Rays Reality Check w/Marc Topkin and Reds Talk w/C. Trent Rosecrans

00:00:03
Speaker 1: It's Mark Topkin from the Tampa Bay Times joining us right now. We're going to talk about the race.

00:00:07
Speaker 2: Mark. Great to see you.

00:00:08
Speaker 1: How is everything going for the Rays in the refreshed trop.

00:00:14
Speaker 3: It is great to be back. And a lot of people would never think they would say that about the Troup speaking of aj but it is great to be back here at Tropic Canafield.

00:00:25
Speaker 4: Why all the hate Topper? You know that I always like going to the trop. I love close to home.

00:00:31
Speaker 5: He hates it.

00:00:31
Speaker 3: It is close to home. But I'll tell you what Eric Neanders said this first, and I'm kind of stealing it from him, But all the things that people were talking about before the hurricane that were bad about the trop now it's been reframed and everything that's good about the Trop I mean from a baseball standpoint, from a fan experience standpoint, and just from the emotional standpoint of feeling like home. This is where the Rays have been for twenty eight seasons. We know what happened with the hurricane. Tremendous effort and the resiliency and strength of this community to get this thing re Else City of Saint Pete gets a shout out, But this is where the Rays belong as of now. We know there's plans to another stadium in a few years, but as of right now, this is where the Rays belong. This is home and it feels good to be here.

00:01:11
Speaker 5: I know where a few days removed from the opening day there, did that have a different feeling because that area, whether you're from exactly Saint Pete or the surrounding area, everybody was affected by the hurricane. So did it feel like something that like it just felt different in the sense the fans could really rally behind the reopening of a stadium, then maybe isn't going to be there forever or wasn't your favorite place to be before it tore down?

00:01:40
Speaker 3: Absolutely cratzy And look this is I don't think I'm wrong about This is the biggest building, this holds the biggest crowd that got damaged by Hurricane Ray j didn't have any issues. It's the next biggest venue that we have in the Tampa Bay area and it was damaged. It was a sign for many, many many months of the damage. Oh here in my little video right, it was a sign of the damage, and it was a beacon of the damage and driving by with the roof being tattered. Then when they fixed it and got all the pieces pulled down, and then it was driving by and seeing the place with no roof on it, just the bones the framework. That was horrible. Then they started working on it and it was kind of a sign of hope. And then when they finished it, I think it was late November, it was a sign of success and realization that they really were going to play baseball here once they fixed the inside. So yeah, I think it was totally different. I think it was a sign. I mean, there's still places that aren't open from the hurricane. And there's a beach bar right near where I live out on Saint Pete Beach, Treasure Island area. We had our daughters like night before the wedding party or the welcome party, two nights before, called Caddies. It just opened today or yesterday. That's how long it took to rebuild. They're our favorite pizza place on Saint Pete Beach where rock Obaldelli picture hangs on the wall. Vito of Michael's that they didn't reopen. They're done, they just couldn't reopen. So there's a lot of things that were still affected by this hurricane. And to see this place full and vibrant and loud in a celebratory mood and people happy, and yeah, it meant a lot. It really did.

00:03:05
Speaker 2: Well.

00:03:05
Speaker 4: Did you throw a party? Did everyone throw a party when they got back into Trot because you're talking about the celebratory mood, but everyone hated the Trout before, Like not me? I want to say, not me, because before you say that, not me? But did everyone throw a party? Because they got out of Steinberger Field, which listen was as good as it could be. But now they're back in an actual big league ballpark again.

00:03:27
Speaker 3: You're in a big league ballpark. Look, they have the ability to draw, you know, without the upper deck open, twenty five thousand fans at some point this summer, we're told that'll be available. That can push you to thirty five or forty if the occasion were to warrant it. I think they're announcing something tonight. They're going back, they're starting a concert series again. But yeah, this is a place, and just that's the fan standpoint, or a media standpoint, whatever, we don't count. But then go to the player standpoint, and I can tell you, I don't know if there were five times last year once we got like through mid May that the race took a full pregame workout on the field where there was an issue with rain, with heat, with lightning, something to do with they couldn't get it, you know. The days they took a full batting practice, the pitchers through all their work outside. There was very rare that they could do that. Now you get back to an environment where you can do everything on schedule. I mean they're starting early work, like four hours before game time today with bunting and stuff like that. So just the ability to have the work day uninterrupted, the certainty of knowing you're going to play the games from a scheduling standpoint. So yeah, there's a lot of like tangible and intangible benefits to being back here. And you know, is there still a roof or there's still catwalks, or there's still gonna be weird things that happen. Absolutely, and maybe instead of it being the bad things, that becomes oh that looks like you're weird, old uncle, right, Oh that's the old trop with the ball bouncing off the roof thing again. Oh that's funny, ha ha.

00:04:45
Speaker 5: Yeah, or you could be like, holy cat, we would have been outside today at least we're inside. I can't see the ball when it goes up in the roof, but you know what, we're inside. But talking about the stadium, what do you have any updates on the next steps or like what we could see of the next steps of the possible new stadium coming for the race.

00:05:08
Speaker 3: Yeah, still a lot of conversations going on. We had a story in today's Tampa Bay Times that looks like the Hillsborough County Commission that's the Tampa side, the county over there called Hillsboro. They're gonna vote May fifth or May six, something like that, and then the Tampa City Council wuld vote the next day. There stills has to be a final term sheet submitted, analyzed, scrutinized. They're gonna have a public workshop on it. One of the commissioners says he wants to do a public hearing. We'll see how that unfolds. But right now the plan is for some votes in May because the team is asking for about one billion dollars a little more of that to pay for half of the stadium, which is right now pegg to two point three, and then there's the additional development. I think you guys have all been to the Battery in Atlanta. That has been their model. They've said that from day one. But it's gonna be the Atlanta. It's gonna kind of be Atlanta's battery on steroids. It's gonna be bigger, reasonably amount bigger. They're trying to build this thing and that land. It's right next to Steinberner Field, across from Raymond James Stadium. For people familiar with the area, this done area doesn't have a lot there right now, so it would be a very I think, potentially, you know, well received addition to the Tampa area. The downtown has been thriving a little bit with Water Street, but nothing really over there, so be curious to see how the sun folds. Obviously, the future of the team has tied very much into this. The new owners have made this their number one priority, So we'll see what happens. But I think we should know something within the next month or so. I don't know that a no voter or a delay kills anything, but it certainly puts a major crimp in their plans. It's a very aggressive schedule. They want this stadium open in twenty nine and they still are waiting for approval to you know, do the first active construction, and they're building on an active college campus, so they've got to move that too. Orlando, Orlando, I hear you saying that. I hear you saying that, Orlando. All right, we'll see. Well, we'll tell you why. We'll meet, like at the Stuckies in Lakeland or the Hooters. We'll meet at the Hooters in Lakeland halfway once this thing gets settled.

00:07:02
Speaker 4: Ooh, Mark, not happened.

00:07:06
Speaker 3: Not happened. You're not going to Hooters or we're not meeting halfway?

00:07:10
Speaker 4: Both?

00:07:11
Speaker 3: Okay, you have to.

00:07:13
Speaker 4: Drive your media meet. You know, players don't go meet media.

00:07:18
Speaker 3: I mean, actually they often do when they apparently when they're done, go ahead.

00:07:23
Speaker 4: Apparently only coaches meet the media in random places. Sorry too soon?

00:07:27
Speaker 3: Oh wow, Yeah, we are not going to sit in the hot tub together. I can tell you that. I know you're not. No that. I will say that when some players stop playing and they get jobs in the media or other jobs, and they are much more friendly to said media people than when they were playing and had to go hit or how to go to the trainer's.

00:07:44
Speaker 6: Room or something.

00:07:45
Speaker 5: AJ's not friendly and just in general, so that's just that's just life life for you. But that's okay, Mark, I can be friendly to you.

00:07:54
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00:08:00
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00:08:18
Speaker 6: Right, yeah?

00:08:18
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00:08:18
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00:08:23
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00:08:55
Speaker 5: What do you see on the field from the race? What do you see? And I mean I don't even want to like project out for the season more so, just what are you seeing early goings? Because this is a really really new looking lineup from all the subtractions that they had in the offseason and moving forward. What are you seeing so far in the first twelve games that we've that you've seen so far?

00:09:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I think you could you could break it down really simply and you could say the starting pitching has been pretty good. You say the lineup's been really good. I mean, I think that's a very intriguing offense. Kevin Arow really hasn't gotten going yet. Yandi's been hot, Ronda has been hot than cool now looks like he's hot again. Chandler Simpson has been one of the best players in baseball right now. You know, Nick Vortees has been a pleasant surprise at catcher. So there's a lot of things about this lineup. They kind of looked at it as they got the big three right and Diaz, Ronda and Cavanaro and the rest we're going to be complimentary pieces. Well you're seeing some of those complimentary pieces pay off, so that part's been good. Now the defense has been really bad and the bullpen has been pretty bad. So those are two things that have to get better obviously soon. They I don't know if they still do, but as of yesterday, they led the major's and errors. They threw out their first runner trying to steal a base last night. For the entire season, I think they've got fifteen against them down one thrown out, and the bullpen has led. I think they've led. Last night may have been the first game they didn't lead in all year, and then they've obviously lost six of those eleven games, so you can put that obviously on the bullpen. That's got to get better. Griffin Jackson had a really rough start, some bad luck, which is kind of what his story was last year. And I think you're seeing Brian Baker kind of emerges the guy at the back end here because Clevenger's on the il Useta just started to rehab last night. He's still several weeks away, so they're gonna be patching this thing together.

00:10:41
Speaker 4: Isn't that what the Razor best at though, isn't the patching things together and figuring out ways when people say, oh, they can't do this, and then next thing you know, you look up and they're fighting for a playoff spot and you're in the race at the end. It seems like this is the perfect storm for Neander and Kevin Cash to say, oh, look what we did again.

00:11:00
Speaker 3: I mean it could be. I mean, two leasing seasons, two losing seasons in a row the last two years kind of left them pretty frosted. I mean they were very disappointed. Neanders said they did not go into the offseason planning to redo the roster. There were forty nine players under team control at the end of the year, forty on the roster in nine on the sixty dail and I think twenty six of those guys are gone. So that was a whether by design initially, but it became a very much plan to flip this roster around, and for the veterans that they brought in an interesting right Stephen Mattz, Nick Martinez, Cedric Mullins, Jake Fraley, then Gavin Lux by trade. So the first four free agency by trade, those are guys that could either step in they're all I think in contract years except Mats who've got a two year deal here. You could think they're going to be motivated, they're gonna play really well. They could really relish in this opportunity, or if things are going bad, they could all get traded in July, I would assume. So there's going to be an opportunity here for a few months, and it's a combination of the raizone players, see what kamin Erra can do. The pitching that they brought back. Obviously rast was and they traded Shane bos but Rasmussen's here. Shane mcclanahan's probably the biggest swing guy of everybody, look good physically so far, just hasn't put together a complete outing, and he certainly has been unhappy with how he's done, but he's done better than he thinks. And then they've got to figure out a way to straighten the rest of us out. But yeah, aj Yes, it could be one of those years where the race pull something off, or it could be another year. And Theander has said this publicly. They've been accumulating all this young talent, all these trades over the last couple of years. They've been getting in you know, some very talented prospects and guys that they haven't rushed to the big leagues, And I think part of that is to time this up for what they hope is that new stadium window, whether it's you know, the last year here, twenty eight, the first year there, if they get this thing built twenty nine and have this core ready to go. Like Jacob Melton, who they got this offseason. No rushing to get him to the big leagues, but he's a guy that could be a really big impact player for them going forward. All Right.

00:12:49
Speaker 5: I saw Shane mcclanahan's debut in the playoffs against US. When he's with the Yankees, you always knew there's something different. Anytime a left he throws one hundred miles an hour is a start, you know. Blah blah blah. His interview the other day I thought was refreshing and something that I had never seen. I'd never seen many interviews with him. Had you guys seen this side of him in the sense of he For people who didn't see the interview, it was very much like, I don't want the I don't want the feel good story. I want to pitch better. I want to do Have you seen that side of him or is it something that has matured over the years.

00:13:28
Speaker 3: Now, I think I think you're onto something there. I think the time away, don't forget he you know, he got hurt in August of twenty twenty three, did the Tommy John rehab, was declared healthy at the end of the twenty four season through like a live VP. They're like, you're good, dame. In spring training twenty five he was ready to go, right. He went through the whole spring training. In his last start of spring training was when this nerve thing happened and they thought it was going to be a couple of days. That was the initial story was he needs a couple of days, he should maybe still make the opening day start. We'll see, And they ended up missing the entire year because this thing was so hard to to assess and treat and figure out what to do with it. So for all he's gone through, I think he has come out of this as a little bit of a more mature Shane McClanahan, a little bit more of a team leading Shane McClanahan, a little bit more of a I mean, I don't want to say like touchy feely kind of thing, because he's still kind of a you know whatever, you know what to the wall kind of guy. But I do think that there's a little bit more sense and awareness to Shane McClanahan. And you know, he said something leading up to that first start in Milwaukee where he said, you know, I realized I'm not gonna do this forever. And you know, missing two plus years in a career that does have a limited span. I think kind of shook him up a little bit in that regard. And I think you're seeing a guy who is a little bit more focused and driven, if that's possible, but also more aware, like you say, of situations and his role on this team. And and with this situation.

00:14:52
Speaker 4: Hey, Mark, wave to Elvis behind you, over.

00:14:54
Speaker 3: You, over your Oh he's this way, Elnes. They want you to say, hi.

00:15:00
Speaker 4: Okay, I missed him in spring training this year.

00:15:04
Speaker 3: AJ said he missed you in spring training.

00:15:07
Speaker 4: And it was really nice of him to take that picture of you or the video of you last night when you went to get the ball and your pants fell off. So it was really awesome of Elvis to Okay.

00:15:16
Speaker 3: I think we're done. I think we're done right here. Yeah, we're done right here. I lost you. I can't hear you.

00:15:23
Speaker 2: What see? This is the problem topper.

00:15:27
Speaker 1: You think you're doing a nice thing, relaying a message to someone, and then all of a sudden, it's like anchorman. They're putting things in the teleprompter.

00:15:36
Speaker 3: I know, and I also have the you know, I think I'm having fun. I'm kind of making fun of AJ. I'm always going to get the short end of this. I'm always gonna end up losing. So I poked the bear, man. I shouldn't have poked the bear, did you?

00:15:47
Speaker 4: In all honesty, though, did you guys see that when it happened? Because when they showed it on TV, it was like the Cubs guys didn't know what to say because I saw the car. I didn't see the Rays. Maybe the Rays didn't show it on their broadcast, but the cub showed it and they were like, uh, okay, let's not even acknowledge that the guy pants fell off.

00:16:07
Speaker 3: No, they showed it on the RAS broadcast, and my wife sent me the clip right away because we did not see it from here. Just kind of another good reporter wife, right, good reporter wife. I was like, hey, did you see this? So I knew about it before it started making the rounds Viraly, But yeah, you really don't have a view of that here because just the way the netting is. And I talked to Ryan Valaid, the right fielder, and asked him, and he either did the ultimate big league thing or truly didn't see it. But he said he didn't see it. So I don't know if the race were were either. I think what Dwayne's stats said and I'm paraphrasing here, and if I got it wrong, Dwayne, I'm sorry, but something like you never know what you're going to see at a ballpark or when you come to the ballpark, and that was definitely true last night if you were watching that clip, because that was not a good thing to see.

00:16:46
Speaker 4: Mark, did you see? Did you see? Were you there? When I was with Texas and the guy ran down the steps and had the snap pants and he pulled his pants off, and then he did a front flip onto the field and he only had his tidy whities on and then he ran out to the bases and they tackled him. I don't know, I don't know if you remember.

00:17:03
Speaker 3: That, but I was. I don't know that I remember that this guy ran ran.

00:17:08
Speaker 4: There's twenty thirteen. The guy ran. No, he was just he was just just his thing. This is what he did. He ran down the steps and the TRUP got to the dugout and he had those snap like basketball pants on right, ripped him off, threw his shirt off front, flipped over our dugout, and ran. They tackled him around second base and they had him in handcuffs. He was like this walking off the field, laughing and smiling, and all he had was as tidy white as covered in clay on.

00:17:33
Speaker 3: Wow, I do not remember that. I'm surprised because we've been looking up a lot of weird stuff about the TRUP for a lot of our pre uh you know, build up to the coverage here. I thought you were going to say the day that some hippie looking dude wandered down by the dugout and everybody was kind of looking him weird, and by security came over and realized it was John Jaso and they were like, oh, yeah, he was a hippie. He still lives. I think he still lives on his boat out here off the Saint of Beach Marina, so he does too. Funny.

00:18:03
Speaker 4: He looked like you should be putting in Pirates of the Caribbean at the end, by the.

00:18:06
Speaker 3: Way he did, and that would have been a good career for him. He definitely could have gone into some method acting or some extra roles on TV and broadcastings like that.

00:18:15
Speaker 4: For sure.

00:18:18
Speaker 3: I mean to turn this around.

00:18:19
Speaker 2: Here, Yeah, yeah, this would be a great way to close it out. Let's see what we got here.

00:18:24
Speaker 3: Looks exactly the same, right, the score, the video boards been like tripled in size. They changed the banners. All the wildcard banners are now on one the new owners. You see him right in the center of the new owners didn't like having the separate banners for the wildcard to celebrate your bigger championships, so those are different. And then you see it more here, So yeah, it's been refreshed. The turf looks great. The roofs got a few brown spots on it. Those are gonna bleach. That's not gonna stay brown. And then we're back here and we got Elvis behind us. So what could be better?

00:18:55
Speaker 4: Exactly exactly the angle Elvis used for you last night, Mark when you all ball Exactly that was exactly the angle.

00:19:05
Speaker 2: I will say.

00:19:06
Speaker 1: The roof looks more and I mean this as a compliment more like plastic versus paper mache.

00:19:11
Speaker 2: From last time.

00:19:12
Speaker 3: It looks like really it's one layer rather than two, so it's actually brighter. So these afternoon sessions and the day games, it's been brighter.

00:19:21
Speaker 1: Okay, maybe better for hitters. We'll have to let Willia Domas know. Maybe he'll come back.

00:19:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, and Nelson Cruz might pop in on that one too.

00:19:28
Speaker 1: That's right, Topper Gray. Catchup has always been really appreciated. Good talking to you.

00:19:32
Speaker 3: We'll talk soon, okay, all right, me and Elvis say thank you.

00:19:36
Speaker 1: Thank you, Elvis. Check out Copper in the Times. Riverfront Territory Stars. See Trent Rosekrantz joining us right now. You can listen to his show Danny Graves along with him. They did one that actually was posted late last night talking about the Reds taking down the Marlins, so check that out.

00:19:53
Speaker 2: Plus of course his work in the athletics. See Trent. How you doing and how are the Reds doing?

00:19:58
Speaker 1: I feel like not getting talked about enough on the national scene, and that's why you're here.

00:20:03
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:20:04
Speaker 8: I've liked this team from the beginning, and they're playing a lot like I almost see it as like a meld between that twenty twenty three team that was so like daring and running all the time, and then last year it seemed like they were a little more reserved under Terry Francona and how he wanted to do things. And this is almost the perfect medium you're seeing them have. They're not scoring a ton of runs, but they're scoring enough runs. They are scoring with hit and runs, with stolen bases, double steals, like the whole It was all done last night in the last two innings, in the ninth and tenth you had situational hitting. You've seen that from Elie de la Cruz. You've seen it from Nathaniel Lowe up and down the order, Tyler Stevenson. It was an exciting one yesterday, but it was like an encapsulation of everything. They've some great pitching. The team hasn't released. I don't think they've scored a run for Andrew Rabbitt in sixteen point one innings or sixteen or third innings, but that's also been against Garrett Crochet, Paul Skeins and and then last night sandi Ala Alcantara, who looked better than both those guys combined. Yesterday and so yeah, it's been a weird one, but they've also won five in a row. They're at the top of the division. They've got great pitching. You know, their number eight guy coming into spring, Brandon Williamson just threw a really nice game again in Florida two days ago. They have depth in the rotation. It's been caused to use it with Hunter Green and Nickelodolo down, but you've that means you have Chase Burns, Rert Louder and Brandon Williamson, which has been pretty good so far.

00:21:55
Speaker 4: Can they can they sustain this by the way they can? But with this lack of offense, I mean this is this is a real la. I mean, the pitching can because the pitching has been good for a couple of years now, right even with Al Green and Lodolo, I mean, Abbott and some of these other guys have been really good. And Terry Francota he always figures out a bullpen somehow, some whether whoever it is he's got to stick in certain roles. He figures it out. But can they sustain this with this lack of all I mean, this is this is I know it's only eleven games, but this is a lack of offense.

00:22:28
Speaker 8: It has been a lack of offense, but I don't know that it's going to continue to be a lack of offense. You're seeing Ellie de la Cruz being quietly good, you know, like he doesn't do any things quietly on the field, but he's been quietly getting on base two times a game. You've seen some differences in his approach where he is. He has two of his three homers are from the right side so far this year. You're seeing those improvements. I think Matt McClain is coming back. He's not the guy he was in spring training, but nobody in the history of the game is the guy he was in spring training. I think that's going to be coming around a johanneo Suarez, Sal Stewart. I think this offense is underperforming at the moment, but will be better than they are right now.

00:23:15
Speaker 1: Hey, I noticed I got to ask you about Rhet Louder. He was just on the screen there. Yeah, ridiculous start to his big league career. So your colleague Eno Cyrus was on with us yesterday and one of the notes he brought up in terms of the ABS Challenge system is that he thinks, you know, it could hurt guys who nibble or who are not.

00:23:34
Speaker 2: Just big stuff guys, big blow guys and all that. My counter is, how do you explain what Rhet Lauder is doing right now?

00:23:44
Speaker 8: He's really good. I mean, like, I know that sounds simplistic and maybe not a great explanation as much as it is a point. But I always go back to the first time I saw him. It was his first Cactus League Spring for in a game. It was at Milwaukee two years ago. He had not played in you know, and in the minors and was there and it looked like it looked like, I don't know Brady Singer this this spring a guy with a lot of time. He is a guy that just knows how to pitch, and like it's funny because you will hear these things. Well, he doesn't have the greatest stuff. Well, he has really really good stuff. It's just that he's in a rotation with the likes of Hunter Green and Chase Burns and Nicolodolo who have like transcendent stuff. So it's it's he is a stuff plus control command guy. I'm high on Louder and I have been because he just takes everything in stride. And I went out to the clubhouse the other day and just asking everybody after his start, like, could you believe that was that guy's eighth big league start? And he said it was a great to get through those six was it six and the third innings or six innings of three hit baseball in one walk? Yeah, that's a kind of grind that I think every pitching coach and every level of baseball on Earth would take.

00:25:18
Speaker 4: And Trent, by the way, I don't know if you remember this, but Louder and Skiings matched up in the College World Series and that was a big thing on who was going to be the first pick right, which seems crazy now that we look at the difference in their pro careers so far. But let's not forget that one time. Skans and Louder were who's going to be the first pick overall? And they matched up in Omah.

00:25:37
Speaker 8: Yeah, and he went. They went toe to toe each other and one of the best games any of us have seen, one of the best preaching performances. And I think that's, you know what, I'd rather have skins, but I'm not complaining about having Louder and the Reds certainly weren't complaining when he fell to number seven instead of number one overall.

00:25:57
Speaker 4: Trent, what about We kind of talked about the offensive. But salth Stewart's been really good for you guys. Excuse me? Can he keep doing this? I mean Terry Francona hit him fourth opening day, right, Terry Francona doesn't usually hit rookies in their first year, full year, fourth on opening day. So that's got to tell you somebody believes something in salth Stewart.

00:26:17
Speaker 8: He's the ret louder of position players. He just looks like he belongs. He knows what he's doing. He has a high baseball like Q. Check out what south Stewart's done on the basis. That's really what allowed Terry Francona to know, like, hey, I think this guy can do it. He doesn't strike out as much as some other guys, and I think in his career, in his minor leagues, he had more walks and strikeouts. And so put him between Ellie de la Cruz and Aohanno Swarz, both the guys who will strike out quite a bit, that's just part of their game. But you put south Stewart in between and it's worked out really well now South Stewart probably. Do I think he is a nine to sixty seven OPS guy this season?

00:27:05
Speaker 7: No?

00:27:06
Speaker 8: Could he be in the future.

00:27:07
Speaker 4: Yeah?

00:27:07
Speaker 8: Could he win a batting title in the future as much as we still care about that thing, Yes he can. He is that type of hitter. It is a professional at bat time after time, and you know, beyond his years, the at bats that he takes.

00:27:24
Speaker 1: And so I'll ask you this, and I feel bad I'm asking this while Tom Fraser is not on, although I think he's on the next couple of days with us. Should they be throwing a little Sal Stuart extension offer his way? Todd said he was promised that years ago. It never came his way, and we already heard about Elliott. Doesn't sound like they're going to be able to figure something out on the short term, so move on. Is Sal Stuart the guy that they should be trying to throw some money towards.

00:27:47
Speaker 8: Yeah, I would be looking at doing that. Maybe Matt McClain as well. You know McLain has the injury history, so he doesn't quite have it. But if I'm looking for, I don't know, looking long term in buying low I'm doing Matt McClain too, But I think South Stuart would be a no doubt or that's a course up to South Stewart and Dan Lozano his agent, but yeah, I and of course Nick Krawl, but yeah, no, I think it is a guy to sign up long term because this dude can just flat hit and it's it's been impressive. He's a better athlete than he looks. And that is going on the base running, how he's picked up first base.

00:28:31
Speaker 3: I think he is.

00:28:33
Speaker 8: He is a guy that you can look at for a long time and say, hey, we believe in this guy.

00:28:41
Speaker 4: All right, speaking of believing in things, wish me luck. I'm in Georgia. I'm in Georgia for two days. Wish me luck.

00:28:53
Speaker 8: You're in God's country. So good for you. You got out of where you come from and and and got to maybe go over to Athens.

00:29:03
Speaker 4: See what it's right there. I'm right there. I'm in a cony and then I'm going to I'm going to Augusta tomorrow, so I'm right by Athens. But I don't know if I wear a Gator shirt in Athens, if they'll welcome me.

00:29:15
Speaker 8: I mean they'll see it's a j. Perzinski, So they wouldn't be welcome you anyway. Calient Tito's right next to fully Field. Go to calient Tito's, get the State Cuban and Tostone's.

00:29:27
Speaker 4: Were you reading that? Was that like a paid plug right there?

00:29:30
Speaker 2: No?

00:29:31
Speaker 4: No, no, let me look down that perfectly.

00:29:35
Speaker 3: No.

00:29:37
Speaker 8: If if if calient Titos wants to sponsor me, they can sponsor me. But it is elite. That's I had my wedding reception there, or my rehearsal dinner there.

00:29:48
Speaker 1: Don't use code Riverfront, it will not work. Don't say that to the waiter.

00:29:52
Speaker 8: Yeah, yeah, they no waiters, we're counter service man. I ain't fancy, I'm no, I'm no Florida Gator is uh you know AJ Pierzinski and his tuxedo with Gene Schwartz.

00:30:05
Speaker 1: Fancy what about brave shirt or jersey even right and Gator's hat?

00:30:11
Speaker 2: How would he be received there?

00:30:14
Speaker 8: You know, most people in Athens are cool. We're all right, hey, we know that you have to go back to Florida, and we're gonna take it easy on you. You know, they get to live in Athens, which is you know, the original Athens. Of course, people know Ohio here, aren't used to that. It's the superior Athens. There's no other Athens in the world other than that Athens. And we just know that we're We just feel good that even if they lose a game, we get to go back to Athens.

00:30:41
Speaker 4: You're right, thank you for taking Mike White. There you go, Thank you for taking Mike White. Trent doesn't even know who Mike White is, but thank you.

00:30:52
Speaker 8: He's the basketball coach. He just hired Jarvis Hayes to be his assistant. Jarvis is my guy.

00:30:57
Speaker 2: Okay, you knows. I didn't know.

00:30:59
Speaker 8: It's we're a football school. We don't care about other sports. You know, I don't know if you remember football.

00:31:08
Speaker 3: You guys used to.

00:31:08
Speaker 8: Have a team.

00:31:10
Speaker 4: M hmm okay, okay. Ever since cheating became legal, Georgia hasn't won anything. Just saying all right, anyways, we gotta go to commercial break.

00:31:23
Speaker 8: That's your conference.

00:31:26
Speaker 1: Hey there, I don't play that's your favorite the football.

00:31:33
Speaker 4: Right now, it's the American it's the American Athletic Conference.

00:31:36
Speaker 1: Right now, it's Riverfront Territory, which is what you need to watch and subscribe to.

00:31:42
Speaker 2: More people need to know about it. The man thank you very much, Trent.

00:31:45
Speaker 4: Before I go, I gotta ask you one questions. Ellie still in the bathroom too soon? Sorry, that's inside joke. I apologize.

00:31:53
Speaker 2: That is an inside joke.

00:31:54
Speaker 1: And maybe at some point a j will be on that show and he can tell more of that story, or maybe Ellie can tell more of that story at some point.

00:32:02
Speaker 2: But C Trend and Danny running point. It's one of the new shows on the FT network.

00:32:06
Speaker 1: That's your red coverage that you get on a multi weekly basis.