Home field edge debate, AJ’s M’s-Tigers breakdown, Chourio’s hammy

00:00:02
Speaker 1: We got a lot to do today, a lot to do. AJ doing a great job. Love listening to the Tigers Mariners series going on right now, and we're gonna dive into that one coming up in just a moment. But before that, the annual rest versus rust discussion. I don't want to spend more than thirty seconds on it, but based on what Milwaukee and Toronto alone did, are we cool to say? Who fing cares?

00:00:30
Speaker 2: Does it matter? Because the teams that got rest won some games and the teams that got rest lost some games, So what does it really matter? I'm I've been banging on this trum forever. I don't think it matters. But that's just me. Teams matter, and.

00:00:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, but it matters to the Red Sox, it matters to any of the teams that got bounced in the last round, right because.

00:00:54
Speaker 2: I'm talking about that team still playing. I'm talking about teams still playing scot those teams that are home their home, they don't care about the rest. We've got lots of rest now. But I want to get rid of.

00:01:02
Speaker 1: The narrative that it's like, oh, you can't hit coming off that right, like the Brewers and the Blue Jays they can hit.

00:01:09
Speaker 2: You're right, And the Dodgers had a chance to win that game and didn't. Sorry, krats, And also listen to Mariners ran into no hitting except for calin Julio. Their layoff didn't seem to hurt them at all. They seem to be doing just fine. Callin Julio or are swinging it all right? And Plannka went deep off Scooba last night twice and he had a week off. So I listen, if you lose, you cry about the rest, and if you win, nobody cares. So just win, baby, as Al Davis would say.

00:01:36
Speaker 1: That's right. And also you meant Philly's had a chance to win first the Dodgers, right.

00:01:40
Speaker 2: Sorry, sorry, yeah, I got you. Just red Eye last night, Scott, get you that red Eye. Yeah, I'll de Detroit, It'll get you.

00:01:49
Speaker 1: You're in prime form, all right, Krats, Rest versus rest?

00:01:52
Speaker 3: Last word, it's gonna be fifty to fifty forever. Who really cares? My biggest thing, Go ask the Red Sox they want to rest. Go ask all the teams have played in the first round. Everybody wants rest because there's half those teams every year go home. So you never want to play that Wildcard round boom exactly.

00:02:13
Speaker 1: All right, So it's Monday, we're back. We're recapping the weekend, and we're also doing postgame shows this week. So we'll lay out the schedule for this evening. There are two games tonight, and we will be on after the second game. That's Milwaukee and Chicago. There you go, Cubs and Brewers, nine o'clock East Coast time, eight o'clock Central out there, and we'll talk about that one. Plus we'll do our recap of the prior game as well, the Dodgers and the Phillies. So you'll get thoughts from us tonight, and then of course we'll keep recapping tomorrow. But let's charge chout one to one Tigers and Mariners. Let's start there. That's the most recent game since our show, right because that was Sunday night, and that's along with Adam Wainwright and Adam Amin i'll call in the game on Fox. AJA thoughts on the one to one series heading to Detroit here.

00:03:09
Speaker 2: Well, Detroit had a chance to really take a stranglehold with Schooble pitching last night and the Mariners, listen, Luis Castillo did an amazing job. These have been two awesome games. If you haven't watched these two games now, granted, if you like offense, you're not going to see a lot of that. But if you like pitching and a couple some clutch hitting and a lot of strategy, these are the games for you because there is like who should they bring in? When should they take the starter out? Who should they pinch hit for? Should they bunch? Should they run? What should they do? And the game on Saturday went extra innings and the Tigers won three to two, and with a clutch hit from Zach McKinstry after a leadoff walk in a wild pitch. And then last night Plonka with the two homers off schoobl Spencer Torcosson with a huge base hit, and we can debate pitch calling all day long. Cratzy as you know. And then all of a sudden, to Calin Julio show shows up back to back doubles of Kyle Finnegan, a guy who has now pitched in four or five days, and the Mariners beat the Tiger three to two. And if you didn't see the guy crying in the stands that we showed on Fox, it was incredible. The guy in a banana's hat because it was the first win for the Mariners in Seattle since two thousand and one, two thousand and one since they won a home playoff game, and the Seahawks had just lost and late in the game, so they were already all riled up. They're facing school and then they win through to two. There was a lot of emotions in Seattle on the crowd there has been awesome. So I hope Detroit matches that crowd.

00:04:31
Speaker 3: I saw a bunch of people online saying these are boring games because there's not a lot of offense. Why would I want to even watch this series? This is the reason these games are so close. It hinges on one pitch. It hinges on your pitch selection, It hinges on the fact that you know how to get a guy out because both these offenses are kind of struggling minus Holy Ow and Cow, but every pitch what could change the trajectory of both these teams.

00:05:00
Speaker 4: I think the Mariners are the better team.

00:05:03
Speaker 3: I think the Tigers had their chance, and I think it's swung back in the favor of the Mariners. Oh wait, except the Mariners now have to go as as aj says, East of Spokane, So we'll see how they play. I think they still have the advantage, but they're out of their friendly confines. And I have no idea why that guy was crying.

00:05:27
Speaker 1: That's true though. It's two weeks too for the Tigers and now they're back home. What aj you're you're going.

00:05:33
Speaker 2: To defend eleven eleven eleven Street?

00:05:35
Speaker 5: No?

00:05:35
Speaker 2: I think guys, listen, it was awesome.

00:05:37
Speaker 4: Man.

00:05:37
Speaker 2: The guy has yeah, I like he's having a moment, all right, he was having a moment, had a moment just come on, yeah, I mean.

00:05:43
Speaker 3: Not about a game, but I mean, come on, that was twenty four years ago.

00:05:47
Speaker 4: How old was that guy? How old was that guy? Eleven?

00:05:51
Speaker 2: I don't know how old he was, but it was awesome. It was an awesome shot by our director Mitch Regan. So way to go camera, guys, and Mitch for nailing that shot.

00:05:58
Speaker 1: Also careful and I'll tell you why. And then you'll go, oh, what if, for example, there's someone close and he lost them and he's thinking they would be loving this moment right now? Just throwing that those kind of ideas out there because that's what happens so often with other teams that hadn't say, won a World Series in forever, and you have emotions and tears, and often they're connected to lifetime memory, experienced, family, friends, situations. Just throwing that out there.

00:06:24
Speaker 4: Yeah, that's a good one. That's a good one.

00:06:28
Speaker 2: Sure anyway, And by the way, no, but by the way, listen, I don't know what's going to happen in this series. But now it gets really interesting because the Mariners are so much better at home than they are in the road. And they come to Detroit, where they did sweep the Tigers right before they All Star break, but it was a different team. They get Flaherty, who pitched really well in the Wildcard Series, as we know, the bullpens get a day of rest, and then Logan Gilbert. Everyone was shocked he didn't pitch Game one or two. Nobody really got a reason why. It was just kind of we want Castillo and Kirby to pitch one and two. There wasn't really any reason given other than oh, we like and Gilbert in Game three. So the Mariner has been terrible on the road, as we know, they were the best home record, I think in baseball this year in the American League. So I don't know what's going to happen, but it's just it's intriguing as hell. These games are tight because neither one of these teams has really hit the ball very well. So much, like I said, so much strategy with these two managers. When are they bringing in first game the Kerry Carpenter home run? He have brought in Gabe Spier to pitch to him instead of letting Kirby face him for the third time? Who carry Carpenter owns? He's now five for eleven with five homers. That's it. He's five for eleven with five homers. No singles, no doubles, no triples, just he just hits homers off of them and they let him pitch to him and he hit the home run, and then the bullpen usage and the way it went down. I mean, if you talk to the people in the media around those games, they are like, man, you second guess everything in these series. It's awesome and it has been. It's been awesome. Yeah, it's not the thirteen to seven or whatever the Yankees Blue Jays game was yesterday, but at least they have been close games and there's a lot to talk about.

00:07:54
Speaker 1: Our playoff coverage for the next few weeks is all presented by Fox One. Shout out to them and the new app and streaming service where you can get yourself a seven day free trial at foxone dot com. So for example, if you're like, I don't have anything else, but I want to watch the playoffs, then you can watch AJ and Adam and Adam do their game and then eventually obviously the CS and the World Series as well. All you AJ, We're gonna watch you even if we can't.

00:08:25
Speaker 2: Right, we were in commercial. I was like, well, I didn't realize this was live. I know, sorry, this is the commercial. You get MLB obviously in the playoffs because Fox rules MLB playoffs. I think you get Big Noon, which is their big college football show. I don't know if you can get the NFL on there, but yeah, you get games. Oh well, then how do you not have Fox one? I have Fox one. I watch it all the time. I need to watch a game. People are complaining they couldn't find the game. If you have Fox one there it is boom, It's easy.

00:08:56
Speaker 1: What about Brian Wu not being involved here for this the pectoral inflammation since our last show is when we learned that he's officially not part of this series. To me, it makes game three even more critical for the marriage. Is Bryce Miller rumored to Yes.

00:09:13
Speaker 2: He starts scheduled. He's scheduled to start in game four. Now how long will we go? It all depends on Game three, I think. But these managers are riding their bullpens hard. Other than Schooble, like the ultimate we talk about X factors, the ultimate wildcard is schoobl because Hinch knows that he can get seven innings like he did last night. And listen to people that say, oh, scoobld and Pitchell. He went seven innings, gave up two solo homers, punched out I think nine. I think in seven innings. One walk that's usually pretty good, that's usually really good against the team that won their division at home. That it's been way better at home. So Schooble pitch really well. He made two mistakes other than that, and then Finnegan came in and gave it the two doubles. But man, I mean, listen, I don't know what we're gonna get out of Logan Gilbert, but it's gonna be fascinating to watch. And then Bryce Miller when he starts. He might go well one time through maybe, and then they're gonna run to their bullpen, which has been great, So we'll see how it goes. But Jack Flaherty tomorrow and then Casey myyes, I mean if you look on paper, you're like, man, I think maybe the Tigers have a little bit of an advantage because they're at home. But you could have said that about Game two and the Tigers lost a schoobl game with a chase chance to really put their foot on the Mariner's throat and put them away maybe, but they didn't do it.

00:10:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, that makes this one pretty tough to predict right now, Crass, You've got a team that struggles away from home and they're down basically their best starter this year, right, I mean, Brian wu was their best starting pitcher and he was durable and going deep into games for them. It's a massive loss for this team, whether it's in the division series or the next round, it is going to burn them because they had a big three and a half ish. I guess you could put Castillo in there. He looked really good in Game two. But man, you're so much more dangerous if you're the Mariners. If you have a guy who's a legit number one for the entire twenty twenty five season in your rotation.

00:11:00
Speaker 3: I mean you would think Logan Gilbert's a legit number one too, he just hasn't been this year. To me, if AJ's right and it's going to be bull down to the bullpens, Mariners have the advantage.

00:11:11
Speaker 4: I get it.

00:11:12
Speaker 3: The Mariners have gotten you know, their bullpen got cooked last night because Castillo went four and a third or four and two thirds. But the Tigers have been using their bullpen. But this is where the wild card and the layoff comes into play. The Tigers have been playing their bullpen, has been pitching every single day, and to me, it's going to catch up to them somewhere. And if it becomes two teams that are playing bullpen games, I think it's advantage Mariners.

00:11:45
Speaker 1: And just want to shout out the other historic part here. Yeah, I mean, Seattle hadn't even won a postseason game at home, like we talked about at the top there, so that's special. I think Julio Rodriguez being the big, big long term money guy for them showing up big with some clutch knocks in the first two games is huge. So some shout outs there, and then one other thing. I started to mention AJ the Tigers. They looked up. They hadn't been home in two weeks.

00:12:10
Speaker 2: I don't know.

00:12:11
Speaker 1: Yeah, eleven game, it's a long time. They're probably happy they get to change underwear.

00:12:16
Speaker 2: It was pretty funny. Hinchester in his office and we're like, oh, you get to go home. And they didn't actually take the red eye home. They took there. They spent the night interflying. I think they get home maybe four or five o'clock this afternoon. So the Mariners took the red Eye and got here early this morning, and the Tigers shows to spend another night in the road. If I was on those Tigers teams, I would have been like, give me the heck home so I can sleep in my own bed. I don't want to sleep in another hotel. But they chose to do it the way they do it. Teams have all these sleep schedules and all that stuff, and oh man, it's just it's it's fascinating how this is going to go.

00:12:47
Speaker 1: Does Gabs Fire have to face Carrie Carpenter now? In those kind of moments, like if you're mid game and you're thinking about it, and it's a one or two run game and there's too much pressure. You have to just bring him in as the kryptonite.

00:13:00
Speaker 2: Him and him and Calen Ferguson have to face that pocket of Riley Green and Kerry Carpenter.

00:13:07
Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, that to me was the big change from game one to game two.

00:13:12
Speaker 4: Right.

00:13:12
Speaker 1: If there's one thing a manager can can impact it that and Kratz. The move was made by Dan Wilson. It's like, if I get beat this time around, okay, but I'm not going to get beat with the same exact strategy.

00:13:23
Speaker 3: Because you may not ever get to another at bat like you, Like I get it, you might want to try to get by him and Kerry Carpenter's shown that.

00:13:31
Speaker 4: I get it. He caught him that time.

00:13:33
Speaker 3: But until he can beat Spire or Ferguson, can't can't let it, can't let it happen. You got it, That's where you gotta go to. So you're gonna live and die on that hill.

00:13:45
Speaker 4: Mm hmmm.

00:13:46
Speaker 1: One more quick shoutouts. I don't know, I don't remember if we really said his name much yet, but Zach McKinstry has had an awesome year and had the clutch knock in Game one. Otherwise, who knows. Maybe the Mariners do get themselves a little walk off action and then's too to Detroit.

00:14:00
Speaker 2: Zach mckinchry had a great first half. Don't don't look at his second half numbers because no, boy, no, he had a great first half. He did not have a good second half. I'm sorry a lot of it. But you could say that about a lot of these Tigers. Also, by the way you talk, we're going to talk Tiger's territory. Cody. Cody, who's on Tiger's territory, walked right by me, blew me off. I had to call him out on it in Tiger's club house. I was like, oh, I don't say hi, you're fired.

00:14:23
Speaker 1: Wow. And with that Tiger territory. If if you're mad at Aj because you think that he's favoring the Mariners, then the Tigers and the Tigers and the Mariners, then schoolball, then Kirby whatever, then you can listen to Cody Stavenhagen and the Tiger Territory crew part of the Ft network. Maybe he's just a little grumpy because he doesn't have the club. He's washing underwear and socks like Schoogle had to get because they ran out of things on the road. Hey, there's a manager's search going on. There's many of them, actually, So Kurtzuzuki interviewed for the Giants opening A catcher being interviewed by catcher Buster Posey, forty one years old, sixteen seasons in Biggs. Currently a special assistant to the GM with the Angels, Nick Huntley is in the mix for the Giants' opening job. No guarantees, but the Rangers executive and former catcher with the Giants is according to John Hymen. The last one was according to Robert Murray. But anyway, this former Giants catcher well respected and Buster Posey's backup in twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen. Well, AJ sounds like Buster Posey is interested in hiring a catcher.

00:15:25
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean Kratz was available. Kratz was a catcher. Krowts played for the Giants. Didn't he play with Buster Posey? White Krauts Krowts, Why a don't you getting an interview?

00:15:32
Speaker 4: Matt?

00:15:33
Speaker 2: Come on, put your name in that ring. You want to you know you want to do that?

00:15:36
Speaker 3: Who said I didn't? Who said I don't like traffic? In San Francisco, who said, I don't like a forty five minute commute three miles away.

00:15:44
Speaker 2: You don't have to You can do a boat. You didn't live across the street. You can just walk. You don't even need a commute, you don't even need a car.

00:15:49
Speaker 3: I know Buster, I know, I know Buster likes Nick. I know Buster liked Nick a lot because I came to I came to San fran in nineteen and I think it was something that Buster and far Haan didn't quite agree because Nick didn't have the receiving numbers like they really wanted, and so that's why they brought me in to fill in for a little bit until they found until Voter got healthy. But so I know he really liked Nick as a person.

00:16:15
Speaker 1: Injury suck. We do have some injury news to hit with the Cubs Brewers series. Jackson Cheerio missed time with a hammy. Then he left the game even though he had a game's worth of production with a hammy issue. We'll see how much of a factor it is for the rest of the series. I mean, he had gone three for three in the first couple innings of a shellacking that the Brewers put on the Cubs in that first game. AJ concern level for Cheerio. I mean, he's a big part of the team. I know this is like a sum of parts kind of team and organization, but Jackson Cheerio is special.

00:16:47
Speaker 2: Oh he's very special here. They did play a long time without him though, so they've used to playing without Jackson Turia. But in the playoffs, you want your best players out there, and I think he's gonna try to be out there no matter what. Man, what a first two innings you had to what three hits in two inns for youngest guy ever, first to ever have three hits in the first two innings or something crazy. But they're they're gonna need him if they want to make as deep a run as the Brewers think they can do. So they have already enough injuries, let's let's get Jackson back healthy because he's fun to watch.

00:17:15
Speaker 3: I mean, who are they gonna fill in with that's better than him?

00:17:18
Speaker 4: Is my thing.

00:17:19
Speaker 3: There's people that can't do as well as he does. But when you're talking about having the best players out there, you always want the best players. And he wasn't even at one hundred percent. He's still coming back from his previous injury a little bit slowed down, but they need I'm not gonna say they need him back in there, but they are a better team with him in the lineup, bar none, hands down.

00:17:45
Speaker 1: Can they win this round without him?

00:17:47
Speaker 2: No doubt? Yes, Humming, I don't even think. I mean, we didn't get to talk about it, but you guys, I'm sure you guys talked about it. Maybe I don't know, No, we didn't.

00:17:58
Speaker 1: I know what you're gonna say, Boyd.

00:18:00
Speaker 2: Matt Boyd, like you never have anyone ever gone into a game one of a playoff series doing a guy on short rest? And I don't think. I don't know Mad Boys ever pitched on short rest, but it shouldn't look like he'd ever pitched on short rest because that game was over as soon as the first inning happened. I mean, I listen, I was watching that, and we know where I stand on the Cubs. And I went and took a shower and it was one nothing Cubs, and I came out and it was ten pitches in and it was three to one Brewers, and I was like, holy crap, what happened? And then it just kept going and going, and when the defense fell apart. That was that was a strange game for the Cubs. But gosh, I mean, I just don't know that. I mean, I know they had to go three games with the Padres, but man, they threw Matt Boyd on short rest in the first game of a series like that was It seemed odd to me.

00:18:42
Speaker 1: And Matt Boyd, you know, was an incredible signing for them. I had a huge first half, he was an All Star. Wasn't as good in the second half, especially in his last I want to say, like eight starts or so. So you're looking at all of that and you're like, is he tired? Because last year, remember he's coming off surgery, he went like fifty something innings and eight appearances I think almost two hundred innings one hundred almost one to eighty this year, right, So add all of that up. Is that who you want to start on short rest? It has nothing to do with Matt to me, Kratz, it had more to do with just the durability factor here for somebody who hadn't pitched like that. And yes, to answer AJ's question three times in his career, all of them a long time ago, like twenty fifteen, sixteen and seventeen one time each of those years. So to me, it was like a risk and it completely bombed. Right, That's what happened there. I mean his stuff was not as sharp as it usually looks. They were hanging breaking pitches. You know, even the fastball wasn't as sharp as it usually is. Is that what you saw?

00:19:39
Speaker 3: Yeah, it looked like he was not crisp. And you're gonna go right to the short rest. And I've been in these meetings with Craig Council down the stretch end of the season, our best pitcher was Julie's Chessine. I mean, nobody's gonna say, oh, twenty eighteen, the Brewers rode the back of he's just seen No. We kept asking him to throw on short rest, short rest, short rest, short rest, and the picture is always in that moment gonna say yes I can go. I have never seen heard been a part of a meeting where a pictuer goes, I don't know, man, like I just I'm not gonna have it. So if you're a manager, you're anization, and you go to that guy and say, can you give it to us? Can you give us game one? Because then we'll have you back in game five too, if we need you like you're our best shot. Even at eighty percent, picture's always going to be like one hundred percent. This means the world to me. I want it, and it didn't work out for him.

00:20:42
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00:21:04
Speaker 2: The lab results came back for me.

00:21:06
Speaker 4: Now it's streamlines everything.

00:21:08
Speaker 3: That I kind of had an idea of, but now it really lets me focus on the things that I'm deficient in, the things that I have good, good lab test results from. And I could go in that direction.

00:21:22
Speaker 1: I want to go nutritional guidance, supplement suggestions, you name it. There's so much more info to check out at superpower dot com and you can lock in the special one hundred and ninety nine dollars price while at lasts after you sign up, they're gonna ask you how you heard about them? Mention ft to support the show Your biology decoded, Your blueprint activated with superpower. Let's talk about Sarah Langs and the Blue Jays stat note that I think probably stood out more than any other eight home runs so far there severely outslugging. The Yankees seven strikeouts in their first two games, so they're doing both and aj the only time this is happened. More homers are about strikeouts in the first two games of a postseason two thousand and five, White Stocks six homers, four k's in two games.

00:22:10
Speaker 2: Guess who had two of those homers Scott and I'll think he had one only. I mean he had two all year and they were both in the postseason. But but I don't know if I had any strikeouts. So yeah, I was two on the plus side, zero on the negative side. That's pretty good. That's pretty amazing. Actually, if you think about it more home and now back twenty years ago was a little different. But in today's game, because I just watched the series with the Mariners. I watched two games with the Mariners and the Tigers, and they strike out, it's like ten, twelve, fifteen, whatever. We're going to strike out fifteen times a game. We're still gonna try and win. But to eight homers and seven punch outs, especially against now that I mean Freed and Heel, but Freed is the big one who usually gets punch outs, and the Yankees bullpen supposed be able to get punch outs. So kudos to the Blue Jays.

00:22:55
Speaker 3: You said it's different. You said it's different, but you're not facing any You're not facing a fourth and fifth starter in the postseason. You're not facing the sixth guy out of the bullpen. I don't care if it's nineteen fifty four or twenty twenty five. You're facing the best pitchers. Those stats, those stats to out homer your strikeouts is awesome.

00:23:18
Speaker 4: That is an amazing stat.

00:23:22
Speaker 2: That's why I were at the best postseason team of all time Crats, And I'll stand by that one because we went eleven and one in the postseason and didn't strike out and hit homers and we're just awesome and through four complete games. So I know people ask me I think we did. I had to do the breakdown for Fox. They asked me to do it for Fox. One the best five postseason teams since two thousand. Of course mine was number one? Are you kidding me? But yeah?

00:23:47
Speaker 4: Who else did you have up there?

00:23:49
Speaker 2: I think two was the two thousand Yankees because they were the end of the three peat two thousand and four Red Sox for three. I think Dodgers last year we're five and four.

00:24:00
Speaker 4: Was I can't say Royal.

00:24:04
Speaker 2: Was one of the twelve, the twenty twelve Giants, the twenty twelve Giants just because I think that was the best team of three the three that they won. I thought the twelve team was the best team.

00:24:13
Speaker 1: Hey, alexand Thoppolos spoke over the weekend at his end of season media session. They said they're working on the next manager. But he did mention AJ that if Brian Snicker wanted to continue managing, he would have been given that opportunity. Of course, some brave Patroll fans online were like, I don't believe you. But he didn't have to say this, and eventually it could get disputed by someone, So I believe him.

00:24:36
Speaker 2: Why not?

00:24:36
Speaker 1: I think they would have let him come back for another season and then finish it if that's what he wanted to do.

00:24:41
Speaker 2: This was one Snid's decision. I feel like I don't feel like Alexandobos was lying about this at all. I think I think this was what Snitt weighed his options. He's got grand kids, a game, an opportunity to still be part of the organization for his fiftieth year in the organization. Yeah, would have been cool if he would have been managing. Yeah, but he went through a lot, man, and he's won a World Series. He was there with Bobby forever and one of the cool things was, I don't know if you'll knew this or not, but in Bull Durham he was and Susan Sarandon's wall, he was the little baseball card that is under mirror in early in the movie. So, France Sticker has done a lot in life, done a lot for the Braves organization. He deserved to go out the way he wanted and this was the way he wanted to go out.

00:25:22
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:25:23
Speaker 1: Now the Braves will look for their next manager, and somebody is going to have a position where you can jump into a lot of talent very quickly. This is a much more coveted job than quite a few of the other spots. You know, it's a big one. This isn't going to be a first year Guy New segment, Larry pressure Cooker. We're talking about the Phillies Dodgers series. So Kratz, obviously you're watching most of the Phillies games this year, and you see what happened in Game one where the Dodgers take them down five unanswered runs. I'm going to actually start here. Is the home field advantage more fun for us as a narrative in a storyline than the actual impact they've lost for of their last five games at his Citizens Bank Park. They've had other bad losses there, what a couple of years ago when the Diamondbacks took them down. I'm not trying to slight the Phillies in general. I'm just more slighting the home field advantage discussion that we like to talk about and that looks and sounds fun, but does it really do anything.

00:26:22
Speaker 4: No.

00:26:23
Speaker 3: Maybe there's something with a team not playing at home, like they're not as comfortable, so you're playing against a team that's not as comfortable, but it doesn't mean Citizens Bank is any more Like, Oh man, I'm so nervous these fans are really they just feel like they're really getting on me too much. I don't know if I'm going to be able to hit. I've never met a player that's said, I'm not going to be able to catch the ball in the outfield If I can't, if the Citizens Bank fans are going to be crazy, They're crazy out there.

00:26:54
Speaker 4: Now.

00:26:54
Speaker 3: I've been played, I've played with guys who at home they're home team fans boo them and hate them so much that they didn't like playing at home during the regular season. But those are few and far between softer players, but not in No, No, I don't think. I don't think it has the It's more a media driven, like fun story.

00:27:19
Speaker 4: Yeah. I mean.

00:27:21
Speaker 2: The smallest, no, the smallest home field advantage in any sport is baseball. To me, it doesn't It doesn't do anything. Now, I remember playing in the Metronome in the playoffs and it was loud as all get out, but it never really affected a game. I mean, yeah, I don't know, the white roof affected more games than the crowd noise did so, and the turf affected more games than the crowd noise did so. Was it loud yeah? Was it awesome? Yeah? But at the same time, I mean, hopefield advantage in baseball just just doesn't do it a lot for me. It's cool because guys get get you know, the cheers and the moments when the home runs and all that happened are great and got guys crying because they just can't believe that their team won a playoff game. But other than that, it doesn't do a lot.

00:28:01
Speaker 3: I will also say though, that I think the fact that Baseball doesn't have a neutral site for their final game of the season is the greatest part of it. Like I would hate a neutral site for Baseball championship games, like I hate that the Super Bowl is won at a city that near the teams playing. I love the fact because it's such a long season, fans have a part of it. They feel like they're a part of it, and they ride along with this team. So I don't I wouldn call it an advantage. I would just call it like we look at the Mariners. Look at the Mariners. The Mariners play really well at home. Maybe they're just a really good team and their travel sucks, so that's why they don't play good on the road. They're out on the East Coast for nine days, being in a different time zone. Maybe that's why they don't play well on the road. Maybe they're just a good team and when they're in more of a comfortable situation, sleeping time zone, families around them, all those things that has nothing to do with like what's going on in the stadium.

00:29:07
Speaker 4: Well.

00:29:08
Speaker 1: Also, if you want to factor in ballparks, AJ, some ballparks play very different, right.

00:29:14
Speaker 2: But Mariners Seattle Mariners for sure, Like in this series.

00:29:18
Speaker 1: Philadelphia is obviously a hitters park. But like the Dodgers, I think I have more homers than the Phillies this year. So it's not like, oh, the Phillies have this advantage. They're this home run hitting team and the Dodgers aren't. Like the Dodgers are loaded with power.

00:29:30
Speaker 2: Agreed, Yeah, ballpark factor is a big deal. But you know, Seattle is a huge difference because of the ballpark, the worst hitting place in the in the league. So yeah, does it matter. I mean, the fans are great because they get behind you and they're you know, they make they make moments. The fans make the moments. The players do the things, and then the fans and the way they cheer and the reaction makes a lot of the moment. So does it?

00:29:52
Speaker 4: Yeah?

00:29:53
Speaker 2: I mean, but Milwaukee in Chicago, they've played at each other's park for how many I mean, you know, fifteen times a year forever, so they're used to going to those places. The Dodgers have played at Phillies. They have a bunch of veterans. The Phillies have played at Dodger Stadium a million times because they have a bunch of veterans. So I mean, the Yankees and Blue Jays play again twenty times a year, so they're used to going to Toronto. They're used to go in to the Yankee Stadium. It's not that big of a deal. So I mean, I think I love home field advantage. I love home field and engine football. I love home field advantage in the NBA. I love home field oh my ice advantage in the NHL. But in baseball it's just not a thing. I don't think. And look at the series, look at who won and who didn't win. Right, road teams won and home teams won. It's very equal.

00:30:35
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00:30:58
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00:31:13
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00:31:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, because Christopher Sanchez, Because Christopher is really good.

00:31:50
Speaker 1: Sanchez is let's not forgetting Christmas is really good. Yeah, dirty change up. He was top He's gonna finish top three side in the National League this year. We do have lineup he'll get to. I mean, I'm just saying three to be safe in case I'm forgetting someone. But you're right, he'll probably be number two. So we have two injury factors here with this series to keep an eye on. One is Will Smith returning right. We saw him appear for the first time in Game one later in the game, but he's not in the starting lineup for Game two. So that's on the Dodgers side still Ben Wertvett, who actually took a pitch to the forearm, but he's shacked, so I don't think it bothered him much. If anything, you know, the trainers come out and look at him, and I think he's just given a few extra minutes for show hey to take a breath. But Will Smith's out and Kratz Arison Bader is not in the starting lineup for Game two. He can't run yet at one hundred percent. This according to manager Rob Thompson, he would probably or possibly, I should say, that was the word he used to be available to pinch hit. He's been a great pick up for them at the trade deadline. How much does this hurt?

00:32:58
Speaker 3: It hurts if the Phillies and they strike out twelve times again, just like they did the last time, Blake Snell just kept throwing that curveball to him. Nick was in the lineup that time. The lineup is essentially exactly besides Mundo Sosa the last time they faced Blake Snell. So it hurts them. It hurts them because Bader was doing well. It hurts them because maybe Nick hasn't gotten a lot of at bats, but now they have the guy who had the second most hits, had the best series last year in the playoffs in Nick Costianas. This team's back is up against the wall and they're facing a dude who dominated him less than a month ago. And I don't care who's out there autto Camp's hitting ninth. You know, Nick Costianos is essentially in the middle of the order. I think that six to seventh spot in the playoffs is the prime location for big spots because you're you're not gonna let the big boys hurt you. You're not gonna let Schwarber, Harper and maybe even Baum if he's had some success against lefties, not gonna let those guys hurt you. So it's at six, seven, eight slot that's probably not your better hitters, but you can't let them hurt you, or you can't let the other guys hurt you. So you're gonna have to go after somebody.

00:34:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, and top three in the order is gonna have to do better than one for eleven with six strikeouts. Stars got to be stars. And I know it's only one game, but star's got to be stars. Trey Turner, Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper.

00:34:29
Speaker 3: And why is Will Smith? Why is Will Smith okay to catch five innings of a game but not okay to start?

00:34:39
Speaker 2: It's a great question for Dave Roberts. Should have them on Dodger's territory.

00:34:42
Speaker 4: You're here like a hand.

00:34:46
Speaker 3: That hand to me has to hurt more because after the home run he got hit by the pitch by robertson the curve ball and then the home run, he's waiting for ta Oscar at home plate. And I mean he's got the big Mitt thing on his right hand and he's only high fiving with his left hand. Maybe I'm making too much out of it because he's got the big mint thing. But if he's okay to play, sorry, I know. Ben Rovetz has called some amazing games. I mean he has been. He has been the picture whisperer or the pictures are just really good. But Will Smith played almost half the game, I think, if not more than half the game. I'm not sure how many innings he he was in there for. But so he's not good enough to start. I'm confused by that.

00:35:34
Speaker 1: I am too. I mean I thought I caught a quote from him that he was almost one hundred percent.

00:35:39
Speaker 4: Maybe it's game.

00:35:41
Speaker 1: Yeah, Oh you think he saw after catching for a day and a half, I think.

00:35:47
Speaker 2: So, I don't know.

00:35:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, you mean his hand to sore, like his body's sore from because he didn't play.

00:35:53
Speaker 2: Maybe his body's I don't know why he did.

00:35:54
Speaker 1: I don't know, but he was lat in about a month. He hadn't caught it about him like he's been out for a minute, you know, And then he gets thrust back into the scene here. But he's played a lot of postseason ball. I mean, you guys, tell me, if you don't catch it all for a month and I don't think he'd rehab games or anything like that, right then you just jump right back into the playoffs. There's a half game versus a game and then a day off any of that matter, or you're like, nah, screw it.

00:36:20
Speaker 2: I mean I screw it. I'm saying screw it because especially the day off following it. I'm in there.

00:36:26
Speaker 3: I mean, I think a rusty let's put it this one here, here's a good example. Aji Prasinski, Aeric Kratz. Aeric Kratz is calling great games. Aj Persinski hasn't played for a month. He's gonna be rusty. Who do you think is a better hitter? Who do you think is gonna have more impact than their fore at bats in the game in the playoffs? To me, it's a no brainer. Me at one hundred percent is still not as good as eighty percent of Aj Perzinski.

00:36:57
Speaker 1: But Aj has very high pain tolerance. I don't know what Will has.

00:37:02
Speaker 4: That's never judge. I know there's a pain time. Yeah I don't.

00:37:05
Speaker 2: Yeah, you can't judge it. Never judge that because you never know.

00:37:08
Speaker 1: That's what I'm saying. I don't know. So that's a thing because they mentioned it on the broadcast, even though he said he's close to one hundred percent and laurn Trot. He's talking and you usually get information like that from the coaching staff, and she's saying pain tolerance thing for him. So then I'm like, okay, which which one pain tolerance thing or one because those two things are a little bit different. But anyway, he's not in the lineup for Game two. We'll see if that's a factor. Maybe the Dodgers are like, ah, we don't care, We're so good. We'll just ease him back into the mix. The Dodgers are playing for the World Series, just like they were playing for October for most of the regular season. They're like, we're just we're prepping. We're we're getting load management in for the World Series. I mean they're up one. Oh, they're in control. Roki Sazaki's the best closer on the planet now. Skip Schumacher is a skipper now again in Major League Baseball for the Rangers. And if you caught what was it Thursday or Friday show, you probably already had a good feeling about it. Kratz, what did you say or what did you say? I can't talk. It's probably some other teams interested. Well, that seemed to be the case for people that were recording about it. And he lands himself a four year contract.

00:38:11
Speaker 4: Yeah, got you gotta do it.

00:38:12
Speaker 3: Maybe you gotta do a litle extra if you really want your guy free agency. Skip Schumacher went to manager free agency. So good for Skip. Good for the Rangers too, because they're still on a spot where they want to win and he's clearly shown that he can win in Miami, so I'm pretty sure he can win with a with a nice star studded lineup too.

00:38:31
Speaker 1: Yeah, this was all set up this way, aj that he goes over to the Rangers to work in the front office for a year and then Boachie is done.

00:38:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, he was a manager in waiting kind of right, is what they said. He went over there and everyone this is one of the reasons why they thought Boachi might only be there for one more year, and he was. And now Skip slides right in because there was you know, thoughts of Skip maybe going to San Francisco had been mentioned. I know Saint Louis. But Ali's back again. There was places where Skip's name had come up as a possible replace, and now he's in Texas and they know him, he knows the organization. Seems like a pretty easy transition if you ask me.

00:39:08
Speaker 1: Yeah, did a nice job with the Marlins. You got the Marlins to the playoffs and got fired and got fired. But so did the yemended, so did the GM. Essentially, they essentially pushed the GM at the time out the door, and Kim Ang, who built the team for two three years, got him to the playoffs, and then they were like, we're basically demoting you and going to hire someone above you, so you should leave. I mean that's they should have.

00:39:36
Speaker 2: You should ask Polar this because you can Skip Schumacher. You know. He mentioned some things going on there mm hmm and changed some of them.

00:39:44
Speaker 3: Things the culture, the environment.

00:39:49
Speaker 1: Well we just heard KP about the Blue Jays culture and environment and he said it is a completely different world there now. Coaching staff manager, I guess they matter.

00:40:00
Speaker 3: That's exactly what they do. X's and o's in the games. Sorry, that's not you hope you get them right. But when people are like menagerial decisions really really suspect all year?

00:40:12
Speaker 4: Really? Really were they?

00:40:15
Speaker 3: Because you went to the seventh inning guy and the seventh inning and the eighth inning guy in the eighth inning.

00:40:19
Speaker 4: It's paint by numbers, all right, Let's.

00:40:33
Speaker 1: Lap hey, shout out to one fan that's going to be in Philly today in a Foul Territory shirt. Maybe that brings a little extra luck crafts Foul Territory Shop dot com shameless plug.

00:40:45
Speaker 3: I mean, I don't know if it brings luck or not to the team. My guy's gonna be comfortable, though, because that shirt is one of my favorite go to is for sure.

00:40:55
Speaker 2: Mm hmm.

00:40:56
Speaker 1: A j any last thoughts here obviously will be talking, but any last thoughts on the series anything we didn't get.

00:41:03
Speaker 2: To No, I think I think we've covered all the series pretty well. I just I'm interested to see how the Cubs respond to getting slapped the other night. How they come out today was showed on the Mound Bullpen game for the Brewers. And also, you know what, how the Phillies respond, because I know they had an off day, but that's a game the Phillies are used to winning. In taoscar with the home run late and is a deja vu all over again. As Jogi Barra said to what happened to him against the Mets.

00:41:31
Speaker 1: Last year, that's true with me with the Cubs, I just think about really the top two guys that would be starting playoff games for them would be Justin Steele and Kate Horton. To be missing both of those, everybody's missing guys right now. I get that. I'm just saying it definitely is showing a little bit when you're going with Boyd on short rest. So we'll see what happens for them the rest of the way. Here and a shout out to Brett Phillips always brought a lot of personality and flavor on the field, and he officially announced his retirement at the famous photo from what was it twenty twenty when he was flying around and he was an airplane. Yeah, COVID, great, Coday.

00:42:09
Speaker 4: Wait till he comes on.

00:42:10
Speaker 3: I can't wait till he comes on so he can say he's a quitter and not a retirer.

00:42:14
Speaker 1: But we'll wait till he gets on here official announcement. I mean, he's retired and yet you guys aren't. It's amazing, Uh, Todd Father is hosting tomorrow. AJ's got the day game, but he'll join us with a special guest from the booth. Very nice. Jerry Harrison Junior also scheduled to join us tomorrow. We'll talk a little Dodgers Phillies series with him. That'll be after their game too, and then they'll have an off day, so we'll have plenty of time to break that down. And then tonight Cubs Brewers postgame show live on the ft YouTube channel and if you miss anything afterward, we'll post it on the podcast platform. But we'll also do our recap up the Phillies Dodgers series there. So AJ, we'll chat with you at some point tomorrow. Have a good call tomorrow with the guys. Super fun to listen to you guys on the Mariners Tigers series. And how is it in Detroit?

00:43:06
Speaker 2: Is it? It's hot today and it's supposed to rain and get cold tomorrow. It's like eighty five.

00:43:12
Speaker 6: It's like eighty five today, Birmingham.

00:43:23
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