Ken Rosenthal’s Inside Scoop: Rays sale update, AL Wild Card fight, MVP voting ethics

00:00:05
Speaker 1: FT senior insider Ken Rosenthal's here for the inside scoop. Ken, Let's get to an article that you put together yesterday with Evandrelick on Stu Sternberg selling the Rays. It sounds like that's all happening, but he's still going to be involved.

00:00:19
Speaker 2: Is that true?

00:00:21
Speaker 3: He will still be involved.

00:00:22
Speaker 4: It's a minor share and it's going to expire eventually. Timeline is not exactly known, but he is going to be part of the initial group. And this is not uncommon, guys. We do see this that an owner will stay on in a lesser degree and the ownership group eventually will change. So I don't know this was earth chattering news. It was certainly newsworthy because I thought most of us believe that Sternberg would be out entirely. But he's not going to be out entirely, at least.

00:00:50
Speaker 3: From the outset.

00:00:52
Speaker 1: And of course fans down here want to know if there's any chance that they will escape the.

00:01:00
Speaker 2: Tampa Bay area. So let's see.

00:01:02
Speaker 1: I think it's number three on the list that was put in the article in the Athletic with someone who was campaigning to bring a team to Orlando. Here we go, Rick Workman as the top two there seemed to be more Tampa friendly. Zelepski and Bill Cosger not saying that. You know he's going to have influence, But is there anything to read into there?

00:01:23
Speaker 3: I don't believe so.

00:01:25
Speaker 4: Major League Baseball wants this team in the Tampa Bay area and those some people, aj being one of them, think Orlando would be a great spot for them, and maybe it would be. It seems to me that MLB does not want to lose the Tampa Bay market, and that what this group's first order of business will be is finding a way to get a new ballpark built in Tampa. There are sites that are being considered. There are all kinds of possibilities there. It hasn't been easy for Stourberg, but that's in part because the Tampa government and the Saint Petersburg government, both of them really lost trust in him. So now the new group, and yes he's only a small part, he's not a significant part. That seems to be something that will be more feasible now my Orlando's surface as a possibility if Tampa Bay doesn't happen, Yes, but I just don't see that really being a realistic thing.

00:02:18
Speaker 1: Ken let's get to your article full of fun from I think the day before. For fans of each of MLB's fifteen flag playoff contenders, things could always be worse. So I want to start with the Blue Jays. You know, the past couple of years, obviously they have not come through this year. This is definitely a playoff team still in line to win the division.

00:02:42
Speaker 2: What would be the concern?

00:02:45
Speaker 4: The bullpen, without question, is the concern. And it's not just Hoffman, though Hoffman certainly is the major concern. He's the closer. He gives up a lot of home runs. He's had some really really bad outings and some good ones as well, But the bullpen as a whole has not performed really for quite some time now, and that is the major concern. That is any team's fatal flaw if they can't figure it out.

00:03:09
Speaker 3: So the point of this article was merely to point.

00:03:12
Speaker 4: Out to fans of all these contenders, Hey, you think you have it bad, and I see everybody whining on X. That's where I kind of look at things and see what fans are thinking. Yeah, your team might be frustrating you, but guess what team XYZ, ABC, D and E they've got their own problems.

00:03:30
Speaker 3: And they're equally frustrated.

00:03:32
Speaker 4: So take heart, it's not as bad as it might appear, because other teams have problems too.

00:03:39
Speaker 5: All right, the Yankees, Are there any new problems or is it just rinse and recycle from last year about what Mookie Bets and all his teammates said, Well, they were drinking after they won the World Series.

00:03:52
Speaker 4: Eric, it seems to me it's the same thing. And granted they had a really good week four and two against two first place teams, Strosen the Blue Jays, But the way that they play, the sloppiness that we see, the lack of fundamental sound iness that we see and we have seen for quite some time with the Yankees, that has not entirely gone away. Volpi is a major lightning rod with this team right now.

00:04:19
Speaker 3: Fans have about had it with him.

00:04:21
Speaker 4: The Yankees continue to stick with him. My friend Joel Sherman of The New York Post has suggested both in a podcast and in print today that he thinks Jose Caballera will be their starter in the playoffs, that ultimately the actions of the Yankees will speak louder than any words from Aaron Boone.

00:04:38
Speaker 3: That remains to be seen, but I certainly.

00:04:41
Speaker 4: Can see how that might be something they strongly consider.

00:04:45
Speaker 1: Ken I'll take us to the Padres. So now they've won three in a row. Michael King is starting tonight, so King is back. Do you feel differently about the Padres in the past few days, especially if King is here to stay.

00:04:59
Speaker 3: King is here to stay and healthy and good.

00:05:02
Speaker 4: Yes, that's a much different equation than we've seen from them with their starting pitching in the last I don't.

00:05:08
Speaker 3: Know a couple of months.

00:05:09
Speaker 4: Really.

00:05:10
Speaker 3: What I like about the Padres is their schedule.

00:05:12
Speaker 4: It's one of the easiest remaining schedules, and they're home again now. They're always draw momentum at home and if offensively, they can get it going, and it's kind of curious that they.

00:05:22
Speaker 3: Haven't in a bigger way. Tatisa is one of.

00:05:25
Speaker 4: The questions, and all these things have happened.

00:05:27
Speaker 3: He's been better the last few days.

00:05:30
Speaker 4: Their bullpen is still a lockdown bullpen, even without Jason Adams. So I don't rule them out in any way, shape or form one for the division title, and if not the division, maybe they catch the Cubs for a higher seed of the Wildcard and host the Wildcard Series. So everything seems to change by the day this time in few year, actually all season long, the Padres seemingly are on the upswing.

00:05:55
Speaker 3: We'll see if it continues.

00:05:57
Speaker 6: Ken what about the Mets. Will the Mets really start two, maybe three rookies in their rotation if they get to the postseason? I mean, I think they're gonna get there, But would they really go mclan and the other rookies to start, because since Montas and all these Senga and all these guys have just been not good and injured.

00:06:16
Speaker 4: AJ, I don't know that they're going to have much choice. And certainly, let's see the next few weeks play out, and McLain certainly looks like the real thing.

00:06:24
Speaker 3: I'm not as convinced by Tom or.

00:06:26
Speaker 4: One star from his scrope, but they certainly have been pressed so far. Three starting pitchers who are rookies who had just made their debuts in the postseason would.

00:06:35
Speaker 3: Certainly be a stretch.

00:06:37
Speaker 4: But if that's where the Mets are, that's where they are now. I'm anxious to see David Peterson if he rebounds from a recent lull.

00:06:45
Speaker 3: He pictures Thursday on our Fox game.

00:06:48
Speaker 4: He to me is part of the solution here, Clay Holmes, I'm not sure how you use him in the postseason. And of course the questions remain about Senga, whether he'll be a.

00:06:57
Speaker 3: Factor at all. He's currently in the minor leagues.

00:06:59
Speaker 4: So what has happened here is that these young guys McClain, tong sprote have emerged as the mets best options. And if they're the best options in October, they're going to pitch.

00:07:12
Speaker 3: I'm just not sure.

00:07:13
Speaker 4: It's all going to play out exactly like that. There are a lot of different ways they can go. I'm forgetting Sean Manaia. He's got to pitch better too.

00:07:22
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00:07:45
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00:07:59
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00:08:21
Speaker 2: Dig In, all.

00:08:23
Speaker 5: Eyes are on Texas, the Rangers, and they're staying in it without the guys that they have, without those stars in their lineup. It's the little rascals as I think you coined the phrase, and it's now just sweeping the nation. But how is this team if the if Corey Seeger and Adulis come back with a week to go and they are within a game a game and a half, like they are right now. Obviously they put them back in, but does that kill their mojo?

00:08:56
Speaker 4: Well, first of all, Rangers TV analyst David Murphy is the one who coined the little Rascals.

00:09:01
Speaker 3: I just quoted him.

00:09:02
Speaker 4: Now we all know what's going to happen if Seger and Garcia come back. They're going to play, and they should play. And I heard you guys talking during the break about how you're not sure what these younger, less experienced guys are doing is sustainable. I would suggest it probably is not sustainable. So the fact that the Rangers are getting this much right now out of Michael Hellman, Cody Freeman, Dustin Harris, all these different players that most people have never heard of, it's a great thing and it's gotten them back in the race. And the energy that these guys have provided has certainly given the team a boost. But you're not going to sit Corey Seeger and you're not going to sit due all these Garcia. Those are two of your mainstays, Seger in particular, of course, And the good news for the Rangers is they've gotten to this point. They've hung in there without those guys, at least.

00:09:53
Speaker 3: For the last week or so.

00:09:55
Speaker 4: Two weeks or so, so that's great. Now the question is once they come back, can they keep this rule going? And yeah, I guess you might lose a little mojo, but you still want core receiver.

00:10:08
Speaker 1: And by the way, Ken, we had Sewn Armstrong Rangers reliever on yesterday.

00:10:12
Speaker 2: Asked him about Little Rascals.

00:10:13
Speaker 1: He didn't know about it yet, so he was excited to tell teammates that the TV broadcast is calling some of the youngsters little Rascals.

00:10:20
Speaker 2: We'll have Josh Smith on later.

00:10:21
Speaker 1: We just happened to have back to back days with Rangers guys, so we'll keep you posted there on the important nicknames that are changing things.

00:10:27
Speaker 2: But they have competition.

00:10:28
Speaker 1: In the lost column, you also have the Cleveland Guardians two back. They have a Royals team that's stumbling right now.

00:10:34
Speaker 2: They beat him up yesterday.

00:10:36
Speaker 1: Then the White Sox, then Tiger's team that's playing very midlight lately, Twins playing terribly, Tigers Rangers for last three games of the year. Chances for Cleveland, how interesting could this get for them?

00:10:48
Speaker 3: It's funny, Scott. I don't care for Cleveland.

00:10:51
Speaker 4: I don't think they're good enough to get there, But you know what they keep hanging around, and they are a team that has some starting pitching and certainly at times with Ramirez and Kwan and everyone else like last night, can put some numbers up. So I don't see it. I don't see the Royals either. To me, the one team with the best shot of catching Seattle is Texas because Texas has outstanding pitching even without Ivaldi right now. But you know what, hey, I can talk all I want, people like me can talk all we want. It's what happens on the field that matters. And if the Guardians do it, all power to them.

00:11:31
Speaker 2: Nice.

00:11:32
Speaker 1: Okay, well, we'll see that's decent looking schedule there. Let's stay in the American League Central and talk about a team that's not in that frankly looks like the worst team lately in that division, the Twins.

00:11:42
Speaker 2: But the bright spot has been Byron Buxton. Ken.

00:11:45
Speaker 1: My question for you revolves around in Buxton's incentives in his contract. I remember at the time when he signed that long term extension, it was very tied to MVP voting and not just winning it. It depends on where he places I think from six to ten on MVP voting. If he finishes in that spot, you get three million dollars. What do you think of this incentive? I don't think there's anyone else in the league that has it, this tie to MVP voting. And are you okay with it on the writer's side to be influencing this kind of money.

00:12:16
Speaker 4: I'm not in love with it. It's something I'm pretty uncomfortable with.

00:12:19
Speaker 3: Now, you can argue.

00:12:21
Speaker 4: That this has always been the case. Our votes influence a lot of different incentives.

00:12:27
Speaker 3: Maybe this is a little bit more extreme Scott, as you.

00:12:29
Speaker 4: Point out, but hall of Fame votes too.

00:12:32
Speaker 3: A player who gets elected to.

00:12:34
Speaker 4: The Hall of Fame can make money on the outside that he might not make otherwise.

00:12:39
Speaker 3: It's all part of it. Do I love it?

00:12:40
Speaker 4: No? And there are some newspapers that do not allow their writers to vote because they fear the conflict of interest. They fear the worst case example, and let's play this out Byron Buxton needs X number of MVP votes and he gives money to a few writers to put them ninth or tenth on the ballot. Now, this has never happened. I don't expect it ever will happen. It would be the highest breach of ethics imaginable on both sides. But that is the worst case scenario. So it's not cool.

00:13:15
Speaker 3: I don't like it. I don't also know how to get around it. Now, you could say, hey, we shouldn't vote at all.

00:13:22
Speaker 4: In these awards, and that would end this. Yes, but that's part of the fun of the job. It's actually part of the responsibility that some of us get. And for the most part, ninety nine point five percent of this is cool, so that point five is not cool. But at the same time, I'm not sure it's ever gonna change either.

00:13:43
Speaker 5: Players have to put up the numbers, but a player who is very connected when Ken Rosenthal comes in, if Byron Buxton is like whatever, then maybe your vote is a little swayed. I'm not saying, because you're human and it's how writers and just people interact. It's hard. It's hard to differentiate when somebody's being nice to get Ken Rosenthal's votes and when somebody's being genuine or isn't afraid of losing votes and they won't say what they're supposed to say.

00:14:19
Speaker 4: Well, the one thing there, Eric is that the way the game has evolved, with so much attention on statistics and advanced metrics, everything is in front of us. I don't know that any of us is swayed by a guy being nice to us or a guy not being nice to us.

00:14:35
Speaker 3: Now, sometimes you will.

00:14:37
Speaker 4: See a vote from say a Kansas City paper, for a Kansas City player that might not be in the minds of some justified I'm just using Kansas City as an example. Could be New York, could be.

00:14:49
Speaker 3: La, could be anywhere. You will see that.

00:14:51
Speaker 4: But often that is because that writer sees that player more than he sees anyone else and has a better appreciation for that player. Now, as far as the niceness thing that idea, I will tell you this. Eddie Murray once threatened to assume me when I was in Baltimore. I didn't do that, actually, but he threatened. I still voted him first ballot Hall of Fame. I don't care what guys think of me, whether they like me or not, or whether I like them or not, that's irrelevant. What's relevant is their performance. And I believe strongly that almost every writer feels the same way.

00:15:26
Speaker 3: It's not something.

00:15:27
Speaker 4: Where hey, man, I'll give you an interview and you give me a no, it's not happening.

00:15:33
Speaker 1: Oh, I didn't know about the Eddie Murray part. That might be an inside dish for another day.

00:15:39
Speaker 3: It never went anywhere, he threatened.

00:15:41
Speaker 4: I wrote some stuff and it is what it is.

00:15:45
Speaker 3: Not the first time I got like that. Player won't be the last, you know, just it's part of it.

00:15:50
Speaker 5: Yep.

00:15:50
Speaker 1: Understandable. Well, Ken, good stuff, Thanks for the insight, appreciate it. We'll catch on Fair Territory Thursday. Thanks guys, Fair Territory with Ken an Alana Rizzo questions, bring 'em for Grill and Ken on Thursday's live show