Kyle Tucker injury revealed, Best rivalry in baseball, Kevin Pillar officially joins FT

00:00:02
Speaker 1: File Territory on a Thursday with Davin Polar are joining the party today AJ in a remote location, traveling the globe the next couple of weeks, or really just the US, but AJ right off the top here, I think we should do like a light congrats to KP. We have like a press release coming out today. He'll be a little more frequent part of this Foul Territory network. So you know, he went spring training, right, non roster invite te and now he is like in the thick of it and he can fully be Superman now, KP.

00:00:37
Speaker 2: Hey, what a perfect analogy that the non roster invite. That's something I've got real comfortable with.

00:00:42
Speaker 3: So maybe maybe that prepared me a lot for this opportunity.

00:00:46
Speaker 2: So I am really grateful to love what you guys do, Like I had mentioned, big fan of the show and.

00:00:52
Speaker 3: So happy to be a part of it.

00:00:53
Speaker 1: Yeah, you guys.

00:00:55
Speaker 4: Hey, there's no more you guys. There's no more you guys.

00:00:58
Speaker 3: It feels good to say we right you.

00:01:03
Speaker 1: Yeah, Like hey, AJ loves when someone says we and they're talking about a team that they root for, or sometimes you can cover whatever it is, but you can say we right A Jr. Anthrosier.

00:01:17
Speaker 4: He can't know because he's part of the team. It's like when Scott says when we used to play, It's like, wait a second, s guy, we can just on TV.

00:01:27
Speaker 1: I think I ever said when we used to play. I don't think those words have come out of my mouth.

00:01:33
Speaker 3: Mmm. We'll keep I'll keep you keep more.

00:01:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, you let me know if I ever talk about my Little League swing, it won't happen. But before we get to the top news story of the day, we have one other announcement that we'd like to you know what, I knew it. I'm like, why do I sound weird?

00:01:53
Speaker 4: You don't have a mic on you, idiot. I'm not there to help.

00:01:56
Speaker 1: You, Malcolm, you didn't call me out.

00:01:59
Speaker 4: Well, well, because it's more fun just to watch you struggle.

00:02:03
Speaker 1: That's rude. Bad teammates.

00:02:05
Speaker 4: We struggle together on your teammate.

00:02:07
Speaker 1: Under the bus. Anyway, AJ, you and I unfortunately or fortunately, are going to be sitting next to each other in person all next week. But we will do that in Alabama at the Pro. We've been to the Pro before, towards the beginning of this year, back in January. We're going to do it again the pro Rivals Open. The next stop is in Alabama for about eighty former pro athletes competing for supremacy in the golf world. So we'll be in Point Clear, Alabama. The show's live Monday to Thursday. Then Friday we're back to normal, but same show, going over all the news within baseball. We'll just also have some special guests. Attendees include John Smoltzo's the commissioner. He'll definitely join us, and then we will do our best to get as many of some of the names you're seeing on the screen as possible, and many many more so Chipper Jones, Greg Maddox, Josh Donaldson, Brian McCann, Aaron Hicks, just some of many that will be out there at the pro Rivals Open. We're excited about it gives us a VIP access to some great guests and you can obviously follow along the show, but also they have their own content and social media channels, and I encourage you to give them a follow, a subscribe wherever, YouTube, podcast, social media, etc. Because it will be AJ's dream come true. Next week he does FT and he will also have the opportunity to talk about some other sports like football and basketball before and after our show, and those interviews will go on their channels.

00:03:36
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, it's my time to Sean because Scott kp doesn't know anything about anything said baseball, So I can talk to these guests and he'll look at me and go, wait, let's basketball. You dribble in basketball. Wait, football, you drop back and you throw the ball. You just don't kick it around. So, yeah, this is my time to Sean. You know what you know on that list you just showed. I want to talk to Vince Coleman. Remember the time what you don't know what year it was when he got eat by the tart Tart monster and hurt his leg, and I think it was in the World Series or the LCS and the Cardinals didn't win the World Series that year.

00:04:08
Speaker 5: I don't know.

00:04:08
Speaker 4: It was eighty five around there somewhere. The Cardinals were those super teams. I've never asked Vince about that. I want to ask about how the turf monster because remember they had the automatic turf machine and I think it was in Saint Louis that rolled the tarp out automatically, and the tarp got him, the tart machine got him and I think broke his leg and he missed like the World Series.

00:04:26
Speaker 1: Wow, So they had ai tarp years ago?

00:04:28
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was like it rolled out, Oh there Mark before Game five of the eighty five LCS and the Royals won that year, eighty five, the Royals won, they beat him, remember the Don Dankger call. But they rolled out the tarp on my machine, and I think it clipped his ankle and broke his leg or hurt his ankle. He couldn't play.

00:04:47
Speaker 1: Wow. I never heard of that one. But I also have to look this up too.

00:04:52
Speaker 4: Yeah. Sorry, Game four of the eighty five LCS.

00:04:55
Speaker 2: Sorry that to your point, though, I would love to be there too. I'm a big sports fan too, love football, love basketball. I still dabble, and I play in a men's league with my brother here and some friends. Since I've retired, and I'm now the head coach and quarterback of my five year.

00:05:13
Speaker 3: Old's flag football team.

00:05:15
Speaker 2: So, you know, drawing up plays, trying to teach five year olds plays, It's been a lot of fun.

00:05:22
Speaker 1: I heard you were good at football in high school? Is this true?

00:05:26
Speaker 3: Yeah? I mean I was pretty good. I was pretty good. I'm not gonna lie.

00:05:29
Speaker 2: I never got really talked about I mean, I was a three sport athlete growing up, and yeah, I think football was probably the sport I was the best at. But you know, I wasn't I wasn't that big in high school. I was a little undersized, but I really think I could have made it.

00:05:44
Speaker 3: I was. I was good in the slot.

00:05:46
Speaker 2: I was like a like a West Swelker Cooper Cup type, Julian Edelman.

00:05:52
Speaker 3: I just knew how to like get open.

00:05:54
Speaker 2: I was a little bit more Hunter Renfro though those guys are a little bit faster and more physical. I'm more like a Hunter Renfro shifty could always get open. But yeah, I love playing football. You know, football taught me a lot about playing baseball, so I'm very thankful that I got a chance to play in high school. And you know, I always tell people, you know, the way I played the outfield is a lot a lot like I played football. You know, football taught me how to run routes running routes, and football taught me how to run good routes in baseball. So I always try to tell kids play all the sports and you'll find your way eventually.

00:06:27
Speaker 1: That's cool. Yeah, well you made a good choice. You had a nice career thirteen years in the big leagues.

00:06:31
Speaker 3: Baby, my buddy, you got a horse.

00:06:37
Speaker 4: It's uh yeah, you see him. Yeah, it's a secretariat. That's Secretariat right here. That's my winning horse. Watch out, Jason Wood.

00:06:45
Speaker 5: I'm coming for you.

00:06:49
Speaker 1: By the way, Jay, I know who both Wes Welker and Cooper Cup are, so I actually do have you know, you do very light, very light skill. You know. I used to actually call college basketball for ESPN, like I actually did do other sports back in the day. I'm just to stick.

00:07:05
Speaker 4: To you on our pod. What scot you were on the O Show. You were calling like dodgeball and tittly winks and rock paper scissors, That's what you were calling on ESPN The Oat Show.

00:07:16
Speaker 1: I did do a report from a dumpling eating contest for ESPN Radio when I was like twenty twenty, probably so because I was interning there and they were like, we have one assignment that we actually can put an intern on. And I was like, what is it? And They're like dumpling eating. I'm like games, So yeah.

00:07:36
Speaker 3: You come a long way. You come a long way.

00:07:41
Speaker 5: FT fans, Do you want to have confidence when you go out in public?

00:07:44
Speaker 4: Absolutely?

00:07:45
Speaker 5: We can't all wear a backwards hat like me, but you can get some True Classic fit shirts. It almost looks like, oh wow, this shirt was tailored for me. Nope, it's every True Classic. This john is soft, it is smooth, and it makes you look a little jacked.

00:08:02
Speaker 1: I'm just saying, and Krats, you are jacked and you are spot on. True Classic is the spot to go if someone's like, where do I get shirts? True Classic. The colors are fantastic. They've sold over twenty five million shirts to more than five million customers. Their shirts just win. The feel, the tailored look, the price. We all wear True Classic on FT. I mean, cam Maven literally can't say enough about them too. Next time we have cam on hit up True Classic dot com slash foul, give it a shot, upgrade your wardrobe and save on True Classic at True Classic dot com slash foul. That's True Classic dot com slash fo u l charge them out, all right, AJ, what's the deal with Kyle Tucker. We lightly mentioned this the other day. They're in the thick of the biggest series of the year, the Chicago Cubs, and they're handing it to the brewers. They did a great job obviously the last couple of days, taking them down in the doubleheader and then a tight win in last night's contest. But Kyle Tucker is one of, if not their best player, best hitter, and he's been great up until about six ish weeks ago, so they sit him. Jesse Rodgers reports last night, and we can show the tweet that it's not as clear cut as it seems, because he produced in June after an injury that is now being talked about. Here there you go, but slowly it impacted his swing. Apparently apparently the injury is healed, but the swing is not healed yet. So talking about a hairline fracture in his right hand, here's the headliner story. I guess I should have started with that hairline fraction in his right hand. Craig Council confirmed it, and I actually found a Kyle Tucker quote. I think this was like an hour ago. I found it, and he said today he was asked if he would have been better off talking about the break in his hand earlier, and he's a, I don't know. There are a couple of ways I could have handled it. I just went out there and played. That's how things went. And Brian McTaggart, who covered him when he was with the Astros, AJ said, this is most Kyle Tucker answer ever. If you know Kyle Tucker and you've covered him, which I have, and I'm sure you've come across in AJ, he's very even keeled, nonchalant, low key, whatever you want to call it. You're like you want to shake him, but then you're like, wait, that actually probably helps him stay so calm and cool. What were your thoughts on all of this?

00:10:30
Speaker 4: Well, first of all, according to Jesse, I didn't look at the stats because I've been traveling all day. But if Jesse Rodgers is correct that he did fine after this, then maybe it did affect his swing down the road. But also, let's not forget he's a free agent. He doesn't want to miss time because he missed a bunch of time last year, so he doesn't want to go back to back years and missed a bunch of time. He got off to a great start and he's going through it a little bit right now, and they're giving him a couple of days off. But it's still Kyle Tucker. He needs to be in the lineup. It's presence alone changes that lineup for the Cubs. Remember we asked why Owen k he got called up at one point, We're like, why is he getting called up? They knew back then that hey, Kyle Tucker, something's not right. We're gonna get more days off case he's been playing right field. It's just a weird thing because we've all played through stuff and you never know how it's gonna affect you. You play through injuries, you just if you play every day, you play through things and you never know how it's gonna affect you. Unfortunately for the Cubs, this one is really hurting Kyle Tucker right now. But they're doing okay. And you said they whooped him. I mean, I don't know if they whoped him. If you watch that game, it was a great game loss. The Brewers had a million chances to score runs and some double plays, some mozzarella sticks. There was a lot of things that happened in that game last night.

00:11:38
Speaker 1: KP. What do you got?

00:11:39
Speaker 3: Yeah?

00:11:40
Speaker 2: I mean, I think the thing that doesn't get talked about the most with injuries, and I've played through my fair share injuries. You know, never wanted to make an excuse, never came out and told the Neil was hurt, and yes, the stats stuff suffer. But the challenge with an injury in baseball, especially when your swing's not feeling right, is it hurts the work. You can't get in the cage and kind of figure out how to get your swing right. I've had hand injuries, and to be honest with you, I just showed up to the game. I did my prep, never hit in the cage, never really even took swings on deck, and then just went in there and just tried to roll out and see what I could do. And you know, there would be times where I really struggled and I wanted to get in the cage and try to work, but I couldn't because it hurt. And then you kind of try to balance the two. Is it more important for me to kind of rest and then just go out there cold turkey and try to figure it out?

00:12:31
Speaker 3: Or do I grind through it?

00:12:34
Speaker 2: You know, have a painful, you know, work session in the cage, you know, have the hand not feel one hundred percent for the game, and then go out there and maybe even be play even worse. But you know, I give guys like that a lot of credit. They don't want to make excuses. You know, whether or not it has to do with not wanting to miss time because him being a pending free agent. You never know how someone thinks or how someone's agent thinks. But you know, I do respect the fact that he's going out there and trying to play through it.

00:13:00
Speaker 3: And you know what Kyle.

00:13:01
Speaker 2: Tucker at you know, let's call it seventy or sixty percent, is still better than a lot of players that would replace him.

00:13:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, a J you dealt with us too. I mean you talk about it all the time, just like KP. You played through a lot.

00:13:16
Speaker 4: Listen, I broke my wrist. When you came back in two weeks and played the last month with a broken wrist, it affects you. And what KP have said was right. And we talked about this yesterday or the day before when we said, I'll never judge anybody's pain tolerance. I'll never say anything because you just don't know. Everyone has a difference tolerance for pain and you just got to be able to deal with it. And there's a Listen, whatever it was, KP is right. You can't get your work in because it hurts, so you want to take it off. You spend more time in the training room than you normally would, probably because you have to get extra treatment, so that affects your routine before a game. There's a lot of things that go into this. But listen, if I had to bet, I'd say Kyle Tucker's probably gonna get hot in September and then look out in the playoffs if he gets right.

00:13:57
Speaker 2: Yeah, and let's not forget Kyle Tucker is at amazing right field there too, So him going out there and playing you know, close to goal glove defense is also very valuable.

00:14:07
Speaker 3: And you know him at the.

00:14:09
Speaker 2: Very least he's not he's not very successful at the plate, but him sitting out sometimes is a little bit harder for you to come back. His timing still there, you know, he's putting the ball in play. He doesn't have that same sort of strength in his hand and his wrist. To AG's point, I think he gets really hot as he starts to get healthy. You know, as he's able to get healthy, he's going to start working. He's going to find something that works in his swing. Is one of the best players in baseball. I mean, I wouldn't bet against him. He has a lot to play for individually, as mentioned a free agent at the end of the year. But also the Cubs are right in this, so you know, hopefully the Cubs fans, you know, maybe with this story coming out, give him a little bit of break. You never really know how fan base is kind of react to something like this. You know, he is starting to get booed, you know, And that's the other hard thing. You know, in baseball, there is no off days. When you're an everyday player and you're expected to go out there and you're struggling, there is nowhere to hide. You're put in the lineup every day and you might not be physically one hundred percent, mentally you're definitely not one. So maybe give him a couple of days where you know, physically he can, you know, have a couple of days where the hand heels up. But also mentally, let's just get off the field, let's take a deep breath, let's regroup, and I expect him to have a monster September and you know, lead his team into the PUP playoffs.

00:15:26
Speaker 4: I wonder, Scott, I wonder in KP he got booed a long ago, remember if for not running a ground ball out and the Cubs fans kind of got all over him? Is this why this came out?

00:15:35
Speaker 3: Now?

00:15:35
Speaker 4: Why didn't this come out two months ago when he did and June first? Now it comes out after he gets booed? Is that something that you know? Timing is everything right? And so this come out because he was getting boooned? Cup fans were on him and then they said, hey, listen, guys, this guy's been playing through this to get the fans off of him. That's a question that maybe somebody like Jesse Rodgers should ask.

00:15:57
Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, the only thing I'll point out is that we were aware there was some type of hand issue in June that occurred. The problem aj was that he then was great in June, you know what I'm saying in July. So then people are like, are you oh, then he's okay, he's on fire.

00:16:17
Speaker 4: Well that's why I wonder though the timing of oh, he broke his hand came out now after he gets booed. I mean, it wasn't. It's not a coincidence. It came out now and they're more descriptive on exactly what he had after months of not telling anybody he had an upper body injury. Well, we knew that, Okay, cool. But now all of a sudden, no, he's got a broken hand. He's been playing with lay off of them cup fans.

00:16:38
Speaker 3: FT fan.

00:16:39
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00:16:47
Speaker 1: That's right. Telehealth has been a huge help for millions of people, but it can be time consuming and expensive to find the right therapist. Rula is on a mission to make this process smoother and make sure you go to ruler dot com slash file for more DALs. They take most major insurance plans, and the average copey is only about fifteen dollars per session. Every provider on Rula is carefully vetted and chosen for their expertise. Thousands have already trusted Rula to support them on their journey toward improved mental health and overall well being. Head on over to rula dot com slash file to get started today. After you sign up, they ask you where you heard about them. Please say that FT sent you there to support the show, but also worry about yourself. Here at rula dot com, r u la dot com slash fo u L and take the first step towards better mental health today. You deserve quality care from someone who cares. I'm not one hundred percent on this, but but KPI. I think Pat Murphy also talked about it, and then people were like, wait what, and then yeah, they went to down.

00:17:48
Speaker 3: It's very interesting.

00:17:49
Speaker 2: Takes two were maybe just his opinion from a far kind of sparked, Okay, you know it's time to have the best interest of our players back. You know, he is getting booed, he's not performing well. Another manager is speculating on the health of my player. You know, he came out and said something along the lines as you know, we or I don't believe he's healthy. You know, the way he swing in the bat, he might have some injury. But also to AJ's point too, I mean there's many times I played through injuries, and you know, I came up in the era of social media, you know, being able to go on Twitter and seeing you know, everything that people are writing about you. And I went through a really long, extended period of time where you know, it was like a six week stretch where like I mentioned, I never hit in the cage. I never even took a swing on deck. I just went out to play, and quite frankly, I wasn't very good at the plate, and I was hoping someone would kind of just it wasn't.

00:18:40
Speaker 3: It was never gonna be me.

00:18:41
Speaker 2: That's not my DNA to come out and make an excuse like, hey, I got a tour in ucl on my thumb, That's why I'm not hitting. I kind of wish, you know, someone in the front office, my coaching staff, another player would have been like.

00:18:53
Speaker 3: Hey, this guy's playing hurt.

00:18:54
Speaker 2: Like you know, luckily I wasn't getting booed, but you know, some of the stuff I was reading was not really helping.

00:19:03
Speaker 1: AJ. Real quick, I've been doing homework here as we go. The same morning that counsel said Tucker was healthy and available, Pat Murphy was on six seventy to score in Chicago and answered a general question about the state of the Cubs by declaring, this is from the athletic let me check here. I'm sure it's yeah, Patrick Mooney, who also is a North Side Territory host. They'll be all over this, but he said Murphy opposition manager quote, I think Tucker's hurt. I don't have any information, but Tucker's not the same and more quotes Tucker's hurt. I think he's playing through it. He's such a class kid. He probably doesn't mention it to anyone. That kid, I don't know him. Everything I hear in watching him play the game first cast blah blah blah. So he says that, the then counsel confirms that, and then that's what starts this up. You've been around him, right, AJ, he's Murph No, well murphyeah, Kyle Tucker. I mean he is, like, yeah, he's very.

00:20:03
Speaker 4: Yeah, apparently he's hilarious with his teammates. But I've only seen him be very quiet. He's always polite. He says, hello, that's about it. He didn't really dig deep into conversations. So, I mean, listen, Murph, murphin counts. They have an interesting relationship. Murf probably said it didn't mean to stir it up, and now we have this.

00:20:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe he did.

00:20:23
Speaker 3: Maybe he did. Maybe he did stir it up.

00:20:26
Speaker 4: You know, I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but on this one, Murph knew what he was doing.

00:20:30
Speaker 3: Maybe there's a little gamesmanship there. There's a little games there.

00:20:33
Speaker 1: You know, Murph's good at that. That's right, Kyle Tucker apparently is a first class like Meme sender or something like that. I think on tm USA they said it was like the best texter with jokes. But yes, when you talked to him in person, he's very low key. I think that's what helps him, you know, deliver in the clutch moments too. Just his style. You don't want him to just suddenly be screaming. It's not him. Real quick, we just found out this news. The ras are calling up shortstop Carson Williams. He's one of the top prospects in the sport, super athlete, elite defender, big power potential, so uh, this could be big for Tampa Bay in the future.

00:21:11
Speaker 3: Happened?

00:21:11
Speaker 4: What day? Just happened?

00:21:12
Speaker 1: By the way, no rookie eligibility this year.

00:21:16
Speaker 4: Who again, this is the new September call up. This is the new September call We just crushed it.

00:21:24
Speaker 1: Yep. You know about that KP.

00:21:27
Speaker 3: No. I mean, I know the rule.

00:21:29
Speaker 2: I wasn't one of those players that you know, they were kind of worried about service time manipulation with. But and I'm not really familiar with him, but everything I do know about the rais is he's probably pretty good, actually, really good because they have an unbelievable way of finding talent, drafting, developing, internationally, trading. So I don't doubt that this kid they're bringing up is is talented. And you know, in the most raised way possible, they're going to save some eligibility.

00:21:58
Speaker 1: By the way, since you know we're on right now the thick of the day, I can also mention this one. Jesse Rogers just tweeted about the Cubs brewis game going on right now. Kyle Tucker got a nice ovation from the crowd and his return to the lineup, and then he worked in two count into a walk. Helps to cheer your superstar on, doesn't It doesn't hurt.

00:22:19
Speaker 4: And the timing, Remember the timings, God, the timing. Remember of the timing. All of a sudden, they're like, oh, he was playing hurt. We respect that. We just thought he was bad. See it's weird how that works.

00:22:29
Speaker 3: The timing. Yeah, to forget.

00:22:33
Speaker 2: People are so quick to forget. What have you done for me lately? What have you done for me lately? That's all they care about.

00:22:39
Speaker 1: My problem KP. Earlier in the week when we brought it up, was also the fact that and I get it, you want a player to run out of ground ball, whatever. But every Cubs fan you talk to wants him back next year. Everyone and their main concern is are we going to be cheap oh's and not pay enough for him versus the competition even though we should. Well, I know something that will help the cause. Don't boo him. Don't boo him. It's very simple.

00:23:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I'm not like a scientist a math major, but that seems makes a lot of common sense. You know, when you're a free agent of the caliber of a Kyle Tucker. You know, it never happened to me in my world, but when you were actually a free agent of that caliber, you actually get to choose where you want to play, fan base city, the way they take care of your family, all those things factor. And obviously dollars and cents is probably the number one thing for most people, but all those other little things factor. If I'm a Kyle Tucker and I'm playing the worst stretch of baseball in my career and I'm still getting applauded, supported loved on by a fan base, why would I ever want to leave? And when he's struggling, you're booing him. It makes you think makes you think, you know, it'd be interesting, but good for them for doing it, and obviously the Trey Turner thing a couple of years ago kind of you know changed, you know, everyone's sort of perspective on Hey, if we actually encourage a guy when he's sucking, maybe he'll play better. And you know, good for Tray Turner for having players backs around the league.

00:24:08
Speaker 3: Of you know, starting to play better.

00:24:10
Speaker 2: So hopefully that's the start of something big for Kyle Tucker because the Cubs need him.

00:24:15
Speaker 3: Kyle Tucker needs.

00:24:16
Speaker 2: This for his free agency, but ultimately he's gonna be fine.

00:24:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, the clubs have actually been pitching really well. They have one of the top bras. In the second half of the season, the offense fell off a bit, but this is a big week for them, better than box scrows. Let's hit a game or two from the past twenty four hours. KP. What do you have on the San Diego Padres. First off, you played for.

00:24:46
Speaker 3: The Giants, right, I played for the Giants.

00:24:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, they they're going through it this year and we had an killing on yesterday. Saying you know, she's watching every inning like this is a lifeless looking situation. Most of the team is in. It's not an injury issue. It's just I don't even know if it's under performance. They're just not good enough whatever it is, right, So the Padres beat him up yesterday. They've got the same format. Going starters have rebounded since the weekend series against the Dodgers. JP Sears actually pitched really well for them, which could be a sneaky pickup. And then while you're talking about them, we can get your appreciation Superman on this Fernando Tatist junior catch. Because he is special out in right field. I remember a time when he was shortstopping. People were like, don't move him off shortstop, and everyone's like it was okay to move him off the shortstop.

00:25:32
Speaker 3: It's kind of crazy.

00:25:33
Speaker 2: He could probably be a center fielder too, I mean, just a freak athlete, but just an unbelievable play, you know. And I know there's been a lot of talk about, you know, the lack of power that he's had at home plate, and you know, I wasn't a guy who hit a ton of home runs, but he kind of took a page out of my book. If I can't hit him, don't let other people hit him. And That's exactly what he did right there. And I just love that. You know, he makes that great play. He comes in off the field, and you know, his whole team stands at the dugout and you know, maybe.

00:26:03
Speaker 3: A play like that.

00:26:05
Speaker 2: I believe a play like that on defense will spark the offense.

00:26:08
Speaker 3: And I wouldn't be surprised to see him hit a homer here soon.

00:26:14
Speaker 1: That's a sick play. One more let's get to one more game. AJ. We started mentioning this yesterday, but the Tigers really man handled the Astros this week. I don't know which I mean. I think the more interesting direction is to go that the Astros way now the all of the wild card contenders, if you want to call the Astros that versus the Mariners whatever, Like everybody lost. There's a good tweet besides the Yankees yesterday, right, the Guardians lost, the Mariners lost, the Astros lost. Who am I missing?

00:26:47
Speaker 3: Those are the Royals?

00:26:48
Speaker 4: The Royals?

00:26:50
Speaker 1: Royals lost too, that's right.

00:26:52
Speaker 2: But that book your heart, AJ, lost you some money.

00:26:57
Speaker 1: That's true. We're doing that next. But where out on the Astros, AJ, They're gonna be okay?

00:27:03
Speaker 4: I don't know, the problem is that the Mariners keep losing too. The Astros are playing terrible and the Marriers are playing worse. I don't know. I don't know if they're gonna be okay. I think I feel like the Mariner's trajectory is better. I'll let you know after tonight, when I see him in person and I get to talk to Joe Spoda and jose Al Tuvay and the rest of the Astros here in Baltimore, I let you know. I'll let you guys know how I feel about them after that. But right now, they're not trending in the right direction, and they need to turn it around if they're gonna win this division quickly, because the Mariners are gonna come at some point and it's gonna get hard. It's gonna get hard.

00:27:36
Speaker 1: Okay, Kratz. I opened up Arena Club, put my own money in there, and I wasn't gonna go big.

00:27:42
Speaker 3: I know.

00:27:42
Speaker 1: We went over the Ruby pack a week ago. This time, I just went for the low level pack, where it's an easy entry point twenty five bucks. You can get yourself a big Boy card. The Grail has many good options. I slice open the pack. We're looking at it. If you're watching us right now, and I pull a card from the nineteen fifty He's super cool. I enjoyed the experience looking at it. It's Jim Gilliam. It's the top set from the mid fifties. But I got an offer for more than what the slap pack costs, and I sold it back. Tough times for the Dodgers right now. Don't at me, but I got twenty eight bucks instantly, so I can buy another one of those packs and try and get what I want.

00:28:20
Speaker 5: Absolutely the excitement I heard Kip say before. The excitement's in the chase. You sold it back. Now you get to open another one. I enjoy when you slide it across the screen there and the pack opens.

00:28:31
Speaker 1: Arenaclub dot com slash foul twenty percent off your first slab packer card purchase, Get after it. I don't want to go series by series, but you know, I catch a lot of flaks sometimes when I say that I feel like the National League is far, far better than the American League. And I do this in my power rankings when we do them once a month. KP and fans get after me. Oh, I'm like trying to bait people into blah blah, blah. Watch the Phillies Mariners series, and I'm not saying that, like the Phillies are world's better in the Mariners can't beat them, but it it was NL dominance execution in my mind, from starters to relievers and the bats, the whole deal, and the manners are good. It's just the Phillies looked like a powerhouse the last few days.

00:29:15
Speaker 3: The Phillies are good. I think they are.

00:29:19
Speaker 2: I mean, if we were to do power rankings today, even with Zach Wheeler potentially being done for the year, I mean, I'm putting the Phillies in my top three. I can make an argument that they're the best team in baseball. Just you talk about we talk about the intangibles. We talk about a team that's tight, the chemistry, wanting to play for each other. And then even with a Zach Wheeler out, you look at their rotation, it's still super deep. They have, you know, a potential Cy Young Award winner and Christopher Sanchez. They got a really really good bullpen too, I mean, and they have an elite closer so and you know, arguably one of the best players in baseball playing first base for them. So you know, you can make an argument they're the best team in baseball, no doubt, no doubt, you.

00:30:05
Speaker 4: Can make Listen to National League. I've said it for been saying it all year. At least four or five teams you can put in the National League before you get to an American League team as far as strength of teams. So the National League's a gauntlet. The American League is wide open. They're both kind of wide open because it's just different quality. Now, could American League team win the World Series? Absolutely, But if you're gonna if you're gonna take the best American League team, whether it's Detroit or Toronto or whoever you want to throw in that list, you put them in the National League. I don't know if they can survive running through that the way you can in the American League.

00:30:35
Speaker 1: Mm hmmm.

00:30:36
Speaker 4: We saw we saw last year with the Yankees, right the Dodgers went and throttled them in the World Series.

00:30:43
Speaker 1: Looking ahead, this is a big series. The Red Sox take on the Yankees. It's a four gamer, and we have a perfect person to talk about these two teams. And Kevin Pollari, who played for the Blue Jays for a long period of time, What do you have for us on the Yankees and the Red Sox this year. Yanks picked up oh win against the Rays, shaky from Devin Williams to close it out in extras, but they put on a power show down in Tampa, their spring training home. For the Red Sox, there was some disappointment for them this week against the Orioles, so they'll try to bounce back against the Yanks.

00:31:14
Speaker 2: What do you think I would say for a typical series, Timing is everything. I mean, if we had this conversation two and a half weeks ago, we would say Red Sox are gonna swoop the Yankees. The Yankees are done. The Red Sox were playing unbelievably, The Yankees weren't playing well. We sit here today talking about how the Red Sox, you know, let a couple of games get away. The Yankees just going this unbelievable power surge. But this is the Yankees and Red Sox. Both of these teams are legitimate contenders for a wild card position. You throw everything out the window when these two teams play. One of the more sad things that happened in my career the COVID year. I know it was tough for a lot of people. But in my baseball career, it was really tough because I signed with the Red Sox and you look forward to playing games like this, series like this, meaningful games late in August Red Sox Yankees rivalry, and unfortunately I didn't get.

00:32:09
Speaker 3: A chance to really experience it. And to this day it makes me sad.

00:32:13
Speaker 1: Right because you were in a rivalry with within your division, but not in the rivalry within the division, right, you got to be on the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays don't like the Yankees and the Red Sox.

00:32:24
Speaker 2: But it's not yeah when you're yeah, when you're when you're a member of you know you are. Arguably, when I was with the Blue Jays, you could say our biggest rival was Baltimore. That's kind of the team that we were competing with the year and in the year out. But you know, nothing matches up to the Yankees Red Sox rivalry. When I was with the Blue Jays, yeah, we didn't necessarily care for the Yankees, didn't really care for the Red Sox. You would go in there and they were important games. You know, they're indivision games more times than not. Just being a member of the Blue Jays, you kind of early in the season when all the rankings come out, the projections come out.

00:32:59
Speaker 3: No matter what sort of ros you have.

00:33:01
Speaker 2: You're kind of always put behind the Red Sox and Yankees because that's kind of where they're expected to be. You always expect the Yankees and Red Sox to finish, you know, one and two. The teams that I was on with the Blue Jays took those personally, so when we went in there, yes, they were intense games, they were meaningful games, but there is no other rivalry like the Red Sox and Yankees, and for a while that kind of went away. It was it was more of a thing that the media tried to hype up Yankees Red Sox, but both teams weren't very good at the same time. Over the last couple of years, they're both back. They're both playing really good baseball, and it's gonna be fun to watch a four game series with huge playoff implications. I'm looking forward to watching all four.

00:33:41
Speaker 1: The only thing I'll stop you on, and I'll push back on, is that I do not think it is the best rivalry in baseball anymore. I agree with you, Rodris Padres, right, Yes, I would agree with you.

00:33:53
Speaker 2: I mean, you have to factor in, you know, the recent rivalry, the recent success that both of these teams had. Obviously, the Dodger Padres geographically super close, you know, when there was a lot of you know, shit talking after the Dodgers, you know, went on to win the division and then the Padres come in and beat them in five games, and you know, I think it was very similar to this year where the Dodgers kind of had their number in the regular season and then kind of out out of nowhere, you know, the Padres were able to beat them in a series, and I.

00:34:25
Speaker 3: Think that changed the entire dynamic.

00:34:28
Speaker 2: You look forward to their series this weekend too, But you know, both of these teams are destined for the playoffs. You hope, as from a fans perspective, that you know, they meet up in the playoffs because to your point, it is the best rivalry, and in order for it to be a rivalry, the Padres had to do what they did and they had to actually beat their big brother. And right now, you know, without a doubt, it's the best rivalry in baseball.

00:34:52
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, you're talking about twenty twenty two, right when they.

00:34:55
Speaker 3: Took Yeah, twenty twenty two.

00:34:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, because obviously last year the Padres had him on the ropes and then the Dodger punched them and won the World Series. Dodgers just swept them. But yeah, I just my thing is for a rivalry to have all the juices, you need both teams to be good. I know Dodgers fans called Padres little brother, blah blah blah. They haven't won, but like, they're both good teams, they're competitive teams. They're in the thick of the playoff race year in, year out. They don't like each other, like Mike Schilton Dave Roberts going at it, You're not going to get that too quickly with Aaron Boone and Alex Korra, like, they're pretty good friends off the field. They worked together broadcasting before this, so of course they want to beat the crap out of each other's teams. But I think the Padres Dodgers hate is as real as you can get for twenty twenty five beanball, the whole deal. Maybe that comes back eventually with the Red Sox and Yankees. It's not a thing right now. It's just two good teams competitive fighting for wild card spots. Because your old Blue Jays are ahead of them and they need to keep winning ball games or somebody behind them could pass them.

00:35:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think it's okay to have a rivalry and a different way. The two managers don't have to hate each other, the players don't have to hate each other. They just both have to be really good teams, and they both kind of have to be historic teams, kind of like the Yankees and Red Sox. So as exciting as it is to have the back and forth banter between you know, the Podres manager Dodgers manager, the players you know, referring to each other as little brothers or you know, step sons or whatever they want to call each other, that's also exciting. But I think with where both of these teams are at, the only thing that really matters is when you look up on the scoreboard and you see those two teams right next to each other fighting for a wild car position. Ultimately, they're still trying to win the division. So these games are really important. And to your point, if the two managers like each other they work together, that could change in a hurry.

00:36:49
Speaker 3: You know, one up and end pitch, you know, one.

00:36:52
Speaker 2: Errant throw to an Aaron judge or a Trevor story. I mean, you throw all the friendship out the window and competition.

00:36:58
Speaker 3: They could be friends after four days.

00:37:00
Speaker 2: But you know, I expect this to be a I expect it to be a battle.

00:37:16
Speaker 1: Let's slap and John Greenberg covers the Chicago baseball scene really well, writes for The Athletic. He's been on some of our shows in the past, FT Northside Territory, et cetera. He tweeted and put out a story today which I have not read yet because it came out during the show. But the tweet explains the story if the twenty twenty seven All Star Game actually happens, because we could be in a lockout. Tickets are going to be scarce, but if you're a cub season ticket holder, you can get guaranteed access tot if you sign a three year deal. Some people are going to criticize this, and again I have not read the article yet, but I'm going to go in a different direction. In KP, it's a perk. They're trying to get people to sign up early. I don't really have a problem with this. I mean, it's like a credit card rewards kind of situation, Like, yeah, if you want all Star tickets, you sign a three year deal. You can look at that and be like, I'm not doing that. But some people get season tickets anyway, and so they're like, cool, Yeah, I'll sign up for three more years because I want them for twenty five years, and then they get access to what is really tough to accomplish, which is an All Star ticket at Wrigley Field.

00:38:17
Speaker 2: I mean, I'd imagine every season ticket holder for the Cubs is probably going to sign up for the next year, the year after that, the year after that. They've probably been in their family for, you know, twenty thirty, forty fifty years. I think it's a great perk, you know. In addition to that, I like to consider myself a little bit of a businessman too. You sign up for three years, you get those All Star Game tickets. What are those All Star Game tickets go for? Maybe you can make a year season worth back by selling your All Star Game tickets.

00:38:45
Speaker 1: I love it, right, That is true. If you know you're going to be a season ticket holder and do you want to try and make some of that money back on your seats, you can work it that way. Of course, obviously you're paying for eighty one home games. It doesn't math out quite that way, but there are to sell some of your big games and your all Star tickets to balance things out. Some people do that. I'm not smart enough to handle all of that. Point being that this actually didn't surprise me one bit. You're not just giving them out like it's nothing. It's it's hard to find good All Star tickets.

00:39:15
Speaker 3: So anyway, I mean, is it even gonna happen? Though? Is the question? Does it even matter?

00:39:20
Speaker 5: Well?

00:39:21
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