to watch it. Very interesting. Every year. Does it get any better than the wild? Does it get any better than the head?

Ladies and gentlemen, Peter. Moiling. Not shocked at all to get a standing ovation. He was like, yeah, obviously. They don't do that on Hosmer's podcast, do they? Oh, wow. They don't.

Hey, I'm just saying. Chris Rose. Let me get back to talking as you interrupted me, Peter. He did see me shirtless last night. That is the true. Don't clap. Don't clap.

I think, I think guys are really They don't want to get hurt And like whether that's true or not Well judge got hurt They think that at the derby And they say oh it's gonna mess up my swing And I don't think that's true either

But if you have any sort of thought That that could happen That's when guys they just use it as a Nope not doing it What do you think guys refuse being on the cover of the show? I bet some have Okay Interesting

Young guys would not Older guys would yes interesting it's too many rounds because that's too many swings i think if you make it six people one round then the top three that's the championship you'll get more of the big names they don't want to take 200 swings in two hours but we don't need a three-hour homernernerner well ESPN likes to sell it that way that's part of the problem too well if you want us to take these games on you know whatever night it is they don't have much of a baseball package anymore but you understand what i'm saying well we want to be able to sell a three-hour main event.

Let's make it six hours then. What are you talking about? Be careful. It was like four and a half hours when it was 10 hours. Oh my goodness. It's crazy. And they're like, we got to fix this. Well, anyway.

Hey, good stuff, guys. Chris Rose, any other All-Star Game changes? Because I know we've talked about this a little bit. You had a viral tweet about it. But, you know, we talk, even Celebrity Softball game, like after the home render, it just feels like we're a bit off right now. How many of you raise your hands if you were able to watch the futures game? Oh, baseball crowd.

I mean, but that's... This is a strong baseball crowd. That's like eight people. Yeah. I mean, they went against the full slate of afternoon baseball. You're going to watch your team ahead of the futures. They need to find a slot. I think they should do it the day of the home run derby.

They should do it that afternoon. I know it's not ideal, but do it a few hours before and let that be the entertainment that leads into the home run derby. that night. That way those kids, I mean, some of those guys are going to be competing for your teams down the stretch, not a ton, but some. We'll see a few more sprinkled in next year after spring training. Like, if they really want to build that, let's see them. They've disappeared since they were drafted a few years ago. Most of us have seen a couple of clips on social media, but haven't seen them in a game setting, and certainly not against the other great kids that are

coming into the sport. I agree. I agree with you on that one. Ridiculous. Nice. Yeah. Thanks, bro. All right. And then the uniforms, which is kind of becoming everyone, everyone agrees. Listen to that. Yes.

Yes. Apparently Manfred said he was going to do that. It sounds like they're talking about it for next year. The players keep saying it. Like Harper's. Harper was like one thing they got to change. Like, I want to wear my team's uniform.

Yeah. Harper always says the right things. What's up with that? What's up with them? Because he doesn't give a shit. He could do whatever. He's got his money. He's got his money.

You talk freely. That's why Evan Longoria is always in our comments. Speaking of players, Right, and he's bored. Segway. I want to do, let's get into, we have the most, one of the most exciting parts of the season coming up. We have the trade deadline.

I do think it's been with the new wild card, nobody really knows what's coming. I mean, there's a good chance. It's not a very exciting one. We are, what are we, two years away from Soto? Like, that was nuts. Like Soto, home run derby, he turned down 430 mil, got traded. San Diego. Where is he now? But Chris Rose, I'll start with you. Biggest or most talented

player that will be traded at this year's deadline. I know I've seen a lot of stuff about Scoobal the last several hours. Tom Verducci's reporting both the Dodgers and the Orioles are big after him. That would make sense because I know exactly what I'm getting out of him. Kids a stud. He'll give you seven innings and maybe double-digit strikeouts every time. I'm not sure why Detroit would let him go. But if Garrett Crochet is still on the south side of Chicago, God help us all on July 31st. He has got to go.

And I don't know what role he's going to play because he's already thrown the most innings that he's ever thrown at a professional level, whether that's minor leagues or in the major leagues. And they might have to curtail him a little bit down the stretch. And that's why I think that he will end up. getting traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers because I think that they don't need him right now to throw six or seven innings and they can figure out they can piggyback with so many of their young pitchers with him. You say that they don't have a lot of pitchers left. I know but I think that nobody's going to

push them. I really don't think anybody's going to get within like four games to the point where they feel like they have to throw him out there every five days down the stretch. I've seen him pitch a couple times live this year and he is dominant. Like he has dominant stuff. he can get a little erratic. His location isn't always great, but with his stuff, it just plays. I agree. I think he is going to be somewhere. I think the Orioles are definitely a team that's in, has all the prospect capital in the world to go get somebody.

And they're looking for somebody that has years of control. So, Crochet, he fits the vibe. I'm just worried about him getting to Baltimore, who's obviously going against the Yankees to try and win that AL East. And then he blows through so many. innings that by the time we get to like mid-September and then October where you really need him to be great that he might not be great he might be even better you don't know might he knows that's the thing might nobody knows nobody knows nobody knows there's no counter nobody knows yeah i just won that argument it was a good it's a real good debate strategy well trev let's win the

click who do you got Trevor goof um i like i like crochet he's probably don't compliment him No, I think he will end up being the most talented. That was pity. Are those notes? No, this is, I don't know. These are trivia. That's my trivia. I would like to see, well, I already talked about the Rangers and there's some Rangers fans here, so I don't want to dig too deep.

But some of their pitching is going to go somewhere, I think. Okay. There are five games back in the division. They are seven and a half. He just broke that kid's heart. I'm sorry. Hold on. I'm going to give an if.

I'm going to give an if scenario. They're five games back in the division. They're seven and a half in the wild card, I believe. Yes, in fact, checked that, but last time I looked, that's what it was. They open up after the break with the Orioles. I'm saying this because your own GM, Chris Young said, we got to turn it around, or we're going to make some trades in hard decisions. They have turned it around.

They've won some series. They've done really good. If they come out and Baltimore, thanks to the Yankees, got some. momentum right before the break. If Baltimore comes out and sweeps them or wins two out of three, I think you've got to look at the season. I mean, I know it's only one series, but you're coming up against the deadline. And again, at that point, you'll be six games out of the division. You'll be eight and a half out of the wild card. I think you've got to make some interesting choices. They're over the first luxury or the competitive balance tax threshold. So selling

out some salary would behoove them. A guy like Nathan Eovaldi, maybe he's not the most talented guy in the world, but sure he's got a track record in the playoffs. So I'm going to go with one of the pitchers. And Max Scherger, because he said he's not going to waive his trade debt or trade, no trade clause, I'll go, I'll go Nathan Evaldi. Okay. James? Let's trade, let's trade Pete.

I'm ready for Mets fans to feel the damage of the next couple weeks. Pete Alonzo? Okay. Yeah. Okay. Wow. Cohen's a businessman. He doesn't think in sports fandom terms.

He said that last year. You're selling that the lowest of Pete, though. That's not the lowest. It's not the lowest. Fine. He's got, the question was big names. The home run derby incident last night.

That was his pitcher. That was his pitcher. That was his pitcher. His pitcher. Throw some BP before. Show up. I'm Dave Joss. He's like 90.

It's Dave Jow. Exactly. Tap out if you can't do it. Oh, man. Not life, not life. Oh, my God. You're killing people. The Derby.

I don't think anyone thought life. The question was, biggest name to be. And I think Pete's the biggest name that actually might get traded because the Mets built this season to trade. They did not build this season to content. But now they're here. But they're not really here. They're in the perfect position to get trapped by the new wild card.

And we've seen teams do this. There should be the waiver wire. They should bring that back. So they can go for it for two. The waiver trade deadline. So you can trade in August. So you can trade in August. That needs to come back.

I agree. This is the way we're going to do the wild card. Yep. So then you get two weeks. And then you go. go put them on waivers and someone can claim them. You can make the trade then. But how is it?

You've lived on the East Coast for a good portion of your life. I know you're a Yankee fan. How in the world will the city of New York react to a team when you just saw last year that the Diamondbacks made it to the World Series? The Mets can't sell out when they're the best team in baseball. Oh, no. Wow. Oh, gosh.

Oh, boy. So you don't think that they're going to care if they trade Pete Alonzo when they're holding a wildcard spot? They will care. But when they don't. trade them and then they are out of it like my Yankees did and then he wants year it's going to be much worse for qualifying offer that's what they'll say our comment section is just toast right now but i i'm just more i just hate the expanded wild card and this situation of false hope they're not going to win the world series

except we didn't think that necessarily about i mean the diamondbacks made it all the way but they didn't win the world or texas to be fair texas was that they went out texas i think that Sure. Everyone's talking about the diamond backs. The Mets still have a giant payroll. Texas went out and spent. Yeah, they're putting their money into it. It's like 84% of their revenue they made last year is in their payroll this year, which is great.

But they built like this team to get traded and they have so many. They have too many of them worked out. They got all these one year deals so they could get some value and play the game. But now they're all, all of them had good years. Do you think that Steve Cohen will be patient enough to do that? I mean, remember he is the guy that the day he bought the team. He said, if I haven't helped this team win a world championship in five years, something has gone terribly wrong. Dude, he bragged about.

He did walk that back big time. But you don't think that that's in the back of his brain a little bit? I think a businessman like him is more likely to grab and run than double down and lose. It's exactly what he said when he traded Scherzer and last year was an easy decision, though. This year's tougher. I do think they're legit in a wild card spot right now. Right. with not great, great teams outside of Philadelphia.

They lose the first series and they're out of it. Jake. Again, the Cromo's biggest name that I think actually might be traded. It's good. It was good. It was definitely the biggest name. Biggest name. Biggest name.

Thoughts and prayers to Dave Jouse still. Yeah. What's up with that guy? He's real old. I'm going to go to Luis Robert or Robert. Every time I say it, I feel like a bad guy. He's come out and said it both ways, but he had 38, homers last year from center field.

The white socks, you got to be selling. And I think the pitchers, I don't think anyone knows what to do. Like, you guys just talked about crochet. And wherever he gets traded, I don't, Trevor, you're not going to like this,

but I think they're going to kick him to the bullpen. He's never thrown these kind of innings at all. That if you're looking at him as a two and a half, three-year investment. Like for this year, they're going to kick him to the bullpen? Yes. I don't think so.

I think so, too. It depends where he's like. Chris Rose thinks so, too. I can be swayed either way. Jimmy's in between. Why would you think that? Because it's been discussed. He's going to go to the Dodgers.

It doesn't mean necessarily they're right. You don't think there's a possibility the way the baseball people think. Well, the whole thing about the postseason is taking one of your starters and get him to go two, three in his out of the bullpen. That's different than kicking him to the bullpen. If you're talking about...

If you're talking about pairing your rotation down to three starters and basically three relievers, that's what you do in the post season. You have your six guys that you're... you rely on to get you all your innings. Can I see him coming into a game piggybacking during a playoffs? Sure, but during the regular season, but you're a seventh inning guy now? No, not that.

The whole crowd... What are you talking about then? The whole crowd feels you getting a little defensive. I don't even... Why am I defensive? I don't know. I hate starting pitch. So wait, hold on.

He's not even the answer. I picked Luis Robert. Yeah. Robbert. I'm actually changing my answer. Oh. We're back to Treve, everyone. Give it up Trevor Ploos.

Yeah. What are you changing your answer to? Oh, yeah. What was your first answer? My first was Nathaniel Baldy. Oh, well, I thought we said big names. He is a big name pitcher. I'm just joking.

Oh, hey, hey, hey. I was joking. When you said Avaldi, I was like, I'd love him. The Yankees should go get Avaldi. Yeah, he's great. If he's on the table, it's a postseason pitcher. I'm changing my name now to a guy that's been a horrible big leaguer. Okay.

Oh, hey. Wow. Do not say that. For those that did not hear, someone said Trevor ploop. That's not nice. Trevor was completely average. I was going to say, I was very, very average. Over the course of those.

Over my career. You had some bad years. You had a few good ones. Thank you. Hell yeah. But what is going on now? Let me speak. It's eyes for you.

I still feel bad for Dave Jouse. Are there any Orioles fans out there? He can't feel his arm. Right here. One guy. Hey. He bought the shirt over at our merch store. What's up?

I think, we got some pipes on you. Okay, bro. Relax. I think Jackson Holliday is the biggest name that's going to get traded. Oh, nice, Treff. Wow. Boom, boom, boom.

I like that. Because I think the Orioles are like, we, like, let's go. Like, what are we waiting for? We have a whole upper level farm system of dudes that we can get rid of. Jackson Holiday came up, didn't have a good, I'm not saying he's going to be a, he's, the Orioles don't believe in him. Surely they do.

Surely I do. Wow. But I'm saying... That's a deadline? That's crazier than Alonzo. You just helped me out. To go, no, to go get a crochet,

to go get Luis Roberts. Go get crochet and Robert. Exactly. To trade a prospect of that ilk. That's what I'm saying. I think they might make that and get two guys. That's a good move. Big dogs.

And he would be, I think, then, at that point, the biggest name to be traded. I think that's a really interesting call. How many other prospects would have to join him en route to Chicago to get those two guys. No, you do those two. You'd do Jackson Holiday. And how many other people? Maybe one other, depending on who it is. He's that big of a name and controllable. The White Sox would have to send an 18-year-old kid too. Oh, I don't think so. You're giving up Garrett Crochet, who's got a couple of years of control and has been one of the

best pitchers in baseball. They'd probably need a 40-man return. Audience poll. You guys are the barometer. You guys are the white cell. You're Chris Gets. Oh, boy. Young. He's handsome. And everyone text your answer to Trevor Plouf.

1-818- Oh, hey, hey, hey. All right, you're Chicago, and the order will say, we'll give you Jackson Holiday, but we want Robert and we want crochet, and it's a straight-up, two-for-one deal. Raise your hand if you say yes to that deal.

For the, if you're the, Chicago White Sox? For those listening before. You're going to be looking for new jobs. You would need, but they would throw in two single A high-A prospects. Not a lot of people raise their hand, by the way. If you're listening podcast only, most people walked out after Trevor asked that. Thank you.

Drive safely. Thank you for coming. I didn't say I would, that's what the offer would be. I'm saying, would you do that? Obviously, I thought no. Anyways, so my answer is Luis Robert. I don't know. He's got team options for 20 mil the next couple years and I don't know. Wash the white socks off you and you might have a deal.

The injuries, I think, scare people. 38 homers the last couple years and you can like opt out. Like he's kind of got a dream front office. Wait, what are his options? So 20 million a year with $2 million dollars. Team options. But I think he's a buyout? Two mil.

Oh, yeah. It's low. So I think someone's going to go in on him and it's probably the Orioles like we're talking about. It's going to be one. of the greedy teams everyone's jealous. The Dodgers is going to do that? It's either going to be the Orioles or the Phillies probably. I'm pointing at Shelfy.

That's such a Philadelphia in Texas. Single fist pump in the back. Go burn. Well, no. Hey, guys, that was great conversation. I want to bring it to the team level a little bit. Again, thank you to see geek. Code All Star 10.

Go save yourself money on tickets when you go to something. Kind of a no-brainer. on the team level, and I think this is a fun one because I think you could go either way with it, a team that you're most excited for their second half. And I guess we'll go in order again. Chris Rose. Trevor, I think that you spoke pretty highly of them recently on talking baseball. At the beginning of the year, I believed in the Cincinnati Reds. And I think they're close to turning the corner.

I really want to believe in them. I didn't want to get off their train. Matt McLean, who was so good for them last year in the infield, is starting to work his way back. And if he can join them by early August, as long as they haven't totally lost their way in the next few weeks, I do think that they've got a shot. I don't think they're going to add a ton.

I really don't think so. I think they've been very disappointed for the most part in their offense this year. I think if you had asked Reds fans at the beginning of the year and said, this is the way you're starting pitching is going. to roll out and you'd be like man we're competing for the division crown right now it hasn't happened so i'm still firmly believing in the reds i think mclean's going to make a difference and it wouldn't shock me if they actually make a couple of trades in sending guys out in order to open up playing time for young people that's me i like that that's the paul revere situation the british are coming the reds are

coming. I think that they are. And I think they actually might trade Jonathan in India. Like you said, to open up playing time. And I'll go next. Okay. Hell yeah. Because I know we're looking at some stuff, right, some statistics. I wouldn't

mind Jonathan India coming over to my, and this is going to hurt some of my fans. My Royals. Okay. Oh. Okay. Now hear me out. Peter Moreland's back there. He pitched for the Royals, guys. I if you guys know that. Anyways, the offense, I feel like, is like, one bad away.

Like they have some dynamic players there, some clutch players there. Well, see, didn't they draft the guy out of Florida? Is there any chance? He, like, comes up and makes it impact. Jack, Tony? Just look out, dude. Garrett Crochet did. Yeah, well, he might be throwing 99 out of the bullpen.

That's what you're looking at it. I'm just saying, okay, listen, Royals to me. One impact bad away, I don't even think it has to be crazy. I think Jonathan India could be that. Second base, third base. Think about Jonathan India and Bobbywood Jr. You're on the left side of the infield, Jake. Hot.

That gets you going a little bit. The starting pitching has been, like, fantastic there. Yeah, need a little bullpen help. So the bullpen is where you need to make upgrades. Now, that's not that difficult. There's a lot of relievers that are going to be available. They already added Hunter Harvey, so they're already trying to make moves. If they make a big bullpen move, bring a guy in like Jonathan India, I think the Royals,

they're already in a pretty good position, maybe one and a half games out in the, in the wild card race right now. I think they can be a prime team. And maybe it's a little recency bias because I saw Bobby Witt just go off last night. But he's clearly a superstar. Like he's clearly a guy. I think everyone roots for him too.

He's one of those dudes, even if he's not in your team, you root for him. I think he could carry that team into the playoffs if they just put a little bit more around him. Jimmy, they took the Reds and Royals for clicks. Yeah.

Where are you going to go with it? I hate the answers I've stumbled into here because it's teams that I don't. don't want to win but I can't I can't escape the joy I have in what's the German word shrewd and fruden fruden yeah and like the mariners have to be so scared right now yeah just so scared I don't want the estrus to run away I want the mariners to win the division but I'm just excited to see that cat and mouse play out they open up with three yeah and what's the difference in the one division one and a half and like mariners friends got to be nervous that they they lose

lead and never get it back three days after the break. Because the asterers are coming. And I don't want them to, you know. I'd much rather the Mariners win. Then the other team is the Red Sox and the Yankees. The Red Sox are playing really fun ball. And they're like on a little bit of a heater.

So do you sneakie just go Houston and Boston? That's, I was, I've been searching upstairs and here to find a different thing. Yeah. And like, I'm like, wait, what do I think is the most exciting? Yeah. Right next moments where there's pain on the other side and joy on one. Those are the two examples of like they're playing good. They're got some like fun mojo and energy.

Oh, he hates my hands. That's right. Nobody say, oh, don't worry. No one heard that. That's my fault. I think it was the Orioles guys. Oh, my goodness. I heard the Red Soxed his biceps.

No, but the Mariners. That's scary. Okay. It's definitely scary times for Mariners fans. We'll throw the Rangers are close enough to my guy out there. Even though they're not. They're going to sell off. I'm sure after you ripped out his heart and then trampled all over it.

But don't worry, you're only five back. You're fine. You guys won a ring last year. Let's not be greedy. No, they feel great. That's a move. I like the Red Sox are great. Jake, who do you got?

I'm going with a pivot. Either way. Pivot. I think pivot. I think their second half is interesting. Either way it goes. A proud baseball town. The St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals have sneaky. They've been in the NL playoff picture. for a little bit now. They've been like the second wildcard team, and they kind of haven't played great baseball, that like Goldschmidt hasn't gone. Aronado's been kind of, I don't know. If you look at the Cardinals' rosters,

you're like, we need those guys to go and they haven't, yet they're sitting in an okay spot. So I think it goes either way. If the Cardinals kick into gear, I think they're four and a half behind Milwaukee right now, which for the two first halves those teams had is insane, that if Seattle, if a couple more things click or if they get aggressive at the deadline,

which they were so dead last year, I expect them to get aggressive at the deadline. If things actually start to click in St. Louis, you're going to see that city kind of kicking a gear. It's a baseball town. On the other side, if things fall out, the bottom's going to fall out quick. Because like we talked about with that NL wild card picture,

a bad week, and you could be out of the playoffs, and you could be under 500, and you could be having a bad time. We're a month or two removed from Oli Marmal being on the hot seat, what are the Cardinals doing as a franchise, like where are they at, that they've kind of coasted into a really good spot, that that could end up being fun and they could be super competitive, or if it falls out, I think it could get ugly in St. Louis quick.

So I'm interested to see where that team lands. It all turned around when William Contreras went on the aisle because he stuck his hand into the matter of the process. It was crazy because he was the only guy doing anything offensively at the time. And then they started going. They've been one of the better teams in the National League since then. They're in a playoff spot. Did the pitching, did the pitching improve after that?

No, it wasn't the pitching. They've had two guys that have kind of helped their season. Mason wins, who could have been here as a backup shortstop in the All-Star game. Alec Burleson has been incredible for them. Like, he's a dude where you're like, he looks like. Especially as of late. He looks kind of like the, he's the combination between the frat guy and just one of your dudes who he partied with in college. And you're like, give me another peer.

Like he just. It's the same guy. It's a combination of the same time. No, no, I think there's a difference. Okay. I was one of those. Well, we're Miami of Ohio? Oh, yeah.

Class of 42. Jake got thrown out of window once. Yes, I partied there with Dave Jouse. Let's hear it for old guys. Dave Jouss. He was awesome. He was awesome. I threw a guy out of window.

Oh, yes, that's true. You did? There's a porch, and I got beat up. All right, last question. And then we're going to, We're going to bring up a few of our other creators on stage. We're going to do Q&A, like I said, anything. You guys want to do chop it up.

Yuck some ball, baseball style. You want to do John Boy Media. We're open to whatever. Don't be shy. Last question, and Chris Rose, I'm going to skip you because I'm going to try to feed Jim a little bit. Nice. Because it was going to be contending team that should sell to take advantage of the seller's market. Like we've been saying there's a chance this deadline stinks because the whole NL is involved.

The AL wild card has become a. race for a while it didn't look like it that uh jim i was going to half feed you the Mets because again that's a team they're currently in the playoffs technically which that feels rude yeah he did yeah i guess a contending team i've been saying this all year though i said that i think in their team pro pro on projection i say it'd be really fun if the Mets are in the bubble because they're built this team to sell they have how many guys they have that are walking a ton like sevi kintana yes no cantanas no he's no he's walking. He is?

Yep. Cantana, Sebi, Bader. Alonzo. Alonzo. Jose Iglesis is a pillar of the organization. Ottavino. Oh, my God. I don't know. Who else?

Houser. Yeah. Pute King. Would Mets be your answer? Would you want to audible somewhere else? Now, Mets would be my answer because I think the deadline is very hard to sell guys with two years when there's so many people trying. And every team wants guys with two years.

Like before they expanded the playoffs, teams that weren't even contending were stealing. Remember like the Bauer trade to the Reds? Yeah. And there was another trade of the same. Stroman got traded to the Mets when he had a year and a half. And the Mets and the Reds at that point weren't even contending. So they were just like, this was their free agent window. Instead of spending money, we'll trade you prospect capital for the two.

Everyone wants those, but now they don't get them because teams will just rather take that. They're like one or two a year, but they'd rather take that. So if you're a rental, you kind of get traded. and they have the most rentals. They planned on trading before the season. They built the system of trade, and now they're just a little too good. Chris Rose?

Cubs are only three and a half out of the wild card. I don't think we know what to make of them. Once again, they got pretty good starting pitching throughout the first half of the year and their offense stunk for the longest time. It had a great series in Baltimore where they swept the O's recently, but I just don't feel like,

Like, if you were really to rank National League teams, where are the Cubs? At best, they're like eight, ninth, at best. You know, so I think that they can get rid of some guys in a seller's market. They have got a ton of prospects that are in the top 100 that are right there. And you know what? I wouldn't mind seeing a few of them. Like, they are, some teams prospects will see in 2026 or whatever, or late 25. Like, there are players that are ready to play right now.

Let's see what you got and figure it out. Hit a little bit of a reset button, not a total reset, but enough to go fill a few gaps. I am going NL West vibes here. I think all these teams are so close. The Giants are the furthest away from the wild card. The Diamondbacks are one game out. I believe the Padres are currently in it.

I think that crappy finish costs them. No, I don't think they're... The Mets got them. The Mets are in right now. Anyways, I'm going to go. I had a conversation with some Braves fans earlier today. We said, hey, Eddie Rosario's already back. What happened the last time AA brought Eddie in?

He brought Jock in. He brought Solaire in. What if he just says, let's run it back. If it ain't broke, don't break it. And he goes and gets Jock Peterson from the Diamondbacks and Jorge Soler from the Giants and just runs it back. Double NL. West. Wow.

That was what I was going to say, but I'm not giving that as my answer. Solair, Solera. So there got. Just to clarify, you just took two teams. seems almost off the table as a pick and you're taking a third time. I don't think the Giants are going to do that. I think that we could see the Diamondbacks test the market or at least see what's out there for Christian Walker. Do you know how much that guy could bring back right now as he's a true rental because he's a free agent at the end of the year.

He's going off. A lot of teams need a just an offensive bat so you could put him at D.H. if you needed to. But a lot of teams are also short at first base. Your Genkees are short at first base. Houston. Ben Rice. Yeah, Ben Rice, okay. Ben Rice.

Houston is short at first base. You can put him in Seattle. There's a lot of places where you could go. I don't think Peter Alonzo is going to get traded as much as you are fantasizing about that. He's going to go to the Astros and be a heel. I think Christian Walker, they can at least explore. This is how you like to explore a lot, you know what I'm saying, with bodies. A lot of late nights.

A lot of late nights. The trade market for a Christian Walker. So I'm going to go with the Diamondbacks. They're sneaky like, I know they added during the off season. I get that. They just made it to the World Series, so the fan base is rabid. But I think if they're thinking about it objectively and smart,

they at least entertain the market for Christian Walker. It's a good answer, I guess. I will finish, you know, I guess I won't make some friends on the way out. Wow. You mentioned them a few times, Texas Rangers. You've got a little bit of house money. Like, you won the World Series. Yankees have not been...

Hell, yeah! Yeah, let's break some... You won't. My New York Yankees have not been to the World Series since 2009. So the Texas Ranger, do you have a World Series? Don't clap. You're way too happy about that. The good people of Milwaukee.

We appreciate you. I don't know. Like, you won it all last year. Your core is locked up. Like, you sign guys to decade-long deals, and that's awesome, that, hey, this year hasn't felt like it. I think if we're just being straight up. I know you've got some reinforcements on the way,

and you can start daydreaming, and, man, you talk about a couple weeks coming out of the deadline are huge for them. If they come out and they go seven and two, Texas is back in it and, like, watch out. Nobody wants to see them. If they come out and they're three and six, it's over. So from what they've shown, if you could trade in on a cut,

their whole pitching staff is, like, eligible to be traded. Yes. I know that kind of feels wrong. There's one or two guys in the lineup, but if there's ever a time as a front office, like you got a World Series in Texas. Like you've got a couple years of insurance. I know it moves quickly.

But especially in a seller's market, if you can cash in a couple of those tickets, you can be back next year. Like this year's just been clunky. But I don't know. It's not what you want to hear and you always have that feeling of like, let's run it back, let's go.

If we get hot right now. But if you don't, and then I don't know, Are you having Max Scher pitch in August and you're 10 games out? Like, that's going to be a little sad. So I don't know. I don't know. I realize that's not the fan vote in here tonight. But that's what I would like to see.

So the other things I would like to see, we're going to have the rest of our crew come up. I think Shelfy, Joe's, Jack Doyle. Is there anyone else joining us? For now, I think we're going to wrap this up as the episode. Thank you guys. Awesome. I mean, that's just... That was real baseball talk.

Big sucks. Big sucks. Like, I love when... All my friends, hey, Jay. We got, okay. Like, we've got a lot of real baseball fans here. I've seen some of the people, thank you again to Community Brewing.

A couple of the community people have been like, what are they? Jonathan, India. Get him out of here. So thank you guys again. Hey, now.