Hey everybody, welcome back to the Throwing Partners podcast.
It's Kirby and Joseph here.
I am actually coming to you live from Breckenridge, Colorado.
I am looking out at a beautiful mountain scene right now.
I'd like to apologize.
It's been about three weeks since we have done one of these, but we have a lot to
talk about.
So buckle in.
Here we go.
Joe, you're going to give us a quick Astros recap because they are officially
tied for first place now.
And then I'm going to talk a little
About the Braves and the All -Star game and the Home Run Derby and all sorts of
stuff.
So here we
Yeah, so the last time we talked, the Astros, I believe, had just finished up a
series with the Blue Jays.
So they then moved on to play the Minnesota Twins.
Unfortunately, they lost that series two games to three, but they would come out in
the first game of that series and blow the doors off the Twins, winning 13 to 12.
That score is a little misleading because the Twins kind of had a little late inning
rally in the ninth where they scored seven runs.
And the Astros just could not find that last out.
But I mean, the offense just exploded.
Althupe had an RBI, Bregman had an RBI, Pena had three, Myers had two, and
Loprofito had two.
Basically everybody on the offense contributed and the Astros would go on to
win that game 13 to 12, as I mentioned.
Sean Dubin pitched two and two thirds.
He gave up three runs, five hits.
It was a bullpen game.
So, you know,
It was, you know, pitcher by committee and unfortunately Luis Contreras or yes, Luis
Contreras was just not able to get that those last three outs for us.
He had pitched one and two thirds innings before that ninth inning collapse.
So it was kind of understandable.
He was gassed, but Josh Hader was able to come in and get that, you know, one out
and pitch that third of an inning and get us out there out
that first game of the series with a win against the twins.
Unfortunately, however, we would drop the next two.
We would drop the second game nine to three.
And it was kind of a weird lineup because I'll to they had gotten injured in that
game.
I believe that was the game that he got hit in hand.
And so he wasn't in the lineup the next day.
And Bregman was batting lead off.
The offense just could not find their groove.
John Singleton had a big day.
had two RBI's, but outside of him and Bregman, the offense didn't really do
much.
They were one for six with runners in scoring position and they left six men on
base.
it just wasn't our night.
Hunter Brown, he gave up seven runs.
He gave up five in the first two innings and then two more in the third.
But he was still able to get us six innings and he kind of saved the bullpen.
And we really needed that because as I mentioned, we had a bullpen day.
the night before.
So getting out of there with six inning pitch, six innings pitch was a real, you
know, upside for Brown, even though he kind of took that one on the chin.
But it is what it is.
He had a bad start and a streak of starts where he had been pitching really well.
And, know, you're you're allowed one of those duds at times.
And then unfortunately, the Astros would go on to lose the finale.
It was a really close game, came down to the bottom of the night.
The twins would walk it
specifically Christian Vasquez, he would hit a home run off a Josh Hader in a non
-safe situation because as I mentioned the game was tied in the ninth and that's how
they won it.
Christian Vasquez, former Astro hit a home run off of current Astro Josh Hader and as
I mentioned in the last podcast which has been you know three weeks since then Josh
Hader has a home run problem this year his home run percentage is
And I believe his hard hit percentage is also up.
And that's not good.
You definitely cannot have that as your $95 million closer.
Outside of that, he's been solid since then, but it's just really concerning that
in non -save situations, he hasn't exactly pitched great because we do not have the
guys to rely on to go into those non -save situations in the late innings.
We just don't have those guys on this roster right now.
which I'm hoping that we can address at the trade deadline and I'll get more into
that in a few minutes.
But you know, Brian Abreu, Ryan Presley and Josh Hader have all had their
struggles so far this season.
So none of them have been exactly reliable.
And then you got guys like Taylor Scott and Seth Martinez who have been good, but
you don't know how much of that is chance so far.
And if you look at their expected stats,
you know, Seth Martinez is kind of going to come back down to earth, I expect.
And you kind of see that today against the Mariners.
And I know that Taylor Scott's expected numbers are a lot better than Martinez's,
but I expect him to come back down to earth a little bit as well.
I don't expect him to, you know, continue to pitch at a all star worthy performance
because that's really what he should have been as an all star.
So I do expect a little bit of regression from Scott and Martinez.
But I think that the Astros need to address a high leverage situation at the
trade deadline and sacrifice an area like first base for that because the Astros,
you know, their farm system has been ravaged because of, know, the science
stealing scandal and, you know, just being dominant for so long that they don't
exactly get those top tier prospects in the draft.
But I think
They have enough to get a high leverage reliever that can really change the
dynamic of the bullpen.
So I hope that they're able to do that.
But moving on, the Astros would then go on to play three games against the Miami
Marlins coming back to Houston right after Hurricane Barrel hit.
The Astros would go on to sweep the Marlins.
They took the first game for game.
Sorry, four to three.
And Bregman had a big game.
He had three
I believe he had a big home run late in the game to put us ahead.
So, you know, that was huge.
And, you know, I wasn't really able to watch much of this series because I was
dealing with a lot of, you know, of the effects from Hurricane Barrel.
So I don't really have a great understanding of what happened, but I
remember correctly, Bregman had a clutch home run near the end of the game.
Moving on to the second game of the series, the Astros would win 9 -1, popping
off on the Marlins.
Bregman had an RBI again continuing his hot streak.
He's been great so far since June.
He's kind of picked it up in the absence of Kyle Tucker, which has been really
great to see because it's kind of been interesting over these last couple of
weeks.
The Astros' success has started since Kyle Tucker went down, but that also coincides
with Bregman also stepping
And Yiner Diaz as a matter of fact I'm not gonna forget him because he's also been
playing out of his mind and actually speaking of Yiner He had three RBI's in
this game to go along with Joey Lo Perfito having to So, I mean they've all been just
the whole lineup has been clicking since Kyle Tucker has been absent with the
world's worst bone brews
I'm calling BS on that.
I think that he was more seriously injured and the Astros just didn't want their fans
to panic.
But they've honestly survived and been thriving since he's been absent.
So, you know, there hasn't been really much panic with his absence.
But the Astros would then go on to win the third game of the series, 6 -3.
Let's see.
Bregman had an RBI, again continuing to pop off.
Singleton has been playing really good, more than you could have asked.
He had an RBI, Pena and Loprofito all had RBIs.
Myers had an RBI and then Cesar Salazar had an RBI.
It has been a succeed by committee effort for the Astros so far on this street.
They've been winning by passing the baton and not just relying on the long ball to
win them games, which I
was part of the problem during the first half of the season with Jose Abreu on the
roster.
Because in the middle of a game, Jose Abreu would be in the biggest spots and
time and time again, he would fail.
And I'm not trying to pile on to the guy, but it puts a lot of pressure on everybody
else to perform when you know you have that one guy in the lineup that is just
not going to get it done.
It does not matter what situation he was in.
He could not handle it.
And that puts a lot of pressure on the eight other guys in the lineup to try to
hit the long ball, to try to make the big moment.
Because you know that eventually Jose Bray's name is gonna be called and he's
not gonna do anything.
So I think that taking the pressure off of everybody else has really increased the
Asher's ability to just produce more runs.
Their offense has been pretty good over the last few weeks.
They've had a couple of rough patches against the Twins and the Rangers.
But outside of that, their offense has been clicking.
And another person that has been kind of putting a strain on the lineup is Chaz
McCormick.
And I'm not going to let him slide because he has just been awful this year.
He had another big moment today.
And he's just been really bad.
He's downright unplayable.
don't think that Joey Lopofito should be the player that gets optioned when Kyle
Tucker gets back.
It should be Chas McCormick because he honestly needs a regular A .B .s in the
minor leagues right now because he is just not seeing the ball.
I don't know what he did over the off season, but he needs to never do that
again.
And he needs to do what he was doing before.
I know that baseball is a weird game.
One season you have the best season of career and the next season you get humbled
out of your mind.
But it's just unfortunate the way that the season has progressed and Chas McCormick
has just been left behind because he was honestly such a great contributor to last
year's team.
I was really hoping that he would have proved Dusty Baker wrong like Yiner Diaz
currently is, but it's just unfortunate.
But moving on, the Astros would go on to lose the series against the Rangers.
They would lose two out of the three games.
They would win the first game six to three.
And this series was frustrating because they did come out and Hunter Brown pitched
amazing in that first game.
sorry, six innings, five hits.
two earned runs, five strikeouts and two walks.
He has again, ever since that Kansas City start and just a little bit after I
believe his next start or his next start, but the start in Detroit where he really
started to figure it out.
He's been, you know, the absolute model of consistency, basically giving the Astros
six inning pitch every time he goes out there.
But you know, he pitched really well against Andrew Heaney who also, you know,
he didn't pitch horribly.
He actually
Pitched almost the exact same stat line as Brown just winning any less But you know
the Astros were able to win a good game against the Rangers and it's unfortunate
that the Astros and take the series because they really could have buried the
Rangers and kind of ended their season I think their season has officially ended
after this last series with the Orioles But they could have done it themselves,
which it would have been so just you
I don't know how to explain it.
Words can't explain it.
It would have been great if the Astros could have ended their season here.
But they would end up losing the second game of the series and extra innings two
to one.
The offense just didn't do anything.
And that was kind of where I mentioned that the offense has had their moments
struggling, recapping the Marlins, but they would leave 10 men on.
They were two for nine with runners in scoring position and they just did not
play well at all offensively.
It was their game to win because they had so many opportunities.
But you know, both teams just weren't able to capitalize when they did get runners
on.
And that's why the score was so low.
It was kind of a pitcher's duel and we just couldn't outlast them.
Spencer Argeti pitched great.
He had seven strikeouts over six innings.
He only gave up two hits and one run and he had three walks.
But you know, he pitched, he pitched good enough to win.
And it's unfortunate that he didn't get the win on that game because that was a
very winnable game.
And then to finish off the Rangers series going to the All -Star break, the Astros
would lose to the Rangers 2 -4.
Renel Blanco, he gave up two runs in the first inning and he would only give up two
runs over six innings.
He would have five strikeouts and two walks.
Once again, the offense just had their moments.
They were 0 -9 with runners in scoring position and they left seven men on base.
This was another game where neither team really
Wanted it that much.
The Rangers were just a little bit better and they ended up with the win because of
it.
But if I remember correctly, the Astros had their moments where they were putting
pressure on the Rangers and they couldn't get it done.
I believe there was a basis loaded situation where there were no outs and the
Astros did not score a run, which is really frustrating to watch.
But it's baseball.
Those moments are going to happen.
It's just frustrating in the moment, but you kind of have to get over it.
kind of reset your mind going in the All -Star break.
But the Astros finished off the first half of the season on a high note.
Nonetheless, they ended the first half with a 50 and 46 record and they would end
with sole possession of second place in the AL West.
I believe two games out from the Mariners at the time and coming out of the All
-Star break facing the Mariners for sole possession.
of the AL West and the Astros coming out of the All -Star break would beat the
Mariners in a three game series, two games to three, winning the first game three to
nothing against the Mariners beating Luis Castillo after, you know, him going seven
innings.
He gave up three, three runs.
So he took the loss.
Hunter Brown, like I said, model of consistency gave us six innings, no earned
runs, five strikeouts and three walks.
He did just enough to get us the win.
The Mariners offense is horrible.
So, you know, he didn't have to do much, but he just had to, you know, do enough.
Yiner Diaz had a clutch, two run RBI in the third against Luis Castillo, which was
awesome.
You know, earlier in the season, people were calling for Diaz to be benched now
he's the cleanup hitter on one of the hottest teams in baseball.
so it just, feels so gratifying to, finally see him start to shine like the
player everybody knew he would be.
it's just unfortunate because, you know, Dusty Baker really held him back last year
playing Martin Maldonado over him.
And just, it sucks to think about what the Astro season could have been like if
Martin Maldonado wasn't getting regular reps, in the Astros lineup.
Beside Jose Abreu, might I add, two of the worst qualified hitters in the league last
year, getting reps in the same lineup.
And you have Jiner Diaz sitting on the bench like 40 or 50 % of the time.
It's just it makes me mad.
It was managerial malpractice.
And I'm just so glad that the Astros are finally thriving the way that they should
have been all season after dealing with so much adversity through injury and just
poor performance and bad luck.
But the Astros would gain possession of first place in the AL West after this win
by percentage points, but they
go on to win the second game of the series, taking sole possession of first
place in the AL West by record.
They would win four to two.
The Astros kind of battled out this game.
They grinded.
They got up early in the fourth inning scoring one.
They would go down in the sixth, giving up two.
And then they would go on to score two runs in the seventh and then one run in
the eighth.
kind of sabotaging Ryan Stanek, former Astro, and kind of forcing him out of the
game and forcing him to kind of rethink his decision to not resign with us.
But he's been dealing with injuries and of the such.
this was kind of his first start after an IL stint, I believe, or after dealing with
some back spasms.
So he didn't pitch well to the betterment of us.
So the Astros would go on to secure the win 4 -2.
They would win being helped by some great defense from Trey Cabin and Joey Loperfito
in the eighth inning.
That was awesome to see them, you know, locking down the corners.
Fomber Valdes pitched well.
He pitched five and two thirds.
He had one mistake to Julio Rodriguez, which cost him the two runs that the
Mariners would score.
But moving on to today's game.
Today's game was kind of a disappointment.
Because the Astros just couldn't do anything against Brian Wu and the Mariners
bullpen.
You know, that's really all I can say.
They were three for eight with runners in scoring position.
They left five men on base Jordan Alvarez tried to carry them to victory today.
Hitting for the cycle, which was crazy to see.
I swear to God he hit one 500 feet and stat cast is lying because that hit I
believe the the facade of the third deck in
T -Mobile Park, but apparently it only went 429 feet.
I'm calling BS.
Chas McCormick had an opportunity in the middle of the game with a runner on third.
He was a pinch hitter and he just has not looked good.
He's batting 206 and he's just not been playing good.
He's like I said, downright unplayable right now.
He needs to be sent down.
He needs to be getting regular reps in the minors to see if he can fix whatever's
going on with them.
And you know, it's just frustrating because he did play so well last year and
the team could really use his production But it is what it is at this point.
We have some guys that can kind of step in that we've seen And hopefully Kyle Tucker
comes back and continues to play at the MVP level.
He has been playing at Renault Blanco lost the game today pitching five and two
-thirds giving up all or not all four but for earned runs He's lost
three out of his four last starts, not to his fault on all of them.
I believe that the Ashers haven't played well offensively in the games that and I
believe two of the games that he has lost out of those three.
This one, obviously he gave up four runs, which I mean, in my opinion should still
be good enough to get you the win.
But Seth Martinez came in and he kind of blew that opportunity.
He pitched a one and one third inning.
and he gave up a home run.
He got a three run home run and the six to the Mariners after the Astros kind of
tried to rally back.
And the Astros just weren't able to come back offensively after that.
Like I said, the Mariners bullpen kind of shut us down after that.
So that's a recap of the Astros last three weeks.
There's kind of that break in between the All -Star game.
So they had time to kind of rest and reset because their bullpen had been used to
hell.
Ryan O 'Brien came out in the first game of the Mariner series and he pitched well,
but that second game he got bailed out by a pinch running mistake.
You know, being able to pick off a lead, a lead off walk at first.
So I'm a little concerned with him still because he did look horrible.
But it is what it is.
Like I said, I hope we can address it at the trade deadline.
But just moving on to the Braves, Kirby, let me know how you feel about the Braves
in the last three weeks.
Hmm Joe, think I'm gonna hold my breath on how I really feel about it.
It's been an interesting last three weeks First of all, I've been telling y 'all
since May since May 1st.
They've been a 500 team.
They are still a 500 team Since we last talked there seven and six they played
They played a series against the Phillies Then they went out west to Arizona and to
San Diego before the All -Star break and then since the All -Star break They've
been at home playing the Cardinals
And let me just say so far, it looked pretty positive there for a minute because
they won their series against the Phillies.
We saw a really good start from Spencer Schwellenbach and once again from Reynaldo
Lopez in the two wins.
We did not see a good start for Max Fried in game one of that series.
And I'll get to Max Fried in just a little bit because that's a whole different topic
that I'm going to touch on.
So needless to say, this year against the Phillies, we are four and two against
So we've played exceptionally well against them.
And then following the Philly series, they went out West Arizona, had a four game
set.
They won the first two, which actually put them on a four game win streak.
And things were actually really starting to look up.
Well, then they blew it and lost the next two.
During the two wins, saw some really good, we saw some really good pitching from
Chris Hale once again.
The dude is just, he's unreal Joe.
Right now he is the NL Cy Young.
I mentioned in our last pod that I wish he would have started the All -Star game, but
it was all about Paul Skeens in the All -Star game, pitching against Soto and
Judge.
And I'll talk about that in a minute too, because I actually got the privilege to
go.
And then let's see, moving on to the San Diego series.
The San Diego series was actually really good too, because we saw another good
start from Spencer Schwellenbach.
The kid has six different pitches and he throws them well and he throws them with
authority and he doesn't walk a lot of guys Which I really appreciate seeing
because I don't like guys getting free bases They ended up losing the middle game
of that set they got shut out by Dylan cease He just he looked like Dylan cease.
That's all I'm gonna say about that And then the last game of that series Chris
Dale pitch once again, he wasn't on it wasn't his best
But they still won the game six to three and you know ended it went into the all
-star break with a dub Now since the all -star break there at home, they just lost
well literally just lost a series to the Cardinals And It hasn't looked good Joe
they won they had a doubleheader Saturday because their game got rained up Friday
They won the first game of the doubleheader and then lost the second game
of the doubleheader sunny gray
actually gave up several home runs, but still managed to throw quite a few innings
and really helped their bullpen kind of rest up a little bit.
And then today, Joe, today sucked.
First of all, we all woke up this morning to the news about Max Fried.
He's been placed on the 15 day IL with left forearm neuritis, which all of us had
to Google what that medical term was this morning.
And he actually,
Came out and said that, you know, during the All -Star game during his warmups, he
felt something while he was doing his arm circles.
And then he also said that he's been feeling some burning in his hand, which I
don't know about you Joe, but that sounds like he's going to have his second time at
Now here's the thing though, Max Fried is a free agent after this season.
Does that mean that they throw him a three year extension and then let him rehab the
whole first year?
And then they give him two years to see where he's at and maybe re -up another
extension after that.
I don't know.
but there was no structural damage done to that done.
You know, there was no structural damage to his elbow, to any of the ligaments, any
of that stuff.
So that's, that's pretty good news.
if you go to Google, it does not look like good news.
It looks like horrible news.
so I, I'm not really sure what to think about that.
so we woke up to that this morning.
Then the game happened.
they lost the game.
already, you know, we've already established that.
But then literally like the last inning of the game Ozzy always gets hurt Ends up
fracturing his wrist and he's gonna be out at least eight weeks Eight weeks from now
is about the middle of September.
I Can't I mean we can't even guarantee that he'll actually be ready in eight
weeks because that's gonna be kind of tricky coming back from a wrist injury I'm
sure I'll have to have a rehab sent to so no telling how long he's actually going to
be up now with that being said
Braves fans have been chomping at the bit to get Nacho Alvarez up to the big
leagues.
I absolutely love this kid, okay?
I got to see him in spring training this year.
I love the way that he plays.
He plays hard.
He's not a big dude either.
I'm not gonna put this comparison on him, but to me, he reminds me a lot about Tuve,
just the way that he plays.
I think he's an eventual second baseman in the game.
He takes a ton of walks.
He's got a great hit tool and he doesn't strike out a
And since he actually got promoted to Gwinnett about 27 games ago, he He's
really showed some power there since he got promoted to Gwinnett He's he's got a
really nice slash line.
He's got an OPS over a thousand He's got seven homers in 27 games.
He's got five steals and only 20 strikeouts too, which is really nice I'm
not sure where he's gonna bat tomorrow when he comes up and makes his debut But I
would honestly love to see him near the
just because of his on -base ability.
So that is like the one positive that Braves fans are going to get out of this
Ozzy Albies injury is we're finally going to get to see Nacho at the big league
level.
Now I will say this, I have heard that the pitching at the AAA level this year is not
good.
So no telling what we're going to see from Nacho at the big league level.
So it's as if it wasn't already a big enough task.
for Alex Anthopoulos to go out and get at least one bat, maybe two bats and a
starter possibly.
The Max Free News, the Ozzy Albee News really throws a wrench into their plans.
I don't know what that looks like now, but I do have a couple of ideas.
I don't know that we're quite ready for that yet for that part of the talk, but
there are several different trade options and several different teams that have good
pieces that I think would actually fit the Braves' needs.
And then not only for this year, but also for next year.
So Joe, do want to go from here?
Because we have a lot of other things we need to talk
Well, I think we could talk about some potential trade deadline moves that both
of our teams could make and then kind of how we see the rest of the season playing
out.
know, true contenders, pretenders, you know, things of that nature.
So I'll go ahead and start off with the Astros.
And this is going to kind of be an injury update and a trade deadline talk because
There have been some setbacks with the Astros starting pitching relief that they
were expecting to come by the trade deadline.
Both Lance McCullers, Luis Garcia Jr.
and Justin Verlander all face setbacks in the three weeks that we did not talk,
which has kind of been a big blow to their hopes that they could rely on those three
guys to come back and kind of be a trade deadline acquisition.
McCullers is
I'm going to pretend like he doesn't exist until he actually exists.
Luis Garcia on the other hand is a little frustrating because he did throw and a
couple of rehab games.
But he just came out of that second game not feeling very healthy.
And which is really concerning because they did kind of rush him along which I
had mentioned before concerned me a little bit just because you know kind of want to
give someone coming off Tommy John the
most amount of time that they can have possibly to fully recover, they rushed him
because he was saying that he felt like he was at a better place than where they were
expecting him to be.
And it has led to them having to kind of tamper expectations on him coming back
within the next month or two, which is unfortunate because I was really hoping to
see him contribute meaningful endings to this team.
Lance McCullers Jr.
as I mentioned, he's not real until I actually see him pitch on the Major League
stage again.
He had a setback.
He's a no throw right now.
Luis Garcia Jr.
Luis Garcia is at least throwing right now.
But he's just not throwing bullpens.
I don't know what Lance's deal is.
I mean, I've voiced my frustrations with how Lance McCullers Jr.
treats his rehab assignments and treats any injury that he goes through.
But he's just, he's hurt again.
Dana Brown already mentioned it, which was kind of shocking that he probably won't be
a starter when he comes back.
They will probably utilize him as a bullpen arm if he comes back.
I don't know what to say about Lance.
I would love to love the guy, but I don't because
This is how all of his entries have played out over the years.
He pitches injured.
He, he doesn't take his rehab.
Like, I don't know if he doesn't take his rehab seriously.
I don't know him.
I don't know what he does, but to me, him pitching injured has only cost the Houston
Astros, you know, to be worse off.
so I, I've tried to hold him accountable to that.
people
And the Astros community, they still love him.
Even though I see what it has been for him.
As I mentioned, pitching, pitching injured and rushing rehabs and not taking the best
options when it comes to you know, whether it be surgeries or you know, just rest.
But Justin Verlander is also dealing with a neck injury right now.
He had a setback.
I don't know what's going on with him and his neck, but
He had a setback so he's kind of slowed down.
He did throw 25, a 25 pitch bullpen, I believe yesterday.
So that's at least some good news, but he's just not progressing as fast as we
would like.
The Astros have been surviving with a five man rotation, but they need a six starter
that they can rely on, which is where the trade deadline talks come in.
There have been rumors that the Astros have been involved with a guy like Zach
Efflin, I believe.
Tyler Anderson and Yandy Diaz from the Rays.
think that like I mentioned earlier, I think that they should focus heavily on
starting pitching and a leverage arm because as it stands right now, while they
have been pitching really good, I do not trust a rotation that has a 40 year old
Justin
Sorry, I think it's like 41 year old Justin Verlander, a mental headcase from
Ravel Des, who has not been very consistent this year.
Renell Blanco, who will have thrown the most amount of innings in his major league
career and Hunter Brown who has, well, yes, he has pitched good in this last
stretch, hasn't been doing it against the best opponents.
I'm just going to be honest.
You know, that scares me.
That really does scare me.
I think they need another top tier starter
you whatever they can get out of their already depleted farm system.
There are like three guys that I think that are untouchable in that farm system.
And that's going to have to be Luis Baez, Jacob Melton, then Bryce Matthews.
And then everybody else is, know, you can have a fire sale down in Sugarland and
Corpus for all I care.
Those guys are the only three that I see are legit prospects for this team so far.
That's probably what other teams have also evaluated, which is going to make it hard
letting go of them.
But you're just gonna have to convince them that you have something else and
someone else that you don't actually want, but you want them to have, you know,
that's just, that's kind of how the Astros have gotten away with a lot of their other
trade deadline acquisitions over the years.
I'm kind of impressed that people actually even trade with the Astros anymore because
so many of those traits have been one sided where the Astros are the only team
that
any of the benefits of the trades.
But who am I?
I'm not going to complain.
you know, I've been on the winning side, so I don't care.
But an interesting name that I keep seeing popping up is, as I mentioned, coming
along with the Rays and Yandy Diaz as a first baseman.
And I kind of think that that's unnecessary.
I think that they need to go after a high leverage bullpen arm.
I think that, you know, first base has
You know, pretty good since Jose Bray who hasn't been on the team anymore.
I think that he's been doing just fine.
He's playing above replacement level at this point, which is all I can really ask
from John Singleton, who was kind of come out of nowhere.
It was a great pickup, I guess last year when they decided to go get him and it's
paying dividends right now.
So I can't ask John Singleton to do any more than what he's already doing.
Could it get better?
Yes,
He does have the traditional lefty righty splits, but at the same time, there are
other needs, like I said, in an already depleted farm system.
You know, we're just, dealing with reality here.
There are other teams that can outbid the Astros because they have more prospect
capital.
And just, it's, you got to deal with what you're working with.
I don't think that first base is a major concern.
I think the offense can.
get by with what they have right now.
And that means obviously I don't think that they should pursue someone like
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
or Pete Alonso as well.
just I don't think it's necessary.
I really do believe that this team's biggest weakness right now and going
forward will be starting pitching and relief pitching, specifically high
leverage because they will be getting Kyle Tucker back sometime in the near future,
hopefully.
I believe that those offensive struggles might be offset.
You know, or those often those worries on offense might be offset when hopefully
everybody continues to click and you add Kyle Tucker and MVP candidate into that
lineup.
So hopefully he just negates the need for a first baseman all around because he
brings back that offensive production that we just haven't had since he's been gone.
But that's my that's my Astros trade deadline take.
There aren't really too many names flying around right now specifically because as
we mentioned in the last couple of episodes a lot of teams are gonna hold
until the very last minute because of just the playoff format you could be four games
out and under 500 at this point and still technically be a contender So everybody's
gonna hold until the last minute and you know a lot of things can change in the
next two weeks, but I
deadline is coming up on Wednesday the 31st so we will see how the Astros do
hopefully Dana Brown makes some shifty moves and hopefully Jim Crane allows him
to be the GM that we all know that he can
Well, I think those are great ideas for the Astros.
I definitely agree with them going to get a starter.
As for the Braves, like I said earlier, things kind of changed today once we got
the news about Max Fried and Ozzy Albies.
But not to mention Joe, we've already lost Ronald Rekunia for the year.
We've already lost Spencer Strider.
We don't know when Michael Harris is coming back.
I thought he was going to come back right after the All -Star break, but that hasn't
been the case.
I'm hearing now another three weeks.
I'm not really sure about that.
Once again, he'll have to go through a rehab stint.
So essentially, right now, it would be great to go get two bats because you've
got like four holes in the lineup between Orlando Arcia and Eddie Rosario and Adam
Duvall.
And not to mention right now, Joe, another big hole that they have is Matt Olson.
Matt Olson is on a Chris Davis type of crash.
If you remember Chris Davis, when he played for the Orioles, he had 54 homers
or 57 homers, whatever it was.
And then like immediately after that, right down the drain, horrible.
Well, it was horrible.
And right now Joe, Matt Olson is one of the same.
He's still hitting balls hard, but he's not taking his walks.
He's not having a bit of luck.
And quite frankly, Joe, he has been terrible.
And for the first time today, Brian Snicker got the broad idea to move him to
the spot.
And that's about as low as it can go because the rest of their lineup is just
as bad.
So I have seen them in connection to the raise.
I have also seen them in connection to the Blue Jays because of Alex Anthopoulos'
previous employer.
As far as the raise go, there's one trade that I could see happening because it
benefits them this year and next
because next year you're going to have an issue when Ronald Acuna comes back because
more than likely he's not going straight back to right field.
He's going to have to DH some.
The one move that I would actually like to see is them to go get maybe Randy or
Rosarina.
Now he started off the year absolutely terrible, but if you go and look at his
last 28 days, he's actually been exceptionally well, played exceptionally
well.
He's got an 883 OPS and done even better than that as of recent.
so uncle Randy, welcome to Atlanta.
I would love to see that guy in a Braves uniform.
I think he would fire up the boys too.
another name that I have seen in connection to them from the race is also
Zach Efflin.
that would be just a, basically a mid rotation starter for them.
that could eat some innings down the line.
now granted, if they get max freed back, then you can see, you know, a, a playoff
rotation of Chris sale and Reynaldo Lopez.
and Max Fried.
And then honestly, right now, Charlie Morton is pitched better as of late.
But then you've got guys like Spencers Wellenbach, and when he's on, dude's on.
But he's just going to have to develop.
He's a rookie.
I have also seen them in connection, like I said, to the Blue Jays when it comes to
guys like Kevin Gossman, because there was already a, you know, he was already a
brave one time.
And then also to somebody else that's played exceptionally well lately is George
Springer.
I don't know if the Braves would want to take on that contract because that would
put them into the third text, third ledger text threshold, but it would be really
nice to have him at the top.
And he is also somebody that has played really well as of late.
I think overall, I think the bullpen is okay.
know, everybody, they've got guys that they could actually put in the bullpen
that are down in AAA.
AJ Smith Schaver that guy has a cannon for arm days bill Hernandez If they want to go
get another high leverage lefty, I'm not opposed.
I think that'd be a great idea And then you know the as far as the lineup the
lineup has got to be reconstructed They've got to add some bats at least two bats if
they want to compete Because honestly right now Joe if you go look at the stats
the brace pitching staff is the best in the league They've got the best eRA
They've got
They've got, think they've given up the least amount of home runs.
They lead in several categories and if they don't lead in it, they're in the top
five.
So those are some moves that I know they've been connected to.
A lot of people in Braves country want them to go get Brent Rooker.
Brent Rooker can't play the outfield.
And if I'm the ASGM, I'm not picking up the phone on the Braves call.
I'm just not doing it because they've been screwed so many times by the Braves on
different trades between Matt Olson and Sean Murphy.
So.
I think the the Randy move would be great.
I think that would really bring some fire to the clubhouse too because they don't
have a lot of those guys.
They have Chris sale.
have Jerick Kellnick, but Kellnick is not quite to his potential of what he could be
now.
Granted he has played better.
You know he's played better at certain points during the season.
He was on a little bit of a skid before the All -Star break, but he had a home run
today and had a triple yesterday so.
You know, he's getting there, but it's these guys have to develop at the big
league level.
so those are some of the moves that I would like to see them do, but there's a
part of me too, Joe, that I can honestly see the Braves since they have had so many
injuries, just standing pat and maybe getting one bat and maybe like a, a mid
rotation starter that can just eat up some innings, that's on an expiring contract.
like maybe one those guys from the reds, like Frankie Montoss.
Um, you know, nothing, nothing seriously huge, um, because next year they're going
to get, you know, they're hopefully going to have a healthy Ronald Acuna jr.
At some point, they're going to have a healthy Michael Harris.
I'll have a healthy Ozzy Albies.
I'll have a healthy Sean Murphy.
Um, they've had an entire all -star team that has been on the injured list this
year at some point or another.
Um, so it's just, it sucks, man.
It's been, it's been a rough year.
Um, but we're going to know a lot in the next 10 days of, know, where the
organization wants to go.
And like we've already talked about with the Astros, all you have to do is get into
the postseason and then anything can happen.
So no telling what's gonna happen.
I would love to see them go get Randy or Rosarina or George Springer.
Both of those guys are also really good in the playoffs.
We have seen that year in, year out.
So yeah, that's kind of what I think.
So what do we got next,
Well, I just want to talk about some of the better teams in the league and what
their needs are at the moment.
Teams like the Orioles, Twins, Yankees.
We've already talked about the Astros and the Braves, the Mariners.
I'm kind of going on an AL tension right here because that's kind of my territory.
And with the Royals as well.
As it stands right now, the Blue Jays are going to sell.
They need to.
They're not a really good team at all.
So they're going to be selling.
They've got pieces that they can go out and sell for the future.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
being one of them, as you mentioned, George Springer.
But they've also got guys like Yusei Kikuchi, who could be a good decent
starter for a team needing
to eat innings and then Jimmy Garcia who was a decent arm out of the bullpen.
He's not great, but you know, kind of get the job done.
The Orioles are going to buy aggressively as they should.
You know, they need they need some pitching.
They need to bolster their staff.
So I'm sure that they're going to be aggressive and that yes, they do which
Yeah, which is why I believe the Astros aren't going to go for a top echelon
starter.
They're going to go for a more middle of the pack guy, but I really do think that
they need that top line starter.
So that'd be nice if the Orioles pitching staff could find it in the next two weeks
and kind of ease their front office's mind because a lot of those guys are from
Houston or at least our organization and we know how they make trades and they make
big splashes of the trade deadline.
So moving on.
Hold on.
Okay, so I have seen rumors and I'm, know, rumors are nothing really about Jackson
Holiday.
Do the Orioles move him at the trade deadline for a front of the rotation
starter?
Like for the right guy?
I mean.
possibly.
I mean, he performed so poorly here at the big leagues that they might just take that
chance and move him, move on from him in hopes that they win this
I would be really interested to see what he could bring in a return.
Because you figure if you used him and maybe you Heston Kerstad, those two guys
right there could probably go get you any arm off a bad team that you wanted.
Whether they wanted to go get Kevin Gossman, maybe if they wanted to, I don't
even know, that's tough.
man, that's crazy to think about what they could do.
You know, just putting up one or two of those pieces.
I think that they are definitely going to get a starter.
They need a starter.
They need bullpen help too.
Their lineup is great, but it's going to be interesting to see what they do with
the dead line.
So moving on to the Rays, they finished the first half of the season on a strong
note, but otherwise they have played horribly this season and below
expectations.
They're 50 and 49 right now.
So they're most likely going to sell at the deadline in hopes of kind of
replenishing for 2025.
And as we already mentioned, couple of pieces from the raise that they could
provide to continuing teams, guys like Zach Efflin, Brandon Lowe, Esauk Parades,
and then as you mentioned, Randy Rosarina.
Well, I would love to be on the Astros.
I've advocated for Randy Rosarina to be an Astro for so long.
I'm going to be so butthurt if he ends up being a brave, but those are just some of
the guys on the raise.
that could be potentially sold at the trade deadline because they are not
contenders.
The Red Sox, the Red Sox are an interesting team right now because I don't
really think that they're that good, but their record is better than the Astros.
The Red Sox are like a real like wild card because they have just played so up and
down this season and I just don't understand them.
But the Red Sox are probably going to be buyers and they need starting pitching and
relief pitching which every team needs but specifically right -handed relief pitching
So they will be on the market as well like so many other teams for a Right -handed
relief pitcher the Yankees.
god They have been playing awfully them and the Mariners are kind of in a free
-fall right now for two very different
the Yankees pitching staff has just been God awful and their offense hasn't been
much better.
but they like, yeah, they need a line of help, they're, they're starting pitching
has also been awful.
Carlos Rodan has been awful.
Nestor Cortez has been awful and Marcus Stroman has been awful.
and then Clark Schmidt has an injury right now.
So they're deemed up there.
Good.
Garrett Cole has come back and he's pitched, good for them as Garrett Cole
should.
But with under performances from DJ to may who and labor Torres, they really need
that lineup help As well, I mean they need almost everything at this point they
started off as one of the hottest teams in baseball and they're kind of You know
falling back to the rest of the pack Alex Redugo has also been awful for them as
well.
He's a groundball machine and he has just not been helping their case so far in
I guess the second half of the first half of the season.
Let's just put it that way.
And then moving on to the AL Central, the Gardinals, I mean the Gardinals, the
Guardians, they're going to be buyers.
Their offense is killing it.
They just need a bullpen depth because their pitching has been a little
inconsistent at times.
So they'll be looking to add some more bullpen arms and probably a starter as
well, but probably like a middle
middle of the road starter because they've just been playing so well offensively that
they can afford a middle of the road starter.
The Royals are going to be by, but they're going to buy with 2025 in mind.
They've kind of cooled off from their hot start.
They're 55 and 45.
And I believe they are, they're five games back of the division with Minnesota and
the Guardians ahead of them.
So it'll be really interesting to see what they do, but this could be a real make or
break trade deadline for the Royals.
It could go one of two ways.
It could go really good for them and they could have the depth that they need to
make a run in 2025, or it could go really bad where the moves that they make aren't
going to contribute to the 2025 team and they need to reset over the off season and
they need to reset in 2025 during the season.
So it's a really big year for Kansas City's front office to see what they can
do.
The Tigers are going to sell because they're the Tigers and they're bad.
They have some pieces, Jack Flaherty maybe.
Yeah, Scoobal could be one of them as well, but I kind of doubt that they sell
on him just because he is such a dominant pitcher from the left side.
And
I think the Orioles could go to Flaherty for pretty much nothing to be honest with
you since he's on an expiring contract.
I think Flaherty is gonna be one of the hottest commodities just because he's on
an expiring contract.
And there's probably 15 teams that are in on that guy right now.
He's having a great year.
And I'm sure that a lot of teams are probably gonna offer that extension too if
they get the opportunity to trade for
Yeah, twins, they're going to be buyers.
They don't really have very much depth in their organization, but they could use the
rotation help.
But they don't usually go off to rentals.
So, you know, they're just they're kind of stuck where they are.
But, you know, they're going to they're obviously going to make a move.
They're in contention right now.
They're five games back to the division for Kansas City, and they're currently in
a postseason.
spot if I'm not mistaken.
you know, they've been playing really well this season and they've been missing Royce
Lewis for a pretty big chunk of it.
So they get him back and you know, their lineup keeps producing the way that it has
been.
They're definitely gonna, you know, try to make a run for it.
The White Sox are obviously gonna sell.
They've got a lot of interesting pieces because individually some of them have
been playing very well.
Guys like Garrett crochet and then Luis Robert jr.
Are going to be hot commodities along with Michael Copac Those are all gonna be guys
that are gonna be highly sought after at the trade deadline and it'll be
interesting to see Where each of those guys land because they have been so good
for such a bad team I really have no idea like I have no idea where any of those
guys are gonna go but they're all gonna be made available because
The White Sox are horrible.
Moving on to the Angels.
The Angels are going to sell.
They're horrible.
I'm just going to move on from them.
The Astros, obviously I've already mentioned they need pitching.
They cannot rely on Spencer Arigatis, Jake Vlos, and Renell Blanco to carry them to a
postseason series win.
Obviously they won't be relying on the two other guys outside of Blanco, but as I
mentioned, Blanco is on pace to hit his inning.
his highest career inning number and you know what the injuries that they've
already had, they need a starting pitcher.
They don't have the depth to go get a top of the line guy, but they desperately need
a top of the line guy.
So it'll be interesting to see how they play things out.
The athletics, they're going to be sellers, but they're probably going to be
a little selective about it because they do have guys like Mason Miller and Brent
Rooker who are playing out of their mind right now.
So they're not going to,
sure they're not going to sell either one of those guys because they do have control
of them for such a long time.
But, you know, I don't know that they're very confusing all the time and they've
already they actually put out their first promotion for their their 2024 or not
sorry, their 2025 schedule where they're going to be in Sacramento.
And that was just the weirdest thing ever.
But anyways, the Mariners they're going to they're going to
be buyers because they need to be buyers because they need a bat like Pete Alonzo,
Luis Robert Jr.
and Vladimir Guerrero.
They're all connected to the mariners in some way, or form.
The mariners have the depth to go get them.
The Rangers, they should sell.
They need to sell.
horrible.
They're really bad.
They're starting pitching as garbage and their lineup has been very inconsistent.
So yeah, they just need to sell.
And that is my American league trade deadline recap.
Okay, Joe.
Well, looking at the National League right now, there's not a lot of teams that are
actually out of it unless you're a member of the Colorado Rockies, who I'm repping
tonight because we're in Colorado, or the Miami Marlins, who really suck.
The Astros, you know, shoved it to them.
So with that being said, Joe, there's a lot of teams that are probably either
going to stand pat or they're going to buy.
The Phillies are probably the most complete team in baseball right now.
They could probably use a bullpen arm or two.
comes to the Dodgers.
The Dodgers tried to buy everybody that they could this pass off season.
And some of them are hurt, being Tyler Glass now and Yamamoto.
They could use a starter or two.
They could also use help in the outfield.
In no telling, you know, the situation with Betts and Lux and Miggy Rojas in
their third base situation.
They could very easily be in on like the Garrett crochet.
and Robert Deal, they could be in, if the Tigers were to try to want to move like
Riley Green and Scoobel or Flaherty, they could be in on that.
That would really bolster their rotation and their lineup.
Then when it comes to the Brewers, they should absolutely buy.
They could probably use a batter too.
And then whatever arm they go get Joe, they will develop them well.
That's what the Brewers do.
Everybody that they get that becomes to the Brewers Pitch as well.
I don't know what they do different, but they do something right We've already
talked about the Braves.
They need a lot Which just sucks because going into the season that's not something
I thought I'd be saying So here we are the Cardinals I Don't really know What the
Cardinals are going to do because their offense right now doesn't look that
horrible They could probably use some bullpen help
Just like everybody.
The Mets.
I don't know what like these teams like the Mets, the Diamondbacks, and the
Pirates, and the Padres.
They are all above 500.
All of them are incomplete teams.
But I don't know if any of them are actually going to make a move.
I would love to see the Pirates go out and get a couple of bats to help them to
bolster their offense.
Because you've already got Skeens, you've already got Mitch Keller, you've already
got Jared Jones.
So you've got a decent rotation to start.
You've got, you know, if Skeen's with a star of the year with the Pirates, he's
probably leading for the Sion right now.
Not kidding.
But he didn't, so here they are.
Looking at teams like the Reds, they already said today that they are going to,
they already said that they're going to move the pieces that are on expiring
contracts like Frankie Montas.
And I believe it's Nick Martinez, one of their pitchers.
The Giants, okay, the Giants are interesting too because they have pieces
they can move as well.
Like Michael Conforto, they can move Blake Snell.
They can move both of those guys and, you know, free up some money for next year.
And then you got the Cubs.
Joe, the Cubs are a train wreck.
The Cubs suck.
Their rotation is really good.
They've actually got a bullpen arm that I think will be the perfect reunite for the
Astros, which is Hector Neris.
I would love for the Astros to go back and get Hector Neris.
And he's not very expensive either.
Yeah.
there's a lot to be desired, which is why the Astros didn't resign him over the
offseason.
The Cubs need a lot of help but Joe they're not they're not going to make the
postseason they are you know as of yesterday they were 47 and 53 And that
there's no there's no end in sight for them playing any better Their offense is
absolutely atrocious.
They have guys like names be Swanson that are they're be there another five years
that suck I guarantee you that Danes be Swanson becomes the next Javi Baez.
I am NOT kidding on
His bat was mediocre to begin with before he signed with the Cubs.
That's why the Braves wanted nothing to do with him And I think he becomes the next
hobby bat by us And he got even more money than by us Yes Go ahead
you, would you, would you want Dan's be sponsored on the current Braves roster
right
No, honestly, because right now to be honest with you, Joe Orlando RCA plays
just as good a defense as him and he's not making any money And the both of their
bats suck So why why would I want Dan to be back for you know?
What they were what they were actually estimating him getting like 19 million a
year Do I want a guy making 19 million hitting 688?
No, I've already got that guy.
His name is Matt Olson So I don't I don't need another Matt Olson on the team so
No, I don't.
know, Danzbe did have some big clutch moments, especially like in the World
Series and the playoffs, you know, several times.
But no, I don't want Danzbe back to be honest.
And to be honest with you, Joe, I don't know that there's a shortstop out there
right now that actually fills the Braves' needs because most of the teams that are
in contention have good shortstops and they're not going to trade said piece.
So.
You know, for a while there, I was hoping the Mets were going to be atrocious and
they were going to want to deal with Lendor because I would have given up the
farm for Lendor.
But that's just not going to happen now because they're above 500.
So now then another interesting case is the Nationals because they have a couple
of pieces as well that they can move.
I know they've got a couple of guys in their bullpen and then also Jesse Winker.
Jesse Winker actually fits pretty well for the Braves because he's on an expiring
contract.
However, I know that there are problems with Winker in his clubhouse, how he is as
a clubhouse guy.
I know he's had issues in the past and I know that the Braves are very close knit
in their clubhouse and they don't like people coming in and messing up their mojo
for the wrong ways.
So I don't see them actually going to get Jesse Winker.
Randy or Rosalina?
Yeah, I can see them going to get
But not Jesse Winker.
That's pretty much it for the National League.
If I had to pick Joe, think that, I really do think, even though they lost a series
to the Pirates, think the Phillies are the best team, as much as that pains me to
say.
But right now, they are also the most complete team.
but it's, once again, it's gonna mainstream to see how they do, you know,
the next 62 games or so, because you've got like Ranger Swar as he hasn't pitched
well as of late.
How is Christopher Sanchez gonna do?
Is Zach Wheeler gonna be able to hold up again?
How is Aaron Nola gonna do?
Aaron Nola's got a lot of miles on his own.
So, I don't know.
It's gonna be interesting to see for sure.
Alright, well with that being said, you were able to experience the All -Star game
and the Home Run Derby over this last week.
Tell us a little bit more about your experience there in Arlington.
Okay, Joe.
Well, let me just say this.
First of all, the ranger stadium may be ugly from the outside, but the inside is
actually exceptionally nice.
It's got great, a great concourse area.
It's just, it's, it's nice on the inside to say the least.
But anyway, so I ended up going to the home run Derby.
I had a great time.
I actually, I'm not saying that the, the, the, the format was my favorite because I
am an old school guy.
I like the old 10 outs, know, no matter how many homers you hit, that's how many
homers you hit.
If it's not a homer, it's an out.
So I love the old way.
But the new way is still pretty entertaining because it's on a timer.
It was a good experience.
It was really interesting, Joe, seeing the behind the scenes stuff, because we
actually watched them set up the stars that the player stood on.
We watched them bring out the giant Texas flag that they walked out behind.
So that was really neat.
It is definitely, I think, overall better on TV, unless you are sitting like
directly behind home plate in the first level.
But then it's also interesting too, Joe, because what you don't see is like, okay,
let's say Jose Ramirez was getting ready to go back in the box.
Well, there is a guy from, you know, from the TV network standing next to Jose
telling him when he can get back in the box because of TV time.
They don't want guys just hopping right back in there because then they're going
to miss that on TV.
So there's like literally guys standing there like telling them like, okay, now
you can get back in the box and you can, you know, you can continue your at bat.
So it is, it is one of those events that is made for TV.
But in person, it was great.
We saw a really good finals between Teoscar Hernandez and Bobby Witt, which to
me, Joe, I think that really sums up baseball in a nutshell because you had,
you know, basically Latin America against, you know, the U S and you know, those are
two of the biggest.
baseball, you know, areas.
You know, they've ranked the most talent.
So it was really cool to see.
I wish Bobby Woods would have got over the fence just to give him one more swing.
But overall, it was a, it was really a good Derby, especially the finals.
And then the next day, it was the home run, I'm sorry, was the All -Star game.
Now, we didn't have plans to go to the All -Star game.
My buddy Chris actually got us a table at Texas Live.
But we ended up and he also got us tickets to the All -Star Game Village, which I
will say Joe was very well done.
There was all sorts of things to do if you had families or if you had kids.
My favorite part was they had all sorts of history.
They had all sorts of history from the Negro leagues.
They had all sorts of history from Japan.
They had all sorts of history.
you know, when it came to like women's softball and things like that.
So really getting to walk down the halls and see all of that was really awesome for
me because I do like baseball history.
They also had a ton of vendors there like Rawlings.
Rawlings had every glove you could imagine except the lefty glove, which, you know,
that just sucks being a lefty.
So.
But that was really fun.
They had the world's largest baseball there.
I don't know if that's really true or not, but that's what they said it was.
That was kind of neat.
But other than that, I really enjoyed the village.
We ended up getting last minute tickets to the game itself.
Shout out to Vivid because Vivid is a great place to buy tickets through.
We sat near the foul pole down the third base line.
I enjoyed the All -Star game.
I enjoyed seeing Max Fried and Reynaldo Lopez go out on pitch.
I enjoyed seeing Marcelo Zuna go out and having it bad or two.
The All -Star game was great.
It was packed.
I saw a ton of content creators there, People that, you know, they do Jersey
swaps or they, you know, they have their own media companies or, you know, this or
that.
So I enjoyed actually seeing some of those people in real life, that they're not just
behind the screen.
It was packed.
The All -Star game was great.
We saw Shohei.
do what Shohei does best and hit a bomb, which was really cool.
And that was awesome.
I was actually standing kind of up near the car box section when that happened.
And it was like, know, 15, 20 rows deep, no doubt for sure.
So that was cool.
You got to see Jaren Duran, absolutely Torch 1 -2.
That is a guy, if the Braves wanted to go out and sell the farm away for Duran, I
would 100 % be behind them.
That dude is a spark plug.
He steals bases.
I mean, he does everything well and he's going to be a star for a long time, I
think.
So overall, very positive experience from both the home run derby and the All -Star
game.
I think if I had to choose one, I would definitely go back to the All -Star game
and watch the derby on TV or watch it like at a bar or something like that, you know,
with baseball, you know, people around me.
But overall, Joe, it was an incredible experience.
And next year, the game is in Atlanta.
Now granted that the last time we tried this, there was some issues with the state
of Georgia and some political issues.
So I'm hoping that doesn't happen again, because I want to see Atlanta have an all
-star game again.
Not just because I'm a Braves fan, but because the stadium there is incredible.
The battery is incredible.
They have so much room to do so many different things as Major League Baseball
could do.
And Joe, just like we talked about on our last podcast.
Rob Manfred mentioned that there would be conversations about them wearing their
jerseys again.
And that just made me happy because we'd already been talking about that, about how
guys should be able to pick which jersey they want to wear.
If Bryce Harper wants to wear the powder blues from Philly, let him wear it.
If Shohei Otani wants to wear some throwback jersey from the Dodgers, let him
do
You know, if you know, ex player wants to wear if if you know, William Contreras
wants to wear the Brew Crew City Connect, let them do it.
I think that should be the players choice.
You know, they already a lot of them don't want to go because it's not a day off.
It's not a week off.
So at least let them have the freedom to choose what they are going to wear and
represent their team.
And then the last thing I'll say, Joe, about the All -Star game.
One of the coolest things before we went to the Village, we actually got to watch
the players be escorted on a golf cart to the red carpet from their hotel, which was
really neat because I saw like Vladdy Jr.
and Jose Ramirez because they're both very recognizable.
Jaren Duran as well.
So that was really cool too, because literally their hotel was connected pretty
much to Texas Live and they hopped on golf carts with their families and they were
escorted to the red carpet.
So
I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.
I highly recommend if you're going to go to one, go to the All -Star game, spend
the whole day there, get tickets to the red carpet, do all the things like that.
The All -Star Village was amazing.
Go to the game, get there early and just enjoy it.
It was a very worthwhile experience.
So yeah, that's kind of my take on it.
Anything else we need to discuss tonight, Joe?
no, I think that's about it.
it was great hearing your thoughts about, you know, the all star game experience.
would love to be able to get to experience that here in Houston.
they need to hurry up and build that, that, ballpark village that they've been
talking about building for the last five years now.
Jim Cray needs to hurry his ass up on that.
and what all, what these two new stadiums are about to be built either in Las Vegas
or in,
St.
Petersburg, you know, I think the Astros opportunity to host an all -star game here
in Houston is getting slimmer and slimmer with all these new stadiums starting to
pop up everywhere And we didn't even mention that though the Rays actually got
approved for a new stadium I believe it's gonna be like 2 .1 billion dollars To be
built in st.
Petersburg, which I think is a mistake because they're gonna have the same
problems they have with the trap right now But you know what?
not my money.
It's the
state of Georgia and their taxpayer money.
it is what it is.
Some news that we did not mention was Julio Rodriguez today suffered a pretty
serious ankle injury.
I haven't heard any updates on it, but it looked like he broke his ankle.
So that only hurts the Mariners more offensively because he had kind of, you
know, started playing well for them.
But I just thought I wanted to touch on that because that is a pretty significant
injury.
for one of the faces of the league.
Definitely.
Well, thanks everybody for listening to our pod.
Sorry that it's been a few weeks, but like Joe said, we had some issues with the
hurricane.
I've been traveling here and there.
So thank you for listening and please make sure to like, share and subscribe to our
YouTube channel.
And then also remember we are on Apple podcasts now.
You can listen to us on your daily drive to work.
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on Apple podcast and please leave us a five -star review and then the last thing
I want to say Joe Shout out to my fiance Kelsey for finding the tickets for the all
-star game and the home run derby.
That was pretty cool We love using vivid vivid wants to sponsor us.
I'd be down.
That'd be great So thanks again everybody.
We really appreciate it.
Appreciate it and we will be back much sooner than
Hopefully maybe next Saturday or next Sunday.
So have a good night everybody.