Giants fire Bob Melvin, Reds are in, Tigers-Guards preview, Cubs lose Horton, Giolito out for Red Sox

00:00:05
Speaker 1: A regular season is over, let's start October. It's gonna be a fun day because there's a little manager carousel action going on today. We're of course gonna preview series. I've got something special saved up for slap Hands. It's just a stat thing and the brackets are set. Take a quick peek and then we'll get into the breaking news. First off, in the American League, this is your bracket. We'll unveil our predictions tomorrow. Tigers versus Guardians, Yankees versus Red Sox. Those teams have no idea how the other side operates, aside from many times per and then don't worry whoever wins Yankees Red Sox plays a team that they play all the time in the Blue. I'm kidding. I think it's fine. And you are you going to Seattle? By the way, I'm going to see it right, we can officially.

00:01:00
Speaker 2: Something crazy happens, which I don't know what that craziness would be, but as of right now, as of what I was told to book my ticket to Seattle for Seattle, Guardians, Tigers, whoever nice whatever comes out. And then it's the Al East versus last Remember it was the AL Central versus the Yankees.

00:01:15
Speaker 3: Now it's the Al East for the other rest.

00:01:17
Speaker 4: Of the league.

00:01:18
Speaker 1: You're gonna get well, I was gonna say, you're gonna get the late night I mean you are definitely.

00:01:22
Speaker 2: Well, here's the thing we're not going to get We're not on Well, Saturday, there's four games, so we're definitely gonna be the latest game, probably because the Dodgers will be on the road.

00:01:33
Speaker 3: Yeah, if they win.

00:01:36
Speaker 1: I mean, Saturday is a day where you couldn't pull You can pull off a day game with the crowd, and it's easier in Seattle.

00:01:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, although you can't start it before four o'clock Eastern.

00:01:46
Speaker 4: No, No, so twelve and the.

00:01:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, But I don't think they're gonna do that to that.

00:01:52
Speaker 3: I don't think they'll do that.

00:01:53
Speaker 2: I think it'll be the late game, and then Sunday will probably be a four o'clock Pacific starter.

00:01:58
Speaker 3: Five o'clock Pacific.

00:02:00
Speaker 1: Is there a football game.

00:02:01
Speaker 3: There's a football game at one o'clock.

00:02:02
Speaker 1: So they're gonna go specific one o'clock Pacific, right, But in my mind, they're gonna go as late as possible then to have some separation.

00:02:08
Speaker 2: Now you would think, yeah, that's why I'm thinking five o'clock Pacific.

00:02:11
Speaker 1: Maybe because that's still eight Eastern. That's that's okay, Yeah, that makes same.

00:02:17
Speaker 2: Yeah, well you're are you gonna have it at four o'clock. I go up against the football team and then have the Yankees and the Blue Jays or Red Sox Blue Jays as the later game.

00:02:29
Speaker 1: They like Sunday night, I think better than Sunday afternoon with stuff anyway, because then you have less football going on.

00:02:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think they think, but they see, here's the thing. Here's the problem with Toronto.

00:02:38
Speaker 2: They don't get all the ratings in Toronto and it gets sports nets. So in Toronto you're it's it's a it's a weird Anyways. Anyways, I digress. But I don't know. It's gonna be interesting to see what the times are.

00:02:48
Speaker 4: I just know this.

00:02:49
Speaker 2: I already have my passes for the Seahawks Bucks game on Sunday lined up, and if there might be a chance, depending on the game time, I might be the ball boy for the first half or some.

00:03:00
Speaker 1: We'll double dip and then tell everybody what the game is. Yeah, go home and watch the game on Fox. If you're not hopping over across and then real quick National League and we'll get into previews and all that. But the Reds and the Dodgers, and then the Padres and the Cubs, Phillies and Brewers waiting. Phillies waiting for the Dodgers or the Reds, Brewers waiting for the Cubs or the Padres. Ready for some breaking news. Let's hit it.

00:03:29
Speaker 2: Let's charge about.

00:03:33
Speaker 1: Bob Melvin. Boom, breaking news. Bob Melvin is fired by the San Francisco Giants. They have been the definition of five hundred the past couple of seasons eighty one and eighty one, this season one sixty one and one sixty three over the last couple of years. Buster Posey, running the front office ship, said, after careful evaluation, we determined making a change in leadership was in the best interest of the team. Last couple of months have been disappointing, frustrating for all of us. We did not perform up to our standards. We now turn our focus to identifying a new leader to guide us forward AKA Posey's in charge AJ And he gets to pick his own manager this time.

00:04:10
Speaker 3: Yeah, he didn't pick.

00:04:11
Speaker 2: He didn't pick bab moment he remember he inherited bad moment, so he had to give him a run. And then when you got people like Logan Webb coming out saying, this is the most talented team we've ever had and we didn't make the playoffs. That hurts your chances. But Buster Posey's not here to mess around people. We didn't know that by now. We know it now. And he's gonna find somebody. And I don't know who he's gonna pick, but you know, there's there's a lot of people that you could look at. I mean, there's a list from Susan Slusser, David Ross, Bruce Bochies, Kip Schumacher, Mark Coolberg their first base coach. I don't know, we'll see what they do. But uh, Buster Posey, it's on the ball is in your court.

00:04:47
Speaker 4: I don't know how Buster could go to somebody who doesn't have any experience. I don't feel like the Giants are one a team that wants to have somebody with a little experience too, in a situation like they built this team to win not just this year but next year. With getting Robbie Ray in that one trade, with getting Admis, extending Matt Chapman, those are all well, not the Robbie Ray stuff. But this kind of is their window and they need to add to this team. It's got to be somebody. You know, his buddy, the first base coach Hallberg. I don't see your first time manager being that guy. Before Bob Melvin got that job. Bob kind of came out of nowhere for that job. After the Padres got rid of him. It was gonna be Steven Votes. Stephen Vote was going up to San Francisco. Look at what he's done since he's been in Cleveland. Could that have happened? Maybe Buster sees a diamond in the rough somewhere with somebody and he doesn't need to go to me. I think that the top candidate should be Skip Schumacher. He's real, Buster's real, He's had success.

00:05:53
Speaker 1: I love Skip. There's a problem.

00:05:55
Speaker 3: Though he works with the Rangers.

00:05:57
Speaker 1: No, he's not a catcher.

00:05:59
Speaker 3: Oh that doesn't matter.

00:06:00
Speaker 1: Do you think Buster Posey wants a catcher? I say it half jokingly, but no.

00:06:04
Speaker 4: Do you want somebody? He wants somebody that's like him, focused to able to connect with people, but also knows how to win. That's it. He doesn't want eye wash. There's a couple of people in this list. I'm not going to name him that our eye wash, and I don't think busters about that life catcher, outfielder, first base coat. Whatever I think he is, he wants a certain I think he would want a certain type of manager to come in, and I think that certain type of manager is closer to his personality than the look at me type of manager.

00:06:46
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00:07:03
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00:07:06
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00:07:24
Speaker 1: Say big with Omaha Steaks. Visit Omaha Steaks dot Com for fifty percent off site wide and an extra twenty percent off select favorites during their early Black Friday sale, and for an extra thirty five dollars off, use promo code foul at checkout terms. Apply seasite for details. That's fifty percent off at Omaha Steaks dot Com. Promo code foul at checkout terms. Apply seasite for details. The Great Susan Slusser has put out a list in her column of possible replacements. That's what krats is talking about here, Bruce Bochie, Skip Schumacher. I wanted to pause, so maybe you guys can answer after I give the rest. David Ross, Mark Halberg, who's the first base coach and is tight with Buster. And then the next layer of the list, she puts Javier Lopez, Nick Hnley, Randy Winn, Kurt Cassally, Craig Albernass who's the Guardian's assistant manager and worked on Kapler's giant staff. Although that doesn't have much to do with Posey, and.

00:08:23
Speaker 3: I don't want nothing to do with anybody was on gay cap.

00:08:26
Speaker 1: Now that's what I'm saying. But Casally could be the Stephen vote move that's what's in Like Craig.

00:08:33
Speaker 4: I like Craig. I think he's probably a manager in waiting. But don't put his name with Greg, with with Gabe. Don't don't. That's like, that's like putting anybody on the White Sox staff with their ex manager. Just don't put certain people's names. It tarnishes them.

00:08:50
Speaker 1: Who's the pick, who's the predicted pick? And who would you?

00:08:54
Speaker 4: Let's just why.

00:08:56
Speaker 2: I just don't think he would do that. He doesn't want to tarnish his rep. He doesn't want to do that.

00:09:00
Speaker 1: I think he's like.

00:09:01
Speaker 2: He's out this time, he's out David Ross, I don't know that's a fit. I mean, Hallberg seems like the good one. Buster knows him better than anybody. I mean, Hobvey Lopez. Why because he's on TV, I mean Nick Hunley, because he's around, because they're just because I'm a next giant hire me Buster. I'm gonna hi. I played for the Giants, my numbers, retired buster, I was a catcher. I click all the fight.

00:09:23
Speaker 1: Criteria, Barry Bonds raising his hand, I played.

00:09:28
Speaker 3: I'll I don't think Barry's doing that.

00:09:31
Speaker 1: Who do you think is the guy then on this list I think would be.

00:09:34
Speaker 2: A good one. I think Hallberg are probably out of this list. Would be my top two that I'm looking at on this list, Crats.

00:09:42
Speaker 4: I like Skip. I think if I think if Buster truly would interview Skip. Obviously this is just a Susan Slusher Slusher list, I think there would be I think there'd be a good connection there if Skip doesn't want the Rangers job, if Boach leave. So there's there's a little bit.

00:10:02
Speaker 1: Of that, okay. And then the next layer for the Giants is how do they get over the hump?

00:10:10
Speaker 2: Hey, they had two guys hit thirty homers this year, Raffi and Willia Domas did it.

00:10:14
Speaker 1: They didn't really count devers I Adamis really did it hit thirty? He hit thirty first giant since Barry Bonds in two thousand and four? Is that what it was? I think it was four?

00:10:27
Speaker 2: I was there other connection?

00:10:29
Speaker 1: Mm hmm?

00:10:31
Speaker 4: Right is my choice? AJ's my choice in that list.

00:10:35
Speaker 3: First love that in San Francisco if.

00:10:37
Speaker 1: They cheered to no end, it would make noise to no end? First, righty? Since Jeff Kennan O two so Domas ended up with thirty homers.

00:10:47
Speaker 2: On the number we thought it would be so there and it was a Domas, remember a Damas, and everyone dumps went had a good year. He ended up right about where he should have been.

00:10:54
Speaker 1: He did, he did.

00:10:57
Speaker 4: RAFFI played one hundred and sixty three games. It's a record. I forget when the last time somebody played one hundred and sixty three games in a season. It's pretty cool record. Which other teams could have gotten played one und sixty three, but justin Moore no did against two thousand and eight? Is that what it was?

00:11:13
Speaker 1: And the Giants had pretty good attendance. I didn't see final numbers, but it was definitely up this year, and I think that had to do with Posey and bringing in names that are going to be there for a while. I truly believe in that. So I think Buster might play a little bit more checkbook baseball over the offseason if.

00:11:28
Speaker 4: They let him.

00:11:28
Speaker 1: But I think he has their ear better than most do.

00:11:32
Speaker 2: Right.

00:11:33
Speaker 1: It's tougher to tell Buster no, especially when he looks back and says, listen, guys, I just came in. I got you a superstar name, Endeavors, I got you higher attendance. I'm sure the team made good money this year, Let's keep spending and let's get some more help for this team, because they were close. That's a five hundred team. So they won eighty two games or eighty one game, sorry, eighty one and eighty one. The team that made the playoffs in the National League in the last seat won how many games? Eighty three? Was it four?

00:12:02
Speaker 3: Three?

00:12:02
Speaker 1: Eighty three games? They were two wins away. It's not very far away.

00:12:07
Speaker 4: They need Obviously, you're always gonna say this about the Giants. They need to continue to add pop to the lineup. But I think bus I'm just basing it on busters track to the big leagues. They had dudes from the minor leagues that were then supplemented with other guys around them. Now they have guys that are in positions that they brought in and are paying some cashish to. They need guys like Bryce Eldrid. They need guys like Tyler Fitzgerald. They need guys like ili O Ramos to take their next step, whatever their next step is, for this team to contend. I don't think you can go out and say, Okay, we're gonna go and get Pete Alonso, We're gonna go and get Zach Gallon to pitch for us. Like, I think they do need to add a starting pitcher, and they need to definitely solid a by that bullpen. They thought daval was going to be the guy. Is Ryan Walker a closer or an ath inning guy? To me that those pieces, there's pieces that are there to be able to be a really good defending team. Now they have to add to it and hopefully this manager comes in and creates that winning environment that Buster expects a lot.

00:13:20
Speaker 2: You just let you just wrat him off a lot of holes though.

00:13:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, but they're going to be aggressive this offseason. I think I do. I do think their payrolls it's like I think middle of the pack from what I remember.

00:13:32
Speaker 3: Yeah, they listen, they can spend if they want.

00:13:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're the Giants. But the key is, you know they you know, what does Verlander do? Does he come back? How do they figure out the bullpen? Can they find more offense? Can they play better defense? Is Patrick Bailey their catcher? Right?

00:13:50
Speaker 3: They got some serious questions.

00:13:52
Speaker 1: One more to finish this. Bob Melvin, is he going to get another game? You think he'll be in the.

00:13:58
Speaker 2: West because he's Arizona Giants, Oakland, San Diego.

00:14:04
Speaker 1: Rockies, Rockies. Maybe you think you're gonna get another gig. You don't think he's been doing it for a long time. Three. I think he's twenty something years, twenty five years or something managing.

00:14:15
Speaker 4: At this point.

00:14:17
Speaker 1: I mean this with all due respect. I think sometimes you could be a little past your prime. Where he was thriving with the A's kind of had some up his ups and downs more talented rosters. He's never won I know, a World Series. No, not close. I don't think he's ever brought the team to the World Series, right, which one.

00:14:32
Speaker 3: Do you have been with? None of those teams I name made it.

00:14:35
Speaker 1: No, the A's had some nice runs during the season to get to the playoffs, but never went over the hump. And I think that was where he really shined with those types of teams. So maybe he's more of a small market rebuild. Yeah, that was the bright shining moment. So I don't know, We'll see. I'm not sure. I don't know if he definitely gets a gig, just throwing it out there. The Pirate ordered more, Don Kelly. He has been extended. I'm not surprised the Pirates did play better under him and also Bob Nutting doesn't give him a fuck.

00:15:13
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, I really like.

00:15:15
Speaker 3: Donkey, Yeah, I really, this is this is really honest.

00:15:19
Speaker 2: I do like Don Kelly a lot. He's a great guy. He's always been good to talk to. But without even going out if they want to hire This kind of goes back to the we talked about the White Sox and how they did it, like go outside the organization at least, like you you can tell Don Kelly, look, we're gonna hire you, but we're just gonna talk to these other people. But I don't know if maybe they were thinking maybe Don Kelly could get a chance at another job that might pay him more. See that's kind of where you know what I'm saying, like, hey, don we're gonna hire you, but we're just gonna interview some other people just to get some ideas, and we can use those ideas.

00:15:49
Speaker 1: Free info for several days.

00:15:51
Speaker 4: I don't know. They playing flight the plane tickets were too expensive to pay for people to come in with Pittsburgh.

00:15:59
Speaker 1: That is true. That is true. That does go against the budget, which would prevent them from signing play up. They don't do that. This is the Dodgers rotation. Game one, Snell Game two, Yamamoto Game three, Otani. We also learned that Kershaw is not going to be on the roster. Any surprises here.

00:16:18
Speaker 2: I thought Yamamoto would probably go game one, but I get it. Snell has the pedigreen all that, And I don't know what the Reds numbers exactly are against lefties, but I think they're much worse against lefties, so I think that's why they're doing that. And then Otani game three, if it gets it would be very interesting. It gives them the day off if they win, to get ready for the next round. So I think this is kind of what we expected. But the Reds haven't had a lot of success against LA the last couple of years.

00:16:44
Speaker 1: We'll see and or Otani would start game one of the next round if they get it done with two games. Yeah, that's what they said.

00:16:52
Speaker 3: At least that makes sense.

00:16:53
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:16:54
Speaker 3: The bigger question is after Hunter Green, who's pitching.

00:16:57
Speaker 1: For the Reds exactly?

00:16:59
Speaker 4: Tell baby, I guess, I guess that's a guy.

00:17:01
Speaker 1: Bullpen Chase Burns couple innings if he's not used in Game one. Suitor B Suitor b okay aj our slab pack ripping, continues. Now you just ripped a card that I think you're actually going to keep.

00:17:18
Speaker 2: I am, I'm gonna keep it. It's a Ken Griffy Junior Rookie card. The old is the famous upper Deck one I believe it is. And yeah, heck ya, I'm gonna keep it because I'm gonna get Griffy to sign it. I'm gonna get him to send it to me. What you can do, and I'm gonna get Griffy to sign it, and it's only gonna make it worth more. So I am all in on this card. I'm keeping it, and it is one of the coolest cards with the highest turtle neck you've ever seen and the gold chain around his neck.

00:17:43
Speaker 1: Graded nine nineteen eighty nine upper Deck. You got the offer for one seventy nine. It's valued at around one ninety nine. And you're like, nah, I'm keeping it. But if you want it to sell it back instantly, you can. It's the beauty of Arena Club. AJ's going to send in and get the physical card sent to him, and you could do the same sent off your first slab pack or card purchase. Can happen for you if you go to Arena Club Dot com slash foul and use the code foul better than box scores. Let's give proper love to the Cincinnati Reds losing their way into the WAKA. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. They had a nice weekend. They did fall in the final game, which was a must win, but the Mets weren't much more of a disaster. This team's played five hundred ball for a while, but guess what if you play five hundred ball for most of the season, you.

00:18:39
Speaker 5: Got a chance to make it into the playoffs. And the Reds kept themselves enough in the mix. The Mets also fell apart, and here they are to pick up the pieces and face the Dodger.

00:18:51
Speaker 2: Terry Frankcona and the Reds. I mean, listen, I bet we talked about the stat I just said.

00:18:57
Speaker 3: I did a game on Saturday.

00:18:58
Speaker 2: They hadn't beaten the Brewers thirteen straight series, I think it was, and they win this series. They win the first two games to put the pressure on the Mets, and the Mets couldn't do it because don't forget, the Mets went into this series of the one game lead. Yes, right, so they win two out of three, they're probably in and they lose two out of three and that gets into the tie, which gets him in. So I listen. Tremendous job by Terry Francona managing the bullpen. The bullpen has been incredible for the last month or so. Hunter Green's been great. Andrew Rabbits faded a little bit, but he was great. All your Brady Singer has been really good for him Latel's been good since they picked him up. They have Lodolo. They don't know what they're gonna.

00:19:33
Speaker 4: Do with him.

00:19:34
Speaker 3: He pitched out of the bullpen yesterday. So listen.

00:19:37
Speaker 2: This Reds team, I don't know if they'll get very far in the playoffs, but they deserve a ton of credit for getting in.

00:19:41
Speaker 1: I think their pitching can keep up with LA. The offenses are rattic.

00:19:47
Speaker 2: Spencer Steer has been good. Ellie's kind of got a little bit better.

00:19:52
Speaker 1: But you've gotten better lately the last few weeks. Is getting on base more. There's a little more oppostic field pop, but he doesn't look like the li were expecting. And then Noel Martez had some nice moments at the plate. TJ. Friedel gets on base, Yeah, that's it.

00:20:06
Speaker 3: They strike out so much though they strike out so much against a team of the Dodgers that's built on striking.

00:20:13
Speaker 1: You to me, Kratz, if they're going to pull off victories against the Dodgers, their pitching is gonna be nails from start to finish. Right, You're gonna get like a dominant Green start. We talked about how the bullpen's been really good, and then you're gonna like scratch some of those playoff runs together, right, Freedol gets on or Steer and Ellie creates some offense, or maybe they run they get really aggressive against the catching corps for the Dodgers. What do you think?

00:20:39
Speaker 4: I mean, that's to me, that's the only way, like I could see these games if Hunter Green comes out and is just nails like he has been the last two seasons. Yes, you know, maybe Nick Martinez gives them some length and some games out of the pen, Like I just I don't. I don't know where they find that offense that is going to be the biggest thing. I think that the first I wish I remember the four stats, but they're the first team to make the playoffs without somebody that hit over two hundred, without over twenty five.

00:21:11
Speaker 2: It was like two seventy twenty five homers, one hundred RBI's.

00:21:16
Speaker 3: And something still it was it was a.

00:21:17
Speaker 4: Crazy and and two hundred strikeouts. They don't have anybody like that. But you know what the beauty of the playoffs is is you're the Dodgers. Do not get caught saving sho Heo Tani. If you think Showotani is your best option, don't get caught saving him. That's all I got to say. Because the Reds can throw out some pitchers that can strike some dudes out, and they're throwing him in Game one. You win Game one, all of a sudden, now you're like, all right, well we could still win two games. But our bullpen is kind of shaky. And that's where I think the Reds could probably could have a chance to take advantage of the Dodgers. Can they build up enough of a pitch count for Blake Snell in the first game, for Yamamoto in the second game where they then have to make tough decisions who comes into the bullpen, and the Reds can do it, but the pitching needs to keep them in it because they just don't see them getting more than two or three runs against Blake Snell or Yamamoto, and.

00:22:19
Speaker 1: It doesn't sound like they're necessarily going to do piggyback action. I mean, Kershaw's not playing in this series. We already know that maybe Emma Chien picks up some innings for them, but otherwise they're gonna have to see who's hot and who's not carrying it over from the regular season.

00:22:33
Speaker 2: I don't think that they want to do a piggybally. They've tried that in the past and hasn't worked. I don't think that the piggyback is the way for them to do it. I think they need to go to the traditional Blake Snell give me six or seven, Yaalamoto, give me six or seven. Show, Hey, give me six or seven.

00:22:45
Speaker 1: But then what last snow give me six or seven? Then what does it look like?

00:22:49
Speaker 2: Well, then you figure this them there. Messio obviously has been their best option trying and you hope is fact Tanner Scott figures it out because he gets an adrenaline spying. I I'm just saying that's what they're looking like for this series. Again, I don't know that it's going to matter against the Reds, just because one through twenty six, the talent there is a talent gap there.

00:23:08
Speaker 3: And that's not a knock on the Reds guys. It just is what it is.

00:23:11
Speaker 2: But when you get to the next round, we've got to play the Phillies. That's when it's going to be like, okay, now what do we do?

00:23:19
Speaker 1: Yep?

00:23:20
Speaker 3: Obviously if they get there, yeah, I mean there's an if. There still is an if it's a.

00:23:24
Speaker 1: Best of three. We've seen a lot of upsets in this first round, so just keep that in mind. Last part here, just on the Dodgers side, did you think Kershaw was gonna appear as a reliever though for them? Pitched okay the other day, but I guess it's a bounce back situation. So if he pitches once for an inning or two, then he's not going to pitch again, so you're only getting an inning or two and a three gamer.

00:23:45
Speaker 3: I don't know what it is. Kind of happy the way he ended it.

00:23:48
Speaker 1: You think it should just be a great farewell at home then in Seattle yesterday and that's it. Okay.

00:23:55
Speaker 4: I was so awesome how he ended it. But I really thought he was going to be in the pan too. Something had I don't know. We said it before our show together like, I feel like, did he not recover well because they made that decision. They're like, ah, right, well you're gonna start then in this meaningless game to end the season if you're not because he threw out of the pen, and then it was like if you have him in the pen, you can't take up a spot in a pen, and he goes, I can't go back to back or you need to throw me three innings and then I'll give you I need three days rest. Like I felt like that decision seemed like it was made pretty quickly and maybe this is just a DS thing.

00:24:37
Speaker 1: I don't know right things could change, or a wild card because then DS, you've got a best of five, so we'll see what happens.

00:24:43
Speaker 2: There's definitely a bounce back thing. Yeah, and his age, he was probably like I can't bounce back. Guys, you're gonna need more than me.

00:24:49
Speaker 1: Right, And they might need a lot of help depending on.

00:24:52
Speaker 4: They have glass Now down there. Imagine Glass now coming in to close the game for three innings.

00:24:59
Speaker 2: Dude, Well, the Reds are gonna get on base and just try to steal. That's that's the game.

00:25:03
Speaker 4: That is true.

00:25:04
Speaker 1: That is true. There was a famous game with Glass. Now against Elu, I think he stole like four bases off them or something.

00:25:09
Speaker 2: If it gets on, it's just go yeah, it's like, no, he's not evenna wait any time, Oh you're on li, just just go. It's gonna be like just the third base coach is gonna be like whenever you're ready.

00:25:18
Speaker 1: Go yep, it's gonna be fun. It's gonna be goodest. Hey, we're back and the Astros are not back in October for the first time since twenty sixteen, almost a decade of Astro's playoff baseball and Astro's dominating the Al West. We knew that wasn't going to happen in the last week when the Mariners went on a run over the last few weeks. But crats, Are you surprised that they crumbled, especially against some competition that you think they could have handled, or did you say, hey, this is one of the only teams in baseball that really was missing superstars and couldn't figure it out with what they had left the scraps?

00:25:59
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, they always prided themselves in having a young corps that seemed like they played every single day. Those guys got hurt. I mean, the guys that they took from the Kyle Tucker trade. Cam Smith had a good stretch of the season where he was good. He started out rough and then it was really good, and then it kind of you know, the season is long when you have a young guy playing in those positions. Parades missed the last part of the season and came back. It wasn't one hundred percent healthy. They played the whole season without your don But really, did the Astros just put themselves in this situation. They could have resigned Bragman. They do spend a lot of money. I'm not saying they don't. They could have. They know what kind of winner he was and is, and they could have kept Tucker for one more year and got a draft pick. They chose not to. It looked like it was gonna work out for him, and it didn't. The Mariners caught up to him.

00:26:55
Speaker 1: Also, if they took care of more bas against Sacramento and the Angels, the Tigers gave them a nice lane.

00:27:01
Speaker 2: Yeah, but it just wasn't meant to be this year for the Astros. I mean, you lose, we just heck, we just went through it with the Mets. That's look at what the Astros lost, Hater their closer they're arrested or Alvarez. Yeah, Parade's their their third baseman who they were counting on. Jeremy Penyam is a significant chunk of time. I mean their starters. Hunter Brown was great, from Berg, was Fromberg.

00:27:24
Speaker 1: He fell apart late for the most good ones.

00:27:26
Speaker 2: And then he went crazy for a little while, right, But I mean they lost Arraghetty, who they were counting on. They lost a lot of guys they were counting on, and that's not an excuse, but it was just time, like this is why it's so hard to win in baseball.

00:27:36
Speaker 1: And they still finished with eighty seven wins matched with the Tigers. They just lost the tie breaker, so one more win like Friday night they lost the two homer trout game. If they win that game, they're in the playoffs over the Tigers.

00:27:48
Speaker 2: Big, big losses they tried to cover for. I mean, I think they'll be back in it again next year, or back in the race again next year.

00:27:54
Speaker 1: I'm just surprised with all that they had a lane one game in Sacto or one game against the Angels here and they would have been in Let's preview the Tigers and the Guardians who are going to play some early action coming up in these wild card games. I feel like they knew that was common. They're gotting to one o'clock East Coast time game in the slot when you have you know what A one, A three, A six, and uh eight or nine? Yeah, so hey, this is gonna be fun. The games that we've seen from these two teams the last couple of weeks have been really good.

00:28:32
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:28:33
Speaker 3: Game one school Ball against Williams. I'm assuming again we just.

00:28:36
Speaker 1: Saw it, saw it and they did what you said.

00:28:38
Speaker 2: The last couple of weeks in that matchup, they haven't exactly beat Schoogle well, first when they just last them. The second one they short, they small balled into death? What do they I mean if listen, if I'm the Guardians, I go into the saying, man, we rattled the best pitcher in baseball by bunting and stealing and doing all kinds of goofiness. Guess what first bat of the game, Steven Kuangun.

00:29:00
Speaker 1: I mean, maybe I think some of the other guys should be bunting.

00:29:04
Speaker 2: True, get quant on base havoc, That's what I'm saying.

00:29:09
Speaker 1: Ken Rosenthal had fair territory, and he did all of his previews, so check that out after our show if you'd like. He said, this is one of the worst offenses of all time. To make the postseason, right, you have more postseason slots nowadays, that's part of it. But their ranks in terms of offense are really really bad. Now we look at ranks for the entire season. Things do change, be better, yes, but that's where the Tigers have an edge. Right, they should have a little bit of a better line.

00:29:39
Speaker 2: Talk about team that strikes out too much. I just said the red strike out a lot. Look at the Tigers. Tigers strike first against Kevin Williams, oh boy, because.

00:29:51
Speaker 4: He throws a curveball. They can't hit a curveball, and they're not gonna be hit in a day sunlight, when the shadows start creeping in. It's gonna be the pillow fight and the sponge Bob game. Whenever we play at twelve o'clock game. In the minor leagues, there was always a SpongeBob game because it's a bunch of kids there and they were like always playing SpongeBob SquarePants song. And these two teams aren't hitting like they aren't hitting, and they have to face two legit pitchers. It just it doesn't. It doesn't make for must see TV, except for the fact that Terrek Scoogle's.

00:30:26
Speaker 1: Gone pillow fight in the SpongeBob game.

00:30:31
Speaker 2: Yeah. But here's the thing, listen, that's good. The Guardians have actually swung the battle up better they have. I mean, you got to you gotta look at their numbers.

00:30:39
Speaker 3: Lately. They've been a lot better. The Tigers are.

00:30:43
Speaker 2: We all talk about the Mets. The Tigers are thinking the Mets because they blew the largest lead of all time to not win the division. Now, they got in because of the extra wildcard, but they had a fifteen and a half game lead over the Guardians and blew it. They had like a ten game lead at the beginning of September and lost It's they had the worst record of all time in September of a team to make the postseason. Like, they're not going in with any momentum. They're momentum is all right. We have Trek Scubel and then Casey Maiz and Jack Felaherty and a bullpen that's been getting whacked around the yard for last month and a half. The Guardians have all the momentum. We got Austin Hedges up there doing all the kind of cheerleading stuff on the rail. And I mean, Cleveland, show up.

00:31:28
Speaker 3: Cleveland, show up for these three games.

00:31:29
Speaker 1: Oh, they will show up.

00:31:31
Speaker 2: I'm just saying please, because you guys can be great.

00:31:33
Speaker 1: And show up. Detroit punted on the Sunday game for Schooble to pitch in this series because maybe Scooble wins on Sunday and then the series is at home. But we did that question of the Week last week that you brought up. You need Schooble school is he's the most advantage player on a team in the playoffs. Now, he's the one.

00:31:51
Speaker 2: He's probably the well, I will say the most important, but he's for his team. He's probably the most important player on his team.

00:31:56
Speaker 4: Yeah MVP. Wait, wait, shouldn't he get MVP votes? Then if he's the most valuable player.

00:32:03
Speaker 1: You should get I'm not gonna win MVP.

00:32:06
Speaker 4: I know.

00:32:06
Speaker 2: I mean the fans I'm talking. I'm not talking about the players.

00:32:09
Speaker 3: I'm talking about the fans.

00:32:10
Speaker 4: Fans have to take a longer lunch break. It's a lunchtime game.

00:32:20
Speaker 1: Everybody can take off work for a one o'clock but somebody's got to do it. Not every game is going to be prime time, and if you keep advancing, you'll eventually get the prime time Guardians took on the Yankees last year. Then you get a little prime time prime time.

00:32:33
Speaker 2: Then.

00:32:34
Speaker 1: Yeah. So the Tigers lost twelve of thirteen through the middle of July, remember that tough stretch out of the All Star break, and then eleven of twelve through the middle of last week. I mean, those are some really, really bad times. And meanwhile, the Guardians this month twenty and seven, they're hot. Now, statistically, like I was talking about with the offense, guess how many players with at least twenty games this season have an above average offensive performance for the year. That means over one hundred ops plus one hundred Guess how many?

00:33:08
Speaker 4: Yeah?

00:33:09
Speaker 3: Three?

00:33:09
Speaker 1: Two?

00:33:10
Speaker 4: That's it.

00:33:11
Speaker 2: Only two only didn't make it.

00:33:13
Speaker 1: I don't have the names, but I think, yeah, Ramirez and in Kwan, Yeah, I think so. Did Quan finish above it?

00:33:22
Speaker 3: Who's the other one?

00:33:24
Speaker 1: No, I don't. I only had the number, not the names. I should have. Kuan finished at ninety six.

00:33:29
Speaker 3: Who's the other one?

00:33:30
Speaker 1: Probably Mansard is my guest, right Let me double check real quick. Love doing stats on the fly here, but I set myself up for that one. Yeah, Mansard. So those are the two. That's it. Everybody else The winner be interesting winter Faces.

00:33:45
Speaker 2: The Mariners winters got to travel to Seattle, which is going to be unbelievable atmosphere.

00:33:51
Speaker 1: Who do you think wins this? Who do you do you think that the Guardians had the edge because of what they do.

00:33:55
Speaker 2: Think in my head, in my everything in my heart is the Tigers should win this series, just because if you look at all the stats and everything, but then just you go back to they just played each other twice and the Guardians win I think five out of six, and.

00:34:08
Speaker 1: The playoff worthy games.

00:34:09
Speaker 2: Playoff games, the Guardians won five out of six. The Guardians beat him last year. Again, everything says the Tigers should win. But there's also a big part of my heart that's like the Guardians are gonna win because they just don't want to win.

00:34:22
Speaker 1: Yeah. I also just think for me, Kratz, my head thinks Guardians, which is why I'll probably go with Tigers, because that's just how these kind of wildcard matchups go, where you're like, Tigers have no momentum, they haven't beat Cleveland, and do you really think they're gonna keep losing schoobl games? What They've lost like three or four of his last start. I'm like, eventually he's just going to have one where it's like there's no duck snorts and he pitches seven or eight shutty and he gets a homer or two and then they're up one zero in the series and they got to win one more.

00:34:52
Speaker 4: I mean, it's kind of dominated the Guardians. I know they've beaten them the last two times. I'm trying to think the other time, the third start this year against them, You think that first start, I mean, he's gone thirteen strikeouts, eight strikeouts, nine strikeouts, ten strikeouts against them. To me, I think, and I guess I'm putting too much weight on the first game. I'm thinking the Tigers take the series. I really, I really think that. I think there's somebody on their offense is gonna step up, or the matchup is favorable to a Tigers hitter, like a like a Kerry Carpenter, like a like a Parker Meadows, because they can't just keep matching up and winning those battles. If you're the Guardians, they have the Yeah, I know they have message.

00:35:41
Speaker 1: He's like that was that his big thing over fresh season? Fresh season, we.

00:35:46
Speaker 2: Have to say that. Every team says that. That gets in kind of back doors. They're winning. Oh it's a new season, let's go guys. The teams that are hot on the stretch, the guardians are like, oh, it's a new season. They're like, let's keep it going.

00:35:58
Speaker 1: But the rare let's keep me going, dude. Two years ago, the Rangers had a bad last week and then that made them have to not win the division and go to Tampa Bay and we're like, oh, they're probably gonna do nothing. And then they got hot as hell. Remember they were not hot, No, they kind of fell in, and then they won the World Series. I'm not saying that's happening here. I'm just saying I don't buy a lot of momentum. Maybe we'll do a momentum momentum in October. Yes, momentum from regular season. I think that's a different season. That's me and there's some research to back that up, which we can talk about tomorrow.

00:36:33
Speaker 4: I talked to somebody with the Tigers and they said I truly had one hundred percent belief that we were going to get in until the Nacho Alvarez game. Then I thought we were cursed, is exactly. I just went back and read his text and he was like, I thought the Nacho Alvarez game was cursed if you're not a Tigers fan. Nacho Alvarez had zero home runs on the season. He hit two against them, and it looked like that was the game that was going to knock the Tigers out of it, and it was like just a bad stretch. So they're being honest. They're a real team and it's played by human beings the Tigers. I think the Tigers on paper are a better team. That's it.

00:37:20
Speaker 1: Congrats to the Blue Jays, first Al East crown since twenty fifteen. We'll sprinkle in some Blue Jays talking this next segment too, but we'll also preview the Red Sox and the Yankees. It was a fun game to watch yesterday. The city knew what was at stake. That's the thing is, for all their games in the last week and a half or so, the city knew what was at stake, right, like, we need to take a division. They've also seen a lot of heartbreak crats. They've lost three wild card rounds in a row. They're like, we need to avoid this best out of three crap and move on, and they did.

00:37:54
Speaker 4: We did. It wasn't just the fans. I mean to go back to what George Springers said, Oh might as well just give the give the American League East to the Yankees. And I think the last game, the last series here, it truly looked like they were like, screw who's behind us, We're beating the team in front of us, and they put their best foot forward. They came out and they banged. In the last game, they came out and they hit home runs. A team that doesn't hit home runs actually hit home runs. And so I think it's something that it almost seemed like it was a different shift of like, oh no, what's gonna go wrong looking or instead all right, how are we going to win this game? Who's gonna step up? What's the next spot?

00:38:38
Speaker 1: They lost six of seven, and then they finished the year winning four in a row, and they had to win all four of those games, as the Yankees won eight in a row to end the year. Good for them, Good for.

00:38:47
Speaker 2: The Blue Jays, yea, happy for the Blue Jays, Happy for John Schneider, what do you say the sky is not effing falling. I told you all this Skuy is not effing falling. Right, he was right. But also at the same time, now they get a nice break. They used Golsman because they wanted to win the division. They get the nice break, and here they are. They're set up. They can set their pitching up, they can set up how they want to play, and they get a nice break. And trust me, teams that say they don't want the break are lying because everybody wants his nice break. Aaron Boom said it, yeah, we want the break. We want to win the division and get the break absolutely, because he gives you a chance to set everything up the win, and it doesn't guarantee you're gonna win, but it helps you.

00:39:21
Speaker 1: For me, forget about multi inning guy. Treya Savage has to be starting games for me. He did another five innings, shut out five k's. I want him in the rotation. He should be in the top three for me, right, gossmand him sureser am I missing someone. Brios is hurt. Bassett is still hurt. As far as I know, they're still figuring out what his deal is. It's those three.

00:39:43
Speaker 4: Right.

00:39:43
Speaker 1: Oh, and Bieber, that's her four and.

00:39:45
Speaker 3: Lower is a longo.

00:39:47
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't think sure, just starts in the first series.

00:39:51
Speaker 1: In the DS. I don't know, So go Bieber. You don't get this savage right?

00:40:00
Speaker 3: It all has the extra day off the game.

00:40:01
Speaker 1: Oh, we'll get into that, dude. All right, we got a few minutes to get to the Padres and the Cubs. And this just in for FT fans. Padres Cubs postgame show live on the FT YouTube channel. So we're looking forward to that one. That game starts exactly when FT ends on Tuesday, three o'clock Eastern time, and then should end whatever five point thirty ish, depending on how things go. So we'll have a postgame show. Kate Horton out for this series A J. I cannot emphasize how much of a blow that is to the Cubs. Do you feel the same way?

00:40:38
Speaker 2: Well, they showed us pitching first, right, yeah, and then boyd I'm guessing did they lay it out and then tie on Game three.

00:40:46
Speaker 1: Or bullpen tie on like ty on plus bullpen action shor at least, Kate.

00:40:51
Speaker 2: Horton has been one of the best pitchers in the National League in the second half of the season. If you don't know his numbers, check him out before he heard his ribs. Maybe remember when he pitched the game, we said, why do only go three? Well, apparently he had a broken rib. We didn't know that. We thought they were just saving him. But he had broken ribs. And listen, he was one of the best pitchers in the second half in all of baseball. So, yes, this is a big blow for them.

00:41:11
Speaker 1: He would have started Game one.

00:41:14
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, because the Vinagha hasn't been great and Boyd hasn't been great in the second half either.

00:41:19
Speaker 1: Do you know how it happened? He was sick and then it was from like a cough for a sneeze or something like that, and then it messed up the rib. I'm like, damn, this kid has been electric in the second half of this good. He's been the best rookie starting pitcher or best rookie pitcher in the National League. But krats, they won't have them. Do you think that affects things enough to tilt the way you look at this series?

00:41:40
Speaker 4: Yes, I mean I thought the Padres are gonna win it anyway. I just think it would have been much tougher. You face a guy like that early, especially a guy he doesn't strike out a ton of batters, and the Padres don't strike out. To me, that when those two things match up, that's when the advantage goes to the pitcher in my opinion, because when you face a team that doesn't strike out much and you have a guy that's relying on off or I mean on strikeouts, they just put the ball in play and that pitcher can't, like play his game. I thought that was going to be a really tough matchup, and I thought he was going to go Game one and shout that gives him a different look, even though it's from the left side and they hit the lefties. Well, I thought the Padres have a slight advantage because of that bullpen shortening games. This definitely gives them a major advantage.

00:42:29
Speaker 3: Padres don't hit lefties. I thought.

00:42:32
Speaker 1: Padres don't hit left hit lefties?

00:42:35
Speaker 2: Did I say they do hit lefties? I don't hit the Padres don't hit lefties. That's the one thing they do have going for him is they have him ana and.

00:42:43
Speaker 1: Void right, so you try and kryptonite them with that.

00:42:46
Speaker 4: What did I do? Did I say they do hit lefties?

00:42:52
Speaker 3: Yeah?

00:42:53
Speaker 1: I was reading about won while you guys were chatting.

00:42:56
Speaker 3: So they don't hit the Padres don't hit lefties.

00:42:59
Speaker 1: Right and so, by the way, because I was looking at one of our North Side Territory guys, Patrick Mooney said he's shut down for the foreseeable future with the fractured rib.

00:43:09
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't know when he's going to be back.

00:43:11
Speaker 1: You gotta be careful too.

00:43:12
Speaker 2: Jason Hayward has the highest batting average for the Padres verse lefties this year. Where do he at hey hit two forty four the six ninety ops Verus lefties this year.

00:43:23
Speaker 1: They're a huge home road split team this year, the Padres gigantic.

00:43:28
Speaker 2: Yes, well the actually the ops and stuff is very similar.

00:43:32
Speaker 1: But the wins.

00:43:33
Speaker 4: Yeah, the record there.

00:43:35
Speaker 2: They're thirty eight and forty three on the road, fifty twenty nine at home.

00:43:39
Speaker 4: That's more of what Pecho is. Pecko's I understand, freaking their place.

00:43:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, it was a Paveta Darvish king. Is that what they're doing.

00:43:53
Speaker 1: It's definitely Paveta. Games told us the other day, no cease, cease. Well, look they might have said it, they haven't said it yet. No, Okay, so we'll see, Hey, we just learned from Gabrielle Star does a great job covering the Red Sox that Lucas Giolito will not be on the wildcard roster. He's got an elbow issue, so he's going to see a doctor who performed surgery on him in March twenty twenty four when he missed a year.

00:44:36
Speaker 4: I've hurt.

00:44:39
Speaker 2: He's not one of their best. So who's going to be the third starter because he was going to be the third guy? Beyo bullpen bullpen for three for Game three in a wildcard.

00:44:49
Speaker 1: If it gets her, I mean you can technically star pressure on Crochet. Yeah, you can start totally or early, or I would start totally without spending a lot of time on the research yet to see everything totally at Yankee Stadium. It's not going to give a crap no. Two things I want to get to you. One is run differential. Now that the season's over, I would like to bring up how fucking stupid run differential is. Cleveland won the divisions minus six Kansas City didn't make the playoffs plus fourteen. Toronto won the division plus seventy seven second place Yankees plus one sixty four third place Boston plus one ten. Remember the other day when Toronto lost twenty to one, and then give a shit, that's twenty or nineteen runs against their run differential? Run differential is so stupid. What does it tell you? This team's probably good, this team's probably not to tell you, I think wars at least a little better.

00:45:49
Speaker 2: Except you can't if you No one can figure out how it's calculated. And there's two different ones, so choose your one. But other than that, it's a great step. Do you agree we should rely on everything for do you agree run differentially super differential? It gives you a somewhat of a broad outline of much like war gives you a broad outline of who's good. By the way, do you know who led the National League in War this year?

00:46:09
Speaker 1: Perdomo?

00:46:10
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:46:10
Speaker 1: For fangrafts. Is that where you're going off of?

00:46:12
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:46:12
Speaker 1: Which one?

00:46:13
Speaker 2: I don't know one of them? Perdomo. You could have bet a lot of people that don't know baseball a lot of money that he would have led the league in War, the National League over.

00:46:23
Speaker 1: Right, show he wasn't even second in the National League, you know, second? No Trey Turner, who just came back, by the way, for the Phillies won the batting title. Yeah, because we didn't get to talk about the Phillies much. I don't no l eight innings, So Phillies didn't got much attention last few years.

00:46:39
Speaker 2: But Phillies are a problem.

00:46:40
Speaker 1: They're a problem. Dodgers' territory is going to try and figure out the bullpen situation, so they need thirty minutes for that. Crafts hats.

00:46:53
Speaker 4: Christopher Sanchez has a higher war than Paul Skeeves, so he should win the cy.

00:46:58
Speaker 1: Young pitching word. Don't get me started. Why Yankees today?

00:47:03
Speaker 4: Because the hottest team going into the playoffs and that matters zero.

00:47:13
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